Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RESURE - Wireless Sensor Network for Health-Care Monitoring

Natural diamonds can be distinguished from simulated diamonds in seconds by merely touching a hand held probe to the gems. The tip of the probe includes a rounded gem contacting head of high thermal conductivity and low thermal mass. The head is preferably of gold-coated copper. It is supported on a high thermal resistivity neck extending from a large spring biased thermal mass. The head supports a thermistor heater element and a thermistor temperature sensing element within an annular space. Pulses of power are cyclically applied to the heater element to produce a predetermined amount of heat flow from the probe through the sample gem. The resulting change in temperature of the contacting head is determined by sensing the change in resistance of the sensing thermistor and weighting that change by the sensed thermistor resistance. The weighting function is carried out by a gain-controlled amplifier. The change-in-temperature signal controls a meter and LEDs which indicate whether the gem is natural or simulated.
Update on Women's Footwear

Shoes have been implicated as being responsible for the majority of foot deformities and problems that physicians encounter in women. In our original study of 356 women, the majority of women studied wore shoes that were too small for their feet, had foot pain and deformity, and had increased in shoe size since the age of 20. The women without foot pain or deformities also wore shoes that were smaller than their feet but to a lesser degree. In the present study, data on 255 of the original 356 women are evaluated. Tracings were made of the standing foot and the shoe. Measurements were made of forefoot and the heel width. An index of forefoot width to heel width was developed. The indices do not vary much among women. Based on linear measurements, as forefoot width increases, so does heel width. As foot length increases, forefoot width increases to a greater extent than heel width.
Gelatin sealing sheet for arterial hemostasis and anti-adhesion in vascular surgery: a dog model study.

BACKGROUND The bilayer gelatin sealing sheet was developed as a safe, effective, easy-to-handle and low-cost hemostatic agent. OBJECTIVE To examine the feasibility of gelatin sealing sheets using a canine arterial hemorrhage model. METHODS In vivo degradation of gelatin sealing sheets was examined by implanting subcutaneously in rats. For the hemostatic and anti-adhesion efficacy investigations, femoral arteries of dogs were pricked with syringe needle to make a small hole and a gelatin (i.e. experimental group) or fibrin glue sealing sheet (i.e. control group) was applied on the hole to stop bleeding (n=8). After discontinuation of the bleeding, the skin incisions were closed and re-examined 4 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS From the degradation study, 4 h thermally treated gelatin sheet which degraded within 3 weeks in vivo was chosen for the further hemostatic study. In all cases of gelatin and fibrin glue sealing sheets, bleeding from the needle hole on canine femoral arteries was effectively stopped. Postoperative adhesions and inflammation at the site in the experimental group were significantly less than those in the control group (P<0.01 for adhesion scores). CONCLUSIONS The gelatin sealing sheet was found to be as effective as the fibrin glue sealing sheet as a surgical hemostatic agent, and more effective in preventing postoperative adhesions.
Mitochondrial Glycerol Phosphate Acyltransferase Directs the Incorporation of Exogenous Fatty Acids into Triacylglycerol*

