Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of EMMPRIN (CD147) on circulating platelets in vivo

Summary. Background and Objectives: EMMPRIN (CD147) is a matrix metalloproteinase inducer present on leukocytes and recently identified on platelets in vitro. We examined platelet CD147 expression in vivo and in correlation with markers of platelet activation and coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients/Methods: This prospective observational study involved 70 subjects (55 patients with CAD and 15 controls). Platelet CD62P expression, PAC‐1 expression, platelet–leukocyte aggregates and CD147 (both platelet and leukocyte) expression were assessed by flow cytometry, and soluble CD62P expression was assessed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. A full blood count and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein test were performed. Results: CD147 was expressed on 20.45% ± 1.63% (mean ± standard error of the mean) of circulating platelets, whereas CD62P and PAC‐1 were expressed on 0.87% ± 0.12% and 0.90% ± 0.27% of platelets, respectively. Platelet CD147 expression correlated with CD62P expression (r = 0.359, P = 0.002), PAC‐1 expression (r = 0.428, P < 0.001), leukocyte CD147 expression (monocyte, r = 0.416, P = 0.001; granulocyte, r = 0.434, P < 0.001), C‐reactive protein level and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). CAD patients had significantly higher CD147 mean fluorescence intensity than controls on circulating platelets (2.41 ± 0.14 vs. 2.87 ± 0.09, P = 0.014), monocytes (8.57 ± 1.20 vs. 12.3 ± 0.57, P = 0.006) and granulocytes (4.30 ± 0.65 vs. 6.50 ± 0.34, P = 0.005). Age adjustment eliminated the association between platelet CD147 expression and CAD, but the association between leukocyte CD147 expression and CAD persisted. According to multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of platelet CD147 expression were monocyte CD147 expression, NLR and age. Conclusions: Platelet CD147 expression is evident in vivo and correlates moderately with traditional platelet activation markers and leukocyte CD147 expression. Platelet CD147 expression shows a stronger association with age, and leukocyte CD147 expression a stronger association with clinical CAD, suggesting differences in the regulation of platelet and leukocyte CD147 expression in vivo.
A Comparative Study of the Mouth to Caecum Transit Time in Children and Adults Using a Weight Adapted Lactulose Dose

ABSTRACT. Mouth to caecum transit time (M.C.T.T.) was assessed in 41 subjects divided into 3 age groups (0‐1 year, 1‐4 years and 22‐27 years) with the hydrogen breath test (H.B.T.) using lactulose as the hydrogen source (250 mg/kg; minimal dose 1.5 g in a 10% aqueous solution). The M.C. T.T. remained constant from the second month of age. In children under 1 year of age a high percentage of non‐responders was found compared to the older age‐groups. In 8 adults two test‐substrates, pure lactulose (Legendal®, L) and a mixture of lactulose, lactose and galactose (Duphalac®, D) were compared. There was no significant difference in M.C. T.T. , mean hydrogen production and clinical symptoms using D or L as substrate. We conclude that the H.B. T. using a relative dosage is a suitable test for children, but under the age of 1 year it is less useful because of the high percentage of non‐responders. Because of the relation between body height and small bowel length the results suggest an increase in the velocity of the intestinal content with age.
Recombinant DNA sequences generated by PCR amplification.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has greatly enhanced the field of molecular biology by making numerous regions of the genome (coding and noncoding), in both extant and extinct taxa, accessible for detailed analysis. PCR is especially well suited for applications in systematic biology because conserved regions that flank variable portions of the genome can be used as primer sites for the amplification and sequencing of variable regions from a wide variety of species (see Palumbi 1996). In addition, PCR has been used successfully to examine polymorphisms within populations. Although many advantages are offered by PCR, the technique is not error-free. In fact, the replication-like process that drives PCR can lead to erroneously amplified products. For example, recombinant amplification products (Saiki et al. 1988; Scharf 1990) can be produced in vitro when amplifying elements of multi-gene families. Thus, the amplified product may not represent a sequence that actually exists in a single continuous stretch of DNA within any organism. Although this phenomenon was reported shortly after the development of PCR, it appears to be poorly known by many evolutionary biologists who use PCR in studies of gene evolution. Here we show that in vitro recombination also can occur when amplifying alleles of single-gene loci in heterozygous individuals, and that recombination frequency can vary as a function of using different polymerases in the extension step of PCR. In vitro recombination occurs when DNA polymerases incompletely extend a segment of DNA and the partially amplified sequence acts as a primer during subsequent amplification cycles (fig. 1). If the partially amplified segment hybridizes to an alternative form of a template strand, then subsequent PCR products will be recombinants of the two original template sequences. Partial amplification is most likely to occur when polymerases pause or prematurely disassociate from the template strand during the extension reaction, although the recombination may also be enhanced by short extension cycles or long amplifications. Although this phenomenon was initially identified in amplification of multi-gene families (Scharf, Long, and Erlich 1988; Scharf et al. 1988), we identified products of in vitro recombination in pocket gophers (Geomys) that were heterozygous for the alcohol dehydrogenase1 (Adh1) locus (Bradley et al. 1993). This experiment was designed to determine the DNA sequences of three Adh1 alleles (designated K, M, and N) that had been identified from allozyme studies. Initially, we determined the sequences of
Many-to-one communication protocol for wireless sensor networks

