Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Scalp Block” During Craniotomy: A Classic Technique Revisited

Local anesthesia of the nerves of the scalp is referred to as “scalp block. ” This technique was originally introduced more than a century ago, but has undergone a modern rebirth in intraoperative and postoperative anesthetic management. Here, we review the use of “scalp block” during craniotomy with its anatomic basis, historical evolution, current technique, potential advantages, and pitfalls. We also address its current and potential future applications.
Effect of IGF-I on Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase in Soleus Muscle of Lean and Insulin-Resistant Obese Mice

Insulin and IGF-I induced a similar stimulation of glucose transport in isolated soleus muscle. These actions require phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase activation since the PI 3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, blocked the stimulation by both peptides. We compared IGF-I with insulin in the ability to activate PI 3-kinase in the isolated soleus muscle from lean and gold thioglucose-induced obese insulin-resistant mice. In muscles from lean mice, IGF-I and insulin were able to activate PI 3-kinase with a similar time course, the effects being maximal within 3–5 min of stimulation. However, the IGF-I concentrations required to obtain similar effects on PI 3-kinase were about 10 times higher than the corresponding insulin doses. To determine through which receptor IGF-I was activating PI 3-kinase, the ability of IGF-I to activate both its own receptor and insulin receptor was simultaneously measured. Whatever the dose used (100 or 500 nmol/L), IGF-I activated to a nearly similar extent both the tyrosine kinase activity of its own receptor and that of the insulin receptor, suggesting that IGF-I was not only activating its receptor but was also able to stimulate the insulin receptor kinase. In muscles of obese insulinresistant mice, although the defect of PI 3-kinase activation in response to IGF-I was relatively less pronounced (45%) than in response to insulin (70%) when compared with lean mice, PI 3-kinase stimulation was still markedly altered in response to IGF-I.
The last knights : a preliminary study of the developments in the habitus of the Cadets' Corps

On the basis of theoretical and empirical considerations the author concludes that values of chivalry, such as courtesy, politeness, etiquette, courage and honour are still relevant for the modern Cadets Corps. In particular rules of conduct, which find expression in etiquette, are the subject of investigation in this article. As a result of a far-reaching democratization of recruitment cadets come from all layers of society the cadets society cannot be called chivalrous anymore. Nevertheless, the values of chivalry are still cherished, as they are functional for the work of the officer. They guarantee safety and security within an environment that is still characterized by a great extent of inequality in rank and Corps status. Moreover, they allow a group of future officers to distinguish itself from other professional groups in civilian society.A number of hypotheses, inviting further research in the subject conclude the chapter.
Quantitative measurement of Plasmodium‐infected erythrocytes in murine models of malaria by flow cytometry using bidimensional assessment of SYTO‐16 fluorescence

Flow cytometry is a powerful tool for measuring parasitemias in murine malaria models used to test new antimalarials. Measurement of the emission of the nonpermeable nucleic acid dye YOYO‐1 (at 530 and 585 nm after excitation at 488 nm) allowed the unambiguous detection of low parasitemias (≥0.01%) but required prolonged fixation and permeabilization of the sample. Thus, we tested whether this issue could be overcome by use of the cell‐permeant dye SYTO‐16 with this same bidimensional method. Blood samples from CD1 mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium vinckei, or Plasmodium chabaudi or from NODscidβ2m‐/‐ engrafted with human erythrocytes and infected with P. falciparum were stained with SYTO‐16 in the presence or absence of TER‐119 mAb (for engrafted mice) in 96‐well plate format and acquired in Trucount™ tubes. Bidimensional analysis with SYTO‐16 was quantitatively equivalent to YOYO‐1. Moreover, by combining SYTO‐16 with the use of TER‐119‐PE antimouse erythrocyte mAb and Trucount tubes, the measurement of the concentration of P. falciparum‐infected erythrocytes over a range of five orders of magnitude was achieved. Bidimensional analysis using SYTO‐16 can be used to accurately measure the concentration of Plasmodium spp. ‐infected erythrocytes in mice without complex sample preparation. © 2008 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Stability improvements of integral equation models

The partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) technique is a circuit based formulation which is numerically equivalent to a full wave method of moments solution with Galerkin matching. In this paper, the PEEC formulation is used to illustrate how the high frequency model behavior can be improved for integral equation formulations. These improvements are important for both model reduction and time domain applications. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated with an example (center fed patch dipole antenna), and our results are compared with a conventional method of moments code.
The Use of Modern Inputs Viewed from the Field

• Chemical input use is not as low as is often assumed. • Irrigation and tractor use are negligible. • Input use varies strikingly within countries. • Modern inputs are often not combined to reap agronomic gains. • Input intensification is happening, for maize in particular. • Larger farms and plots receive inputs less intensively. • Input application does not adjust to farmer-perceived soil quality. • Few households use credit to purchase modern inputs. • There are gender differences in input use. • National-level factors explain the bulk of the variation in binary modern inputs use.
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha 308 G/A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Via Hepatitis B Infection.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a key factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). About 350 million people are affected by chronic infection which is related to the rapid development of liver diseases as well as hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the liver demonstrates a major genetic polymorphism which is involved in resistance or susceptibility to chronic HBV infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, two populations were studied by the sequence specific primerpolymerase chain reaction (SSPPCR) method: HBV cases (n=409), who were HBSAg+, and healthy controls (n=483). RESULTS The results shown that the frequency of TNFα 308 G/G genotype in healthy controls (47.2%) was significantly higher than in HBV infected patients (28%) (CI = 1.292.61, OR = 1.83, P = 0.0004). Also TNFα 308 A/A and A/G genotype frequencies in the healthy controls were 4.6% and 48.2% and in patient group were 19.5% and 52.5% (CI = 2.237.12, p: 0.0001, OR: 3.94) respectively. CONCLUSIONS We found that among Iranian people TNFα 308A allele not only has the highest genotype frequency but also it has the highest frequency in the world population. In addition, TNFα308 G/G polymorphism was associated with HBV resistance, whereas TNFα308A (A/A or A/G) polymorphism appeared to associated with chronic HBV infection. These data suggested that among the Iranian population, the 308 G/G polymorphism of TNFα gene promoter region has the potential to influence the susceptibility to HBV infection and it may be responsible for viral antigen clearance.
Cell proliferation biomarkers in the gastrointestinal tract

Measurements of epithelial cell proliferation in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract pointed out the existence of cell kinetic abnormalities which can be involved in the first steps of carcinogensis. In particular, an increase in the cell proliferation rate and an abnormal distribution of proliferating cells were found both in animals exposed to carcinogens and in human subjects at high risk of gastrointestinal cancer. In some diseases which predispose to cancer (i.e., chronic atrophic gastritis, hereditary gastrointestinal cancer, sporadic colorectal neoplasia, chronic ulcerative colitis) we observed an expansion of the proliferative compartment even when the mucosa was not affected by morphological abnormalities. This proliferative feature seems to be associated with the presence of defects in cell differentiation. The abnormality is well detected by the histological examination of the proliferative pattern using microautoradiography after incorporation of tritiated thymidine, or using immunohistochemistry after bromodeoxyuridine uptake. The literature, and our own results, indicate that the search for abnormalities of epithelial cell proliferation can be useful in studying the earliest mechanisms leading to gastrointestinal caner, in detecting subjects at high cancer risk, and for pilot chemoprevention studies using these abnormalities as intermediate biomarkers of gastrointestinal cancer risk. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mature Dendritic Cells Infected with Canarypox Virus Elicit Strong Anti-Human Immunodeficiency Virus CD8+and CD4+ T-Cell Responses from Chronically Infected Individuals

