Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EULAR revised recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia

Objective The original European League Against Rheumatism recommendations for managing fibromyalgia assessed evidence up to 2005. The paucity of studies meant that most recommendations were ‘expert opinion’. Methods A multidisciplinary group from 12 countries assessed evidence with a focus on systematic reviews and meta-analyses concerned with pharmacological/non-pharmacological management for fibromyalgia. A review, in May 2015, identified eligible publications and key outcomes assessed were pain, fatigue, sleep and daily functioning. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system was used for making recommendations. Results 2979 titles were identified: from these 275 full papers were selected for review and 107 reviews (and/or meta-analyses) evaluated as eligible. Based on meta-analyses, the only ‘strong for’ therapy-based recommendation in the guidelines was exercise. Based on expert opinion, a graduated approach, the following four main stages are suggested underpinned by shared decision-making with patients. Initial management should involve patient education and focus on non-pharmacological therapies. In case of non-response, further therapies (all of which were evaluated as ‘weak for’ based on meta-analyses) should be tailored to the specific needs of the individual and may involve psychological therapies (for mood disorders and unhelpful coping strategies), pharmacotherapy (for severe pain or sleep disturbance) and/or a multimodal rehabilitation programme (for severe disability). Conclusions These recommendations are underpinned by high-quality reviews and meta-analyses. The size of effect for most treatments is relatively modest. We propose research priorities clarifying who will benefit from specific interventions, their effect in combination and organisation of healthcare systems to optimise outcome.
Assessing Primary Neurogenesis in Xenopus Embryos Using Immunostaining

Primary neurogenesis is a dynamic and complex process during embryonic development that sets up the initial layout of the central nervous system. During this process, a portion of neural stem cells undergo differentiation and give rise to the first populations of differentiated primary neurons within the nascent central nervous system. Several vertebrate model organisms have been used to explore the mechanisms of neural cell fate specification, patterning, and differentiation. Among these is the African clawed frog, Xenopus, which provides a powerful system for investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for primary neurogenesis due to its rapid and accessible development and ease of embryological and molecular manipulations. Here, we present a convenient and rapid method to observe the different populations of neuronal cells within Xenopus central nervous system. Using antibody staining and immunofluorescence on sections of Xenopus embryos, we are able to observe the locations of neural stem cells and differentiated primary neurons during primary neurogenesis.
Structure, molecular biology, and pathology of collagen.

Find loads of the structure molecular biology and pathology of collagen annals of the new york academy of sciences book catalogues in this site as the choice of you visiting this page. You can also join to the website book library that will show you numerous books from any types. Literature, science, politics, and many more catalogues are presented to offer you the best book to find. The book that really makes you feels satisfied. Or that's the book that will save you from your job deadline.
The AMPK β2 Subunit Is Required for Energy Homeostasis during Metabolic Stress

ABSTRACT AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a key role in the regulatory network responsible for maintaining systemic energy homeostasis during exercise or nutrient deprivation. To understand the function of the regulatory β2 subunit of AMPK in systemic energy metabolism, we characterized β2 subunit-deficient mice. Using these mutant mice, we demonstrated that the β2 subunit plays an important role in regulating glucose, glycogen, and lipid metabolism during metabolic stress. The β2 mutant animals failed to maintain euglycemia and muscle ATP levels during fasting. In addition, β2-deficient animals showed classic symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance when maintained on a high-fat diet (HFD), and were unable to maintain muscle ATP levels during exercise. Cell surface-associated glucose transporter levels were reduced in skeletal muscle from β2 mutant animals on an HFD. In addition, they displayed poor exercise performance and impaired muscle glycogen metabolism. These mutant mice had decreased activation of AMPK and deficits in PGC1α-mediated transcription in skeletal muscle. Our results highlight specific roles of AMPK complexes containing the β2 subunit and suggest the potential utility of AMPK isoform-specific pharmacological modulators for treatment of metabolic, cardiac, and neurological disorders.
Association of periodontal disease to anxiety and depression symptoms, and psychosocial stress factors.

