Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resveratrol Based Oral Nutritional Supplement Produces Long-Term Beneficial Effects on Structure and Visual Function in Human Patients

Background: Longevinex® (L/RV) is a low dose hormetic over-the-counter (OTC) oral resveratrol (RV) based matrix of red wine solids, vitamin D3 and inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) with established bioavailability, safety, and short-term efficacy against the earliest signs of human atherosclerosis, murine cardiac reperfusion injury, clinical retinal neovascularization, and stem cell survival. We previously reported our short-term findings for dry and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. Today we report long term (two to three year) clinical efficacy. Methods: We treated three patients including a patient with an AMD treatment resistant variant (polypoidal retinal vasculature disease). We evaluated two clinical measures of ocular structure (fundus autofluorescent imaging and spectral domain optical coherence extended depth choroidal imaging) and qualitatively appraised changes in macular pigment volume. We further evaluated three clinical measures of visual function (Snellen visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and glare recovery to a cone photo-stress stimulus). Results: We observed broad bilateral improvements in ocular structure and function over a long time period, opposite to what might be expected due to aging and the natural progression of the patient’s pathophysiology. No side effects were observed. Conclusions: These three cases demonstrate that application of epigenetics has long-term efficacy against AMD retinal disease, when the retinal specialist has exhausted other therapeutic modalities.
Large-Scale Privacy-Preserving Mapping of Human Genomic Sequences on Hybrid Clouds

An operation preceding most human DNA analyses is read mapping, which aligns millions of short sequences (called reads) to a reference genome. This step involves an enormous amount of computation (evaluating edit distances for millions upon billions of sequence pairs) and thus needs to be outsourced to low-cost commercial clouds. This asks for scalable techniques to protect sensitive DNA information, a demand that cannot be met by any existing techniques (e.g., homomorphic encryption, secure multiparty computation). In this paper, we report a new step towards secure and scalable read mapping on the hybrid cloud, which includes both the public commercial cloud and the private cloud within an organization. Inspired by the famous “seed-and-extend” method, our approach strategically splits a mapping task: the public cloud seeks exact matches between the keyed hash values of short read substrings (called seeds) and those of reference sequences to roughly position reads on the genome; the private cloud extends the seeds from these positions to find right alignments. Our novel seed-combination technique further moves most workload of this task to the public cloud. The new approach is found to work effectively against known inference attacks, and also easily scale to millions of reads.
Residential Location and Intra City Mobility in an African City: Some Empirical Observations among Migrants in Metropolitan Accra, Ghana

Although many facets of the migration phenomena in sub-Saharan Africa have been studied extensively, there is a paucity of research on residential mobility behavior of migrants. This exploratory study examines the residential mobility in Accra, Ghana, using a retrospective survey of randomly selected migrant households. To examine the direction of moves, Accra was delineated into three major zones: the inner city, former periphery and recent periphery. The results demonstrate that unlike studies elsewhere, the inner zone of Accra does not serve as the major port of entry for migrants. While the former periphery served as the zone of entry for the majority of the migrants in the past, the recent periphery has become the predominant entry point in recent years, and has also become the zone to which most home owners eventually move. This change in the zone of entry over time has been explained through a ‘push-pull’ framework. Also, there is a significant association between ethnicity and area of initial residence. With the exception of the Akans, there is a marked concentration of ethnic groups in certain sectors of the city. For instance, almost two thirds of the Mole-Dagbanis initially settled in the former periphery. Using a multinomial logit model to estimate the direction of residential movement, it was found that although the majority of movements were intra-sectoral, different trajectories were observed for renters and home owners. The policy implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.
Inhibition of Recombinant L-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels by Positive Allosteric Modulators of GABAA Receptors

