Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extravascular Lung Water and Acute Lung Injury

Acute lung injury carries a high burden of morbidity and mortality and is characterised by nonhydrostatic pulmonary oedema. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of accurate quantification of extravascular lung water in diagnosis, management, and prognosis in “acute lung injury” and “acute respiratory distress syndrome”. Several studies have verified the accuracy of both the single and the double transpulmonary thermal indicator techniques. Both experimental and clinical studies were searched in PUBMED using the term “extravascular lung water” and “acute lung injury”. Extravascular lung water measurement offers information not otherwise available by other methods such as chest radiography, arterial blood gas, and chest auscultation at the bedside. Recent data have highlighted the role of extravascular lung water in response to treatment to guide fluid therapy and ventilator strategies. The quantification of extravascular lung water may predict mortality and multiorgan dysfunction. The limitations of the dilution method are also discussed.
Immunohistochemistry of Colorectal Cancer Biomarker Phosphorylation Requires Controlled Tissue Fixation

Phosphorylated signaling molecules are biomarkers of cancer pathophysiology and resistance to therapy, but because phosphoprotein analytes are often labile, poorly controlled clinical laboratory practices could prevent translation of research findings in this area from the bench to the bedside. We therefore compared multiple biomarker and phosphoprotein immunohistochemistry (IHC) results in 23 clinical colorectal carcinoma samples after either a novel, rapid tissue fixation protocol or a standard tissue fixation protocol employed by clinical laboratories, and we also investigated the effect of a defined post-operative “cold” ischemia period on these IHC results. We found that a one-hour cold ischemia interval, allowed by ASCO/CAP guidelines for certain cancer biomarker assays, is highly deleterious to certain phosphoprotein analytes, specifically the phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor (pEGFR), but shorter ischemic intervals (less than 17 minutes) facilitate preservation of phosphoproteins. Second, we found that a rapid 4-hour, two temperature, formalin fixation yielded superior staining in several cases with select markers (pEGFR, pBAD, pAKT) compared to a standard overnight room temperature fixation protocol, despite taking less time. These findings indicate that the future research and clinical utilities of phosphoprotein IHC for assessing colorectal carcinoma pathophysiology absolutely depend upon attention to preanalytical factors and rigorously controlled tissue fixation protocols.
Reptile and Amphibian Responses to Restoration of Fire‐Maintained Pine Woodlands

Fire‐maintained woodlands and savannas are important ecosystems for vertebrates in many regions of the world. These ecosystems are being restored by forest managers, but little information exists on herpetofaunal responses to this restoration in areas dominated by shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). We compared habitat characteristics and herpetofaunal communities in restored pine woodlands to relatively unmanaged, second‐growth forests in the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas, USA. We found woodland restoration with periodic burning affected species differently; some species benefited, some species appeared negatively affected, but most species did not respond clearly either way. Overall reptile captures were significantly (p = 0.041) greater in pine‐woodlands than in unrestored forest; one species of snake and three species of lizards were captured more often in woodlands than unrestored forests. Among anurans, we found no significant difference in captures between woodlands and unrestored forests for any species. Among salamanders, we captured western slimy salamanders (Plethodon albagula) almost exclusively in unrestored forest, but captures of other species did not differ between the two treatments. Historically, the Ouachita region likely consisted of a mosaic that included both fire‐maintained habitats (woodlands, savannas, and prairies) and areas of denser forest on mesic sites that were less likely to burn. Consequently, landscapes that retain both open woodlands and denser, less‐intensely burned forest (in the form of unharvested greenbelts or separate stands) would likely promote and maintain a greater diversity of herpetofauna.
Coded OFDM With Transmitter Diversity for Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting (Corrected)*

This paper is a corrected version of that printed in IEEE Trans. Broadcast. , vol.52, no3, p.325-35, 2006 September. Space-frequency coded (SFC) and channel coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (COFDM) are considered under narrow-band interference (NBI). Analytical expressions for the bit error probability (BEP) are derived for OFDM with SFC in a frequency-selective fading environment. It is shown that SFC increases the resistance of COFDM against the NBI and reduces the BEP considerably. Specific attention is paid to Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB), and the associated coding gains are discussed
Direct Reprogramming of Human Dermal Fibroblasts Into Endothelial Cells Using ER71/ETV2

