Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Restore Fertility in Induced Azoospermic Rats Following Chemotherapy Administration

3 Abstract: Impairment of spermatogenesis has been confirmed before treatment in patients with various malignancies. Also, testicular germinal epithelial damage resulting in azoospermia is a well-known consequence of certain chemotherapeutic agents. The chance of recovery of spermatogenesis following cytotoxic insult and also the extent and speed of recovery, are related to the agent used and the dose received. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which are able to self-renew to maintain the stem cell population and activate the resident testicular stem cells, producing large numbers of differentiating cells of the spermatogenic line, eventually leading to mature spermatozoa that will transmit the genome to the next generation. This study was designed to assess the ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to restore fertility in induced azoospermic rats following Busulfan administration. Forty male rats were divided randomly into four groups (10 rats each). Group1, representing control rats received phosphate buffer saline, group 2 including azoospermia induced rats by Busulfan, group 3 including azoospermic rats that undergo transplantation MSCs into the right testis after induction of azoospermia and group 4 for bone marrow MSCs donation. Testicular size androgen hormonal profile and histological assessment of testicular tissues were evaluated pre- and post- mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. Results revealed that MSCs after 12 weeks of transplantation to induced azoospermic rats; are able to testicular size androgen hormonal profile levels and resuming spermatogenesis as verified by histological assessment of testicular tissues as compared to control groups and evaluated pre- and post- mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. In conclusion, MSCs have potentials for trans-differentiation into germ cells and sperms in vivo in testicular microenvironment. also, it able to restore testicular functions as well as increase testicular size.
Pulmonary Paracoccidioidomycosis: Clinical, Immunological and Histopathological Aspects

The systemic endemic mycoses are a group of microbial pathologies affecting primarily the lower respiratory tract, often overlooked in the evaluation of community-acquired pneumonia. They form a heterogeneous group caused by dimorphic fungi that share similar characteristics. All of them have the respiratory tract as the portal of entry and from the lungs they may disseminate to the mucous membranes, the skin, and many other organs. Nonetheless, each fungal disease has specific characteristics concerning its clinical course, diagnosis, and management. Interestingly, specific geographical areas of the world have been associated with acquisition of these mycoses. The diagnosis may be difficult and delayed owing to the varied manifestations and the multitude of differential diagnoses (Bonifaz et al., 2011; Hsu et al., 2010). The major endemic systemic mycoses include histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, blastomycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), and penicilliosis. All of them can cause disease in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts, in particular, AIDS and organ transplantation patients, and more recently recipients of biological therapies, such as TNF inhibitors or antagonists. These mycoses have similar clinical and radiologic presentations but require different treatments. Furthermore, when they have spread to the lymph nodes or skin, they may mimic other pathologies such as leishmaniasis, lymphoma, and syphilis, among others (Bonifaz et al., 2011).
A revisited analysis of the Exit-Voice-Loyalty- Neglect model: contributions of a longitudinal and conceptually extended approach

The purpose of this article is twofold: to evaluate and enrich the latest theoretical developments of the EVLN model and to identify resources mobilized by respondents who use its different options. The results of a longitudinal survey involving 38 temporary workers over the age of 45 confirms the relevance of distinctions between actual and planned exits, passive and active voices, passive and active loyalties and the conceptual extension of cynicism. Two new options emerge: imagined exit and brutal neglect. The dynamic study of how these options evolve (from the beginning of the relationship with an employer until the employee has settled in) brings to light several key trajectories that show the prominent development of destructive options (cynicism, neglect and exit) to the detriment of constructive options (voice and loyalty). A number of variables and mobilized resources (past satisfaction, few alternative job opportunities, professional ambitions, severe financial constraints) help us to understand the diversity of this global dynamic of destruction in an employee-employer relationship.
The Effect of Vigil Length on Stress and Cognitive Fatigue

Finding effective ways to mitigate the effects of cognitive fatigue is important especially for high risk occupations. Previous work may have been affected by ceiling effects as it did not attempt to induce stress and fatigue prior to treatment. Therefore, establishing a method to induce stress and cognitive fatigue quickly and effectively in laboratory settings would be useful. Vigilance tasks are a validated method to induce perceived stress and task performance errors, but can be lengthy. We compared an abbreviated vigilance task at two vigil lengths (15-minute & 30-minute) against a 15-minute quiet break as a control, while measuring per-ceived stress, mood, anxiety, and objective performance on a cognitive task before and after each condition. Our results showed the vigilance tasks can induce stress and cognitive fatigue and show promise as a pre-study measure to reduce ceiling effects in stress and fatigue restoration studies.
How does completing a dissertation transform undergraduate students’ understandings of disciplinary knowledge?