Benzodiazepines (BDZs) depress neuronal excitability via positive allosteric modulation of inhibitory GABAA receptors (GABAAR). BDZs and other positive GABAAR modulators, including barbiturates, ethanol, and neurosteroids, can also inhibit L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (L-VGCCs), which could contribute to reduced neuronal excitability. Because neuronal L-VGCC function is up-regulated after long-term GABAAR modulator exposure, an interaction with L-VGCCs may also play a role in physical dependence. The current studies assessed the effects of BDZs (diazepam, flurazepam, and desalkylflurazepam), allopregnanolone, pentobarbital, and ethanol on whole-cell Ba2+ currents through recombinant neuronal Cav1.2 and Cav1.3 L-VGCCs expressed with β3 and α2δ-1 in HEK293T cells. Allopregnanolone was the most potent inhibitor (IC50, ∼10 μM), followed by BDZs (IC50, ∼50 μM), pentobarbital (IC50, 0.3–1 mM), and ethanol (IC50, ∼300 mM). Cav1.3 channels were less sensitive to pentobarbital inhibition than Cav1.2 channels, similar to dihydropyridine (DHP) L-VGCC antagonists. All GABAAR modulators induced a negative shift in the steady-state inactivation curve of Cav1.3 channels, but only BDZs and pentobarbital induced a negative shift in Cav1.2 channel inactivation. Mutation of the high-affinity DHP binding site (T1039Y and Q1043M) in Cav1.2 channels reduced pentobarbital potency. Despite the structural similarity between benzothiazepines and BDZs, mutation of an amino acid important for diltiazem potency (I1150A) did not affect diazepam potency. Although L-VGCC inhibition by BDZs occurred at concentrations that are possibly too high to be clinically relevant and is not likely to play a role in the up-regulation of L-VGCCs during long-term treatment, pentobarbital and ethanol inhibited L-VGCCs at clinically relevant concentrations.
Reproductive biology of the herkogamous vine Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc. (Rubiaceae) in the Atlantic Rain Forest, SE Brazil

The family Rubiaceae comprises a wide spectrum of floral mechanisms and two of them seem to be common in certain groups, e.g., distyly in Rubioidae and styllar pollen in Ixoroidae. These mechanisms include herkogamy, which is interpreted as a strategy that avoids self-pollination. This is the first report on the reproductive biology of Chiococca alba, a species that is widely distributed in America. We studied floral biology and the mating system, which were evaluated through fruit set comparisons after controlled crosses (self- and cross-pollinations and test for apomixis), as well as through the evaluation of pollen tube growth resulting from these controlled crosses. Flowers of C. alba are herkogamous, cream, protandrous and lasted for two days. No measurable nectar was found, despite the presence of a nectary-like structure at the base of the corolla tube. Chiococca alba is a preferentially self-incompatible species, but self-pollination and apomixis also contribute to the natural fruit-set. Its reproductive strategy (herkogamy associated with protandry) is different from that expected for members of Chiococceae tribe (i.e., styllar pollen presentation).
Human detection in outdoor video

A novel approach for detection of multiple pedestrians from binocular video sequences is reported. First foreground is segmented using an efficient algorithm [3]. Then Ω shape is used to detect head-shoulder contour. We propose a Simplified Fourier Descriptor to represent transformed 1-D shape in phasor notation. A probabilistic model is introduced to evaluate the distribution of SFD in frequency domain. Clues from motion flow and object depth is used to filter out false detection. The proposed system has been tested on several indoor and outdoor sequences. Preliminary experiments have shown that it can robustly detect multiple pedestrians. Experimental results show that the approach is a suitable for real time pedestrian detection.
Treatment of lateral epicondylitis using skin-derived tenocyte-like cells