The mitochondrial isoform of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), the first step in glycerolipid synthesis, is up-regulated by insulin and by high carbohydrate feeding via SREBP-1c, suggesting that it plays a role in triacylglycerol synthesis. To test this hypothesis, we overexpressed mitochondrial GPAT in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. When GPAT was overexpressed 3.8-fold, triacylglycerol mass was 2.7-fold higher than in control cells. After incubation with trace [14C]oleate (∼3 μm), control cells incorporated 4.7-fold more label into phospholipid than triacylglycerol, but GPAT-overexpressing cells incorporated equal amounts of label into phospholipid and triacylglycerol. In GPAT-overexpressing cells, the incorporation of label into phospholipid, particularly phosphatidylcholine, decreased 30%, despite normal growth rate and phospholipid content, suggesting that exogenous oleate was directed primarily toward triacylglycerol synthesis. Transiently transfected HEK293 cells that expressed a 4.4-fold increase in GPAT activity incorporated 9.7-fold more [14C]oleate into triacylglycerol compared with control cells, showing that the effect of GPAT overexpression was similar in two different cell types that had been transfected by different methods. When the stable, GPAT-overexpressing CHO cells were incubated with 100 μm oleate to stimulate triacylglycerol synthesis, they incorporated 1.9-fold more fatty acid into triacylglycerol than did the control cells. Confocal microscopy of CHO and HEK293 cells transfected with the GPAT-FLAG construct showed that GPAT was located correctly in mitochondria and was not present elsewhere in the cell. These studies indicate that overexpressed mitochondrial GPAT directs incorporation of exogenous fatty acid into triacylglycerol rather than phospholipid and imply that (a) mitochondrial GPAT and lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase produce a separate pool of lysophosphatidic acid and phosphatidic acid that must be transported to the endoplasmic reticulum where the terminal enzymes of triacylglycerol synthesis are located, and (b) this pool remains relatively separate from the pool of lysophosphatidic acid and phosphatidic acid that contributes to the synthesis of the major phospholipid species.
Atrial cardiomyocyte‐specific expression of Cre recombinase driven by an Nppa gene fragment

Summary: To study the development of the atria, we produced a transgenic mouse line that expresses Cre under the regulatory control of a 7 kbp fragment of the Natriuretic peptide precursor type A gene (Nppa), from −3 kbp to +4 kbp relative to the transcription start site. Crossing this line with the R26R and Z/EG reporter lines revealed recombinase activity specifically in the cardiomyocytes of the atria and to a lesser extent the inflow tract from E10.5 onwards. At E14.5 recombination in the atria is almost complete. No recombination was observed outside the heart. These mice provide a tool to study gene function in the atria. genesis 37:1–4, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Inhibition of Neuropeptide Y (NPY)-Induced Feeding and c-Fos Response in Magnocellular Paraventricular Nucleus by a NPY Receptor Antagonist: A Site of NPY Action1.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is one of the important endogenous orexigenic peptides. In these studies we employed c-Fos immunostaining and a selective NPY Y1 receptor antagonist to identify the site of action of NPY in the hypothalamus. The results showed that intracerebroventricular administration of NPY stimulated feeding and increased immunostaining of c-Fos, a product of the immediate early gene c-fos, in several hypothalamic sites, including the dorsomedial nucleus, the supraoptic nucleus, and the two subdivisions of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the parvocellular PVN, and magnocellular PVN (mPVN). Intracerebroventricular administration of 1229U91, a selective NPY Y1 receptor antagonist, affected neither food intake nor c-Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in these hypothalamic sites. Coadministration of NPY and NPY Y1 receptor antagonist inhibited NPY-induced food intake by 48%, but failed to affect NPY-induced FLI in the supraoptic nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, and parvocellular PVN. However, this combin.
The future of HIV vaccine research and the role of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

Purpose of reviewThis review covers the role of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (the Enterprise), an alliance of independent organizations committed to development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine. It discusses the history, impact on the field, and future directions and initiatives of the alliance in the context of recent progress in HIV vaccine research and development. Recent findingsSignificant progress has been made in the field since the release of the 2005 Scientific Strategic Plan (the Plan) of the Enterprise. Over the last year, the Enterprise embarked on an impact assessment of the 2005 Plan and the development of the 2010 Plan. Enterprise Working Groups identified key priorities in the field, several of which are discussed in this review, including changing the nature, purpose and process of clinical trials, increasing and facilitating data sharing, and optimizing existing and mobilizing new resources. SummaryThis time is an important moment in HIV vaccine research. New clinical trial and laboratory results have created new opportunities to advance the search for an HIV vaccine and reinvigorated the field. The Enterprise will publish its 2010 Plan this year, providing a framework for setting new priorities and directions and encouraging new and existing partners to embark on a shared scientific agenda.
Calcium and the prevention of colon cancer

