Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemoprevention of Breast Cancer by Mimicking the Protective Effect of Early First Birth

Abstract : We have successfully shown that in the rat estradiol, estradiol plus progesterone, and beta-HCG is protective against carcinogen-induced mammary tumorigenesis. Progesterone alone was not protective. Also, treatment with perphenazine was partially protective. We have continued to collect normal breast tissue from women undergoing elective reduction mammoplasty. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor have been characterized as well as cell proliferation have been characterized in these samples. Two chemoprevention protocols have been developed and are set to begin recruitment in the near future. The first will evaluate the role of high dose progestins on cell proliferation and gene expression profiles in the breast. The second protocol will evaluate the role of various oral contraceptive progestin doses on cell proliferation and gene expression profiles in the breast.
Macular Capillary Blood Flow in Patients with Diffuse Diabetic Macular Edema without Vitreomacular Traction

Background: To evaluate macular microcirculation in patients with unilateral diffuse diabetic macular edema (DME) in order to determine whether the alteration in macular microcirculation is associated with development of diffuse DME without vitreomacular traction. Methods: According to the presence of epiretinal membrane (ERM), 27 patients having unilateral diffuse DME were divided into DME without ERM (non-ERM-DME group, n = 12) and with ERM (ERM-DME group, n = 15). Twelve patients with macular edema associated with unilateral branch vein obstruction (BVO) and 10 nondiabetic healthy subjects were enrolled as controls. Macular blood flow measured by Heidelberg retinal flowmeter was compared between the edematous eye and the nonedematous fellow eye of each patient and between groups. The macular thickness was evaluated with optical coherence tomography. Results: The mean macular blood flow was significantly higher than that of the contralateral eyes in edematous eyes of non-ERM-DME group (798.8 vs. 379.8 AU, p < 0.001). By contrast, in the ERM-DME group, the mean macular blood flow of DME eyes was similar to that of fellow eyes (575.9 vs. 596.4 AU, p = 0.538). The macular capillary blood flow in patients with BVO was not significantly different compared with nondiabetic controls (p = 0.967). Conclusions: The results suggest that the alteration of macular microcirculation may play a role in the pathogenesis of diffuse DME without vitreomacular traction.
Randomized comparison of ABVD and MOPP/ABV hybrid for the treatment of advanced Hodgkin's disease: report of an intergroup trial.

PURPOSE In a series of trials, doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) and mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone, doxorubicin, bleomycin, and vinblastine (MOPP/ABV) have been identified as effective treatments for Hodgkin's disease. We compared these regimens as initial chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS Adult patients (N = 856) with advanced Hodgkin's disease were randomly assigned to treatment with ABVD or MOPP/ABV. The major end points were failure-free and overall survival, life-threatening acute toxicities, and serious long-term toxicities, including cardiomyopathy, pulmonary toxicity, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and secondary malignancies. RESULTS The rates of complete remission (76% v 80%, P =.16), failure-free survival at 5 years (63% v 66%, P =.42), and overall survival at 5 years (82% v 81%, P =.82) were similar for ABVD and MOPP/ABV, respectively. Clinically significant acute pulmonary and hematologic toxicity were more common with MOPP/ABV (P =.060 and.001, respectively). There was no difference in cardiac toxicity. There were 24 deaths attributed to initial treatment: nine with ABVD and 15 with MOPP/ABV (P =.057). There have been 18 second malignancies associated with ABVD and 28 associated with MOPP/ABV (P =.13). Thirteen patients have developed MDS or acute leukemia: 11 were initially treated with MOPP/ABV, and two were initially treated with ABVD but subsequently received MOPP-containing regimens and radiotherapy before developing leukemia (P =.011). CONCLUSION ABVD and the MOPP/ABV hybrid are effective therapies for Hodgkin's disease. MOPP/ABV is associated with a greater incidence of acute toxicity, MDS, and leukemia. ABVD should be considered the standard regimen for treatment of advanced Hodgkin's disease.
A portable device for the clinical assessment of upper limb motion and muscle synergies

