Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Galanin antagonist effects on cardiac vagal inhibitory actions of sympathetic stimulation in anaesthetized cats and dogs.

1. Galantide, a putative galanin antagonist composed of twenty amino acids, caused a significant reduction in the vagal attenuating action of galanin injection (20 micrograms/kg; 6.2 nmol/kg) in anaesthetized cats at both ten times (137 micrograms/kg; 62 nmol/kg) and twenty‐five times (343 micrograms/kg: 156 nmol/kg) the molar dose of galanin. Galantide did not block the depressor action of galanin in these animals. 2. Galantide, at both doses, also significantly reduced the vagal attenuating action of a 5 min period of cardiac sympathetic stimulation at 16 Hz in anaesthetized cats. 3. In anaesthetized dogs, galantide, at the same dose used in cats (137 micrograms/kg; 62 nmol/kg) had no significant effect on the vagal attenuation evoked by cardiac sympathetic stimulation or injection of neuropeptide Y (35 micrograms/kg; 8.2 nmol/kg). 4. This study therefore demonstrates antagonist properties of galantide on the vagal inhibitory action of galanin. It supports the hypothesis that the vagal inhibitory factor released by cardiac sympathetic nerve stimulation in the cat, but not the dog, is galanin, although it does not exclude the possibility of other factors playing a more minor role. Because galantide was not shown to block the depressor action of galanin, this study also suggests that there may be more than one galanin receptor subtype.
Retrospective motion correction protocol for high‐resolution anatomical MRI

Modern computational brain morphology methods require that anatomical images be acquired at high resolution and with a high signal‐to‐noise ratio. This often translates into long acquisition times (>20 minutes) and images susceptible to head motion. In this study we tested retrospective motion correction (RMC), common for functional MRI (fMRI) and PET image motion correction, as a means to improve the quality of high‐resolution 3‐D anatomical MR images. RMC methods are known to be effective for correcting interscan motion; therefore, a single high‐resolution 3‐D MRI brain study was divided into six shorter acquisition segments to help shift intrascan motion into interscan motion. To help reduce intrascan head motion, each segment image was reviewed for motion artifacts and repeated if necessary. Interscan motion correction was done by spatially registering images to the third image and forming a single average motion‐corrected image. RMC was tested on 35 subjects who were considered at high risk for head motion. Our results show that RMC provided better contrast‐to‐noise ratio and boundary detail when compared to nonmotion‐corrected averaged images. Hum Brain Mapp, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hybrid Speciation in Experimental Populations of Yeast

Most models of speciation require gradual change and geographic or ecological isolation for new species to arise. Homoploid hybrid speciation occurred readily between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus. Hybrids had high self-fertility (about 82%), low fertility when backcrossed to either parental species (about 7.5%), and vigorous growth under different thermal environments that favored one or the other of the parental species. Extensive karyotypic changes (tetrasomy) were observed in the hybrids, although genic incompatibilities accounted for 50% of the variation in self-fertility.
Structure and function of E. coli ribosomes. V. Reconstitution of functionally active 30S ribosomal particles from RNA and proteins.

Ribosomes are structurally complex cell organelles consisting of ribosomal RNA and a number of different protein molecules. The complexity of these particles raises two major questions: What is the relationship between structure and function of the ribosome, and what is the mechanism of assembly of the ribosome? It is obvious that the study of these two questions would be greatly aided if a method could be found for assembling active ribosomes from their dissociated macromolecular constituents. Partial dissociation of ribosomes into inactive smaller ribonucleoprotein particles ("core" particles) and proteins ("split proteins") and the reconstitution of functionally active ribosomal particles from these components were reported previously.1-3 This system has been used in this laboratory to study the two problems mentioned above. Split proteins were fractionated and various artificial ribosome derivatives deficient in specific protein components were prepared.4-6 Analysis of the activity of these particles has revealed the functional significance of each of the purified ribosomal split proteins. Some proteins have been shown to be essential for ribosomal functions, others to be dispensable but to have stimulatory activity in in vitro polypeptide synthesis. It has also been shown that assembly of ribosomes from the split proteins and the core particles is spontaneous, supporting the hypothesis of spontaneous self
Import-Associated Measles Outbreak Including Hospital- and Clinic-Based Transmission in the Non-Endemic Hokkaido District, Japan, 2014.

