Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Form and Function of Bipolar Lithic Artifacts from the Three Dog Site, San Salvador, Bahamas

The significance of a microlithic assemblage composed of imported, nonlocal materials is discussed for the Three Dog site, an early Lucayan site located on San Salvador, Bahamas. The Bahama archipelago is an interesting area in which to examine the organization of technology because the islands lack cherts and other suitable materials for chipped stone manufacture, suggesting that economizing strategies may have been practiced. The artifacts were manufactured by bipolar production and a few show evidence of recycling and reuse. Microwear analysis, undertaken to determine function, was inconclusive due to heavy weathering from the depositional environment. Traces of an organic adhesive suggest that some of the objects were used as hafted or composite tools. The presence of starch grains, most likely Xanthosoma sp. , and other plant residues on some artifacts suggests they were used in plant processing. The morphological similarities of the flakes produced through bipolar reduction with those from ethnographic sources suggest that most of them probably were used as grater chips to process root or tuber foods. The assemblage was compared to other bipolarly-produced microlithic assemblages from nearby islands.
Prototype design of a novel modular two-degree-of-freedom variable stiffness actuator

In bio-inspired robotic applications, multiple-degree-of-freedom actuators are often desired. The current state of the art of variable stiffness actuators consist mostly of different concepts for single-degree-of-freedom joints. An innovative Mechanically Adjustable Compliance and Controllable Equilibrium Position Actuator (MACCEPA) concept is presented to specifically accommodate implementation in two-degree-of-freedom joints. A prototype design, based on this concept, is furthermore presented. The working principle and relevant design choices are explained, a zero-dynamic model is derived for future design iterations, and the implementation in a first prototype is discussed.
Comparable sensitivity of postmenopausal and young women to the effects of intranasal insulin on food intake and working memory.

CONTEXT We have previously shown that enhancing brain insulin signaling by intranasal administration of a single dose of the hormone acutely reduces food intake in young men but not women, whereas its improving effects on spatial and working memory are restricted to young women. OBJECTIVE Against the background of animal studies suggesting that low estrogen concentrations are a prerequisite for the anorexigenic impact of central nervous insulin, we extended our foregoing study by assessing intranasal insulin effects in postmenopausal women with comparatively low estrogen concentrations, expecting them to be more sensitive than young women to the anorexigenic effects of the hormone. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTION In a within-subject, double-blind comparison performed at the University of Lübeck, 14 healthy postmenopausal women (body mass index, 23.71±0.6 kg/m2; age, 57.61±1.14 yr) were intranasally administered 160 IU regular human insulin or vehicle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Subjects performed a working memory task (digit span) and a hippocampus-dependent visuospatial memory task. Subsequently, free-choice food intake from an ad libitum breakfast buffet was measured. RESULTS Contrary to expectations, results in postmenopausal women mirrored those found in young women (22.44±0.63 yr), i.e. insulin administration did not affect food intake (P>0.46), but did enhance performance in the prefrontal cortex-dependent working memory task (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Low estrogen levels as present in postmenopausal women do not modulate the effects of intranasal insulin in females, suggesting that in humans as opposed to rats, estrogen signaling does not critically alter central nervous system sensitivity to the effects of insulin on energy homeostasis and cognition.
Glycosidic Flavonoids as Rat-Liver Injury Preventing Compounds from Green Tea

A glycosidic flavonoids-rich fraction from green tea leaves was purified to isolate five glycosidic flavonoids, guided by the detection of a preventive effect on D-galactosamine-induced liver injury in rats. These were identified as a flavone C-glycoside (1) and trisaccharide flavonols (2-5) based on the spectroscopic analyses. These compounds suppressed the D-galactosamine-induced increase of plasma alanine aminotransferase and asparatate aminotransferase activities in rats.
Towards energy-aware job consolidation scheduling in cloud