This paper proposes a novel communication protocol, called Many-to-One Sensors-to-Sink (MOSS), tailored to Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). It exploits the unique sensors-to-sink traffic pattern to realise low-overhead medium access and low-latency sensors-to-sink routing paths. In conventional schedule-based Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols such as S-MAC, sensor nodes in the proximity of the event generate reports simultaneously, causing unreliable and unpredictable performance during a brief but critical period of time when an event of interest occurs. MOSS is based on Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) that avoids energy waste due to collisions, idle listening and overhearing and avoids unreliable behaviour mentioned above. A small test-bed consisting of 12 TelosB motes as well as extensive simulation study based on ns-2 have shown that MOSS reduces the sensor-to-sink latency by as much as 50.5% while consuming only 12.8-19.2% of energy compared to conventional TDMA algorithms.
Mild Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Promotes Retinal Neovascularization via Induction of BiP/GRP78

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress occurs as a result of accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER and is involved in the mechanisms of various diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration. The goal of the present study was to clarify the relationship between ER stress and pathological neovascularization in the retina. Proliferation and migration of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMEC) were assessed in the presence of ER stress inducers, such as tunicamycin and thapsigargin. The expression of ER chaperone immunoglobulin heavy-chain binding protein (BiP), known as Grp78, was evaluated by real time RT-PCR, immunostaining, and Western blotting. Tunicamycin or thapsigargin was injected into the intravitreal body of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model mice at postnatal day 14 (P14) and retinal neovascularization was quantified at P17. The expression and localization of BiP in the retina was also evaluated in the OIR model. Exposure to tunicamycin and thapsigargin increased the proliferation and migration of HRMEC. Tunicamycin enhanced the expression of BiP in HRMEC at both the mRNA level and at the protein level on the cell surface, and increased the formation of a BiP/T-cadherin immunocomplex. In OIR model mice, retinal neovascularization was accelerated by treatments with ER stress inducers. BiP was particularly observed in the pathological vasculature and retinal microvascular endothelial cells, and the increase of BiP expression was correlated with retinal neovascularization. In conclusion, ER stress may contribute to the formation of abnormal vasculature in the retina via BiP complexation with T-cadherin, which then promotes endothelial cell proliferation and migration.
Temporal Variation and Meteorological Dependence of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Atmospheric PM10 of Jinan, China

