Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurophysiologic Influences on Hamstring Flexibility: A Pilot Study

ObjectiveTo examine the potential contribution of neurologic influences on hamstring length during passive range of motion. DesignProspective study. SettingsAcademic sports medicine center. Patients15 subjects undergoing arthroscopic surgery for unilateral knee injuries without previous injury to the contralateral knee. InterventionsSubjects received: 1) spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine, 2) epidural anesthesia with lidocaine, 3) general anesthesia, or 4) femoral nerve block of injured leg only. Main Outcome MeasuresNoninjured leg popliteal angle preoperatively, intraoperatively under anesthesia, and postoperatively after recovery from anesthesia. ResultsThe overall mean popliteal angle was 132.5 ± 3.1° preoperatively, 134.31 ± 11.6° intraoperatively, and 130.7 ± 10.2° postoperatively. Overall, the intraoperative angle was significantly greater than the postoperative angle (p = 0.02). The mean change in popliteal angle was 8.1 ± 2.2° (Group 1), −0.4 ± 1.9° (Group 2), 0.9 ± 1.4° (Group 3), and −2.4 ± 3.8° (Group 4). There was no significant change in pre- to postoperative popliteal angle in relation to postoperative pain. Females had a greater mean popliteal angle (139.84°) compared with males (128.84°) (p = 0.04). Clinical RelevanceUnderstanding the neuromuscular influences on muscle flexibility will assist in the development of new rehabilitative and injury preventative techniques. ConclusionThe present pilot study implicates neural contributions to muscle flexibility. Further studies are needed to delineate the relative contributions of neural and muscular components and to facilitate new techniques in the rehabilitation and prevention of injury.
Self‐concept in Older Adults: An Integrative Review of Empirical Literature

The aging process leads to normative age-related bodily and functional declines and numerous social changes and life events that potentially threaten the self-concept. Despite these changes, the majority of older adults are able to maintain a positive sense of self and remain resilient. This article presents an integrative review of the empirical literature addressing self-concept in older adults.
Quantification of hTERT mRNA and telomerase activity in bladder washings of patients with recurrent urothelial cell carcinomas.

In patients with superficial urothelial cell carcinomas (UCCs), 80% of tumors recur after transurethral resection. A minority (10–20%) of these recurrent tumors will progress to high-grade and muscle-invasive disease (1). Prediction of progression would enable the urologist to determine individual therapy to reduce mortality. For the detection of recurrent disease, endoscopic evaluation (cystoscopy) is considered the gold standard (1). Cystoscopy is supplemented with urine or bladder wash cytology that can detect cells from carcinoma in situ (CIS) or small high-grade tumors, both of which greatly increase progression risk and frequently are missed with cystoscopy (1)(2). Unfortunately, cytology is susceptible to observer variability, and a more standardized method for exfoliated tumor cell analysis is needed (3). Telomerase is a promising tumor marker that can be detected in 95% of all UCCs, but not in healthy urothelia (4). However, the relationship between telomerase activity and prognostic indicators, such as stage and grade, is not clear (4)(5)(6). As a more quantitative alternative, we developed a method to assess the expression of the hTERT gene, which codes for the catalytic subunit of telomerase (7). An endogenous control ( 18S rRNA expression) was included in this assay to normalize for conditions affecting the accurate quantification of hTERT mRNA. Application of the novel method to bladder tissue samples showed that all UCCs, but no healthy urothelia, expressed hTERT (8). Moreover, a significant correlation was found with clinicopathological indices (8). When we applied cutoff values for normalized hTERT , the assay could discriminate between low, medium, and high-grade UCCs (8). This suggested that the presence of hTERT mRNA is not only a diagnostic marker, but when quantified accurately, may also be used as a prognostic marker. In this study, we investigated whether aggressive exfoliated tumor cells can be identified by quantification …
Granulocytes enhance LPS‐induced tissue factor activity in monocytes via an interaction with platelets

