Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ascites from Patients with Encapsulating Peritoneal Sclerosis Augments NIH/3T3 Fibroblast Proliferation

Abstract: Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) remains one of the major causes of dropout in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis by reducing ultrafiltration capacity. To demonstrate whether ascites from patients with EPS (EPS ascites) has fibroblast proliferation activity, we used NIH/3T3 fibroblasts to examine the effects of EPS ascites on fibroblast proliferation activity by the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis ascites dose‐dependently augmented NIH/3T3 fibroblast proliferation. The protein kinase C inhibitors and the tyrosine kinase inhibitors partially inhibited the stimulatory effects of EPS ascites on fibroblast proliferation activity. In EPS ascites, levels of interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐AB were elevated. The treatment with IL‐1β, HGF, TGF‐β1, and PDGF‐AB alone or in combination at similar concentrations to those in EPS ascites exhibited small but significant fibroblast proliferation activities. We conclude that EPS ascites stimulate NIH/3T3 fibroblast proliferation via protein kinase C and tyrosine kinase. The elevated cytokine and growth factors partly contribute to the EPS ascites‐induced fibroblast proliferation.
Bond strength of resin cement to dentin and to surface-treated posts of titanium alloy, glass fiber, and zirconia.

PURPOSE To determine the effect of surface treatments on bond strength of two resin cements (ParaPost Cement and Panavia F) to posts of titanium alloy (ParaPost XH), glass fiber (ParaPost Fiber White), and zirconia (Cerapost), and to dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS After embedding, planar surfaces of posts (n = 9 to 14) and human dentin (n = 10) were obtained by grinding. The posts received one of three surface treatments: 1. roughening (sandblasting, hydrofluoric acid etching), 2. application of primer (Alloy Primer, Metalprimer II, silane), or 3. roughening followed by application of primer (sandblasting or etching followed by primer, Cojet treatment). ParaPost Cement and Panavia F were bonded to the post and dentin specimens, and the bonded specimens were placed in water at 37 degrees C for 7 days. The specimens were debonded in shear. RESULTS Panavia F had significantly higher bond strength to ground ParaPost XH, Cerapost, and dentin than did ParaPost Cement. Most surface treatments resulted in an improved bond strength of resin cements to the posts. Compared to the ground control, Cojet treatment and sandblasting were the most effective treatments. Etching of Cerapost with hydrofluoric acid with and without silane treatment significantly decreased the bond strength of Panavia F to the post. CONCLUSION The bond strength of resin cements to the posts was affected by the material of the post, the surface treatment of the post, and by the type of resin cement. The bond strength of resin cement to dentin was influenced by the type of resin cement.
An evolutionary approach to timing driven FPGA placement

We propose a novel evolutionary approach to the problem of timing-driven FPGA placement. The method used is evolutionary programming (EP) with incremental position encoded in the population. This uses considerably less memory compared to a method with direct position-encoding for members of the population. The algorithm has been implemented in C++, and the results on MCNC benchmark circuits are presented. The results are superior to those obtained using conventional Simulated Annealing (SA) based approach. The results of an EP-SA approach using the proposed evolutionary programming method are also presented.
Solid state

By simple observation of matter, it could be seen that everything enters into solid state on freezing. This information could be used to make strong masses that could be used to build homes and offices. The reason for this paper is to put forward an observation by me. This observation is that everything enters into solid state on freezing. An example of it is water [1].
Loss of Institutional Trust Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Consequence of Procedural Injustice and a Cause of Life-Span Outcomes.

This research tested a social-developmental process model of trust discernment. From sixth to eighth grade, White and African American students were surveyed twice yearly (ages 11-14; Study 1, N = 277). African American students were more aware of racial bias in school disciplinary decisions, and as this awareness grew it predicted a loss of trust in school, leading to a large trust gap in seventh grade. Loss of trust by spring of seventh grade predicted African Americans' subsequent discipline infractions and 4-year college enrollment. Causality was confirmed with a trust-restoring "wise feedback" treatment delivered in spring of seventh grade that improved African Americans' eighth-grade discipline and college outcomes. Correlational findings were replicated with Latino and White students (ages 11-14; Study 2, N = 206).
Study of brain morphology change in Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment compared with normal controls

