Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thrombus remnant despite intra-arterial thrombolysis for thrombus formation during endovascular treatment of ruptured cerebral aneurysms: Does it harm?

Background The fate and safety of thrombus remnant despite intra-arterial thrombolysis for unexpected thrombus formation has rarely been reported. Methods From January 2010 to May 2015, 131 consecutive patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms were treated by endovascular methods at our institution. Among the 21 patients (16%) treated by intra-arterial thrombolysis for the thrombus formation during the procedure, nine patients (nine aneurysms) suffered from thrombus remnant. We reviewed the clinical and radiologic outcomes of patients with thrombus remnant as well as intraoperative and postoperative management of thrombus formation. Results Thrombus formation occurred near the coiled aneurysm in eight patients, and distal embolic occlusion was observed in one patient. All nine patients were initially managed by intra-arterial thrombolysis with tirofiban. One patient with persistent distal embolic occlusion and two patients with distal migration of the thrombus after intra-arterial thrombolysis were additionally treated with stent retriever. One patient with occlusion of the parent artery near the coiled aneurysm despite intra-arterial thrombolysis was partially recanalized by permanent deployment of a stent retriever. Delayed cerebral angiography showed no increase in size of thrombus remnant in any patients. After the procedure, thrombus remnant was managed by intravenous tirofiban. Follow-up CT angiography on the first postoperative day showed patent arterial flow, and ischemic complication related with thromboembolism did not occur in any patients. One patient suffered from hemorrhagic complication. Conclusion If the patency of parent artery is maintained and the size of the thrombus remnant does not increase on delayed angiography after intra-arterial thrombolysis, postoperative thromboembolic events rarely occur.
Clinical outcome of intensity modulated radiotherapy for carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after surgery for carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation (CASTLE). Methods Between September 2008 and June 2015, 14 CASTLE patients were retrospectively enrolled. The clinical features, treatment procedure and clinical outcomes were reviewed. All patients received postoperative IMRT. The radiation doses ranged from 56Gy/28 fractions to 66Gy/33 fractions. Treatment-related toxicities were graded by National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI-CTC) version 3.0. Results After a median follow-up period of 42 months, only one patient suffered local recurrence and distant metastasis. The most frequently seen acute toxicities were mucositis and dermatitis (grade 1-2). No grade 3-4 toxicities were observed. Conclusions Although based upon a small series of consecutively treated patients, our study showed that adjuvant IMRT provides satisfactory local-regional control for CASTLE, with acceptable toxicities. Further studies are still warranted to clarify our findings.
On the Analysis of Intrahost and Interhost Viral Populations: Human Cytomegalovirus as a Case Study of Pitfalls and Expectations

ABSTRACT Intrahost and interhost assessments of viral diversity are often treated as measures of separate and distinct evolutionary processes, with numerous investigations reporting seemingly incompatible results between the two. For example, in human cytomegalovirus, the nucleotide diversity estimates are 10-fold higher for interhost data, while the number of segregating (i.e., polymorphic) sites is 6-fold lower. These results have been interpreted as demonstrating that sampled intrahost variants are strongly deleterious. In reality, however, these observations are fully consistent with standard population genetic expectations. Here, we analyze published intra- and interhost data sets within this framework, utilizing statistical inference tools to quantify the fitness effects of segregating mutations. Further, we utilize population level simulations to clarify expectations under common evolutionary models. Contrary to common claims in the literature, these results suggest that most observed polymorphisms are likely nearly neutral with regard to fitness and that standard population genetic models in fact well predict observed levels of both intra- and interhost variability. IMPORTANCE With the increasing number of evolutionary virology studies examining both intrahost and interhost patterns of genomic variation, a number of seemingly incompatible results have emerged, revolving around the far greater level of observed intrahost than interhost variation. This has led many authors to suggest that the great majority of sampled within-host polymorphisms are strongly deleterious. Here, we demonstrate that there is in fact no incompatibility of these results and, indeed, that the vast majority of sampled within-host variation is likely neutral. These results thus represent a major shift in the current view of observed viral variation.
Low levels of mutant ubiquitin are degraded by the proteasome in vivo

