Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Asthma

Primary and Secondary Prevention Strategies mothers in order to reduce the number of premature deliveries and eliminate other causes of low birth weights. 5) Strategies to prevent viral infection in infants and Asthma prevention strategies are implemented at two different levels. The first is preventing the development small children are generally considered beneficial. However, some studies have shown a correlation between deof asthma (primary prevention). The second is preventing asthma exacerbation (attacks) in patients who have alcreased infections (both viral and bacterial) in this age group and increases in atopic disease such as asthma ready developed asthma [1, 2]. In addition to these differences, some adult patients first developed asthma as [4–6]. 6) There is a possibility that treatment with antiallergy children, while in others the disease first appeared in adulthood. Numerous questions remain unresolved in agents may prevent the development of asthma in some cases. these areas; further research is needed to establish differences in etiologic factors between childhood and adultThe above points may be adopted in the future as important measures for the primary prevention of onset asthma [3]. asthma. However, conclusions with regard to primary prevention of adult-onset asthma must wait on the results from future research. Primary Prevention Strategies Related to Asthma Development
Ontogeny of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Its Receptor In the Lung: Effects on Perinatal Surfactant Release

During the transition at birth to air breathing, regulation of surfactant release from alveolar type II (ATII) cells is critical. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) stimulates natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A) and increases intracellular cGMP. We examined the changes in ANP and NPR-A in respiratory epithelium during the perinatal period using immunohistochemistry and studied the effect of ANP on surfactant release from ATII cells isolated from fetal and newborn lambs. NPR-A mRNA was detected in the fetal lung by Northern Blot and RT-PCR. At 100 d gestation (term 145 d), ANP staining was absent and NPR-A staining was weak in cuboidal epithelial cells. ANP and NPR-A staining was prominent in ATII cells at 136 d gestation and was undetectable postnatally. ANP stimulated (maximal effect at 10−10M) surfactant release from both late gestation fetal and neonatal ATII cells. Protein kinase G inhibition significantly blocked this release. We conclude that ANP stimulates surfactant release in isolated perinatal ATII cells by a cGMP-dependent mechanism. ANP and NPR-A expression in ATII cells is greatest in late gestation and declines sharply postnatally. We speculate that increased activity of the ANP/NPR-A pathway in late gestation may prime the surfactant system, preparing the lung for air breathing.
Proteinuria-Associated Endothelial Dysfunction Is Strain Dependent

Background: Proteinuria-associated endothelial dysfunction (ED) is assumed to play a main role in the cardiovascular morbidity in proteinuric patients. However, the connection between proteinuria and systemic endothelial function is not clear yet. Therefore, we studied aortic endothelial function in Munich Wistar Frömter (MWF) and fawn-hooded hypertensive (FHH) inbred rat strains with genetic proteinuria to determine the specific impact of proteinuria on the development of ED. Methods: Proteinuria, cardiac function, systemic blood pressure, plasma lipid profiles, aortic endothelial function, plasma levels of cyclo-oxygenase products and dimethylarginines were investigated in 26-week-old inbred rat strains with (MWF and FHH) and without [Lewis (LEW) rats] proteinuric renal disease. Results: The endothelium-dependent relaxation was significantly reduced in MWF (p < 0.05 vs. LEW or FHH). The plasma thromboxane B2, prostaglandin F2α and prostaglandin E2 levels were higher in MWF (p < 0.05 vs. LEW or FHH), whereas the 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α level was comparable in all groups. The arginine/asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio was highest in MWF. Conclusions: This study differentiates common risk factors for ED in renal disease. Despite clear-cut proteinuria, FHH rats were devoid of changes in aortic endothelial function, indicating that some other deleterious factors must accompany proteinuria in order for ED to ensue. Further exploration of this model may serve to dissect mechanistical pathways and guide the development of protective strategies in the vascular damage of renal disease.
Is stenting required before retrograde intrarenal surgery with access sheath