Background With an aggravated social ageing level, the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is gradually increasing, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be an early form of Alzheimer’s disease. How to distinguish diseases in the early stage for the purposes of early diagnosis and treatment is an important topic. Aims The purpose of our study was to investigate the differences in brain cortical thickness and surface area among elderly patients with AD, elderly patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) and normal controls (NC). Methods 20 AD patients, 21 aMCIs and 25 NC were recruited in the study. FreeSurfer software was used to calculate cortical thickness and surface area among groups. Results The patients with AD had less cortical thickness both in the left and right hemisphere in 17 of the 36 brain regions examined than the patients with aMCI or NC. The patients with AD also had smaller cerebral surface area both in the left and right hemisphere in 3 of the 36 brain regions examined than the patients with aMCI or NC. Compared with the NC, the patients with aMCI only had slight atrophy in the inferior parietal lobe of the left hemisphere, and no significant difference was found. Conclusion AD, as well as aMCI (to a lesser extent), is associated with reduced cortical thickness and surface area in a few brain regions associated with cognitive impairment. These results suggest that cortical thickness and surface area could be used for early detection of AD.
Device-to-Device Communications: A Performance Analysis in the Context of Social Comparison-Based Relaying

Device-to-device (D2D) communications are recognized as a key enabler of future cellular networks, which will help to drive improvements in spectral efficiency and assist with the offload of network traffic. Relay-assisted D2D communications will be essential when there is an extended distance between the source and the destination or when the transmit power is constrained below a certain level. Although a number of works on relay-assisted D2D communications have been presented in the literature, most of those assume that relay nodes cooperate unequivocally. In reality, this cannot be assumed, since there is little incentive to cooperate without a guarantee of future reciprocal behavior. To incorporate the social behavior of D2D nodes, we consider the decision to relay using the donation game based on social comparison, characterize the probability of cooperation in an evolutionary context and then evaluate the network performance of relay-assisted D2D communications. Through numerical evaluations, we investigate the performance gap between the ideal case of 100% cooperation and practical scenarios with a lower cooperation probability. It shows that practical scenarios achieve lower transmission capacity and higher outage probability than idealistic network views, which assume full cooperation. After a sufficient number of generations, however, the cooperation probability follows the natural rules of evolution and the transmission performance of practical scenarios approach that of the full cooperation case, indicating that all D2D relay nodes adapt the same dominant cooperative strategy based on social comparison, without the need for external enforcement.
The Error Propagation Analysis of the Received Signal Strength-Based Simultaneous Localization and Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks

Simultaneous localization and tracking (SLAT) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) involves tracking the mobile target while calibrating the nearby sensor node locations. In practice, localization error propagation (EP) phenomenon will arise, due to the existence of the latest tracking error, target mobility, measurement error, and reference node location errors. In this case, the SLAT performance limits are crucial for the SLAT algorithm design and WSN deployment, and the study of localization EP principle is desirable. In this paper, we focus on the EP issues for the received signal strength-based SLAT scheme, where the measurement accuracy is assumed to be spatial-temporal-domain doubly random due to the target mobility, environment dynamics, and different surroundings at different reference nodes. First, the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB) is derived to unveil both the target tracking EP and the node location calibration EP. In both cases, the EP principles turn out to be in a consistent form of the Ohm’s Law in circuit theory. Second, the asymptotic CRLB analysis is then presented to reveal that both EP principles scale with the inverse of sensor node density. Meanwhile, it is shown that, the tracking and calibration accuracy only depends on the expectation of the measurement precision. Third, the convergence conditions, the convergence properties, and the balance state of the target tracking EP and the location calibration EP are examined to shed light on the EP characteristics of the SLAT scheme Finally, numerical simulations are presented to corroborate the EP analysis.
Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: When Rare Diseases Shed Light on Immune System Functioning

The human immune system depends on the activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), natural killer (NK) cells, and NKT cells in order to fight off a viral infection. Understanding the molecular mechanisms during this process and the role of individual proteins was greatly improved by the study of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL). Since 1999, genetic sequencing is the gold standard to classify patients into different subgroups of FHL. The diagnosis, once based on a clinical constellation of abnormalities, is now strongly supported by the results of a functional flow-cytometry screening, which directs the genetic study. A few additional congenital immune deficiencies can also cause a resembling or even identical clinical picture to FHL. As in many other rare human disorders, the collection and analysis of a relatively large number of cases in registries is crucial to draw a complete picture of the disease. The conduction of prospective therapeutic trials allows investigators to increase the awareness of the disease and to speed up the diagnostic process, but also provides important functional and genetic confirmations. Children with confirmed diagnosis may undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is the only cure known to date. Moreover, detailed characterization of these rare patients helped to understand the function of individual proteins within the exocytic machinery of CTL, NK, and NKT cells. Moreover, identification of these genotypes also provides valuable information on variant phenotypes, other than FHL, associated with biallelic and monoallelic mutations in the FHL-related genes. In this review, we describe how detailed characterization of patients with genetic hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis has resulted in improvement in knowledge regarding contribution of individual proteins to the functional machinery of cytotoxic T- and NK-cells. The review also details how identification of these genotypes has provided valuable information on variant phenotypes.
Magnitude of Malnutrition and Associated Factors Among Pregnancy and Lactating Mother in Meisso Health Center, Meisso Woreda, Oromia Region