OBJECTIVE A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate if anxiety, depression and hopelessness symptoms are associated with periodontal disease. METHOD A total of 160 subjects took part in this study. Probing depth and clinical attachment level were recorded at six sites per tooth and the gingival and plaque indices were also recorded. The instruments used to assess the psychological variables (anxiety, depression, stress, psychiatric symptoms and hopelessness) were: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Life Events Scale modified by Savoia, the Self-Report Screening Questionnaire-20 and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. RESULTS There was no difference in scale score means between patients with and without established periodontitis. Results of the Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis model that included age, plaque index, smoking and psychological factors showed that patients with psychiatric symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.33-4.78), depression symptoms (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.15-2.21) and with hopelessness (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.13-3.84) were not at a greater risk of developing established periodontitis. CONCLUSION In this sample, no evidence was found for an association between depression, hopelessness, psychiatric symptoms and established periodontitis. The association of periodontal disease to depression, anxiety and stress should be investigated in psychiatric populations, especially in those with depression and anxiety disorders.
Soft-switching single-stage AC-to-DC converter with low harmonic distortion

A 1 /spl phi/ high-frequency (HF) transformer isolated, soft-switching single-stage ac-dc converter with low line-current harmonic distortion is presented. Its operation is explained with equivalent circuits for the various intervals. The converter is analyzed and design curves are obtained. An optimization parameter is introduced and a systematic design procedure is illustrated with a design example. Detailed SPICE simulation and experimental results of a 500 W converter with load as well as line voltage variation are given to verify theory. The proposed converter employs a zero-voltage transition (ZVT) network to ensure zero-voltage switching (ZVS) at all loads, and natural power factor correction is ensured using a simple control circuit.
The Influence of Muscle Fiber Size and Type Distribution on Electromyographic Measures of Back Muscle Fatigability

Study Design. This was a cross‐sectional study carried out on a group of 31 healthy, consenting volunteers with no history of low back pain (17 men, 14 women). Objectives. To evaluate the relationship between electromyographic measures of erector spinae fatigability and the muscle's fiber type characteristics. Summary of Background Data. Using electromyographic techniques, a pronounced fatigability of the muscles of patients with low back pain has been identified. It has been postulated that this is the result of an unfavorable back muscle fiber type distribution, although an association between electromyographic measures of fatigue and the muscle's fiber type characteristics has never been established. Methods. Two tests of back extensor fatigability were performed (on separate days), each to the limit of endurance: 1) maintenance of 60% total maximum voluntary contraction of the back extensors, and 2) performance of the Biering‐Sørensen test. Pairs of surface electrodes were attached to the skin overlying the belly of the erector spinae, bilaterally, at T10 and L3. The median frequency was computed from the electromyographic power spectrum, and fatigability was given by the slope of the linear regression of median frequency on time (MFgrad; %.s−1). One week later, two percutaneous erector spinae muscle biopsy samples were obtained from the same sites described for electromyography (left side only). Samples were prepared for histochemistry for the identification of muscle fiber types. Fiber sizes (cross‐sectional areas) were quantified using computerized image analysis. Results. The mean fiber size at each erector spinae region showed a significant correlation with maximum back extensor strength. In the thoracic region, the relative area of the muscle occupied by Type I fibers (which accounts for the relative size and distribution of the fiber types) showed a significant relationship with MFgrad recorded during each fatigue test. A similar relationship was observed for the lumbar region, but for the Biering‐Sørensen test only. Conclusions. The electromyographic changes recorded in back muscles during fatigue appear to be related to the underlying muscle fiber type area distribution. This confirms the usefulness of electromyography in reflecting such muscle characteristics in a noninvasive manner, when monitoring changes in function consequent to the development of, or rehabilitation from, low back pain.
Aging‐related deficits in orexin/hypocretin modulation of the septohippocampal cholinergic system

The medial septum (MS) of the basal forebrain contains cholinergic neurons that project to the hippocampus, support cognitive function, and are implicated in age‐related cognitive decline. Hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin neurons innervate and modulate basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and provide direct inputs to the hippocampus. However, the precise role of orexin in modulating hippocampal cholinergic transmission—and how these interactions are altered in aging—is unknown. Here, orexin A was administered to CA1 and the MS of young (3–4 months) and aged (27–29 months) Fisher 344/Brown Norway rats, and hippocampal acetylcholine efflux was analyzed by in vivo microdialysis. At both infusion sites, orexin A dose‐dependently increased hippocampal acetylcholine in young, but not aged rats. Moreover, immunohistochemical characterization of the MS revealed no change in cholinergic cell bodies in aged animals, but a significant decrease in orexin fiber innervation to cholinergic cells. These findings indicate that: (1) Orexin A modulates hippocampal cholinergic neurotransmission directly and transsynaptically in young animals, (2) Aged animals are unresponsive to orexin A, and (3) Aged animals undergo an intrinsic reduction in orexin innervation to cholinergic cells within the MS. Alterations in orexin regulation of septohippocampal cholinergic activity may contribute to age‐related dysfunctions in arousal, learning, and memory. Synapse, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reasons for pediatrician nonadherence to asthma guidelines.

