Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracorporeal Photochemotherapy for the Treatment of Chronic Graft‐Versus‐Host Disease: Trend for a Possible Cell Dose‐Related Effect?

Abstract: Extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) has been progressively introduced into the treatment of both acute and chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGvHD) over the last decade. Nevertheless, its mechanisms of action, as well as the optimal treatment schedule, have not yet been defined. We retrospectively analyzed 25 patients with cGvHD unresponsive to conventional treatments who underwent ECP from 1997 until 2005. The impact of various factors (such as treated and infused nucleated cells, time from transplantation and cGvHD onset, and time from cGvHD and ECP treatment) on the probability of no response to ECP was therefore investigated. A positive response to ECP was achieved in 80% of the patients, after a median of 19 ECP treatments (with a range of 8–38). Eighteen out of the 20 patients responsive to the treatment maintained their response for a median of 30 months. We mainly focused on clinical response and yield composition. The analysis on mononuclear cell (MNC) dose suggested that an increase of MNC dose/kg b.w. (body weight) induced a decrease in the odds of treatment failure, and that, if the MNC dose infused was at least 100 × 106/kg b.w. per ECP treatment, a more positive and longer‐lasting response was achieved. Moreover, the mean dose of treated and infused monocytes × 106/kg b.w. /ECP did not account for a clear dose‐related effect. These findings may eventually result in a more patient‐tailored approach to ECP. Prospective multicenter trials should be designed to investigate the real impact of MNC dose on ECP responsiveness.
The modified dual-frequency quasi-Yagi antenna

There is the new modified dual-frequency printed quasi-Yagi antenna presented in the article. The principle of its work is considered. The characteristics of the antenna received as the result of its modeling are provided. The analysis of these results is offered. The presented antenna differs from earlier described prototypes due to the new modification of a driven element.
Energy Cost of Membrane Depolarization in Hog Carotid Artery

Past studies have shown that during stable stepwise activations of vascular smooth muscle with varying concentrations of high-K+, both cytoplasmic free-Ca++ and membrane depolarization vary. On the other hand, during stepwise activations with varying concentrations of external Ca++ in the presence of constant external depolarizing high-K+, cytoplasmic free-Ca varies, while membrane depolarization remains relatively constant. In this study, the rates at which suprabasal energy metabolism (oxygen consumption and lactic acid production) increased with increasing isometric tension maintenance were measured under both circumstances. Suprabasal energy metabolism with increasing membrane depolarization (increasing external IC) exceeded that with constant depolarizing-[K+] and varying Ca++ by less than 2.5% at all levels of activation, which was not statistically significant (P > 0.70). We conclude therefore that the steady state metabolic energy cost of membrane depolarization per se during contractile activity in vascular smooth muscle from a tonic conducting vessel (hog carotid artery) is negligible. Although the possibility cannot be excluded, we find no metabolic evidence that increased cytoplamic free-Ca++ itself activates an ATPase associated with Ca++ sequestration and/or extrusion beyond that present in the relaxed state. Activation of hog carotid artery with an isosmotic K+-for-Na-substituted medium fails to stimulate aerobic glycolysis at all levels of K+ substitution. Experiments were performed at the muscle length optimal for isometric tension generation and at 37°C.
Surgical Site Infection in Colorectal Surgery: A Study in Antibiotic Duration

