Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic indices and hs-CRP levels in gestational diabetes mellitus patients: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Vitamin D plays an important role in the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study evaluated the effect of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic indices and hs-C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in GDM patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial. Seventy-six pregnant women with GDM and gestational age between 24-28 weeks were assigned to receive four oral treatments consisting of 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 (n = 38) or placebo (n = 38) once every 2 weeks for 2 months. Fasting blood glucose (FG), insulin, HbA1c, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, lipid profile, hs-CRP, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured before and after treatment. Independent and paired t-tests were used to determine intra- and intergroup differences, respectively. ANCOVA was used to assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation on biochemical parameters. RESULTS Compared with the placebo group, in the vitamin D group, the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased (19.15 vs. -0.40 ng/ml; P < 0.01) and that of FG (-4.72 vs. 5.27 mg/dl; P = 0.01) as well as HbA1c (-0.18% vs. 0.17%; P = 0.02) decreased. Improvements in the lipid profiles were observed in the vitamin D group, but without statistical significance. Significant increases in concentrations of hs-CRP, FG, HbA1c, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were observed in the placebo group. No significant change in fasting insulin and HOMA-IR was observed in either group. CONCLUSIONS In GDM patients, vitamin D supplementation improved FG and HbA1c but had no significant effects on lipid profile or hs-CRP.
An unconventional myosin required for cell polarization and chemotaxis

MyTH/FERM (myosin tail homology 4/band 4.1, ezrin, radixin, and moesin) myosins have roles in cellular adhesion, extension of actin-filled projections such as filopodia and stereocilia, and directional migration. The amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum expresses a simple complement of MyTH/FERM myosins, a class VII (M7) myosin required for cell-substrate adhesion and a unique myosin named MyoG. Mutants lacking MyoG exhibit a wide range of normal actin-based behaviors, including chemotaxis to folic acid, but have a striking defect in polarization and chemotaxis to cAMP. Although the myoG mutants respond to cAMP stimulation by increasing persistence and weakly increasing levels of cortical F-actin, they do not polarize; instead, they maintain a round shape and move slowly and randomly when exposed to a chemotactic gradient. The mutants also fail to activate and localize PI3K to the membrane closest to the source of chemoattractant. These data reveal a role for a MyTH/FERM myosin in mediating early chemotactic signaling and suggest that MyTH/FERM proteins have conserved roles in signaling and the generation of cell polarity.
ARRSI: Automatic Registration of Remote-Sensing Images

This paper presents the Automatic Registration of Remote-Sensing Images (ARRSI); an automatic registration system built to register satellite and aerial remotely sensed images. The system is designed specifically to address the problems associated with the registration of remotely sensed images obtained at different times and/or from different sensors. The ARRSI system is capable of handling remotely sensed images geometrically distorted by various transformations such as translation, rotation, and shear. Global and local contrast issues associated with remotely sensed images are addressed in ARRSI using control-point detection and matching processes based on a phase-congruency model. Intensity-difference issues associated with multimodal registration of remotely sensed images are addressed in ARRSI through the use of features that are invariant to intensity mappings during the control-point matching process. An adaptive control-point matching scheme is employed in ARRSI to reduce the performance issues associated with the registration of large remotely sensed images. Finally, a variation on the Random Sample and Consensus algorithm called Maximum Distance Sample Consensus is introduced in ARRSI to improve the accuracy of the transformation model between two remotely sensed images while minimizing computational overhead. The ARRSI system has been tested using various satellite and aerial remotely sensed images and evaluated based on its accuracy and computational performance. The results indicate that the registration accuracy of ARRSI is comparable to that produced by a human expert and improvement over the baseline and multimodal sum of squared differences registration techniques tested
FoxJ1-dependent gene expression is required for differentiation of radial glia into ependymal cells and a subset of astrocytes in the postnatal brain

Neuronal specification occurs at the periventricular surface of the embryonic central nervous system. During early postnatal periods, radial glial cells in various ventricular zones of the brain differentiate into ependymal cells and astrocytes. However, mechanisms that drive this time- and cell-specific differentiation remain largely unknown. Here, we show that expression of the forkhead transcription factor FoxJ1 in mice is required for differentiation into ependymal cells and a small subset of FoxJ1+ astrocytes in the lateral ventricles, where these cells form a postnatal neural stem cell niche. Moreover, we show that a subset of FoxJ1+ cells harvested from the stem cell niche can self-renew and possess neurogenic potential. Using a transcriptome comparison of FoxJ1-null and wild-type microdissected tissue, we identified candidate genes regulated by FoxJ1 during early postnatal development. The list includes a significant number of microtubule-associated proteins, some of which form a protein complex that could regulate the transport of basal bodies to the ventricular surface of differentiating ependymal cells during FoxJ1-dependent ciliogenesis. Our results suggest that time- and cell-specific expression of FoxJ1 in the brain acts on an array of target genes to regulate the differentiation of ependymal cells and a small subset of astrocytes in the adult stem cell niche.
A New Approach for Improving Reliability of Personal Navigation Devices under Harsh GNSS Signal Conditions