Objectives: To culture collagen-producing cells derived from skin fibroblasts and o evaluate prospectively the safety and potential use of this cell preparation for treatment of refractory lateral epicondylitis in a pilot study. Design: Prospective clinical pilot study. Setting: Institution-based clinical research. Patients: A total of 12 patients (5 men and 7 women; mean age 39.1 years) with clinical diagnosis of refractory lateral epicondylitis. Interventions: Laboratory-prepared collagen-producing cells derived from dermal fibroblasts were injected into the sites of intrasubstance tears and fibrillar discontinuity of the common extensor origin under ultrasonography guidance. Main outcome measures: The outcome assessment was performed over 6 months. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) scale was used to assess pain severity and functional disability. Tendon healing response was measured using four criteria on ultrasonography: tendon thickness, hypoechogenicity, intrasubstance tears and neovascularity. Results: Cell cultures rich in collagen-producing cells was successfully prepared. After injection, the median PRTEE score decreased from 78 before the procedure to 47 at 6 weeks, 35 at 3 months and 12 at 6 months after the procedure (p<0.05). The healing response on ultrasonography showed median decrease in: (1) number of tears, from 5 to 2; (2) number of new vessels, from 3 to 1; and (3) tendon thickness, from 4.35 to 4.2 (p<0.05). Of the 12 patients, 11 had a satisfactory outcome, and only one patient proceeded to surgery after failure of treatment at the end of 3 months. Conclusions: Skin-derived tenocyte-like cells can be cultured in the laboratory to yield a rich preparation of collagen-producing cells. Our pilot study suggests that these collagen-producing cells can be injected safely into patients and may have therapeutic value in patients with refractory lateral epicondylitis.
Thermal face recognition over time

We present a comparative study of face recognition performance with visible and thermal infrared imagery, emphasizing the influence of time-lapse between enrollment and testing images. Most previous research in this area, with few exceptions, focused on results obtained when enrollment and testing images were acquired in the same session. We show that the performance difference between visible and thermal recognition in a time-lapse scenario is smaller than previously believed, and in fact is not statistically significant on existing data sets.
A simple synthesis of kaurenoic esters and other derivatives and evaluation of their antifungal activity

Representative esters derived from kaurenoic acid were prepared in order to evaluate their antifungal properties. Alkyl and substituted benzyl esters were obtained in good yield under mild conditions by esterification of kaurenoic acid with the corresponding alkyl halide in KOH-acetone. All synthesized compounds were tested for antifungal properties against pathogenic yeasts, hialohyphomycetes and dermatophytes. Kaurenoic acid and derivatives containing a free carboxyl group were moderately active against dermatophytes.
Mercury Contamination Of Channel And Floodplain Sediments In Wilson Creek Watershed, Southwest Missouri

Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant affecting aquatic environments and human health world wide. Sediments in urban streams can store Hg from historical industrial waste releases in channel and floodplain deposits. Subsequent erosion of these deposits can remobilize sediment-bound Hg impacting downstream receiving waters. This study describes the distribution of Hg in floodplain and channel sediments of Wilson Creek and its tributaries using geochemical sediment analysis and cesium-137 dating. The upper Wilson Creek watershed drains the southern two-thirds of Springfield, Missouri. Results indicate that Hg concentrations in overbank and active channel sediments along the entire stream length are elevated above the mean background level of 20 ppb measured in presettlement overbank deposits. Background Hg levels are possibly associated with organic and iron content in these deposits. Historically-contaminated post-settlement overbank deposits are ~ 1 m thick with sedimentation rates ranging from 0.5 to 1 cm per year. In the upper watershed, these deposits have Hg contamination deep in the overbank profile. Mercury stored in these deposits serves as a nonpoint source to channel sediments as indicated by a contamination trend originating within the historical industrial center. This trend reaches a peak concentration of 1,240 ppb Hg downstream of a closed waste water treatment plant and landfill site. In the lower watershed, historically contaminated sediment combines with recent mercury releases to produce a second trend characteristic of both nonpoint and point source releases. This trend reaches 1,940 ppb Hg downstream of two municipal utility facilities. Surface to stream karst connections complicate source identification in the lower watershed. Even with current reductions in the use and emission of mercury, historically contaminated sediment stored within the Wilson Creek watershed may be a source of Hg to receiving waters for decades to centuries.
Hybrid concatenated codes with asymptotically good distance growth