Chemoprevention studies utilizing calcium have now progressed from basic measurements to clinical trials. Calcium's effects on epithelial cells have demonstrated decreased proliferation and induced cell differentiation with increasing levels of calcium in vitro, similar in vivo effects in rodent and human colon, and decreased carcinogen‐induced colonic tumor formation in rodents. Current studies are attempting to inhibit colonic adenoma formation in human subjects. Most but not all epidemiologic studies also link increased dietary calcium with a decreased risk of colon cancer.
Enhancing Blowfish file encryption algorithm through parallel computing on GPU

Parallel computing can provide fast execution of the program as compared to sequential computing. Graphical Processing Unit can be used for parallel computing as it gives the advantage of multiple cores. Purpose of parallel implementation of Blowfish cryptography algorithm is to improve the speed up of encryption and decryption so that large files also can be communicated on the network in secure and efficient way. This paper demonstrates the way of implementing Blowfish cryptography algorithm on GPU for improving performance. This implementation uses GPGPU and CUDA. CUDA is used as a programming model for implementing on the GPU. The experiment shows multifold difference in performance of CPU and GPU in encryption-decryption of large files.
No effect of inter-group conflict on within-group harmony in non-human primates

It has been a longstanding assumption that the threat of extra-group conflict can promote the expression of socio-positive behavior and cohesion within animal groups. I conducted a comparative analysis on the effect of inter-group conflict (indexed by home range overlap) on within-group affiliation levels (indexed by time engaged in allogrooming) in a sample of 48 primate species. There was no association between the 2 variables in a phylogenetic generalized least squares regression. I conclude that inter-group conflict may at best elicit short-term immediate changes in affiliation levels, but permanently elevated cohesion appears unique to humans with their large-scale social integration and scaled up inter-group conflict.
Involvement of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-3 as a Mediator of the Inhibitory Effects of IL-10 on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Macrophage Activation1

Previous studies have shown that IL-10 can induce the expression of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS-3) mRNA in human monocytes and neutrophils, suggesting that the capacity of IL-10 to inhibit the expression of LPS-inducible proinflammatory genes may depend on SOCS-3 induction. However, no direct experimental evidence has been provided to support such hypothesis. Herein, we show that stable transfection of SOCS-3 into the mouse macrophage cell line J774 resulted in an inhibition of NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and GM-CSF secretion in response to LPS at levels similar to those exerted by IL-10 in LPS-stimulated wild-type J774. Constitutive SOCS-3 expression also down-regulated the mRNA expression of inducible NO synthase and IL-6 and impaired the production of TNF-α, mainly at a post-transcriptional level. In addition, SOCS-3-transfected cells displayed a constitutive expression of the IL-1R antagonist gene, consistent with the observation that IL-10 enhances IL-1R antagonist mRNA in LPS-stimulated wild-type cells. Furthermore, in peritoneal macrophages harvested from mice carrying heterozygous disruption of the SOCS-3 gene, IL-10 was less effective in repressing LPS-stimulated TNF-α and NO production. Taken together, our data show that SOCS-3 inhibits LPS-induced macrophage activation, strongly supporting the idea that it plays a role in the molecular mechanism by which IL-10 down-modulates the effector functions of LPS-activated macrophages. Finally, we show that forced expression of SOCS-3 significantly suppresses the ability of IL-10 to trigger tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3. Therefore, SOCS-3 functions both as an LPS signal inhibitor and as a negative feedback regulator of IL-10/STAT3 signaling.
Risk Factors for Clinically Relevant Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Venous Thrombosis in Patients Undergoing Primary Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

