Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation patterns of covert word generation detected by fMRI: comparison with 3D PET.

PURPOSE The aim of our study was to compare the activation patterns of higher cognitive function detected by functional MRI (fMRI) with those by H2(15)O positron emission tomography (PET). METHOD Activation studies with both modalities were performed in six normal volunteers with identical covert word generation tasks and statistical analysis. For PET, each subject had five rest scans and five task scans at 10 min intervals. fMRI was performed with a 1.5 T magnet using T2*-weighted echo planar sequences. Each scanning session consisted of two rest and two task periods of 30 s each, alternating rest and task. RESULTS In group analysis, the activation patterns on both PET and fMRI were similar, whereas the deactivation patterns differed, presumably due to the noise of fMRI. In single-subject analysis, PET showed fewer activated areas and fMRI showed more areas of activation than in group analysis. CONCLUSION fMRI has an advantage over 3D PET in its better signal-to-noise ratio for detecting change in neuronal activity for higher brain function.
Evaluating media framing and public reactions in the context of a water reuse proposal

ABSTRACT The public is increasingly engaging with information about water reuse proposals through the Internet. Though there are benefits to engaging the public online, there may also be challenges associated with media bias or online advocacy. This study qualitatively examines the public response (online comments, n = 1323) to online news reporting an indirect potable reuse proposal for London. The study found no evidence of the media’s framing of the event strongly shaping the unsolicited online public reactions. Findings suggest that though communications may struggle to counter longer-term news agendas, there may be benefits to experimenting with framing water safety measures and shorter-term gains.
Metronomic palliative chemotherapy in maxillary sinus tumor

Abstract Background: Metronomic chemotherapy consisting of methotrexate and celecoxib recently has shown promising results in multiple studies in head and neck cancers. However, these studies have not included patients with maxillary sinus primaries. Hence, the role of palliative metronomic chemotherapy in patients with maxillary sinus carcinoma that is not amenable to radical therapy is unknown. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of carcinoma maxillary sinus patients who received palliative metronomic chemotherapy between August 2011 and August 2014. The demographic details, symptomatology, previous treatment details, indication for palliative chemotherapy, response to therapy, and overall survival (OS) details were extracted. SPSS version 16 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics have been performed. Survival analysis was done by Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Five patients had received metronomic chemotherapy. The median age was 60 years (range 37-64 years). The proportion of patients surviving at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months were 40%, 40%, and 20%, respectively. The estimated median OS was 126 days (95% confidence interval 0-299.9 days). The estimated median survival in patients with an event-free period after the last therapy of <6 months was 45 days, whereas it was 409 days in patients with an event-free period postlast therapy above 6 months (P = 0.063). Conclusion: Metronomic chemotherapy in carcinoma maxillary sinus holds promise. It has activity similar to that seen in head and neck cancers and needs to be evaluated further in a larger cohort of patients.
Activation of Adenylyl Cyclase by Preincubation of Rat Cerebral‐Cortical Membranes Under Phosphorylating Conditions: Role of ATP, GTP, and Divalent Cations