The requirement in addition to consequences in refining efficiency of energy in cloud applications have enlarged owing to speedy evolution and explosion of data center amenities everywhere in the globe. Virtual machines (VMs) embrace pillar of utmost and are frequently associated on the Physical Machine (PM) towards proficiently employ its assets. Various workload scheduling algorithms are proposed to utilize the resources, however they failed to consider the machine heterogeneity resulting in more energy consumption. To overcome these issues, we introduced Job Consolidation Algorithm (JCA) that efficiently utilize the resource in the cloud considering machine heterogeneity, and we implemented DVFS technique which remains efficiently to produce liable replacement among jobs guaranteeing reduction in energy consumption.
Polymorphisms in 1-Carbon Metabolism, Epigenetics and Folate-Related Pathologies

Folate-mediated 1-carbon metabolism is a network of interconnected metabolic pathways necessary for the synthesis of purine nucleotides, thymidylate and the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. Disruptions in this pathway influence both DNA synthesis and stability and chromatin methylation, and result from nutritional deficiencies and common gene variants. The mechanisms underlying folate-associated pathologies and developmental anomalies have yet to be established. This review focuses on the relationships among folate-mediated 1-carbon metabolism, chromatin methylation and human disease, and the role of gene-nutrient interactions in modifying epigenetic processes.
Mettre les petits agriculteurs au coeur de l’adaptation au changement climatique

Dans le monde, 1,7 milliards d’agriculteurs sont extremement exposes aux consequences du changement climatique. Ceux d’entre eux qui souffrent deja de la faim sont particulierement vulnerables. Le deploiement a une plus grande echelle de methodes de resil Tags: adaptationradar
Emotion-Driven Attention of the robotic manipulator for action selection

The capacity of attention is crucial for robotic manipulator performing many tasks. This paper presents an Emotion-Driven Attention(EDA) model for robotic manipulator action selection, which integrates emotion with the robotic manipulator to manage its attention allocation, and enable it react to emotional social cue appropriately. During the interaction with human, the human's facial expression can be recognized by the robot in the real-time, which is considered as a social cue to trigger a corresponding emotion of the robot by Self-Organizing Map (SOM). Then, the robot's emotion plays as a reinforcement signal to regulate the attention parameters, guiding the robot's visual attention on the identified object and making it behave appropriately according to the human intentions, e.g., grasping or avoiding the object. We estimate the proposal in both simulated situations and interactive scenarios, the robot's simulated attention intensity and the attention behaviors driven by different emotions indicates the effectiveness of the proposal.
Syme's amputation. A review of sixty-seven cases.

1. All traceable Syme amputees attending the Edinburgh limb centre have been seen and reviewed. They number sixty-seven. Forty had amputations twenty-five or more years before. 2. There are seventy-one surviving stumps. One has failed. 3. Records of all the below-knee amputees reveal five further failures of Syme stumps. The causes of failure are discussed. 4. Problems in the Syme stump are rare after the first year. The early difficulties are discussed. 5. We conclude that a patient with Syme9s amputation can expect his stump to give a lifetime of service.
Systematic reviews: guidance relevant for studies of older people

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are increasingly common. This article aims to provide guidance for people conducting systematic reviews relevant to the healthcare of older people. An awareness of these issues will also help people reading systematic reviews to determine whether the results will in ﬂ uence their clinical practice. It is essential that systematic reviews are performed by a team which includes the required technical and clinical expertise. Those performing reviews for the ﬁ rst time should ensure they have appropriate training and support. They must be planned and performed in a transparent and methodologically robust way: guidelines are available. The protocol should be written — and if possible published — before starting the review. Geriatricians will be interested in a table of baseline characteristics, which will help to determine if the studied samples or populations are similar to their patients. Reviews of studies of older people should consider how they will manage issues such as different age cut-offs; non-speci ﬁ c presentations; multiple predictors and outcomes; potential biases and confounders. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses may provide evidence to improve older people ’ s care, or determine where new evidence is required. Newer methodologies, such as meta-analyses of individual level data, network meta-analyses and umbrella reviews, and realist synthesis, may improve the reliability and clinical utility of systematic reviews.
The Potential for Primary Repair of the ACL