In natural and urban canyon environments, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals suffer from various challenges such as signal multipath, limited or lack of signal availability and poor geometry. Inertial sensors are often employed to improve the solution continuity under poor GNSS signal quality and availability conditions. Various fault detection schemes have been proposed in the literature to detect and remove biased GNSS measurements to obtain a more reliable navigation solution. However, many of these methods are found to be sub-optimal and often lead to unavailability of reliability measures, mostly because of the improper characterization of the measurement errors. A robust filtering architecture is thus proposed which assumes a heavy-tailed distribution for the measurement errors. Moreover, the proposed filter is capable of adapting to the changing GNSS signal conditions such as when moving from open sky conditions to deep canyons. Results obtained by processing data collected in various GNSS challenged environments show that the proposed scheme provides a robust navigation solution without having to excessively reject usable measurements. The tests reported herein show improvements of nearly 15% and 80% for position accuracy and reliability, respectively, when applying the above approach.
Colonization of Ephemeral Water Bodies in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia by Assemblages of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): Role of Environmental Factors, Habitat, and Disturbance

ABSTRACT Environmental disturbance may have direct and indirect impacts on organisms. We studied the colonization of ephemeral water bodies by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Wheatbelt region of southwest Western Australia, an area substantially affected by an expanding anthropogenic salinization. Mosquitoes frequently colonized ephemeral water bodies, responded positively to rainfall, and populated smaller water bodies more densely than larger water bodies. We found that the habitat characteristics of ephemeral water bodies changed in association with salinity. Consequently relationships between salinity and abundance of colonizing mosquitoes were direct (salinity—mosquito) and indirect (salinity—water body characteristics—mosquito). Overall, the structure of mosquito assemblages changed with increasing salinity, favoring an increased regional distribution and abundance of Aedes camptorhynchus Thomson (Diptera: Culicidae), a vector of Ross river virus (RRV; Togoviridae: Alphavirus). We conclude secondary salinization in the Western Australia Wheatbelt results in enhanced vectorial potential for RRV transmission.
Identification, molecular structure and expression of two cloned serotonin receptors from the pond snail, Helisoma trivolvis

SUMMARY Helisoma trivolvis has served as a model system to study the functions of serotonin (5-HT) from cellular, developmental, physiological and behavioural perspectives. To further explore the serotonin system at the molecular level, and to provide experimental knockout tools for future studies, in this study we identified serotonin receptor genes from the H. trivolvis genome, and characterized the molecular structure and expression profile of the serotonin receptor gene products. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers, based on conserved regions of the Lymnaea stagnalis 5-HT1Lym receptor, were used to amplify G protein-coupled biogenic amine receptor sequences from H. trivolvis genomic cDNA, resulting in the cloning of two putative serotonin receptors. The deduced gene products both appear to be G protein-coupled serotonin receptors, with well-conserved structure in the functional domains and high variability in the vestibule entrance of the receptor protein. Phylogenetic analysis placed these receptors in the 5-HT1 and 5-HT7 families of serotonin receptors. They are thus named the 5-HT1Hel and 5-HT7Hel receptors, respectively. In situ hybridization and immunofluorescence studies revealed that these genes and gene products are expressed most heavily in the ciliated pedal and mantle epithelia of H. trivolvis embryos. In adults, widespread expression occurred in all ganglia and connectives of the central nervous system. Expression of both receptor proteins was localized exclusively to neurites when examined in situ. In contrast, when isolated neurons were grown in culture, 5-HT1Hel and 5-HT7Hel immunoreactivity were located primarily in the cell body. This is the first study to reveal a 5-HT7 receptor in a molluscan species.
Visual perception in Parkinson disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies

Objective: To quantify visual discrimination, space-motion, and object-form perception in patients with Parkinson disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: The authors used a cross-sectional study to compare three demented groups matched for overall dementia severity (PDD: n = 24; DLB: n = 20; AD: n = 23) and two age-, sex-, and education-matched control groups (PD: n = 24, normal controls [NC]: n = 25). Results: Visual perception was globally more impaired in PDD than in nondemented controls (NC, PD), but was not different from DLB. Compared to AD, PDD patients tended to perform worse in all perceptual scores. Visual perception of patients with PDD/DLB and visual hallucinations was significantly worse than in patients without hallucinations. Conclusions: Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) is associated with profound visuoperceptual impairments similar to dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but different from Alzheimer disease. These findings are consistent with previous neuroimaging studies reporting hypoactivity in cortical areas involved in visual processing in PDD and DLB.
Prognostic value of pretreatment serum alkaline phosphatase in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The prognostic value of serum alkaline phosphatase (S-ALP) has not been fully validated for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS S-ALP levels were measured in 601 patients newly diagnosed with NPC before radical treatment, and possible associations of these levels with 5-year overall survival (OS) and tumor-free survival (TFS) were explored using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS Elevated pretreatment S-ALP (>85 U/L) was significantly less frequent among patients classified as T1+2 or stage I+II than among those classified as T3+4 or stage III+IV. Multivariate analysis showed that elevated pretreatment S-ALP (>85 U/L), age, T classification and N stage were independent predictors of poor OS and TFS. CONCLUSIONS Pretreatment S-ALP may be a reliable biomarker to evaluate the long-term prognosis of patients with NPC.
Sensitivity and specificity of helical computed tomography in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism: a systematic review.

PURPOSE To determine the sensitivity and specificity of helical computed tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism and to determine the safety of withholding anticoagulant therapy in patients who have clinically suspected pulmonary embolism and negative results on helical CT. DATA SOURCES The MEDLINE database was searched for all reports published from 1986 to October 1999 that evaluated the use of helical CT for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Bibliographies of the retrieved articles were cross-checked to identify additional studies. STUDY SELECTION All prospective English-language studies were selected. Retrospective studies, review articles, and case reports were excluded, and 5 of the 20 identified articles were excluded. The scientific validity of the remaining 15 articles was assessed. DATA EXTRACTION Two of the authors used a priori, pre-defined criteria to independently assess each study. A third author resolved disagreements by adjudication. The pre-defined criteria were inclusion of a consecutive series of all patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, inclusion of patients with and those without pulmonary embolism, a broad spectrum of patient characteristics, performance of helical CT and pulmonary angiography (or an appropriate reference test) in all patients, and independent interpretation of the CT scan and pulmonary angiogram (or reference test). Specific data on sensitivity and specificity and the associated 95% CIs were recorded when available. DATA SYNTHESIS No study met all of the predefined criteria for adequately evaluating sensitivity and specificity. The reported sensitivity of helical CT ranged from 53% to 100%, and specificity ranged from 81% to 100%. In no prospective study was anticoagulant therapy withheld without further testing for venous thromboembolism in consecutive patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. One prospective study reported the outcome of selected patients with negative results on helical CT who did not receive anticoagulant therapy. CONCLUSIONS Use of helical CT in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism has not been adequately evaluated. The safety of withholding anticoagulant treatment in patients with negative results on helical CT is uncertain. Definitive large, prospective studies should be done to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and safety of helical CT for diagnosis of suspected pulmonary embolism.
Effects of Charité Artificial Disc on the Implanted and Adjacent Spinal Segments Mechanics Using a Hybrid Testing Protocol

Study Design. Finite element model of L3–S1 segment and confirmatory cadaveric testing were used to investigate the biomechanical effects of a mobile core type artificial disc (Charité artificial disc; DePuy Spine, Raynham, MA) on the lumbar spine. Objective. To determine the effects of the Charité artificial disc across the implanted and adjacent segments. Summary of Background Data. Biomechanical studies of artificial discs that quantify parameters, like the load sharing and stresses, are sparse in the literature, especially for mobile-type core artificial disc designs. In addition, there is no standard protocol for studying the adjacent segmental effects of such implants. Methods. Human osteo-ligamentous spines (L1–S1) were tested before and after L5–S1 Charité artificial disc placement. The data were used to validate further an intact 3-dimensional (3-D) nonlinear L3–S1 finite element model. The model was subjected to 400-N axial compression and 10.6 Nm of flexion/extension pure moments (load control) or pure moments that produced the overall rotation of the L3–S1 Charité model equal to the intact case (hybrid approach). Resultant motion, load, and stress parameters were analyzed at the experimental and adjacent levels. Results. Finite element model validation was achieved only with the load-controlled experiments. The hybrid approach, believed to be more clinically relevant, revealed that Charité artificial disc leads to motion increases in flexion (19%) and extension (44%) at the L5–S1 level. At the instrumented level, the decrease in the facet loads was less than at the adjacent levels; the corresponding decrease being 26% at L3–L4, 25% at L4–L5, and 13.4% at L5–S1 when compared to the intact. Intradiscal pressure changes in the L4–L5 and L3–L4 segments were minimal. Shear stresses at the Charité artificial disc-L5 endplate interface were higher than those at S1 interface. However, in the load control mode, the increase in facet loads in extension was approximately 14%, as compared to the intact case. Conclusions. The hybrid testing protocol is advocated because it better reproduces clinical observations in terms of motion following surgery, using pure moments. Using this approach, we found that the Charité artificial disc placement slightly increases motion at the implanted level, with a resultant increase in facet loading when compared to the adjacent segments, while the motions and loads decrease at the adjacent levels. However, in the load control mode that we believe is not that clinically relevant, there was a large increase in motion and a corresponding increase in facet loads, as compared to the intact.
Structure and growth of thin films