Abstract: The effects of preincubation under phosphorylating conditions on adenylyl cyclase activity were studied in preparations containing synaptic membranes from rat cerebral cortex. Preincubation of the membranes with 2 mM ATP and 10 mM MgCl2 resulted in a 50% increase of adenylyl cyclase activity which withstood sedimentation and washing. This activation was maximal after 5 min of preincubation, was reversed after longer preincubations, and paralleled the time course of endogenous phosphorylation‐dephosphorylation of proteins observed under these conditions. The activation showed a critical requirement for Mg2+ ions and was dependent on ATP concentration. Similar activation was observed after preincubation of cerebral‐cortical membranes with adenosine‐5′‐0‐(3‐thiophosphate) (ATPγS), but this activation was not reversed by prolonged preincubation times. The activation by ATPγS was potentiated severalfold by including synaptoplasm in the preincubation. Further experiments indicated that the activity of nucleoside diphosphokinase, which converts ATPγS to guanosine‐5′‐0‐(3‐thiophosphate) (GTPγS), could account for this potentiation. Preincubation of washed membranes for 5 min with 10 μ. M GTP and 10 mM MgCl2 also produced a 50% activation of adenylyl cyclase which withstood sedimentation and washing and was reversed by longer preincubations. Endogenous phosphorylation of specific protein components in the membranes during the preincubation was examined by including radioactively labeled nucleoside thiophosphates in the preincubation medium. Incorporation of 35S from [35S]ATPγS into a protein component with apparent Mr of 54,000 daltons (54K) correlated significantly with the activation of adenylyl cyclase by ATPγS. Thiophosphorylation of the 54K protein was potentiated by addition of GDP to reactions carried out with [35S]ATPγS. Endogenous activity utilizing [γ‐32P]GTP as a phosphate donor also preferentially phosphorylated the 54K protein band. These results support previous suggestions that protein phosphorylation plays a role in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase activity. Among the numerous membrane‐bound phosphoproteins in rat brain, we have identified a specific protein component with an apparent Mr of 54,000 daltons as the most likely candidate for involvement in this mode of regulation. This 54K protein, which is a principal substrate for a GTP‐preferring protein kinase activity in brain membranes, can now be at the focus of investigations attempting to demonstrate a direct role for protein phosphorylation in adenylyl cyclase regulation.
Expectations and satisfaction of patients with low back pain attending a multidisciplinary rehabilitation service.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To identify the expectations of service, and degree of satisfaction, with a multidisciplinary service for patients with low back pain, and to examine the strength of association between patients' satisfaction and expectations. METHOD A three-stage study design was used. concerns were identified by a focus group; priority issues were identified by ranking by use of a Delphi consensus questionnaire; satisfaction or expectation questionnaires were also used to rate patients' satisfaction and the degree to which expectations were met. SUBJECTS Three convenience samples of patients with low back pain were recruited. Ten patients attended the focus group, 55 completed the Delphi consensus questionnaire and 40 completed the satisfaction or expectation questionnaires. RESULTS Patients rated a clear diagnosis and effective treatment as important, and the ease with which they could access the service and post-discharge follow-up as important issues when judging satisfaction. Patients rated their overall satisfaction and meeting their expectations higher than specific service issues, and the strengths of the associations between the two constructs varied from concern to concern. CONCLUSION Certain aspects of service provision are rated with greater importance than others when patients judge a service they have experienced. There are differences in the strength of associations between the constructs of patient satisfaction and meeting expectations of service, specific to the individual service concern that is being evaluated. The present study provides more evidence that specific concerns within service provision should be identified before evaluating patients' expectations and satisfaction with the service overall.
Link-aware AP selection for improving Wi-Fi quality

The demand of mobile traffic increases tremendously as various Internet services are provided to mobile phones and computing devices, making mobile carriers to increase capacity of cellular network. Since current cell towers and auxiliary devices cannot carry excessive amount of traffic, several mobile carriers try to install low cost wireless equipments such as Wi-Fi access points (AP) so that some part of mobile traffic can be offloaded to these wireless nodes. Unlike cell towers, APs are installed randomly since there is no specific allocation policy for these license-exempt band equipment that are open to everyone. Since the randomized allocation of APs incur interference that causes serious degradation of wireless communication quality, it is necessary to design mobile devices to communicate in the environment or channel that contains the least interference. In order to make a mobile device experience the best wireless download quality, this paper proposes a novel AP selection mechanism that selects an AP that contains the least interference level compared to others with different number of communicating devices and amount of traffic load. Proposed selection mechanism does not require any additional feedback from nearby devices or APs. Performance evaluation is done by using real mobile devices with open source platform called Android.
Inheritance patterns of secondary symbionts during sexual reproduction of pea aphid biotypes

Herbivorous insects frequently harbor bacterial symbionts that affect their ecology and evolution. Aphids host the obligatory endosymbiont Buchnera, which is required for reproduction, together with facultative symbionts whose frequencies vary across aphid populations. These maternally transmitted secondary symbionts have been particularly studied in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, which harbors at least 8 distinct bacterial species (not counting Buchnera) having environmentally dependent effects on host fitness. In particular, these symbiont species are associated with pea aphid populations feeding on specific plants. Although they are maternally inherited, these bacteria are occasionally transferred across insect lineages. One mechanism of such nonmaternal transfer is paternal transmission to the progeny during sexual reproduction. To date, transmission of secondary symbionts during sexual reproduction of aphids has been investigated in only a handful of aphid lineages and 3 symbiont species. To better characterize this process, we investigated inheritance patterns of 7 symbiont species during sexual reproduction of pea aphids through a crossing experiment involving 49 clones belonging to 9 host‐specialized biotypes, and 117 crosses. Symbiont species in the progeny were detected with diagnostic qualitative PCR at the fundatrix stage hatching from eggs and in later parthenogenetic generations. We found no confirmed case of paternal transmission of symbionts to the progeny, and we observed that maternal transmission of a particular symbiont species (Serratia symbiotica) was quite inefficient. We discuss these observations in respect to the ecology of the pea aphid.
Determinants of the Host Range Restriction of Replication of Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 in Rhesus Monkeys Are Polygenic

