Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Failure of P‐glycoprotein (MDR1) expressed in Xenopus oocytes to produce swelling‐activated chloride channel activity.

1. P‐glycoprotein, the protein product of the multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene, has ATP‐dependent transporter activity. It has been suggested that P‐glycoprotein may also function as a volume‐regulated chloride channel or chloride channel regulator. To assess the chloride channel function of P‐glycoprotein, we examined swelling‐activated chloride conductances in Xenopus oocytes injected with human MDR1 cRNA. 2. Functional expression of P‐glycoprotein in Xenopus oocytes was confirmed using Western blot analysis and by assessing transport of the P‐glycoprotein substrate, calcein AM. 3. Endogenous, swelling‐activated chloride conductances were virtually absent by the time P‐glycoprotein expression was confirmed. Thus, this expression system afforded the advantage of assessing putative MDR1‐associated chloride currents in the absence of background currents. 4. The currents activated by hypotonic shock (50%) in both MDR1‐injected and control (water‐injected) oocytes were not significantly different. The swelling response was due in part to the activation of a potassium‐selective conductance which could be inhibited by barium. No chloride‐selective currents were activated by hypotonic shock in the presence or absence of barium. Therefore, we conclude that P‐glycoprotein expression does not produce a swelling‐activated chloride conductance in the Xenopus oocyte expression system.
A Protocol for Wait-Free, Atomic, Multi-Reader Shared Variables

A wait-free solution to the atomic (r,1kCRWW problem is presented. It uses (r+2)(Sr+2+6)-I safe, multi-reader bits to implement a &bit variable shared among t readers and 1 writer, solving an open question of Lamport [Lamport ‘851. Thus, it closes a gap in the simulation of systems of shared variables for single writers. It differs from other approaches to this problem in that mutual exclusion is maintained between the writer and other processes on the copies of the shared variable used in the implementation.
A Wireless Capsule System With ASIC for Monitoring the Physiological Signals of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract

This paper presents the design of a wireless capsule system for monitoring the physiological signals of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The primary components of the system include a wireless capsule, a portable data recorder, and a workstation. Temperature, pH, and pressure sensors; an RF transceiver; a controlling and processing application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); and batteries were applied in a wireless capsule. Decreasing capsule size, improving sensor precision, and reducing power needs were the primary challenges; these were resolved by employing micro sensors, optimized architecture, and an ASIC design that include power management, clock management, a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), an A/D converter (ADC), and a serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication unit. The ASIC has been fabricated in 0.18- μm CMOS technology with a die area of 5.0 mm × 5.0 mm. The wireless capsule integrating the ASIC controller measures Φ 11 mm × 26 mm. A data recorder and a workstation were developed, and 20 cases of human experiments were conducted in hospitals. Preprocessing in the workstation can significantly improve the quality of the data, and 76 original features were determined by mathematical statistics. Based on the 13 optimal features achieved in the evaluation of the features, the clustering algorithm can identify the patients who lack GI motility with a recognition rate reaching 83.3%.
Autoimmune pancreatitis presenting as simultaneous masses in the pancreatic head and gallbladder.

CONTEXT Autoimmune pancreatitis is a rare variant of chronic pancreatitis characterized by pancreatic ductal narrowing and pancreatic parenchymal edema on computed tomography and rarely with intermittent attacks of abdominal pain. Recently, it has been found to be a systemic disease with lymphoplasmacytic infiltration that has been associated with several autoimmune diseases and described in multiple organs including the extrahepatic bile duct, liver and gallbladder. CASE REPORT We describe the clinical, radiographic and histopathologic aspects of a patient who presented with synchronous masses in the pancreatic head and gallbladder. Postoperatively, the patient's jaundice subsided and IgG4 levels, which were drawn one week postoperatively, were all within normal limits. Nonetheless, immunohistochemical staining for IgG4 was positive. CONCLUSION Autoimmune pancreatitis is the most common benign entity identified in patients that underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for presumed pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Our patient with autoimmune pancreatitis presented with simultaneous inflammatory masses in the gallbladder and pancreatic head, an association not previously reported. Preoperative evaluation of IgG4 or autoantibody levels may have obviated the need for an operation. Therefore, we have begun screening for elevated serum IgG4 concentrations to identify patients with possible autoimmune pancreatitis who present without definitive pathological or radiographic evidence for malignancy. If pre-operative diagnosis is not made, immunohistochemical staining of pathology specimens can confirm the diagnosis.
Correlation Between Aneurysm Size and Hemodynamics in One Individual with Multiple Small Intracranial Aneurysms

