Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brief activity performance measure for upper limb amputees: BAM-ULA

Background: Measures of activity performance for adults with upper limb amputation are needed. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the measurement properties of a new measure of activity performance for adults with upper limb amputation, which we call the Brief Activity Measure for Upper Limb Amputees (BAM-ULA) and to compare BAM-ULA scores for users of different types of prostheses. Methods: In all, 35 persons with upper limb amputation were administered the BAM-ULA, twice within 1 week. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were evaluated. Construct validity was examined by comparing scores by amputation level. Concurrent validity was evaluated by examining correlations with other measures. Exploratory analyses using linear regression compared sub-group scores for users of myoelectric and body-powered devices, and for users of single-degree-of-freedom and multi-articulating devices, controlling for amputation level. Results: The scale alpha was 0.83; intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91. Item scores differed by amputation level and device type. Persons with transradial amputation completed more items than those with amputations at the transhumeral or shoulder level (p < 0.05). Users of myoelectric devices completed more items than users of body-powered devices (p < 0.05). The BAM-ULA strongly correlated with the Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputees; R = 0.86) and three modified Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Tests (R = 0.62–0.68) and moderately correlated with one Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Test (R = 0.46) as well as with the Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. No differences in scores were found by degree of freedom of the terminal device after controlling for amputation level. Conclusion: Analyses support reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity of the Brief Activity Measure for Upper Limb Amputees. This new briefer measure is easier to score than the Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputees. Clinical relevance This article reported on the development and evaluation of a brief 10-item measure of activity performance for persons with upper limb impairment, the BAM-ULA. The BAM-ULA takes 10 min to administer and has a simple scoring method, which may facilitate its adoption by clinicians in the field.
Unstable Tandem Repeats in Promoters Confer Transcriptional Evolvability

Genotype, Phenotype, and Variation Phenotypic evolution results from changes in coding sequences, as well as in regulatory regions of the genome. Vinces et al. (p. 1213) uncover an abundant source of gene expression variability in the promoters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes. Up to 25% of yeast promoter regions contain a highly variable tandem repeat sequence, which effect gene expression and local chromatin structure. The intrinsic instability of these repeats generates variability in gene expression levels and provides a mechanism for rapid evolution of phenotypic traits. Unstable repetitive DNA in the control regions of yeast genes modulates the evolution of chromatin structure and gene expression. Relative to most regions of the genome, tandemly repeated DNA sequences display a greater propensity to mutate. A search for tandem repeats in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome revealed that the nucleosome-free region directly upstream of genes (the promoter region) is enriched in repeats. As many as 25% of all gene promoters contain tandem repeat sequences. Genes driven by these repeat-containing promoters show significantly higher rates of transcriptional divergence. Variations in repeat length result in changes in expression and local nucleosome positioning. Tandem repeats are variable elements in promoters that may facilitate evolutionary tuning of gene expression by affecting local chromatin structure.
Passive prosthetic hands and tools: A literature review

Background: The group of passive prostheses consists of prosthetic hands and prosthetic tools. These can either be static or adjustable. Limited research and development on passive prostheses has been performed although many people use these prosthesis types. Although some publications describe passive prostheses, no recent review of the peer-reviewed literature on passive prostheses is available. Objective: Review the peer-reviewed literature on passive prostheses for replacement of the hand. Study design: Literature review. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched using a Boolean combination of relevant keywords. English-language articles relevant to the objective were selected. Results: In all, 38 papers were included in the review. Publications on passive prosthetic hands describe their users, usage, functionality, and problems in activities of daily living. Publications on prosthetic tools mostly focus on sport, recreation, and vehicle driving. Conclusion: Passive hand prostheses receive little attention in prosthetic research and literature. Yet one out of three people with a limb deficiency uses this type of prosthesis. Literature indicates that passive prostheses can be improved on pulling and grasping functions. In the literature, ambiguous names are used for different types of passive prostheses. This causes confusion. We present a new and clear classification of passive prostheses. Clinical relevance This review provides information on the users of passive prosthetic hands and tools, their usage and the functionality. Passive prostheses receive very little attention and low appreciation in literature. Passive prosthetic hands and tools show to be useful to many unilateral amputees and should receive more attention and higher acceptance.
N-Doping of Graphene Through Electrothermal Reactions with Ammonia

