Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Severity of Histologic Liver Lesions Is Independent of Body Mass Index in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Goals/Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with obesity, but it may also be present in lean individuals. We evaluated the characteristics of NAFLD patients, focusing on those with normal body mass index (BMI). Study: One hundred and sixty-two of 185 consecutive NAFLD patients were included. Demographic, clinical, somatometric, and laboratory characteristics were recorded. BMI<25 kg/m2 was considered to be normal. Results: Of the 162 patients, 12% had normal BMI. Patients with normal compared with those with increased BMI fulfilled more frequently no criterion of metabolic syndrome (43% vs. 2%; P<0.001) and had higher median alanine aminotransferase (92 vs. 62 IU/L; P=0.032) and aspartate aminotransferase levels (45 vs. 37 IU/L; P=0.036). Liver stiffness values by transient elastography were significantly lower in patients with normal than in those with increased BMI (5.0±1.6 vs. 9.5±8.7 kPa; P=0.003). In the 56 patients with liver biopsy, the prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (50% vs. 68.8%; P=0.423) and the severity of inflammation and fibrosis did not significantly differ between cases with normal and those with increased BMI. Conclusions: Approximately 1 of 8 NAFLD patients coming to a Greek tertiary liver center has normal BMI. On liver biopsy, normal BMI patients often have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and histologic liver lesions of similar severity to the overweight or obese patients.
Recovery of Absolute Gas Absorption Line Shapes Using Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy With Wavelength Modulation—Part I: Theoretical Analysis

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy is extremely important for gas detection in a wide variety of industrial, safety and environmental monitoring applications. Of particular interest is the development of calibration-free, stand-alone systems and instrumentation which can operate in high-temperature or high-pressure environments (such as in fuel cells, or gas turbine engines) where continuous and simultaneous monitoring of pressure, temperature and concentration of gases may be required. Here, in Part 1 of this two-part paper, we present the full theoretical basis and range of techniques for calibration-free line-shape recovery to allow simultaneous measurements of concentration and pressure/temperature for a wide range of potential applications. Firstly, on the basis of Fourier analysis, we present the general signal components that arise with both intensity and frequency modulation of diode lasers and identify the issues and difficulties associated with accurate line-shape recovery in conventional wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS). We then show how line-shape recovery may be effectively performed using first harmonic signals and, by use of a general correction function from Fourier coefficients, we extend the techniques previously reported to include arbitrary large modulation indices, different line-shape profiles and high gas concentration with non-linear absorption. Previous approximate techniques based on Taylor series expansions are included as a special case of the Fourier analysis for low modulation indices. We also show that the signal amplitudes obtained in this way can be comparable to, or even exceed, that of conventional WMS by appropriate choice of the modulation index and frequency.
Long‐term expression of the lamin A mutant associated with dilated cardiomyopathy induces senescence

Mutation of the lamin A gene (LMNA) causes a diverse range of diseases referred to as laminopathies. Because most laminopathies have a dominant inheritance pattern and progress gradually, cultured cells stably expressing mutant lamin A at the same level as endogenous wild‐type cells are required for chronological analysis. In this study, we showed that an expression system involving a lentiviral vector that carries the human metallothionein gene basal promoter ensures stable and basal‐level expression of proteins and is thus suitable for investigating the properties of lamin A mutants. The small ubiquitin‐related modifier (SUMO) modification (SUMOylation)‐defective E203G mutant that is associated with familial dilated cardiomyopathy exhibited abnormal subnuclear distribution and inhibited normal localization of WT lamin A in a dominant‐negative manner. Low‐level and long‐term expression of the E203G mutant resulted in multinucleated giant cells, aberrant lipid droplet accumulation in the cytoplasm and premature senescence. Expression of another SUMOylation‐defective mutant (K201R) did not induce any phenotypes observed in cells expressing E203G. These results indicate that the E203G mutant may inhibit the normal functions of wild‐type lamin A in a dominant‐negative manner, but a defect in SUMOylation itself may not be involved in disease pathogenesis.
The Usefulness of Terminal Latency Index of Median Nerve and F-Wave Difference Between Median and Ulnar Nerves in Assessing the Severity of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Summary: The calculated electrophysiological parameters, such as terminal latency index (TLI), residual latency, modified F ratio, and F-wave inversion, have been investigated as a diagnostic tool for detection of early stage of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the literature. However, the correlation of these calculated electrophysiological parameters with the clinical severity of CTS has not been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of the calculated electrophysiological parameters and clinical severity in patients with CTS. A retrospective study was performed with 212 hands of 106 CTS patients. The CTS hands were classified as asymptomatic, mild, moderate, and severe according to the clinical severity. The distal motor latency and distal motor conduction velocity of median nerve, minimal F-wave latency of median and ulnar nerves, and sensory nerve conduction velocity in the finger–wrist and palm–wrist segment of median nerve (SNCV f-w and SNCV p-w) were obtained in a conventional nerve conduction study. The TLI, residual latency, and modified F ratio of the median nerve and the difference of minimal F-wave latencies between the median and ulnar nerves (F-diff M-U) were calculated. The distal motor latency, residual latency, and F-diff M-U were significantly increased according to the clinical severity of CTS. The motor conduction velocity, SNCV p-w, SNCV f-w, TLI, and modified F ratio were significantly decreased according to the clinical severity of CTS. In analyses of variance and Kruskal–Wallis test, we used the Scheffe test as a post-hoc comparison analysis. The TLI, F-diff M-U, and SNCV f-w showed a significant difference among all groups of each CTS severity. The sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off value of TLI, F-diff M-U, and SNCV f-w between asymptomatic and mild, mild and moderate, and moderate and severe CTS groups were calculated by using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The cut-off values of TLI, F-diff M-U, and SNCV f-w between the asymptomatic and mild CTS groups were, respectively, 0.33 millisecond, 0.3 millisecond, and 40 cm/second. The cut-off values of TLI, F-diff M-U, and SNCV f-w between mild and moderate were, respectively, 0.27 millisecond, 2.3 milliseconds, and 34.8 cm/second. The cut-off values of TLI, F-diff M-U, and SNCV f-w between moderate and severe CTS groups were, respectively, 0.20 millisecond, 4.2 milliseconds, and 26.4 cm/second. We found that calculated electrophysiological parameters of conventional nerve conduction study could be a good indicator to determine the severity of CTS.
Game Based Dynamical Bandwidth Allocation Model for Virtual Networks