We present a device for recording and analyzing upper limb movements and muscle activities in a single unit. The device's outputs are related to aspects of clinical assessment such as joint coordination, fatigue and muscle synergies. A comparison with an optoelectronic motion capture system was also carried out during a hand to mouth and a hand to contralateral shoulder task. High correlation was found for the elbow angles, while analysis of the root mean square errors indicated that the angular outputs of the device were overestimated compared to the angles calculated using the optoelectronic system. Biceps and triceps co-contraction patterns were also observed during the hand to mouth task. Applications to the clinical assessment and monitoring of neurological disorders are discussed.
Measuring Elderly People's Food Access in Urban Food Environments: The Potential Benefits of Urban Agriculture

Abstract. This study aims to examine food access among urban residents in Japan– especially elderly residents – and to explore the potential benefits of urban agriculturein alleviating problems that relate to shopping for fresh food. In Japan,which has a high population density, urban agriculture has a locational advantage:many produce stands owned by individual farmers and farmers’ marketsare located close to urban residents, and it is convenient to visit these outlets topurchase fresh and healthy food at affordable prices. This study assesses howmany people face insufficient access to fresh, healthful food, and how many peoplecould benefit from local agricultural outlets. To that end, this study employsgeographic information system tools to calculate, in detail, the number of peoplein food desert areas or in areas where people could otherwise benefit from localagricultural outlets. According to this study’s results, in two study areas, approximately60% of those aged 65 years or more reside far from food stores for dailyshopping. This analysis sheds light on the difficulties that many face in shopping.Improving access to fresh food through the use of local agricultural outlets is oneof the advantages of urban agriculture. In identifying the impact of improvingfood access via urban agriculture, this study quantitatively verified, using a realworldcase, that it is possible to pinpoint the beneficial effects of urban agricultureagainst social disparities. This study’s findings vis-a-vis the effects of agri-oaseson food security among urban elderly people point to urban agriculture’s contributionto environments with insufficient food supplies.
Using the ITIL Process Reference Model for Realizing IT Governance: An Empirical Investigation

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a popular framework for IT governance, but little academic research on ITIL exists. The authors investigate the overlap between ITIL and IT governance practices to illustrate ITIL's potential to stimulate IT governance. A field study shows that IT implementation success is particularly influenced by group efficacy and organizational resources, and, to a lesser extent, senior-management involvement. Findings show that ITIL, as expected, is a framework that contributes to IT governance by stimulating process management practices.
Analysis of Core Region from Egg White Lysozyme Forming Amyloid Fibrils

Some of the lysozyme mutants in humans cause systemic amyloidosis. Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) has been well studied as a model protein of amyloid fibrils formation. We previously identified an amyloid core region consisting of nine amino acids (designated as the K peptide), which is present at 54-62 in HEWL. The K peptide, with tryptophan at its C- terminus, has the ability of self-aggregation. In the present work we focused on its structural properties in relation to the formation of fibrils. The K peptide alone formed definite fibrils having β-sheet structures by incubation of 7 days under acidic conditions at 37°C. A substantial number of fibrils were generated under this pH condition and incubation period. Deletion and substitution of tryptophan in the K peptide resulted in no formation of fibrils. Tryptophan 62 in lysozyme was suggested to be especially crucial to forming amyloid fibrils. We also show that amyloid fibrils formation of the K peptide requires not only tryptophan 62 but also a certain length containing hydrophobic amino acids. A core region is involved in the significant formation of amyloid fibrils of lysozyme.
Elevated hepatic 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 induces insulin resistance in uremia