Introduction: Malnutrition is one of the major nutritional problems in which the physical function of an individual is impaired to the point which cannot longer maintain adequate body performance process such as growth, physical work and resisting and recovery from the disease. Malnutrition usually stems from low economic situation, poor personal and environmental hygiene and ignorance are contributed to magnitude of high incidence of acute problem of malnutrition. Recent studies found that the center of the problem is the backward socio-economic development of the country which in turn results in one of the lowest standard of living, low level of social service, poor environmental conditions. In this respect it no disheartening to the not that the state of the health service in Ethiopia is low even when compared to the Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Objective: To assess magnitude of malnutrition and associated factors among pregnancy and lactating mother in Mi’esso health center, Mi’esso Woreda, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was employed. The study was conducted from February 1 to May 30, 2017 among pregnancy and lactating in Mi’esso Woreda. A total of 304 sample was selected by systematic random sampling from the list of Clients, with different socio-demographic and the collected data was analyses by using computer with the total budget of 4846.9 Ethiopian birr. Results: The nutritional status of pregnancy and lactating mother based on their weight and height the BMI of the respondents indicates overweight accounts 12.6%, underweight 30.3%, and majority of the pregnancy and lactating mother accounts for 57.2% were normal nutritional level. The weight and height/length of the pregnancy and lactating mother included in the study were between 1.56 m to 1.78 m and weight 53 kg to 84 kg. From multiple logistic regression analysis family income (AOR=2.056, 95%CI=1.051-4.023) and age of women (AOR=2.169 (1.015-4.634)) were significantly associated with the nutritional status of the study participants. Recommendation: Facilitate rural-urban community’s access to information on nutrition like feeding practice sanitation, health and development program during pregnancy and lactation and efforts to expand awareness of women education using selected dietary during pregnancy and lactation.
Straight Versus Modiolar Hugging Electrodes: Does One Perform Better Than the Other?

Objective To determine differences in speech perception outcomes for patients who received a CI422 and a Contour cochlear implant. Study Design Retrospective case review. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients Thirty-two adults who underwent cochlear implantation. Intervention Cochlear implantation using a CI422 or Contour device. Main outcome measure Bamford-Kowal-Bench (BKB) speech perception scores at 3 and 9 months after activation. Results The mean BKB scores at 3 months for the CI422 device were 86.0% in quiet and 55.1% in noise. This compares with 86.0% in quiet and 62.3% in noise for the Contour device. At 9 months, the mean BKB scores were 85.9% in quiet and 67.1% in noise for the CI422 and 90.1% in quiet and 77.6% in noise for the Contour device. There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between speech perception outcomes at 3 or 9 months. Conclusion This study suggests that CI422 and Contour electrode both improve speech perception outcomes postoperatively, and there does not appear to be any significant difference in outcome between the two types of devices.
DNA demethylation of vascular endothelial growth factor‐C is associated with gene expression and its possible involvement of lymphangiogenesis in gastric cancer

Previous studies have indicated that lymphangiogenesis in solid tumors is associated with lymphatic metastasis. Overexpression of Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐C plays a major role in lymphangiogenesis in cancers. In the present study, DNA methylation and expression of the VEGF‐C gene was investigated in gastric cancer (GC). Four GC cell lines (MKN‐45, MKN‐74, HSC‐39 and HSC‐43) showed no expression of VEGF‐C, and the VEGF‐C gene was found to be methylated in these cells. In contrast, 7 GC cell lines (MKN‐1, MKN‐7, MKN‐28, TMK‐1, KATO‐III, SH101‐P4 and HSC‐44PE) expressed VEGF‐C, and the VEGF‐C gene was found to be unmethylated in these cell lines. In addition, expression of VEGF‐C mRNA was retrieved by treatment with a demethylating agent, Aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine. In GC tissue samples, bisulfite DNA sequencing analysis revealed that VEGF‐C was not methylated in 9 (29.0%) of 31 GC samples, whereas demethylation was not observed in corresponding non‐neoplastic mucosa samples. Overexpression of VEGF‐C mRNA was observed in 16 (51.6%) of 31 GC samples by quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. Of the 9 GC cases with VEGF‐C demethylation, 8 (88.9%) overexpressed VEGF‐C. In contrast, of the 22 GC cases without VEGF‐C demethylation, 8 (36.4%) overexpressed VEGF‐C (p = 0.0155). Furthermore, lymphatic vessel density determined by immunostaining of podoplanin in GC tissues was associated with overexpression of VEGF‐C (p < 0.0001). These results suggest that demethylation and activation of the VEGF‐C gene is likely involved in lymphangiogenesis in GC. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reinstatement of Individual Past Events Revealed by the Similarity of Distributed Activation Patterns during Encoding and Retrieval