AbstractThe field of thin films continues to be a dynamic, rapidly changing area of research. It involves the formation of solid materials on an atom -by-atom basis. The complexities of the interaction processes involved in film formation are enormous, but the potential for constructing new and more useful materials is just as great. The purpose in this article is to provide an up-to-date review of the most fundamental aspects of this field. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive review of the many varied and interesting types of films and their applications. Rather the discussion is limited to films formed by vacuum evaporation and the fundamental processes involved in film growth. A discussion of why particular growth modes occur is followed by a review of the most common methods used in their detection. The basic theory and experimental observations of the three main modes of growth, Volmer-Weber, Frank and Van der Merwe, and Stranski-Krastanov, are then discussed. Epitaxial growth is considered.
Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide and Mitoxantrone for Untreated Follicular Lymphoma: a Report from the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Co-operative Study Group

The aim of the study was to determine the safety and efficacy of the combination of fludarabine (FLU), cyclophosphamide (CY) and mitoxantrone (FLU/CY/MITO) in untreated follicular lymphomas (FL), Sixty patients with newly diagnosed stage II bulky to IV FL, median age 59 years (range 36-70), received FLU/CY/MITO regimen (FLU 25 mg/m2 days 1-3, CY 300 mg/m2 days 1-3, Mito 10 mg/m2 day 1). Patients received antibiotic oral prophylaxis during all treatments, and growth factors (G-CSF) when grade III granulocytopenia (WHO) occurred. The overall response rate was 87%: 46 patients achieved complete response (CR) (77%), 6 a partial response (10%) and 8 were non-responders. Fifty patients are surviving with a median observation time of 31 months. The 4-year estimated probability of overall survival and failure-free survival were 78.2% and 45% respectively. Thirty-five patients (58%) are still in CR. Sixty percent of patients experienced grade III-IV granulocytopenia. Two patients suffered grade III pulmonary infection and one grade III liver toxicity. In a subset of 46 patients, bcl-2 translocation was positive in bone marrow (BM) and/or peripheral blood (PB) of 36 patients. At the end of treatment, 25 of these patients had CR and 19 (76%) converted to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negativity. FLU/CY/MITO regimen showed a high level of activity in follicular lymphoma. Toxicity, mainly hematological, was acceptable and the treatment was made feasible by the use of antibiotic prophylaxis and G-CSF. Significant non-hematological toxicities were seen, but no patients died. The conversion of bcl-2 from positive to negative by PCR in BM and/or PB suggests a possible role for this treatment in clearing minimal residual disease and improving patients' outcome.
Effect of vitamin D3 on the antimicrobial activity of human airway surface liquid: preliminary results of a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind trial

Introduction Vitamin D3 supplementation has been reported to prevent lung infections and increase the gene expression of antimicrobial peptides such as cathelicidin. We investigated the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on the antimicrobial activity of airway surface liquid (ASL) in human subjects. Since smoking can increase the risk of respiratory infections, we also investigated the effect of smoking in the cathelicidin response to vitamin D3 in human airway epithelia in vitro. Methods This study is a subanalysis of single-centre community-based randomised placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Participants were randomised to receive 1000 international units per day of oral vitamin D3 or identical placebo for 90 days. Blood and ASL samples were collected preintervention and postintervention. 105 participants were originally enrolled, 86 completed the trial, and due to low protein concentration in the samples, 40 participants were finally analysed. Our primary outcome was ASL antimicrobial activity. We also considered secondary outcomes including changes in serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3), 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D3, calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). In addition, we studied the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure to primary human airway epithelial cell cultures on the gene expression of cathelicidin in response to vitamin D3 and expression of CYP27B1 (1-alpha hydroxylase), responsible for vitamin D3 activation. Results Vitamin D3 supplementation significantly increased both ASL antimicrobial activity and serum concentration of 25(OH)D3. In a subgroup analysis, we found that smokers did not increase their baseline antimicrobial activity in response to vitamin D3. Exposure to CSE on human airway epithelia decreased baseline CYP27B1 gene expression and cathelicidin response to 25(OH)D3. Conclusion Vitamin D3 supplementation for 90 days increases ASL antimicrobial activity. Data from this preliminary study suggest that smoking may alter the ability of airway epithelia to activate vitamin D3 and increase the gene expression of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide. Trial registration number NCT01967628; Post-results.