Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic histiocytic intervillositis: Outcome, associated diseases and treatment in a multicenter prospective study

Abstract Introduction: In this prospective multicenter study, we aimed to describe (1) the outcome of pregnancy in the case of previous chronic histiocytic intervillositis (CHI), (2) the immunological findings and associated diseases, (3) the treatments, and (4) the factors associated with pregnancy loss. Methods: We prospectively included all patients with a prior CHI with ongoing pregnancy between 2011 and 2013. Results: Twenty-four women (age 34 ± 5 years) were included in this study. An autoimmune disease was present in seven (29%) cases. Twenty-one prospective pregnancies were treated. The number of live births was more frequent comparatively to the previous obstetrical issues (16/24 versus 24/76; p = 0.003). Most of the pregnancies were treated (88%), whereas only 13% of previous pregnancies were treated (p < 0.05). No difference was found with respect to the pregnancy outcome in the different treatment regimens. In univariate analyses, a prior history of intrauterine death and intrauterine growth restriction and the presence of CHI in prospective placentas were associated with failure to have a live birth. Discussion: In this multicenter study, we show the frequency of the associated autoimmune diseases in CHI, as well as the presence of autoantibodies without characterized autoimmune disease. The number of live births increased from 32% to 67% in the treated pregnancies. Despite the treatment intervention, the risk of preterm delivery remained at 30%. Last, we show that the recurrence rate of an adverse pregnancy outcome persisted at 30% despite treatment intervention. Conclusion: CHI is associated with high recurrence rate and the combined regimen seems to be necessary, in particular, in the presence of previous intrauterine death.
Proteomic analysis of trans-hemispheric motor cortex reorganization following contralateral C7 nerve transfer

Nerve transfer is the most common treatment for total brachial plexus avulsion injury. After nerve transfer, the movement of the injured limb may be activated by certain movements of the healthy limb at the early stage of recovery, i.e., trans-hemispheric reorganization. Previous studies have focused on functional magnetic resonance imaging and changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and growth associated protein 43, but there have been no proteomics studies. In this study, we designed a rat model of total brachial plexus avulsion injury involving contralateral C7 nerve transfer. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation and western blot assay were then used to screen differentially expressed proteins in bilateral motor cortices. We found that most differentially expressed proteins in both cortices of upper limb were associated with nervous system development and function (including neuron differentiation and development, axonogenesis, and guidance), microtubule and cytoskeleton organization, synapse plasticity, and transmission of nerve impulses. Two key differentially expressed proteins, neurofilament light (NFL) and Thy-1, were identified. In contralateral cortex, the NFL level was upregulated 2 weeks after transfer and downregulated at 1 and 5 months. The Thy-1 level was upregulated from 1 to 5 months. In the affected cortex, the NFL level increased gradually from 1 to 5 months. Western blot results of key differentially expressed proteins were consistent with the proteomic findings. These results indicate that NFL and Thy-1 play an important role in trans-hemispheric organization following total brachial plexus root avulsion and contralateral C7 nerve transfer.
Promoting Household Water Treatment through Women's Self Help Groups in Rural India: Assessing Impact on Drinking Water Quality and Equity

