Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel 3D culture system with similarities to the human heart for studies of the cardiac stem cell niche.

AIMS The aim of this study was to develop a 3D culture system with similarities to the human heart, which was suitable for studies of adult cardiac stem or progenitor cells. MATERIALS & METHODS Dissociated cells from human cardiac biopsies were placed in high-density pellet cultures and cultured for up to 6 weeks. Gene and protein expressions, analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry, and morphology were studied in early and late pellets. RESULTS Cells cultured in the 3D model showed similarities to human cardiac tissue. Moreover, markers for cardiac stem and progenitor cells were also detected after 6 weeks of culture, in addition to markers for signaling pathways active in stem cell niche regulation. CONCLUSIONS The described 3D culture model could be a valuable tool when studying the influence of different compounds on proliferation and differentiation processes in cardiac stem or progenitor cells in cardiac regenerative research.
A survey of the pain experienced by males and females with Fabry disease.

BACKGROUND The clinical onset of Fabry disease, a rare, X-linked, multisystemic disorder, is marked by neuropathic pain. Males suffer extensively from this disease. Females, as genetic 'carriers', have traditionally been viewed as either asymptomatic or mildly afflicted with this disease. OBJECTIVES To describe Fabry-related pain and compare experiences between the sexes. Patients' perceptions of physician pain assessments were also examined. METHODS A disease-specific questionnaire was accessible on-line (www.fabry.org) and mailed to 552 members of a Fabry disease support group. RESULTS The response rate was 14.3% for the support group-based mail questionnaire. Females (58.0%) were significantly older (mean +/- SD 45.9+/-13.5 years) than males (mean +/- SD 40.0+/-12.1; t [86]=-2.11, P<0.05). Females were diagnosed with Fabry disease later (31.1+/-14.0 years) than males (24.2+/-11.9 years; t [86]=-2.43, P<0.05). Females (mean score for pain disability rating 3.0+/-1.4) suffered more extensive disability from migraine pain (mean score 2.2+/-1.3; F [1, 74]=45.0, P<0.005), and, unlike males, did not exhibit a decline in pain intensity with disease duration. Satisfaction with physician pain assessments was moderate. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to the traditional view of females as carriers, females with Fabry disease experienced intense disease-related pain; pain produced comparable distress and impairment in both sexes. The diagnostic delay and absence of a decline in pain symptoms over time in females suggest additional disease burden. Females may be triply disadvantaged in the health care system due to disease rarity, devalued carrier status and sex.
Authoritarianism, Inner/Other Directedness, and Sensation Seeking in Firefighter/Paramedics: Their Relationship with Burnout

Abstract Introduction: Burnout in firefighter/paramedics (FF/EMT-Ps) is widely believed to exist, but few empirical data support its existence, symptomatology, or intervention. Understanding the extent, nature, and cause of burnout is crucial to improving employee morale and performance. Study Population: Ninety-one FF/EMT-Ps employed by Salt Lake County Fire Department. Hypotheses: Three specific hypotheses were tested: 1) FF/EMT-Ps who score high on burnout also will score high on authoritarianism; 2) FF/EMT-Ps who score high on burnout also will score high on inner-directedness; and 3) FF/EMT-Ps who score high on burnout also will score high on sensation seeking. Methods: In this descriptive study, FF/EMT-Ps computed four standardized instruments measuring authoritarianism, burnout, inner-directedness versus other-directedness and sensation seeking. Results: Firefighters who scored high on burnout also scored high on authoritarianism and on the sensation-seeking subscale of boredom. Burnout did not correlate with the overall sensation-seeking scale or with its other subscales (thrill, experience, and disinhibition), or inner-directedness versus other-directedness. Conclusion: A focus on control issues needs to be an integral part of programs for decreasing employee burnout among FF/EMT-Ps. Specific components of such programs should include stress management and counseling. In addition, management personnel need to be taught not only to assist direct-service staff, but also to recognize and deal with their own control issues as they affect job performance.
Ankle positions classification using force myography: An exploratory investigation