Background Prevention of thromboembolic complications after elective lower extremity arthroplasty has increasingly relied on routine thromboprophylaxis in all patients. Not all patients are at equal risk, however, and prophylaxis is not devoid of complications. The aim of this study was to examine the risk factors for clinically relevant pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis after elective primary hip or knee arthroplasty in a large patient population. Methods During the 10-yr study period, 116 of 9,791 patients undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty at the authors’ institution who experienced pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis within 30 days of surgery were matched at a 1:1 ratio with patients undergoing the same surgery with the same surgeon who did not experience an adverse event. Medical records were reviewed, with data abstracted using a standardized data collection form. Results Increased body mass index (P = 0.031; odds ratio = 1.5 for each 5-kg/m2 increase) and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification of 3 or greater (P = 0.005; odds ratio = 2.6) were found to independently increase the likelihood of pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis. In addition, use of antithrombotic prophylaxis was found to decrease the likelihood of these thromboembolic events (P = 0.050; odds ratio = 0.2 for aspirin or subcutaneous heparin, and odds ratio = 0.4 for warfarin or low-molecular-weight heparin). Conclusions In patients undergoing primary elective lower extremity arthroplasty, obesity, poor American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, and lack of thromboprophylaxis are independent risk factors for clinically relevant thromboembolic events.
Transendothelial migration and trafficking of leukocytes in LFA‐1‐deficient mice

The leukocyte integrin LFA‐1 plays an important role in leukocyte trafficking and the immune response. Using LFA‐1‐deficient mice, we demonstrate that LFA‐1 regulates the trafficking of lymphocytes to peripheral lymph nodes, and, to a lesser degree, to mesenteric lymphnodes and acute inflammatory sites. LFA‐1, either because of its role in initial adhesion and/or the passage of leukocytes across endothelial cells, plays a vital role in T lymphocyte and neutrophil transendothelial migration. Neutrophils and activated T lymphocytes from LFA‐1‐deficient mice were unable to cross endothelial cell monolayers in response to a chemokine gradient, whereas wild‐type (WT) T lymphocytes and neutrophils were capable of migration. By contrast, LFA‐1‐deficient T lymphocytes displayed normal chemotaxis to the same chemokine. Our studies with LFA‐1‐deficient monocytes indicate that LFA‐1 acts in concert with complement receptor 3 to mediate transendothelial migration of these cells, as anti‐CD18 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) blocked both WT and LFA‐1‐deficient monocyte transendothelial migration, whereas anti‐CD11b mAb preferentially blocked transendothelial migration of LFA‐1‐deficient monocytes. Finally, whereas anti‐CD31 mAb blocked WT monocyte and neutrophil transendothelial cell migration they did not block LFA‐1‐deficient monocyte and neutrophil transendothelial migration.
Visual transduction in human rod photoreceptors.

1. Photocurrents were recorded with suction electrodes from rod photoreceptors of seven humans. 2. Brief flashes of light evoked transient outward currents of up to 20 pA. With increasing light intensity the peak response amplitude increased along an exponential saturation function. A half‐saturating peak response was evoked by approximately sixty‐five photoisomerizations. 3. Responses to brief dim flashes rose to a peak in about 200 ms. The waveform was roughly like the impulse response of a series of four to five low‐pass filters. 4. The rising phases of the responses to flashes of increasing strength were found to fit with a biochemical model of phototransduction with an ‘effective delay time’ and ‘characteristic time’ of about 2 and 800 ms, respectively. 5. Spectral sensitivities were obtained over a wavelength range from 380 to 760 nm. The action spectrum, which peaked at 495 nm, followed the template described for photoreceptors in the macaque retina. Variation between rods in the position of the spectrum on the wavelength axis was small. 6. The scotopic luminosity function derived from human psychophysical experiments was found to agree well with the measured rod action spectrum after adjustments were made for lens absorption and photopigment self‐screening in the intact eye. 7. Responses to steps of light rose monotonically to a maintained level, showing little or no relaxation. Nevertheless, the relationship between light intensity and steady‐state response amplitude was shallower than that expected from simple response saturation. This is consistent with an adaptation mechanism acting on a rapid time scale. 8. Flash sensitivity fell with increasing intensities of background light according to Weber's law. Sensitivity was reduced twofold by lights evoking about 120 photoisomerizations per second. Background lights decreased the time to peak and the integration time of the flash response by up to 20%.
Peridomestic distribution of Triatoma garciabesi and Triatoma guasayana in north‐west Argentina