Neurobiological memory models assume memory traces are stored in neocortex, with pointers in the hippocampus, and are then reactivated during retrieval, yielding the experience of remembering. Whereas most prior neuroimaging studies on reactivation have focused on the reactivation of sets or categories of items, the current study sought to identify cortical patterns pertaining to memory for individual scenes. During encoding, participants viewed pictures of scenes paired with matching labels (e.g., “barn,” “tunnel”), and, during retrieval, they recalled the scenes in response to the labels and rated the quality of their visual memories. Using representational similarity analyses, we interrogated the similarity between activation patterns during encoding and retrieval both at the item level (individual scenes) and the set level (all scenes). The study yielded four main findings. First, in occipitotemporal cortex, memory success increased with encoding-retrieval similarity (ERS) at the item level but not at the set level, indicating the reactivation of individual scenes. Second, in ventrolateral pFC, memory increased with ERS for both item and set levels, indicating the recapitulation of memory processes that benefit encoding and retrieval of all scenes. Third, in retrosplenial/posterior cingulate cortex, ERS was sensitive to individual scene information irrespective of memory success, suggesting automatic activation of scene contexts. Finally, consistent with neurobiological models, hippocampal activity during encoding predicted the subsequent reactivation of individual items. These findings show the promise of studying memory with greater specificity by isolating individual mnemonic representations and determining their relationship to factors like the detail with which past events are remembered.
Delayed Cerebrovascular Autoregulatory Response to Ergometer Exercise in Normotensive Elderly Humans

Background: Relatively little is known about physiological cerebrovascular haemodynamics during physical stress in elderly healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ergometer stress on cerebrovascular haemodynamics in elderly healthy individuals in comparison with young healthy individuals, using non-invasive methods. Methods: Continuous middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (CBFV; transcranial Doppler ultrasound), beat-to-beat blood pressure, heart rate and transcutaneous pCO2 were measured in response to 3 min ergometer exercise stress in 18 elderly healthy subjects (mean age ± SD 66.5 ± 5.8 years) and 18 healthy young subjects (mean age ± SD 29.4 ± 4.7 years). Pulsatility index (PI) was used as a parameter for cerebrovascular resistance. The subjects were in a supine position with an elevated trunk and performed exercise by pedalling on an ergometer, generating 75–100 W. Statistical analysis was carried out using MANOVA, a general linear model with repeated measures. Results: In both groups, blood pressure increased significantly (p < 0.001) with time during exercise, with no significant differences between the groups or regarding interaction (time sequence/group factor). Heart rate increased significantly with time during exercise (p < 0.001) and was significantly more prominent (p = 0.002) and prolonged (p < 0.001) in the young group. pCO2 did not differ with time or between the groups and with regard to interaction. Mean CBFV (MFV) increased significantly during time (p < 0.001). Between the groups, there was no significant difference (p = 0.836), but with regard to interaction (time sequence/group factor), there was a significant delay in MFV increase in the group of young subjects (p = 0.002). The PI, a measure of cerebrovascular resistance, increased significantly with time without significant differences between the groups (p = 0.061), but was significantly delayed in the elderly regarding the interaction time sequence/group factor (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The cerebrovascular changes during ergometer exercise may reflect the combined activation of the cerebrovascular autoregulative mechanisms (predominantly neurogenic and myogenic). In healthy normotensive elderly subjects, cerebral autoregulatory capacity is retained but delayed in response to ergometer stress compared with young healthy subjects. We speculate that these findings may contribute to a higher risk of cerebral hypoperfusion in the elderly.
Testing convergent and parallel adaptations in talpids humeral mechanical performance by means of geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis

The shape and mechanical performance in Talpidae humeri were studied by means of Geometric Morphometrics and Finite Element Analysis, including both extinct and extant taxa. The aim of this study was to test whether the ability to dig, quantified by humerus mechanical performance, was characterized by convergent or parallel adaptations in different clades of complex tunnel digger within Talpidae, that is, Talpinae+Condylura (monophyletic) and some complex tunnel diggers not belonging to this clade. Our results suggest that the pattern underlying Talpidae humerus evolution is evolutionary parallelism. However, this insight changed to true convergence when we tested an alternative phylogeny based on molecular data, with Condylura moved to a more basal phylogenetic position. Shape and performance analyses, as well as specific comparative methods, provided strong evidence that the ability to dig complex tunnels reached a functional optimum in distantly related taxa. This was also confirmed by the lower phenotypic variance in complex tunnel digger taxa, compared to non‐complex tunnel diggers. Evolutionary rates of phenotypic change showed a smooth deceleration in correspondence with the most recent common ancestor of the Talpinae+Condylura clade. J. Morphol. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.