Background: Flexible ureterorenoscopies continue to assume an increasing role in the armamentarium of the endourologist. In many centers around the world, prior stenting is carried out before retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) to passively dilate the ureter, which facilitates passage of a flexible ureteroscope with or without an access sheath. In our series, the first stage of passive dilatation with prior stenting was totally avoided without compromising the success of the procedure. Materials and Methods: From January 2004 to December 2007, 54 patients with 55 renal units underwent RIRS. The patients were between 28 and 65 years old. All patients had renal stones ranging in size from 8 mm to 22 mm. The mean serum creatinine level was 1.1 mg%. The lower ureter was dilated under ‘C - arm’ fluoroscopy guidance up to 14 FR. An access sheath of 10/12 Fr was passed over the working guide wire. RIRS (7.5/9.3 Fr) was introduced into the access sheath. The stones were fragmented using a holmium laser. The mean operating time was 85 mins (45-130 mins). Results: In 52 out of 55 renal units (94.5%), a flexible ureteroscope could be passed successfully into the kidney through an access sheath. In 3 of the cases (5.4%), the lower ureter could not be dilated. In these patients, the procedure was staged after passing a 6/26 JJ stent. An X-ray KUB was done at the 3-month follow-up visit. A total of 50 renal units (94.3%) were stone free at the 3-month follow-up visit. Conclusion: In a majority of the cases, RIRS could be accomplished successfully during the first sitting. Single stage RIRS did not alter the subsequent stone clearance or increase the incidence of morbidity or complications.
The Italian Register of Cardiovascular Diseases: Attack Rates and Case Fatality for Cerebrovascular Events

Background: The Italian register of cardiovascular diseases is a surveillance system of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events in the general population aged 35–74 years. It was launched in Italy at the end of the 1990s with the aim of estimating periodically the occurrence and case fatality rate of coronary and cerebrovascular events in the different geographical areas of the country. This paper presents data for cerebrovascular events. Methods: Currentevents were assessed through record linkage between two sources of information: death certificates and hospital discharge diagnosis records. Events were identified through the ICD codes and duration. To calculate the number of estimated events, current events were multiplied by the positive predictive value of each specific mortality or discharge code derived from the validation of a sample of suspected events. Attack rates were calculated by dividing estimatedevents by resident population, and case fatality rate at 28 days was determined from the ratio of estimated fatal to total events. Results: Attack rates were found to be higher in men than in women: mean age-standardized attack rate was 21.9/10,000 in men and 12.5/10,000 in women; age-standardized 28-day case fatality rate was higher in women (17.1%) than in men (14.5%). Significant geographical differences were found in attack rates of both men and women. Case fatality was significantly heterogeneous in both men and women. Conclusions: Differences still exist in the geographical distribution of attack and case fatality rates of cerebrovascular events, regardless of the north-south gradient. These data show the feasibility of implementing a population-based register using a validated routine database, necessary for monitoring cardiovascular diseases.
Becoming a Professional

As known, to finish this book, you may not need to get it at once in a day. Doing the activities along the day may make you feel so bored. If you try to force reading, you may prefer to do other entertaining activities. But, one of concepts we want you to have this book is that it will not make you feel bored. Feeling bored when reading will be only unless you don't like the book. becoming a professional really offers what everybody wants.
Changes in Bacterial Growth Rate Govern Expression of the Borrelia burgdorferi OspC and Erp Infection-Associated Surface Proteins

ABSTRACT The Lyme disease spirochete controls production of its OspC and Erp outer surface proteins, repressing protein synthesis during colonization of vector ticks but increasing expression when those ticks feed on vertebrate hosts. Early studies found that the synthesis of OspC and Erps can be stimulated in culture by shifting the temperature from 23°C to 34°C, leading to a hypothesis that Borrelia burgdorferi senses environmental temperature to determine its location in the tick-mammal infectious cycle. However, borreliae cultured at 34°C divide several times faster than do those cultured at 23°C. We developed methods that disassociate bacterial growth rate and temperature, allowing a separate evaluation of each factor's impacts on B. burgdorferi gene and protein expression. Altogether, the data support a new paradigm that B. burgdorferi actually responds to changes in its own replication rate, not temperature per se, as the impetus to increase the expression of the OspC and Erp infection-associated proteins.
Smoking and the incidence of asthma during adolescence: results of a large cohort study in Germany