Accepted July 15, 2015. DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID. 2015.237 *Corresponding author: Mailing address: Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, North 19 West 12, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan. Tel: +81-11-747-2764, Fax: +81-11-747-2757, E-mail: miyo@iph.pref. hokkaido.jp Table 1. Laboratory diagnoses of suspected cases of measles performed in commercial laboratories and prefectural or municipal Public Health Institutes in Hokkaido district, Japan, 2014
Familial Predisposition to Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Background Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common birth defect and is thought to have genetic contributions to the phenotype. It is likely that DDH is genetically heterogeneous with environmental modifiers. The Utah Population Database (UPDB) is a computerized integration of pedigrees, vital statistics, and medical records representing over 6 million individuals, and is a unique resource providing the ability to search for familial factors beyond the nuclear family, decreasing the effect of a shared environment. The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of relationship between individuals with DDH. Methods Datasets were created from UPDB statewide birth certificates and from the University of Utah Health Sciences Center enterprise data warehouse using records for DDH and linked to the UPDB. Controls for the dataset were selected that matched cases on birth year and sex and 10 controls were selected per case. Statistics computed for each family were the number of descendants, the observed number of affected, the expected number of affected, P value, familial standardize incidence ratio, relative risks (RRs), and standard error. A kinship analysis tool was used to find pedigrees with excess DDH. Results The combined data resulted in 1649 distinct individuals with DDH. RR was significantly increased in first-degree relatives (RR=12.1; P<0.000001), siblings (RR=11.9; P<0.000001) and first cousins (RR=1.7; P=0.04). A total of 468 families were identified with at least 5 affected individuals in a family. These results were then filtered to only contain families that had a P value of less than 0.01. This resulted in 141 founders with anywhere between 4 and 30 affected living descendants with a P value of less than 0.01 with family sizes ranging from 594 to 44,819 descendants. A total of 28 founders had a familial standardize incidence ratio of greater than 5.0. Conclusions These data suggest a genetic contribution to DDH with a 12-fold increase in risk for first-degree relatives. Better phenotypic characterization and classification will be critical for future genetic analyses. Level of Evidence Prognostic level II.
A double-blind methodology for biofeedback research.

A number of investigators have suggested that the beneficial effects attributed to biofeedback (BF) might be due, in part, to placebo factors. The double-blind design is well-suited to test this hypothesis; however, the major difficulty has been to devise a system to present undetectable placebo BF and simultaneously keep the experimenter “blind” while he conducts BF training in his normal fashion. The system described accomplished this objective when tested on 29 opiate addicts who received 14 sessions of contingent or noncontingent EEG/EMG BF training for symptom reduction during detoxification. The 4 experimenters could not determine subject status at better than chance levels, and the 29 addicts were equally unsuccessful in determining their own status. Although contingent subjects demonstrated more control over EMG activity, no difference in therapeutic outcome was observed between the groups under double-blind conditions. These findings demonstrate that the procedures used to implement the double-blind biofeedback system were highly effective, and that the integrity of the system was maintained under clinical treatment conditions.
Climate Change and Culture History in the Grand Canyon Region

In order to appreciate a given culture or phase of culture at one point in time it is important to have a knowledge of the possibilities that are open to its bearers through the environment. An awareness of the environment and its changes is even more important in order to understand the dynamics of the culture history of any area. It is with this objective, a more complete knowledge of the climate of a particular region with an attempt at understanding its culture history, that this paper has been written.
Cascade Neural-Network-Based Fault Classifier for Three-Phase Induction Motor

