Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived Extracellular Vesicles Ameliorate Acute Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury by Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission through miR-30

Background. The immoderation of mitochondrial fission is one of the main contributors in ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived extracellular vesicles have been regarded as a potential therapy method. Here, we hypothesized that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human Wharton Jelly mesenchymal stromal cells (hWJMSCs) ameliorate acute renal IRI by inhibiting mitochondrial fission through miR-30b/c/d. Methods. EVs isolated from the condition medium of MCS were injected intravenously in rats immediately after monolateral nephrectomy and renal pedicle occlusion for 45 minutes. Animals were sacrificed at 24 h after reperfusion and samples were collected. MitoTracker Red staining was used to see the morphology of the mitochondria. The expression of DRP1 was measured by western blot. miR-30 in EVs and rat tubular epithelial cells was assessed by qRT-PCR. Apoptosis pathway was identified by immunostaining. Results. We found that the expression of miR-30 in injured kidney tissues was declined and mitochondrial dynamics turned to fission. But they were both restored in EVs group in parallel with reduced cell apoptosis. What is more, when the miR-30 antagomirs were used to reduce the miRNA levels, all the related effects of EVs reduced remarkably. Conclusion. A single administration of hWJMSC-EVs could protect the kidney from IRI by inhibition of mitochondrial fission via miR-30.
Colonisation of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a cohort of HIV infected children in Ghana

Antibiotic use not only selects for resistance in pathogenic bacteria, but also in commensal flora of exposed individuals. Little is known epidemiologically about antibiotic resistance in relation to people with HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the carriage of antibiotic resistant bacteria among HIV infected children at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. One hundred and eighteen HIV positive children were recruited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana and nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from them. The specimens were cultured for bacteria, and the isolates were identified by standard microbiological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out on selected bacterial organisms by the Kirby Bauer method. Bacteria isolated from the study subjects included Moraxella catarrhalis (39.8%), coagulase negative staphylococci (33.1%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (30.5%), diptheroids (29.7%), viridian streptococci (27.1%), Staphylococcus aureus (22.0%), Citrobacter spp. (4.2%) and Neisseria meningitidis (0.9%). Prevalence of antibiotic resistance of S. pneumoniae ranged from 5.6% (ceftriaxone) to 58.3% (cotrimoxazole), M. catarrhalis ranged from 2.1% (gentamicin) to 80.6% (ampicillin), and S. aureus ranged from 7.7% (cefoxitin) to 100% (penicillin). The prevalence of multiple drug resistance was 16.7% for S. pneumoniae, 57.4% for M. catarrhalis and 84.6% for S. aureus. HIV infected children in the study area commonly carry multi-drug resistant isolates of several pathogenic bacteria such as S. aureus and S. pneumoniae. Infections arising in these patients that are caused by S. aureus and S. pneumoniae could be treated with ceftriaxone and cefoxitin respectively.
A Natural Focusing Low Frequency Guided Wave Experiment for the Detection of Defects Beyond Elbows

Long range ultrasonic guided wave inspection is advancing rapidly and is quite commonplace today. Benefits of using longitudinal or torsional modes are being established in special circumstances of improved sensitivity, resolution, or penetration power. The possibility of inspection under insulation, coatings, or with water filled pipes or around elbows is possible. Detection of defects beyond a pipe elbow is difficult for axisymmetric wave impingement onto the elbow. For nonaxisymmetric input to the elbow region, however, via partial loading around the circumference, natural focusing occurs because of angular profile variation around the circumference of the pipe. Sample computations of possible angular profiles are illustrated. An experiment is also reported here to demonstrate this inspection process.
Gli 2 is required for induction of floor plate and adjacent cells , but not most ventral neurons in the mouse central nervous system