Objective A large number of cases are needed in the patient-specific modeling of intracranial aneurysms to establish the statistical significance due to individual variation of risk factors that are difficult to account for. However, these risk factors are critical in hemorrhage risk as demonstrated in large clinical studies. Rupture risks for aneurysms in an individual are easier to compare because these aneurysms are under the same physiological environment, and their only differences are the local hemodynamic factors associated with their anatomic locations. Methods Eight small aneurysms (< 7 mm) from one individual were analyzed using patient-specific hemodynamic modeling. Four scenarios with different perfusion assumptions were performed to account for the flow rate at two smaller communicating arteries. Wall shear stresses (WSS) at these aneurysms were compared to determine their relationship with the aneurysm size. Results Each of the three largest aneurysms is either the most proximal or distal aneurysm in a given artery so that blood pressure does not have a direct influence on aneurysm size. No wall shear stress-derived hemodynamic variables are found to be related to aneurysm size. Discussion A study of multiple aneurysms from one individual offers a unique opportunity to examine various hemodynamic factors without selection biases. Aneurysms greater than 4 mm (Group 1) have a higher product of maximum WSS and area of low WSS; aneurysms smaller than 4 mm (Group 2) have a lower product of maximum WSS and area of low WSS. In addition, aneurysm size is linearly correlated with the flow rate at the parent artery in each group.
A brief review of the pathophysiology, associated pain, and psychosocial issues in sickle cell disease

abstractSickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common genetic disorder of the blood. The disease produces significantly abnormal hemoglobin (Hgb) molecules in red blood cells (RBCs). The sickling of RBCs occurs when partially or totally deoxygenated Hgb molecules distort their normal disk shape, producing stiff, sticky, sickle-shaped cells that obstruct small blood vessels and produce vasoocclusion as well as the disruption of oxygen to body tissues. Because tissue damage can occur at multiple foci, patients with SCD are at risk for other medical complications including, but not limited to, delayed growth and sexual maturation; acute and chronic pulmonary dysfunction; stroke; aseptic necrosis of the hip, shoulders, or both; sickle cell retinopathy; dermal ulcers; and severe chronic pain. The chronicity of the illness combined with frequent hospitalizations for pain and other medical management can contribute significantly to impaired psychosocial functioning, altered intra- and interpersonal relationships, and reduced quality of life. Unlike previous qualitative reviews of SCD, this article describes the relevant clinical and research data on the relation between psychosocial functioning and SCD in adult and child populations. The authors discuss the significant role of psychosocial issues in the trajectory and management of the disease and conclude that understanding the pathophysiology of SCD without thoroughly understanding the equally important psychosocial influences is misunderstanding SCD.
Neurotrophin Receptor TrkB Activation Is Not Required for the Postnatal Survival of Retinal Ganglion Cells in Vivo