Monitoring the movements of the ankle may be highly relevant for applications such as sport injury prevention, rehabilitation, and gait analysis. This paper explores the feasibility of employing force myography (FMG) on the distal end of the lower leg to detect ankle position. FMG signals corresponding to 7 different ankle positions were recorded from three healthy volunteers. Using a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier, the system achieved averaged prediction accuracies of 94% and 85% in cross validation and cross-trial evaluation, respectively. The results of this proof-of-concept study demonstrate the feasibility of using FMG to detect ankle position and its consequent potential use for acquiring information relevant to leg movement and gait.
Healing of Lymphocytic Gastritis by Eradication of Helicobacter pylori

Background: It is not yet clear whether lymphocytic gastritis might not be a sequela of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection. The aim of the present pilot study was, therefore, to investigate whether lymphocytic gastritis can be cured by Hp eradication, which, if affirmed, would provide indirect evidence for an etiopathogenic relationship. Patients and Methods: 98 of 220 patients with lymphocytic gastritis diagnosed between 1988 and 1998 were investigated at least twice, with 61 of them undergoing Hp eradication treatment. In 29 of these patients, the pretreatment histological work-up using the Warthin-Starry silver stain revealed Hp colonisation, while in the remaining 32 patients the biopsies from the antrum and corpus were negative for Hp. The other 37 patients received no treatment, and served as a control group. Results: Both in the group with Hp-positive, and in the group with Hp-negative histology prior to treatment, eradication treatment led to healing of the gastritis, i.e. to regression of the gastritis parameters including normalisation of the intra-epithelial lymphocyte count, in 93.1% and 84.3% of the cases, respectively. In the control group the histological findings did not change. Conclusions: The results of our retrospective study support the notion that most cases of lymphocytic gastritis might be a consequence of Hp infection. This, however, needs to be clarified definitively by a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.
Development of plants by interference auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins and ethylene

Pueden interferir en el desarrollo vegetal factores externos y factores internos, como de hormonas y vitaminas, esas sustancias naturales o sinteticas pueden ser aplicadas directamente en las plantas, en partes como hojas, frutos y semillas, provocando alteraciones en los procesos vitales y estructurales, con la finalidad de incrementar la produccion, mejorar la calidad y facilitar la colecta. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el crecimiento y desarrollo vegetal en las especies tratadas con auxinas, citoquininas, etileno y giberelinas. En la realizacion del presente trabajo fueron utilizadas revisiones bibliograficas de fechas de publicaciones antiguas y recientes, esa mezcla fue para exponer ideas y argumentos semejantes entre diversos autores de diferentes epocas. Pueden ser observados en esta revision que las auxinas tienen funcion de epinastia de la hoja y tallo, el amarillento de las hojas en la planta de frijol y en las plantas de maiz fueron observadas que despues de la pulverizacion con las auxinas no fue presentado cualquier sintoma de senescencia. En las plantas de soya hubo mayor contenido de clorofila debido al hecho de citoquininas y giberelinas inhibieron la degradacion de la clorofila. Los reguladores aplicados en conjunto y en diferentes concentraciones se pudieron observar diferentes resultados, como pueden ser vistos en esta revision bibliografica.
New Instruments: A New Mechanical Instrument for the Measurement of Fibro‐Elasticity, with Special Reference to its Use in the Assessment of the Consistency of the Uterine Cervix

Abstract. A mechanical instrument for the measurement of fibro‐elasticity is described. It consists of a mechanism for control of the force used, which enables the examiner to exert the same pressure on the material each time, and another mechanism for recording the fibro‐elasticity. The applied force K can be varied and is calibrated by the use of a balance. The fibro‐elasticity is characterized by the angle a between the walls of the impressed area recorded on the indicator mechanism. The instrument has been tested on foam rubber materials, on water‐filled rubber balloons, and on the uterine cervix both in vivo and in vitro. The results show that within a large range of a and K to a first approximation the following relationship is valid: F=α/K where F is a constant which on a relative basis can be used to characterize the elastic properties of a material. A brief discussion of the properties and the applicability of the instrument is given.
Blood-volume estimates in Coombs-test-positive infants.

