julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of post-operative analgesia after posterior lumbar instrumented fusion for degenerative disc disease: a prospective randomized comparison of epidural catheter and intravenous administration of analgesics
2010-03-20

This prospective study aimed to compare the efficacy of epidural (EDA) versus intravenous (PCA) application of analgesics after lumbar fusion. Fifty-two patients scheduled for elective posterior instrumented lumbar fusion were randomized into two groups. EDA patients received an epidural catheter intraoperatively, and administration of ropivacain and sulfentanil was started after a normal postoperative wake-up test in the recovery room area. PCA patients received intravenous opioids in the post-operative period. Differences between EDA and PCA groups in terms of patient satisfaction with respect to pain relief were not significant. Nevertheless, EDA patients reported less pain on the third day after surgery. There were significantly more side effects in the EDA group, including complete reversible loss of sensory function and motor weakness. There were no major side effects, such as infection or persisting neurological deficits, in either group. The routine use of epidural anesthesia for lumbar spine surgery has too many risks and offers very little advantage over PCA.
Diagnosing Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group C by Immunohistochemistry
2010-03-20

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a group of rare inherited human neurocutaneous diseases, and the group C (XPC) is the major group of patients with XP in Europe, North America, and South America. Current molecular diagnostic methods for XP require specialized, expensive, and time-consuming UV sensitivity and DNA repair assays followed by gene sequencing. To determine whether immunohistochemistry (IHC) would be a robust alternative method to diagnose patients with XPC, we stained sections of paraffin-embedded skin biopsies for XPC by IHC, using 69 archived blocks from confirmed or clinically suspect patients with XPA, XPC, XPD, XPE, and without XP. We found that XPC expression was strong in all skin biopsies from patients without (14 of 14) and other patients with XP (4 of 4), whereas XPC expression was lost in all biopsies from confirmed XPC patients (29 of 29). Patches of strong XPC signal could be detected in sun-damaged skin, squamous and basal cell carcinomas from patients with XPC that colocalized with strong expression of p53 and Ki-67. Patients with XPC can therefore be diagnosed by IHC from paraffin-embedded skin biopsies from regions of skin that are without sun damage or sun-induced tumors. IHC is therefore a robust alternative method to diagnose patients with XPC. This fast and inexpensive method should increase the options for the diagnosis of patients with XPC from paraffin-embedded skin biopsies and could be developed for other complementation groups.
A non‐functioning vitamin D receptor predisposes to leukaemoid reactions in mice
2010-03-20

Abstract The vitamin D hormone 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ], the biologically active form of vitamin D, is not only essential for mineral metabolism but may have important functions beyond calcium homoeostasis. By gene targeting, we have recently generated mice expressing a functionally inactive mutant vitamin D receptor (VDR). After a change in environmental conditions from specific pathogen free (SPF) conditions to a modified barrier system, a high percentage of aged mutant, but not wild‐type, mice developed a haematological disorder characterized by splenomegaly, granulocytosis, thrombocytosis and dysplastic changes with displacement of erythropoiesis in bone marrow during the following months. All cases were associated with very high serum levels of the acute phase reaction protein serum amyloid A (SAA). Serological testing of affected mice revealed antibodies against murine hepatitis virus (MHV). However, electron microscopy of spleen and bone marrow cells did not reveal virus particles, and clinical signs of infectious diseases were absent. We hypothesize that a non‐functioning VDR is associated with a latent defect in the regulation of myeloid cell differentiation and proliferation. Under the conditions of environmental stress, this latent defect may predispose to a deregulation of myelopoiesis in the form of a leukaemoid reaction accompanied by dysplastic changes. Thus, 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 may be an important inhibitory factor in the onset and progression of myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic diseases. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.
Botzilla
2010-03-22