Rationale: Direct conversion or reprogramming of human postnatal cells into endothelial cells (ECs), bypassing stem or progenitor cell status, is crucial for regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and pathophysiological investigation but has remained largely unexplored. Objective: We sought to directly reprogram human postnatal dermal fibroblasts to ECs with vasculogenic and endothelial transcription factors and determine their vascularizing and therapeutic potential. Methods and Results: We utilized various combinations of 7 EC transcription factors to transduce human postnatal dermal fibroblasts and found that ER71/ETV2 (ETS variant 2) alone best induced endothelial features. KDR+ (kinase insert domain receptor) cells sorted at day 7 from ER71/ETV2-transduced human postnatal dermal fibroblasts showed less mature but enriched endothelial characteristics and thus were referred to as early reprogrammed ECs (rECs), and did not undergo maturation by further culture. After a period of several weeks’ transgene-free culture followed by transient reinduction of ER71/ETV2, early rECs matured during 3 months of culture and showed reduced ETV2 expression, reaching a mature phenotype similar to postnatal human ECs. These were termed late rECs. While early rECs exhibited an immature phenotype, their implantation into ischemic hindlimbs induced enhanced recovery from ischemia. These 2 rECs showed clear capacity for contributing to new vessel formation through direct vascular incorporation in vivo. Paracrine or proangiogenic effects of implanted early rECs played a significant role in repairing hindlimb ischemia. Conclusions: This study for the first time demonstrates that ER71/ETV2 alone can directly reprogram human postnatal cells to functional, mature ECs after an intervening transgene-free period. These rECs could be valuable for cell therapy, personalized disease investigation, and exploration of the reprogramming process.
Generalization of convex shapes by bees: what are shapes made of?

SUMMARY For about 70 years, bees were assumed not to possess the capacity to discriminate among convex shapes, such as a disc, a square or a triangle, based on results of early studies conducted by presenting shapes on horizontal planes. Using shapes presented on a vertical plane, we recently demonstrated that bees do discriminate among a variety of convex shapes. Several findings, summarized here, provide indirect evidence that discrimination is based on a cue located at the shapes' boundaries. In the present study, we test this hypothesis directly in two different ways. (1) Three groups of bees are each trained with a different pair of convex shapes, one positive (rewarding), the other not (negative), producing colour contrast, luminance contrast or motion contrast against the background. The trained bees are then offered a choice between pairs of stimuli whose shapes are identical to those of the training shapes, but whose contrast against the background is varied by changing the pattern, the colour or the luminance of the areas. The results show that bees discriminate between the pairs of novel shapes, i.e. they generalize the shapes among the different types of contrast, revealing that they use a particular cue extracted from the positive shape. The bees' choices between a stimulus that produces the correct contrast but has the wrong shape and one that possesses the correct shape but the wrong contrast show, in addition, that the relevant cue is not located within the area of the shape. (2) Bees trained with pairs of convex shapes are tested with the same pairs of shapes, but which lack the inner area, i.e. only the contours or fragments of the contours are presented in the tests. Bees are found to prefer the stimulus whose contours (or fragments of contours) agree with those of the positive training shape. Taken together, the results suggest that convex shapes are not represented by the form of their areas but rather by some cue located at their boundaries.
Forecasting in the Short to Medium Range : Report from a Workshop

Contributors of meeting summaries to the Bulletin now have an option to have their summaries published within a quicker time frame than has previously been offered. To take advantage of this expedited publication process, these articles must be brief (no more than 24 manuscript pages), tightly written, and cannot contain tables, figures, or displayed mathematics. Furthermore, the meeting summary must be externally reviewed by at least one individual who attended the same meeting. This reviewer will be of the author’s choosing; this represents a departure from the conventional peer-review process.
Study Of Carrying Angle And Its Correlation With Various Parameters

The role of carrying angle in the sex determination and its cause of formation is a long debated issue in Anatomy and Anthropology. Most studies have focused on the question of cause of formation of carrying angle, difference in sex and age but little attention has been given to correlate the carrying angle with various parameters. Hence, an effort has been made to find out correlation of carrying angle with height, and length of forearm. For present study, total 333 (173 female & 160 male) asymptomatic, healthy students of Nursing School, Homeopathic Medical College, Ayurvedic College and Medical College belonging to various regions of Gujarat were selected. There ages ranged between 17 to 22 years. An improvised instrument goniometer was used for measurement of carrying angle. Height was measured in standing, erect, anatomical position from vertex to heel with bare foot. Vernier caliper of 12” was used to measure the length of forearm. According to the present study, height and length of forearm of the person are inversely related with the carrying angle. Greater carrying angle in female is considered as secondary sex characteristic. Knowledge of the carrying angle helps in paediatric elbow surgery. It also helps orthopedic surgeon for correction of cubitus varus deformity occurring after malunited supracondylar fracture of humerus.
A Modified Prosthesis Head for Middle Ear Titanium Implants-Experimental and First Clinical Results