ABSTRACT The Kansas strain of bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV3) is 100- to 1,000-fold restricted in replication in the respiratory tracts of nonhuman primates compared to human PIV3 (HPIV3), an important pathogen of infants and young children. BPIV3 is also restricted in replication in human infants and children, yet it is immunogenic and is currently being evaluated in clinical trials as a vaccine candidate to protect against illness caused by HPIV3. We have examined the genetic basis for the host range attenuation phenotype of BPIV3 by exchanging each open reading frame (ORF) of a recombinant wild-type HPIV3 with the analogous ORF from BPIV3, with the caveats that the multiple ORFs of the P gene were exchanged as a single unit and that the HN and F genes were exchanged as a single unit. Recombinant chimeric bovine-human PIV3s were recovered from cDNA, and the levels of viral replication in vitro and in the respiratory tract of rhesus monkeys were determined. Recombinant chimeric HPIV3s bearing the BPIV3 N or P ORF were highly attenuated in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of monkeys, whereas those bearing the BPIV3 M or L ORF or the F and HN genes were only moderately attenuated. This indicates that the genetic determinants of the host range restriction of replication of BPIV3 for primates are polygenic, with the major determinants being the N and P ORFs. Monkeys immunized with these bovine-human chimeric viruses, including the more highly attenuated ones, developed higher levels of HPIV3 hemagglutination-inhibiting serum antibodies than did monkeys immunized with BPIV3 and were protected from challenge with wild-type HPIV3. Furthermore, host range determinants could be combined with attenuating point mutations to achieve an increased level of attenuation. Thus, chimeric recombinant bovine-human PIV3 viruses that manifest different levels of attenuation in rhesus monkeys are available for evaluation as vaccine candidates to protect infants from the severe lower respiratory tract disease caused by HPIV3.
Prophylactic Effect of Enterococcus faecalis FK‐23 Preparation on Experimental Candidiasis in Mice

The prophylactic effects of heat‐killed cells of Enterococcus faecalis FK‐23 (FK‐23 preparation) on experimental candidiasis were investigated in normal and leukopenic mice. In cyclophosphamide‐induced leukopenic mice, oral or intraperitoneal administration of the FK‐23 preparation at a daily dose of 1.25 or 5 mg/mouse for 3 consecutive days prior to Candida albicans infection significantly prolonged survival periods of the infected mice, and decreased viable counts of C. albicans recovered from their kidneys. In normal mice, the FK‐23 preparation administered at dosages ranging from 0.63 to 10 mg/mouse/day for 3 consecutive days was ineffective, while in leukopenic mice, the FK‐23 administered orally caused a facilitated recovery in the number of white blood cells including neutrophils. Furthermore, intraperitoneal administration of the FK‐23 preparation into mice augmented the anti‐Candida activity of immunocompromised peritoneal exudate cells obtained from the animals. These results suggested the potential usefulness of the FK‐23 preparation as a prophylactic agent for the management of patients with opportunistic fungal infections.
ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITY OF CRUDE AQUEOUS BARK EXTRACT OF TRICHILIA MONADELPHA AGAINST PLASMODIUM BERGHEI BERGHEI ( NK 65 ) IN

In vivo antimalarial activity of the crude aqueous bark extract of Trichilia monadelpha was evaluated using chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei berghei infection in mice with a view to finding scientific evidence for the use of the plant as traditional antimalarial remedy in Ido/Osi LGA of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The crude aqueous extract of Trichilia monadelpha (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg) was administered orally to mice infected with Plasmodium berghei berghei in both early and established infection. The antiplasmodial effect during early and established infection of the plant in blood was determined. The extract at these doses caused 50-61% activity during early infection and 7.3-24.6% activity during established infection when compared with negative control. Chloroquine produced 100% activity. In both tests percentage parasitaemia still rose but not as high as that of negative control group. Trichilia monadelpha seems not to produce a curative effect on malaria but suppresses malaria to a certain degree.
The neurobiology of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex

While the function of dystrophin in muscle disease has been thoroughly investigated, dystrophin and associated proteins also have important roles in the central nervous system. Many patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (D/BMD) have cognitive impairment, learning disability, and an increased incidence of some neuropsychiatric disorders. Accordingly, dystrophin and members of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex (DGC) are found in the brain where they participate in macromolecular assemblies that anchor receptors to specialized sites within the membrane. In neurons, dystrophin and the DGC participate in the postsynaptic clustering and stabilization of some inhibitory GABAergic synapses. During development, α-dystroglycan functions as an extracellular matrix receptor controlling, amongst other things, neuronal migration in the developing cortex and cerebellum. Several types of congenital muscular dystrophy caused by impaired α-dystroglycan glycosylation cause neuronal migration abnormalities and mental retardation. In glial cells, the DGC is involved in the organization of protein complexes that target water-channels to the plasma membrane. Finally, mutations in the gene encoding ε-sarcoglycan cause the neurogenic movement disorder, myoclonus-dystonia syndrome implicating ε–sarcoglycan in dopaminergic neurotransmission. In this review we describe the recent progress in defining the role of the DGC and associated proteins in the brain.
A low-power dual-mode continuous-time delta-sigma modulator with a folded quantizer

