Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictive Value of Prior Injury on Career in Professional American Football is Affected by Player Position

Background The National Football League holds an annual combine where individual teams evaluate college football players likely to be drafted for physical skills, review players’ medical history and imaging studies, and perform a physical examination. Purpose The purpose of this study was to test the effect of specific diagnoses and surgical procedures on the likelihood of playing and length of career in the league by position. Study Design Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods A database for all players reviewed at the annual National Football League Combine by the medical staff of 1 National Football League team from 1987 to 2000 was created, including each player's orthopaedic rating, diagnoses, surgical procedures, number of games played, and number of seasons played in the National Football League. Athletes were grouped by position as follows: offensive backfield, offensive receiver, offensive line, quarterback, tight end, defensive line, defensive secondary, linebacker, and kicker. The percentage of athletes who played in the National Football League was calculated by position for each specific diagnosis and surgery. Results The effect of injury on the likelihood of playing in the league varied by position. Anterior cruciate ligament injury significantly lowered the likelihood of playing in the league for defensive linemen (P = .03) and linebackers (P = .04). Meniscal injury significantly reduced the probability of playing (P < .05) and length of career (P = .002) for athletes in the defensive secondary. Shoulder instability had a significant effect on playing in the league for offensive (P = .03) and defensive linemen (P = .02), and shortened the length of career for defensive linemen (P = .016). Spondylolisthesis did not significantly reduce the chance of playing in the league for any position, while a history of spondylolysis had a significant effect for running backs (P = .01). Miscellaneous injuries (eg. acromioclavicular joint, knee medial collateral ligament, carpal fractures) had isolated position-specific effects. Conclusion The significant injuries and diagnoses appear congruent with the position-specific demands placed on the athletes. This information is useful to physicians and athletic trainers caring for college football athletes as well as those assessing these athletes at the National Football League Combine.
Cloning and Expression of a Receptor for an Insecticidal Toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis(*)

Environmentally friendly toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis are effective in controlling agriculturally and biomedically harmful insects. However, little is known about the insect receptor molecules that bind these toxins and the mechanism of insecticidal activity. We report here for the first time the cloning and expression of a cDNA that encodes a receptor (BT-R1) of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta for an insecticidal toxin of B. thuringiensis. The receptor is a 210-kDa membrane glycoprotein that specifically binds the cryIA(b) toxin of B. thuringiensis subsp. berliner and leads to death of the hornworm. BT-R1 shares sequence similarity with the cadherin superfamily of proteins.
A new topology of cascaded multilevel inverter

The paper presents an analysis of a novel 13-level inverter, which consists of three cascaded H-bridges per phase. Each H-bridge produces 5-level voltages. The proposed topology has only two bi-directional and four standard IGBT switches in each 5-level H-bridge. The significant advantages of the proposed inverter are simpler control and lower number of switches than in the standard neutral point clamped inverters. Extensive simulation results validate the practicability of the proposed inverter. Several aspects as Total Harmonic Distortion Factor of the inverter output currents, and voltages, harmonic content, and frequency spectrum distribution are studied. The proposed approach can be extended to any desired number of levels.
Stable and unstable phases of a diblock copolymer melt.

Using self-consistent field theory, we examine microphases of diblock copolymers and find, in addition to lamellar, hexagonal, and cubic phases, a stable gyroid phase which occurs between the lamellar and hexagonal ones. It terminates at a triple point, with a lamellar to hexagonal transition occurring in the weak-segregation limit. Other phases of experimental interest are studied, and we describe the regions in which they are most nearly stable.
[Serum lipids and blood pressure levels in the +Mapuche population living in the Chilean region of Araucanía].

