Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Neuropathic Pain

Abstract Neuropathic pain is defined as a chronic pain condition that occurs or persists after a primary lesion or dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system. Traumatic injury of peripheral nerves also increases the excitability of nociceptors in and around nerve trunks and involves components released from nerve terminals (neurogenic inflammation) and immunological and vascular components from cells resident within or recruited into the affected area. Action potentials generated in nociceptors and injured nerve fibers release excitatory neurotransmitters at their synaptic terminals such as L-glutamate and substance P and trigger cellular events in the central nervous system that extend over different time frames. Short-term alterations of neuronal excitability, reflected for example in rapid changes of neuronal discharge activity, are sensitive to conventional analgesics, and do not commonly involve alterations in activity-dependent gene expression. Novel compounds and new regimens for drug treatment to influence activity-dependent long-term changes in pain transducing and suppressive systems (pain matrix) are emerging.
Marriage patterns in Palestine.

Marriage patterns in Palestine are unique compared with other countries in the region. Although most countries in the Middle East and North Africa are experiencing an increase in the age at marriage early marriage in Palestine continues to be relatively high. About one in 10 Palestinian women ages 15 to 19 is married. Yet an increasing number of women are delaying marriage and remaining single. In a society that favors marriage and children it is essential to understand and address the needs of single women.
The art and science of constructing the molecules of nature.

Embedded within this issue of PNAS is a Special Feature* comprising 3 Perspectives and 25 research articles dealing with the theme of natural product synthesis— the art and science of constructing the molecules of nature in the laboratory. The birth of this discipline coincides with the synthesis of urea by Friedrich Wohler from ammonium cyanate in 1828, because this compound is a naturally occurring substance. Besides giving birth to organic synthesis, that landmark event served to “demystify” nature by burying, once and for all, the myth that the synthesis of nature's molecules is her exclusive domain. These days, the discipline of natural product synthesis, both total and partial (semisynthesis), is an important field of investigation whose dividends stretch from new scientific knowledge to practical applications. Considered by many as the flagship of organic synthesis, natural product synthesis symbolizes the power of chemical synthesis at any given time and defines its scope and limitations. It also serves to sharpen the tool of chemical synthesis by attempting to push its frontiers into higher molecular complexity, diversity, and efficiency. The field of natural product synthesis has been recognized with the …
Evaluation of Fitts’ Law Index of Difficulty Formulation for Screen Size Variations

—It is well-known as Fitts’ law that the time for a user to point a target on a GUI screen can be modeled as a linear function of “index of difﬁculty (ID). ” In this paper, the authors investigate whether the traditional ID formulation is appropriate independently of device screen sizes. Result of our experiment reveals that the ID formulation may not consistently capture actual difﬁculty: users’ pointing performances are not consistent among pointing target variations of which index of difﬁculty are consistent. The term A/W may not be appropriate because the term causes the observed inconsistency. Based on this ﬁnding, the authors then evaluate the applicability of possible models other than Fitts’ one. Multiple regression models are found to be able to appropriately represent the effects of target design variations. The authors next make an attempt to improve the deﬁnition of ID in Fitts’ model. Our idea is to raise the size or the distance values depending on the screen size. The modiﬁed model is found to ﬁt well to the users’ pointing data, which supports the idea.
Real and Virtual Borders in the Poggendorff Illusion

The strength of the Poggendorff illusion has been determined by a nulling method for the classical as well as other configurations of the central inducing region. Compared to a uniform field, an inducing rectangle with very low contrast produces a marked illusion, which saturates at a Michelson contrast of about 0.1. With virtual borders of the Kanizsa type there is a weak illusion and this effect is attenuated when the ‘pacman’ sectors are occluded. Texture borders without luminance contrast induce a stronger illusion. These results are discussed in relation to earlier data for contrast dependence of Vernier acuity and for the orientation discrimination and tilt illusion with real and virtual borders.
In Vitro Resistance Selection Studies of RLP068/Cl, a New Zn(II) Phthalocyanine Suitable for Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy

ABSTRACT Resistance to antimicrobial agents is emerging in a wide variety of nosocomial and community-acquired pathogens. The development of alternative therapies against nosocomial infections caused by clinically relevant pathogens represents a major public health concern. RLP068/Cl is a novel Zn(II) phthalocyanine proposed as a photosensitizer suitable for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (APDT) for localized infections. Its ability, following activation by light, to induce resistance in three major human pathogens after 20 daily passages was studied. Simultaneously for the same strains, the ability of daily sequential subcultures in subinhibitory concentrations of RLP068/Cl to develop resistant mutants without illumination was evaluated. We demonstrate that 20 consecutive APDT treatments with RLP068/Cl did not result in any resistant mutants and that, in dark conditions, only Staphylococcus aureus strains had increased MICs of RLP068/Cl. However, even in this case, the susceptibility of the mutated bacteria to APDT was not affected by their MIC increase.
Utilization of RF I-V waveform load-pull information to identify the role FET knee profile has on locating the efficiency maxima