Negatively Doped Graphene Nanoribbons The potential applications in electronic devices of graphene (single atom, thick layers of graphite) would be even greater if it can be accessed in both p- and n-doped forms. Graphene nanoribbons (long strips only tens of nanometers in width) are readily p-doped by adsorbates from the ambient atmosphere. Wang et al. (p. 768) show that when graphene nano-ribbons are electrically heated in an ammonia atmosphere, nitrogen is incorporated mainly at the edges of the ribbon and creates an n-type material. Field-effect transistors that operate at room temperature can be made from this material. The edges of graphene nanoribbons incorporate nitrogen atoms after heating in an atmosphere of ammonia. Graphene is readily p-doped by adsorbates, but for device applications, it would be useful to access the n-doped material. Individual graphene nanoribbons were covalently functionalized by nitrogen species through high-power electrical joule heating in ammonia gas, leading to n-type electronic doping consistent with theory. The formation of the carbon-nitrogen bond should occur mostly at the edges of graphene where chemical reactivity is high. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nanometer-scale secondary ion mass spectroscopy confirm the carbon-nitrogen species in graphene thermally annealed in ammonia. We fabricated an n-type graphene field-effect transistor that operates at room temperature.
Study of T-regulatory cells in patients with acute, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Introduction Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune bleeding disorder that occurs because of enhanced peripheral platelet destruction. Antibodies and T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of the disease and, like other autoimmune diseases, patients with ITP have a peripheral deficiency in regulatory T cells (Treg) numbers and function that may be responsible for loss of tolerance. Our aim was to measure Tregs (CD4 + CD25 +high FoxP + 3) and levels of interleukins (IL-10 and IL-12) in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures from patients with ITP and analyze their relationship with the clinical features and outcome of treatment of ITP. Participants and methods Forty-five participants were included in this study, divided into two groups. Group I included 15 healthy children as a control group. Group II included 30 pediatric patients with ITP. According to treatment, group II was divided into three subgroups: group IIa (no treatment) included two (6.7%) patients, group IIb (steroid treatment) included 10 (33.3%) patients, and group IIc (steroid+intravenous immunoglobulin treatment) included 18 (60%) patients. ITP is diagnosed by platelet count less than 100 Χ 103/μl. Tregs were analyzed by flow cytometry. IL-10 and IL-12 in the supernatants of basal and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated PBMC cultures were estimated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results A significantly lower percentage of Tregs was found in patients than in controls (1.46 ± 0.97 vs. 7.09 ± 1.5%) and the lowest percentage of Tregs was recorded in group IIc. A positive correlation was observed between Tregs% and platelet count in the patient group. PBMCs from patients had significantly higher basal levels of IL-10 and IL-12, with a marked reduction in responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide in vitro compared with the controls. Conclusion Children with ITP had reduced Tregs% and IL-10/IL-12 imbalance. Thus, Tregs may play a role in modifying immune responses in these patients, resulting in new strategies of treatment and monitoring of disease activity.
Notch Signaling Is Necessary to Maintain Quiescence in Adult Muscle Stem Cells

Satellite cells (SCs) are myogenic stem cells found in skeletal muscle that function to repair tissue damaged by injury or disease. SCs are quiescent at rest, although the signaling pathways required to maintain quiescence are unknown. Using a transgenic Notch reporter mouse and quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis of Notch target genes, we determined that Notch signaling is active in quiescent SCs. SC‐specific deletion of recombining binding protein‐Jκ (RBP‐Jκ), a nuclear factor required for Notch signaling, resulted in the depletion of the SC pool and muscles that lacked any ability to regenerate in response to injury. SC depletion was not due to apoptosis. Rather, RBP‐Jκ‐deficient SCs spontaneously activate, fail to self‐renew, and undergo terminal differentiation. Intriguingly, most of the cells differentiate without first dividing. They then fuse with adjacent myofibers, leading to the gradual disappearance of SCs from the muscle. These results demonstrate the requirement of Notch signaling for the maintenance of the quiescent state and for muscle stem cell homeostasis by the regulation of self‐renewal and differentiation, processes that are all critical for normal postnatal myogenesis. STEM CELLS 2012; 30:232–242.
Proliferation of Human Glioblastoma Stem Cells Occurs Independently of Exogenous Mitogens