Induction motors are subject to different faults which, if undetected, may lead to serious machine failures. From the scrupulous review of related works, it is observed that neuro-fuzzy and neural network (NN)-based fault-detection schemes are performed well for large machines and they are not only expensive but also complex. In this paper, the authors developed the radial-basis-function-multilayer-perceptron cascade-connection NN-based fault-detection scheme for the small and medium sizes of three-phase induction motors. Stator winding interturn short, rotor eccentricity, and both faults simultaneously are selected for demonstration. Simple statistical parameters of stator current are considered as input features. Principal component analysis is used to select suitable inputs to the network. Experimental results are included to show the ability of the proposed classifier for detecting faults. Moreover, the network is tested for the robustness to the uniform and Gaussian noises. Having good classification accuracy with enough robustness to noises, the proposed classifier is suitable for the real-world applications.
Analysis of microRNAs expressions in chondrosarcoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non‐coding RNAs capable of inhibiting gene expression post‐transcriptionally and expression profiling can provide therapeutic targets and tools for cancer diagnosis. Chondrosarcoma is a mesenchymal tumor with unknown cause and differentiation status. Here, we profiled miRNA expression of chondrosarcoma, namely clinical samples from human conventional chondrosarcoma tissue, established chondrosarcoma cell lines, and primary non‐tumorous adult articular chondrocytes, by miRNA array and quantitative real‐time PCR. A wide variety of miRNAs were differently downregulated in chondrosarcoma compared to non‐tumorous articular chondrocytes; 27 miRNAs: miR‐10b, 23b, 24‐1*, 27b, 100, 134, 136, 136*, 138, 181d, 186, 193b, 221*, 222, 335, 337‐5p, 376a, 376a*, 376b, 376c, 377, 454, 495, 497, 505, 574‐3p, and 660, were significantly downregulated in chondrosarcoma and only 2: miR‐96 and 183, were upregulated. We further validated the expression levels of miRNAs by quantitative real‐time PCR for miR‐181a, let‐7a, 100, 222, 136, 376a, and 335 in extended number of chondrosarcoma clinical samples. Among them, all except miR‐181a were found to be significantly downregulated in chondrosarcoma derived samples. The findings provide potential diagnostic value and new molecular understanding of chondrosarcoma. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1992–1998, 2013
An Update on Chronic Wounds and The Role of Biofilms

Background: Chronic wounds cause significant morbidity and mortality and cost our health care system millions of dollars each year. A major impediment to wound healing is the formation of bacterial biofilms. Biofilms are communities of bacteria associated with chronic infections. Objective: This article reviews the literature on chronic wounds and biofilms. The role of biofilms in chronic wounds is not widely known. The purpose is to increase awareness of their role and to discuss research into novel therapeutic options. Methods: PubMed searches were performed to identify publications on chronic wounds and biofilms. Results: Biofilms contribute to chronic wound nonhealing. There is an abundance of research into novel antibiofilm strategies for chronic wounds. Conclusion: Current research is being targeted at antibiofilm strategies needed to restore an optimal wound-healing environment. A combined treatment approach involving aggressive débridement and the addition of antibiofilm agents is needed.
Complications of Plantar Fascia Rupture Associated with Corticosteroid Injection