Objective: An ossicular chain defect represents a challenging situation for otosurgeons. Despite modern reconstruction techniques, unsatisfying postoperative hearing results regularly occur. These are commonly caused by prosthesis dislocation. Whereas the reasons for prosthesis dysfunction occurring months or years after implantation are related to independent chronic conditions, early events of dislocations are more related to the technical fixation of the prosthesis inside the middle ear cavity. Consequently, a safe coupling between prosthesis head and tympanic membrane is essential for a successful type III tympanoplasty. Our study evaluated the use of a new prosthesis design with the aim to reduce short-term postoperative prosthesis dislocation in mind. Study Design: Prospective experimental and clinical study. Methods: A modified titanium total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP), whose head had spikes that extend into the cartilaginous neotympanic membrane, was designed and tested experimentally and then clinically. The lateral holding force of the new prosthesis head against lateral shift was measured and compared with common prosthesis heads without spikes. After proving this design experimentally, the prostheses were used intraoperatively in 35 tympanoplasty type III operations. Results were analyzed prospectively and compared with 35 retrospectively analyzed controls with conventional TORP prostheses. Results: The lateral holding forces for the spike prosthesis heads were significantly higher (134 mN) than those for common prosthesis heads (92 mN) at a contact pressure of 100 mN. Postoperatively, pure-tone audiometry revealed satisfying hearing results. Spiked and conventional titanium TORPs yielded postoperative air-bone gaps (ABGs) of 20.9 and 18.6 dB with 54% and 57% ABG closure, within 20dB, respectively. The air-bone gap was reduced by an average of 14 and 15dB, respectively. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Both in the study and in the control group, no signs of prosthesis dislocation were discovered. Conclusion: The experimental data show that the new modified prosthesis head has an increased lateral holding force and thus reduces the risk of dislocation at the coupling side of the tympanic membrane. The postoperative hearing results are comparable to those of conventional prostheses. To confirm the advantage of the modified prosthesis plates over conventional prostheses, future studies with larger study populations are necessary.
Akt takes center stage in angiogenesis signaling.

The serine/threonine kinase Akt, also named protein kinase B, plays a central role in promoting the survival of a wide range of cell types.1 In this issue of Circulation Research , Kim et al2 report that angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) activates this survival kinase and thereby inhibits endothelial cell apoptosis. Ang1 was recently identified as the specific ligand for the Tie receptor family, which during embryonic blood vessel formation is required for vascular remodeling and vessel integrity.3 Mechanistically, Ang1 acts via stimulation of the Tie2 receptor. Upon activation, tyrosine phosphorylation of the Tie2 receptor (most probably at Tyr 11014 ) induces the association and activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3′kinase with subsequent activation of Akt.2 These findings complement previous studies, which demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) via the KDR/Flt-1 receptor also stimulates Akt and thereby promotes endothelial cell survival.5 6 Moreover, potent inhibitors of endothelial cell apoptosis such as shear stress or insulin activate Akt.7 8 Thus, activation of Akt seems to be a general antiapoptotic mechanism induced by proangiogenic stimuli. Because apoptosis of endothelial cells counteracts angiogenesis, one may …
Concrete Shrinkage and Creep in Recycled Aggregate Concrete-Filled Steel Tubes

Concrete shrinkage and creep in recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tubes (RACFST) were experimentally studied and the results were presented in this paper. The measurements on the shrinkage and creep lasted for about eighteen months. The main parameters varied in the tests are: (1) sectional types, circular and square; (2) in-fill concrete types, recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and normal concrete; and (3) long-term sustained load levels, 0.3 and 0.6. The test results showed that the time-history of the concrete shrinkage and creep in RACFST was similar to that of the corresponding normal CFST. However, the shrinkage and creep strains of RACFST specimens were larger than those of the normal CFST specimens. Finally, the predictive models based on previously issued provision for time-dependent behaviour of the composite member were calibrated with the tests, and recommendations for the calculations on the shrinkage and creep of the concrete core in RACFST were also suggested.
Canine scent detection for the diagnosis of lung cancer in a screening-like situation

