Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Practice and Training in Bimanual Coordination Tasks: Strategies and Constraints

There are a number of structural constraints on the coordination of the two hands. Understanding bimanual coordination involves not only identification of these constraints but also how they can be overcome or modulated. The performance of polyrhythms has been used to examine these issues. In this article the constraints on coordination are outlined and research on the acquisition of polyrhythms is reviewed. It is suggested that the constraints on the production of multifrequency ratios are overcome by integrating the timing of the two hands. Oscillator models of coordination are then considered and a two-process model of motor timing is suggested.
A porcine ex vivo paracorporeal model of lung transplantation

A technique is described which allows perfusion of an isolated, ventilated pig lung with an extracorporeal veno-venous circuit from a support animal. This model is stable for up to 4 h, and avoids some of the disadvantages of alternative small animal and large animal models of lung transplantation. It may be useful in the investigation of factors affecting lung preservation and reperfusion injury.
Impairment of Glucose and Glutamate Transport and Induction of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress and Dysfunction in Synaptosomes by Amyloid β‐Peptide: Role of the Lipid Peroxidation Product 4‐Hydroxynonenal

Abstract: Deposits of amyloid β‐peptide (Aβ), reduced glucose uptake into brain cells, oxidative damage to cellular proteins and lipids, and excitotoxic mechanisms have all been suggested to play roles in the neurodegenerative process in Alzheimer's disease. Synapse loss is closely correlated with cognitive impairments in Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that the synapse may be the site at which degenerative mechanisms are initiated and propagated. We report that Aβ causes oxyradical‐mediated impairment of glucose transport, glutamate transport, and mitochondrial function in rat neocortical synaptosomes. Aβ induced membrane lipid peroxidation in synaptosomes that occurred within 1 h of exposure; significant decreases in glucose transport occurred within 1 h of exposure to Aβ and decreased further with time. The lipid peroxidation product 4‐hydroxynonenal conjugated to synaptosomal proteins and impaired glucose transport; several antioxidants prevented Aβ‐induced impairment of glucose transport, indicating that lipid peroxidation was causally linked to this adverse action of Aβ. FeSO4 (an initiator of lipid peroxidation), Aβ, and 4‐hydroxynonenal each induced accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, caused concentration‐dependent decreases in 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction, and reduced cellular ATP levels significantly. Aβ also impaired glutamate transport, an effect blocked by antioxidants. These data suggest that Aβ induces membrane lipid peroxidation, which results in impairment of the function of membrane glucose and glutamate transporters, altered mitochondrial function, and a deficit in ATP levels; 4‐hydroxynonenal appears to be a mediator of these actions of Aβ. These data suggest that oxidative stress occurring at synapses may contribute to the reduced glucose uptake and synaptic degeneration that occurs in Alzheimer's disease patients. They further suggest a sequence of events whereby oxidative stress promotes excitotoxic synaptic degeneration and neuronal cell death in a variety of different neurodegenerative disorders.
Visitantes florais e seus padrões temporais de atividade em flores de Dombeya wallichii (Lindl.) K. Schum (Malvaceae)

Dombeya wallichii e uma planta exotica comumente cultivada em varias regioes do Brasil para fins ornamentais, e o presente trabalho objetivou avaliar os seus visitantes florais assim como seus horarios de visitacao e a influencia de fatores climaticos na visitacao. A pesquisa foi realizada em Juiz de Fora, estado de Minas Gerais (MG), Brasil. Foram amostradas 16 inflorescencias de cinco arvores, das 08 h as 17 h. Foram registrados 974 individuos distribuidos em quatro ordens e 20 morfotipos, com destaque as especies: Apis melifera e Trigona spinipes que apresentaram pico de visitacao durante toda a manha, e para Agelaia vicina com pico registrado no inicio da tarde. Foi observada correlacao entre a abundância de visitantes e luminosidade, umidade relativa do ar e velocidade do vento.
A Longitudinal Study of Visuospatial Discrimination in Parkinsonian Patients