Turbo Codes and multiple parallel concatenated codes (MPCCs) yield performance very close to the Shannon limit. However, they are not asymptotically good, in the sense of having the minimum distance grow linearly with the length of the code. At the other extreme, multiple serially concatenated codes (MSCCs), for example very simple repeat-accumulate-accumulate codes, have proven to be asymptotically good, but they suffer from a convergence threshold far from capacity. In this paper, we investigate hybrid concatenated coding structures consisting of an outer MPCC with very simple memory-1 component encoders serially concatenated with an inner accumulator. We show that such structures exhibit linear distance growth with block length and that they have better thresholds than MSCCs. The results indicate a fundamental tradeoff between minimum distance growth and convergence threshold in turbo-like codes.
Tuning for Spatiotemporal Frequency and Speed in Directionally Selective Neurons of Macaque Striate Cortex

We recorded the responses of direction-selective simple and complex cells in the primary visual cortex (V1) of anesthetized, paralyzed macaque monkeys. When studied with sine-wave gratings, almost all simple cells in V1 had responses that were separable for spatial and temporal frequency: the preferred temporal frequency did not change and preferred speed decreased as a function of the spatial frequency of the grating. As in previous recordings from the middle temporal visual area (MT), approximately one-quarter of V1 complex cells had separable responses to spatial and temporal frequency, and one-quarter were “speed tuned” in the sense that preferred speed did not change as a function of spatial frequency. Half fell between these two extremes. Reducing the contrast of the gratings caused the population of V1 complex cells to become more separable in their tuning for spatial and temporal frequency. Contrast dependence is explained by the contrast gain of the neurons, which was relatively higher for gratings that were either both of high or both of low temporal and spatial frequency. For stimuli that comprised two spatially superimposed sine-wave gratings, the preferred speeds and tuning bandwidths of V1 neurons could be predicted from the sum of the responses to the component gratings presented alone, unlike neurons in MT that showed nonlinear interactions. We conclude that spatiotemporal modulation of contrast gain creates speed tuning from separable inputs in V1 complex cells. Speed tuning in MT could be primarily inherited from V1, but processing that occurs after V1 and possibly within MT computes selective combinations of speed-tuned signals of special relevance for downstream perceptual and motor mechanisms.
Penem derivatives: beta-lactamase stability and affinity for penicillin-binding proteins in Escherichia coli

Penem derivatives, a new group of beta-lactam antibiotics with potent activities against a wide range of bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were tested for their stability against hydrolysis by beta-lactamases purified from clinical isolates of Morganella morganii. Proteus vulgaris, and Escherichia coli and by a penicillinase from Bacillus cereus. Penems having 6 alpha substituents, such as hydroxyethyl, hydroxymethyl, and ethyl groups, were very stable against hydrolysis by each of the enzymes. Penems having no 6 alpha substituents were easily hydrolyzed by P. vulgaris and E. coli enzymes, whereas they were rather stable against hydrolysis by M. morganii and B. cereus enzymes, a typical cephalosporinase and penicillinase, respectively. Affinity of the penems for E. coli penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) was also tested. beta-Lactamase-stable penems having a 6 alpha-hydroxyethyl group showed high affinity for PBP-4, -5, and -6 as well as for PBP-1A, -1Bs, and -2. However, the penems having no 6 alpha substituents showed a far lower affinity for PBP-4, -5, and -6 than that shown by the corresponding 6 alpha-hydroxyethyl penems. Among the penems tested, affinity for PBP-4, -5, and -6 was closely related to their beta-lactamase stability, as was the case among cephamycins and cephalosporins. Effects of the penems on the morphology of a strain of E. coli are also described.
The Attitudes of Nurses, Dietitians, and Physicians Toward Diabetes