The ubiquitin‐proteasome system fulfills a pivotal role in regulating intracellular protein turnover. Impairment of this system is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by ubiquitin‐ containing proteinaceous deposits. UBB+1, a mutant ubiquitin, is one of the proteins accumulating in the neuropathological hallmarks of tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, and polyglutamine diseases. In vitro, UBB+1 properties shift from a proteasomal ubiquitin‐fusion degradation substrate at low expression levels to a proteasome inhibitor at high expression levels. Here we report on a novel transgenic mouse line (line 6663) expressing low levels of neuronal UBB+1. In these mice, UBB+1 protein is scarcely detectable in the neuronal cell population. Accumulation of UBB+1 commences only after intracranial infusion of the proteasome inhibitors lactacystin or MG262, showing that, at these low expression levels, the UBB+1 protein is a substrate for proteasomal degradation in vivo. In addition, accumulation of the protein serves as a reporter for proteasome inhibition. These findings strengthen our proposition that, in healthy brain, UBB+1 is continuously degraded and disease‐related UBB+1 accumulation serves as an endogenous marker for proteasomal dysfunction. This novel transgenic line can give more insight into the intrinsic properties of UBB+1 and its role in neurodegenerative disease. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Investigación Original / Original Research Prevalence and Correlates of Preterm Labor among Young Parturient Women Attending Public Hospitals in Brazil

Preterm labor, defined as childbirth occurring at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation, is a major determinant of neonatal mortality and morbidity and has long-term adverse consequences for health (1, 2). Despite major preventive efforts, the incidence of preterm labor has remained constant at about 5%–10% of live births in most countries (3, 4). In 75% of preterm labor cases, no obvious causes have been established, but some risk factors have been identified (4, 5). Nonobstetric risk factors include poor socioeconomic status (6); maternal malnutrition and illiteracy (7); maternal age of < 20 or > 35 years (8, 9); cigarette smoking (10, 11); and trauma (12). Obstetric risk factors include cervical incompetence; multiple gestations; short birth intervals; abortion; premature rupture of membrane; and previous preterm labor (1, 5, 13). Other medical conditions (diabetes mellitus, urinary and genital tract infections) have also been associated with preterm labor (5, 9, 10). Objective. To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for preterm labor (< 37 weeks of gestation) among young pregnant women in Brazil. Methods. A national cross-sectional study was conducted among parturient women aged 15–24 years attending Brazilian public maternities in 2009. Questionnaires were administered by interviewers during parturient admission to the maternity clinic (or soon after delivery, if survey participants were in too much pain to respond during labor). The questionnaires collected demographic, behavioral, and clinical data. Results. A total of 2 071 (86.3%) of the 2 400 parturient women invited to participate were included in the study. Mean age was 20.2 years (standard deviation [SD]: 2.7) and mean years of formal education was 8 (SD: 2.4). Preterm labor occurred in 450 women (21.7%). The highest proportion of premature labor (36.1%) was found in the North region and the lowest proportion (6.9%) was found in the South region. In the final multivariate logistic regression model, living in the North region (odds ratio [OR]: 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28– 1.59); having monthly income less than twice the Brazilian minimum wage (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.01–1.60); having suffered domestic violence (OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.23–4.18); and having had inadequate prenatal care (OR: 3.17, 95% CI: 2.54–3.97) remained significant correlates of preterm labor in this population. Conclusions. Results show a high prevalence of preterm labor among young women in Bra-zil. Preterm labor has multifactorial etiologies. More public health resources must be directed toward accelerating understanding of this complex process.
Statistical Models of Conditioning

Conditioning experiments probe the ways that animals make predictions about rewards and punishments and use those predictions to control their behavior. One standard model of conditioning paradigms which involve many conditioned stimuli suggests that individual predictions should be added together. Various key results show that this model fails in some circumstances, and motivate an alternative model, in which there is attentional selection between different available stimuli. The new model is a form of mixture of experts, has a close relationship with some other existing psychological suggestions, and is statistically well-founded.
New frontiers in nano-scale highly nonlinear photonic circuits for System on System (SoS) Integration

Advances in System on Chip (SoC) and System in Package (SiP) that draw upon experiences gained from nano, bio and photon based technologies have created a new domain that permits fabrication of multiplicity of independent technologies as part of 3D hyper-integrated System on System (SoS) platform. Recent advances in nonlinear optics supported by fabrication and experimental work on the extreme nonlinear optical behavior of nano-scale waveguides with high linear and nonlinear index materials has opened new horizons for chip-size photonics devices. These devices can be incorporated within SoC and SoS configurations as part of the optical layer, providing an ideal platform for fabrication of compact all-in-one optoelectronic devices within the 3D multi-layered SoS technology.
In vivo and in vitro evaluation of the effect of 2‐(4‐morpholinethyl)1‐phenylcyclohexanecarboxylate on inflammation‐sensitized hyperoxia‐induced developing brain injury

