Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote preconditioning, perconditioning, and postconditioning: a comparative study of their cardioprotective properties in rat models

OBJECTIVE: Ischemia reperfusion injury is partly responsible for the high mortality associated with induced myocardial injury and the reduction in the full benefit of myocardial reperfusion. Remote ischemic preconditioning, perconditioning, and postconditioning have all been shown to be cardioprotective. However, it is still unknown which one is the most beneficial. To examine this issue, we used adult male Wistar rat ischemia reperfusion models to compare the cardioprotective effect of these three approaches applied on double-sided hind limbs. METHODS: The rats were randomly distributed to the following five groups: sham, ischemia reperfusion, remote preconditioning, remote perconditioning, and remote post-conditioning. The ischemia/reperfusion model was established by sternotomy followed by a 30-min ligation of the left coronary artery and a subsequent 3-h reperfusion. Remote conditioning was induced with three 5-min ischemia/5-min reperfusion cycles of the double-sided hind limbs using a tourniquet. RESULTS: A lower early reperfusion arrhythmia score (1.50±0.97) was found in the rats treated with remote perconditioning compared to those in the ischemia reperfusion group (2.33±0.71). Meanwhile, reduced infarct size was also observed (15.27±5.19% in remote perconditioning, 14.53±3.45% in remote preconditioning, and 19.84±5.85% in remote post-conditioning vs. 34.47±7.13% in ischemia reperfusion, p<0.05), as well as higher expression levels of the apoptosis-relevant protein Bcl-2/Bax following global (ischemia/reperfusion) injury in in vivo rat heart models (1.255±0.053 in remote perconditioning, 1.463±0.290 in remote preconditioning, and 1.461±0.541 in remote post-conditioning vs. 1.003±0.159 in ischemia reperfusion, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Three remote conditioning strategies implemented with episodes of double-sided hind limb ischemia/reperfusion have similar therapeutic potential for cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury, and remote perconditioning has a greater ability to prevent reperfusion arrhythmia.
Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms, particularly the novel A-1012G promoter polymorphism, are associated with vitamin D3 responsiveness and non-familial susceptibility in psoriasis

Psoriasis is a genetically determined disease characterized by hyperproliferation and disordered maturation of the epidermis. Th1 lymphocytes are implicated in its pathogenesis. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a candidate modifying gene, having immunosuppressive effects and being involved in anti-proliferative and pro-differentiation pathways in keratinocytes. There is suggestive evidence that the A allele of the A-1012G polymorphism is associated with down-regulation of the Th1 response, via GATA-3. The F and T alleles of Fok1 and Taq1 have been associated with increased VDR activity. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that the A allele of A-1012G is protective for occurrence and severity of psoriasis and enhances therapeutic response to vitamin D analogues and that these effects would be additive to those of Fok1 and Taq1. The study group comprised 206 psoriasis patients who had received topical calcipotriol treatment and 80 controls. There was no significant linkage disequilibrium between any pair of the three polymorphic sites (P=0.3–0.8). The A, F and T alleles were positively associated with calcipotriol response: AA genotype (compared to AG/GG), odds ratio (OR)=2.18 (P=0.04); TT, OR=1.97 (P=0.03); AAFF genotype combination, OR=4.11 (P=0.03); AATT, OR=5.64 (P=0.005); and FFTT, OR=3.22 (P=0.01). Comparing patients without, to patients with, a family history of psoriasis, the A allele was under represented (P=0.01) and the AAFF genotype combination even more so (compared to residual genotypes) (OR=0.24; P=0.005). AAFF was also under-represented in patients without a family history compared to controls (OR=0.31; P=0.04). There were no associations of family history with Fok1 and Taq1. There were no associations of severity of psoriasis with any polymorphism. In conclusion, the A-1012G, Fok1 and Taq1 VDR polymorphisms were associated with response to calcipotriol. A-1012G and Fok1 were associated with susceptibility to non-familial psoriasis.
Wound Healing and Infection in Surgery: The Pathophysiological Impact of Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Nicotine Replacement Therapy A Systematic Review