ABSTRACT Recombinant canarypox virus vectors containing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) sequences are promising vaccine candidates, as they replicate poorly in human cells. However, when delivered intramuscularly the vaccines have induced inconsistent and in some cases transient antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses in seronegative volunteers. An attractive way to enhance these responses would be to target canarypox virus to professional antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells (DCs). We studied (i) the interaction between canarypox virus and DCs and (ii) the T-cell responses induced by DCs infected with canarypox virus vectors containing HIV-1 genes. Mature and not immature DCs resisted the cytopathic effects of canarypox virus and elicited strong effector CD8+ T-cell responses from chronically infected HIV+ individuals, e.g., cytolysis, and secretion of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and β-chemokines. Furthermore, canarypox virus-infected DCs were >30-fold more efficient than monocytes and induced responses that were comparable to those induced by vaccinia virus vectors or peptides. Addition of exogenous cytokines was not necessary to elicit CD8+ effector cells, although the presence of CD4+ T cells was required for their expansion and maintenance. Most strikingly, canarypox virus-infected DCs were directly able to stimulate HIV-specific, IFN-γ-secreting CD4 helper responses from bulk as well as purified CD4+ T cells. Therefore, these results suggest that targeting canarypox virus vectors to mature DCs could potentially elicit both anti-HIV CD8+and CD4+ helper responses in vivo.
THE INFLUENCE OF DOSE FRACTIONATION ON RADIATION‐INDUCED HAEMOLYSIS OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES

In this paper the radioresistance of human erythrocytes to radiation‐induced haemolysis was studied by means of the split‐dose technique. Human erythrocytes suspended in an isotonic Na‐phosphatase buffer, pH7.4 were exposed under air to gamma radiation. Erythrocytes were irradiated with a single dose of 2.7kGy and with the same total dose split into two fractions with an interval between the subsequent exposures. It seems that postradiation processes initiated by the first radiation dose of definite magnitude can lead to an increase in the resistance of erythrocytes to haemolysis under the influence of subsequent dose. The maximal effect of the fractionation (50% decrease of haemolysis) was observed when the first fraction was equal to 0.3–0.4kGy and the interval between exposures was equal to 3h.
Smoking Rates and the State of Smoking Interventions for Children and Adolescents With Chronic Illness

Engaging in smoking is particularly risky for children and adolescents with chronic illness whose health status is already compromised because of disease- and treatment-related complications. Yet, some of these youngsters smoke at rates at least comparable to those of their healthy peers. To date, few randomized smoking-prevention and cessation trials have been conducted in children with chronic medical problems. In this review we report on the smoking rates among youngsters with chronic illness, identify specific disease- and treatment-related complications that can be exacerbated by smoking, examine risk factors associated with tobacco use among medically compromised youngsters, and review smoking interventions that have been conducted to date with pediatric populations in the health care setting. The following chronic illnesses are included in this review: asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer, sickle cell disease, juvenile-onset diabetes, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Objectives for a tobacco-control agenda and recommendations for future tobacco studies in chronically ill pediatric populations are provided. Finally, tobacco counseling strategies are suggested for clinicians who treat these youngsters in their practices.
Genetic and Antigenic Diversity of the Surface Protective Antigen Proteins of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