BACKGROUND Chilean aboriginal populations (Mapuche) predominantly live in the region of Araucanía, in the southern part of the country. Their cardiovascular risk factors have not been systematically assessed. AIM To study the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the Mapuche population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Blood pressure, weight, height, dietary habits, fasting serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in 1.948 adults living in 28 Mapuche communities. RESULTS Thirteen percent of males and 16% of females had high blood pressure. Body mass index was 25.5 kg/m2 in males and 28.1 kg/m2 in females. Forty five percent of women and 24% of men were classified as obese. Mean serum total cholesterol was 186.7 +/- 9.6 mg/dl, HDL cholesterol was 58.7 +/- 30.7 mg/dl, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol was 3.4 +/- 2 and triglycerides were 155.2 +/- 91.2 mg/dl. Twenty eight percent of males and 9.6% of females smoked. CONCLUSIONS Mapuche individuals have higher levels of HDL cholesterol a better total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and lower frequency of smoking than non aboriginal Chileans subjects.
Recognising Facial Surfaces

The extent to which faces depicted as surfaces devoid of pigmentation and with minimal texture cues (‘head models’) could be matched with photographs (when unfamiliar) and identified (when familiar) was examined in three experiments. The head models were obtained by scanning the three-dimensional surface of the face with a laser, and by displaying the surface measured in this way by using standard computer-aided design techniques. Performance in all tasks was above chance but far from ceiling. Experiment 1 showed that matching of unfamiliar head models with photographs was affected by the resolution with which the surface was displayed, suggesting that subjects based their decisions, at least in part, on three-dimensional surface structure. Matching accuracy was also affected by other factors to do with the viewpoints shown in the head models and test photographs, and the type of lighting used to portray the head model. In experiment 2 further evidence for the importance of the nature of the illumination used was obtained, and it was found that the addition of a hairstyle (not that of the target face) did not facilitate matching. In experiment 3 identification of the head models by colleagues of the people shown was compared with identification of photographs where the hair was concealed and eyes were closed. Head models were identified less well than these photographs, suggesting that the difficulties in their recognition are not solely due to the lack of hair. Women's heads were disproportionately difficult to recognise from the head models. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of such three-dimensional head models in forensic and surgical applications.
Computational study of the Trp‐cage miniprotein based on the ECEPP/3 force field

Using a newly developed Monte Carlo global optimization method called basin paving, we have performed an ab initio computation for the structure of Trp‐cage based on the ECEPP/3 force field in vacuo. The lowest energy minimum has been located. Its corresponding configuration is comparable to the native structure of Trp‐cage (PDB code 1L2Y) with a backbone root mean square deviation of 2.24 Å. Proteins 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Control of electron transport routes through redox-regulated redistribution of respiratory complexes

In cyanobacteria, respiratory electron transport takes place in close proximity to photosynthetic electron transport, because the complexes required for both processes are located within the thylakoid membranes. The balance of electron transport routes is crucial for cell physiology, yet the factors that control the predominance of particular pathways are poorly understood. Here we use a combination of tagging with green fluorescent protein and confocal fluorescence microscopy in live cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 to investigate the distribution on submicron scales of two key respiratory electron donors, type-I NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH-1) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). When cells are grown under low light, both complexes are concentrated in discrete patches in the thylakoid membranes, about 100–300 nm in diameter and containing tens to hundreds of complexes. Exposure to moderate light leads to redistribution of both NDH-1 and SDH such that they become evenly distributed within the thylakoid membranes. The effects of electron transport inhibitors indicate that redistribution of respiratory complexes is triggered by changes in the redox state of an electron carrier close to plastoquinone. Redistribution does not depend on de novo protein synthesis, and it is accompanied by a major increase in the probability that respiratory electrons are transferred to photosystem I rather than to a terminal oxidase. These results indicate that the distribution of complexes on the scale of 100–300 nm controls the partitioning of reducing power and that redistribution of electron transport complexes on these scales is a physiological mechanism to regulate the pathways of electron flow.
In Vivo ESR Study on Hepatic Reduction of a Nitroxide Radical after Administration of Glucose in Rats