Abstract Blood volume (estimated from the 10-minute T-1824 albumin space and mixed venous hematocrit) was determined before exchange transfusion in 32 neonates with nonhydropic Coombs-test-positive hemolytic disease. Rhesus or ABO incompatibility was commonly accompanied by perinatal asphyxia, anemia, elective prematurity and operative delivery. Although neonates with hemolytic disease are generally believed to be hypervolemic, this study suggests that they are normovolemic if premature and hypovolemic at maturity. Blood volume was linearly related to hematocrit (r = 0.616, p<0.001), but it was not affected by mode of delivery, degree of perinatal asphyxia or postnatal study age. These data suggest that common clinical practices such as denial of placental transfusion, venesection and maintenance of a volume deficit after exchange transfusion should be avoided. (N Engl J Med 290:1450–1452, 1974)
Prevalence of dermatophytosis in junior secondary schoolchildren in Ogun State, Nigeria

A total of 2772 randomly selected junior secondary school pupils (aged 8–14) from 60 schools were examined for dermatophytic infections by direct microscopy and culture‐based laboratory diagnostic methods. Of these, 641 (23.21%) had dermatophytosis. Out of these, 376 (13.56%) were male while 265 (9.56%) were female. Aetiological agents identified with infection were Microsporum canis (30.19%), Microsporum audouinii (32.92%), Trichophyton interdigitale (14.37%), Trichophyton soudanense (9.73%) and Trichophyton tonsurans (12.05%). Most of the dermatophytes encountered were anthropophilic species. Microsporum canis was the only zoophilic dermatophyte. Differences were not observed in infection pattern for all the different geo‐political zones that make up the state. The head and the skin of the students were more frequently infected than the nails and toes. Infection frequency increased steadily up to age 11 after which it drastically decreased.
Öğretmen Atamalarında Esas Alınan Merkezi Sınavın (KPSS) Öğretmen Adaylarının Görüşlerine Göre Değerlendirilmesi

Bu arastirmanin amaci, ogretmen atamalarinda esas alinan KPSS’ye iliskin ogretmen adaylarinin genel goruslerini saptamaktir. Arastirmanin orneklemini olusturan 539 ogrenci, 2011-2012 egitim-ogretim yilinda Afyon Kocatepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakultesi ile Beden Egitimi ve Spor Yuksekokulu ogrencileri arasindan tesadufi olarak secilmistir. Veriler, “Kamu Personeli Secme Sinavini Degerlendirmeye Yonelik Anket Formu” ile toplanmistir. Verilerin analizinde ise betimsel istatistiklerin yani sira t-testi, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis-H ve Mann-Whitney-U testleri kullanilmistir. Arastirmanin sonuclarina gore, birinci siniftan itibaren KPSS’nin oneminin farkinda olan ogretmen adaylari, fakultede alinan egitimin sinav basarisi icin yeterli olmadigini dusunup dershaneye gitme ihtiyaci duymaktadirlar. Sinav kaygisi, ogretmen adaylarinin universitedeki basarisini olumsuz etkileyen bir unsurdur. Ogretmen adaylari, atamalarin sadece bilissel becerileri olcen bir sinavla degil, baska olcutlerin de dikkate alinarak yapilmasi gerektiginden yanadir. Ogretmen adaylarinin gorusleri, sinavin genel kultur, genel yetenek ve egitim bilimleri alanlarinda bilgi duzeyini yeterince olcemedigi yonundedir. Sinavin objektifligi ile ilgili ogretmen adaylarinin bazi tereddutleri de soz konusudur.
Nck2 Deficiency in Mice Results in Increased Adiposity Associated With Adipocyte Hypertrophy and Enhanced Adipogenesis

Obesity results from an excessive expansion of white adipose tissue (WAT) from hypertrophy of preexisting adipocytes and enhancement of precursor differentiation into mature adipocytes. We report that Nck2-deficient mice display progressive increased adiposity associated with adipocyte hypertrophy. A negative relationship between the expression of Nck2 and WAT expansion was recapitulated in humans such that reduced Nck2 protein and mRNA levels in human visceral WAT significantly correlate with the degree of obesity. Accordingly, Nck2 deficiency promotes an adipogenic program that not only enhances adipocyte differentiation and lipid droplet formation but also results in dysfunctional elevated lipogenesis and lipolysis activities in mouse WAT as well as in stromal vascular fraction and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. We provide strong evidence to support that through a mechanism involving primed PERK activation and signaling, Nck2 deficiency in adipocyte precursors is associated with enhanced adipogenesis in vitro and adiposity in vivo. Finally, in agreement with elevated circulating lipids, Nck2-deficient mice develop glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis. Taken together, these findings reveal that Nck2 is a novel regulator of adiposity and suggest that Nck2 is important in limiting WAT expansion and dysfunction in mice and humans.
Flow‐based assays for global assessment of hemostasis. Part 1: biorheologic considerations 1

Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences and MRC Centre for Immune Regulation, The Medical School, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester , Rochester , USA; Department of Biochemistry, CARIM, University of Maastricht , Maastricht , The Netherlands; Dept of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec,Canada/ affiliation with CYTORHEX Inc of Canada; Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, University of Leuven , Leuven ; Belgium; KellSa s.a. s. , Biella , Italy
Multivariate Predictors of Audiological Success with Multichannel Cochlear Implants

To predict the audiological outcomes of 2 multichannel cochlear implants, a preoperative battery of historical, audiological, electrophysiologic, and psychologic variables from 48 postlingually deafened adults was tested in a prospective randomized clinical trial. Multivariate analyses were used to select and combine these preoperative variables in a predictive index that was significantly related to audiological outcome at 9 months. The preoperative variables included in the predictive index were duration of profound deafness, speech reading ability, residual hearing, cognitive ability, measures of compliance and engagement with treatment, and use of nonverbal communication strategies. The preoperative predictive index had correlations of . 81 with the Iowa Sentences Test, and . 78 with the NU6 word understanding scores, both obtained in a sound-only test Probability and percentile curves generated from these data offer considerable optimism in forecasting the range of likely audiological outcomes that would be realized by postlingually deafened adult candidates for multichannel cochlear implants.
Effect of soil depth and increasing fertilization rate on yield and its components of two durum wheat varieties

Agronomic practices, climatic variables, and soil conditions are key factors in crop productivity. Although the effects of soil chemical properties and water and agronomic crop management are known, there is little information about effective soil depth and its influence on crop productivity. Since most crop fertilization systems are based on the productive potential associated with climatic conditions and chemical properties of the first 20 cm of soil depth, the objective of this study was to determine the importance of effective depth in terms of increasing fertilization rates on durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) productivity. Two experiments were conducted in the 2006-2007 season in the Santa Rosa Experimental Station (71°54’ S, 36°31’ W, 220 m a.s.l.) of the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) located in south central Chile. We used the hard wheat cvs. Llareta-INIA and Corcolen-INIA because both respond differently to soil physicochemical properties. Each cultivar was sown in sectors with different depths: 1) 0.45 m depth, silt loam on river material and 2) 1.0 m depth, loam on deep sediments. Fertilization was: 1) control without fertilization, 2) basal fertilization (BF) based on P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, and Zn plus 90 kg N ha-1, and 3) BF plus 210 kg N ha-1. Grain yield, plant height, and number of stems m-2 were positively affected by increasing depth of soil profile. The increasing fertilization rate affected grain yield and plant height. Grain yield for cv. Corcolen-INIA had a greater response than cv. Llareta-INIA when soil depth was increased.
Inactivation of the ampD gene causes semiconstitutive overproduction of the inducible Citrobacter freundii beta-lactamase

In Citrobacter freundii and Enterobacter cloacae, synthesis of AmpC beta-lactamase is inducible by the addition of beta-lactams to the growth medium. Spontaneous mutants that constitutively overproduce the enzyme occur at a high frequency. When the C. freundii ampC beta-lactamase gene is cloned into Escherichia coli together with the regulatory gene ampR, beta-lactamase expression from the clone is inducible. Spontaneous cefotaxime-resistant mutants were selected from an E. coli strain carrying the cloned C. freundii ampC and ampR genes on a plasmid. Virtually all isolates had chromosomal mutations leading to semiconstitutive overproduction of beta-lactamase. The mutation ampD2 in one such mutant was caused by an IS1 insertion into the hitherto unknown ampD gene, located between nadC and aroP at minute 2.4 on the E. coli chromosome. The wild-type ampD allele cloned on a plasmid could fully trans-complement beta-lactamase-overproducing mutants of both E. coli and C. freundii, restoring the wild-type phenotype of highly inducible enzyme synthesis. This indicates that these E. coli and C. freundii mutants have their lesions in ampD. We hypothesize that induction of beta-lactamase synthesis is caused by blocking of the AmpD function by the beta-lactam inducer and that this leads directly or indirectly to an AmpR-mediated stimulation of ampC expression.
Multimodality Therapy and Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A 14-Year Prospective Analysis of Outcomes