During early postnatal development, apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) is regulated by target contact with the optic tectum. The neurotrophins BDNF and NT-4, but not NGF, prevent the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells that is otherwise observed after target ablation or axotomy. Thus receptors activated by BDNF and NT-4 are candidates to mediate the early postnatal survival of RGCs. BDNF and NT-4, but not NGF, bind to all isoforms of the receptor TrkB, whether or not they contain a tyrosine kinase domain. To examine the roles of TrkB receptor isoforms in early postnatal survival, we compared RGC numbers in wild-type mice to those in a mutant lacking all isoforms of TrkB. Surprisingly, no reduction in RGCs was observed in the mutant at postnatal day 16, the latest age at which these animals are consistently viable, so TrkB signaling is not essential for target-dependent survival of these cells. In wild-type mice, RGCs also are lost gradually during adulthood, possibly due to oxidative stress. To determine whether TrkB signaling regulates this phase of RGC degeneration, RGC numbers were examined in a viable mutant of TrkB that expresses only about 25% the normal level of TrkB receptor kinase. Compared to controls, approximately 20% of the RGC were lost in mutant 3-month-old-animals. Thus, TrkB signaling is not required for survival of RGCs during the period of target-dependent survival, but does appear to reduce degeneration of RGCs in adult animals.
Swelling-induced chloride-sensitive current in canine atrial cells revealed by whole-cell patch-clamp method.

An isoproterenol-induced chloride current has been detected in ventricular myocytes from guinea pig and rabbit but has not been found in canine ventricular cells. This investigation was undertaken to determine whether canine atrial cells possessed such a current. Steady-state currents were examined with potassium currents blocked by cesium. In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments, an isoproterenol-induced chloride current could not be detected shortly after patch rupture. However, whole-cell current in the absence of isoproterenol increased over time after patch rupture. The spontaneously activating steady-state current was outwardly rectifying with a reversal potential of approximately -25 mV. The current that developed over time was sensitive to variation in extracellular chloride concentration and was partially blocked by anthracene-9-carboxylic acid. Isoproterenol could enhance the amplitude of this current once it developed. Although isosmotic pipette filling and extracellular solutions were used, cell swelling was found to be the cause of the increase in whole-cell conductance that was observed during whole-cell patch-clamp experiments. The development of the current and the associated cell swelling could be prevented with the addition of 50-75 mM mannitol to the extracellular solution. The current could be observed in perforated patch recordings with nystatin when extracellular osmolarity was low (221 mosm/kg) but not when the extracellular solution was isosmotic (293 mosm/kg). Cardiac chloride currents have the potential to depolarize the resting membrane potential and cause abnormal automaticity. Chloride currents can also decrease the refractory period through a reduction in action potential duration. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The influence of surface versus free-air decoupling on temperature trend patterns in the western United States

[1] We analyzed temperature trends from 460 GHCNv2 weather stations in the western United States for 1948–2006 to determine whether the extent of decoupling of surface temperatures from the free atmosphere influences past change. At each location we derived monthly indices representative of anticyclonicity using NCEP/NCAR 700 hPa reanalysis pressure fields. The number of anticyclonic days minus cyclonic days (A–C) is positively correlated with temperature anomalies at exposed convex sites and in the north of the domain where the free atmosphere controls temperature, anticyclonic months being warmer. In topographic concavities, and in the south of the domain where the influence of upper air ridges and troughs is muted, the relationship is much weaker. We use the gradient of the A–C index–temperature relationship to represent a coupling index, highest at exposed free-air locations. On a mean annual basis there are no strong relationships between temperature trend magnitude, elevation, topographic incision, or coupling index. However, in winter, warming is weaker at decoupled locations, especially when snow cover is present. Where snow is absent in winter, and in fall, the relationship is reversed. Circulation changes (increased cyclonicity) can explain the disparity in warming between decoupled and exposed locations in fall and to a certain extent in winter (increased anticyclonicity), although winter results are also regionally sensitive. Thus, future climate change may be different (amplified or muted dependent on season and/or surface characteristics) in locations prone to surface decoupling, compared with locations exposed to the free atmosphere. Understanding such processes will aid downscaling of future climate change.
Antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from healthy children in day‐care centers: results of a multicenter study in Russia