Significance Prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has reached epidemic proportions in the Western world in recent decades. Abnormally elevated blood insulin and impaired insulin action (insulin resistance) are common complications of CKD, and are associated with increased cardiovascular-related deaths in CKD patients. Therefore, novel therapies are required to treat insulin resistance in CKD. Abnormally elevated levels of glucocorticoids can cause insulin resistance. Here we demonstrate a crucial role for the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) predominantly in liver, which is essential for glucocorticoid production, in causing insulin resistance in CKD. Additionally, 11βHSD1 inhibition corrected insulin resistance in CKD rodent models. Taken together, this is strong evidence that selective inhibition of 11βHSD1 is a promising therapeutic target for treatment of insulin resistance in CKD. Insulin resistance and associated metabolic sequelae are common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are positively and independently associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. However, the pathogenesis has yet to be fully elucidated. 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) catalyzes intracellular regeneration of active glucocorticoids, promoting insulin resistance in liver and other metabolic tissues. Using two experimental rat models of CKD (subtotal nephrectomy and adenine diet) which show early insulin resistance, we found that 11βHSD1 mRNA and protein increase in hepatic and adipose tissue, together with increased hepatic 11βHSD1 activity. This was associated with intrahepatic but not circulating glucocorticoid excess, and increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis. Oral administration of the 11βHSD inhibitor carbenoxolone to uremic rats for 2 wk improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, improved insulin signaling, and reduced hepatic expression of gluconeogenic and lipogenic genes. Furthermore, 11βHSD1−/− mice and rats treated with a specific 11βHSD1 inhibitor (UE2316) were protected from metabolic disturbances despite similar renal dysfunction following adenine experimental uremia. Therefore, we demonstrate that elevated hepatic 11βHSD1 is an important contributor to early insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in uremia. Specific 11βHSD1 inhibitors potentially represent a novel therapeutic approach for management of insulin resistance in patients with CKD.
VITRECTOMY COMBINED WITH PERIOCULAR/INTRAVITREAL INJECTION OF STEROIDS FOR RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT ASSOCIATED WITH CHOROIDAL DETACHMENT

Purpose: To study the anatomical outcome of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment combined with choroidal detachment after pars plana vitrectomy with periocular/intravitreal injection of steroids. Methods: Seventy-seven eyes that have rhegmatogenous retinal detachment combined with choroidal detachment were treated by pars plana vitrectomy with oral prednisolone (Group A) or periocular/intravitreal injection of steroids (Group B) and then divided into 5 subgroups according to different intraocular tamponade agents; Group A1: oral steroids and silicone oil, Group A2: oral steroids and C3F8, Group B1: periocular/intravitreal steroid injections and silicone oil, Group B2: periocular steroid injection and silicone oil, and Group B3: periocular steroid injection and C3F8. Anatomical reattachment of the retina was measured at 12 months after surgery. Results: There was no significant difference in retinal reattachment rate between eyes in Group A and eyes in Group B (77.4% vs. 73.9%, P = 0.726). The retinal reattachment rates were 83.3% in Group A1, 69.2% in Group A2, 82.4% in Group B1, 73.3% in Group B2, and 64.3% in Group B3. There was no statistical difference in the retinal reattachment rates between any of the groups. Conclusion: For the treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment combined with choroidal detachment, pars plana vitrectomy with periocular/intravitreal corticosteroids was comparable in reattachment rate to pars plana vitrectomy with systemic steroids, suggesting an acceptable alternative for patients with this condition who cannot tolerate systemic steroids.
Analysis of Semi-Supervised Learning with the Yarowsky Algorithm

The Yarowsky algorithm is a rule-based semi-supervised learning algorithm that has been successfully applied to some problems in computational linguistics. The algorithm was not mathematically well understood until (Abney 2004) which analyzed some specific variants of the algorithm, and also proposed some new algorithms for bootstrapping. In this paper, we extend Abney's work and show that some of his proposed algorithms actually optimize (an upper-bound on) an objective function based on a new definition of cross-entropy which is based on a particular instantiation of the Bregman distance between probability distributions. Moreover, we suggest some new algorithms for rule-based semi-supervised learning and show connections with harmonic functions and minimum multi-way cuts in graph-based semi-supervised learning.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFICIENT METHODS TO CULTURE IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS FROM CORD BLOOD AND BONE MARROW