Primary glial tumors of the central nervous system, most commonly glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), are aggressive lesions with a dismal prognosis. Despite identification and isolation of human brain tumor stem cells (BTSCs), characteristics that distinguish BTSCs from neural stem cells remain to be elucidated. We cultured cells isolated from gliomas, using the neurosphere culture system, to understand their growth requirements. Both CD133+ and CD133− adult GBM BTSCs proliferated in the absence of exogenous mitogenic stimulation and gave rise to multipotent GBM spheres that were capable of self‐renewal. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor‐2 enhanced GBM BTSC survival, proliferation, and subsequent sphere size. Blockade of EGF receptor (EGFR) signaling reduced exogenous mitogen‐independent GBM sphere growth. Implantation of as few as 10 exogenous mitogen‐independent GBM BTSCs led to the formation of highly invasive intracranial tumors, which closely resembled human GBMs, in immunocompromised mice. These results demonstrate that exogenous mitogen independence, mediated in part through EGFR signaling, is one characteristic that distinguishes CD133+ and CD133− GBM BTSCs from neural stem cells. This novel experimental system will permit the elucidation of additional constitutively activated mechanisms that promote GBM BTSC survival, self‐renewal, and proliferation. STEM CELLS 2009;27:1722–1733
Novel joint secure resource allocation optimization for full-duplex relay networks with cooperative jamming

In this paper, a novel joint secure resource allocation optimization is proposed for full-duplex (FD) relay networks with cooperative jamming (CJ) in the presence of multiple source-destination (SD) pairs and an eavesdropper. We first derive the expression of the secrecy capacity for a single FD relay link with CJ. Then the joint power allocation and relay subchannel assignment (JPARA) optimization is proposed to maximize the sum secrecy capacity of the network. The proposed optimization is evaluated by numerical results, which prove that significant performance gain can be achieved by full-duplex relays when the self-interference is well suppressed. Besides, the cooperative jamming scheme is shown to improve the throughput effectively in the FD mode, while higher gap tends to be achieved by CJ in the HD mode.1
EU countries disagree over bioterrorism strategy

European Union governments are unable to agree a Europe-wide strategy for responding to the threat of bioterrorism. Some countries are following the US example and stockpiling enough smallpox vaccine to inoculate their entire population. Other countries refuse to contemplate anything more than a targeted vaccination programme. No country currently plans to purchase “second generation” smallpox vaccine. European vaccine stocks are still based on vaccines dating …
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition

A Change in the Air? Between around 1.2 million and 500,000 years ago, Earth's glacial cycle changed from one with a period of roughly 40,000 years to one with a period of about 100,000 years. Although there has been much speculation about why this transition may have occurred, no potential explanation seemed more likely than that it was caused by decreasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2. Hönisch et al. (p. 1551) present a record of atmospheric pCO2 for the past 2.1 million years, derived from the boron isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera, and show that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has remained relatively constant over that period. While pCO2 was approximately 30 ppm higher before the start of the mid-Pleistocene transition than after the transition, atmospheric CO2 did not decrease gradually as would be expected were it to be the driver of the transition. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has been relatively stable over the past 2.1 million years and never as high as it is today. The dominant period of Pleistocene glacial cycles changed during the mid-Pleistocene from 40,000 years to 100,000 years, for as yet unknown reasons. Here we present a 2.1-million-year record of sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (Pco2), based on boron isotopes in planktic foraminifer shells, which suggests that the atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 (pco2) was relatively stable before the mid-Pleistocene climate transition. Glacial Pco2 was ~31 microatmospheres higher before the transition (more than 1 million years ago), but interglacial Pco2 was similar to that of late Pleistocene interglacial cycles (<450,000 years ago). These estimates are consistent with a close linkage between atmospheric CO2 concentration and global climate, but the lack of a gradual decrease in interglacial Pco2 does not support the suggestion that a long-term drawdown of atmospheric CO2 was the main cause of the climate transition.
The Specificity of Serological Reactions

This little book brings within the reach of workers in immunology almost a fabulous wealth of references in an exceptionally small compass. The references are indicated, generally, serially by small numerals, expanded in footnotes and given at length at the end of each section. By this plan the narrative has been made continuous and concise. For 146 pages of subject-matter there are no less than 1,197 references. After a short introduction to ' elementary concepts and phenomena of serology' for the benefit of the beginner, the subject has been critically reviewed under five headings: (1) The Serological Specificity of Proteins, (2) The Specificity of Cell Antigen, (3) The Specificity of Antibodies, (4) Artificial Conjugated Antigen, (5) Specific Carbohydrates and Lipoids. That the review will serve its intended purpose of assisting work in immunology admits of no doubt. That the short introduction will inspire beginners may be doubted.
On the Evaluation of Background Subtraction Algorithms without Ground-Truth