The in vivo reducing ability of a nitroxide radical, 4‐hydroxyl‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidin‐1‐oxyl (TEMPOL), in the liver of rats was estimated by using an electron spin resonance spectrometer equipped with a surface‐coil‐type resonator following administration of glucose. Both oral and intravenous administration of glucose significantly enhanced the reduction capacity. In vitro studies show that the reduction site of TEMPOL in the hepatic homogenate is located in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and microsomal electron transport system. These findings indicate that the enhancement of activity of these systems caused by the glucose administration prompts reduction of TEMPOL in the liver.
Adaptive Subspace Self-Organizing Map and Its Applications in Face Recognition

Recently Kohonen proposed the Adaptive Subspace Self-Organizing Map (ASSOM) for extracting subspace detectors from the input data. In the ASSOM, all subspaces represented by the neurons are constrained to intersect the origin in the feature space. As a result, it cannot compensate for the mean present in the data set. In this paper we propose affined subspaces for constructing a set of linear manifolds. This gives rise to a modified ASSOM known as the Adaptive Manifold Self-Organizing Map (AMSOM). In some cases, AMSOM performs many orders of magnitude better than ASSOM. We apply AMSOM to face recognition. Since some face images may share a manifold due to similarities present in the images, we use a multi-layer neural network to divide the manifold into sub-areas each of which corresponds to a single class, e.g., a face class for Smith. Our experiment results show that this approach performs better than those obtained using the standard Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method.
Therapeutic effects of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) pollen extract on cadmium‐induced testicular toxicity

Cadmium (Cd) is a well‐known testicular toxicant. This study was designed to explore the long‐term effects of a single low dose of Cd on spermatogenesis, and testicular dysfunction and oxidative stress, and the therapeutic potential of date palm pollen extract (DPP) in averting such reproductive damage. Adult male Wistar rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of CdCl2 (0 or 1 mg kg−1). Twenty‐four hours later, they started receiving DPP (0 or 40 mg kg−1) orally, once daily for 56 consecutive days. Cd exposure caused significant reproductive damage via reduced weight of the reproductive organs, which includes spermatological damage (decreased sperm count and motility and increased rates of sperm abnormalities), increased oxidative stress (increased malondialdehyde and decreased reduced glutathione levels), histological alterations (necrosis, inefficient to completely arrest spermatogenesis and a reduced Johnsen's score) and decreased serum testosterone level. DPP restored spermatogenesis and attenuated the toxic effects of Cd on the reproductive system to the levels observed in the control animals. These findings support the hypothesis that the testis is particularly sensitive to Cd, which can cause testicular damage and infertility. Treatment with DPP can ameliorate the deleterious effects of Cd, probably by activating testicular endocrine and antioxidant systems.
Stand Structure and Substrate Diversity as Two Major Drivers for Bryophyte Distribution in a Temperate Montane Ecosystem

Elucidating the major drivers of bryophyte distribution is the first step to protecting bryophyte diversity. Topography, forest, substrates (ground, tree trunks, roots, rocks, and rotten wood), and spatial factor, which factors are the major drivers of bryophyte distribution? In this study, 53 plots were set in 400 m2 along the elevation gradient in Xiaoqinling, China. All bryophytes in the plots were collected and identified. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between bryophyte and substrate diversity. We compared the patterns of overall bryophyte diversity and diversity of bryophytes found on the ground, tree, and rock along elevational gradients. Canonical correspondence analysis was applied to relate species composition to selected environmental variables. The importance of topography, forest, substrates, and spatial factors was determined by variance partitioning. A total of 1378 bryophyte specimens were collected, and 240 species were identified. Bryophyte diversity was closely related to substrate diversity. The overall bryophyte diversity significantly increased with elevation; however, the response varied among ground, tree, and rock bryophytes. Tree diversity and herb layer were considered important environmental factors in determining bryophyte distribution. Species abundance was best explained by stand structure (17%), and species diversity was best explained by stand structure (35%) and substrate (40%). Results directly indicated that substrate diversity can improve bryophyte species diversity. The effects of micro-habitat formed by stand structure and substrate diversity were higher than those of spatial processes and topography factors on bryophyte distribution. This study proved that the determinant factors influencing bryophyte diversity reflect the trends in recent forest management, providing a real opportunity to improve forest biodiversity conservation.
[Effects of encircled needling plus electroacupuncture on hyperplastic mammary glands and serum sex hormones in the rat].

