Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cell expansion of human articular chondrocytes on macroporous gelatine scaffolds—impact of microcarrier selection on cell proliferation

This study investigates human chondrocyte expansion on four macroporous gelatine microcarriers (CultiSpher) differing with respect to two manufacturing processes—the amount of emulsifier used during initial preparation and the gelatine cross-linking medium. Monolayer-expanded articular chondrocytes from three donors were seeded onto the microcarriers and cultured in spinner flask systems for a total of 15 days. Samples were extracted every other day to monitor cell viability and establish cell counts, which were analysed using analysis of variance and piecewise linear regression. Chondrocyte densities increased according to a linear pattern for all microcarriers, indicating an ongoing, though limited, cell proliferation. A strong chondrocyte donor effect was seen during the initial expansion phase. The final cell yield differed significantly between the microcarriers and our results indicate that manufacturing differences affected chondrocyte densities at this point. Remaining cells stained positive for chondrogenic markers SOX-9 and S-100 but extracellular matrix formation was modest to undetectable. In conclusion, the four gelatine microcarriers supported chondrocyte adhesion and proliferation over a two week period. The best yield was observed for microcarriers produced with low emulsifier content and cross-linked in water and acetone. These results add to the identification of optimal biomaterial parameters for specific cellular processes and populations.
Electroencephalograph (EEG) signal processing method of motor imaginary potential for attention level classification

Research of visual attention is one of the important domains of psychology and neurophysiology. In this study, an attention related electroencephalograph (EEG) signal processing method was proposed to distinguish the different levels of people’s attention during the imaginary limbs motor. There were two EEG feedback experiments (playing tennis and walking) to measure the different levels of visual attention. Three imaginary motor tasks (attention, inattention, and rest task) were performed with the flash stimulus displayed on the screen in the experiments. A nonlinear dynamics parameter of multi-scale entropy (MSE) was extracted from those EEG data recorded. According to the statistics analysis of 14 subjects, there was an obvious declining tendency of MSE with the level of attention declining, which validated the effectiveness of the proposed method to classify the visual attention level.
Chemotherapy with FUDR in the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

SUMMARY Metastatic renal cell carcinoma has a poor prognosis, requiring systemic therapy, in addition to radical nephrectomy. Since August 1989, 50 patients were treated with continuous, systemic, chronobiological infusion of FUDR (floxuridine) at our Institution. We reported 11.7% of objective responses, a long period of stable disease and low toxicity. We also compared our actuarial survival with the results obtained with recombinant IL-2 treatment.
On Graph Deltas for Historical Queries

In this paper, we address the problem of evaluating historical queries on graphs. To this end, we investigate the use of graph deltas, i.e., a log of time-annotated graph operations. Our storage model maintains the current graph snapshot and the delta. We reconstruct past snapshots by applying appropriate parts of the graph delta on the current snapshot. Query evaluation proceeds on the reconstructed snapshots but we also propose algorithms based mostly on deltas for efficiency. We introduce various techniques for improving performance, including materializing intermediate snapshots, partial reconstruction and indexing deltas.
FUNCTIONAL HYPOGLYCEMIA IN EARLY LATENT DIABETES

The observation that weight gain precedes the development of frank diabetes has been known for many years. Joslin and his colleagues in their textbook of diabetes mellitus remark that it is most exceptional for anyone who is ten pounds underweight to acquire diabetes. According to their statistics, approximately 80% of all patients in whom the stable type of diabetes develops after maturity are obese. In most instances, obesity will precede the development of diabetes. On the other hand, it is remarkable that even in most recent publications, data concerning abnormalities of carbohydrate metabolism, especially reactive hypoglycemia, in obesity are less well documented. Moreover, in some of the most thorough and extensive studies, glucose tolerance tests were not followed beyond the second or the third hr, thereby obviously missing any possible occurrence of functional reactive hypoglycemia. In an attempt to obtain more information concerning the extent of abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism, particularly the incidence of functional hypoglycemia, the following study was undertaken. 1
The role and utility of faecal markers in inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are characterized by periods of symptomatic relapse and remission. Diagnosis and assessment of inflammatory bowel disease has so far been based on clinical evaluation, serum parameters, radiology and endoscopy. Faecal markers such as calprotectin or lactoferrin have emerged as new diagnostic tools to detect and monitor intestinal inflammation. This review focuses on their potential clinical applications and limitations in the management of inflammatory bowel disease.
Validation of the Women’s Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale in a Multicenter Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the construct validity of the five-item Women’s Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale (WHIIRS) by comparing women taking hormone therapy (HT) versus those taking a placebo and by comparing women known to differ in vasomotor symptoms. Methods: The WHIIRS was included in two phase III randomized trials intended to evaluate the efficacy of a combination estradiol plus and norethindrone acetate transdermal delivery system in reducing vasomotor symptoms. In all, 850 healthy postmenopausal women participated in these studies. Both trials were double-blind, one was placebo-controlled and the other was positive-controlled. The former trial admitted women with ≥8 hot flashes/day and lasted 12 weeks with data collected on the WHIIRS at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The other trial had no entry criteria pertaining to hot flashes and lasted 52 weeks with WHIIRS data collected at baseline, 12, 24, and 52 weeks. Results: The WHIIRS was sensitive to the effect of HT on sleep disturbance over time. The WHIIRS also detected differences in self-reported sleep disturbance between women with mild vasomotor symptoms compared with those with moderate to severe symptoms. As expected, the study using a positive control revealed that sleep improved over time (p <.0001). Also as predicted, the study using a placebo control found that sleep disturbance in the treatment groups improved at a faster rate than in the control groups (p = .035). Conclusion: The construct validity of the WHIIRS was supported because it was successfully used to detect self-reported sleep disturbance differences in women taking HT versus those taking a placebo as well as in groups known to differ in severity of their vasomotor symptoms. ANOVA = analysis of variance; CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; E2 = estradiol 50 &mgr;g; HT = hormone therapy; NETA = norethindrone acetate; RPR = Rhône-Poulenc Rorer; WHI=Women’s Health Initiative; WHIIRS=Women’s Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale.
Glucose indices are associated with cognitive and structural brain measures in young adults