8 Abbreviations . 10 1 Review of the literature . 12 1.1 Cell Therapies . 12 Cell types in cell therapies . 13 1.1.1 1.2 Mesenchymal Stromal Cells . 16 Functional mechanisms of MSCs . 19 1.2. 1 1.2. 1.1 Tissue repair by cell replacement and differentiation . 19 1.2. 1.2 Secreted soluble factors . 20 Tissue sources . 26 1.2. 2 Clinical use of MSCs and clinical trials . 27 1.2. 3 1.3 Culture of MSCs . 30 Culture media . 31 1.3.1 1.3.1.1 FBS and its substitutes . 32 Oxygen concentration . 34 1.3.2 Culture of MSCs for clinical use. 36 1.3. 3 1.3. 3.1 Regulation and good manufacturing practice (GMP) . 36 2 Aims of the study . 39 3 Materials and methods . 40 3.1 Ethics . 40 3.2 Methods . 40
Identification of Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids in Monofloral Honey from Bangladesh by High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Determination of Antioxidant Capacity

The aim of the present study was to characterize the phenolic acids, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties of monofloral honey collected from five different districts in Bangladesh. A new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a UV detector method was developed for the identification of the phenolic acids and flavonoids. A total of five different phenolic acids were identified, with the most abundant being caffeic acid, benzoic acid, gallic acid, followed by chlorogenic acid and trans-cinnamic acid. The flavonoids, kaempferol, and catechin were most abundant, followed by myricetin and naringenin. The mean moisture content, total sugar content, and color characteristics of the honey samples were 18.36 ± 0.95%, 67.40 ± 5.63 g/100 g, and 129.27 ± 34.66 mm Pfund, respectively. The mean total phenolic acids, total flavonoid content, and proline content were 199.20 ± 135.23, 46.73 ± 34.16, and 556.40 ± 376.86 mg/kg, respectively, while the mean FRAP values and DPPH radical scavenging activity were 327.30 ± 231.87 μM Fe (II)/100 g and 36.95 ± 20.53%, respectively. Among the different types of honey, kalijira exhibited the highest phenolics and antioxidant properties. Overall, our study confirms that all the investigated honey samples are good sources of phenolic acids and flavonoids with good antioxidant properties.
A Dihydropyridine-sensitive Voltage-dependent Calcium Channel in the Sarcolemmal Membrane of Crustacean Muscle

Single-channel currents through calcium channels in muscle of a marine crustacean, the isopod Idotea baltica, were investigated in cell-attached patches. Inward barium currents were strongly voltage-dependent, and the channels were closed at the cell's resting membrane potential. The open probability (Po) increased e-fold for an 8.2 mV (±2.4, n = 13) depolarization. Channel openings were mainly brief (<0.3 ms) and evenly distributed throughout 100-ms pulses. Averaged, quasimacroscopic currents showed fast activation and deactivation and did not inactivate during 100-ms test pulses. Similarly, channel activity persisted at steadily depolarized holding potentials. With 200 mM Ba2+ as charge carrier, the average slope conductance from the unitary currents between +30 and +80 mV, was 20 pS (±2.6, n = 12). The proportion of long openings, which were very infrequent under control conditions, was greatly increased by preincubation of the muscle fibers with the calcium channel agonist, the dihydropyridine Bay K8644 (10–100 μM). Properties of these currents resemble those through the L-type calcium channels of mammalian nerve, smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle cells.
Extracellular matrix is required for skeletal muscle differentiation but not myogenin expression