From 1992 to 1995, 765 patients with a clinical diagnosis of plantar fasciitis were evaluated by one of the authors. Fifty-one patients were diagnosed with plantar fascia rupture, and 44 of these ruptures were associated with corticosteroid injection. The authors injected 122 of the 765 patients, resulting in 12 of the 44 plantar fascia ruptures. Subjective and objective evaluations were conducted through chart and radiographic review. Thirty-nine of these patients were evaluated at an average 27-month follow-up. Thirty patients (68%) reported a sudden onset of tearing at the heel, and 14 (32%) had a gradual onset of symptoms. In most cases the original heel pain was relieved by rupture. However, these patients subsequently developed new problems including longitudinal arch strain, lateral and dorsal midfoot strain, lateral plantar nerve dysfunction, stress fracture, hammertoe deformity, swelling, and/or antalgia. All patients exhibited diminished tension of the plantar fascia upon examination by the stretch test. Comparison of calcaneal pitch angles in the affected and uninvolved foot showed a statistically significant difference of 3.7° (P = 0.0001). Treatment included NSAIDs, rest or cross-training, stretching, orthotics, and boot-brace immobilization. At an average 27-month follow-up, 50% had good/excellent scores and 50% had fair/poor scores. Recovery time was varied. Ten feet were asymptomatic by 6 months post rupture, four feet by 12 months post rupture, and 26 feet remained symptomatic 1 year post rupture. Our findings demonstrate that plantar fascia rupture after corticosteroid injection may result in long-term sequelae that are difficult to resolve.
Cutaneous epithelioid angiosarcoma: A potential diagnostic trap for cytopathologists

We report on the cytologic features of a rare case of cutaneous epithelioid angiosarcoma of the scalp occurring in a 65‐yr‐old Chinese male. The prominent epithelioid features may cytologically mimic poorly‐differentiated carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and even epithelioid sarcoma. Recognition of subtle cytologic features of vasoproliferation, immunohistochemical demonstration of endothelial markers, and ultrastructural examination are necessary before a final conclusion may be drawn. Diagn. Cytopathol. 16:160–167, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Isoflurane alters angiotensin II-induced Ca2+ mobilization in aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats: implication of cytoskeleton.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin II (AngII) is a potent vasoconstrictor involved in the short-term control of arterial blood pressure. Isoflurane was reported to decrease vascular tone through an alteration of vascular smooth muscle cell vasomotor response to several agonists, but its effect on AngII signaling is not known. On the other hand, vascular response to AngII is altered in hypertension. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that (1) isoflurane alters AngII-induced intracellular Ca mobilization in aortic vascular smooth muscle cell from Wistar Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats, and (2) this effect could be associated with an alteration of the organization of microtubular network, reported to be involved in AngII signaling. METHODS The effect of 0.5-3% isoflurane was studied (1) on AngII (10 m)-induced intracellular Ca mobilization, intracellular Ca release from internal stores, and Ca influx in Fura-2 loaded cultured aortic vascular smooth muscle cell isolated from 6-week-old Wistar Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats, using fluorescent imaging microscopy; and (2) on the organization of cytoskeletal elements, using immunofluorescence labeling. RESULTS In both stains, isoflurane decreased in a concentration-dependent manner AngII-induced intracellular Ca mobilization, Ca release from internal stores, and Ca influx through nifedipine-insensitive Ca channels. This effect occurred at a lower concentrations of isoflurane in Wistar Kyoto rats than in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In both strains, the effect of isoflurane on AngII- Ca mobilization was abolished by impairment with nocodazole, vinblastine, or paclitaxel of microtubules polymerization. Isoflurane directly altered tubular network organization in a concentration-dependent and reversible manner. CONCLUSIONS Isoflurane decreased AngII-induced Ca mobilization at clinically relevant concentrations, suggesting that vascular response to AngII could be altered during isoflurane anesthesia. The hypertensive strain was found less sensitive than the normotensive one. In both strains, the isoflurane effect was associated with a microtubular network interaction.
Rotation averaging and weak convexity

We generalize the concept of geodesic convexity in the Special Orthogonal Group SO(3) and apply the generalization to the discussion of rotation averaging. As a result we are able to derive strong and new theorems about the location of global minima of the rotation averaging cost function. A brief discussion of the relationship of our results to previous results from the literature will be provided, as well as an application to camera rig calibration in computer vision.
Use of amifostine in the treatment of recurrent solid tumours in children.