BACKGROUND: Despite distant historical studies that demonstrated the adequacy of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, current surgical practice continues to use antibiotics for postoperative coverage up to 24 hours. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate a change in antibiotic prophylaxis duration and its effect on surgical site infection in a high-volume modern colorectal practice. DESIGN: A case-controlled series retrospectively reviewed outcomes through a prospective validated data base. SETTING: The study was conducted at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. PATIENTS: A total of 965 patients were evaluated. Our study analyzed patient outcomes related to surgical site infection comparing cohort 1 (2012–2013), which had the same antibiotic coverage preoperatively up to 24 hours postoperatively, and cohort 2 (2014–2015), which eliminated postoperative doses and relied solely on pre- and intraoperative dosing duration. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes of this study are superficial and deep surgical site infection. RESULTS: There were no differences identified for superficial or deep surgical site infection rates between cohorts. Before the change in antibiotic dosing duration (2012–2013), 28 of 493 patients (5.7%) vs after the practice change (2014–2015), 25 of 472 patients (5.3%) were reported to have superficial or deep surgical site infection (p = 0.794). LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by its retrospective design within a single institution. CONCLUSION: These equivalent results present an opportunity for surgeons to reconsider optimal antibiotic duration and minimize unnecessary antibiotic dosing. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww. com/DCR/A322.
Optimal Index Codes via a Duality between Index Coding and Network Coding

In Index Coding, the goal is to use a broadcast channel as efficiently as possible to communicate information from a source to multiple receivers which can possess some of the information symbols at the source as side-information. In this work, we present a duality relationship between index coding (IC) and multiple-unicast network coding (NC). It is known that the IC problem can be represented using a side-information graph $G$ (with number of vertices $n$ equal to the number of source symbols). The size of the maximum acyclic induced subgraph, denoted by MAI S is a lower bound on the broadcast rate. For IC problems with MAIS = n - 1 and MAI S = n - 2, prior work has shown that binary (over F 2) linear index codes achieve the MAI S lower bound for the broadcast rate and thus are optimal. In this work, we use the the duality relationship between NC and IC to show that for a class of IC problems with MAIS = n - 3, binary linear index codes achieve the MAI S lower bound on the broadcast rate. In contrast, it is known that there exists IC problems with MAIS = n - 3 and optimal broadcast rate strictly greater than MAIS.
Hippocampal Morphology in a Rat Model of Depression: The Effects of Physical Activity

Accumulating in vivo and ex vivo evidences show that humans suffering from depression have decreased hippocampal volume and altered spine density. Moreover, physical activity has an antidepressant effect in humans and in animal models, but to what extent physical activity can affect hippocampal volume and spine numbers in a model for depression is not known. In this study we analyzed whether physical activity affects hippocampal volume and spine density by analyzing a rodent genetic model of depression, Flinders Sensitive Line Rats (FSL), with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ex vivo Golgi staining. We found that physical activity in the form of voluntary wheel running during 5 weeks increased hippocampal volume. Moreover, runners also had larger numbers of thin spines in the dentate gyrus. Our findings support that voluntary wheel running, which is antidepressive in FSL rats, is associated with increased hippocampal volume and spine numbers.
Protective Immunity against Secondary Poxvirus Infection Is Dependent on Antibody but Not on CD4 or CD8 T-Cell Function

ABSTRACT Renewed interest in smallpox and the need for safer vaccines have highlighted our lack of understanding of the requirements for protective immunity. Since smallpox has been eradicated, surrogate animal models of closely related orthopoxviruses, such as ectromelia virus, have been used to establish critical roles for CD8 T cells in the control of primary infection. To study the requirements for protection against secondary infection, we have used a prime-challenge regime, in which avirulent ectromelia virus was used to prime mice that were then challenged with virulent ectromelia virus. In contrast to primary infection, T cells are not required for recovery from secondary infection, since gene knockout mice deficient in CD8 T-cell function and wild-type mice acutely depleted of CD4, CD8, or both subsets were fully protected. Protection correlated with effective virus control and generation of neutralizing antibody. Notably, primed mice that lacked B cells, major histocompatibility complex class II, or CD40 succumbed to secondary infection. Thus, antibody is essential, but CD4 or CD8 T cells are not required for recovery from secondary poxvirus infection.
Oxidative stress and glutathione S-transferase genetic polymorphisms in medical staff professionally exposed to ionizing radiation