In the present study we have investigated the effect of platelets and granulocytes on bacterial lipopoly‐ saccharide (LPS)‐induced tissue factor (TF) activity in monocytes. Experiments were performed on freshly isolated cells resuspended in heparinized plasma and recombined with platelet‐poor or platelet‐rich plasma. In a platelet‐dependent reaction the granulocytes enhanced LPS‐induced TF activity by an average of 100%. The effect was dose dependent with regard to the number of both granulocytes and platelets, respectively. Granulocytes and/or platelets did not affect LPS‐induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) secretion from monocytes. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) per se was not able to induce TF activity in our system. In contrast, the agonist caused a substantial increase in TF activity induced by LPS. The effect was totally dependent on the presence of platelets and was shown to be due to stimulation of both granulocytes and monocytes (the activity rose from 30 ± 7 to 83 ± 12 mU/106 cells in the presence of platelets and from 69 ± 8 to 143 ± 22 mU/106 cells in the presence of platelets and granulocytes). Effects similar to those observed with PMA were obtained with physiological concentrations (10 ng/ml) of TNF. A combination of these two agonists gave no further amplification of LPS‐induced TF activity compared with the effect of the agonists separately. Low concentrations of a monoclonal anti‐ CD15 antibody abolished the stimulatory effects of platelets and granulocytes. Furthermore, the anti‐GDI 5 antibody neutralized the effect of TNF, whereas the PMA effect was reduced by almost 75%. These results were confirmed in a whole‐blood system. The inhibitory effect of the antibody may be associated with CD15's role as a complementary ligand for PADGEM. Our study indicates that a close interaction between granulocytes, platelets, and monocytes is essential for optimal TF activity induced by LPS. It is hypothesized that the effect of granulocytes is related to their ability to activate platelets. We propose that upon activation granulocytes secrete a product that enhances the capacity of platelets to stimulate TF activity in monocytes.
F values as cytogenetic fingerprints of prior exposure to different radiation qualities: prediction, reality and future.

aRadiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan; bBiology and Biotechnology Research Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551; CGSF, National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Radiobiology, Neuherberg, Germany; dOak Ridge Institute for Sciences and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830; eNational Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, United Kingdom; fCIIT, 6 Davis Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709; and gRadiation Biology Center, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
An Anteroposterior Axis of the Tibia for Total Knee Arthroplasty

The objective of the current study was to identify a new extraarticular anatomic landmark indicating the anteroposterior orientation of the tibia using computed tomography. In 39 volunteers (20 males, 19 females), computed tomography scans for healthy right knees in extension were done perpendicular to the tibial shaft axis. The anteroposterior axis of the tibia was defined as a line perpendicular to the transepicondylar axis and passing through the middle of the posterior cruciate ligament. At the level of the tibial plateau and the patellar tendon attachment, the mean medial percentage width of intersecting point of the patellar tendon and the anteroposterior axis was 10.8% ± 9.8% (range, −9.3%–+30.0%) and −0.2% ± 10.4% (range, −23.6%–+23.0%), respectively. The mean angle between the anteroposterior axis and a line connecting the middle of the posterior cruciate ligament to the medial border of the patellar tendon attachment was 0.0° ± 2.8° (range, −6.3°–+5.2°). The medial border of this attachment therefore can serve as a reliable anterior anatomic landmark to determine the anteroposterior axis of the tibia, and the line connecting the middle of the posterior cruciate ligament and the medial border of the attachment may be useful as a reference axis indicating the anteroposterior orientation of the tibia.
Estimation of nuclear thyroid hormone receptor saturation in human fetal brain and lung during early gestation.