Objective:The aim was to clarify how smoking and nicotine affects wound healing processes and to establish if smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy reverse the mechanisms involved. Background:Smoking is a recognized risk factor for healing complications after surgery, but the pathophysiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Methods:Pathophysiological studies addressing smoking and wound healing were identified through electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE) and by hand-search of articles' bibliography. Of the 1460 citations identified, 325 articles were retained following title and abstract reviews. In total, 177 articles were included and systematically reviewed. Results:Smoking decreases tissue oxygenation and aerobe metabolism temporarily. The inflammatory healing response is attenuated by a reduced inflammatory cell chemotactic responsiveness, migratory function, and oxidative bactericidal mechanisms. In addition, the release of proteolytic enzymes and inhibitors is imbalanced. The proliferative response is impaired by a reduced fibroblast migration and proliferation in addition to a downregulated collagen synthesis and deposition. Smoking cessation restores tissue oxygenation and metabolism rapidly. Inflammatory cell response is reversed in part within 4 weeks, whereas the proliferative response remains impaired. Nicotine does not affect tissue microenvironment, but appears to impair inflammation and stimulate proliferation. Conclusions:Smoking has a transient effect on the tissue microenvironment and a prolonged effect on inflammatory and reparative cell functions leading to delayed healing and complications. Smoking cessation restores the tissue microenvironment rapidly and the inflammatory cellular functions within 4 weeks, but the proliferative response remain impaired. Nicotine and nicotine replacement drugs seem to attenuate inflammation and enhance proliferation but the effect appears to be marginal.
Where to Go on Your Next Trip? Optimizing Travel Destinations Based on User Preferences

Recommendation based on user preferences is a common task for e-commerce websites. New recommendation algorithms are often evaluated by offline comparison to baseline algorithms such as recommending random or the most popular items. Here, we investigate how these algorithms themselves perform and compare to the operational production system in large scale online experiments in a real-world application. Specifically, we focus on recommending travel destinations at Booking.com, a major online travel site, to users searching for their preferred vacation activities. To build ranking models we use multi-criteria rating data provided by previous users after their stay at a destination. We implement three methods and compare them to the current baseline in Booking.com: random, most popular, and Naive Bayes. Our general conclusion is that, in an online A/B test with live users, our Naive-Bayes based ranker increased user engagement significantly over the current online system.
Plan-based axiom absorption for tableau-based description logics reasoning

Description logic knowledge bases traditionally contain a set of axioms (Tbox) describing background knowledge. DL reasoners generally handle axioms by using the lazy unfolding technique, which reduces the nondeterminism introduced by axioms. Axiom absorption is an optimization technique that rewrites axioms into the unfoldable part of the Tbox suitable for lazy unfolding. Absorptions are generally employed in DL reasoners in a mostly uniform way regardless of the characteristics of an input knowledge base. Though there exist a number of absorptions, their overall effectiveness remains to be improved, especially when a large quantity of complex axioms are present in the knowledge bases, which is well beyond the capability of any single absorption technique. To ameliorate absorption techniques, this thesis presents a framework applying AI planning to axiom absorption. In this framework, a state space planner is used to encode state-of-the-art absorption techniques. Some designed heuristics concerning the characteristics of an input KB are utilized for the cost estimation during planning. The planner first applies appropriate absorptions to axioms, then it produces a solution with a minimized cost. Such a solution automatically organizes absorptions in a certain sequence to maximize the number of axioms for absorptions. Compared to a predetermined or fixed order of applying absorption techniques, the proposed framework benefits from the advantages to consider more absorption alternatives, which tends to be more flexible and effective.
Glucose, insulin and potassium for heart protection during cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND Coronary artery bypass grafting with hypothermic cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with myocardial injury. Our study investigated whether an infusion of glucose, insulin and potassium (GIK) during elective coronary artery bypass surgery decreases myocardial cell death. METHODS We measured cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a myofibrillar structural protein, which is a sensitive and specific indicator of myocytic injury. With ethics committee approval, 42 patients were enrolled into a randomized, prospective, double-blinded study. In the GIK group, 500 ml of 50% dextrose solution containing 100 IU insulin and potassium 80 mmol was infused at the rate of 0.75 ml kg(-1) h(-1). Patients in the non-GIK group received 5% dextrose solution at the same rate. Arterial blood samples were taken before induction of anaesthesia, after removal of the aortic clamp and 6 and 12 h after CPB. RESULTS In both groups there was an increase in cTnI concentration (P<0.05), which was greatest about 6 h after CPB. At no time did the cTnI concentration differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION The results suggest that GIK does not decrease the irreversible myocardial damage associated with routine coronary artery bypass surgery.
Lymphadenectomy in colorectal cancer liver metastases resection: Incidence of hilar limph nodes micrometastasis