Hosts infected with malicious software, so called malware, are ubiquitous in today's computer networks. The means whereby malware can infiltrate a network are manifold and range from exploiting of software vulnerabilities to tricking a user into executing malicious code. Monitoring and detection of all possible infection vectors is intractable in practice. Hence, we approach the problem of detecting malicious software at a later point when it initiates contact with its maintainer; a process referred to as "phoning home". In particular, we introduce Botzilla, a method for detection of malware communication, which proceeds by repetitively recording network traffic of malware in a controlled environment and generating network signatures from invariant content patterns. Experiments conducted at a large university network demonstrate the ability of Botzilla to accurately identify malware communication in network traffic with very low false-positive rates.
TokDoc
2010-03-22

The growing amount of web-based attacks poses a severe threat to the security of web applications. Signature-based detection techniques increasingly fail to cope with the variety and complexity of novel attack instances. As a remedy, we introduce a protocol-aware reverse HTTP proxy TokDoc (the token doctor), which intercepts requests and decides on a per-token basis whether a token requires automatic "healing". In particular, we propose an intelligent mangling technique, which, based on the decision of previously trained anomaly detectors, replaces suspicious parts in requests by benign data the system has seen in the past. Evaluation of our system in terms of accuracy is performed on two real-world data sets and a large variety of recent attacks. In comparison to state-of-the-art anomaly detectors, TokDoc is not only capable of detecting most attacks, but also significantly outperforms the other methods in terms of false positives. Runtime measurements show that our im plementation can be deployed as an inline intrusion prevention system.
Differential effects of p38MAP kinase inhibitors on the expression of inflammation‐associated genes in primary, interleukin‐1β‐stimulated human chondrocytes
2010-03-22

Background and purpose: A main challenge in the therapy of osteoarthritis (OA) is the development of drugs that will modify the disease. Reliable test systems are necessary to enable an efficient screening of therapeutic substances. We therefore established a chondrocyte‐based in vitro cell culture model in order to characterize different p38MAPK inhibitors. Experimental approach: Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β)‐stimulated human OA chondrocytes were treated with the p38MAPK inhibitors Birb 796, pamapimod, SB203580 and the new substance CBS‐3868. Birb 796‐ and SB203580‐treated cells were analysed in a genome‐wide microarray analysis. The efficacy of all inhibitors was characterized by quantitative gene expression analysis and the quantification of PGE 2 and NO release. Key results: Microarray analysis revealed inhibitor‐specific differences in gene expression. Whereas SB203580 had a broad effect on chondrocytes, Birb 796 counteracted the IL‐1β effect more specifically. All p38MAPK inhibitors significantly inhibited the IL‐1β‐induced gene expression of COX‐2, mPGES1, iNOS, matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) and TNFRSF11B, as well as PGE 2 release. Birb 796 and CBS‐3868 showed a higher efficacy than SB203580 and pamapimod at inhibiting the expression of COX‐2 and MMP13 genes, as well as PGE 2 release. In the case of mPGES1 and TNFRSF11B gene expression, CBS‐3868 exceeded the efficacy of Birb 796. Conclusions and implications: Our test system could differentially characterize inhibitors of the same primary pharmaceutical target. It reflects processes relevant in OA and is based on chondrocytes that are mainly responsible for cartilage degradation. It therefore represents a valuable tool for drug screening in between functional in vitro testing and in vivo models.
Pharmacokinetics and Safety of a Single Intravenous Dose of the Antibiotic Tigecycline in Patients With Cirrhosis
2010-03-23

Tigecycline belongs to a new class of tetracyclines, the glycylcyclines, less than 20% of which is metabolized in the liver. Twenty-five patients with cirrhosis with varying degrees of functional hepatic reserve (Child-Pugh A, n = 10; B, n = 10; C, n = 5) and 23 healthy adults, matched by age, sex, weight, and smoking habits, received 100 mg of tigecycline infused intravenously over 60 minutes. Serum and urine samples were collected up to 120 hours after dosing. Pharmacokinetic data were derived using noncompartmental methods. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events in healthy volunteers were nausea (56.5%), vomiting (21.7%), and headache (21.7%) and in the patients with cirrhosis, albuminuria (12%). Mean (± 1 SD) tigecycline clearance values were 29.8 ± 11.3 L/h in healthy subjects and 31.2 ± 13.9 L/h (Child-Pugh A), 22.1 ± 9.3 L/h (Child-Pugh B), and 13.5 ± 2.7 L/h (Child-Pugh C) in the patients. A single intravenous dose of tigecycline 100 mg was safe and well-tolerated in patients with cirrhosis with varying degrees of hepatic functional reserve. No adjustment of tigecycline maintenance dosage is warranted in patients with compensated or moderately decompensated cirrhosis; doses should be reduced by 50%, to 25 mg, every 12 hours in patients with severely decompensated disease.
Triggering of dendritic cell apoptosis by xanthohumol
2010-03-23