The total number and saturation of nuclear receptors for T3 were measured in human fetal brain and lung from the 9th to the 13th week of fetal life. The concentrations of occupied and unoccupied receptor sites were determined by measuring total binding capacity at 0 and 22 C. At 0 C [125I]T3 was bound mainly to unoccupied sites, whereas at 22 C it was bound to unoccupied sites plus a fraction (70%) of endogenously occupied sites. Saturations of brain and lung receptors were similar (12-27%). From the fractional receptor occupancy and the receptor dissociation constants (34 pmol/L in brain and 56 pmol/L in lung) the concentration of intranuclear free T3 was calculated to be 9 pmol/L in brain and 11 pmol/L in lung. Total and free cytosolic T3 were measured by RIA and equilibrium dialysis. Total T3 was below the limit of detection in lung (90 pmol/L). The concentration of free T3 in brain cytosol was 0.95 pmol/L at 11 weeks and 2.96 pmol/L at 13 weeks, i.e. considerably lower than the nuclear free T3 concentration. These results suggest the presence of a small gradient (3-fold) between nuclear and cytosolic free T3 in both fetal tissues. The data strongly support the idea that thyroid hormones influence human brain development at least from the 9th to the 10th week of gestational age.
Automatic parallelization of LINPACK routines on distributed memory parallel processors

Distributed memory parallel processors (DMPPs) have no hardware support for a global address space. However, conventional programs written in a sequential imperative language such as Fortran typically manipulate few, large arrays. The Oxygen compiler, developed as part of the K2 project, accepts conventional Fortran code, augmented with code and data distribution directives. These directives support a global name space through a run-time mechanism called data consistency analysis. Many sequential Fortran programs can be efficiently parallelized, with Oxygen directives introduced manually by the user into the sequential code. This work presents an analysis pass added to the compiler that makes suggestions for the directives to be inserted into the code. Automatic parallelization of LINPACK routines was attempted and results are given. <<ETX>>
Lower Body Positive-pressure Exercise after Knee Surgery

Lower body positive pressure allows unloading of the lower extremities during exercise in a pressurized treadmill chamber. This study assessed the preliminary feasibility of lower body positive pressure exercise as a rehabilitation technique by examining its effects on gait mechanics and pain, postoperatively. Fifteen patients who had arthroscopic meniscectomy or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction participated in this study. Patients exercised for 5 minutes at 2.0 mph under three body weight conditions (normal body weight, 60% body weight, and 20% body weight) in random order. Bilateral ground reaction force, electromyographs, and dynamic knee range of motion were collected, and pain was assessed using a visual analog scale. Ground reaction forces for surgically treated and contralateral extremities were reduced 42% and 79% from normal body weight conditions when ambulating at 60% and 20% body weight, respectively. After meniscectomy, ambulatory knee range of motion decreased only at 20% body weight (37°), compared with normal body weight conditions (49°). Peak electromyographic activity of the biceps was maintained at all body weight conditions, whereas that of the vastus medialis was reduced at 20% body weight. Pain relief was significant with lower body positive pressure ambulation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. This study showed that lower body positive pressure exercise is effective at reducing ground reaction forces, while safely facilitating gait postoperatively. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level II-1 (study of untreated controls from a previous randomized controlled trial)
Calycosin stimulates proliferation of estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cells through downregulation of Bax gene expression and upregulation of Bcl-2 gene expression at low concentrations.

BACKGROUND Calycosin is one of main components in the herb radix astragali and is considered a typical phytoestrogen. It has either estrogenic or antiestrogenic effects that mainly depend on estrogen levels in vivo. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of calycosin on estrogen receptor (ER)-positive human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells in vitro. METHODS ER-positive MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of calycosin. Effects of calycosin on the proliferation of ER-positive MCF-7 cells were determined by the MTT assay. Apoptosis in these treated cells was examined by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2 and Bax in these treated cells were also determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. RESULTS Compared with the vehicle control, calycosin stimulated proliferation of ER-positive MCF-7 cells at low concentrations (2, 4, and 8 µmol/L). Furthermore, at these concentrations, calycosin decreased the percentage of early apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, downregulated mRNA and protein levels of Bax, and upregulated those of Bcl-2 at low concentrations. On the other hand, calycosin at higher concentrations (16 and 32 µmol/L) inhibited cell proliferation. CONCLUSION At relatively low concentrations, calycosin has stimulatory effects on the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, with the estrogenic effect the mechanism.
Um novo modelo de ordenação de documentos baseados em correlação entre termos