Michael P. Matise 1, Douglas J. Epstein 1, Heidi L. Park 1,2, Kenneth A. Platt 4 and Alexandra L. Joyner 1,2,3,* 1Developmental Genetics Program and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and 2Department of Cell Biology and 3Physiology and Neuroscience, NYU Medical Center, 540 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA 4Lexicon Genetics, Inc., 4000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, TX, 77381, USA *Author for correspondence: joyner@saturn.med.nyu.edu
Linking the Verification of Compilable Code to the Application Content of Computer Based Systems

A silicone grease composition comprising: (A) 100 parts by weight of a polyorganosiloxane containing at least two silicon-bonded vinyl groups per molecule and having a viscosity at 25 DEG C. of from 10 to 1,000,000 cSt; (B) from 10 to 200 parts by weight of a filler comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, zinc carbonate, a composite zinc white, and silica; and (C) from 0.001 to 0.1 part by weight of platinum or a platinum compound.
Helicobacter pylori SabA Adhesin in Persistent Infection and Chronic Inflammation

Helicobacter pylori adherence in the human gastric mucosa involves specific bacterial adhesins and cognate host receptors. Here, we identify sialyl-dimeric-Lewis x glycosphingolipid as a receptor for H. pylori and show thatH. pylori infection induced formation of sialyl-Lewis x antigens in gastric epithelium in humans and in a Rhesus monkey. The corresponding sialic acid–binding adhesin (SabA) was isolated with the “retagging” method, and the underlyingsabA gene (JHP662/HP0725) was identified. The ability of many H. pylori strains to adhere to sialylated glycoconjugates expressed during chronic inflammation might thus contribute to virulence and the extraordinary chronicity ofH. pylori infection.
Stress hyperglycaemia in critically ill patients: potential role of incretin hormones; a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND Stress hyperglycaemia is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting and has been related to a worst outcome. OBJECTIVE The objective was to characterize the association of glucoregulatory hormones, mainly incretins, with the levels of glycaemia, and its relationship with outcome in ICU patients. METHODS We prospectively studied 60 patients. Stress hyperglycaemia was diagnosed when glycaemia was < 115 mg/dL. At ICU admission we determined glycaemia, insulin, glucagon, cortisol, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) plasma levels. Groups were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. The association between glycaemia levels and glucoregulatory hormones was evaluated using linear regression. RESULTS Forty-five patients (75%) had hyperglycaemia. We observed no differences in glucoregulatory hormones levels between normo- and hyper- glycaemia groups. Glycaemia levels were not significantly correlated with insulin, glucagon, cortisol or GIP levels, but were correlated with GLP-1 (p = 0.04). GLP-1 was also correlated with cortisol (p = 0.01), but failed to show a significant correlation with insulin, glucagon or GIP levels. Lower levels of plasma GLP-1 were found in patients with stress hyperglycaemia requiring vasoactive support (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Glycaemia levels were correlated with GLP-1 levels in ICU patients. GLP-1 levels were also associated with cortisol. Patients with stress hyperglycaemia who required vasoactive support had lower incretin levels compared with those patients with stress hyperglycaemia who were hemodynamically stables. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01087372).
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Sense of presence and anxiety during virtual social interactions between a human and virtual humans

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been shown to be effective in treatment of anxiety disorders. Yet, there is lack of research on the extent to which interaction between the individual and virtual humans can be successfully implanted to increase levels of anxiety for therapeutic purposes. This proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at examining levels of the sense of presence and anxiety during exposure to virtual environments involving social interaction with virtual humans and using different virtual reality displays. A non-clinical sample of 38 participants was randomly assigned to either a head-mounted display (HMD) with motion tracker and sterescopic view condition or a one-screen projection-based virtual reality display condition. Participants in both conditions engaged in free speech dialogues with virtual humans controlled by research assistants. It was hypothesized that exposure to virtual social interactions will elicit moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety in both groups. Further it was expected that participants in the HMD condition will report higher scores of sense of presence and anxiety than participants in the one-screen projection-based display condition. Results revealed that in both conditions virtual social interactions were associated with moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety. Additionally, participants in the HMD condition reported significantly higher levels of presence than those in the one-screen projection-based display condition (p = .001). However, contrary to the expectations neither the average level of anxiety nor the highest level of anxiety during exposure to social virtual environments differed between the groups (p = .97 and p = .75, respectively). The findings suggest that virtual social interactions can be successfully applied in VRET to enhance sense of presence and anxiety. Furthermore, our results indicate that one-screen projection-based displays can successfully activate levels of anxiety in social virtual environments. The outcome can prove helpful in using low-cost projection-based virtual reality environments for treating individuals with social phobia. Subjects Psychiatry and Psychology, Human–Computer Interaction
Posttraumatic Bone Marrow Lesion Volume and Knee Pain Within 4 Weeks After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury.