Background. It has been previously shown that study of susceptibility of nasopharyngeal isolates in healthy carriers can predict resistance in clinical isolates. The purpose of this multicenter study was to determine the carriage rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy children attending day‐care centers in Moscow, Smolensk and Yartsevo, Russia, and in vitro activity of penicillin G, amoxicillin/clavulanate, cefaclor, erythromycin, roxithromycin, clarithromycin and trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole (TMP‐SMX) against representative isolates. Methods. Included in this study were 305 pneumococcal isolates from 733 children attending 9 day‐care centers in Moscow, Smolensk and Yartsevo. All children enrolled in this study were <7 years of age. MICs of selected antimicrobials were determined by Etest. Serotyping of selected pneumococcal isolates was done with pool and type antisera. Results. The carriage rate of S. pneumoniae in the 3 centers varied from 44.9% to 66.0% (mean, 55.9%). Susceptibility testing was performed with 305 (74.4%) of 410 isolates. Only 23 (7.5%) of 305 pneumococcal isolates were penicillin‐intermediate (range, 2.8 to 12.8%) with no penicillin‐resistant strains. All tested pneumococci were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanate. Macrolides possessed comparable activity against S. pneumoniae, at 4.6% resistant strains for both erythromycin (range, 1.1 to 17.1%) and clarithromycin (range, 1.7 to 17.1%). The highest level of resistance was observed with TMP‐SMX, 53.4% (range, 43.8 to 70.9%). Of 23 strains 20 (87.0%) with intermediate resistance to penicillin were serotyped. The most prevalent serotype was 14 (5 isolates), followed by serogroups 19 (4) and 23 (4). Conclusions. Resistance to penicillin, other beta‐lactams and macrolides does not seem to be a problem for Russia now. The high level of resistance to TMP‐SMX considerably restricts its usage for the treatment of pneumococcal infections.
Conservation Investment for Rare Plants in Urban Environments

Budgets for species conservation limit actions. Expending resources in areas of high human density is costly and generally considered less likely to succeed. Yet, coastal California contains both a large fraction of narrowly endemic at-risk plant species as well as the state's three largest metropolitan regions. Hence understanding the capacity to protect species along the highly urbanized coast is a conservation priority. We examine at-risk plant populations along California's coastline from San Diego to north of San Francisco to better understand whether there is a relationship between human population density and: i) performance of at-risk plant populations; and ii) conservation spending. Answering these questions can help focus appropriate strategic conservation investment. Rare plant performance was measured using the annualized growth rate estimate between census periods using the California Natural Diversity Database. Human density was estimated using Census Bureau statistics from the year 2000. We found strong evidence for a lack of a relationship between human population density and plant population performance in California's coastal counties. Analyzing US Endangered Species expenditure reports, we found large differences in expenditures among counties, with plants in San Diego County receiving much higher expenditures than other locations. We found a slight positive relationship between expenditures on behalf of endangered species and human density. Together these data support the argument that conservation efforts by protecting habitats within urban environments are not less likely to be successful than in rural areas. Expenditures on behalf of federally listed endangered and threatened plants do not appear to be related to proximity to human populations. Given the evidence of sufficient performance in urban environments, along with a high potential to leverage public support for nature in urban environments, expenditures in these areas appear to be an appropriate use of conservation funds.
Sparks Will Fly: engineering creative script conflicts

ABSTRACT Scripts are often dismissed as the stuff of good movies and bad politics. They codify cultural experience so rigidly that they remove our freedom of choice and become the very antithesis of creativity. Yet, mental scripts have an important role to play in our understanding of creative behaviour, since a deliberate departure from an established script can produce results that are simultaneously novel and familiar, especially when others stick to the conventional script. Indeed, creative opportunities often arise at the overlapping boundaries of two scripts that antagonistically compete to mentally organise the same situation. This work explores the computational integration of competing scripts to generate creative friction in short texts that are surprising but meaningful. Our exploration considers conventional macro-scripts – ordered sequences of actions – and the less obvious micro-scripts that operate at even the lowest levels of language. For the former, we generate plots that squeeze two scripts into a single mini-narrative; for the latter, we generate ironic descriptions that use conflicting scripts to highlight the speaker's pragmatic insincerity. We show experimentally that verbal irony requires both kinds of scripts – macro and micro – to work together to reliably generate creative sparks from a speaker's subversive intent.
Sensorless Battery Internal Temperature Estimation Using a Kalman Filter With Impedance Measurement