Neste trabalho apresentamos uma nova abordagem para a ordenacao de documentos a partir do modelo de espaco vetorial. A sua originalidade apresenta-se em dois pontos principais: Primeiro, padroes de correlacao entre os termos sao levados em consideracao e processados de forma eficiente. Segundo, a ponderacao dos termos e baseada em uma tecnica de mineracao de dados chamada de regras de associacao. A partir desses pontos definimos um novo mecanismo de ordenacao chamado modelo de espaco vetorial baseado em conjuntos. Os componentes desse modelo deixam de ser os termos, e passam a ser os conjuntos de termos. Os conjuntos de termos capturam a intuicao que termos semanticamente relacionados aparecem proximos em um documento. Esses conjuntos podem ser eficientemente gerados limitando sua computacao a pequenos trechos de texto. Uma vez computados os conjuntos de termos, a funcao de ordenacao e calculada a partir da frequencia de um conjunto no documento e sua raridade na colecao. Nossa abordagem prove uma forma simples, efetiva, eficiente e parametrizada para o processamento de consultas disjuntivas, conjuntivas, por frases, alem de ser usada para a estruturacao automatica de consultas. Todas as abordagens conhecidas que levam em consideracao a correlacao entre os termos foram projetadas somente para o processamento de consultas disjuntivas. Resultados experimentais mostram que o nosso modelo aumenta a precisao media para todas as colecoes e tipos de consultas avaliados, mantendo o custo computacional adicional aceitavel. Para a colecao TREC-8 de 2 gigabytes, a utilizacao do nosso modelo implica em um ganho de precisao media de 14.7% e 16.4% para consultas disjuntivas e conjuntivas, respectivamente, em relacao ao modelo de espaco vetorial padrao. Esses ganhos aumentam para 24.9% e 30.0%, respectivamente, quando a informacao de proximidade e levada em consideracao. Os tempos de processamento das consultassao maiores, mas continuam comparaveis com os tempos obtidos para o modelo de espaco vetorial (o crescimento no tempo medio de processamento varia de 30% a 300%). Os resultados experimentais tambem mostram o sucesso do nosso modelo para a estruturacao automatica de consultas. Por exemplo, utilizando a TREC-8, nosso modelo gera ganhos de precisao media de aproximadamente 28\% em comparacao com o mecanismo de ordenacao baseado na formula de ponderacao BM25. Nossos resultados sugerem que a formula de ordenacao do modelo de espaco vetorial baseado em conjuntos e bastante efetiva e computacionalmente viavel para colecoes genericas.
Can we finally use spirometry in the clinical management of infants with respiratory conditions?

The goal of health professionals working in respiratory medicine is to diagnose and then manage the health of individuals with respiratory conditions. This requires the engagement of a diverse range of professional disciplines, each with their own tool kit that they bring to the table. For Clinical Respiratory Scientists this tool kit revolves around the quantification of the many facets of cardiopulmonary function. We are all familiar with the use of spirometry, its measurement, reporting and interpretation, and it is often the first tool that comes to hand. Yet increasingly it is being recognised that spirometry may not be the best tool for the job1 and there is a growing awareness that a more thoughtful approach is required.2 One of the most challenging areas of clinical respiratory medicine is the management of infants with respiratory conditions. The clinical picture is often obscured by non-specific signs and symptoms, limited direct clinical trials in this clinical population and the highly complex approach needed to obtain objective measures of respiratory function during infancy. While the measurement of infant lung function (ILF) has a long tradition, its use has until recently been limited to highly specialised research centres often using research hardware and software and localised measurement protocols. These limitations have included a lack of availability of …
Novel ultra-wideband “robe” antenna on high-loss paper substrate