Household water treatment, including boiling, chlorination and filtration, has been shown effective in improving drinking water quality and preventing diarrheal disease among vulnerable populations. We used a case-control study design to evaluate the extent to which the commercial promotion of household water filters through microfinance institutions to women's self-help group (SHG) members improved access to safe drinking water. This pilot program achieved a 9.8% adoption rate among women targeted for adoption. Data from surveys and assays of fecal contamination (thermotolerant coliforms, TTC) of drinking water samples (source and household) were analyzed from 281 filter adopters and 247 non-adopters exposed to the program; 251 non-SHG members were also surveyed. While adopters were more likely than non-adopters to have children under 5 years, they were also more educated, less poor, more likely to have access to improved water supplies, and more likely to have previously used a water filter. Adopters had lower levels of fecal contamination of household drinking water than non-adopters, even among those non-adopters who treated their water by boiling or using traditional ceramic filters. Nevertheless, one-third of water samples from adopter households exceeded 100 TTC/100ml (high risk), and more than a quarter of the filters had no stored treated water available when visited by an investigator, raising concerns about correct, consistent use. In addition, the poorest adopters were less likely to see improvements in their water quality. Comparisons of SHG and non-SHG members suggest similar demographic characteristics, indicating SHG members are an appropriate target group for this promotion campaign. However, in order to increase the potential for health gains, future programs will need to increase uptake, particularly among the poorest households who are most susceptible to disease morbidity and mortality, and focus on strategies to improve the correct, consistent and sustained use of these water treatment products.
Ecosystem Engineering across Environmental Gradients: Implications for Conservation and Management

Abstract Ecosystem engineers are organisms whose presence or activity alters their physical surroundings or changes the flow of resources, thereby creating or modifying habitats. Because ecosystem engineers affect communities through environmentally mediated interactions, their impact and importance are likely to shift across environmental stress gradients. We hypothesize that in extreme physical environments, ecosystem engineers that ameliorate physical stress are essential for ecosystem function, whereas in physically benign environments where competitor and consumer pressure is typically high, engineers support ecosystem processes by providing competitor- or predator-free space. Important ecosystem engineers alleviate limiting abiotic and biotic stresses, expanding distributional limits for numerous species, and often form the foundation for community development. Because managing important engineers can protect numerous associated species and functions, we advocate using these organisms as conservation targets, harnessing the benefits of ecosystem engineers in various environments. Developing a predictive understanding of engineering across environmental gradients is important for furthering our conceptual understanding of ecosystem structure and function, and could aid in directing limited management resources to critical ecosystem engineers.
Comparison of POAM III ozone measurements with correlative aircraft and balloon data during SOLVE

[1] The Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM) III instrument operated continuously during the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) mission, making approximately 1400 ozone profile measurements at high latitudes both inside and outside the Arctic polar vortex. The wealth of ozone measurements obtained from a variety of instruments and platforms during SOLVE provided a unique opportunity to compare correlative measurements with the POAM III data set. In this paper, we validate the POAM III version 3.0 ozone against measurements from seven different instruments that operated as part of the combined SOLVE/THESEO 2000 campaign. These include the airborne UV Differential Absorption Lidar (UV DIAL) and the Airborne Raman Ozone and Temperature Lidar (AROTEL) instruments on the DC-8, the dual-beam UV-Absorption Ozone Photometer on the ER-2, the MkIV Interferometer balloon instrument, the Laboratoire de Physique Moleculaire et Applications and Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (LPMA/DOAS) balloon gondola, the JPL in situ ozone instrument on the Observations of the Middle Stratosphere (OMS) balloon platform, and the Systeme D'Analyze par Observations Zenithales (SAOZ) balloon sonde. The resulting comparisons show a remarkable degree of consistency despite the very different measurement techniques inherent in the data sets and thus provide a strong validation of the POAM III version 3.0 ozone. This is particularly true in the primary 14–30 km region, where there are significant overlaps with all seven instruments. At these altitudes, POAM III agrees with all the data sets to within 7–10% with no detectable bias. The observed differences are within the combined errors of POAM III and the correlative measurements. Above 30 km, only a handful of SOLVE correlative measurements exist and the comparisons are highly variable. Therefore, the results are inconclusive. Below 14 km, the SOLVE comparisons also show a large amount of scatter and it is difficult to evaluate their consistency, although the number of correlative measurements is large. The UV DIAL, DOAS, and JPL/OMS comparisons show differences of up to 15% but no consistent bias. The ER-2, MkIV, and SAOZ comparisons, on the other hand, indicate a high POAM bias of 10–20% at the lower altitudes. In general, the SOLVE validation results presented here are consistent with the validation of the POAM III version 3.0 ozone using SAGE II and Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) satellite data and in situ electrochemical cell (ECC) ozonesonde data.
Effects of elevated temperatures on glass-reinforced epoxy pipes under multi-axial loadings