BACKGROUND The 1997 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) asthma guidelines include recommendations on how to improve the quality of care for asthma. OBJECTIVE To identify barriers to physician adherence to the NHLBI guidelines. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS A national random sample of 829 primary care pediatricians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported adherence to 4 components of the NHLBI guidelines (steroid prescription, instructing peak flow meter use, screening and counseling patients with asthma for smoking, and screening and counseling parents for smoking). We also collected information on physician demographics, practice characteristics, and possible barriers to adherence. We defined adherence as following a guideline component more than 90% of the time. RESULTS The response rate was 55% (456/829). Most of the responding pediatricians were aware of the guidelines (88%) and reported having access to a copy of the guidelines (81%). Self-reported rates of adherence were between 39% and 53% for the guideline components. After controlling for demographics and other barriers, we found that nonadherence was associated with specific barriers for each guideline component: for corticosteroid prescription, lack of agreement (odds ratio [OR], 6.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2-14.4); for peak flow meter use, lack of self-efficacy (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.9-6.1) and lack of outcome expectancy (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 2.5-8.9); and for screening and counseling of patients and parents for smoking, lack of self-efficacy (OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.7-6.2 and OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.3-5.9, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Although pediatricians in this sample were aware of the NHLBI guidelines, a variety of barriers precluded their successful use. To improve NHLBI guideline adherence, tailored interventions that address the barriers characteristic of a given guideline component need to be implemented.
Distributed gain allocation in non-regenerative multiuser multihop MIMO networks

In this work, we study distributed gain allocation to maximize the achievable sum-rate in non-regenerative multihop networks with multiple users and multi-antenna nodes. The source and relay nodes are constrained to forward linear transformations of their input and calculate their transformation matrices based on locally available channel state information and limited feedback from the destination. We relax the optimization problem by imposing a norm constraint instead of a power constraint on each node, and devise a gain allocation scheme that is based on an approximation of the gradient of the sum-rate. By means of computer simulations, we show that the proposed algorithm achieves close to optimal solutions, if a good initialization is provided. This makes the scheme particularly useful for channel tracking in slow fading environments.
Development of multiple monolithic fiber solid-phase microextraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the sensitive monitoring of aminoglycosides in honey and milk samples.

A simple and sensitive method for the simultaneous extraction and determination of six aminoglycosides in honey and milk samples was developed using multiple monolithic fiber solid-phase microextraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The multiple monolithic fibers based on poly(methacrylic acid-co-ethylenedimethacrylate) monolith as the extraction medium was used to concentrate target analytes. Because there were abundant carboxyl groups in the monolith, the monolithic fibers could extract aminoglycosides effectively through cation-exchange and hydrophobic interactions. To obtain optimum extraction performance, several extraction parameters including desorption solvent, adsorption and desorption time, pH value and ionic strength in sample matrix, were investigated in detail. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the limits of detection of the proposed method were 0.10-0.30 and 0.23-0.59 μg/kg for honey and milk samples, respectively. Satisfactory linearity was achieved for analytes with the coefficients of determination above 0.99. At the same time, the developed method showed acceptable method repeatability and reproducibility. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of aminoglycosides in real honey and milk samples. Recoveries obtained for the determination of six target analytes in spiking samples ranged from 67.9 to 110%, and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.2-11%.
A method about antenna layout optimization on particle swarm optimization

Isolation between antennas is a key factor on the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) about aircraft. The optimization about antenna layout on airborne is a main method to solve the isolations problem. However, it is hard to find a compromising point to optimize antenna layout. Because when the position of antenna A is adjusted to optimize isolation with antenna B, it also affects isolation with other antennas. To solve above problem, a method about antenna layout optimization is proposed in this paper that FEKO7.0 is called by MATLAB based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO), which can optimize antenna layout on airborne. The PSO is realized, so that the optimal parameters can be adjusted. To consider the antennas working at different frequency bands at the same time, the “Less Design Rate” method is introduced to set the objective function of PSO. Above all, the method can improve optimal speed on the premise of ensuring the optimal effect. The accuracy of the method can be verified by dipole antennas.
Structural insights into the Slit-Robo complex

Slits are large multidomain leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-containing proteins that provide crucial guidance cues in neuronal and vascular development. More recently, Slits have been implicated in heart morphogenesis, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. Slits are ligands for the Robo (Roundabout) receptors, which belong to the Ig superfamily of transmembrane signaling molecules. The Slit-Robo interaction is mediated by the second LRR domain of Slit and the two N-terminal Ig domains of Robo, but the molecular details of this interaction and how it induces signaling remain unclear. Here we describe the crystal structures of the second LRR domain of human Slit2 (Slit2 D2), the first two Ig domains of its receptor Robo1 (Ig1–2), and the minimal complex between these proteins (Slit2 D2-Robo1 Ig1). Slit2 D2 binds with its concave surface to the side of Ig1 with electrostatic and hydrophobic contact regions mediated by residues that are conserved in other family members. Surface plasmon resonance experiments and a mutational analysis of the interface confirm that Ig1 is the primary domain for binding Slit2. These structures provide molecular insight into Slit-Robo complex formation and will be important for the development of novel cancer therapeutics.
Symmetrical Dynamics of Current-Mode Controlled Switching DC-DC converters