s. To explore the PCB pollution characteristics in the airborne particulate matter, seven indicative polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in atmospheric PM10 were determined weekly in Jinan, China. PCB concentrations, profiles, temporal distribution pattern and the correlations between Σ7PCBs and the meteorological conditions were analyzed, aiming to quantify the pollution level of PCBs in urban air. All the samplers were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). The monthly concentrations of Σ7PCBs were 81.4-2335.2 fg/m3. A distinct seasonal variation of PM10-associated PCBs exhibited. Higher concentrations of PCBs in cold weather than warm weather was found. PCB28 and PCB52 were the major components of PM10-associated PCBs in cold weather, while PCB 118 and PCB 180 dominated in warm weather. The fresh emission sources in cold weather, such as the burning of coal for domestic heating, were suggested to be a major influence factor. A significant correlation (p<0.05) was found between the total PCB congeners and atmospheric pressure. Heavy rainfall can also impact PM10-PCBs significantly. The weak correlation coefficient between atmospheric PCBs and wind speed suggested that the inefficient dispersion and no significant pollution sources around.
The Influence of Proton Pump Inhibitors on the Antiplatelet Potency of Clopidogrel Evaluated by 5 Different Platelet Function Tests

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system to a variable degree and may therefore interact with the metabolism of clopidogrel to its active form. The conflicting data on this potential interaction may be due to the use of different PPIs and platelet function tests in recent studies. We therefore evaluated the influence of different PPIs on the antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel by 5 platelet function tests in the same population. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-inducible platelet reactivity was assessed in 230 patients on dual antiplatelet therapy after angioplasty and stenting for cardiovascular disease by the light transmission aggregometry, VerifyNow P2Y12 assay, vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein phosphorylation assay, multiple electrode aggregometry, and Impact-R. ADP-inducible platelet reactivity showed no significant differences between patients without (n = 95, 41.3%) and with PPI therapy (n = 135, 58.7%) in each test system (all P > 0.05). Furthermore, we observed no significant differences of ADP-inducible platelet reactivity between patients without PPIs and patients with pantoprazole (n = 95, 70.4%), esomeprazole (n = 22, 16.3%), omeprazole (n = 9, 6.65%), or lansoprazole (n = 9, 6.65%) (all P > 0.3). High on-treatment residual ADP-inducible platelet reactivity occurred to a similar extent in patients without and with PPI therapy in each assay (all P > 0.05). In conclusion, concomitant treatment with PPIs did not attenuate the antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy irrespective of the type of PPI and the used test system.
Nonmalleable Cryptography

The notion of nonmalleable cryptography, an extension of semantically secure cryptography, is defined. Informally, in the context of encryption the additional requirement is that given the ciphertext it is impossible to generate a different ciphertext so that the respective plaintexts are related. The same concept makes sense in the contexts of string commitment and zero-knowledge proofs of possession of knowledge. Nonmalleable schemes for each of these three problems are presented. The schemes do not assume a trusted center; a user need not know anything about the number or identity of other system users. Our cryptosystem is the first proven to be secure against a strong type of chosen ciphertext attack proposed by Rackoff and Simon, in which the attacker knows the ciphertext she wishes to break and can query the decryption oracle on any ciphertext other than the target.
MEK Inhibitor PD-0325901 Overcomes Resistance to CK2 Inhibitor CX-4945 and Exhibits Anti-Tumor Activity in Head and Neck Cancer