Visuospatial discrimination was evaluated longitudinally in 45 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. 47 normal matched subjects served as controls. Visuospatial discrimination was assessed by means of a picture test with complex superimposed objects (Poppelreuter's test) at the beginning of the study as well as three years later. At initial evaluation the group with Parkinson's disease identified fewer objects than the control group and made more errors. Relations between performance on the visuospatial discrimination task and the main parameters of the disease were not statistically significant. At reevaluation, three years later on the same task, performance by the group with Parkinson's disease deteriorated. Longitudinal assessment of motor symptoms showed that disease progressed during the study period in 35 patients. Comparison of motor deterioration with performance on the visuospatial discrimination task showed no statistically significant relationship.
Towards a SignWriting recognition system

SignWriting is a writing system for sign languages. It is based on visual symbols to represent the hand shapes, movements and facial expressions, among other elements. It has been adopted by more than 40 countries, but to ensure the social integration of the deaf community, writing systems based on sign languages should be properly incorporated into the Information Technology. This article reports our first efforts toward the implementation of an automatic reading system for SignWiring. This would allow converting the SignWriting script into text so that one can store, retrieve, and index information in an efficient way. In order to make this work possible, we have been collecting a database of hand configurations, which at the present moment sums up to 7,994 images divided into 103 classes of symbols. To classify such symbols, we have performed a comprehensive set of experiments using different features, classifiers, and combination strategies. The best result, 94.4% of recognition rate, was achieved by a Convolutional Neural Network.
Regulation of Poliovirus 3 C Protease by the 2 C Polypeptide

Poliovirus-encoded nonstructural polypeptide 2C is a multifunctional protein that plays an important role in viral RNA replication. 2C interacts with both intracellular membranes and virus-specific RNAs and has ATPase and GTPase activities. Extensive computer analysis of the 2C sequence revealed that in addition to the known ATPase-, GTPase-, membrane-, and RNA-binding domains it also contains several “serpin” (serine protease inhibitor) motifs. We provide experimental evidence suggesting that 2C is indeed capable of regulating virus-encoded proteases. The purified 2C protein inhibits 3C-catalyzed cleavage of cellular transcription factors at Q-G sites in vitro. It also inhibits cleavage of a viral precursor by the other viral protease, 2A. However, at least three cellular proteases appear not to be inhibited by 2C in vitro. The 2C-associated protease inhibitory activity can be depleted by anti-2C antibody. A physical interaction between 2C and His-tagged 3C can be demonstrated in vitro by coimmunoprecipitation of 2C with anti-His antibody. Deletion analysis suggests that the 2C central and C-terminal domains that include several serpin motifs are important for 3C-inhibitory activity. To examine the 2C protease inhibitory activity in vivo, stable HeLa cell lines were made that express 2C in an inducible fashion. Infection of 2C-expressing cells with poliovirus led to incomplete (or inefficient) processing of viral precursor polypeptides compared to control cell lines containing the vector alone. These results suggest that 2C can negatively regulate the viral protease 3C. The possible role of the 2C protease inhibitory activity in viral RNA replication is discussed.
Rho GTPases at the crossroad of signaling networks in mammals

Microtubule (MT) organization and dynamics downstream of external cues is crucial for maintaining cellular architecture and the generation of cell asymmetries. In interphase cells RhoA, Rac, and Cdc42, conspicuous members of the family of small Rho GTPases, have major roles in modulating MT stability, and hence polarized cell behaviors. However, MTs are not mere targets of Rho GTPases, but also serve as signaling platforms coupling MT dynamics to Rho GTPase activation in a variety of cellular conditions. In this article, we review some of the key studies describing the reciprocal relationship between small Rho-GTPases and MTs during migration and polarization.
An Improved Closed-Form Approximation to the Sum of Arbitrary Nakagami- $m$ Variates