Objective: To evaluate the possible early consequences of impaired glucose metabolism on the brain by assessing the relationship of diabetes, fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, and insulin resistance with cognitive performance and brain integrity in healthy young and middle-aged adults. Methods: The sample included dementia-free participants (mean age 40 ± 9 years; 53% women) of the Framingham Heart Study third-generation cohort with cognitive testing of memory, abstract reasoning, visual perception, attention, and executive function (n = 2,126). In addition, brain MRI examination (n = 1,597) was used to determine white matter, gray matter, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes and fractional anisotropy measures. We used linear regression models to assess relationships between diabetes, FBG, and insulin resistance with cognition, lobar gray matter, and WMH volumes as well as voxel-based microstructural white matter integrity and gray matter density, adjusting for potential confounders. Mediating effect of brain lesions on the association of diabetes with cognitive performance was also tested. Results: Diabetes was associated with worse memory, visual perception, and attention performance; increased WMH; and decreased total cerebral brain and occipital lobar gray matter volumes. The link of diabetes with attention and memory was mediated through occipital and frontal atrophy, and the latter also through hippocampal atrophy. Both diabetes and increased FBG were associated with large areas of reductions in gray matter density and fractional anisotropy on voxel-based analyses. Conclusions: We found that hyperglycemia is associated with subtle brain injury and impaired attention and memory even in young adults, indicating that brain injury is an early manifestation of impaired glucose metabolism.
A Scalable Parallel Formulation of the Backpropagation Algorithm for Hypercubes and Related Architectures

We present a new technique for mapping the backpropagation algorithm on hypercube and related architectures. A key component of this technique is a network partitioning scheme called checkerboarding. Checkerboarding allows us to replace the all-to-all broadcast operation performed by the commonly used vertical network partitioning scheme, with operations that are much faster on the hypercubes and related architectures. Checkerboarding can be combined with the pattern partitioning technique to form a hybrid scheme that performs better than either one of these schemes. Theoretical analysis and experimental results on nCUBE and CM5 show that our scheme performs better than the other schemes, for both uniform and nonuniform networks. >
Oral Challenge with Pasteurized Egg White from Gallus domesticus

Background: Since raw egg may cause digestive toxic infections, we assessed whether pasteurized raw egg white is as reliable as fresh raw egg white in the diagnosis of egg allergy. Methods: Thirty-two egg-allergic children were challenged with both pasteurized and fresh raw egg white. Open challenges were carried out with increasing doses of pasteurized raw egg white and fresh raw egg white administered every 60 min. Results: Eleven children (34.4%) had positive challenges with pasteurized raw egg white. Twenty-one children (65.62%) who tolerated pasteurized raw egg white also had a negative challenge with fresh raw egg white. If the challenge with pasteurized raw egg white resulted positive, the study was stopped. The protein profile and IgE-binding capacity of both pasteurized and fresh egg white were almost identical as observed by SDS-PAGE and IgE immunoblotting. In the IgE immunoblotting-inhibition and ImmunoCAP-inhibition assays, both extracts behaved in a similar way. Conclusions: We did not find any relevant allergenic differences between fresh and pasteurized egg white. This study supports the use of pasteurized egg white in the diagnosis of allergy to fresh raw egg proteins.
Factor Xa Generation by Computational Modeling: An Additional Discriminator to Thrombin Generation Evaluation