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major cause of death among patients with cirrhosis. A standardized approach of multimodality therapy with intent-to-treat by transplantation for all patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was instituted at our transplant center in 1997. Data were prospectively collected to evaluate the impact of multimodality therapy on posttransplant patient survival, tumor recurrence, and patient survival without transplantation. Methods All patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were eligible for multimodality therapy. Multimodality therapy consisted of hepatic resection, radiofrequency ablation, transarterial chemoembolization, transarterial chemoinfusion, yttrium-90 microsphere radioembolization, and sorafenib. Results Approximately 715 patients underwent multimodality therapy; 231 patients were included in the intent-to-treat with transplantation arm, and 484 patients were treated with multimodality therapy or palliative therapy because of contraindications for transplantation. A 60.2% transplantation rate was achieved in the intent-to-treat with transplantation arm. Posttransplant survivals at 1 and 5 years were 97.1% and 72.5%, respectively. Tumor recurrence rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 2.4%, 6.2%, and 11.6%, respectively. Patients with contraindications to transplant had increased 1- and 5-year survival from diagnosis with multimodality therapy compared with those not treated (73.1% and 46.5% versus 15.5% and 4.4%, P<0.0001). Conclusions Using multimodality therapy before liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma achieved low recurrence rates and posttransplant survival equivalent to patients with primary liver disease without hepatocellular carcinoma. Multimodality therapy may help identify patients with less active tumor biology and result in improved disease-free survival and organ utilization.
Models of the Cooperative Mechanism for Rho Effector Recognition

Activated GTPases of the Rho family regulate a spectrum of functionally diverse downstream effectors, initiating a network of signal transduction pathways by interaction and activation of effector proteins. Although effectors are defined as proteins that selectively bind the GTP-bound state of the small GTPases, there have been also several indications for a nucleotide-independent binding mode. By characterizing the molecular mechanism of RhoA interaction with its effectors, we have determined the equilibrium dissociation constants of several Rho-binding domains of three different effector proteins (Rhotekin, ROCKI/ROK β/p160ROCK, PRK1/PKN α where ROK is RhoA-binding kinase) for both RhoA · GDP and RhoA · GTP using fluorescence spectroscopy. In addition, we have identified two novel Rho-interacting domains in ROCKI, which bind RhoA with high affinity but not Cdc42 or Rac1. Our results, together with recent structural data, support the notion of multiple effector-binding sites in RhoA and strongly indicate a cooperative binding mechanism for PRK1 and ROCKI that may be the molecular basis of Rho-mediated effector activation.
A Long-Run Risks Model of Asset Pricing with Fat Tails

We explore the effects of fat tails on the equilibrium implications of the long run risks model of asset pricing by introducing innovations with dampened power law to consumption and dividends growth processes. We estimate the structural parameters of the proposed model by maximum likelihood. We find that the stochastic volatility model with fat tails can generate implied risk premium, expected risk free rate and their volatilities comparable to the magnitudes observed in data. The model with fat tails leads to a significant increase in implied risk premia over the benchmark Gaussian model, but similar risk free rate and its volatility, as well as that of market returns and price-dividend ratios.
Perceptual Phenomena and Personality in Sensory Deprivation

From time to time, normal human beings not suffering from any mental illness have reported experiences either akin to or identical with hallucinations (Byrd, 1938; Slocum, 1948; Ritter, 1954; Bombard, 1955). The common features in these reports have been the social isolation of the people involved and the physical hardships of their living conditions. They have usually been solitary mariners or polar explorers. Scientific interest was not aroused in these phenomena until directed to them by the experiences of prisoners of war in Korea who had undergone “brain-washing” techniques. At this time, Hebb and his colleagues began a series of experiments which opened up an era of widespread research into the field of Sensory Deprivation.