The objective of this work is to assess the feasibility of successfully repairing the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Two major motivators for developing a new treatment for ACL injuries are the recently reported high rates of osteoarthritis, after conventional ACL reconstruction, and the problem of how to safely treat skeletally immature patients. A key factor in developing such a technique was the identification of the main inhibitor of intrinsic ACL healing—the lack of clot formation between the 2 torn ends of the ligament. A bioactive and biocompatible scaffold, which could be placed in the wound site to enhance cellular proliferation and biosynthesis, was developed. This biomaterial has shown promising functional outcomes in several large animal models of primary repair of partial and complete ACL transection over 4 to 14 weeks, suggesting potential for a successful, future clinical application.
Site-specific Phosphorylation of Kindlin-3 Protein Regulates Its Capacity to Control Cellular Responses Mediated by Integrin αIIbβ3*

Background: Kindlin-3 regulates integrin activation in hematopoietic cells. Results: Stimulation of cells bearing integrin αIIbβ3 leads to enhanced kindlin-3 phosphorylation and prevention of phosphorylation-inhibited integrin-mediated cellular responses. Conclusion: Phosphorylation is integral to the capacity of kindlin-3 to regulate integrin function. Significance: A post-translational modification has been identified as a key event in the mechanism by which kindlin-3 regulates integrin-dependent responses. The contributions of integrins to cellular responses depend upon their activation, which is regulated by binding of proteins to their cytoplasmic tails. Kindlins are integrin cytoplasmic tail binding partners and are essential for optimal integrin activation, and kindlin-3 fulfills this role in hematopoietic cells. Here, we used human platelets and human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells, which express integrin αIIbβ3, to investigate whether phosphorylation of kindlin-3 regulates integrin activation. When HEL cells were stimulated with thrombopoietin or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), αIIbβ3 became activated as evidenced by binding of an activation-specific monoclonal antibody and soluble fibrinogen, adherence and spreading on fibrinogen, colocalization of β3 integrin and kindlin-3 in focal adhesions, and enhanced β3 integrin-kindlin-3 association in immunoprecipitates. Kindlin-3 knockdown impaired adhesion and spreading on fibrinogen. Stimulation of HEL cells with agonists significantly increased kindlin-3 phosphorylation as detected by mass spectrometric sequencing. Thr482 or Ser484 was identified as a phosphorylation site, which resides in a sequence not conserved in kindlin-1 or kindlin-2. These same residues were phosphorylated in kindlin-3 when platelets were stimulated with thrombin. When expressed in HEL cells, T482A/S484A kindlin-3 decreased soluble ligand binding and cell spreading on fibrinogen compared with wild-type kindlin-3. A membrane-permeable peptide containing residues 476–485 of kindlin-3 was introduced into HEL cells and platelets; adhesion and spreading of both cell types were blunted compared with a scrambled control peptide. These data identify a role of kindlin-3 phosphorylation in integrin β3 activation and provide a basis for functional differences between kindlin-3 and the two other kindlin paralogs.
A Single-Arm, Nonrandomized Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin in Patients With Resectable Pancreas Adenocarcinoma