ABSTRACT The surface protective antigen (Spa) protein of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae has been shown to be highly immunogenic and is a potential candidate for a new vaccine against erysipelas. In this study, we cloned and sequenced spa genes from all E. rhusiopathiae serovar reference strains as well as from a serovar 18 strain which was not classified as any species in the genus Erysipelothrix. Sequence analysis revealed that the Spa proteins could be classified into three molecular species, including SpaA, which was previously found in serovars 1a and 2, and the newly designated SpaB and SpaC proteins. The SpaA protein is produced by E. rhusiopathiae serovars 1a, 1b, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, and N, the SpaB protein is produced by E. rhusiopathiae serovars 4, 6, 11, 19, and 21, and the SpaC protein is produced only by serovar 18. The amino acid sequence similarity was high among members of each Spa type (96 to 99%) but low between different Spa types (∼60%). The greatest diversity in Spa proteins was found in the N-terminal half of the molecule (50 to 57% similarity), which was shown to be involved in immunoprotection. Coinciding with this, immunoblot analysis revealed that rabbit antisera specific to each Spa reacted strongly with the homologous Spa protein but weakly with heterologous Spa proteins. A mouse cross-protection study showed that the three recombinant Spa (rSpa) proteins elicited complete protection against challenge with homologous strains but that the level of protection against challenge with heterologous strains varied depending on the rSpa protein used for immunization. Our study is the first to demonstrate sequence and antigenic diversity in Spa proteins and to indicate that rSpaC may be the most promising antigen for use as a vaccine component because of its broad cross-protectiveness.
The excitation functional for magnetic stimulation of fibers

Threshold problems in electric stimulation of nerve and muscle fibers have been studied from a theoretical standpoint using the excitation functional. Here the excitation functional is extended to magnetic stimulation of excitable nerve and muscle fibers. A unified derivation of the functional is done, for (non myelinated) nerve and muscle fibers, by means of the nonlinear cable equation with a Fitzhugh-Nagumo membrane model and a generalized Rattay's activating function. The identification problem of the excitation functional for magnetic stimulation, from strength-duration experimental data, is briefly considered.
High levels of coagulation factor XI as a risk factor for venous thrombosis.

BACKGROUND Factor XI, a component of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation, contributes to the generation of thrombin, which is involved in both the formation of fibrin and protection against fibrinolysis. A deficiency of factor XI is associated with bleeding, but a role of high factor XI levels in thrombosis has not been investigated. METHODS We determined factor XI antigen levels in the patients enrolled in the Leiden Thrombophilia Study, a large population-based, case-control study (with a total of 474 patients and 474 controls) designed to estimate the contributions of genetic and acquired factors to the risk of deep venous thrombosis. Odds ratios were calculated as a measure of relative risk. RESULTS The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio for deep venous thrombosis in subjects who had factor XI levels above the 90th percentile, as compared with those who had factor XI levels at or below that value, was 2.2 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 3.2). There was a dose-response relation between the factor XI level and the risk of venous thrombosis. Adjustment of the odds ratios for other risk factors such as oral-contraceptive use, homocysteine, fibrinogen, factor VIII, female sex, and older age did not alter the result. Also, when we excluded subjects who had known genetic risk factors for thrombosis (e.g., protein C or S deficiency, antithrombin deficiency, the factor V Leiden mutation, or the prothrombin G20210A mutation), the odds ratio remained the same, indicating that the risk of venous thrombosis associated with elevated levels of factor XI was not the result of one of the known risk factors for thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS High levels of factor XI are a risk factor for deep venous thrombosis, with a doubling of the risk at levels that are present in 10 percent of the population.
Dynamic channel switching for downlink relay-aided OFDMA systems

A relay-aided OFDMA system model with dynamic channel switching is introduced in this paper. Specifically, this model allows each user to communicate with the base station either through direct path or relaying path. The investigated problem is formulated as maximizing system capacity with joint consideration of power distribution, subcarrier selection in direct path and subcarrier paring in relaying path. Also, the optimal criterion of selecting these two operating modes is analyzed. A low complexity algorithm is then proposed for allocating radio resources, and the performance is verified by some simulations results. It can be shown that the use of relaying does not always give better performance than only adopting direct path and an appropriate switching mechanism between direct and relaying modes can give much performance improvement.
Neuronal Avalanches in the Resting MEG of the Human Brain