CONTEXT After an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a majority of patients have a traumatic bone marrow lesion (BML, or bone bruise). The clinical relevance of posttraumatic lesions remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To explore the cross-sectional associations between traumatic BML volume and self-reported knee pain and symptoms among individuals within 4 weeks of ACL injury. DESIGN Cross-sectional exploratory analysis of a randomized clinical trial. SETTING Orthopaedic departments at 2 hospitals in Sweden. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS As part of a randomized trial (knee anterior cruciate ligament nonoperative versus operative treatment [KANON] study), 121 young active adults (74% men, age = 26 ± 5 years, height = 1.8 ± 0.1 m, weight = 76 ± 13 kg) with an ACL tear were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) The BML volume in the proximal tibia and distal femur was segmented using magnetic resonance images obtained within 4 weeks of injury. A radiologist evaluated the presence of depression fractures on the images. Pain and symptoms of the injured knee (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [KOOS] pain and symptoms subscales) were obtained the same day as imaging. We used linear regression models to assess the associations. RESULTS Most knees had at least 1 BML (96%), and the majority (57%) had a depression fracture. Whole-knee BML volume was not related to knee pain for the entire cohort (β = -0.09, P = .25). Among those without a depression fracture, larger whole-knee BML volume was associated with increased knee pain (β = -0.46, P = .02), whereas no association was found for those with a depression fracture (β = 0.0, P = .96). Larger medial (β = -0.48, P = .02) but not lateral (β = -0.03, P = .77) tibiofemoral BML volume was associated with greater pain. We found no association between BML volume and knee symptoms. CONCLUSIONS We confirmed the absence of relationships between whole-knee BML volume and pain and symptoms within 4 weeks of ACL injury. Our findings extend previous reports in identifying weak associations between larger BML volume in the medial compartment and greater pain and between BML volume and greater pain among those without a depression fracture.
Global Facilitation of Attended Features Is Obligatory and Restricts Divided Attention

In many common situations such as driving an automobile it is advantageous to attend concurrently to events at different locations (e.g., the car in front, the pedestrian to the side). While spatial attention can be divided effectively between separate locations, studies investigating attention to nonspatial features have often reported a “global effect”, whereby items having the attended feature may be preferentially processed throughout the entire visual field. These findings suggest that spatial and feature-based attention may at times act in direct opposition: spatially divided foci of attention cannot be truly independent if feature attention is spatially global and thereby affects all foci equally. In two experiments, human observers attended concurrently to one of two overlapping fields of dots of different colors presented in both the left and right visual fields. When the same color or two different colors were attended on the two sides, deviant targets were detected accurately, and visual-cortical potentials elicited by attended dots were enhanced. However, when the attended color on one side matched the ignored color on the opposite side, attentional modulation of cortical potentials was abolished. This loss of feature selectivity could be attributed to enhanced processing of unattended items that shared the color of the attended items in the opposite field. Thus, while it is possible to attend to two different colors at the same time, this ability is fundamentally constrained by spatially global feature enhancement in early visual-cortical areas, which is obligatory and persists even when it explicitly conflicts with task demands.
A global Goodness – of – Fit index for PLS structural equation modelling 1