Typically performance maxima in terms of output power, efficiency, etc. are determined from analyzing, effectively “data mining”, load-pull measurements. This approach while identifying relevant design information provides no insight into the origin or location of the relevant maxima. However, if during load-pull measurements the RF I-V waveforms are also measured this insight is available. Measured RF I-V waveform load-pull information from a 10×75μm Gallium Arsenide transistor operating in class-B at 8GHz is used to correctly identify the effect of the knee region of the transistor I-V characteristic on power and efficiency. As a consequence the location of the drain efficiency contours on the Smith Chart are explained in terms of Vmin and current waveform compression.
The Type III Secretion System of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 122 Mediates Symbiotic Incompatibility with Rj 2 Soybean Plants

Takahiro Tsukui, Shima Eda, Takakazu Kaneko, Shusei Sato, Shin Okazaki, Kaori Kakizaki-Chiba, Manabu Itakura, Hisayuki Mitsui, Akifumi Yamashita, Kimihiro Terasawa, Kiwamu Minamisawa Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan; Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan; Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agricultural Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Modulation of innate immune responses by Yersinia type III secretion system translocators and effectors

The innate immune system of mammals responds to microbial infection through detection of conserved molecular determinants called ‘pathogen‐associated molecular patterns’ (PAMPs). Pathogens use virulence factors to counteract PAMP‐directed responses. The innate immune system can in turn recognize signals generated by virulence factors, allowing for a heightened response to dangerous pathogens. Many Gram‐negative bacterial pathogens encode type III secretion systems (T3SSs) that translocate effector proteins, subvert PAMP‐directed responses and are critical for infection. A plasmid‐encoded T3SS in the human‐pathogenic Yersinia species translocates seven effectors into infected host cells. Delivery of effectors by the T3SS requires plasma membrane insertion of two translocators, which are thought to form a channel called a translocon. Studies of the Yersinia T3SS have provided key advances in our understanding of how innate immune responses are generated by perturbations in plasma membrane and other signals that result from translocon insertion. Additionally, studies in this system revealed that effectors function to inhibit innateimmune responses resulting from insertion of translocons into plasma membrane. Here, we review these advances with the goal of providing insight into how a T3SS can activate and inhibit innate immune responses, allowing a virulent pathogen to bypass host defences.
Follow-up studies on circular manic-depressive reactions occurring in the young.

1 : ANIC-DEPRESSIVE psychosis is a mental disease known to man under various nomenclature for several thousand years. In the Book of Samuel, King Saul is described as afflicted with madness and melancholy. Hippocrates u described a state of unrest which today would be recognized as "hypomania. " However, until Emil Kraepelin correlated the seemingly opposite states of disordered affect as variations in a single disease, manic-depressive psychosis as we know it today was not universally accepted as "a single morbid process. " Manic-depressive psychosis has been considered a psychiatric illness most frequently occurring initially in the third and fourth decades of life. Women so diagnosed usually outnumber men two to one, and among national groups those of Hebrew origin seem to show the highest percentage at first admission. At the New York Hospital-Westchester Division, the following signs and symptoms are looked for as criteria for the diagnosis of manicdepressive psychosis. The following criteria in disturbances in the fields of ideas, feelings and motility form the basis for the diagnosis of the manic state. A. Ideational disturbances should be characterized by: i. Overproductivity and overtalkativeness 2. Flight of ideas 3. Distractibility 4. Clang association, rhyming and punning 5. Ideas of exaggerated self-importance
Potential motion related bias in the worn dosimeter measurements of two childhood leukemia studies

Time averaged field measurements produced by a Positron™ dosimeter worn by study subjects was the primary method of exposure evaluation in two Canadian studies of childhood leukemia and AC magnetic field exposure. Statistically significant but mutually contradictory results obtained in the two studies, done in different locales but under similar study conditions, have not been explained. This report examines operational features of the Positron meter, including an unanticipated sensitivity to wearer motion. If the convalescent cases studied were less active than their healthy controls, as one might expect, then the meter's characteristic responses to motion, particularly as they would affect case‐control distributions above and below the different referent group cutpoints used in the two studies, could help to explain both the unexpected inverse risks reported in the larger study and the unusually high risks reported in the smaller study. Bioelectromagnetics 23:390–397, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of Residual Black Liquor in Pulp on Wastewater Pollution after Bleaching Process

The influence of residual black liquor in pulp on wastewater pollution after the bleaching process was studied. The results show that the CODCr in bleaching effluent has a remarkable linearity with bleaching loss of pulps without residual black liquor. For pulps with some residual black liquor, more than 34% of the overall CODCr is produced by the residual black liquor. It follows that more effective washing to reduce the residual black liquor is an appropriate way to control the pollutant discharges from pulp and paper mill industry.
Cellular localization of nerve growth factor synthesis by in situ hybridization.