Peak Current-Mode (PCM) and Valley Current-Mode (VCM) controlled switching dc-dc converters have symmetrical dynamical behaviors within a wide circuit parameter variation range. To investigate the symmetrical dynamical behaviors between PCM and VCM controlled switching dc-dc converters, the iterative map models and inductor current borderlines that exist in the bifurcation diagrams of both PCM and VCM controlled buck, boost, and buck-boost converters are established. The research results of bifurcation behaviors indicate that the bifurcation diagrams of PCM and VCM controlled switching dc-dc converters have symmetrical dynamical behaviors corresponding to a symmetrical point (SP). The simulation results show that time-domain waveforms of PCM and VCM controlled switching dc-dc converters working in periodic orbits have symmetrical axis and SP, and the SP also exists in corresponding phase portraits. Experimental results are given to verify the analysis and simulation results in this paper.
Fully automatic perceptual modeling of near regular textures

Near regular textures feature a relatively high degree of regularity. They can be conveniently modeled by the combination of a suitable set of textons and a placement rule. The main issues in this respect are the selection of the minimum set of textons bringing the variability of the basic patterns; the identification and positioning of the generating lattice; and the modelization of the variability in both the texton structure and the deviation from periodicity of the lattice capturing the naturalness of the considered texture. In this contribution, we provide a fully automatic solution to both the analysis and the synthesis issues leading to the generation of textures samples that are perceptually indistinguishable from the original ones. The definition of an ad-hoc periodicity index allows to predict the suitability of the model for a given texture. The model is validated through psychovisual experiments providing the conditions for subjective equivalence among the original and synthetic textures, while allowing to determine the minimum number of textons to be used to meet such a requirement for a given texture class. This is of prime importance in model-based coding applications, as is the one we foresee, as it allows to minimize the amount of information to be transmitted to the receiver.
A Spider‐Web‐Like Highly Expandable Sensor Network for Multifunctional Materials

www.MaterialsViews. com C O M M A Spider-Web-Like Highly Expandable Sensor Network for Multifunctional Materials U N IC A By Giulia Lanzara , * Nathan Salowitz , Zhiqiang Guo , and Fu-Kuo Chang IO N The skin of living animals is an inspiration for the next generation of materials, devices, and structures. Human skin is sensitive to pressure, strain, and temperature; [ 1 , 2 ] dolphins or bats drastically reduce drag by sensing fl uid fl ow [ 3–5 ] and adapting either their skin shape [ 6 , 7 ] or rigidity; [ 8 ] and snakes use their skin to detect vibrations. [ 9 ] The fundamental common factor in these examples is that the living tissue is integrated with a network of distributed nanoor microscale sensors and actuators. To mimic such systems, novel materials and devices, such as paperlike displays, [ 10–12 ]
A Scanning Electron Microscopic Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Etidronic Acid, SmearClear and MTAD in Removing the Intracanal Smear Layer

Statement of the Problem: Root canal therapy should not simply be the extirpation of the pulp and widening of the canal. But one should also focus on how to completely remove the loosely-attached smear layer because it has adverse effects on the final outcome of the treatment. Purpose: This study compared the efficacy of Etidronic acid, SmearClear and MTAD to remove the smear layer created during instrumentation in different regions of the root canal. Materials and Method: Fifty single-rooted mandibular premolars were decoronated from the cementoenamel junction and instrumented using the ProTaper universal rotary file system along with copious irrigation by 1.0% sodium hypochlorite and distilled water. On the basis of the type of chelating agent used for irrigation, samples (n=10) were then randomized into five groups as: Group I- 9% etidronic acid, Group II- 18% etidronic acid, Group III- SmearClear, Group IV- MTAD and Group V- normal saline. Subsequent to irrigation, all samples were rinsed, dried and sectioned longitudinally for evaluation of the smear layer removal under scanning electron microscope (2000X). Data were statistically analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test with statistical significance set at p< 0.5. Results: The result showed that SmearClear was the most efficient in removing the smear layer. However, etidronic acid was found inferior than both SmearClear and MTAD. Conclusion: Chelators are essential for complete smear layer removal in association with organic solvent.