Riassunto:Scopo di questo lavorò e proporre un indice globale di bont à dell’adattamento per i modelli ad equazioni strutturali stimati mediante il metodo PLS. Al momento gli indici comunemente utilizzati in questo ambito sono la comunalit à (bont̀ a di adattamento del modello esterno) e la ridondanaza (qualit à del modello interno). Si propone un indice che, alla stregua del test del chi-quadro e dei test ad esso collegati disponibili nel modello classico LISREL stimato mediante la massima verosimiglianza, fornisca una misura globale della bont̀ a di adattamento del modello che tenga conto di entrambi gli aspetti, misurati invece separatamente dalla comunalit à e dalla ridondanza. E’ inoltre suggerita una procedura di validazione non parametrica per l’indice proposto. Un’applicazione su dati reali è infine presentata.
Gut Microbiota Dynamics during Dietary Shift in Eastern African Cichlid Fishes

The gut microbiota structure reflects both a host phylogenetic history and a signature of adaptation to the host ecological, mainly trophic niches. African cichlid fishes, with their array of closely related species that underwent a rapid dietary niche radiation, offer a particularly interesting system to explore the relative contribution of these two factors in nature. Here we surveyed the host intra- and interspecific natural variation of the gut microbiota of five cichlid species from the monophyletic tribe Perissodini of lake Tanganyika, whose members transitioned from being zooplanktivorous to feeding primarily on fish scales. The outgroup riverine species Astatotilapia burtoni, largely omnivorous, was also included in the study. Fusobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria represented the dominant components in the gut microbiota of all 30 specimens analysed according to two distinct 16S rRNA markers. All members of the Perissodini tribe showed a homogenous pattern of microbial alpha and beta diversities, with no significant qualitative differences, despite changes in diet. The recent diet shift between zooplantkon- and scale-eaters simply reflects on a significant enrichment of Clostridium taxa in scale-eaters where they might be involved in the scale metabolism. Comparison with the omnivorous species A. burtoni suggests that, with increased host phylogenetic distance and/or increasing herbivory, the gut microbiota begins differentiating also at qualitative level. The cichlids show presence of a large conserved core of taxa and a small set of core OTUs (average 13–15%), remarkably stable also in captivity, and putatively favoured by both restricted microbial transmission among related hosts (putatively enhanced by mouthbrooding behavior) and common host constraints. This study sets the basis for a future large-scale investigation of the gut microbiota of cichlids and its adaptation in the process of the host adaptive radiation.
Dispersion of Atrial Refractoriness in Patients with Sinus Node Dysfunction

Abnormal atrial refractoriness was examined as a cause of atrial fibrillation/flutter (AFF) in patients with bradycardia. Refractory periods at three disparate right atrial sites were compared in 17 patients with sinus node dysfunction (SND) and 16 controls. Atrial pacing shortened refractory periods, but failed to decrease dispersion of refractoriness significantly. During sinus rhythm, duration and dispersion of refractoriness were greater in SND patients than in controls. These differences persisted with atrial pacing. For example, at the paced rate, dispersion of effective refractory periods in SND patients was greater than in controls (62.9 ± 34 vs 36.6 ± 21 msec,p < 0.01). Six SND patients had AFF, but they did not have greater dispersion than other SND patients, or unusually short or long refractory periods. Thus, prolonged and nonuniform refractoriness were features of SND. Abnormal refractoriness in SND reflected atrial disease and persisted with pacing. These abnormalities were not unique to patients with AFF.
A Theory of Antenna Electromagnetic Near Field—Part II