A very sensitive and specific method for in situ hybridization has been developed. This method detects low copy numbers of mRNA(NGF) transcripts in both tissue sections and cultured cells using 35S‐labelled cRNA and oligonucleotide probes. In order to reduce the high nonspecific background occurring with 35S‐labelled probes, prehybridization in the presence of non‐labelled thio alpha UTP at pH 5.5 proved to be essential, together with a series of additional changes in the standard procedures for in situ hybridization. With this improved method it was possible to demonstrate that in tissues densely innervated by sensory (whisker pad) or both sympathetic and sensory (iris) fibers, NGF is synthesized not only by Schwann cells ensheathing these fibers, but also‐‐and even to a much larger extent‐‐by the target cells of the sensory and sympathetic neurons, i.e. epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Moreover, in the sciatic nerve of newborn rats (where the mRNA(NGF) levels are 15 X higher than in adults) it was demonstrated that all Schwann cells have the capacity to express mRNA(NGF), not just those ensheathing the axons of NGF‐responsive neurons.
The elastic modulus of conductance coronary arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats is increased

Objective To assess the alterations of morphological and functional properties of conductance coronary and mesenteric resistance arteries in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Design The in-vitro intrinsic elastic properties of the wall material in SHR coronary arteries were determined in comparison with those of Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats. Mesenteric resistance arteries from rats of both strains were also studied. Methods Arterial segments were cannulated at both ends using an arteriograph system and subjected to pressure increments with simultaneous measurements of the wall thickness and internal diameter. The strain, stress and incremental elastic modulus (Einc) were calculated from diameter–pressure curves. Results Over the full range of pressures tested (10–160 mmHg), the internal diameters of SHR coronary arteries were not significantly different from those of WKY rat arteries, whereas we observed that SHR mesenteric resistance arteries had a significantly smaller diameter. The stress-strain curve for coronary arteries was shifted significantly to the left-hand side for the SHR group indicating more stress per unit strain, whereas the opposite was found for mesenteric resistance arteries. When Einc was determined under isobaric conditions, we found no difference between SHR and WKY rat coronary arteries, whereas this parameter was decreased significantly for SHR mesenteric resistance arteries. When Einc was estimated at the respective operating pressures, it was 1.7- to 2.8-fold greater for SHR than it was for WKY rat mesenteric resistance and coronary arteries. Moreover, the total collagen area: lumen area ratio was significantly greater for the SHR than it was for the WKY rat coronary artery wall, but this ratio was similar for mesenteric preparations from the two strains. Conclusion These results show that, at a given stress or operating pressure level, the material of SHR coronary artery wall is characterized by an increase in Einc, whereas there is no increase in Einc for in mesenteric resistance arteries. This functional alteration is accompanied by an increase in the relative proportion of collagen, a component with a high elastic modulus, in the wall. In contrast, we found no change in elastic modulus and in the relative proportion of collagen for the SHR mesenteric resistance arteries. Furthermore, the present results support the hypothesis that alterations in distensibility differ among the components of the SHR vasculature.
Diseases of the skin. Management of varicose ulcers and eczema.

important that the procedure should not keep the patient an unwarrantably long time in bed. Thus an arthroplasty should allow the patient to be up the next day. Prolonged bed rest after such operations can undo all the good in general that the operation has done locally. The old patient is worried, not by the loss of a full range of movement, but by the loss of function commensurate with their general activity in their declining years. It is far better for the patient to achieve independence and a speedy return home than to have a prolonged course of treatment to obtain ranges of movement that they do not need in their normal life. Therefore if the patient can dress; do up shoe laces; walk up stairs; cook; sweep; and get on a bus with no pain or discomfort the operation is highly successful even if movement in the joint concerned is not full. Striving to regain this loss by physiotherapy is unnecessary.
A "Worst case" uncertainty selection within a probabilistic criterion control problem statement

A refined statement of a probabilistic criterion control problem, appeared in the literature at the ridge of the centuries, is proposed and the corresponding approach to solve it is derived. The approach is oriented to taking into account conditions of existence of the resulting domain of the admissible controls (non emptiness of the intersections of the “partial” domains), as well as to provide the conditions of unambiguous selection of the “worst” probabilistic distribution(s) of the plant output model variable. As a basic analytical tool, probability theory inequalities are applied. Various numerical examples are presented to confirm the theoretical inferences. Copyright © 2007 IFAC
Endoscopic Removal of Foreign Bodies in the Large Bowel

Endoscopic removal of foreign bodies from the intestinal tract is an extremely useful method. In our series, foreign bodies passing down from the upper intestinal tract were removed endoscopically from the rectum and colon of 13 patients. No complications were observed. It can be concluded that endoscopy is a simple, safe and effective method which, in many cases, avoids surgical procedures.
Multi degree of freedom spherical ultrasonic motor