In video-surveillance systems, the moving objectsegmentation stage (commonly based on backgroundsubtraction) has to deal with several issues like noise,shadows and multimodal backgrounds. Hence, its failureis inevitable and its automatic evaluation is a desirablerequirement for online analysis. In this paper, we proposea hierarchy of existing performance measures not-basedon ground-truth for video object segmentation. Then, fourmeasures based on color and motion are selected andexamined in detail with different segmentation algorithmsand standard test sequences for video objectsegmentation. Experimental results show that color-basedmeasures perform better than motion-based measures andbackground multimodality heavily reduces the accuracy ofall obtained evaluation results
Reprogramming Plant Cells for Endosymbiosis

The establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses, formed by most flowering plants in association with glomeromycotan fungi, and the root-nodule (RN) symbiosis, formed by legume plants and rhizobial bacteria, requires an ongoing molecular dialogue that underpins the reprogramming of root cells for compatibility. In both endosymbioses, there are distinct phases to the interaction, including a presymbiotic anticipation phase and, subsequently, an intraradical accommodation of the microsymbiont. Maintenance of the endosymbiosis then depends on reciprocal nutrient exchange with the microsymbiont-obtaining plant photosynthates in exchange for mineral nutrients: enhanced phosphate and nitrogen uptake from AM fungi and fixed nitrogen from rhizobia. Despite the taxonomically distinct groups of symbionts, commonalities are observed in the signaling components and the modulation of host cell responses in both AM and RN symbioses, reflecting common mechanisms for plant cell reprogramming during endosymbiosis.
Innate Immunity in Plants: An Arms Race Between Pattern Recognition Receptors in Plants and Effectors in Microbial Pathogens

For many years, research on a suite of plant defense responses that begin when plants are exposed to general microbial elicitors was underappreciated, for a good reason: There has been no critical experimental demonstration of their importance in mediating plant resistance during pathogen infection. Today, these microbial elicitors are named pathogen- or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs or MAMPs) and the plant responses are known as PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Recent studies provide an elegant explanation for the difficulty of demonstrating the role of PTI in plant disease resistance. It turns out that the important contribution of PTI to disease resistance is masked by pathogen virulence effectors that have evolved to suppress it.
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good

1. Planners Versus Searchers WHY PLANNERS CANNOT BRING PROSPERITY 2. The Legend of the Big Push 3. You Can't Plan a Market 4. Planners and Gangsters ACTING OUT THE BURDEN 5. The Rich Have Markets, the Poor Have Bureaucrats 6. Bailing Out the Poor 7. The Healers: Triumph and Tragedy THE WHITE MAN'S ARMY 8. From Colonialism to Postmodern Imperialism 9. Invading the Poor THE FUTURE 10. Homegrown Development 11. The Future of Western Assistance
CT evaluation of mandibular osteomyelitis

Mandibular osteomyelitis often is associated with involvement of the soft tissues. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between CT patterns and the presence of inflammation in soft tissues. 30 cases diagnosed with osteomyelitis of the mandible were evaluated with CT scans. CT patterns of osteomyelitis were classified into four types: lytic, sclerotic, mixed & sequestrum patterns. Location extent of the lesion and change of the cortical plate were evaluated. The data demonstrate a close interaction between cortical plate disruption and muscle inflammation. The extent of inflammation including soft tissue involvement was better appreciated with CT in osteomyelitis
Medication adaptation headache

The purpose of this editorial is to challenge the choice of the term ‘medication overuse headache’ (MOH). MOH is not a new concept, but the name remains controversial. Although it is an improvement on previous labels such as ‘drug abuse headache’ and ‘rebound headache’, there is still more work to be done. Our criticisms of the portrayal of MOH are scientific and, broadly speaking, moral. We survey possible terms and their implications and make a recommendation. A recent review article states that MOH is ‘an avoidable disorder’ (1). The current diagnostic criteria (International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition, 2004 [ICHD-2]) are:
Neurocognitive recovery in SMART syndrome: A case report

Introduction: Stroke-like migraine attacks after radiation therapy, or SMART syndrome, is characterised by migraine-like headache with or without aura, transient neurological dysfunction, including seizures, and gyriform enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which resolves over a period of weeks. Detailed neuropsychological characterisation in SMART syndrome is lacking and there are no published data on the course and pattern of neurocognitive recovery. Results: The acute clinical presentation was one of unstable, fluctuating neurocognitive disturbances, complicated by seizure activity, followed by a longer term lag in the recovery of focal neuropsychological deficits which, we believe, was due to the more slowly resolving cerebral effects of SMART. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first case of SMART syndrome in which neuropsychological functioning has been comprehensively and serially examined. This case is also unique due to the development of complex partial seizures. We suggest that epileptiform activity during clinical seizures should not be regarded as inconsistent with a diagnosis of SMART, provided that the seizures do not explain the onset of the other clinical and radiological features.