The effects of elevated temperatures on the performance of glass-reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipes under multi-axial loadings were investigated. Finite element software was used to develop the layers of the winding angle on GRE composite pipes. The simulations of the closed-ended pipes’ performance under internal pressure loadings of various hoop to axial stress interactions were observed, then the failure strength was illustrated in the form of a failure envelope. Five different stress ratios ranging from pure axial loading 0:1, 1:1, 2:1, 4:1 and pure hoop 1:0 were tested at elevated temperatures (room temperature (RT), 65°C and 95°C) respectively. The first ply failure (FPF) for GRE pipes was predicted based on Tsai–Wu failure criteria. The results show that the highest temperature reduced the strength of the GRE pipes since the hoop and axial stress decreased with increasing temperature and thus the mechanical properties of the GRE pipes were degraded with the increase of temperature. Both showed a strong dependence on the stress ratio and test temperatures. Moreover, as the temperature increases, the glass fibres become more ductile and cause the failure envelopes to shrink towards the origin and become slightly narrower to accommodate the increase in strength of the composite pipes. It is shown that the initial failure stress based failure envelope at elevated temperatures generally degraded, except for the 2:1 loading where the initial failure stress increased.
Effect of extent of natural subsurface bioreduction on Fe-mineralogy of subsurface sediments

Naturally bioreduced zones with considerable sorbed U were recently identified at a former U mining and processing site at Rifle, CO, USA. Most of the sorbed U appears to be associated with Fe minerals. Variably reduced sediment samples were analyzed by suite of techniques, primarily by room temperature Mossbauer spectroscopy. Fe-oxides of different types and crystallinity, and Fe(II)/Fe(III)-containing clays are dominant in all the sediments. The amounts of poorly crystalline Fe(III)-oxide, however, was lower in the reduced samples. In addition, framboidal pyrites with sorbed U were common in the highly reduced sediments. Overall, the information gained from this work may help develop design field strategies for immobilization and stabilization of U(VI) in contaminated subsurface environments.
A survey of carbon monoxide and non-methane hydrocarbons in the Arctic Ocean during summer 2010: assessment of the role of phytoplankton

During the ARK XXV 1+2 expedition in the Arctic Ocean carried out in June–July 2010 aboard the R/V Polarstern, we measured carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and phytoplankton pigments at the sea surface and down to a depth 5 of 100m. The CO and NMHC sea-surface concentrations were highly variable; CO, propene and isoprene levels ranged from 0.6 to 17.5 nmol l−1, 1 to 322 pmol l−1 and 1 to 541 pmol l−1, respectively. The CO and alkene concentrations were enhanced in polar waters off of Greenland, which were more stratified because of ice melting and richer in chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) than typical North Atlantic 10 waters. The spatial distribution of the surface concentrations of CO was consistent with our current understanding of CO-induced UV photo-production in the sea. The vertical distributions of the CO and alkenes followed the trend of light penetration, with the concentrations displaying a relatively regular exponential decrease down to nonmeasurable values below 50 m. However, no diurnal variations of CO or alkene con15 centrations were observed in the stratified and irradiated surface layers. This finding suggests that the production and removal processes of CO and alkenes were tightly coupled. We tentatively determined a first-order rate constant for the microbial consumption of CO of 0.5 d−1, which is in agreement with previous studies. On several occasions, we observed the existence of subsurface CO maxima at the level of the 20 deep chlorophyll maximum. This finding represents field evidence for the existence of a non-photochemical CO production pathway, most likely of phytoplanktonic origin. The corresponding production rates normalized to the chlorophyll content were in the range of those estimated from laboratory experiments. In general, the vertical distributions of isoprene followed that of the phytoplankton biomass. Hence, oceanic data support the 25 existence of biological production of CO and isoprene in the Arctic Ocean
Prevalence and pattern of antimicrobial resistance of Shigella species among patients with acute diarrhoea in Karaj, Tehran, Iran.