Running multiple virtual networks is a promising way to support diverse applications over a shared substrate. Despite being simple, a static division of bandwidth between virtual networks can be highly inefficient, while dynamic bandwidth allocation performs much better, but that is difficult to guarantee the stability. Based on the idea of the Stackelberg solution from noncooperative game theory, this paper presents a game theoretic model for dynamic bandwidth allocation between virtual networks, which can be stable and can maximize the revenue of both infrastructure providers who manage the physical infrastructure and service providers who utilize the virtual networks to provide services. In the model, the substrate network as a leader designs a pricing mechanism for bandwidth that attempts to drive the virtual networks to the social optimal solution, each virtual network as a follower chooses a willingness-to-pay to maximize its own profit. We prove that the model admits a unique Stackelberg equilibrium point and the bandwidth allocation between virtual networks is efficient and fair.
A study of serum malondialdehyde and cytokine in tuberculosis patients.

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB) is a common and a deadly infectious disease which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculi. Inflammatory cytokines play an important role during the course of the disease and they may be responsible for tissue damage which is caused by lipid peroxidation. METHOD The present study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry and patients were selected from Department of TB and Chest Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences and also from Manorama Raje Tuberculosis Hospital, Indore. 32 healthy controls and 35 pulmonary TB patients were compared initially for their serum Malondialdehyde (MDA) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) levels. Serum TNF α and MDA levels were correlated. RESULT TNF α and MDA levels in serum were significantly increased (p<0.001) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients as compared to those of controls. Increased Serum TNF α was positively correlated to MDA levels and it was found to be statistically not significant (correlation coefficient r =0.282,p> 0.05 ). CONCLUSION The present study supports the view that there may be a link between lipid peroxidation and cytokine response and relative roles of cytokines and lipid peroxidation in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.
Design and stability analysis of single-input fuzzy logic controller

In existing fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs), input variables are mostly the error and the change-of-error regardless of complexity of controlled plants. Either control input u or the change of control input Deltau is commonly used as its output variable. A rule table is then constructed on a two-dimensional (2-D) space. This scheme naturally inherits from conventional proportional-derivative (PD) or proportional-integral (PI) controller. Observing that 1) rule tables of most FLCs have skew-symmetric property and 2) the absolute magnitude of the control input |u| or |Deltau| is proportional to the distance from its main diagonal line in the normalized input space, we derive a new variable called the signed distance, which is used as a sole fuzzy input variable in our simple FLC called single-input FLC (SFLC). The SFLC has many advantages: The total number of rules is greatly reduced compared to existing FLCs, and hence, generation and tuning of control rules are much easier. The proposed SFLC is proven to be absolutely stable using Popov criterion. Furthermore, the control performance is nearly the same as that of existing FLCs, which is revealed via computer simulations using two nonlinear plants.
Comparison of microwave and light wave communication systems in space applications

The performances of optical and radio frequency communication systems are compared for long distance applications, e.g. deep space communications, where the signal-to-noise ratio is crucial. We compare an optical communication system operating at 0.8 μm using intensity modulation and direct detection with an avalanche photodiode, an optical communication system operating at 1.5 μm using on-off keying and an optical preamplifier, and a radio frequency communication system operating in the X-band. Assuming typical system parameters for the link budget analysis, we find that for distances between the transmitting and receiving antennas (R) of 106 km the signal-to-noise ratios for the optical systems are proportional to R-4, and that for the radio frequency system is proportional to R-2. For distances beyond 107 km, the maximum data rate achievable with the radio frequency system is higher than that with the optical systems. For distances corresponding to low earth orbit links as well as for geostationary earth orbit links, an optical system with optical preamplification is preferable when the data rate is higher than several Gbit/s.
Prospective longitudinal study of children with tic disorders and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationship of symptom exacerbations to newly acquired streptococcal infections.