The serine-threonine kinase CK2 exhibits genomic alterations and aberrant overexpression in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Here, we investigated the effects of CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 in human HNSCC cell lines and xenograft models. The IC50's of CX-4945 for 9 UM-SCC cell lines measured by MTT assay ranged from 3.4-11.9 μM. CX-4945 induced cell cycle arrest and cell death measured by DNA flow cytometry, and inhibited prosurvival mediators phospho-AKT and p-S6 in UM-SCC1 and UM-SCC46 cells. CX-4945 decreased NF-κB and Bcl-XL reporter gene activities in both cell lines, but upregulated proapoptotic TP53 and p21 reporter activities, and induced phospho-ERK, AP-1, and IL-8 activity in UM-SCC1 cells. CX-4945 exhibited modest anti-tumor activity in UM-SCC1 xenografts. Tumor immunostaining revealed significant inhibition of PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway and increased apoptosis marker TUNEL, but also induced p-ERK, c-JUN, JUNB, FOSL1 and proliferation (Ki67) markers, as a possible resistance mechanism. To overcome the drug resistance, we tested MEK inhibitor PD-0325901 (PD-901), which inhibited ERK-AP-1 activation alone and in combination with CX-4945. PD-901 alone displayed significant anti-tumor effects in vivo, and the combination of PD-901 and CX-4945 slightly enhanced anti-tumor activity when compared with PD-901 alone. Immunostaining of tumor specimens after treatment revealed inhibition of p-AKT S129 and p-AKT T308 by CX-4945, and inhibition of p-ERK T202/204 and AP-1 family member FOSL-1 by PD-901. Our study reveals a drug resistance mechanism mediated by the MEK-ERK-AP-1 pathway in HNSCC. MEK inhibitor PD-0325901 is active in HNSCC resistant to CX-4945, meriting further clinical investigation.
Thinking disorder in depression.

Abstraction ability was measured in 67 subjects consisting of depressives, schizophrenics, and normals. Depressives and schizophrenics showed a clear abstraction deficit compared with normals. Schizophrenics had more deficit than the depressives. When degree of depression was correlated with abstraction deficit an important overall relationship was observed. This depression-abstraction deficit relationship did not hold consistently within the three groups (depressives, schizophrenics, and normals) making this finding difficult to interpret. The need to further characterize a "cognitive profile" of patients along both diagnostic lines and dimensions such as degree of depression is stressed. This has implications for nosology and differential diagnosis. It may lead to indexes by which drug effects can be monitored.
Acute respiratory tract infection leads to procoagulant changes in human subjects

M. VAN WISSEN ,* T . T . KEL LER , E . C . M. VAN GORP , * V. E . A . GERDES ,* J . C . M. ME I J ERS , G. J . J . V A N D O OR N U M , H. R . B Ü LLER and D . P . M. BR ANDJES* *Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam; Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam; and Department of Virology, Erasmus University Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Interactive graph cuts for optimal boundary & region segmentation of objects in N-D images

In this paper we describe a new technique for general purpose interactive segmentation of N-dimensional images. The user marks certain pixels as "object" or "background" to provide hard constraints for segmentation. Additional soft constraints incorporate both boundary and region information. Graph cuts are used to find the globally optimal segmentation of the N-dimensional image. The obtained solution gives the best balance of boundary and region properties among all segmentations satisfying the constraints. The topology of our segmentation is unrestricted and both "object" and "background" segments may consist of several isolated parts. Some experimental results are presented in the context of photo/video editing and medical image segmentation. We also demonstrate an interesting Gestalt example. A fast implementation of our segmentation method is possible via a new max-flow algorithm.
Prostaglandin D2 regulates joint inflammation and destruction in murine collagen-induced arthritis.

OBJECTIVE Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) may exert proinflammatory or antiinflammatory effects in different biologic systems. Although this prostanoid and the enzymes responsible for its synthesis are up-regulated by interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in human chondrocytes in vitro, the role of PGD2 in arthritis remains unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of PGD2 in the inflammatory response and in joint destruction during the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. METHODS PGD2 and cytokine levels in mice with CIA were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of hematopoietic PGD synthase (h-PGDS), lipocalin-type PGD synthase (l-PGDS), and DP1 and DP2 receptors was analyzed by immunohistochemical methods. PGE2 levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS The arthritic process up-regulated the expression of h-PGDS, l-PGDS, DP1, and DP2 in articular tissue. PGD2 was produced in the joint during the early phase of arthritis, and serum PGD2 levels increased progressively throughout the arthritic process, reaching a maximum during the late stages of CIA. Treatment of arthritic mice with the DP1 antagonist MK0524 soon after the onset of disease increased the incidence and severity of CIA as well as the local levels of IL-1β, CXCL-1, and PGE2, whereas IL-10 levels were reduced. The administration of the DP2 antagonist CAY10595 did not modify the severity of arthritis. The injection of PGD2 into the paw, as well as the administration of the DP1 agonist BW245C, significantly lowered the incidence of CIA, the inflammatory response, and joint damage. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that PGD2 is produced in articular tissue during the development of CIA and plays an antiinflammatory role, acting through the DP1 receptor.
Wideband Impulse Modulation and Receiver Algorithms for Multiuser Power Line Communications