Supraphysiological oxygen concentrations are toxic to the developing brain. Inflammatory processes increase the risk for brain injury. Sigma‐1 receptor agonists are potent suppressors of inflammation‐related events and are powerful immunomodulatory and antioxidative agents. Neuroprotective effects of sigma‐1 receptor agonists have been described previously for neonatal and adult models of brain injury. The aim of this study was to assess the selective sigma‐1 receptor agonist 2‐(4‐morpholinethyl)1‐phenylcyclohexanecarboxylate (PRE‐084) in models of inflammation‐sensitized hyperoxia‐induced developing brain injury. For in vivo studies, rat pups were randomly presensitized with 1) lipopolysaccharide or 2) vehicle on postnatal day 3. On day 6, pups received either 1) PRE‐084 or 2) vehicle and were subsequently exposed to hyperoxic conditions for 6, 12, or 24 hr. At the end of exposure, animals were sacrificed and brains were processed for caspase‐3 analysis using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. For in vitro studies, oligodendroglial cells were subjected to hyperoxic conditions in the presence or absence of proinflammatory cytokines and PRE‐084. Cell membrane integrity and cell viability were assessed by means of lactate dehydrogenase and 2,3‐bis‐(2‐methoxy‐4‐nitro‐5‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium‐5‐carboxanilide (XTT) assays. Inflammatory presensitization significantly increased hyperoxia‐induced injury both in vivo and in vitro. PRE‐084 administration did not attenuate damage. Sigma‐1 receptor agonists have been described as a promising therapeutic strategy for brain injury. We were not able to confirm this in the present model. The exact mechanisms of action of sigma‐1 receptor agonists as well as the pathophysiologic pathways involved in hyperoxia‐induced injury in the developing brain remain to be elucidated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Water diffusion and exchange as they influence contrast enhancement

The contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal is rarely a direct measure of contrast concentration; rather it depends on the effect that the contrast agent has on the tissue water magnetization. To correctly interpret such studies, an understanding of the effects of water movement on the magnetic resonance (MR) signal is critical. In this review, we discuss how water diffusion within biological compartments and water exchange between these compartments affect MR signal enhancement and therefore our ability to extract physiologic information. The two primary ways by which contrast agents affect water magnetization are discussed: (1) direct relaxivity and (2) indirect susceptibility effects. For relaxivity agents, for which T1 effects usually dominate, the theory of relaxation enhancement is presented, along with a review of the relevant physiologic time constants for water movement affecting this relaxation enhancement. Experimental issues that impact accurate measurement of the relaxation enhancement are discussed. Finally, the impact of these effects on extracting physiologic information is presented. Susceptibility effects depend on the size and shape of the contrast agent, the size and shape of the compartment in which it resides, as well as the characteristics of the water movement through the resulting magnetic field inhomogeneity. Therefore, modeling of this effect is complex and is the subject of active study. However, since susceptibility effects can be much stronger than relaxivity effects in certain situations, they may be useful even without full quantitation.
Experimental verification of hysteresis in gait transition of a quadruped robot driven by nonlinear oscillators with phase resetting

In this paper, we investigated the locomotion of a quadruped robot, whose legs are controlled by an oscillator network system. In our previous work, simulation studies revealed that a quadruped robot produces walk and trot patterns through dynamic interactions among the robot's mechanical system, the oscillator network system, and the environment. These studies also showed that a walk-trot transition is induced by changing the walking speed. In addition, the gait-pattern transition exhibited a hysteresis similar to that observed in the locomotion of humans and animals. The aim of the present study is to verify such dynamic characteristics in the gait generation of quadrupedal locomotion in the real world by developing and evaluating a quadruped robot.
Feature Preserving Mesh Generation from 3D Point Clouds

We address the problem of generating quality surface triangle meshes from 3D point clouds sampled on piecewise smooth surfaces. Using a feature detection process based on the covariance matrices of Voronoi cells, we first extract from the point cloud a set of sharp features. Our algorithm also runs on the input point cloud a reconstruction process, such as Poisson reconstruction, providing an implicit surface. A feature preserving variant of a Delaunay refinement process is then used to generate a mesh approximating the implicit surface and containing a faithful representation of the extracted sharp edges. Such a mesh provides an enhanced trade‐off between accuracy and mesh complexity. The whole process is robust to noise and made versatile through a small set of parameters which govern the mesh sizing, approximation error and shape of the elements. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on a variety of models including laser scanned datasets ranging from indoor to outdoor scenes.
Relative Contributions of Sympathetic, Cholinergic, and Myogenic Mechanisms to Cerebral Autoregulation