The Reduviid bugs Triatoma garciabesi Carcavallo et al. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), previously known as T. sordida Ståhl in the semi‐arid chaco region, and T. guasayana Wygodzinsky & Abalos, vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), were found to occupy wide but different ranges of ecotopes in the peridomestic environment. At Amamá and nearby rural villages in north‐western Argentina, a combined total of 1233 specimens were collected from 325/2314 (14%) sites surveyed at 6‐monthly intervals from November 1994 to November 1996. Triatoma garciabesi and T. guasayana displayed a significantly different distribution among peridomestic ecotopes. Triatoma garciabesi predominated over T. guasayana in the prevalence of infested sites, the number of colonies and the number of bugs collected. For T. garciabesi, the predominant ecotopes most likely to yield T. garciabesi repeatedly were the rugged bark of Prosopis alba or P. nigra (Fabaceae) trees, where chickens roosted, and chicken coops. For T. guasayana the main ecotopes were goat or sheep corrals, piled materials and orchard fences. Triatoma garciabesi and T. guasayana were collected concurrently from the same site on 9/2314 (0.4%) occasions, and on different dates at the same site on 12 (0.5%) occasions. The observed low frequency of mixed populations (< 1%) was not significantly different from that expected from a hypothesis of independence. Triatoma garciabesi clearly outnumbered T. guasayana in four of the nine mixed populations, none of which persisted as such. Neither T. garciabesi nor T. guasayana colonized human habitations, even in the absence of T. infestans (formerly the predominant domestic vector of T. cruzi in this area), a situation that apparently has not changed in the last 50 years in northern Argentina.
Early stroke: a dynamic process.

In the acutely infarcted brain, cytokines are released into cerebrospinal fluid and blood. Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, among others, may play a role in the acute increases in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and vasopressin.1–6 Increases in cytokines and hormones may in turn induce changes in other variables. When recorded on admission in acute stroke patients, many variables have been found to be associated with poor outcome in acute stroke. Body temperature7 is one such variable, blood glucose another,8–18 and C-reactive protein (CRP)19–22 and white blood cell count (WBC)20,23 serum cortisol and ferritin24 are further examples. Elevated plasma and cerebrospinal fluid levels of glutamate, glycine,25 ferritin,26 and IL-627 were also associated with deteriorating stroke. It seems plausible that these variables generally are unaffected at stroke onset and then increase in the early hours after onset, depending on the severity of the stroke. We found this to be the case with temperature,28 which in a large series of patients was normal when measured within 2 hours of stroke onset, but which rose at 4 to 6 hours after stroke onset in patients with severe neurological deficits. At 8 to 10 hours after stroke onset, elevated temperature was associated with poor outcome. This association arose several hours after onset of severe stroke. Thus, the initial severity of the stroke …
An Evaluation of Course Evaluations

Student ratings of teaching have been used, studied, and debated for almost a century. This article examines student ratings of teaching from a statistical perspective. The common practice of relying on averages of student teaching evaluation scores as the primary measure of teaching effectiveness for promotion and tenure decisions should be abandoned for substantive and statistical reasons: There is strong evidence that student responses to questions of “effectiveness” do not measure teaching effectiveness. Response rates and response variability matter. And comparing averages of categorical responses, even if the categories are represented by numbers, makes little sense. Student ratings of teaching are valuable when they ask the right questions, report response rates and score distributions, and are balanced by a variety of other sources and methods to evaluate teaching.
Differential distribution of factors involved in pre-mRNA processing in the yeast cell nucleus

The yeast cell nucleus has previously been shown to be divided into two regions by a variety of microscopic approaches. We used antibodies specific for the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine cap structure of small nuclear ribonucleic acids (snRNAs) and for a protein component of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles to identify the distribution of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles within the yeast cell nucleus. These studies were performed with the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By using immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoelectron microscopy, most of the abundant snRNAs were localized to the portion of the nucleus which has heretofore been referred to as the nucleolus. This distribution of snRNAs is different from that found in mammalian cells and suggests that the nucleolar portion of the yeast nucleus contains functional domains in addition to those associated with RNA polymerase I activity.