Liver resection is considered the best treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. Several prognostic factors have been investigated, and many studies have shown that hepatic hilum lymph nodes involvement has a negative impact on prognosis. The present study evaluated the frequency of microscopic involvement of hilar lymph nodes, through systematic lymphadenectomy and analysis of micrometastases in patients undergoing hepatectomy due to colorectal metastasis.
Biochemical characterization of a Neisseria meningitidis polysialyltransferase reveals novel functional motifs in bacterial sialyltransferases

The extracellular polysaccharide capsule is an essential virulence factor of Neisseria meningitidis, a leading cause of severe bacterial meningitis and sepsis. Serogroup B strains, the primary disease causing isolates in Europe and America, are encapsulated in α‐2,8 polysialic acid (polySia). The capsular polymer is synthesized from activated sialic acid by action of a membrane‐associated polysialyltransferase (NmB‐polyST). Here we present a comprehensive characterization of NmB‐polyST. Different from earlier studies, we show that membrane association is not essential for enzyme functionality. Recombinant NmB‐polyST was expressed, purified and shown to synthesize long polySia chains in a non‐processive manner in vitro. Subsequent structure–function analyses of NmB‐polyST based on refined sequence alignments allowed the identification of two functional motifs in bacterial sialyltransferases. Both (D/E‐D/E‐G and HP motif) are highly conserved among different sialyltransferase families with otherwise little or no sequence identity. Their functional importance for enzyme catalysis and CMP‐Neu5Ac binding was demonstrated by mutational analysis of NmB‐polyST and is emphasized by structural data available for the Pasteurella multocida sialyltransferase PmST1. Together our data are the first description of conserved functional elements in the highly diverse families of bacterial (poly)sialyltransferases and thus provide an advanced basis for understanding structure–function relations and for phylogenetic sorting of these important enzymes.
Production of a single cyclic type of fructooligosaccharide structure by inulin‐degrading Paenibacillus sp. LX16 newly isolated from Jerusalem artichoke root

A novel inulin‐degrading bacterium was isolated from a soil sample collected on Jerusalem artichoke roots. It is a Gram‐positive, aerobic, motile and central endospore‐forming straight rod, and exhibits phenotypic properties being consistent with its classification in the genus Paenibacillus. The predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso‐C15:0, C16:0 and anteiso‐C17:0. This strain represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus on the basis of phenotypic data together with phylogenetic analysis, and it is here designated as LX16 and deposited in China centre for type collection, China (= CCTCC 2015256). Strain LX16 could produce a cyclofructooligosaccharide fructanotransferase catalysing the formation of one type of fructooligosaccharide (FOS) from inulin. The FOS was identified as a cyclofructooligosaccharide with a degree of polymerization of 6. Such homology in inulin degradation products may be beneficial for the functional FOS production.
Recurrent pulmonary embolism and cor pulmonale.