The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to propose a simple accurate closed-form approximation to the probability density function of the sum of arbitrarily distributed Nakagami-m random variables; (2) to propose a simple accurate closed-form approximation to the level crossing rate for the sum of Nakagami-m random processes; and (3) to show some possible applications for the proposed formulations. With such an aim, we choose the alpha-mu distribution for which the parameters are estimated from the sum of the Nakagami- m envelopes. As shall be shown from sample representative examples, the proposed approximations are simple, versatile, and highly accurate. The approach used here can easily be extended to other applications such as bit error rate and channel capacity calculations among others.
Beyond Remission: Rationale and Design of the Prevention of Recurrent Episodes of Depression with Venlafaxine for Two Years (PREVENT) Study

Abstract Recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common and disabling illness, but few studies have addressed long-term antidepressant treatment of recurrent MDD (ie, beyond 1 year of maintenance therapy) or compared the efficacy and safety of different antidepressant classes in this population. This article describes the rationale and design of a unique multi-phase trial in patients with recurrent MDD. The Prevention of Recurrent Episodes of Depression with Venlafaxine for Two Years (PREVENT) study is a large double-blind, randomized, multi-center trial designed to assess the long-term efficacy of venlafaxine extended release (ER) in the prevention of depressive recurrence. Approximately 1,100 adult outpatients with MDD and a history of ≥3 lifetime episodes (with at least two occurring in the past 5 years) were randomized to 10 weeks of acute-phase treatment with either venlafaxine ER 75–300 mg/day or fluoxetine 20–60 mg/day, followed by 6 months of continuation-phase treatment for patients experiencing a satisfactory therapeutic response or remission during the acute phase. Responders and remitters to continuation phase treatment were then entered into a 2-year maintenance phase study, in which those receiving venlafaxine ER were re-randomized to either venlafaxine ER or placebo at the start of two 12-month maintenance periods. Those taking fluoxetine during the acute and continuation phases continued to receive double-blind treatment with fluoxetine. This study will address several unanswered questions about the long-term treatment of recurrent MDD, such as whether extended maintenance treatment (ie, up to 2 years) lessens the risk for developing future depressive episodes; whether fluoxetine and venlafaxine ER are effective for both short- and long-term treatment of MDD; whether rates of tachyphylaxis differ between anti- depressant classes; and whether the likelihood of depressive recurrence differs according to the time point when treatment is discontinued.
Between Feed Arteries and Micro vessels in Hamster Striated Muscle : Segmental Vascular Responses Are Functionally Coordinated

Pressures in the primary arterioies of the cremaster muscle are reported to be approximately 50% of systemic, indicating that arterial resistance proximal to microvessels is high and may limit maximal blood flow. With no change in arterial resistance, increases in perfusion normally associated with muscle work either could not occur or would require increments in systemic pressure far greater than those actually observed in vivo. Therefore, we hypothesized that the small arteries feeding the muscle may participate in the hyperemic response. To test this hypothesis, male golden hamsters (n = 31,118 g) were anesthetized (pentobarbital, 70 mg/kg i.p.), and the right cremaster was opened to expose its feed arteries, which originated from the iliac artery. Preparations were superfused and maintained at 35 ± 1°C. Feed arteries had substantial tone, as shown by the fact that topical acetylcholine, applied at supramaximal concentration, dilated these vessels from 115 ± 8 /xm at rest to 158 ± 9 /xm (mean ± SE; n = 38 vessels; p < 0.01), corresponding to an estimated 4.4-fold increase in conductance. Stimulation of the sectioned motor nerve (8 Hz, 30 seconds) induced striated muscle contraction and increased feed vessel diameter from 93 ± 5 /xm to 116 ± 5 /xm (n = 14; p < 0.01), consistent with a 2.6-fold increase in conductance. A 5-minute occlusion of the iliac artery resulted in feed artery dilation of similar magnitude. Supramaximal doses of acetylcholine applied topically to the distal portions of the cremaster resulted in striated muscle contraction and a dilation that propagated upstream to increase feed artery diameter by 25%. Succinylcholine abolished muscle contraction induced by acetylcholine, but not distal or propagated dilations. Supramaximal doses of adenosine applied distally also produced dilation of feed vessels, but of a smaller magnitude than seen with acetylcholine. Similar results were obtained for feed arteries of the gracilis muscle in response to both muscular contraction and topical acetylcholine. We conclude that the designation "resistance vessels" should include these larger feed arteries and that vasodilation spreads upstream during functional demand. Thus, feed vessels contribute to the integration of muscle blood flow with metabolic requirements. Furthermore, there appear to be separate components involved in coordinating vasomotor responses among segments of the resistance vasculature. (Circulation'Research 1986; 59:283-290)
Evaluation of numerical analysis of SDS-PAGE of protein patterns for typing Enterobacter cloacae