Abstract Purpose: Ionizing radiation (IR) is considered as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in medicine. However, chronic occupational exposure of medical staff to IR may affect the antioxidant status and, as a result, DNA damage and cancers as well. The objective of our study was to evaluate the oxidative stress profile caused by IR in 29 Tunisian medical staff from radiology and radiotherapy departments, and to find an association between the GSTM1 null, GSTT1 null, and GSTP1 Ile105Val polymorphisms and oxidative stress biomarkers. Materials and methods: The oxidant biomarkers malondialdehyde (MDA) and advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) and the activities of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) enzymes were spectrophotometrically determined in erythrocytes hemolysates. The analysis of GSTT1 null, GSTM1 null, and GSTP1 Ile105Val polymorphisms was determined for each participant using PCR methods. Results: A significant increase of white blood cell (WBC) numbers (p < .05) and a significant decrease by 11% of hemoglobin (Hb) (p < .01) were noted in the exposed subjects in our study. Moreover, we report a significant increase of MDA level and the activities of SOD and CAT enzymes of the IR-exposed group compared to controls (p < .001). Interestingly, a close association was noted between the genotypes GSTP1 low active, GSTT1 null, GSTM1 null, and both GSTT1/GSTM1 null and oxidative stress biomarkers, especially with MDA level, SOD, and CAT activities. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the medical staff exposed to low IR levels were under risk of significant oxidative stress that was enhanced by their glutathione S-transferase (GST) polymorphisms.
Damage Accumulation in Graphite/Epoxy Laminates Due to Cyclic Gradient Stress Fields

The progression of damage in gradient stress fields under cyclic loading was studied in simply-supported graphite/epoxy beam-columns. Three layups, [454/ —454/ (0/90)4]2s, [±45/0/904]4s, and [(452/-452/0) 2/905]2 s , were chosen to be consistent with data collected in a previous study with static loading. Specimens were loaded statically until predetermined characteristic damage levels were obtained, after which cyclic loading began. At specific intervals, cyclic loading was stopped, a static test measuring the load and the corresponding center deflection was performed, and edge replicas of the specimen sides were taken. The damage of these specimens varied both along the length and through the thickness of the specimens with two general modes of damage present. Damage due to the static loading generally occurred on the tension side of the specimen and was controlled by matrix cracks. Delammations initiated and grew in areas of crack saturation. Damage due to the cyclic loading also occurred on the compression side of the specimens and was controlled by delammations that initiated and grew independently of matrix cracks, leading to sublaminate buckling. Increasing the maximum cyclic load changed the relative growth of the two modes of damage, which changed the final failure mode.
Small Water Enterprise in Rural Rwanda: Business Development and Year-One Performance Evaluation of Nine Water Kiosks at Health Care Facilities

Small water enterprises (SWEs) have lower capital expenditures than centralized systems, offering decentralized solutions for rural markets. This study evaluated SWEs in rural Rwanda, where nine health care facilities (HCF) owned and operated water kiosks supplying water from onsite water treatment systems (WTS). SWEs were monitored for 12 months. Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient (rs) was used to evaluate correlations between demand for kiosk water and community characteristics, and between kiosk profit and factors influencing the cost model. On average, SWEs distributed 15,300 L/month. One SWE ran at a loss, four had profit margins of ≤10% and four had profit margins of 45–75%. Factors influencing SWE performance were intermittent water supply (87% of SWE closures were due to water shortage), consumer demand (demand was high where populations already used improved water sources (rs = 0.81, p = 0.02)), price sensitivity (demand was lower where SWEs had high prices (rs = −0.65, p = 0.08)), and production cost (water utility tariffs negatively impacted SWE profits (rs = −0.52, p < 0.01)). Sustainability was more favorable in circumstances where recovery of capital expenditures was not expected, and the demand for treated water was sufficient to fund operational expenditures. Future research is needed to assess the extent to which kiosk revenue can support ongoing operational costs of WTS and kiosks both at HCF and in other contexts.
Speaker-idiosyncrasy in pausing behavior: Evidence from a cross-linguistic study