This paper describes the attitudes of physicians, nurses, and dietitians toward diabetes. The study involves 1,608 diabetes attitude surveys that were completed by both diabetes specialists and nonspecialists. The study found that overall the attitudes of diabetes specialists were consistently more positive than those of nonspecialists. Also, the study found that the diabetes- related attitudes ofnurses and dietitians were consistently more positive than the attitudes of physicians. The respondents were most positive in their support of the need for special training to treat diabetes, the team approach to diabetes care, and the relationship between glycemic control and the subsequent development of complications. The support for patient autonomy in the treatment of diabetes and for the seriousness of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) was less strong although still favorable.
The Relationship Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus And Bone Density In Postmenopausal Women

his study was carried out to determine the importance of type 2 Diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 2004 on 40 diabetic and 40 healthy postmenopausal women attending the endocrine clinics in Zanjan. These two groups were matched in terms of age, length of their menopausal period and body mass index. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and estradiol were measured in all cases and bone densities at three sites (Femoral neck, lumbar spine and forearm) were evaluated with dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). All data were analyzed using t-test, analysis of variance, chi-square and multiple regression tests. Results: The frequency of osteoporosis and osteopenia in diabetic women were not significantly different from non-diabetics. The mean bone density in the femoral neck was higher in the diabetic group (0.806±0.13 gr/cm2 vs 0.726 ± 0.15 gr/cm2), (p: 0.002). In the diabetic group there was a negative correlation between bone density and length of menopause in the femoral neck (r:-0.49, p:0.004), lumbar spine (r:-0.58, p: 0.005) and mid radius (r:-0.37, p: 0.03). The relationship between BMI and bone density was significant in the femoral neck (r: 0.55, p: 0.01) in diabetic women. In diabetic women, the higher the HbA1c the lower the bone density in lumbar spine. Conclusion: Although the level of HbA1c as a marker of blood glucose control has a relationship with lumbar spine density in diabetics, diabetes type 2 is not a risk factor for osteoporosis. Hence measures should be taken individually similar to non diabetic patients, for screening, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in diabetes type 2.
Locally Advanced Cancer of the Esophagus, Current Treatment Strategies, and Future Directions

For patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer no clear standard of care exists. Notwithstanding several negative phase III studies the data provide support for so-called trimodality treatment and this is probably the most common approach. Even the role of surgery has been questioned. These alternative approaches are set against a changing epidemiological background whereby adenocarcinoma has become the predominant tumor type, at least in the western world. In recent times an emphasis has been placed on the better selection of patients, predominantly based on data that shows a markedly improved survival in those who exhibit a response to neo-adjuvant therapy. In this article we review the major studies and discuss new approaches to the management of patients with locally advanced cancer of the esophagus.
Economic Outcomes of Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS in South Africa Are Sustained through Three Years on Treatment

Background Although the medical outcomes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS are well described, less is known about how ART affects patients' economic activities and quality of life, especially after the first year on ART. We assessed symptom prevalence, general health, ability to perform normal activities, and employment status among adult antiretroviral therapy patients in South Africa over three full years following ART initiation. Methodology/Principal Findings A cohort of 855 adult pre-ART patients and patients on ART for <6 months was enrolled and interviewed an average of 4.4 times each during routine clinic visits for up to three years after treatment initiation using an instrument designed for the study. The probability of pain in the previous week fell from 74% before ART initiation to 32% after three years on ART, fatigue from 66% to 12%, nausea from 28% to 4%, and skin problems from 55% to 10%. The probability of not feeling well physically yesterday fell from 46% to 23%. Before starting ART, 39% of subjects reported not being able to perform their normal activities sometime during the previous week; after three years, this proportion fell to 10%. Employment rose from 27% to 42% of the cohort. Improvement in all outcomes was sustained over 3 years and for some outcomes increased in the second and third year. Conclusions/Significance Improvements in adult ART patients' symptom prevalence, general health, ability to perform normal activities, and employment status were large and were sustained through the first three years on treatment. These results suggest that some of the positive economic and social externalities anticipated as a result of large-scale treatment provision, such as increases in workforce participation and productivity and the ability of patients to carry on normal lives, may indeed be accruing.