A dual-mode (2nd/3rd-order) continuous-time delta-sigma modulator with a proposed 4-bit folded quantizer is presented. The proposed folded quantizer achieves lower power consumption and saves quantizer hardware area. In addition, the dual-mode architecture provides the flexibility to satisfy the power consumption and resolution requirement. With a 1-MHz bandwidth and 64-MHz sampling rate, the measured peak SNDR and dynamic range for 2nd/3rd-order modulators are 55 dB/66 dB and 57 dB/68 dB, respectively. Fabricated in a 90-nm CMOS, the chip consumes 1.2 mW/1.5 mW from a 1.2-V supply voltage.
Wnt Signaling Pathway in Mammary Gland Development and Carcinogenesis

The signaling pathway mediated by Wingless-type (Wnt) proteins is highly conserved in evolution. This pivotal pathway is known to regulate cell fate decisions, cell proliferation, morphology, migration, apoptosis, differentiation and stem cell self-renewal. It currently includes the canonical or Wnt/β-catenin pathway in which Wnt proteins bind to ‘frizzled’ receptors, which leads to downstream activation of gene transcription by β-catenin. Second, the noncanonical or β-catenin-independent pathways are now known to be mediated by three possible mechanisms: (1) the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway, (2) the Wnt/G protein signaling pathway, and (3) the Wnt/PCP or planar cell polarity pathway. Wnt signaling is implicated at several stages of mammary gland growth and differentiation, and possibly in the involution of mammary gland following lactation. Recent evidence suggests the role of Wnt signaling in human breast cancer involves elevated levels of nuclear and/or cytoplasmic β-catenin using immunohistochemistry, overexpression or downregulation of specific Wnt proteins, overexpression of CKII and sFRP4, downregulation of WIF-1 and sFRP1, as well as amplification of DVL-1. Further research is required to determine how Wnt signaling is involved in the development of different histological types of breast cancer and whether it promotes the viability of cancer stem cells or not.
Dopamine Release Impairment in Striatum after Different Levels of Cerebral Cortical Fluid Percussion Injury

To investigate the role of dopamine release in cognitive impairment and motor learning deficits after brain injury, different levels of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were made in rats by using fluid percussion at two different atmospheres (2 Psi and 6 Psi). Tonic and phasic bursting dopamine release and behavior tests followed at several time points. We used in vitro fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to survey dopamine release in the striatum and analyzed the rats’ behavior using novel object recognition (NOR) and rotarod tests. Both tonic and bursting dopamine release were greatly depressed in the severely (6 Psi) injured group, which persisted up to 8 weeks later. However, in the 2 Psi-injured group, the suppression of bursting dopamine release occurred at 1~2 weeks after injury, but there were no significant differences after 4 weeks. Tonic dopamine release was also diminished significantly at 1~2 weeks after the injury; partial recovery could then be seen 4 weeks after injury. A significant deficiency in the fixed speed rotarod test and NOR test were noted in both 2 Psi and 6 Psi groups initially; however, the changes recovered in the 2 Psi group 2 weeks after injury while persisting in the 6 Psi group. In conclusion, striatal evoked dopamine release was affected by fluid percussion injury, with behavioral deficits showing differences as a function of injury severity. The severe fluid percussion injury (6 Psi) group showed more dopamine release defects, as well as cognitive and motor deficiencies. Recovery of dopamine release and improvement in behavioral impairment were better in the mild TBI group.
Pupil Dilation as a Measure of Processing Load in Simultaneous Interpretation and Other Language Tasks

The present study tested whether the pupillary response can be applied to study the variation in processing load during simultaneous interpretation. In Experiment 1, the global processing load in simultaneous interpretation as reflected in the average pupil size was compared to that in two other language tasks, listening to and repeating back an auditorily presented text. Experiment 1 showed clear differences between the experimental tasks. In Experiment 2, the task effect was replicated using single words as stimuli. Experiment 2 showed that momentary variations in processing load during a lexical translation task are reflected in pupil size. Words that were chosen to be more difficult to translate induced higher levels of pupil dilation than did easily translatable words. Moreover, repeating back words in a non-native language was accompanied by increased pupil dilations, in comparison to repetition in the subject's native language. In sum, the study lends good support to the use of the pupillary response as an indicator of processing load.