What constitutes normal cortical dynamics in healthy human subjects is a major question in systems neuroscience. Numerous in vitro and in vivo animal studies have shown that ongoing or resting cortical dynamics are characterized by cascades of activity across many spatial scales, termed neuronal avalanches. In experiment and theory, avalanche dynamics are identified by two measures: (1) a power law in the size distribution of activity cascades with an exponent of −3/2 and (2) a branching parameter of the critical value of 1, reflecting balanced propagation of activity at the border of premature termination and potential blowup. Here we analyzed resting-state brain activity recorded using noninvasive magnetoencephalography (MEG) from 124 healthy human subjects and two different MEG facilities using different sensor technologies. We identified large deflections at single MEG sensors and combined them into spatiotemporal cascades on the sensor array using multiple timescales. Cascade size distributions obeyed power laws. For the timescale at which the branching parameter was close to 1, the power law exponent was −3/2. This relationship was robust to scaling and coarse graining of the sensor array. It was absent in phase-shuffled controls with the same power spectrum or empty scanner data. Our results demonstrate that normal cortical activity in healthy human subjects at rest organizes as neuronal avalanches and is well described by a critical branching process. Theory and experiment have shown that such critical, scale-free dynamics optimize information processing. Therefore, our findings imply that the human brain attains an optimal dynamical regime for information processing.
Reverse Causation in the Association Between C-Reactive Protein and Fibrinogen Levels and Cognitive Abilities in an Aging Sample

Objective: To test the hypothesis that increased levels of inflammatory and hemostatic markers are associated with poorer cognitive performance and to assess the influence of childhood intelligence quotient (IQ) and current cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on this relationship. Blood inflammatory markers have been shown to predict late-life cognition, although the mechanism through which this occurs is unknown. Methods: Levels of the biomarkers C-reactive protein and fibrinogen were measured in 1053 Scottish participants (50.2% female) from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 ranging in age from 67 to 71 years. Biomarker levels were tested for their association with diverse cognitive abilities. Results: Significant cross-sectional associations were found between the biomarkers and various cognitive abilities: their effect size was around 1% of the variance and was in the direction of higher marker levels conferring poorer cognitive performance. With the exception of the reaction time measures (and fibrinogen), these associations could be explained by childhood IQ, CVD risk factors, or both. Importantly, both the inflammatory markers at age 70 years were associated (p < .001) with childhood IQ. Conclusions: Whereas inflammatory marker levels predict contemporaneous general cognitive ability, the results support a model of reverse causation because childhood IQ predicts late-life inflammation. This might be through its association with later life CVD risk factors or because it is a measure of system integrity. Unlike general cognitive ability, the association between inflammatory markers (particularly fibrinogen) and processing speed was maintained in the presence of childhood IQ and/or CVD risk factor adjustments. This might also reflect variation in physiological integrity. CRP = C-reactive protein; LBC1936 = Lothian Birth Cohort 1936; IQ = intelligence quotient; CVD = cardiovascular disease; MHT = Moray House Test.
Identification of a Basic Helix-Loop-Helix-Type Transcription Regulator Gene in Aspergillus oryzae by Systematically Deleting Large Chromosomal Segments

ABSTRACT We previously developed two methods (loop-out and replacement-type recombination) for generating large-scale chromosomal deletions that can be applied to more effective chromosomal engineering in Aspergillus oryzae. In this study, the replacement-type method is used to systematically delete large chromosomal DNA segments to identify essential and nonessential regions in chromosome 7 (2.93 Mb), which is the smallest A. oryzae chromosome and contains a large number of nonsyntenic blocks. We constructed 12 mutants harboring deletions that spanned 16- to 150-kb segments of chromosome 7 and scored phenotypic changes in the resulting mutants. Among the deletion mutants, strains designated Δ5 and Δ7 displayed clear phenotypic changes involving growth and conidiation. In particular, the Δ5 mutant exhibited vigorous growth and conidiation, potentially beneficial characteristics for certain industrial applications. Further deletion analysis allowed identification of the AO090011000215 gene as the gene responsible for the Δ5 mutant phenotype. The AO090011000215 gene was predicted to encode a helix-loop-helix binding protein belonging to the bHLH family of transcription factors. These results illustrate the potential of the approach for identifying novel functional genes.