Factor (f)Xa is a critical enzyme in blood coagulation that is responsible for the initiation and propagation of thrombin generation. Previously we have shown that analysis of computationally generated thrombin profiles is a tool to investigate hemostasis in various populations. In this study, we evaluate the potential of computationally derived time courses of fXa generation as another approach for investigating thrombotic risk. Utilizing the case (n = 473) and control (n = 426) population from the Leiden Thrombophilia Study and each individual's plasma protein factor composition for fII, fV, fVII, fVIII, fIX, fX, antithrombin and tissue factor pathway inhibitor, tissue factor-initiated total active fXa generation was assessed using a mathematical model. FXa generation was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC), the maximum rate (MaxR) and level (MaxL) and the time to reach these, TMaxR and TMaxL, respectively. FXa generation was analyzed in the entire populations and in defined subgroups (by sex, age, body mass index, oral contraceptive use). The maximum rates and levels of fXa generation occur over a 10- to 12- fold range in both cases and controls. This variation is larger than that observed with thrombin (3–6 fold) in the same population. The greatest risk association was obtained using either MaxR or MaxL of fXa generation; with an ∼2.2 fold increased risk for individuals exceeding the 90th percentile. This risk was similar to that of thrombin generation(MaxR OR 2.6). Grouping defined by oral contraceptive (OC) use in the control population showed the biggest differences in fXa generation; a >60% increase in the MaxR upon OC use. FXa generation can distinguish between a subset of individuals characterized by overlapping thrombin generation profiles. Analysis of fXa generation is a phenotypic characteristic which may prove to be a more sensitive discriminator than thrombin generation among all individuals.
Utilities of Patients with Hypertension in Northern Vietnam

Objectives The study aims to inform potential cost-effectiveness analysis of hypertension management in Vietnam by providing utilities and predictors of utilities in patients with hypertension. Methods Hypertensive patients up to 80 years old visiting the hospital were invited to participate in a survey using Quality Metric’s Short-form 36v2TM translated into Vietnamese. Health-state utilities were estimated by applying a previously published algorithm. Results The mean utility of the 691 patients interviewed was 0.73. Controlling for age, sex, blood pressure (BP) stage, and history of stroke, the utilities in older patients were lower than those in younger ones, and statistically significantly different between the extremes of youngest and oldest groups (p = 0.03). Utility in males was higher than in females (p = 0.002). As expected, patients with a history of stroke appeared to exhibit lower utilities than patients without such history, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.73). Patients with more than three comorbidities did have lower utilities than patients without comorbidity (p = 0.01). Conclusions Health-state utilities found among hypertensive patients in Vietnam were similar to those found in other international studies. It is suggested that lower of health-state utilities exist among those patients who were older, female or had more than three comorbidities in comparison with respective reference groups. However, further research for confirmation is required. The data from this study provide a potential reference on health-state utilities of hypertensive patients in Vietnam as an input for future cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions. Also, it may serve as a reference for other similar populations, especially in the context of similar environments in low income countries.
Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid and carnosine supplementation's effects on cognitive, behavioural and psychophysiological parameters on healthy young subjects : double-blind, placebo-controlled study

It has been documented that Omega-3 fatty acids have certain important roles in central nervous system (CNS) functions. Studies demonstrate that they improve cognitive development and memory related learning. Omega-3 fatty acids are also involved in synaptic transmission, they contribute to synaptogenesis and they increase neuroplasticy of nerve cells. Althought a lot of researches concerning Omega-3 fatty acids and CNS has been conducted, most of the studies have focused on developmental issues or on clinical situations such as depression, ADHD and schizophrenia. Very few basic experiments concerning healthy adults and their brain functioning in relation to Omega-3 fatty acids have been done so far. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA, Omega-3 fatty acid) and carnosine (protein) supplementation on some cognitive, psychophysiological and behavioural parameters. 24 volunteer subjects, aged 20-30 years, were randomly, but balancing the gender divided into experimental and control groups. Subjects were tested in the beginning of the experiment and after 45 days. During this period, experiment group subjects were supplemented with E-EPA and carnosine products and control group subjects correspondingly with placebo products. The study was conducted in a double-blind fashion. The main interest in the study was to examine dietary supplementation ́s (EEPA and carnosine ́s) effects on subjects ́ event-related potentials (ERPs), reaction times and number of errors they would make during a visual slow event rate Continuous Performance Task (CPT). The Profile of Mood States test, a sleeping questionnaire and blood ́s fatty acid analysis were also conducted. Blood analysis showed that after the E-EPA and carnosine supplementation, the EPA content increased and arachidonic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio (AA/EPA) reduced significantly. Even though the low ratio of these polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is beneficial according to many studies, there were no statistical significant differences between the groups in any other measured parameters. According to this study, E-EPA and carnosine supplementation does not have an influence on young healthy people ́s ERPs (CNV and P300), reaction times or number of errors they make during CPT. Nutrition supplementation had also no effects on subjects ́ attention, impulsivity, mood states or quality of sleep.
Drug-induced phospholipidoses. II. Tissue distribution of the amphiphilic drug chlorphentermine.