BACKGROUND It has been proposed that infection by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) can trigger acute symptom exacerbations among patients with Tourette's syndrome (TS) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), via autoimmune mechanisms. OBJECTIVE To examine the temporal relationship between newly acquired GABHS infections (and other immunologic indices) and acute exacerbations of tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. METHODS Pediatric patients (7-17 years of age) with TS and/or OCD (N = 47) and healthy control subjects (N = 19) were prospectively monitored for newly acquired GABHS infections, nonspecific markers of acute inflammatory responses, and D8/17-reactive cells (a marker of rheumatic fever). Objective monthly ratings of tic and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity were used to determine the timing of symptom exacerbations. RESULTS The overall rate of acute exacerbations of neuropsychiatric symptoms was 0.56 exacerbations per patient per year. The average rate of new GABHS infections, using a stringent definition, was 0.42 infections per subject per year among patients, compared with 0.28 infections per subject per year for control subjects. The association between symptom exacerbations and new GABHS infections among patients was no greater than that expected on the basis of chance. At baseline, patients demonstrated significantly higher levels of D8/17-reactive cells and neopterin, compared with control subjects, but there was no consistent pattern of change when exacerbation time points were compared with baseline or follow-up time points. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest no clear relationship between new GABHS infections and symptom exacerbations in an unselected group of patients with TS and/or OCD.
Assessment of Myocardial Postreperfusion Viability by Intravenous Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography: Analysis of the Intensity and Texture of Opacification

BackgroundAlthough defects on intracoronary myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) indicate loss of viability after reperfusion, opacified segments may also exhibit persistent dyssynergy. Therefore, we related the intensity and texture of opacification produced by an intravenous contrast agent to histological findings to determine the characteristics of necrotic tissue by postreperfusion MCE. Methods and ResultsMCE was performed by intravenous injection of 0.15 mL/kg QW7437 in 14 dogs who underwent 3-hour coronary occlusion followed by 3-hour reperfusion. At baseline and 3 hours after reperfusion, midventricular short-axis images were digitized and segmented. Infarction fraction (IF) for each segment was determined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride stain. Of 224 segments, 140 showed no or small infarction and served as a control group. Of 84 segments with significant infarction (IF>30%), 52 exhibited a defect on MCE, and 32 exhibited no defect. Echo texture was quantified by computing entropy based on the co-occurrence matrix analysis of gray-level pairs within each segment. Three hours after reperfusion, average and maximal entropies in the infarct segments without opacification defects were significantly higher than control levels. Histologically, the degree of intracapillary erythrocyte stasis was less in this group than in the infarcted segments with MCE defects with similar magnitude of tissue injuries. ConclusionsOpacification defects by MCE may be present or absent in myocardium with histologically confirmed infarction. The texture of MCE from opacified but infarcted myocardium differed significantly from control segments and may assist in determination of segmental viability after reperfusion.
Antioxidant activity evaluation and HPLC‐photodiode array/MS polyphenols analysis of pomegranate juice from selected italian cultivars: A comparative study

Chemical composition of pomegranate juice can vary due to cultivar, area of cultivation, ripening, climate, and other variables. This study investigates the polyphenolic composition and antioxidant activity of juices obtained from six old Italian pomegranate cultivars. Fruit accessions physicochemical characteristics were determined. Total polyphenols content (TPC), anthocyanin content (TAC) and proanthocyanidin content (TPAC) were measured in the juice samples. Phenolic bioactive molecules were analyzed by HPLC‐photodiode array (PDA)/ESI‐MS in all the pomegranate juices. In total, seven nonanthocyanidinic and six anthocyanidinic compounds were identified. The six anthocyanins were found in all juices although at different amounts. These results were correlated with antioxidant activity measured by three different chemical assays: 2,2 diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) scavenging activity assay, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) method and ferric reducing‐antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Pomegranate juices obtained by six different varieties show variable polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity. The antioxidant capacity methods used have shown variable sensitivity, supporting the hypothesis that different methods for the assessment of antioxidant capacity of food compounds are indeed necessary, due to complexity of sample composition and assay chemical mechanism and sensitivity. Juices from Italian pomegranate show good levels of polyphenols content and antioxidant activity making them potential candidates for employment in the food industry.
A resampling variance estimator for the k nearest neighbours technique