Background:The role for neoadjuvant systemic therapy in resectable pancreas adenocarcinoma remains undefined. Objective:We evaluated the efficacy of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin administered as preoperative therapy in patients with resectable pancreas adenocarcinoma. Methods:Eligible patients were screened using computed tomography–pancreas angiography, laparoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography, and fine-needle aspiration cytology to identify 38 patients who received 4 cycles of neoadjuvant gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 intravenously over 100 minutes and oxaliplatin 80 mg/m2 intravenously over 2 hours, every 2 weeks. Patients whose tumors remained resectable at restaging proceeded to operation and subsequently received 5 cycles of adjuvant gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2 intravenously over 30 minutes days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks). The primary endpoint was 18-month overall survival and secondary endpoints included radiological, tumor marker and pathological response to neoadjuvant therapy, time to recurrence, patterns of failure, and feasibility of obtaining preoperative core biopsies. Results:Thirty-five of 38 patients (92%) completed neoadjuvant therapy. Twenty-seven patients underwent tumor resection (resectability rate 71%), of which 26 initiated adjuvant therapy for a total of 23 patients (60.5%) who completed all planned therapy. The 18-month survival was 63% (24 patients alive). The median overall survival for all 38 patients was 27.2 months (95% confidence interval: 17–NA) and the median disease-specific survival was 30.6 months (95% confidence interval: 19–NA). Conclusions:This study met its endpoint and provided a signal suggesting that exploration of neoadjuvant systemic therapy is worthy of further investigation in resectable pancreas adenocarcinoma. Improved patient selection and more active systemic regimens are key. Clinical trials identification: NCT00536874.
Complications of androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW To review the current data on adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer and to discuss some considerations when choosing therapy and managing side-effects. RECENT FINDINGS Despite the existing data supporting the use of androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer patients, several questions regarding timing, survival benefit and impact in quality of life remain quite controversial. Although androgen deprivation therapy appears to increase overall survival in select populations with locally advanced and symptomatic metastatic prostate cancer, their side-effects often lead to secondary short and long-term toxicities that negatively impact patient's quality of life and ultimately affect their survival. In addition to the most common side-effects of low testosterone levels such as hot flushes, lack of libido, erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia and bone mineral density loss, recent studies have confirmed the detrimental effects of low testosterone states on patient's cardiac risk profile and development of metabolic syndrome ultimately leading to an increase risk of diabetes, hyperlipidemia and heart disease. SUMMARY Long-term use of androgen deprivation in prostate cancer patients continues to increase. Timing of therapy should be optimized based on each individual's prostate cancer natural history and medical risk profile. Emphasis should be placed on quality of life concerns, with adequate pretreatment education of anticipated side-effects, individualization of therapy, and review of strategies for prevention of side-effects.
Oncogenic transformation induced by the p110β, -γ, and -δ isoforms of class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase

Class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase contains four isoforms of the catalytic subunit, p110α, -β, -γ, and -δ. At physiological levels of expression, the wild-type p110α isoform lacks oncogenic potential, but gain-of-function mutations and overexpression of p110α are correlated with oncogenicity. The p110β, -γ, and -δ isoforms induce transformation of cultured cells as wild-type proteins. This oncogenic potential requires kinase activity and can be suppressed by the target of rapamycin inhibitor rapamycin. The p110δ isoform constitutively activates the Akt signaling pathway; p110γ activates Akt only in the presence of serum. The isoforms differ in their requirements for upstream signaling. The transforming activity of the p110γ isoform depends on rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Ras) binding; preliminary data suggest the same for p110β and indicate Ras-independent oncogenic potential of p110δ. The surprising oncogenic potential of the wild-type non-α isoforms of class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase may explain the dearth of cancer-specific mutations in these proteins, because these non-α isoforms could contribute to the oncogenic phenotype of the cell by differential expression.
Core-PC: A Class of Correlative Power Control Algorithms for Single Channel Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper we study the correlations that exist between the required transmission power of RTS, CTS, DATA and ACK frames to guarantee a successful 4-way handshake in wireless ad hoc networks based on the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF). From these correlations, and starting from a set of different initial conditions, we can derive a class of power controlled media access control (MAC) algorithms for single channel ad hoc networks based on the existing IEEE 802.11 DCF. From substantial simulations of the different algorithms and comparison to some prominent alternatives, we come to a conclusion that contradicts the intuitively sound, commonly held belief which states that sending control frames at maximum power - to reduce interference on the long data frames - then, the ensuing long data frames at a lower, yet sufficient power level decreases power consumption per carried bit.
Pharmacologyonline 2 : 197-214 ( 2008 ) Newsletter Potawale