The study was carried out to determine the prevalence and pattern of antimicrobial resistance of Shigella species among patients with acute diarrhoea in Karaj, Tehran, Iran. The study included all acute diarrhoea patients who visited the hospitals and treatment centres of Karaj during November 2001-October 2002. Of 734 stool samples collected from patients with acute diarrhoea and analyzed for Shigella spp. , 123 (16.8%) yielded Shigella spp. (7.5% Shigella flexneri, 5.2% S. sonnei, 2.6% S. dysenteriae, and 1.5% S. boydii). Of the Shigella isolates, 90.8% were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agent(s), and 87.8% were multidrug resistant. The most common resistance was to tetracycline (73.5%), trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (70.4%), and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (50.0%). Resistance to cefixime, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and nalidixic acid was observed in 6.1%, 3.1%, 2.0%, and 1.0% of the isolates respectively. These findings suggest that Shigella spp. may be an important aetiological agent of diarrhoea with a high rate of drug resistance in this region, which requires further study.
On the Flexibility of Basic Risk Attitudes in Monkeys

Monkeys and other animals appear to share with humans two risk attitudes predicted by prospect theory: an inverse-S-shaped probability-weighting (PW) function and a steeper utility curve for losses than for gains. These findings suggest that such preferences are stable traits with common neural substrates. We hypothesized instead that animals tailor their preferences to subtle changes in task contexts, making risk attitudes flexible. Previous studies used a limited number of outcomes, trial types, and contexts. To gain a broader perspective, we examined two large datasets of male macaques' risky choices: one from a task with real (juice) gains and another from a token task with gains and losses. In contrast to previous findings, monkeys were risk seeking for both gains and losses (i.e., lacked a reflection effect) and showed steeper gain than loss curves (loss seeking). Utility curves for gains were substantially different in the two tasks. Monkeys showed nearly linear PWs in one task and S-shaped ones in the other; neither task produced a consistent inverse-S-shaped curve. To account for these observations, we developed and tested various computational models of the processes involved in the construction of reward value. We found that adaptive differential weighting of prospective gamble outcomes could partially account for the observed differences in the utility functions across the two experiments and thus provide a plausible mechanism underlying flexible risk attitudes. Together, our results support the idea that risky choices are constructed flexibly at the time of elicitation and place important constraints on neural models of economic choice. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We respond in reliable ways to risk, but are our risk preferences stable traits or ephemeral states? Using various computational models, we examined two large datasets of macaque risky choices in two different tasks. We observed several deviations from “classic” risk preferences seen in humans and monkeys: no reflection effect, loss seeking as opposed to loss aversion, and linear and S-shaped, as opposed to inverse-S-shaped, probability distortion. These results challenge the idea that our risk attitudes are evolved traits shared with the last common ancestor of macaques and humans, suggesting instead that behavioral flexibility is the hallmark of risky choice in primates. We show how this flexibility can emerge partly as a result of interactions between attentional and reward systems.
Concomitant Repair of Pelvic Floor Disorders in Women Undergoing Surgery for Gynecologic Malignancies.