Abstract Xanthohumol, a flavonoid from beer with anticancer activity is known to trigger apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells. Xanthohumol further has anti‐inflammatory activity. However, little is known about the effect of xanthohumol on survival and function of immune cells. The present study thus addressed the effect of xanthohumol on dendritic cells (DCs), key players in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity. To this end, mouse bone marrow‐derived DCs were treated with xanthohumol with subsequent assessment of enzymatic activity of acid sphingomyelinase (Asm), ceramide formation determined with anti‐ceramide antibodies in FACS and immunohistochemical analysis, caspase activity utilizing FITC conjugated anti‐active caspase 8 or caspase 3 antibodies in FACS and by Western blotting, DNA fragmentation by determining the percentage of cells in the sub‐G1 phase and cell membrane scrambling by annexin V binding in FACS analysis. As a result, xanthohumol stimulated Asm, enhanced ceramide formation, activated caspases 8 and 3, triggered DNA fragmentation and led to cell membrane scrambling, all effects virtually absent in DCs from gene targeted mice lacking functional Asm or in wild‐type cells treated with sphingomyelinase inhibitor amitriptyline. In conclusion, xanthohumol stimulated Asm leading to caspase activation and apoptosis of bone marrow‐derived DCs.
5-(4-Fluorophenyl)-4-(4-pyridyl)-1,3-oxazol-2-amine
2010-03-23

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(14)H(10)FN(3)O, the plane of the isoxazole ring makes dihedral angles of 35.72 (9) and 30.00 (9)°, respectively, with those of the 4-fluoro-phenyl and pyridine rings. The plane of the 4-fluoro-phenyl ring makes a dihedral angle of 45.85 (8)° with that of the pyridine ring. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bonding. The two types of hydrogen bonds result in two chains, extending along the a axis, which are related by centres of symmetry.
Withering Away--25,000 Years of Genetic Decline Preceded Cave Bear Extinction
2010-03-24

The causes of the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions are still enigmatic. Although the fossil record can provide approximations for when a species went extinct, the timing of its disappearance alone cannot resolve the causes and mode of the decline preceding its extinction. However, ancient DNA analyses can reveal population size changes over time and narrow down potential causes of extinction. Here, we present an ancient DNA study comparing late Pleistocene population dynamics of two closely related species, cave and brown bears. We found that the decline of cave bears started approximately 25,000 years before their extinction, whereas brown bear population size remained constant. We conclude that neither the effects of climate change nor human hunting alone can be responsible for the decline of the cave bear and suggest that a complex of factors including human competition for cave sites lead to the cave bear's extinction.
Influence of spatial and temporal congruency between executed and observed movements on the recognition of biological motion
2010-03-24