Dissertations are positioned as the capstone of an undergraduate degree, bringing together what students have previously learned from their programmes through a piece of independent research. However, there is limited research into the ways in which engaging in a dissertation has an impact on students’ understandings of disciplinary knowledge. In this article, we explore the relations between students’ accounts of sociological knowledge in their second and third years and how they engage with sociological knowledge in their dissertations. We argue that for the work of the dissertation to have an impact on students’ understanding of sociological knowledge, students need to see their discipline as providing a way of answering their research questions. We explore the implications of this argument for both our understanding of the role of dissertations and research-based learning in universities more generally.
Genetic Heritability of Ischemic Stroke and the Contribution of Previously Reported Candidate Gene and Genomewide Associations

Background and Purpose— The contribution of genetics to stroke risk, and whether this differs for different stroke subtypes, remains uncertain. Genomewide complex trait analysis allows heritability to be assessed from genomewide association study (GWAS) data. Previous candidate gene studies have identified many associations with stoke but whether these are important requires replication in large independent data sets. GWAS data sets provide a powerful resource to perform replication studies. Methods— We applied genomewide complex trait analysis to a GWAS data set of 3752 ischemic strokes and 5972 controls and determined heritability for all ischemic stroke and the most common subtypes: large-vessel disease, small-vessel disease, and cardioembolic stroke. By systematic review we identified previous candidate gene and GWAS associations with stroke and previous GWAS associations with related cardiovascular phenotypes (myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and carotid intima-media thickness). Fifty associations were identified. Results— For all ischemic stroke, heritability was 37.9%. Heritability varied markedly by stroke subtype being 40.3% for large-vessel disease and 32.6% for cardioembolic but lower for small-vessel disease (16.1%). No previously reported candidate gene was significant after rigorous correction for multiple testing. In contrast, 3 loci from related cardiovascular GWAS studies were significant: PHACTR1 in large-vessel disease (P=2.63e−6), PITX2 in cardioembolic stroke (P=4.78e−8), and ZFHX3 in cardioembolic stroke (P=5.50e−7). Conclusions— There is substantial heritability for ischemic stroke, but this varies for different stroke subtypes. Previous candidate gene associations contribute little to this heritability, but GWAS studies in related cardiovascular phenotypes are identifying robust associations. The heritability data, and data from GWAS, suggest detecting additional associations will depend on careful stroke subtyping.
On the performance of ad hoc networks with multiuser detection, rate control and hybrid ARQ

In this paper, we present a novel analytical framework for the study of a multiple access scheme for an ad hoc code division multiple access (CDMA) network with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) error control and matched filter linear successive interference cancellation receivers. Unlike most prior work on Multi-User Detection (MUD), we directly address networking issues. In particular, we develop an approach based on renewal and semi-Markov processes, that accurately accounts for the statistical dependencies between interference, coding rate, and performance in a multiple access system. We show that our approximate approach can accurately predict throughput and failure rate values, and present results for a specific system, providing useful insight on issues related to the use of HARQ error control and MUD receivers in CDMA ad hoc networks.
Cognitive Performance at Late Adolescence and the Risk for Impaired Fasting Glucose Among Young Adults.

CONTEXT Although dysglycemia is a risk factor for cognitive decline, it is unknown whether cognitive performance among young and apparently healthy adults affect the risk for impaired fasting glucose (IFG). OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the relationship between cognitive function and the risk for IFG among young adults. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a retrospective cohort study utilizing data collected at pre-military recruitment assessments with information collected at the screening center of Israeli Army Medical Corps. PARTICIPANTS Normoglycemic adults (n = 17 348) (free of IFG and diabetes; mean age 31.0 ± 5.6 y; 87% men) of the Metabolic Lifestyle and Nutrition Assessment in Young Adults (MELANY) cohort with data regarding their General Intelligence Score (GIS), a comprehensive measure of cognitive function, at age 17 y. INTERVENTIONS Fasting plasma glucose was assessed every 3-5 y at scheduled visits. Cox proportional hazards models were applied. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES The main outcome of the study was incident IFG (≥ 100 mg/dL and <126 mg/dL) at scheduled visits. RESULTS During a median followup of 6.6 y, 1478 cases of IFG were recorded (1402 men). After adjustment for age and sex, participants in the lowest GIS category had a 1.9-fold greater risk for incident IFG compared with those in the highest GIS category. In multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, family history of diabetes, country of origin, socioeconomic status, education, physical activity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, breakfast consumption, triglyceride level, white blood cell count, the risk for IFG was nearly doubled in the lowest GIS category compared with the highest GIS category (hazard ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-2.3; P < .001). These results persisted when GIS was treated as a continuous variable and when the model was adjusted also for body mass index at the end of followup. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that lower cognitive function at late adolescence is independently associated with an elevated risk IFG in both men and women.
Branes in AdS and pp-wave spacetimes

