Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of treadmill training with partial body weight support and the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation method on hemiparetic gait: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND Gait disturbance is common after stroke; however, there is no consensus regarding the optimal therapeutic rehabilitation of hemiparetic gait. AIM To compare the effects of the treadmill training with partial body-weight support (TPBWS) and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) method on gait of subjects with chronic stroke. DESIGN Randomized clinical trial, comparing two experimental groups (comparative study). SETTING Laboratory for Human Movement Analysis of UFRN. POPULATION Twenty-three subjects, with a mean age of 56.7±8.0 years and a mean time since the onset of the stroke of 27.7±20.3 months, able to walk with personal assistance or assistive devices. METHODS Two experimental groups underwent gait training based on PNF method (N.=11) or using the TPBWS (N.=12), for twelve sessions. Evaluation of motor function (using the STREAM and motor FIM), and kinematic gait analysis were carried out before and after the interventions. RESULTS Increases in the STREAM scores (F=49.189, P<0.001) and in motor FIM scores (F=7.093, P=0.016), as well as improvement in symmetry ratio-swing time of the paretic leg/swing time of non-paretic leg--(F=7.729, P=0.012), were observed for both groups. Speed, stride length and double-support time showed no change after training. Differences between groups were observed only for the maximum ankle dorsiflexion over the swing phase (F=6.046, P=0.024), which showed an increase for the PNF group. Other angular parameters remain unchanged. CONCLUSION Improvement in motor function and in gait symmetry was observed for both groups, suggesting similarity of interventions. However, the sample size should be carefully considered in generalizing the results to other populations. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT The results showed some equivalence between these two approaches with regard to motor recovery, functionality and temporal symmetry of hemiparetic gait, suggesting that the cost-effectiveness of each treatment may have a important role in this choice.
A 3.6 pJ/Access 480 MHz, 128 kb On-Chip SRAM With 850 MHz Boost Mode in 90 nm CMOS With Tunable Sense Amplifiers

An extremely low energy per operation, single cycle 32 bit/word, 128 kb SRAM is fabricated in 90 nm CMOS. In the 850 MHz boost mode, total energy consumption is 8.4 pJ/access. This reduces to 3.6 pJ/access in the normal 480 MHz mode and bottoms out at a very aggressive 2.7 pJ/access in the 240 MHz low power mode. Several techniques were combined to obtain these performance numbers. Short buffered local bit lines reduce the impact of the cell read current on memory delay. Extended global bitlines are used which improves delay and energy consumption and which reduces the number of sense amplifiers in the memory to 32. Cell stability and speed issues are avoided by applying selective voltage scaling. Novel, digitally tunable sense amplifiers and a tunable timing circuit cope gracefully with the stochastic variations in the periphery.
Dominant role of local dipolar interactions in phosphate binding to a receptor cleft with an electronegative charge surface: Equilibrium, kinetic, and crystallographic studies

Stringent specificity and complementarity between the receptor, a periplasmic phosphate‐binding protein (PBP) with a two‐domain structure, and the completely buried and dehydrated phosphate are achieved by hydrogen bonding or dipolar interactions. We recently found that the surface charge potential of the cleft between the two domains that contains the anion binding site is intensely electronegative. This novel finding prompted the study reported here of the effect of ionic strength on the equilibrium and rapid kinetics of phosphate binding. To facilitate this study, Alal97, located on the edge of the cleft, was replaced by a Trp residue (A197W PBP) to generate a fluorescence reporter group. The A197W PBP‐phosphate complex retains wild‐type Kd and X‐ray structure beyond the replacement residue. The Kd (0.18 μM) at no salt is increased by 20‐fold at greater than 0.30 M NaCl. Stopped‐flow fluorescence kinetic studies indicate a two‐step binding process: (1) The phosphate (L) binds, at near diffusion‐controlled rate, to the open cleft form (Po) of PBP to produce an intermediate, PoL. This rate decreases with increasing ionic strength. (2) The intermediate isomerizes to the closed‐conformation form, PcL. The results indicate that the high specificity, affinity, and rate of phosphate binding are not influenced by the noncomplementary electronegative surface potential of the cleft. That binding depends almost entirely on local dipolar interactions with the receptor has important ramification in electrostatic interactions in protein structures and in ligand recognition.
Intelligent modes of imperfect governance