This study presents a method of estimating battery- cell core and surface temperature using a thermal model coupled with electrical impedance measurement, rather than using direct surface temperature measurements. This is advantageous over previous methods of estimating temperature from impedance, which only estimate the average internal temperature. The performance of the method is demonstrated experimentally on a 2.3-Ah lithium-ion iron phosphate cell fitted with surface and core thermocouples for validation. An extended Kalman filter (EKF), consisting of a reduced-order thermal model coupled with current, voltage, and impedance measurements, is shown to accurately predict core and surface temperatures for a current excitation profile based on a vehicle drive cycle. A dual-extended Kalman filter (DEKF) based on the same thermal model and impedance measurement input is capable of estimating the convection coefficient at the cell surface when the latter is unknown. The performance of the DEKF using impedance as the measurement input is comparable to an equivalent dual Kalman filter (DKF) using a conventional surface temperature sensor as measurement input.
Multidrug resistance-associated biomarkers PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP as prognostic factors in primary ovarian carcinoma

Abstract This study aims to investigate the expression of P-glycoprotein (PGP), glutathione S-transferase π (GST-π), DNA topoisomerase II (Topo-II) and lung resistance-related protein (LRP) in ovarian carcinoma, thus providing better chemotherapy choice and post-operative prognosis for ovarian carcinoma patients. A total of 80 primary ovarian carcinoma, 16 benign ovarian epithelial neoplasm, and 12 normal ovarian tissue samples were collected. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP, and the results were analysed by correlation with clinicopathological parameters. Positive expression rates of PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP in patients with ovarian carcinoma (57.5%, 58.8%, 76.3% and 73.8%, respectively) were all higher than those found in normal and benign tissue (P<0.05). In clinical stages I/II vs. III/IV, the expression rates of PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP were 40.7% vs. 66% (P<0.05), 40.7% vs. 67.9% (P<0.05), 66.7% vs. 81.1% (P>0.05) and 55.6% vs. 83.0% (P<0.05), respectively. Carcinoma differentiation ranged from well to poor, and expression levels of each marker were as follows: PGP, 57.9%, 62.1% and 53.1% (P>0.05); GST-π, 36.8%, 55.2% and 75.0% (P<0.05); Topo-II, 52.6%, 79.3% and 87.5% (P<0.05); and LRP, 84.2%, 69.0% and 71.9% (P>0.05). Ovarian carcinoma patients with PGP-, GST-π-, Topo-II- and LRP-positive expression had a shorter median survival time than those who were negative for these markers (PGP: 36 months vs. 48 months [P=0.0017]; GST-π: 36 months vs. 41 months [P=0.0103]; Topo-II: 37 months vs. 39 months [P=0.3811]; LRP: 37 months vs. 55 months [P=0.002]). COX regression analysis demonstrated that the clinical stage of the tumour, and the expression of PGP, GST-π or LRP, may influence patient survival time after surgery. The relative death risk for patients with clinical stage III/IV tumours increased 9.46-fold compared to those with stage I/II tumours. The relative death risk in the PGP-, GST-π- and LRP-positive groups increased by 2.049-, 2.452- or 2.609-fold, respectively, compared with the corresponding negative groups. PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP are all expressed in primary ovarian carcinoma, indicating the presence of multidrug resistance in this disease. Combined evaluation of PGP, GST-π, Topo-II and LRP expression may enable better chemotherapeutic choice and provide an accurate prognosis for ovarian carcinoma patients.