This paper presents a multidegree of freedom spherical ultrasonic motor. As a prototypical spherical ultrasonic motor, we have successfully developed two kinds of spherical ultrasonic motor with two degree of freedom. Each type has good controllability; the motor can drive a spherical rotor about an arbitrary axis; the maximum speed is 30 rpm; the maximum output torque is 0.7 kg cm; the maximum positioning error is 0.3 mm. It is expected to be applied to not only robotic manipulator's actuator but also assembling machine, laser cutting and many fields.
Primary isolation media for Legionnaires disease bacterium

Yolk sac suspensions infected with the Legionnaires disease bacterium (LDB) were plated onto 17 different bacteriological agar media. The LDB grew only on Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 1% Iso Vitale X and 1% hemoglobin (MH-IH). This medium was subsequently analyzed to determine the components required to support growth of the LDB. L-Cysteine hydrochloride can replace the Iso Vitale X reagent, and soluble ferric pyrophosphate can replace hemoglobin. A new medium, F-G agar, was formulated incorporating these chemicals. Different cultures conditions (oxygen tension, temperature, and pH) were also evaluated. The LDB grew optimally at 35 degrees C under 2.5% CO2 on the F-G agar adjusted to pH 6.9. When infected tissues were inoculated onto both F-G agar and MH-IH, the F-G agar produced colonies of the LDB more rapidly and in greater numbers than did MH-IH.
On the Mechanism of Activation of the Plasma Membrane Ca2+-ATPase by ATP and Acidic Phospholipids*

The activation of purified and phospholipid-depleted plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase by phospholipids and ATP was studied. Enzyme activity increased with [ATP] along biphasic curves representing the sum of two Michaelis-Menten equations. Acidic phospholipids (phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidylserine (PS)) increased Vmax without affecting apparent affinities of the ATP sites. In the presence of 20 μm ATP, phosphorylation of the enzyme preincubated with Ca2+ (CaE1) was very fast (kapp ≅ 400 s–1). vo of phosphorylation of CaE1 increased with [ATP] along a Michaelis-Menten curve (Km of 15 μm) and was phospholipid-independent. Without Ca2+ preincubation (E1 + E2), vo of phosphorylation was also phospholipid-independent, but was slower and increased with [ATP] along biphasic curves. The high affinity component reflected rapid phosphorylation of CaE1, the low affinity component the E2 → E1 shift, which accelerated to a rate higher than that of the ATPase activity when ATP was bound to the regulatory site. Dephosphorylation of EP did not occur without ATP. Dephosphorylation increased along a biphasic curve with increasing [ATP], showing that ATP accelerated dephosphorylation independently of phospholipid. PI, but not phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), accelerated dephosphorylation even in the absence of ATP. kapp for dephosphorylation was 57 s–1 at 0 μM ATP; that rate was further increased by ATP. Steady-state [EP] × kapp for dephosphorylation varied with [ATP], and matched the Ca2+-ATPase activity measured under the same conditions. Apparently, the catalytic cycle is rate-limited by dephosphorylation. Acidic phospholipids stimulate Ca2+-ATPase activity by accelerating dephosphorylation, while ATP accelerates both dephosphorylation and the conformational change from E2 to E1, further stimulating the ATPase activity.
Childhood Asthma under the North Face of Mount Everest

We assessed prevalences of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic eczema and their associations with environmental exposures among school children living in high altitude and rural Tibet. After watching an asthma symptom video, 2.8% of the children reported ever wheezing at rest and 1.4% ever severe wheezing. Residential dampness problems were the only environmental exposure that was clearly associated with children's symptoms (odds ratios 1.3 to 2.5), even if several other exposures were common. The low symptom prevalences are in accordance with the hypothesis that the western lifestyle in some way increases the risk of asthma.
Genetically engineered mouse models to evaluate the role of Wnt secretion in bone development and homeostasis

Alterations in components of the Wnt signaling pathway are associated with altered bone development and homeostasis in several human diseases. We created genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) that mimic the cellular defect associated with the Porcupine mutations in patients with Goltz Syndrome/Focal Dermal Hypoplasia. These GEMMs were established by utilizing mice containing a conditionally inactivatable allele of Wntless/GPR177 (a gene encoding a protein required for the transport of Porcupine‐modified ligand to the plasma membrane for secretion). We crossed this strain to another which drives cre‐mediated gene deletion in mature osteoblasts (Osteocalcin‐cre) resulted in mice lacking the ability to secrete Wnt ligands in this cell type. These mice displayed severely reduced bone mass and provide a model to understand the effects of disrupting the ability to secrete Wnt ligands on the skeletal system. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.