We consider a bit-interleaved coded wideband impulse-modulated system for power line communications. Impulse modulation is combined with direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) to obtain a form of orthogonal modulation and to multiplex the users. We focus on the receiver signal processing algorithms and derive a maximum likelihood frequency-domain detector that takes into account the presence of impulse noise as well as the intercode interference (ICI) and the multiple-access interference (MAI) that are generated by the frequency-selective power line channel. To reduce complexity, we propose several simplified frequency-domain receiver algorithms with different complexity and performance. We address the problem of the practical estimation of the channel frequency response as well as the estimation of the correlation of the ICI-MAI-plus-noise that is needed in the detection metric. To improve the estimators performance, a simple hard feedback from the channel decoder is also used. Simulation results show that the scheme provides robust performance as a result of spreading the symbol energy both in frequency (through the wideband pulse) and in time (through the spreading code and the bit-interleaved convolutional code).
The affective dimension of early-onset psychosis and its relationship with suicide.

BACKGROUND The affective dimension has scarcely been studied in early-onset psychosis. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence and type of affective symptoms in the prodromal and acute phases of early-onset psychosis and to examine their relationship with suicide. We also sought to establish whether the presence of premorbid antecedents or the presence of affective symptoms during the prodromal and acute phase might predict a later diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BP) or schizophrenia (SZ). METHOD Participants were 95 youths, aged 9-17 years, experiencing a first episode of a psychotic disorder (FEP) according to DSM-IV criteria. Prodromal affective symptoms in the year prior to the onset of full-blown psychosis were assessed by means of the K-SADS. Affective symptoms during the acute episode were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Young Mania Rating Scale. Suicidality was assessed during the acute episode and at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS Half of the patients experienced affective symptoms during the prodrome, with depressive symptoms being the most frequently reported. During the acute episode, 23.2% presented depressive, 41.4% mixed and 18.9% manic symptoms. After logistic regression analysis, only the presence of depressive symptoms was significantly associated with suicidality during the 12 months following the FEP. Neither early premorbid antecedents nor the prevalence or type of affective symptoms during the FEP predicted a diagnosis of BP or SZ at 12 months. However, both depressive and manic prodromal symptoms were associated with a later diagnosis of BP. CONCLUSIONS The FEP of both SZ and BP is preceded by an identifiable prodromal phase. Early detection programs should target young people at clinical risk for the extended psychosis phenotype. The high prevalence of affective symptoms during the early phases of psychosis may encourage clinicians to identify and treat them in order to prevent suicide behaviour.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with lower abdominal fat independent of body mass index.

PURPOSE To determine whether, for a given body mass index (BMI), men with high cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) have lower waist circumference (WC) and less total abdominal, abdominal subcutaneous, and visceral adipose tissue (AT) compared with men with low CRF. METHODS Subjects were categorized into HIGH CRF (N = 169) and LOW CRF (N = 124) groups based on age and CRF measured using a maximal treadmill test. Total abdominal, abdominal subcutaneous and visceral AT were measured by computerized tomography. RESULTS For a given BMI, men in the HIGH CRF group had significantly lower WC (P < 0.001), total abdominal (P < 0.001), visceral AT (P < 0.001), and abdominal subcutaneous AT (P < 0.001) compared with men in the LOW CRF group. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the ability of CRF to attenuate the health risks associated with BMI may be partially mediated through a reduction in abdominal AT. Accordingly, our observations reinforce the importance of regular physical activity in the prevention and reduction of obesity-related health risk independent of a corresponding reduction in body weight.