ABSTRACT In this article, we aim to show that the treatment of wicked problems in the literature on public administration approaches is inadequate. We briefly discuss the literature on wicked problems and propose a conceptualization of wicked problems that, we think, shows the core of the problem of wicked problems. Wicked problems, we argue, are wicked because the factual and normative aspects of the issues are intertwined at actor-level. As a result, the phenomena that Rittel and Webber observed at problem level emerge. This has strong implications for public administration. Since actors are deciding on responses, a wicked problem evokes, what we call, a double governance challenge. The governance mechanisms provided in the literature on public administration approaches, also the new ones, do not provide responses to such double challenge. They either assume that actors do not build upon their own, actor-level factual and normative evaluations or that some compiled actor or supra-actor might overcome the limitations of the actors that together constitute the collective level of wicked problem response. Making such assumptions, they apparently conceptualize the wicked problem as non-wicked. Therefore, re-iterating, wicked problems are indeed wicked: solutions that implicitly conceptualize the wicked problem as non-wicked might be perfect, but seem unintelligent. A wicked problem, we argue, does not allow perfect, but instead requires imperfect, but intelligent responses. In this paper, we then discuss four such intelligently imperfect responses. They are necessarily imperfect in the sense that they cannot be considered to completely cover the problem, but intelligent in the sense that they truly acknowledge its wickedness.
Familial risks of unusual forms of venous thrombosis: a nationwide epidemiological study in Sweden

Zöller B, Li X, Sundquist J, Sundquist K. (Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden; Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA). Familial risks of unusual forms of venous thrombosis: a nationwide epidemiological study in Sweden. J Intern Med 2011; 270: 158–165.
[Ketamine attenuates the contractile response to vasoconstrictors in isolated coronary artery rings].

OBJECTIVE Ketamine was shown to increase coronary blood flow. It was the aim of this study to answer the question whether ketamine directly dilates coronary arteries. METHODS Using the model of isolated vessel rings we studied the effects of ketamine (2.5, 25, and 250 microg ml(-1)) on the contractile response to three vasoconstrictors, acetylcholine, histamine, and serotonin in porcine coronary artery segments. Other rings were contracted with KCl or PGF (2a) and then treated with ketamine (5 up to 500 microg ml(-1) added cumulatively). RESULTS Ketamine dose-dependently dilated coronary arteries in concentrations beyond those used in clinical practice. In intact rings ketamine racemate (250 microg ml(-1)) attenuated contractions mediated by acetylcholine by 38.8 +/- 2.8%, histamine by 33.0 +/- 4.4% and serotonin by 42.1 +/- 3.7% (p < 0.05). There were no differences between intact and denuded rings (acetylcholine 38.5 +/- 2.8%, histamine 26.6 +/- 4.7%, serotonin 30.0 +/- 3.2%). With low concentrations of ketamine (2.5 microg ml(-1)) a slight tendency towards a contraction was recorded (n. s.). In rings precontracted with either KCl or PGF (2a) ketamine caused a small enhancement of contraction (KCl: 101.4 +/- 0.4%, PGF (2a): 101.3 +/- 1.4%) when administered in low concentration (5 microg ml(-1)), but almost complete relaxation (KCl: 0.4 +/- 1.3%, PGF (2a): 0.0 +/- 5.4%) in high concentration (500 microg ml(-1)). CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that ketamine dose-dependently dilates porcine coronary arteries in concentrations beyond those used in clinical practice and that this effect is independent of endothelial function.
Mpdz null allele in an avian model of retinal degeneration and mutations in human leber congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE To identify the defective gene in the sex-linked, recessively inherited retinal dysplasia and degeneration (rdd) chicken and to search for the human equivalent disease. METHODS Microsatellites from chicken chromosome Z were genotyped in 77 progeny of a carrier male (rdd/+) and an affected female (rdd/W), and candidate genes were sequenced. Retinal cross-sections from rdd and wild-type birds were analyzed by immunohistology. The human orthologous gene was screened in a panel of archival DNAs from 276 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) using melting curve analysis and DNA sequencing. RESULTS The rdd locus was refined to an approximately 3-Mb region on chromosome Z. Sequence analysis identified a C→T change in the mpdz gene that created a premature stop codon (c.1372C→T, p.R458X), which segregated with the disease phenotype. As expected, the full-length mpdz protein was absent in rdd retinas, but in wild-type birds, it localized to the retinal outer limiting membrane, where it may have a role in the interactions between photoreceptors and Müller glia cells. The screen to identify the human equivalent disease found 10 heterozygous variants in the orthologous gene in patients with RP (three missense and two null alleles) and LCA (four missense and one null allele). CONCLUSIONS These findings reveal that MPDZ is essential for normal development of the retina and may have a role in maintaining photoreceptor integrity. The identification of human mutations suggests that MPDZ plays a role in human retinal disease, but the precise nature of this role remains to be determined.
C/EBP Homology Protein (CHOP) Interacts with Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF4) and Negatively Regulates the Stress-dependent Induction of the Asparagine Synthetase Gene*