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to determine the rate and describe 30-day postoperative complications of concomitant pelvic organ prolapse and/or urinary incontinence (POPUI) procedures in women undergoing surgery for a gynecologic malignancy. METHODS Women who underwent surgical intervention for a gynecologic malignancy between 2010 and 2014 were identified using postoperative International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes 179.0 to 184.9 in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Women who underwent POPUI procedures were identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes between 51840 and 58294. Infectious, pulmonary, cardiac, and venous thromboembolism complication rates were calculated. Patient demographics and postoperative complication rates were analyzed using Student t, χ, and Fisher exact tests and compared between women with a gynecologic malignancy who did and did not undergo concomitant POPUI procedures. RESULTS We identified 23,501 women with a diagnosis of a gynecologic malignancy. The most common included uterine (63%), ovarian (25%), and cervical cancer (8%). Only a small proportion of the women undergoing gynecologic cancer surgery (n = 556 [2.4%]) had concomitant POPUI procedures. The most commonly performed POPUI procedures included anterior and/or posterior colporrhaphy (n = 205 [32%]), laparoscopic colpopexy (n = 181 [28.2%]), and midurethral sling (n = 70 [10.9%]). There were no differences in 30-day reoperation; infectious, pulmonary, and cardiac complications; or venous thromboembolic events between women who did and did not have concomitant POPUI surgery. CONCLUSIONS Using a large national surgical database, only 2.4% of women undergoing gynecologic cancer surgery had a concomitant POPUI procedure. Our data suggest that postoperative complications may not increase when concomitant surgery for POPUI is done at the time of gynecologic cancer surgery.
Destabilization of the neuromuscular junction by proteolytic cleavage of agrin results in precocious sarcopenia

Etiology and pathogenesis of sarcopenia, the progressive decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging, are still poorly understood. We recently found that overexpression of the neural serine protease neurotrypsin in motoneurons resulted in the degeneration of their neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) within days. Therefore, we wondered whether neurotrypsin‐dependent NMJ degeneration also affected the structure and function of the skeletal muscles. Using histological and functional analyses of neurotrypsin‐overexpressing and neurotrypsin‐deficient mice, we found that overexpression of neurotrypsin in motoneurons installed the full sarcopenia phenotype in young adult mice. Characteristic muscular alterations included a reduced number of muscle fibers, increased heterogeneity of fiber thickness, more centralized nuclei, fiber‐type grouping, and an increased proportion of type I fibers. As in age‐dependent sarcopenia, excessive fragmentation of the NMJ accompanied the muscular alterations. These results suggested the destabilization of the NMJ through proteolytic cleavage of agrin at the onset of a pathogenic pathway ending in sarcopenia. Studies of neurotrypsin‐deficient and agrin‐overexpressing mice revealed that old‐age sarcopenia also develops without neurotrypsin and is not prevented by elevated levels of agrin. Our results define neurotrypsin‐ and age‐dependent sarcopenia as the common final outcome of 2 etiologically distinct entities. —Bütikofer, L. , Zurlinden, A. , Bolliger, M. F. , Kunz, B. , Sonderegger, P. Destabilization of the neuromuscular junction by proteolytic cleavage of agrin results in precocious sarcopenia. FASEB J. 25, 4378–4393 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Heat preconditioning prevents enterocyte mitochondrial damage induced by surgical manipulation.

BACKGROUND The small intestine is susceptible to free radical-induced damage and our earlier work has shown that surgical manipulation of the intestine results in generation of oxygen free radicals, leading to mucosal damage. Heat preconditioning has been shown to offer protection against various stresses including oxidative stress and this study looked at the effect of heat preconditioning on surgical manipulation-induced intestinal mitochondrial alterations. METHODS Control and rats pretreated with heat were subjected to surgical manipulation by opening the abdominal wall and handling the intestine as done during laparotomy. Mitochondria were prepared from isolated enterocytes and structural and functional alterations were assessed. RESULTS Surgical manipulation of the intestine resulted in mitochondrial alterations as seen by ultrastructural changes and altered lipid composition. Mitochondria were functionally impaired as evidenced by altered calcium flux, decreased respiratory control ratio, and increased tetrazolium dye reduction and swelling. Along with this, biochemical alterations such as increased lipid and protein oxidation were seen following surgical manipulation. Mild heat preconditioning of the animal prevented these damaging effects. CONCLUSIONS These studies suggest that stress in the small intestine due to surgery can affect enterocyte mitochondrial structure and function and these effects can be prevented by mild whole body hyperthermia prior to surgery.