Phoneticians study acoustic speech signals. But what about the aspects of speech where the signal is silent? The present study investigated speakers’ pausing behavior in their native and non-native speech. Pausing measures were applied in order to study between-speaker and within-speaker variability, where within-speaker variability was introduced by recording speakers in their native Zurich German, and in their second languages English and French. Results showed that pausing measures in the form of pause numbers and pause durations are speaker-specific. Furthermore, this speaker-specificity became evident across different languages. Results are discussed in the context of forensic voice comparison.
The Elderhaus Program of All‐inclusive Care for the Elderly in North Carolina: Improving Functional Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care: Preliminary Data

The Program of All‐inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is at a crossroads in its evolution as a community‐based alternative to institutionally based nursing home care. Because of their perceived value and cost savings to Medicaid and Medicare, PACE programs are under increasing pressure to expand the numbers of individuals they serve while simultaneously reducing the overall cost of care. During the first 5 years of operations, the Elderhaus PACE Program in Wilmington, North Carolina, has reduced use of acute hospital care and skilled nursing home care while demonstrating that 46% of their participants improved and 20% of participants maintained their level of functional independence. It is felt that use of a plan of care organized according to standard domains of function and the quantifiable method of documenting improvement in functional health outcomes represent a critical factor in improved outcomes despite lower use of costly hospital and institutional care. The next step will be to disseminate the plan of care process to other PACE programs and measure its effect on participant functional outcomes and cost of care. The fact that the majority of PACE programs in North Carolina are using an electronic medical record that has the standard domains and quantitative functional measures embedded in the software will facilitate this step. Benchmarks for service use data are already being collected and will be compared with service use after the implementation of the plan of care process.
The role of social isolation in the effects of alcohol on corticosterone and testosterone levels of alcohol-preferring and non-preferring rats.

AIMS Alcohol has been reported to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG-axis) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) as expressed by increased or decreased corticosterone and testosterone levels. Both hormones have also been related to the aetiology of alcohol drinking and the development of alcoholism. Our aim has been to study these interrelations in animal models of alcohol drinking by using social isolation as a model of anxiety. METHODS The effects of alcohol on serum testosterone and corticosterone concentrations were investigated in alcohol-preferring (AA) and alcohol non-preferring (ANA) rat lines. Animals were tested in mornings and afternoons with 0.75 and 1.5 g alcohol/kg. Half of the animals were kept in single cages, while the control animals were housed in groups of four individuals. RESULTS The group-caged ANA rats displayed higher control corticosterone levels than the corresponding AA rats during morning sessions (P = 0.007). The AA rats displayed elevated corticosterone levels (AM: P = 0.047) and the ANA rats displayed reduced control corticosterone levels (PM: P = 0.016) in the single cage situation compared with the group-cage situation. Corticosterone concentrations were not affected by low doses and increased (P < 0.05) by high doses of alcohol in all test groups except for isolated AA rats during afternoon sessions. In general, more significant reductions in testosterone levels following alcohol administration were found in the ANA line. In group-caged AA rats, alcohol reduced testosterone levels, while no such effect was observed in isolated AA rats. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that social isolation, representing stress, may constitute a situation in which the HPA and HPG axes are connected together in promoting alcohol drinking.
The effect of cinematic cuts on human attention

Understanding the factors that determine human attention in videos is important for many applications, such as user interface design in interactive television (iTV), continuity editing, or data compression techniques. In this article, we identify the demands that cinematic cuts impose on human attention. We hypothesize, test, and confirm that after cuts the viewers' attention is quickly attracted by repeated visual content. We conclude with a recommendation for future models of visual attention in videos and make suggestions how the present results could inspire designers of second screen iTV applications to optimise their interfaces with regard to a maximally smooth viewing experience.
Soluble CD26/Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Induces T Cell Proliferation Through CD86 Up-Regulation on APCs1