SUMMARY Twenty cultures comprising 13 clinical isolates of Enterobacter cloacae from two hospitals. the type and another reference stain of E. cloacae and the type strains of four other Enterobacter sp. and of Escherichia coli, were characterized by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDSPAGE) of whole-cell proteins. The protein patterns were highly reproducible and were used as the basis of a numerical analysis which divided the clinical isolates into nine clearly defined protein types. Comparison with established typing methods indicated that the discrimination of SDS-PAGE was similar to that achieved with conventional typing methods and all strain groups recognized by combined sero/phage typing were also found by SDS-PAGE. In addition, protein typing sub-divided a group of four serotype O3 isolates that were difficult to distinguish by phage typing. We conclude that high-resolution SDS-PAGE of proteins provides an effective method of typing isolates of E. cloacae.
Matrix models for childhood infections: a Bayesian approach with applications to rubella and mumps

Mathematical modelling is an established tool for planning and monitoring vaccination programmes. However, the matrices describing contact rates are based on subjective choices, which have a large impact on results. This paper reviews published models and obtains prior model probabilities based on publication frequency and expert opinion. Using serological survey data on rubella and mumps, Bayesian methods of model choice are applied to select the most plausible models. Estimates of the basic reproduction number R0 are derived, taking into account model uncertainty and individual heterogeneity in contact rates. Twenty-two models are documented, for which publication frequency and expert opinion are negatively correlated. Using the expert prior with individual heterogeneity, R0=6·1 [95% credible region (CR) 4·3–9·2] for rubella and R0=19·3 (95% CR 4·0–31·5) for mumps. The posterior modes are insensitive to the prior for rubella but not for mumps. Overall, assortative models with individual heterogeneity are recommended.
Pharmacokinetic Model-driven Infusion of Fentanyl in Children

Background This study determined the accuracy of previously defined adult fentanyl pharmacokinetics in children having surgery; from this population, the pharmacokinetics of fentanyl were characterized in children when administered via a computerized assisted continuous-infusion device. Methods Twenty children between the ages of 2.7 and 11 y scheduled to undergo elective noncardiac surgery were studied. After induction, anesthesia was maintained with 60% nitrous oxide in oxygen supplemented with fentanyl (n = 10) or fentanyl plus isoflurane (n = 10). Fentanyl was administered via computerized assisted continuous-infusion to target concentrations determined by clinical requirements. Plasma fentanyl concentrations were measured and used to evaluate the performance of the fentanyl pharmacokinetics and then to determine a new set of pharmacokinetic parameters and the variance in the context-sensitive half-times simulated for these patients. Results The original adult fentanyl pharmacokinetics resulted in a positive bias (10.4%), indicating that measured concentrations were mostly greater than predicted. A two-compartment model with age and weight as covariates provided the optimal pharmacokinetic parameters. These resulted in a residual performance error of -1.1% and a median absolute performance error of 17.4%. The context-sensitive times determined from this pediatric population were considerably shorter than the context-sensitive times previously published for adults. Conclusions The pharmacokinetics of fentanyl administered by computerized assisted continuous-infusion differ between adults and children. The newly derived parameters are probably more suitable to determine infusion schemes of up to 4 h in children between the ages of 2 and 11 y.
TRANSMEMBRANE LINKAGE OF FIBRONECTIN TO INTRACELLULAR ACTIN‐CONTAINING FILAMENTS IN CULTURED HUMAN FIBROBLASTS *