Uncaria tomentosa, commonly known as “Cats Claw” belonging to the family Rubiaceae is a woody long vine that grows in highlands of the Amazonian rain forest. Uncaria tomentosa inner bark extract is a popular plant remedy used in folk medicine to treat tumor and anti-inflammatory process. The aqueous and hyrdoalcoholic extracts from the bark are also used in the treatment of other different health problems like rheumatism, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, weakness, viral infections (including AIDS), skin impurities and as contraceptives. The ethnomedicinal uses are as an antioxidant, has antiapoptic properties and can enhance DNA repair. The efficacy of cat’s claw originally believed to be due to presence of oxindole alkaloids. In majority of the latest studies high biological activity of cat’s claw is attributed to unique tetracyclic and pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids.
A large magmatic sill complex beneath the Toba caldera

Imaging before an unimaginable eruption Volcanic super-eruptions eject thousands of times the volume of the largest documented eruptions over human history. Several “supervolcanoes” capable of this type of unimaginable devastation dot the surface of Earth today. Jaxybulatov et al. use seismic background noise to estimate the size and maturity of one of the world's largest volcanic reservoirs, the Toba caldera in northern Sumatra. Magma storage under the caldera occurs slowly over time, in the form of horizontal layers of magma injected into the crust. These magmatic sills are documented to 20 kilometers below the surface, but more sills could exist even deeper. The characterization of magma storage in large volcanic systems may help us to prepare for future volcanic super-eruptions. Science, this issue p. 617 Ambient noise tomography images the magma distribution of a large volcanic reservoir under the Toba caldera. An understanding of the formation of large magmatic reservoirs is a key issue for the evaluation of possible strong volcanic eruptions in the future. We estimated the size and level of maturity of one of the largest volcanic reservoirs, based on radial seismic anisotropy. We used ambient-noise seismic tomography below the Toba caldera (in northern Sumatra) to observe the anisotropy that we interpret as the expression of a fine-scale layering caused by the presence of many partially molten sills in the crust below 7 kilometers. This result demonstrates that the magmatic reservoirs of present (non-eroded) supervolcanoes can be formed as large sill complexes and supports the concept of the long-term incremental evolution of magma bodies that lead to the largest volcanic eruptions.
Prolonged Duration of Initial Empirical Antibiotic Treatment Is Associated With Increased Rates of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Death for Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

OBJECTIVES. Our objectives were to identify factors associated with the duration of the first antibiotic course initiated in the first 3 postnatal days and to assess associations between the duration of the initial antibiotic course and subsequent necrotizing enterocolitis or death in extremely low birth weight infants with sterile initial postnatal culture results. METHODS. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of extremely low birth weight infants admitted to tertiary centers in 1998–2001. We defined initial empirical antibiotic treatment duration as continuous days of antibiotic therapy started in the first 3 postnatal days with sterile culture results. We used descriptive statistics to characterize center practice, bivariate analyses to identify factors associated with prolonged empirical antibiotic therapy (≥5 days), and multivariate analyses to evaluate associations between therapy duration, prolonged empirical therapy, and subsequent necrotizing enterocolitis or death. RESULTS. Of 5693 extremely low birth weight infants admitted to 19 centers, 4039 (71%) survived >5 days, received initial empirical antibiotic treatment, and had sterile initial culture results through the first 3 postnatal days. The median therapy duration was 5 days (range: 1–36 days); 2147 infants (53%) received prolonged empirical therapy (center range: 27%–85%). Infants who received prolonged therapy were less mature, had lower Apgar scores, and were more likely to be black. In multivariate analyses adjusted for these factors and center, prolonged therapy was associated with increased odds of necrotizing enterocolitis or death and of death. Each empirical treatment day was associated with increased odds of death, necrotizing enterocolitis, and the composite measure of necrotizing enterocolitis or death. CONCLUSION. Prolonged initial empirical antibiotic therapy may be associated with increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis or death and should be used with caution.