CD26 is a T cell costimulatory molecule with dipeptidyl peptidase IV enzyme activity in its extracellular region. We have previously reported that the addition of soluble CD26 (sCD26) resulted in enhanced proliferation of peripheral blood T lymphocytes induced by the recall Ag, tetanus toxoid (TT). However, the mechanism involved in this immune enhancement has not yet been elucidated. In this paper, we demonstrate that the enhancing effect of sCD26 on TT-induced T cell proliferation occurred in the early stages of immune response. The cells directly affected by exogenously added sCD26 are the CD14-positive monocytes in the peripheral blood. Mannose-6 phosphate interfered with the uptake of sCD26 into monocytes, suggesting that mannose-6 phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor plays a role in the transportation of sCD26 into monocytes. When sCD26 was added after Ag presentation had taken place, enhancement in TT-induced T cell proliferation was not observed. In addition, enhancement of TT-mediated T cell proliferation by sCD26 does not result from trimming of the MHC-bound peptide on the surface of monocytes. Importantly, we also showed that exogenously added sCD26 up-regulated the expression of the costimulatory molecule CD86 on monocytes through its dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity, and that this increased expression of CD86 was observed at both protein and mRNA level. Therefore, our findings suggest that sCD26 enhances T cell immune response to recall Ag via its direct effect on APCs.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids: do they have a role in the pathophysiology of autism?

OBJECTIVES There is now some evidence that alterations in fatty acids may play a role in the pathophysiology of autism. The aim of the present study was to examine whether autism is accompanied by abnormalities in the composition of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in plasma phospholipids. METHODS The plasma phospholipid omega-3 (3) and omega-6 (6) PUFA fractions and the 3/6 ratio were measured in 16 high-functioning male youngsters with autism (age 12-18) and 22 healthy volunteers. Group mean differences were assessed by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS In autism there was a significant increase in the fraction of C22:6-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) and an increase in the total 3/6 ratio. DISCUSSION The results of this study suggest that an increase of the plasma phospholipid 3 PUFAs, in particular DHA, and of the total 3/6 ratio may take part in the pathophysiology of autism. One hypothesis is that an increase of 3 PUFAs may cause alterations in the serotonergic turnover and the immune response system, both known to be associated with autism. Caution must be exercised against highly concentrated 3 PUFAs supplementation.
Initial Colony Morphology-Based Selection for iPS Cells Derived from Adult Fibroblasts Is Substantially Improved by Temporary UTF1-Based Selection

Background Somatic cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Recently, selection of fully reprogrammed cells was achieved based on colony morphology reminiscent of embryonic stem (ES) cells. The maintenance of pluripotency was analysed. Methodology/Principal Findings Clonal murine iPS cell line TiB7-4, which was derived from adult fibroblasts, was analysed for maintenance of pluripotency. Colony morphology, expression of pluripotency factors and stage specific embryonic antigen 1 (SSEA1) were analysed by real time PCR and flow cytometry. We found the iPS cell line TiB7-4 and its subclones to be rather diverse and exhibiting a tendency towards spontaneous differentiation and loss of pluripotency independent of their initial colony morphology. In contrast an undifferentiated transcription factor 1 (UTF1) promoter-driven G418 (Neo) resistance significantly improved the quality of these iPS cells. After selection with UTF-Neo for two weeks iPS subclones could be stably maintained for at least 40 passages in culture and differentiate into all three germ layers. As control, a construct expressing G418 resistance under the control of the ubiquitously active SV40 early promoter formed subclones with different colony morphology. Some of these subclones could be cultured for at least 12 passages without loosing their pluripotency, but loss of pluripotency eventually occured in an unpredictable manner and was independent of the subclones' initial morphology and SSEA1 expression. A UTF-Neo-based selection of a whole population of TiB7-4 without further subcloning resulted in the generation of cultures with up to 99% SSEA1 positive cells under stringent selection conditions. Conclusions Our data indicate that temporary selection using a genetic UTF1-based system can generate homogenous pluripotent iPS cells that can be maintained without permanent selection pressure.