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of encircled needling plus electroacupuncture (EA) of the second pair of nipples on hyperplastic mammary glands, serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), prolactin (PRL) and testosterone (T) contents, estrogen receptor (ER) expression of the mammary glands in mammary hyperplasia rats. METHODS Forty Wistar rats were equally randomized into normal control, model, acupuncture and medication groups. Mammary gland hyperplasia model was established by intramuscular injection of diethylstilbestrol (0.5 mg/kg, once daily for 25 days) and progesterone (4 mg/kg, once daily for 5 days). For rats of the acupuncture group, 4 filiform needles were inserted into the surrounding tissues of the second pair of breasts, respectively, followed by giving the animal with EA stimulation for 30 min. Another one acupuncture needle was inserted into "Danzhong" (CV 17) and retained for 30 min. For rats of the medication group, tamoxifen solution (1.8 mg/kg) was given by gavage. Both medication and EA intervention were given once daily for 30 days. The diameter and height of the second pair of nipples were measured before and on the 10th, 20th and 30th days of the treatment. Serum E2, P, PRL and T levels were assayed by radioimmunoassay, and the tissues of the second pair of nipples were stained with H. E. method. Estrogen receptor immunoactivity of the breast tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The diameter and height of the second pair of nipples, serum E2, PRL and T contents, and breast ER protein expression level were significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group (P<0.05), while serum P content was remarkably lower in the model group than in the normal control group (P<0.05). In comparison with the model group, the diameter and height of the second pair of nipples, serum E2, PRL and T contents, and breast ER protein expression level were considerably lower in both acupuncture and medication groups (P<0.05), and serum P contents were significantly higher in the latter two groups (P<0.05). In addition, H.E. staining showed that the numbers of the lobule, alveolus and ducts of mammary glands were significantly increased, and the expansion of the acinar lumina and ducts was found in the model group. These pathological changes were relatively milder in both acupuncture and medication groups. CONCLUSION Encircled needling plus EA stimulation of the surrounding tissues of the nipples can improve the hyperplasic nipples and pathological changes of the breast tissue in mammary gland hyperplasia rats, which is closely associated with its functions in lowering serum estradiol, prolactin, testosterone contents and estrogen receptor protein expression of the breast, and in increasing serum progesterone level.
Modeling Future Urban Sprawl and Landscape Change in the Laguna de Bay Area, Philippines

This study uses a spatially-explicit land-use/land-cover (LULC) modeling approach to model and map the future (2016–2030) LULC of the area surrounding the Laguna de Bay of Philippines under three different scenarios: ‘business-as-usual’, ‘compact development’, and ‘high sprawl’ scenarios. The Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and an important natural resource for the population in/around Metro Manila. The LULC around the lake is rapidly changing due to urban sprawl, so local and national government agencies situated in the area need an understanding of the future (likely) LULC changes and their associated hydrological impacts. The spatial modeling approach involved three main steps: (1) mapping the locations of past LULC changes; (2) identifying the drivers of these past changes; and (3) identifying where and when future LULC changes are likely to occur. Utilizing various publically-available spatial datasets representing potential drivers of LULC changes, a LULC change model was calibrated using the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) neural network algorithm. After calibrating the model, future LULC changes were modeled and mapped up to the year 2030. Our modeling results showed that the ‘built-up’ LULC class is likely to experience the greatest increase in land area due to losses in ‘crop/grass’ (and to a lesser degree ‘tree’) LULC, and this is attributed to continued urban sprawl.
Accuracy of self‐collected human papillomavirus samples from Japanese women with abnormal cervical cytology