CONSIDERABLE progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of thromboembolic disease and also in the ability to diagnose acute pulmonary embolism. Radiologists have learned to interpret plain roentgenograms better and, in addition, to rely more on the newer documentary methods of pulmonary angiography and lung scanning. These advances are paralleled by a general, broader appreciation of the common occurrence of pulmonary embolism. Greater attention is presently being directed toward the frequent occurrence of chronic embolization and its sequelae, chronic hypertension and cor pulmonale.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The work of the radiologist is made difficult by the fact that he is .
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THYMUS

Experiments utilizing chromosome marker and histological techniques in combination with parabiosis and transplanatation procedures have demonstrated an inflow of blood-home stem cells into the chick embryo thymic rudiment. There is close similarity between the histological picture in the chick and in the mouse thymic rudiment, and it is proposed that a similar developmental process takes place in both. It may be concluded that the epithelial component of the thymic rudiment, rather than producing lymphoid cells itself, furnishes an inductive environment for the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells derived extrinsically.
Evaluation in Residential Environmental Education: An Applied Literature Review of Intermediary Outcomes

Residential environmental education aims to enhance proenvironmental attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, as well as attain outcomes related to personal and interpersonal skills. Although these outcomes may not be evident for months or even years afterward, few program evaluations investigate how the experience and context affect intended outcomes during the process of environmental education (EE). This time lag contributes to what has been called the “black box” or the lack of understanding of what occurs during the program itself. This article presents an applied literature review that explores intermediary indicators and outcomes for residential EE and suggests novel approaches for evaluating their attainment.
Neuronal correlates of local, lateral, and translaminar inhibition with reference to cortical columns.

In the neocortex, inhibition by gamma-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) interneurons is essential for shaping cortical maps, which represent sensory signals. For a detailed understanding of the stream of excitation evoked, for example, by a sensory stimulus, interneurons must be identified with reference to their impact on excitatory neurons located in different laminae of the same (home) and surround columns. We analyzed the axonal projection of layer 2/3 (L2/3) interneurons with reference to geometric landmarks of cortical columns by staining neurons in acute slices of rat barrel cortex (P20-P29) and a subsequent cluster analysis using morphological parameters that described the spatial distribution of axons. The cluster analysis defined 4 main axonal projection "types" referred to as 1) "local inhibitors" (including "chandelier neurons"), 2) "lateral inhibitors," 3) "translaminar L2/3-to-L4/5 inhibitors," and 4) "translaminar L2/3-to-L1 inhibitors. " The putative innervation domains established by axonal projections of the 4 types of interneurons and the dendritic domains of their target excitatory neurons were 1) L2/3 of the home column, 2) L2/3 of both the home and neighboring columns, 3) L4 and L5A of the home column, and 4) L1 and L2/3 of the home column. The quantitative analysis of the axonal projection patterns of an unselected sample of 51 interneurons located in L2/3 thus defined anatomical correlates for local, lateral, and translaminar inhibition within and between cortical columns.
Value Pursuit Iteration

Value Pursuit Iteration (VPI) is an approximate value iteration algorithm that finds a close to optimal policy for reinforcement learning problems with large state spaces. VPI has two main features: First, it is a nonparametric algorithm that finds a good sparse approximation of the optimal value function given a dictionary of features. The algorithm is almost insensitive to the number of irrelevant features. Second, after each iteration of VPI, the algorithm adds a set of functions based on the currently learned value function to the dictionary. This increases the representation power of the dictionary in a way that is directly relevant to the goal of having a good approximation of the optimal value function. We theoretically study VPI and provide a finite-sample error upper bound for it.
Using stress to disambiguate spoken Thai sentences containing syntactic ambiguity