We find half supersymmetric AdS-embeddings in AdS_5 x S^5 corresponding to all quarter BPS orthogonal intersections of D3-branes with Dp-branes. A particular case is the Karch-Randall embedding AdS_4 x S^2. We explicitly prove that these embeddings are supersymmetric by showing that the kappa symmetry projections are compatible with half of the target space Killing spinors and argue that all these cases lead to AdS/dCFT dualities involving a CFT with a defect. We also find an asymptotically AdS_4 x S^2 embedding that corresponds to a holographic RG-flow on the defect. We then consider the pp-wave limit of the supersymmetric AdS-embeddings and show how it leads to half supersymmetric D-brane embeddings in the pp-wave background. We systematically analyze D-brane embeddings in the pp-wave background along with their supersymmetry. We construct all supersymmetric D-branes wrapped along the light-cone using operators in the dual gauge theory: the open string states are constructed using defect fields. We also find supersymmetric D1 (monopoles) and D3 (giant gravitons) branes that wrap only one of the light-cone directions. These correspond to non-perturbative states in the dual gauge theory.
Understanding RFID counting protocols

Counting the number of RFID tags, or RFID counting, is needed by a wide array of important wireless applications. Motivated by its paramount practical importance, researchers have developed an impressive arsenal of techniques to improve the performance of RFID counting (i.e., to reduce the time needed to do the counting). This paper aims to gain deeper and fundamental insights in this subject to facilitate future research on this topic. As our central thesis, we find out that the overlooked key design aspect for RFID counting protocols to achieve near-optimal performance is a conceptual separation of a protocol into two phases. The first phase uses small overhead to obtain a rough estimate, and the second phase uses the rough estimate to further achieve an accuracy target. Our thesis also indicates that other performance-enhancing techniques or ideas proposed in the literature are only of secondary importance. Guided by our central thesis, we manage to design near-optimal protocols that are more efficient than existing ones and simultaneously simpler than most of them.
The effects of age, education, and ethnicity on verbal fluency

A group of 317 healthy participants between 54 and 99 years of age performed a verbal fluency task. The participants included Chinese, Hispanic, and Vietnamese immigrants, as well as White and African American English speakers. They were given 1 min to name as many animals as possible in their native language. The results showed that more animal names were produced by younger people and those with more education. Language background was also an important factor: The Vietnamese produced the most animal names and the Spanish speakers produced the fewest. The exaggerated difference between these two groups is attributed to the fact that Vietnamese animal names are short (predominantly 1 syllable) while the Spanish animal names are longer than any other language in this study (2 and 3 syllables per word). Finally, although the ethnic groups named different animals, and appeared to vary in the variety of animal names they used, these factors did not affect overall verbal fluency performance. (JINS, 1998, 4, 531–538.)
Diastolic Echocardiographic Parameters in Predicting Outcome of Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Aims: Due to frequent relapses after initial ablation, there is need to develop accurate and practical preoperative means to predict atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation outcome. Methods: We evaluated the power of diastolic echocardiographic parameters in predicting the outcome of AF ablation. Forty-nine patients with symptomatic and drug-resistant paroxysmal or persistent AF, who underwent wide circumferential pulmonary vein isolation, were included in the study. Clinical and echocardiographic (e.g., left atrial size, left ventricular size and ejection fraction and several diastolic parameters) data were collected prospectively. Results: After single ablation procedure, 18 patients (37%) were free of AF without antiarrhythmic medication (group 1), whereas 31patients had symptomatic or asymptomatic AF relapses or needed antiarrhythmic medication (group 2) during the 12 months follow-up period. There was no difference in age (52±8 vs 54± 8years), body mass index (26 ± 4 vs 28 ± 4), comorbidity and procedural factors between the groups, but history of cardioversion was more common in group 2 (73% vs 39%, P = 0.032). In multivariate analysis, elevated ratio of early diastolic mitral flow velocity and mitral annular early diastolic velocity (E/e' ratio) was the most powerful predictor of AF recurrence (OR 1.911; 95% CI 1.046-3.493, P=0.035). Conclusions: In our study, diastolic dysfunction measured by E/e' ratio was an independent predictor of AF recurrence after ablation. As a non-invasive and readily available measurement, the E/eratio may help to identify the patients in risk for treatment failure and to refine treatment strategy.
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Mild Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aims: To compare neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies(DLB). Methods: Neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver distress were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) in mild DLB (n = 57) and AD (n = 126), and compared across the two groups using non-parametric tests. Results: The DLB patients had a higher NPI totalscore (median 24 vs. 11.5, p < 0.005), more numerous symptoms (median 5 vs. 4, p = 0.001) and more clinically significant symptoms (3 vs. 1, p = 0.001). They also had higher item hallucinations (6 vs. 2, p < 0.005) and apathy (7 vs. 5, p = 0.002) subscores. Caregivers scored higher on the NPI total caregiver distress scale (12.5 vs. 6, p = 0.003). Conclusions: In mild dementia, DLB patients have more neuropsychiatric symptoms and more associated caregiver distress compared with AD.
Mutations in the Arabidopsis Gene IMMUTANS Cause a Variegated Phenotype by Inactivating a Chloroplast Terminal Oxidase Associated with Phytoene Desaturation