Action recognition and execution are tightly linked, and action execution modulates by action recognition and vice versa. The involvement of dynamic motor representations in action recognition would predict a critical role of the exact temporal and spatial matching between executed and recognized action. METHOD:In a VR-setup point-light stimuli of waving actions embedded in a scrambled mask were presented to observers. The motion of the presented point-light stimulus was controlled in real-time by motion-captured movements of the participants. Recognition performance was measured by threshold determination varying the number of masking dots. An additional control condition required the detection of the visual stimulus without concurrent motor task. The relationship between visually perceived and executed movement was modified introducing temporal delays (280 and 560ms) between both movements (experiment 1), and by changing their spatial congruency, showing the observer's arm or its mirrored representation without time delay (experiment 2). RESULTS:Compared to the control condition without motor execution, biological motion detection was significantly improved (facilitation) when observed and executed motions were in temporal synchrony compared to the conditions with time delays. Performance deteriorated with increasing delays (F1,14=10.66; pinterference). Comparison between the identical and the mirror-reflected arm revealed a critical influence of the spatial congruence between the presented and the executing arm (F1,13=13.01; p=0.003). Facilitation occurred only in the spatially congruent condition. CONCLUSIONS: Timing and spatial matching between observed and self-generated movements are critical factors for action recognition. Simple explanations, such as the matching of rhythms between both actions, could be ruled out regarding the lack of recognition modulation in the mirrored-arm condition. Present experiments aim to clarify the different functional roles of multi-modal congruency (visual and acoustic), proprioceptive information and dynamic internal motor presentations on action-perception.
CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULAR MEMBRANE AFTER ENDORESECTION OF CHOROIDAL MELANOMA
2010-03-24

Choroidal neovascular membrane is a rare complication after endoresection of choroidal melanoma. Being aware of this risk leads to early diagnosis and prompt treatment that can prevent deterioration of vision.
First detection of VHEγ-rays from SN 1006 by HESS
2010-03-25

Recent theoretical predictions of the lowest very high energy (VHE)\\nluminosity of SN 1006 are only a factor 5 below the previously published\\nH.E.S.S. upper limit, thus motivating further in-depth observations of this\\nsource. Deep observations at VHE energies (above 100 GeV) were carried out with\\nthe High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) of Cherenkov Telescopes from\\n2003 to 2008. More than 100 hours of data have been collected and subjected to\\nan improved analysis procedure. Observations resulted in the detection of VHE\\ngamma-rays from SN 1006. The measured gamma-ray spectrum is compatible with a\\npower-law, the flux is of the order of 1% of that detected from the Crab\\nNebula, and is thus consistent with the previously established H.E.S.S. upper\\nlimit. The source exhibits a bipolar morphology, which is strongly correlated\\nwith non-thermal X-rays. Because the thickness of the VHE-shell is compatible\\nwith emission from a thin rim, particle acceleration in shock waves is likely\\nto be the origin of the gamma-ray signal. The measured flux level can be\\naccounted for by inverse Compton emission, but a mixed scenario that includes\\nleptonic and hadronic components and takes into account the ambient matter\\ndensity inferred from observations also leads to a satisfactory description of\\nthe multi-wavelength spectrum.\\n
On Cox rings of K3 surfaces
2010-03-25

Abstract We study Cox rings of K3 surfaces. A first result is that a K3 surface has a finitely generated Cox ring if and only if its effective cone is rational polyhedral. Moreover, we investigate degrees of generators and relations for Cox rings of K3 surfaces of Picard number two, and explicitly compute the Cox rings of generic K3 surfaces with a non-symplectic involution that have Picard number 2 to 5 or occur as double covers of del Pezzo surfaces.
The 11–13‐week scan: diagnosis and outcome of holoprosencephaly, exomphalos and megacystis
2010-03-25

Abstract Objective To determine the prevalence and outcome of fetuses with holoprosencephaly, exomphalos and megacystis diagnosed at 11–13 weeks of gestation. Methods As part of a prospective screening study for trisomy 21 in singleton pregnancies at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks' gestation, transabdominal ultrasound examination was performed to diagnose holoprosencephaly, exomphalos and megacystis. Fetal karyotype and pregnancy outcome in fetuses with these defects were examined. Results Screening was carried out in 57 119 pregnancies. The prevalence of holoprosencephaly, exomphalos and megacystis was 1 : 1298, 1 : 381 and 1 : 1632, respectively. Chromosomal abnormalities, mainly trisomies 18 and 13, were found in 65.9% of fetuses with holoprosencephaly, in 55.3% with exomphalos and in 31.4% with megacystis. There was spontaneous resolution of the defect by 20 weeks in 92.5% of euploid fetuses with exomphalos containing only bowel and in 90% of the euploid fetuses with megacystis and bladder length of ≤ 15 mm. Conclusions A high proportion of fetuses with holoprosencephaly, exomphalos and megacystis diagnosed at 11–13 weeks of gestation are aneuploid, but in the majority of cases exomphalos and megacystis represent temporary abnormalities that resolve spontaneously. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.
Regulation of Na+-coupled glucose carrier SGLT1 by AMP-activated protein kinase
2010-03-25