We have developed a Bayesian classifier to determine whether syllables in connected Thai speech are weakly or strongly stressed by using five acoustic parameters: syllable rhyme duration, mean F/sub 0/, F/sub 0/ standard deviation, mean energy, and the standard deviation of the energy. With speaker dependent data normalization, we achieved a classification accuracy of 99%. The classification accuracy drops to 96% when we used speaker independent normalization. We have also developed prosodic constraints that can use this stress information to syntactically disambiguate a class of ambiguous sentences that arise from the use of compounding in spoken Thai.
Initial evaluation of the Indiana small animal PET scanner

The Indiana small animal PET scanner is a new generation PET scanner with design goals of 1 microliter volumetric spatial resolution, a point source sensitivity of greater than 5 percent, and an imaging field-of-view suitable for whole body mouse imaging. The scanner design uses 12 planar detector banks each consisting of a 48 /spl times/ 108 array of 20 mm long LSO crystals with an array pitch of 0.87 mm coupled to two Hamamatsu H8500 large area, 64-anode photomultiplier tubes. The detector modules are mounted on a rotatable gantry and are offset from the center of rotation to give an increased sampling density. Eight detector banks are currently installed in the scanner, and this report presents an initial performance evaluation of the scanner for this configuration. Using a 30 gauge needle (ID=0.15 mm, OD=0.30 mm) positioned near the center of the scanner, the transaxial resolution has been measured to be 1.1 mm FWHM and the axial resolution has been measured to be 1.5 mm FWHM. The sensitivity has been measured to be 4.0% of all decays. The scatter fraction is 0.26 and the peak noise equivalent countrate is 80 kcps at an activity of 0.22 mCi. Sample images demonstrate good imaging capabilities.
Perioperative collagen deposition in elderly and young men and women.

HYPOTHESIS Women deposit more collagen after major abdominal surgery than men. DESIGN A post hoc analysis of data obtained from 2 prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trials. SETTING University hospital general surgical service. PATIENTS One hundred sixteen patients undergoing colon resection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Protein and hydroxyproline (collagen) deposition during the first 7 postoperative days in expanded polytetrafluoroethylene implants positioned subcutaneously. RESULTS On univariate analysis, men and women deposited comparable amounts of collagen (257 +/- 120 vs 281 +/- 117 ng/mm, respectively). When potential confounding factors were entered into a generalized mixed-effects model, only the interaction between age and sex was a significant factor (P = .047). Collagen deposition decreased with age in men, being 317 +/- 133 ng/mm in men younger than 45 years, but only 238 +/- 113 ng/mm in those older than 45 years (P = .03). In contrast, collagen deposition was virtually identical in women younger than 45 years (280 +/- 133 ng/mm) and in those older than 45 years (281 +/- 110 ng/mm). Only 3 of these women were receiving hormone replacement therapy. CONCLUSIONS Collagen deposition after surgery decreased significantly with age in men, while remaining unchanged in women. Younger men and women deposited similar amounts of collagen. Therefore, older men made less collagen after surgery than older women, perhaps explaining the consistent observation that wound dehiscence is twice as common in men than in women. Our results differ from previous studies conducted in healthy, nonsurgical volunteers, which showed that (1) young women made significantly more collagen than young men and (2) collagen deposition was reduced in postmenopausal women, but deposition returned to premenopausal values with hormone replacement therapy. Differences between our results and those reported previously likely stem from the populations studied. In particular, multiple perioperative factors decrease collagen deposition, which apparently obscures the differences observed previously in healthy, unstressed volunteers.
Dynamic Capital Structure with Heterogeneous Beliefs and Market Timing

This paper builds a dynamic trade-off model of corporate financing with differences in belief between the insider manager and outside investors. The optimal leverage depends on differences of opinion and can differ significantly from that in standard trade-off models. The manager's market timing behavior leads to several stylized facts, such as the low average debt ratios of firms in the cross section, the substantial presence of zero-debt firms that pay larger dividends and keep higher cash balances than other firms, and negative long-run abnormal returns following stock issuance. Market timing behavior leads to substantial losses of firm value through excessive financing activities. Market timing and debt conservatism depend negatively on shareholder control of the firm.