The immutans (im) mutant of Arabidopsis shows a variegated phenotype comprising albino and green somatic sectors. We have cloned the IM gene by transposon tagging and show that even stable null alleles give rise to a variegated phenotype. The gene product has amino acid similarity to the mitochondrial alternative oxidase. We show that the IM protein is synthesized as a precursor polypeptide that is imported into chloroplasts and inserted into the thylakoid membrane. The albino sectors of im plants contain reduced levels of carotenoids and increased levels of the carotenoid precursor phytoene. The data presented here are consistent with a role for the IM protein as a cofactor for carotenoid desaturation. The suggested terminal oxidase function of IM appears to be essential to prevent photooxidative damage during early steps of chloroplast formation. We propose a model in which IM function is linked to phytoene desaturation and, possibly, to the respiratory activity of the chloroplast.
On Granular Knowledge Structures

Knowledge plays a central role in human and artificial intelligence. One of the key characteristics of knowledge is its structured organization. Knowledge can be and should be presented in multiple levels and multiple views to meet people’s needs in different levels of granularities and from different perspectives. In this paper, we stand on the view point of granular computing and provide our understanding on multi-level and multi-view of knowledge through granular knowledge structures (GKS). Representation of granular knowledge structures, operations for building granular knowledge structures and how to use them are investigated. As an illustration, we provide some examples through results from an analysis of proceeding papers. Results show that granular knowledge structures could help users get better understanding of the knowledge source from set theoretical, logical and visual point of views. One may consider using them to meet specific needs or solve certain kinds of problems.
Usefulness of Flow Cytometric Analysis for Detecting Leptomeningeal Diseases in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background The clinical usefulness of flow cytometry (FCM) for the diagnosis of leptomeningeal diseases (LMD) in non-Hodgkin lymphomas has been suggested in previous studies but needs to be further validated. With this regards, we evaluated the use of FCM for LMD in a series of Korean patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods FCM and cytomorphology were conducted using samples obtained from clinically suspected LMD patients, follow-up LMD patients, and those with high risk of developing tumorigenic diseases. We then compared results of FCM and cytomorphology. In total, 55 and 47 CSF samples were analyzed by FCM and cytomorphology, respectively. Results Of the samples analyzed, 25.5% (14/55) and 12.8% (6/47) were positive by FCM and cytomorphology, respectively. No samples were determined as negative by FCM but positive by cytomorphology. Seven patients were positive only by FCM and negative by cytomorphology, and six among them were clinically confirmed to have LMD either by follow-up cytomorphology or imaging study. Conclusions We observed a high detection rate of tumor cells by FCM compared with cytomorphology. FCM study can be useful in early sensitive detection of LMD.
Detection and characterization of a 3' untranslated region ribonucleoprotein complex associated with human alpha-globin mRNA stability

The highly stable nature of globin mRNA is of central importance to erythroid cell differentiation. We have previously identified cytidine-rich (C-rich) segments in the human alpha-globin mRNA 3' untranslated region (alpha-3'UTR) which are critical in the maintenance of mRNA stability in transfected erythroid cells. In the present studies, we have detected trans-acting factors which interact with these cis elements to mediate this stabilizing function. A sequence-specific ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex is assembled after incubation of the alpha-3'UTR with a variety of cytosolic extracts. This so-called alpha-complex is sequence specific and is not formed on the 3'UTR of either beta-globin or growth hormone mRNAs. Furthermore, base substitutions within the C-rich stretches which destabilize alpha-globin mRNA in vivo result in a parallel disruption of the alpha-complex in vitro. Competition studies with a series of homoribopolymers reveals a striking sensitivity of alpha-complex formation to poly(C), suggesting the presence of a poly(C)-binding activity within the alpha-complex. Three predominant proteins are isolated by alpha-3'UTR affinity chromatography. One of these binds directly to poly(C). This cytosolic poly(C)-binding protein is distinct from previously described nuclear poly(C)-binding heterogeneous nuclear RNPs and is necessary but not sufficient for alpha-complex formation. These data suggest that a messenger RNP complex formed by interaction of defined segments within the alpha-3'UTR with a limited number of cytosolic proteins, including a potentially novel poly(C)-binding protein, is of functional importance in establishing high-level stability of alpha-globin mRNA.