C/EBP homology protein (CHOP), a stress-induced transcription factor, is involved in transcriptional regulation, cell cycle, and apoptosis. The present studies identified CHOP as an interacting partner of activating transcription factor (ATF) 4 in a yeast two-hybrid screen and confirmed their interaction in HEK293T cells. CHOP protein levels rose modestly and transiently during amino acid deprivation, whereas endoplasmic reticulum stress caused a much higher and sustained expression of CHOP protein. Exogenous CHOP expression enhanced the TRB3 gene induction by amino acid deprivation. Conversely, CHOP suppressed the induction of the endogenous asparagine synthetase (ASNS) gene and inhibited transcription from a reporter gene driven by the ASNS promoter following activation by ATF4 or amino acid deprivation. Short interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of CHOP further enhanced the induction of ASNS by either amino acid deprivation or endoplasmic reticulum stress. The CHOP-dependent repression of the ASNS gene required the entire CHOP protein, arguing against the possibility of simple sequestration of ATF4 by the CHOP leucine zipper domain, and chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed association of CHOP with the ASNS and TRB3 promoters. Interestingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation also showed that CHOP was associated with the C/EBP-ATF composite site regions of the SNAT2, VEGF, and CAT-1 genes, despite no significant effect on their expression after exogenous CHOP overexpression. Collectively, the results document that CHOP is a member of the transcription factor network that controls the stress-induced regulation of specific C/EBP-ATF-containing genes, such as ASNS.
Familial clustering of colon, breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers as assessed by family history

The aggregation of colon, endometrial, ovarian, and possibly breast cancers in families has been described as a “cancer family syndrome” (now called Lynch syndrome II). To determine if the familial clustering of these malignancies was more common in women with cancer than without, we analyzed data from the Iowa Women's Health Study (IWHS), a population‐based sample of 41,837 women aged 55–69 years. Self‐reported information was collected on history of colon, uterine, ovarian, and breast cancers in female first‐degree relatives. A family history of cancer of the breast (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4), colon (OR = 1.3), and uterus (OR = 1.3), but not ovary (OR = 1.2), was significantly more common among women with a personal history of any of these four cancers (all P < 0.05); the pattern of the ORs suggested strongly that the clustering tended to be site‐specific. Age‐adjusted relative risks (RR) of incident colon cancer over 5 years of follow‐up (N = 237) were calculated with regard to family history. Colon cancer incidence was increased among women with a family history of breast (RR = l.3), uterine (RR = 1.4), colon (RR = l.5), and ovarian (RR = 1.3) cancers, although none of the risk estimates achieved statistical significance. RR was, however, significantly related to the number of different cancer sites reported among family members (Ptrend = 0.008). These data on a representative sample of postmenopausal women suggest that family histories of colon, breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers are associated with an increased risk of cancer at the same site, but provide little support for the hypothesis that Lynch syndrome II is a non‐random occurrence. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expression of the MHC class II in triple-negative breast cancer is associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and interferon signaling

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been known for their strong prognostic and predictive significance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Several mechanisms for TIL influx in TNBC have been elucidated. Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) is an essential component of the adaptive immune system and is generally restricted to the surface of antigen-presenting cells. However, it has been reported that interferon-gamma signaling may induce MHC-II in almost all cell types, including those derived from cancer. We aimed to examine the relationship between MHC-II expression in tumor cells and the amount of TILs in 681 patients with TNBC. Further, the prognostic significance of MHC-II and the association of MHC-II with a couple of molecules involved in the interferon signaling pathway were investigated using immunohistochemical staining. Higher MHC-II expression in tumor cells was associated with the absence of lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.042); larger amounts of TILs (p < 0.001); frequent formations of tertiary lymphoid structures (p < 0.001); higher expression of myxovirus resistance gene A, one of the main mediators of the interferon signaling pathway (p < 0.001); and higher expression of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase, which can be induced by interferons (p = 0.008). Moreover, tumors that showed high MHC class I expression and any positivity for MHC-II had larger amounts of CD4- and CD8-positive T lymphocytes (p < 0.001). Positive MHC-II expression in tumor cells was associated with better disease-free survival in patients who had lymph node metastasis (p = 0.009). In conclusion, MHC-II expression in tumor cells was closely associated with an increase in TIL number and interferon signaling in TNBC. Further studies are warranted to improve our understanding regarding TIL influx, as well as patients’ responses to immunotherapy.
Methylobacillus methanolivorans sp. nov., a novel non-pigmented obligately methylotrophic bacterium.