This paper presents a wide-band monopole antenna structure printed on a flexible and low cost 104-um thick E4D paper. In order to begin the design process, electromagnetic properties of E4D paper were characterized using the cavity perturbation method with a cylindrical cavity. Then a microstrip fed antenna was designed and optimized to reach a good matching in a wide range of frequency, from 2 GHz to 10 GHz including two WLAN bands. The proposed antenna is thin, flexible, rather compact, has good performance with return loss of over 30 dB and 50 dB at 2.45 GHz and 5.5 GHz, respectively. It exhibits very large bandwidth, from 2 GHz to over 10 GHz. The radiation patterns are nearly omni-directional at both frequencies 2.45 GHz and 5.5 GHz. The design was realized by screen printing technology at CTP France. The measurement results for all six fabricated prototypes are in good agreement with the simulation that confirms the validity of the design.
Clinical status of at-risk individuals 5 years later: further validation of the psychometric high-risk strategy.

The authors hypothesized that at-risk individuals identified on the basis of their Chapman scale scores would be diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders at follow-up. In the present study, the authors interviewed 135 young adults approximately 5 years following their initial assessment. The at-risk groups included high scorers on the Perceptual Aberration and/or Magical Ideation Scales (n=59) and high scorers on the revised Social Anhedonia Scale (n=32). The control participants (n=44) scored below 0.5 SD of the same-sex group means on all the scales. At the follow-up, the groups differed in terms of their likelihood of having a schizophrenia-spectrum diagnosis, Chi2(2)=9.79, p<. 01. The at-risk groups reported more frequent and severe psychotic-like experiences relative to the control group. These findings support the predictive validity of the Chapman psychosis-proneness scales and may enhance the power of early detection efforts.
Tunable shear thickening in suspensions

Significance When a concentrated suspension is strained, its viscosity can increase radically. This behavior, known as shear thickening, can be very useful to technological applications or highly problematic in industrial processes. Suspension flow properties are typically specified at the formulation stage, meaning that they are fixed in advance rather than controlled in situ during application. Here, we report a biaxial shear strategy eradicating the flow-induced structures responsible for thickening and tuning the suspension viscosity on demand during flow. This protocol enables us to regulate the thickening viscosity over 2 orders of magnitude. The tuning capability is a foundational step toward using dense suspensions in 3D printing, energy storage, and robotics. Shear thickening, an increase of viscosity with shear rate, is a ubiquitous phenomenon in suspended materials that has implications for broad technological applications. Controlling this thickening behavior remains a major challenge and has led to empirical strategies ranging from altering the particle surfaces and shape to modifying the solvent properties. However, none of these methods allows for tuning of flow properties during shear itself. Here, we demonstrate that by strategic imposition of a high-frequency and low-amplitude shear perturbation orthogonal to the primary shearing flow, we can largely eradicate shear thickening. The orthogonal shear effectively becomes a regulator for controlling thickening in the suspension, allowing the viscosity to be reduced by up to 2 decades on demand. In a separate setup, we show that such effects can be induced by simply agitating the sample transversely to the primary shear direction. Overall, the ability of in situ manipulation of shear thickening paves a route toward creating materials whose mechanical properties can be controlled.
A novel method for exact determination to localize radial deformation along the transformer winding height

In order to reduce time out of the transformer circuit, implementation of methods for online monitoring is important. Using electromagnetic waves has recently been proposed for on-line monitoring of the transformer. In this paper, a new analytical method based on locus of objects in space to detect the radial deformation of winding, is proposed. The proposed experimental set-up for this method has been modelled using CST (Computer Simulation Technology) software. The simulation results show that exact determination of radial deformation location along the transformer winding height can be detected with good accuracy using this method.