Skeletal muscle cells are a useful model for studying cell differentiation. Muscle cell differentiation is marked by myoblast proliferation followed by progressive fusion to form large multinucleated myotubes that synthesize muscle‐specific proteins and contract spontaneously. The molecular analysis of myogenesis has advanced with the identification of several myogenic regulatory factors, including myod1, myd, and myogenin. These factors regulate each other's expression and that of muscle‐specific proteins such as the acetylcholine receptor and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In order to investigate the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) in myogenesis we have cultured myoblasts (C2C12) in the presence or absence of an exogenous ECM (Matrigel). In addition, we have induced differentiation of myoblasts in the presence or absence of Matrigel and/or chlorate, a specific inhibitor of proteoglycan sulfation. Our results indicated that the formation of fused myotubes and expression of AChE was stimulated by Matrigel. Treatment of myoblasts induced to differentiate with chlorate resulted in an inhibition of cell fusion and AChE activity. Chlorate treatment was also found to inhibit the deposition and assembly of ECM components such fibronectin and laminin. The expression of myogenin mRNA was observed when myoblasts were induced to differentiate, but was unaffected by the presence of Matrigel or by culture of the cells in the presence of chlorate. These results suggest that the expression of myogenin is independent of the presence of ECM, but that the presence of ECM is essential for the formation of myotubes and the expression of later muscle‐specific gene products. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Distribution of Bacterial Proteins in Biofilms Formed by Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae

The ability to preserve the fragile ultrastructural organization of bacterial biofilms using cryo-preparation methods for electron microscopy has enabled us to probe sections through non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) biofilms and determine the localization of NTHi-specific lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and proteins within these structures. Some of the proteins we examined are currently being considered as candidates for vaccine development, so it is important that their distribution and accessibility within the biofilms formed by NTHi be determined. We have localized LOS to the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the biofilm and the P6 outer membrane protein to the membrane of what appear to be viable bacteria within the biofilm. The Hap and HWM1/HMW2 adhesive proteins were associated with bacteria within the biofilm and were present in the biofilm ECM. The IgA1 protease is a secreted protein that was also associated with NTHi in the biofilm and was in the ECM, but was more concentrated in the top region of the biofilm, suggesting a role in protecting biofilm bacteria from antibody attack.
Efficient Global Learning of Entailment Graphs

Entailment rules between predicates are fundamental to many semantic-inference applications. Consequently, learning such rules has been an active field of research in recent years. Methods for learning entailment rules between predicates that take into account dependencies between different rules (e.g., entailment is a transitive relation) have been shown to improve rule quality, but suffer from scalability issues, that is, the number of predicates handled is often quite small. In this article, we present methods for learning transitive graphs that contain tens of thousands of nodes, where nodes represent predicates and edges correspond to entailment rules (termed entailment graphs). Our methods are able to scale to a large number of predicates by exploiting structural properties of entailment graphs such as the fact that they exhibit a “tree-like” property. We apply our methods on two data sets and demonstrate that our methods find high-quality solutions faster than methods proposed in the past, and moreover our methods for the first time scale to large graphs containing 20,000 nodes and more than 100,000 edges.
Adaptive numerical competency in a food-hoarding songbird

Most animals can distinguish between small quantities (less than four) innately. Many animals can also distinguish between larger quantities after extensive training. However, the adaptive significance of numerical discriminations in wild animals is almost completely unknown. We conducted a series of experiments to test whether a food-hoarding songbird, the New Zealand robin Petroica australis, uses numerical judgements when retrieving and pilfering cached food. Different numbers of mealworms were presented sequentially to wild birds in a pair of artificial cache sites, which were then obscured from view. Robins frequently chose the site containing more prey, and the accuracy of their number discriminations declined linearly with the total number of prey concealed, rising above-chance expectations in trials containing up to 12 prey items. A series of complementary experiments showed that these results could not be explained by time, volume, orientation, order or sensory confounds. Lastly, a violation of expectancy experiment, in which birds were allowed to retrieve a fraction of the prey they were originally offered, showed that birds searched for longer when they expected to retrieve more prey. Overall results indicate that New Zealand robins use a sophisticated numerical sense to retrieve and pilfer stored food, thus providing a critical link in understanding the evolution of numerical competency.