This review deals with drug-induced lipidoses and the possible underlying mechanisms. A variety of drugs, widely differing in their main pharmacological actions, but closely resembling each other with respect to particular physiochemical properties, have been found to cause in animals and man cytological alterations that are reminiscent of the inherited lipid-storage diseases of man. Ultrastructurally, the alterations are characterized by multilamellated or crystalloid cytoplasmic inclusions, i.e., residual bodies resulting from an intralysosomal accumulation of polar lipids. Biochemically, some of the most severely affected tissues have been demonstrated to contain increased amounts of phospholipids and of the drug applied. All drugs hitherto found to induce such alterations are cationic amphiphilic (amphipathic) compounds; they possess a highly apolar ring system and a cationic hydrophilic side chain (e.g., triparanol, chloroquine, chlorzyclizine, 4,4′-diethylaminoethoxyhexestrol, chlorphentermine, ipri.
Morphology of the european sea bass (dicentrarchus labrax) tongue

The European sea bass, a member of the Moronidae family, is a food fish, considered one of the first models for the intensive breeding in salt water. It has nowadays an important and increasing presence in the international fishing markets. Sea basses are carnivorous, feeding on little fishes and invertebrates. Considering the important role of the tongue during the intraoral transport and the swallowing of food, scarce data are present in literature about its morphology. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphology of the tongue by means of scanning electron and light microscopy. Adult sea basses were obtained from the aquarium of the Sicilian Center of Experimental Ichthyiopathology of the University of Messina. The fishes were anaesthetized with MS 222 and the heads were then quickly removed and processed for the paraffin embedding and SEM processing. Three different tongue regions could be distinguished: an apex, a body, and a root. Scanning electron and light microscopy showed the presence of numerous canine‐like teeth, surrounded by taste buds and numerous fungiform and conical papillae. The teeth were curved and their tips were posteriorly oriented. The results confirm, in teleosts too, the fundamental role of the tongue in the mechanics of food ingestion. Moreover, the presence of taste buds demonstrates the interaction of food processing and taste. These data could be a potential source to identify new and better methods of nutrition in the breeding of this fish. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fog Computing for Sustainable Smart Cities

The Internet of Things (IoT) aims to connect billions of smart objects to the Internet, which can bring a promising future to smart cities. These objects are expected to generate large amounts of data and send the data to the cloud for further processing, especially for knowledge discovery, in order that appropriate actions can be taken. However, in reality sensing all possible data items captured by a smart object and then sending the complete captured data to the cloud is less useful. Further, such an approach would also lead to resource wastage (e.g., network, storage, etc.). The Fog (Edge) computing paradigm has been proposed to counterpart the weakness by pushing processes of knowledge discovery using data analytics to the edges. However, edge devices have limited computational capabilities. Due to inherited strengths and weaknesses, neither Cloud computing nor Fog computing paradigm addresses these challenges alone. Therefore, both paradigms need to work together in order to build a sustainable IoT infrastructure for smart cities. In this article, we review existing approaches that have been proposed to tackle the challenges in the Fog computing domain. Specifically, we describe several inspiring use case scenarios of Fog computing, identify ten key characteristics and common features of Fog computing, and compare more than 30 existing research efforts in this domain. Based on our review, we further identify several major functionalities that ideal Fog computing platforms should support and a number of open challenges toward implementing them, to shed light on future research directions on realizing Fog computing for building sustainable smart cities.
Energy efficient slope traversability planning for mobile robot in loose soil

This paper proposes an energy-efficient trajectory planning method for a wheeled robot in slope ascending scenario. This method basically exploits a power consumption model of the robot which is obtained from the following two phases: first, the values of the robot power consumption in different slope angle, robot velocity, and robot heading angle are numerically calculated using a dynamic simulation of the robot taking into account of an accurate wheel-soil interaction mechanics; and subsequently, an approximated model for the robot power consumption is elaborated by neural network. Using the power consumption model an energy-efficient trajectory for a slope traversal case can be generated. Here, a bezier curve is used to provide a smooth trajectory designed with an appropriate arrival time as well as the control points for the curve. The numerical simulation result of the trajectory planning based on the proposed method gives several insights for a feasible trajectory for slope ascending scenario.