Background: The association between smoking and asthma or wheeze has been extensively studied in cross sectional studies, but evidence from large prospective cohort studies on the incidence of asthma during adolescence is scarce. Methods: We report data from a cohort study in two German cities, Dresden and Munich. The study population (n = 2936) was first studied in 1995/6 at age 9–11 years as part of phase II of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC II) and followed up in 2002/3. At baseline the parents completed a questionnaire and children underwent clinical examination and blood sampling. At follow up the young adults completed questionnaires on respiratory health, living, and exposure conditions. Incidence risk ratios (IRR) were calculated and adjusted for potential confounders using a modified Poisson regression approach. Results: The adjusted IRR for incident wheeze for active smokers compared with non-smokers was 2.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.88 to 2.82). The adjusted IRR was slightly higher for incident wheeze without a cold (2.76, 95% CI 1.99 to 3.84) and the incidence of diagnosed asthma (2.56, 95% CI 1.55 to 4.21). Analysis of duration and intensity of active smoking indicated dose dependent associations. Stratified analyses showed that the risk of incident wheeze without a cold in atopic smokers increased with decreasing plasma α1-antitrypsin levels at baseline (1.64, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.20 per interquartile range). Conclusions: Active smoking is an important risk factor for the incidence of asthma during adolescence. Relatively lower plasma levels of α1-antitrypsin, although well above currently accepted thresholds, may increase susceptibility to respiratory disease among atopic smokers.
Small cell variant of malignant melanoma masquerading as lymphoma on fine‐needle aspiration cytology: A case report

The morphologic and immunohistochemical diversity of malignant melanoma is well known to pathologists but despite this widespread awareness the diagnosis remains a constant challenge, particularly when a noncutaneous or metastatic tumor is evaluated by fine‐needle aspiration cytology. We present a case of the small cell variant of malignant melanoma mimicking lymphoma in a 78‐year‐old previously healthy male who presented with multiple pulmonary masses and a right‐sided pleural effusion. This particular case was also immunoreactive for the hematopoietic marker CD43, a feature not previously reported in malignant melanoma. Cytologic, histologic, and immunohistochemical features of this case are presented and discussed. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vitreous Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Concentrations in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy versus Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy

Purpose: To assess vitreous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in comparison to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Patients and Methods: Vitreous samples were collected from 69 eyes of 69 patients with traumatic lens dislocation (n = 10), grade B PVR with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 13), grade C PVR with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 14), PDR with vitreous hemorrhage (n = 18), and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment (n = 14). Vitreous fluid samples were obtained at vitrectomy, and the levels of VEGF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean vitreous level of VEGF was 15.14 ± 5.22 pg/ml in eyes with grade B PVR, 99.15 ± 38.58 pg/ml in eyes with grade C PVR, 4,534.01 ± 1,193.28 pg/ml in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage secondary to PDR, 5,157.29 ± 969.44 pg/ml in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment secondary to PDR, and 16.19 ± 5.76 pg/ml in eyes of the control group with traumatic lens dislocation. Vitreous VEGF concentrations were significantly higher in the patients with grade C PVR, PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment in comparison to the control patients (p < 0.05). A significant alteration was not observed in patients with grade B PVR (p = 0.55). Conclusions: Vitreous VEGF concentrations are increased in PDR and grade C PVR. The high VEGF concentrations could suggest a possible effect of VEGF on advanced PVR.
Finite-momentum exciton landscape in mono- and bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides

Monolayers and bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are currently being intensively scrutinized not least due to their rich opto-electronic properties which are governed by strongly bound excitons. Until now the main focus has been on excitons with zero momentum. In this study we employ ab initio many-body perturbation theory within the GW/BSE approximation to describe the entire Q-resolved exciton band structure for mono- and bilayers of the MX2 (M = Mo, W and X = Se, S) TMDCs. We find that the strong excitonic effects, i.e. strong electron–hole interactions, are present throughout the entire Q-space. While the exciton binding energies of the lowest excitons do not vary significantly with Q, we find a strong variation in their coupling strength. In particular, the latter are strongly peaked for excitons at Q = 0 and . For MoX2 monolayers the K excitons constitutes the exciton ground state, while in WX2 monolayers direct transitions at K are lowest in energy. Our calculations further show that the exciton landscape is highly sensitive to strain and interlayer hybridization. For all four bilayers the exciton ground state is shifted to or K transitions closely following the trends of the single-particle band structures.
Elevated expression of periostin in human osteoarthritic cartilage and its potential role in matrix degradation via matrix metalloproteinase‐13

We investigated the role of periostin, an extracellular matrix protein, in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA). In OA, dysregulated gene expression and phenotypic changes in articular chondrocytes culminate in progressive loss of cartilage from the joint surface. The molecular mechanisms underlying this process are poorly understood. We examined periostin expression by immunohistochemical analysis of lesional and nonlesional cartilage from human and rodent OA knee cartilage. In addition, we used small interfering (si) RNA and adenovirus transduction of chondrocytes to knock down and up‐regulate periostin levels, respectively, and analyzed its effect on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐13, a disintegrin and MMP with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS)‐4, and type II collagen expression. We found high periostin levels in human and rodent OA cartilage. Periostin increased MMP‐13 expression dose [1‐10 μg/ml (EC50 0.5‐1 μg/ml)] and time (24‐72 h) dependently, significantly enhanced expression of ADAMTS4 mRNA, and promoted cartilage degeneration through collagen and proteoglycan degradation. Periostin induction of MMP‐13 expression was inhibited by CCT031374 hydrobromide, an inhibitor of the canonical Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway. In addition, siRNA‐mediated knockdown of endogenous periostin blocked constitutive MMP‐13 expression. These findings implicate periostin as a catabolic protein that promotes cartilage degeneration in OA by up‐regulating MMP‐13 through canonical Wnt signaling. —Attur, M. , Yang, Q. , Shimada, K. , Tachida, Y. , Nagase, H. , Mignatti, P., Statman, L. , Palmer, G. , Kirsch, T. , Beier, F. , Abramson, A. B. Elevated expression of periostin in human osteoarthritic cartilage and its potential role in matrix degradation via matrix metalloproteinase‐13. FASEB J. 29, 4107‐4121 (2015). www.fasebj. org
Serum osteocalcin in 1634 healthy children.

Osteocalcin or bone Gla protein (BGP) is a vitamin K-dependent, low-molecular-mass (5800 Da), 49 amino acid peptide synthesized by osteoblasts (1)(2). Osteocalcin contains three residues of γ-carboxyglutamate, which provide the point of interaction between the BGP and hydroxyapatite in the extracellular bone matrix. The 19–20 and 43–44 residues provide sites for the tryptic hydrolysis; the resulting peptides may be the products of liver, kidney, and plasmatic breakdown of the molecule. The physiological role of these fragments is unknown. Osteocalcin is an important marker of bone turnover in physiological and pathological conditions (3). Physiologically, serum osteocalcin was increased in children, particularly during the first year of life and during puberty, when the evolution of the concentration was related to the rapidity of physical growth. The significant correlation between BGP and testosterone and serum insulin-like growth factor 1 is consistent with …
Beaconing from connected vehicles: IEEE 802.11p vs. LTE-V2V