Three strains of obligately methylotrophic Betaproteobacteria (ZT, SP and M3) with the ribulose monophosphate pathway of C1 assimilation are described. The isolates were strictly aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, asporogenous, motile (strains ZT and M3) or non-motile (strain SP) rods that multiplied by binary fisson, and were mesophilic and neutrophilic. All three strains utilized methanol but only strains SP and M3 utilized methylamine as carbon and energy sources. The prevailing cellular fatty acids were straight-chain saturated C16 : 0 and unsaturated C16 : 1ω7c acids. The major ubiquinone was Q-8. The predominant phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin. Ammonia was assimilated by glutamate dehydrogenase. The DNA G+C contents of strains ZT, SP and M3 were 51.0, 52.0 and 52.0 mol% (Tm), respectively. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the three strains were very high (99.9-100 %), and they shared high levels of DNA-DNA relatedness (88-98 %). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and DNA-DNA relatedness (19-30 %) with the type strains of the genus Methylobacillus, the novel isolates ZT, SP and M3 are classified as representing a novel species of this genus, for which the name Methylobacillus methanolivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ZT (=VKM B-3037T=JCM 31401T=CCUG 68999T).
Research note: price uncertainty and the demand for health care.

Health care consumers in many developing countries face uncertain prices due to a variety of factors, including ad hoc price discrimination, uncertainty concerning diagnosis, and stock-outs of drugs and other supplies. The author explains that at a given average price, consumer demand should be inversely related to the degree of uncertainty in price. To the extent that cost recovery and means testing policies are formulated in ways that minimize price uncertainty to individual consumers, they should be able both to recover more resources and to target remaining subsidies more effectively, without reducing use. Demand analysis should use appropriate measures of consumers' expected prices, rather than average or actual prices, and include measures of the degree of price uncertainty in empirical models attempting to explain both the decision to seek care and the choice of provider. Further, recognizing that consumers often face highly uncertain prices for health care has important implications with regard to cost recovery, means testing, and demand analysis. These issues are discussed.
Performance Monitoring and Cognitive Control in Individuals with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract Literature suggests that individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) show subtle abnormalities in the cognitive control process of performance monitoring. The neural bases of performance monitoring can be measured using the error-related negaitivity (ERN) and post-error positivity (Pe) components of the scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP). Thirty-six individuals with mTBI and 46 demographically similar controls completed a modified color-naming Stroop task while ERPs were recorded. Separate repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to examine the behavioral (response times [RT] and error rates) and ERP (ERN and Pe amplitudes) indices of performance monitoring. Both groups showed slower RTs and increased error rates on incongruent trials relative to congruent trials. Likewise, both groups showed more negative ERN and more positive Pe amplitude to error trials relative to correct trials. Notably, there were no significant main effects or interactions of group for behavioral and ERP measures. Subgroup and correlational analyses with post-concussive symptoms and indices of injury severity were also not significant. Findings suggest comparable performance to non-injured individuals in some aspects of cognitive control in this sample. Neuropsychological implications and comparison with other cognitive control component processes in individuals with TBI are provided. (JINS, 2012, 18, 323–333)
Female Moorhens Compete for Small Fat Males

Female moorhens in flocks competed with each other to obtain mates. The heaviest females won most of the agonistic encounters, and these females paired with males that had large fat reserves. Fat males tended to be small, possibly because of energetic constraints on birds of large body size. Females paired with fat males initiated more nesting attempts in a season.
The development of a remote controlled, omnidirectional six legged walker with feedback

Most commercially available robots use either tracked or wheeled forms of locomotion, however there is a great need for the study and introduction of legged walkers. Legged walkers have the ability to navigate over rougher terrains and can be more robust in the case of leg failure. This paper presents the design of a six legged, 18 degree of freedom walking robot. This hexapod supports multiple gaits, records torque readings for later analysis and detects collisions between the feet and the ground. The design has been fully tested and can negotiate obstacles of 450mm in height and climb terrain up to a 40 degree slope. The platform has been designed in conjunction with a simulation package in order to analyse the effects of different gaits on the required motor torques. The combination of the simulation package and the on-board torque monitoring provides a unique system for the analysis of performance of different gaits over various terrains. It also allows analysis how how other parameters affect performance, such as number of legs and mass.
Laser-Patterning Engineering for Perovskite Solar Modules With 95% Aperture Ratio

Small area hybrid organometal halide perovskite based solar cells reached performances comparable to the multicrystalline silicon wafer cells. However, industrial applications require the scaling-up of devices to module-size. Here, we report the first fully laser-processed large area (14.5 cm2) perovskite solar module with an aperture ratio of 95% and a power conversion efficiency of 9.3%. To obtain this result, we carried out thorough analyses and optimization of three laser processing steps required to realize the serial interconnection of various cells. By analyzing the statistics of the fabricated modules, we show that the error committed over the projected interconnection dimensions is sufficiently low to permit even higher aperture ratios without additional efforts.