The prognosis in lung cancer depends largely on early stage detection, and thus new screening methods are attracting increasing attention. Canine scent detection has shown promising results in lung cancer detection, but there has only been one previous study that reproduces a screening-like situation. Here breath samples were collected from 122 patients at risk for lung cancer (smokers and ex-smokers); 29 of the subjects had confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer but had not yet been treated and 93 subjects had no signs or symptoms of lung cancer at the time of inclusion. The breath samples were presented to a trained sniffer dog squadron in a double-blind manner. A rigid scientific protocol was used with respect to earlier canine scent detection studies, with one difference: instead of offering one in five positive samples to the dogs, we offered a random number of positive samples (zero to five). The final positive and negative predictive values of 30.9% and 84.0%, respectively, were rather low compared to other studies. The results differed from those of previous studies, indicating that canine scent detection might not be as powerful as is looked for in real screening situations. One main reason for the rather poor performance in our setting might be the higher stress from the lack of positive responses for dogs and handlers.
Physical modalities inducing immunogenic tumor cell death for cancer immunotherapy

The concept of immunogenic cancer cell death (ICD), as originally observed during the treatment with several chemotherapeutics or ionizing irradiation, has revolutionized the view on the development of new anticancer therapies. ICD is defined by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, emission of danger-associated molecular patterns and induction of antitumor immunity. Here we describe known and emerging cancer cell death-inducing physical modalities, such as ionizing irradiation, ultraviolet C light, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) with Hypericin, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) and hyperthermia (HT), which have been shown to elicit effective antitumor immunity. We discuss the evidence of ICD induced by these modalities in cancer patients together with their applicability in immunotherapeutic protocols and anticancer vaccine development.
Craniomandibular Trauma and Tooth Loss in Northern Dogs and Wolves: Implications for the Archaeological Study of Dog Husbandry and Domestication

Archaeological dog remains from many areas clearly show that these animals suffered tooth fractures, tooth loss, trauma, and dental defects during their lives. Relatively little research has explored the meanings of these patterns, particularly for ancient dog remains from small-scale societies of the North. One limiting issue is the lack of comparative data on dental health and experiences of trauma among northern wolves and dogs. This paper examines tooth loss, tooth fracture, enamel hypoplasia, and cranial trauma in a large sample of historic dog and wolf remains from North America and Northern Russia. The data indicate that the dogs more commonly experienced tooth loss and tooth fracture than the wolves, despite reportedly being fed mostly soft foods such as blubber and fish. The higher rates observed in the dogs likely is a result of food stress and self-provisioning through scavenging. The ability to self-provision was likely important for the long-term history of dog use in the north. Dogs also more commonly experienced cranial fractures than wolves, particularly depression fractures on their frontal bones, which were likely the result of blows from humans. Hypoplastic lesions are rare in both wolves and dogs, and probably result from multiple causes, including food stress, disease, and trauma.
Social Mind Representation: Where Does It Fail in Frontotemporal Dementia?

We aimed at investigating social disability and its cerebral correlates in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). To do so, we contrasted answers of patients with early-stage FTD and of their relatives on personality trait judgment and on behavior prediction in social and emotional situations. Such contrasts were compared to control contrasts calculated with answers of matched controls tested with their relatives. In addition, brain metabolism was measured in patients with positron emission tomography and the [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose method. Patients turned out to be as accurate as controls in describing their relative's personality, but they failed to predict their relative's behavior in social and emotional circumstances. Concerning the self, patients were impaired both in current personality assessment and in prediction of their own behavior. Those two self-evaluation measures did not correlate. Only patients' anosognosia for social behavioral disability was found to be related to decreased metabolic activity in the left temporal pole. Such results suggest that anosognosia for social disability in FTD originates in impaired processing of emotional autobiographical information, leading to a self-representation that does not match current behavior. Moreover, we propose that perspective-taking disability participates in anosognosia, preventing patients from correcting their inaccurate self-representation based on their relative's perspective.
Reviewing risks and benefits of low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer

ABSTRACT Lung cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. Diagnosis at an early stage has been suggested crucial for improving survival in individuals at high-risk of lung cancer. One potential facilitator to early diagnosis is low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). The United States Preventive Services Task Force guidelines call for annual LDCT screening for individuals at high-risk of lung cancer. This recommendation was based on the effectiveness of LDCT in early diagnosis of lung cancer, as indicated by the findings from the National Lung Screening Trial conducted in 2011. Although lung cancer accounts for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in the United States and LDCT screening shows promising results regarding early lung cancer diagnosis, screening for lung cancer remains controversial. There is uncertainty about risks, cost-effectiveness, adequacy of evidence, and application of screening in a clinical setting. This narrative review provides an overview of risks and benefits of LDCT screening for lung cancer. Further, this review discusses the potential for implementation of LDCT in clinical setting.