Background and Purpose— Prior work aimed at improving our understanding of human cerebral autoregulation has explored individual physiological mechanisms of autoregulation in isolation, but none has attempted to consolidate the individual roles of these mechanisms into a comprehensive model of the overall cerebral pressure–flow relationship. Methods— We retrospectively analyzed this relationship before and after pharmacological blockade of &agr;-adrenergic–, muscarinic-, and calcium channel–mediated mechanisms in 43 healthy volunteers to determine the relative contributions of the sympathetic, cholinergic, and myogenic controllers to cerebral autoregulation. Projection pursuit regression was used to assess the effect of pharmacological blockade on the cerebral pressure–flow relationship. Subsequently, ANCOVA decomposition was used to determine the cumulative effect of these 3 mechanisms on cerebral autoregulation and whether they can fully explain it. Results— Sympathetic, cholinergic, and myogenic mechanisms together accounted for 62% of the cerebral pressure–flow relationship (P<0.05), with significant and distinct contributions from each of the 3 effectors. ANCOVA decomposition demonstrated that myogenic effectors were the largest determinant of the cerebral pressure–flow relationship, but their effect was outside of the autoregulatory region where neurogenic control appeared prepotent. Conclusions— Our results suggest that myogenic effects occur outside the active region of autoregulation, whereas neurogenic influences are largely responsible for cerebral blood flow control within it. However, our model of cerebral autoregulation left 38% of the cerebral pressure–flow relationship unexplained, suggesting that there are other physiological mechanisms that contribute to cerebral autoregulation.
Change in growth performance and liver function enzymes of broiler chickens challenged with infectious bursal disease virus to dietary supplementation of methionine and threonine.

Problem statement: The aim of this study was to verify the effects of methionine and threonine supplementations higher than the NRC recommendation on growth performance, liver function enzymes, blood parameters and immune tissues of broiler chickens challenged with infectious bursal disease. Approach: A total of 450 day-old male broiler chicks were assigned to nine groups. Chickens were fed by three graded levels of DL-methionine [NRC (M1), 2 times NRC (M2) and 3 times NRC (M3)] and three graded levels of L-threonine [NRC (T1), 2 times NRC (T2) and 3 times NRC (T3)] from day 1-42 of age. On day 28, all birds were challenged with a commercial live-IBDV vaccine. Results: Body Weight Gain (BWG) and Feed Intake (FI) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments in starter phase and either methionine or threonine at the highest levels significantly decreased BWG, FI and FCR in broiler chickens. A similar trend by methionine and threonine at the highest levels was noted on BWG and FI in grower phase. The highest level of threonine significantly increased spleen weight on day 28 (pre-challenge) and 14 days post challenge. At 14 days after challenge, dietary supplementation of methionine at NRC recommended level (M1) significantly increased the serum concentrations of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH). In the T3 group, the serum concentrations of AST and LDH were significantly decreased, whereas the serum uric acid concentration was significantly increased. Conclusion/Recommendations: In conclusion, our data suggest that the methionine and threonine requirement of male broiler chicks is higher for growth performance than was suggested by the last NRC committee and liver function enzymes results showed that methionine and threonine supplementation three times higher than NRC requirements in broiler chickens has not toxic potential.
The Effect of Scaling and Root Planing on the Clinical and Microbiological Parameters of Periodontal Diseases

The occurence of periodontal pathogens in subgingival flora in periodontitis is a risk for periodontal disease progression. Therefore microbiologic diagnostic procedures are justifiably indicated in the detection of pathogens, monitoring of therapy success and outcome of the disease. The aim of this study was to show the effect of scaling and root planing on clinical and microbiological factors in 28 patients with chronic and aggressive periodontitis. Clinical assessment and microbiological testing were performed prior to, and three months after mechanical therapy. The presence or absence of bacterial plaque, gingival bleeding, pocket depth and attachment loss were assessed before and three months after scaling and root planing. Samples of subgingival plaque taken from periodontal pockets, were analysed by polymerase chain reaction technique for the presence of seven bacterial pathogens. Results of clinical parameters and bacterial prevalence were analysed before and after therapy by Wilcoxon Rank test. The mean pocket depth significantly decreased from 3.9 to 3.0 mm. Clinical attachment level decreased moderately from 4.1 to 3.8 mm. Mean plaque and gingival bleeding values also decreased after therapy. The prevalence of subgingival pathogens in relation to subjects was as follows: only one pathogenic species was found in 28.6%, two were found in 46.4% and three in 14.3% of subjects. The most prevalent pathogens were bacteroides forsythus in 85.7%, Porphyromonas gingivalis in 32.1%, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Fusobacterium in 32.1% of subjects. After therapy the prevalence of pathogens decreased moderately. The total number of tested pathogens decreased in 12 subjects and this result was statistically significant. (p=0.001). In 16 subjects the number of pathogens was the same, and did not increase in any of the subjects. The results indicate that the effect of scaling and root planing in the treatment of periodontitis was effective in achieving clinical and microbiological improvement by decreasing the prevalence of pathogens responsible for disease progression.