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a serine/threonine kinase activated upon energy depletion, stimulates energy production and limits energy utilization. It has previously been shown to enhance cellular glucose uptake through the GLUT family of facilitative glucose transporters. The present study explored the possibility that AMPK may regulate Na+-coupled glucose transport through SGLT1 (SLC5A1). To this end, SGLT1 was expressed in Xenopus oocytes with and without AMPK and electrogenic glucose transport determined by dual electrode voltage clamping experiments. In SGLT1-expressing oocytes but not in oocytes injected with water or expressing constitutively active (gammaR70Q)AMPK (alpha1beta1gamma1(R70Q)) alone, the addition of glucose to the extracellular bath generated a current (I(g)), which was half maximal (K(M)) at approximately 650 microM glucose concentration. Coexpression of (gammaR70Q)AMPK did not affect K(M) but significantly enhanced the maximal current (approximately 1.7 fold). Coexpression of wild type AMPK or the kinase dead (alphaK45R)AMPK mutant (alpha1(K45R)beta1gamma1) did not appreciably affect I(g). According to confocal microscopy and Western Blotting, AICAR (1 mM), phenformin (1 mM) and A-769662 (10 microM) enhanced the SGLT1 protein abundance in the cell membrane of Caco2 cells suggesting that AMPK activity may increase membrane translocation of SGLT1. These observations support a role for AMPK in the regulation of Na+-coupled glucose transport.
Roles of the Mdm10, Tom7, Mdm12, and Mmm1 Proteins in the Assembly of Mitochondrial Outer Membrane Proteins in Neurospora crassa
2010-03-25

The Mdm10, Mdm12, and Mmm1 proteins have been implicated in several mitochondrial functions including mitochondrial distribution and morphology, assembly of β-barrel proteins such as Tom40 and porin, association of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, and maintaining lipid composition of mitochondrial membranes. Here we show that loss of any of these three proteins in Neurospora crassa results in the formation of large mitochondrial tubules and reduces the assembly of porin and Tom40 into the outer membrane. We have also investigated the relationship of Mdm10 and Tom7 in the biogenesis of β-barrel proteins. Previous work showed that mitochondria lacking Tom7 assemble Tom40 more efficiently, and porin less efficiently, than wild-type mitochondria. Analysis of mdm10 and tom7 single and double mutants, has demonstrated that the effects of the two mutations are additive. Loss of Tom7 partially compensates for the decrease in Tom40 assembly resulting from loss of Mdm10, whereas porin assembly is more severely reduced in the double mutant than in either single mutant. The additive effects observed in the double mutant suggest that different steps in β-barrel assembly are affected in the individual mutants. Many aspects of Tom7 and Mdm10 function in N. crassa are different from those of their homologues in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
ABCA4andROM1:Implications for Modification of thePRPH2-Associated Macular Dystrophy Phenotype
2010-03-25

Features of a PRPH2-associated phenotype might be modulated by additional mutations in other genes (in this family ABCA4 and/or ROM1) accounting for intrafamilial variability and resulting in a cumulative effect worsening the phenotype. Families showing a variable macular dystrophy phenotype caused by mutations in PRPH2 should be tested for additional mutations in ABCA4 and ROM1, as they may alter the progression of the PRPH2 phenotype. This testing will influence genetic counseling, as patients with additional mutations may be confronted with a faster progression of visual loss.
An Introduction to International Relations Theory: Perspectives and Themes
2010-03-25

Introduction 1. Liberalism 2. Realism 3. Structuralism 4. Critical theory 5. Postmodernism 6. Feminist Perspectives 7. Social Constructivism 8. Green Perspectives Conclusions, Key Debates and New Directions Glossary of key or problem terms