AIM Preclinical and clinical evaluation of amifostine (AMI) administration in conjunction with systemic chemotherapy supports its role as a cytoprotective agent of normal tissues without loss of impairing the antitumour effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents. Since only a limited number of clinical studies has been performed using AMI in paediatric pts with malignancies we investigated the protective effect of AMI against carboplatin-induced myelotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in a paediatric group of patients. MATERIAL AND RESULTS AMI was administered in 18/28 paediatric patients with reccurent solid tumours along with ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide) chemotherapy. A significant (p<0.05) decrease in GFR was observed in the control group whereas it was maintained at pre-treatment levels in the AMI-treated group. Leukopenia and neutropenia were significantly (p<0.05) less in AMI-group. No protective effect of AMI was shown concerning thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS AMI was generally well tolerated at the dose of 740 mg/m2. Side effects including nausea, vomiting, hypotension, flushing and rigors were moderate and reversible and the interruption of infusion was never required.
2nd International Symposium on Gait and Balance in Multiple Sclerosis: interventions for gait and balance in MS

Abstract Purpose: To provide a review of the 2nd International Symposium on Gait and Balance in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), emphasizing interventions in gait and balance for people with MS. Method: Review of current research on interventions used with people having MS and with people having other disorders that may provide novel insights into improving gait and balance and preventing falls in people with MS (pwMS). Results: Nine speakers provided evidence-based recommendations for interventions aimed at improving gait and balance dysfunction. Speaker recommendations covered the following areas: balance rehabilitation, self-management, medications, functional electrical stimulation, robotics, sensory augmentation, gait training with error feedback and fall prevention. Conclusions: The causes of gait and balance dysfunction in pwMS are multifactorial and therefore may benefit from a wide range of interventions. The symposium provides avenues for exchange of evidence and clinical experience that is critical in furthering physical rehabilitation including gait and balance dysfunction in MS. Implications for Rehabilitation Approaches to improve Gait and Balance dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis. Balance exercises that include training of sensory strategies. Self-management and self-management support. Pharmacologic intervention, such as Dalfampradine. Functional electrical stimulation that may provide the extra stimulation to influence coordinated leg movements needed for walking.
Language Learning through Handheld Gaming: a Case Study of an English Course with Engineering Students

The 21st century is the generation of Digital Game-Based Learning, a generation growing up with technologies and contributing to the prevalence of digital games (Chuang et al., 10). Thus, the use of mobile consoles (Nintendo DS or SONY PSP) for entertainment at all ages has increased dramatically, as has the availability of games that meet specific needs, requirements or users preferences. Though this field of applications is not exempt from constraints such as connectivity, usability and technical limitations (Moses, 08; Hussain and Adeeb, 09), mobile learning is now on the agenda at all levels of education (Cheon et al., 12; Frohberg et al., 09; Suki and Suki, 07). In this study we analyze how Nintendo mobile technology used to teach vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, writing and listening skills can help to improve the learning environment and the results in English for Engineering students. The two-fold investigation aims to (1) evaluate the student's satisfaction with mobile technology and (2) measure student learning with Nintendo DS. In the light of these hypotheses, the results show how the introduction of mobile devices can increase students' interest and motivation in the learning process, fostering the integration of activities and increasing the academic performance of students.
Housing Market Constraints and Spatial Stratification by Income and Race

Abstract This article addresses the extent to which housing market constraints contribute to spatial stratification of the U.S. population by income and race. Differential patterns of residence based on income and race may result from local and federal regulatory policies or from housing market discrimination by private and public actors. Income homogeneity within communities results directly from local control over taxes, public services, and land use. The empirical literature shows that local regulations have effects on housing prices that tend to exclude low‐ and moderate‐income households. These regulations are also likely to promote racial segregation because of the correlation between income and race, although the magnitude of this effect is unclear. Discrimination by government and private actors directly generates spatial segmentation based on race and ethnicity. While federal policy could alleviate these patterns, current and past federal policy initiatives have themselves increased stratificatio.