In a near future, vehicles will be equipped with wireless communications technologies to periodically broadcast information to their neighbors on their position and speed. The messages carrying such information, normally denoted as beacons, will reduce the probability of accidents and improve the safety of drivers and passengers. The main candidate technologies for this scope today are IEEE 802.11p and LTE-Advanced with device-to-device communications (LTE-D2D), which is now evolving into vehicle-to-vehicle communications features (LTE-V2V). The aim of this paper is thus to compare the performance in terms of scalability of these two technologies when used for beacon transmission. The comparison is made analytically, through the definition of common scenario and metrics.
Data compression using encrypted text

Abstract only given. Presents an algorithm for text compression that exploits the properties of the words in a dictionary to produce an encryption of given text. The basic idea is to define a unique encryption or signature of each word in the dictionary by replacing certain characters in the words by a special character "*" and retain a few characters so that the word is still retrievable. The question is whether we can develop a better signature of the text before compression so that the compressed signature uses less storage than the original compressed text. This indeed is possible as our experimental results confirm. For any cryptic text the most frequently used character is "*" and the standard compression algorithms can effectively exploit this redundancy in an effective way. Our algorithm produces the best lossless compression rate reported to date in the literature. One basic assumption of our algorithm is that the system has access to a dictionary of words used in all the texts along with a corresponding "cryptic" dictionary. The cost of this dictionary is amortized over the compression savings for all the text files handled by the organization. If two organizations wish to exchange information using our compression algorithm, they must share a common dictionary. We used ten text files from the English text domain to test our algorithm.
Activation of Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein by the Caspase Drice in Drosophila Larvae*

During larval development in Drosophila melanogaster, transcriptional activation of target genes by sterol regulatory element-binding protein (dSREBP) is essential for survival. In all cases studied to date, activation of SREBPs requires sequential proteolysis of the membrane-bound precursor by site-1 protease (S1P) and site-2 protease (S2P). Cleavage by S2P, within the first membrane-spanning helix of SREBP, releases the transcription factor. In contrast to flies lacking dSREBP, flies lacking dS2P are viable. The Drosophila effector caspase Drice cleaves dSREBP, and cleavage requires an Asp residue at position 386, in the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane stalk. The initiator caspase Dronc does not cleave dSREBP, but animals lacking dS2P require both drice and dronc to complete development. They do not require Dcp1, although this effector caspase also can cleave dSREBP in vitro. Cleavage of dSREBP by Drice releases the amino-terminal transcription factor domain of dSREBP to travel to the nucleus where it mediates the increased transcription of target genes needed for lipid synthesis and uptake. Drice-dependent activation of dSREBP explains why flies lacking dS2P are viable, and flies lacking dSREBP itself are not.
Severely disfiguring multiple familial trichoepitheliomas with basal cell carcinoma.

349 Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology | July-August 2014 | Vol 80 | Issue 4 and breakdown of skin overlyinging a contiguous tubercular focus in a person with low immunity and tuberculosis verrucosa cutis, an exogenous and paucibacillary form occurring after accidental superinfection or autoinoculation or post‐traumatic inoculation with infected sputum occurring in a person with good immunity. [1]
Optimal forwarder list selection in opportunistic routing

Unlike traditional wireless routing protocols which use a single fixed path, opportunistic routing explicitly takes advantage of the broadcast nature of wireless communications by using a set of forwarders to opportunistically perform packet forwarding. A key issue in the design of opportunistic routing protocols is the forwarder list selection problem. In this paper we establish a general theory for analyzing the forwarder list selection problem, and develop an optimal solution, the minimum transmission selection (MTS) algorithm, which minimizes the expected number of transmissions and it can be incorporated into existing opportunistic routing protocols to select optimal forwarder lists. Our theory and algorithm can also be generalized to optimize other routing objectives such as minimizing the expected transmission time or energy consumption in opportunistic routing. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that in more than 90% cases the MTS algorithm outperforms the ETX forwarder selection scheme used in existing opportunistic routing protocols such as ExOR and MORE.