Current estimators of variance for the k nearest neighbours (kNN) technique are designed for estimates of population totals. Their efficiency in small-area estimation problems can be poor. In this study, we propose a modified balanced repeated replication estimator of variance (BRR) of a kNN total that performs well in small-area estimation problems and under both simple random and cluster sampling. The BRR estimate of variance is the sum of variances and covariances of unit-level kNN estimates in the area of interest. In Monte Carlo simulations of simple random and cluster sampling from seven artificial populations with real and simulated forest inventory data, the agreement between averages of BRR estimates of variance and Monte Carlo sampling variances was good both for population and for small-area totals. The modified BRR estimator is currently limited to sample sizes no larger than 1984. An accurate approximation to the proposed BRR estimator allows significant savings in computing time.
Temozolomide during and after Radiotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastomas : A Prospective Multicenter Study of Korean Patients

Objective This study was performed to determine the safety and outcome of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide for Korean patients with a newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Methods Patients were recruited from four institutions between 2004 and 2007. The patients received fractionated focal irradiation in daily fractions of 2 Gy given 5 days per week for 6 weeks and daily temozolomide, followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant temozolomide. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), response, and safety. Results A total of 103 patients were enrolled in this study. Ninety-six patients (93%) completed the CCRT and 54 patients (52%) received 6 cycles of adjuvant temozolomide. The response rate was 73% (53/73) and the tumor control rate was 92% (67/73). Of the 96 patients who completed the CCRT, the median OS was 18.0 months and the 1- and 2-year OS rates were 74 and 38%, respectively. The median PFS was 10.0 months and the 1- and 2-year PFS rates were 33 and 16%, respectively. The only significant prognostic factor of survival was the extent of surgical resection (p<0.05). CCRT resulted in grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxic effects in 8% of patients. No opportunistic infections were noted. Conclusion This study is the first prospective multi-institutional report of CCRT and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide for patients with a newly diagnosed glioblastoma in Korea. The current protocol may prolong the survival of Korean patients with a glioblastoma and may be tolerable in terms of toxicity.
Silencing NUDT21 Attenuates the Mesenchymal Identity of Glioblastoma Cells via the NF-κB Pathway

The proneural (PN) and mesenchymal (MES) subtypes of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are robust and generally consistent with classification schemes. GBMs in the MES subclass are predominantly primary tumors that, compared to PN tumors, exhibit a worse prognosis; thus, understanding the mechanism of MES differentiation may be of great benefit for the treatment of GBM. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling is critically important in GBM, and activation of NF-κB could induce MES transdifferentiation in GBM, which warrants additional research. NUDT21 is a newly discovered tumor-associated gene according to our current research. The exact roles of NUDT21 in cancer incidence have not been elucidated. Here, we report that NUDT21 expression was upregulated in human glioma tissues and that NUDT21 promoted glioma cell proliferation, likely through the NF-κB signaling pathway. Gene set enrichment analysis, western blotting, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed that NF-κB inhibitor zeta (NFKBIZ) was a downstream target affected by NUDT21 and that the MES identity genes in glioblastoma cells, CHI3L1 and FN1, were also differentially regulated. Our results suggest that NUDT21 is an upstream regulator of the NF-κB pathway and a potential molecular target for the MES subtype of GBM.
Impaired Fasting Glucose and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Korean Men and Women

OBJECTIVE The relationship between impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or ischemic heart disease (IHD) varies widely according to sex and ethnicity. We evaluated the relationship between IFG and CVD or IHD among Korean men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 408,022 individuals who underwent voluntary private health examinations in 17 centers in South Korea were followed for 10 years. Data regarding CVD or IHD events were obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance database. IFG was categorized as grade 1 (fasting glucose 100–109 mg/dL) or grade 2 (110–125 mg/dL). RESULTS Incidence rates of CVD (per 100,000 person-years) were 2,203 for diabetes. Age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for CVD were 1.17 (95% CI 1.13–1.20) for grade 1 IFG, 1.30 (1.24–1.35) for grade 2 IFG, and 1.81 (1.75–1.86) for diabetes. The increased risk for women was similar to that of men. Age-adjusted HRs for IHD and ischemic stroke were also significantly increased for men and women with IFG and diabetes. After multivariate adjustment of conventional risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity, and family history of CVD), the overall risk of CVD was greatly attenuated in all categories. However, the HRs for IHD and ischemic stroke remained significantly increased in men for grade 2 IFG but not in women. CONCLUSIONS In Korea, grade 2 IFG is associated with increased risk of IHD and ischemic stroke, independent of other conventional risk factors, in men but not in women.