We continue in this paper a comprehensive theory of antenna near fields inaugurated in Part I. The concept of near-field streamlines is introduced using the Weyl expansion in which the total field is decomposed into propagating and nonpropagating parts. This process involves a breaking of the rotational symmetry of the scalar Greens function that originally facilitated the derivation of the Weyl expansion. Such symmetry breaking is taken here to represent a key to understanding the structure of the near fields and how antennas work in general. A suitable mathematical machinery for dealing with the symmetry breaking procedure from the source point of view is developed in detail, and the final results are expressed in clear and compact form susceptible to direct interpretation. We then investigate the concept of energy in the near field where the localized energy (especially the radial localized energy) and the stored energy are singled out as the most important types of energy processes in the near-field zone of general antenna systems. A new devolvement is subsequently undertaken by generalizing the Weyl expansion in order to analyze the structure of the near field, but this time from the far-field point of view. A hybrid series combining the Weyl and Wilcox expansions is derived, after which only the radial streamline picture turns out to be compatible with the far-field description via Wilcox series. We end up with an explication of the general mechanism of far-field formation from the source point of view. It is found that the main formative processes in the antenna near-field zone are reducible to simple geometrical and filtering operations.
Curcumin circumvents chemoresistance in vitro and potentiates the effect of thalidomide and bortezomib against human multiple myeloma in nude mice model

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow pigment in turmeric, has been shown to inhibit the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a transcription factor closely linked to chemoresistance in multiple myeloma cells. Whether curcumin can overcome chemoresistance and enhance the activity of thalidomide and bortezomib, used to treat patients with multiple myeloma, was investigated in vitro and in xenograft model in nude mice. Our results show that curcumin inhibited the proliferation of human multiple myeloma cells regardless of their sensitivity to dexamethasone, doxorubicin, or melphalan. Curcumin also potentiated the apoptotic effects of thalidomide and bortezomib by down-regulating the constitutive activation of NF-κB and Akt, and this correlated with the suppression of NF-κB-regulated gene products, including cyclin D1, Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, TRAF1, cIAP-1, XIAP, survivin, and vascular endothelial growth factor. Furthermore, in a nude mice model, we found that curcumin potentiated the antitumor effects of bortezomib (P < 0.001, vehicle versus bortezomib + curcumin; P < 0.001, bortezomib versus bortezomib + curcumin), and this correlated with suppression of Ki-67 (P < 0.001 versus control), CD31 (P < 0.001 versus vehicle), and vascular endothelial growth factor (P < 0.001 versus vehicle) expression. Collectively, our results suggest that curcumin overcomes chemoresistance and sensitizes multiple myeloma cells to thalidomide and bortezomib by down-regulating NF-κB and NF-κB-regulated gene products. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(4):959–70]
Outcomes of Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation in a Diverse Patient Population

Background Autologous chondrocyte implantation is indicated as a second-line treatment of large, irregularly shaped chondral defects after failure of first-line surgical intervention. This study examines the clinical results of a patient cohort undergoing autologous chondrocyte implantation and elucidates factors associated with subjective improvement after implantation. Hypothesis Autologous chondrocyte implantation will result in long-term functional and symptomatic improvement. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods The cohort included 137 subjects (140 knees) who underwent autologous chondrocyte implantation of the knee. Mean defect size per patient was 5.2 ± 3.5 cm2 (range, 0.8-26.6 cm2). Patients averaged 30.3 ± 9.1 years of age (range, 13.9-49.9 years) and were followed for 4.3 ± 1.8 years (range, 2.0-9.7 years). Outcomes were assessed via clinical assessment and established outcome scales, including the Lysholm scale, International Knee Documentation Committee scale, and Short Form-12. Results A significant improvement after surgery was observed in all outcome assessments including the Lysholm (41 to 69; P < .001) and International Knee Documentation Committee (34 to 64; P < .001) scales. Subjectively, 75% of patients indicated they were completely or mostly satisfied with the outcome and 83% would have the procedure again. Preoperatively, 32% of patients had a Tegner score of 6 or greater, compared with 82% before injury and 65% at most recent follow-up. Multivariate analysis identified age (P < .021) and receiving workers’ compensation (P < .018) as independent predictors of follow-up Lysholm score. Twenty-one patients (16%) required debridement of the autologous chondrocyte implantation site secondary to persistent symptoms, whereas 9 knees (6.4%) clinically failed and underwent a revision procedure. Conclusion Autologous chondrocyte implantation is a viable treatment option for chondral defects of the knee, resulting in durable functional and symptomatic improvement. Age and workers’ compensation status are independent predictors of outcome.