The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of self‐collected vaginal samples compared with physician‐collected cervical samples for high‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing in Japanese women with abnormal cervical cytology. We also assessed the acceptability of self‐collected HPV (sHPV) testing using a questionnaire.
Cooption and Catalysis in a Model of Technological Evolution

Most evolutionary algorithms ultimately focus on optimizing solutions to a single target function, coevolution and related methods notwithstanding. Cooptive phenomena between organisms adapted to distinct environmental niches, however, lie at the heart of the evolution of complex functions in nature and technology, where solutions adapted for one problem are repurposed to solve another, related problem. Boolean functions have become a popular toy model for exploring the dynamics of such processes, and provide insight into new approaches to evolutionary computation. We implemented the basics of a model of combinatorially evolving logic circuits developed by Brian Arthur and Wolfgang Polak, and began to explore the sort of cooptive and catalytic phenomena its success depends upon. We observed a significant difference in the dynamics of evolution between when the full suite of fitness functions is present, versus when only a few pieces of the selective pressure are active at a time. Future work will examine these dynamics in more detail.
Biocompatibility and New Fluids

T he "biocompatibility" of a procedure or treatment describes the effects it may have on the patient, locally or systemically. The less disturbance the therapy has on either the structure or the function of the individual, the more biocompatible it is said to be. In the field of peritoneal dialysis (PD), attention has been concentrated on the dialysate; but one also needs to consider the catheter, the materials used in the bag and tubing, and, finally, the additives to the fluid, if any.
Memory and Effector CD8 T-cell Responses After Nanoparticle Vaccination of Melanoma Patients

Induction of cytotoxic CD8 T-cell responses is enhanced by the exclusive presentation of antigen through dendritic cells, and by innate stimuli, such as toll-like receptor ligands. On the basis of these 2 principles, we designed a vaccine against melanoma. Specifically, we linked the melanoma-specific Melan-A/Mart-1 peptide to virus-like nanoparticles loaded with A-type CpG, a ligand for toll-like receptor 9. Melan-A/Mart-1 peptide was cross-presented, as shown in vitro with human dendritic cells and in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. A phase I/II study in stage II-IV melanoma patients showed that the vaccine was well tolerated, and that 14/22 patients generated ex vivo detectable T-cell responses, with in part multifunctional T cells capable to degranulate and produce IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2. No significant influence of the route of immunization (subcutaneous versus intradermal) nor dosing regimen (weekly versus daily clusters) could be observed. It is interesting to note that, relatively large fractions of responding specific T cells exhibited a central memory phenotype, more than what is achieved by other nonlive vaccines. We conclude that vaccination with CpG loaded virus-like nanoparticles is associated with a human CD8 T-cell response with properties of a potential long-term immune protection from the disease.
Time-delay control with adaptive gain dynamics for robot manipulators

Adaptive gain dynamics for time-delay control (TDC) of robot manipulators is proposed. TDC is a well-known controller for robot manipulators: it is model-free, efficient, and robust. The gain of conventional TDC is a constant matrix, which could pose two drawbacks. First, because the gain is tuned manually by a trial-and-error method, one cannot be convinced whether the gain is well-tuned. Second, when the system dynamics varies rapidly, and the posture of the robot manipulator has changed significantly, the performance of the conventional TDC degrades with a constant gain. To cope with these problems, we propose an adaptive gain dynamics for the TDC by using sliding variables and acceptance layer concept. The time-varying acceptance layer automatically adjusts the gain to minimize the sliding mode error. As a result, the TDC with the proposed adaptive gain dynamics becomes adaptive and robust. The effectiveness of the proposed gain dynamics has been verified experimentally using a whole arm manipulator.