Fibronectin was shown by immunofluorescence studies' to be present in streaklike patterns on the surfaces of normal chicken fibroblasts, and the suggestion was made that these surface streaks were associated with underlying fibrous structures within the cells. In this paper, we provide strong evidence for such an association by means of double-fluorescent staining of fibronectin and of intracellular actin with normal human fibrcblasts. We have also examined the time course of appearance of fibronectin and of actin-containing filaments on plating out freshly trypsinized fibroblasts. The actiri-containing filaments reappear before the surface streaks of fibronectin, suggesting therefore that the filaments are involved directly in the determination of the fibrmectin surface distribution. W138 cells were grown i n Dulbecco's modified minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and antibiotics i n an atmosphere of 90% air, ! Ou, C 0 2 . Cells were treated with 0.25:; trypsin (1:250; Gibco, Grand Island, N . Y . ) for 15 min, replated onto coverslips in fresh medium, and allowed to spread. At varying times after replating, cells were fixed with 3",; formaldehyde, washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and incubated with dilute antiserum (kindly provided by Dr. R. Doolittle) against cold-insoluble globulin (which cross-reacts antigenically with fibronectin protein). The cells were then washed in PBS and treated with rhodamine-conjugated goat antirabbit IgG. ' After another PBS wash and a 2-min treatment with 0.l? ,; Triton@ X-100 to render the interior o f the cell accessible to staining reagents, the intracellular actin was localized by use of biotinyl-conjugated rabbit heavy mcromyosin and fluorescein-labeled ;ividin.3 As a control for the specificity of the antibody reagents, it was fbund that absorption of the rabbit serum with purilied cold-insoluble globulin eliminated the fluorescent staining of the cell surfaces. This general scheme of two-color fluorescent staining has been applied successfully to several other systems. "' As many investigators have shown (reviewed in Reference 6), trypsin treatment oT cultured WI38 normal human fibroblasts removes essentially all surface fibronectin. as can also be demonstrated by immunofluorescence (FIGURE I,A). In the process, the cells round up, and the organized actin-containing filaments (stress fibers) inside the cells appear to break down. One hour after replating, the actin distribution appears essentially entirely ditruse (FIGURE I ,C). Fibronectin staining begins to appear a t this time (FIGURE 1,D) as a punctate ring at the bottom surl'ace of the cell near the cell periphery, but not elsewhere on the surface. After 2 hr, the actin-containing fibers and fiber bundles become clearly visible (FIGURE I ,F), while the fibronectin is still confined to a peripheral ring (FIGURE I ,G). The positions of these fibronectin rings are within the leading edges of the cells (FIGURE
Genetic Typing of the Porin Protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from Clinical Noncultured Samples for Strain Characterization and Identification of Mixed Gonococcal Infections

ABSTRACT Molecular methods that characterize the Neisseria gonorrhoeae porin protein Por are needed to study gonococcal pathogenesis in the natural host and to classify strains from direct clinical samples used with nucleic acid amplification-based tests. We have defined the capabilities of por variable region (VR) typing and determined suitable conditions to apply the method to direct clinical specimens. Nested PCR from spiked urine samples detected 1 to 10 copies of template DNA; freezing spiked whole urine greatly reduced the ability to amplify porB. In a laboratory model of mixed gonococcal infections, the por type of one strain could be determined in the presence of a 100-fold excess of another. por VR typing was used to examine clinical samples from women enrolled in studies conducted in Baltimore, Md. , and Madagascar. por type was determined from 100% of paired cervical swab and wick samples from 20 culture-positive women from Baltimore; results for eight individuals (40%) suggested infection with more than one strain. In frozen urine samples from Madagascar, porB was amplified and typed from 60 of 126 samples from ligase chain reaction (LCR)-positive women and 3 samples from LCR-negative women. The por VR types of 13 samples (21%) suggested the presence of more than one gonococcal strain. Five por types, identified in >45% of women with typed samples, were common to both geographic areas. Molecular typing is an important adjunct to nucleic acid amplification-based diagnostics. Methods that utilize direct clinical samples and can identify mixed infections may contribute significantly to studies of host immunity, gonococcal epidemiology, and pathogenesis.