Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety and efficacy of UltraShape Contour I treatments to improve the appearance of body contours: multiple treatments in shorter intervals.

BACKGROUND The UltraShape Contour I System (CE 0344; UltraShape Ltd., Yoqneam, Israel) is a noninvasive fat reduction and body contouring system currently approved for use outside the United States that utilizes focused ultrasound to selectively disrupt adipocytes. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of the Contour I system when the intervals between treatments are shortened. METHODS Twenty-five healthy Caucasian women were selected from the patient population at two clinics in Paris, France, and received three 30- to 90-minute Contour I treatments in the abdominal region at two-week intervals. Safety parameters evaluated included adverse events, local skin reaction, and pain. Efficacy parameters evaluated included treatment area circumference, body weight, and comparison of before and after photos. Untreated thigh areas served as an internal control. Subjects were followed for 84 days after the last treatment (day 112). RESULTS No adverse events occurred. The majority of subjects (n = 23; approximately 90%) reported no pain. Mean midline circumference (2 cm below midline) was reduced by 2.47 cm (P < .001) on day 14 after the first Contour I treatment, 3.51 cm (P < .001) on day 56, and 3.58 cm (P < .001) on day 112. Peak midline circumference reduction was 3.12 cm on day 112. Most patients (n = 14; 63%) reported a positive change in body contour. Mean thigh circumference (the control area) was unchanged; the relative change between treated and untreated areas of the abdomen was significantly different at all time points. Circumference and weight reduction were significantly correlated (r = 0.42-0.71) at all time points; mean weight decrease was not statistically significant. Circumference reduction on day 112 positively correlated with patients' subjective satisfaction scores. CONCLUSIONS Our data showed that successive Contour I treatments at two-week intervals were safe and tolerable and also significantly reduced treatment area circumference.
Exposure to Bacteroides fragilis Endotoxin During Cardiac Surgery

Although endotoxemia has been observed during cardiac surgery, the identity of endotoxins to which patients are exposed is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that antibodies to Bacteroides fragilis (an anaerobic gut commensal and a common pathogen) decrease during cardiac surgery, thereby reflecting systemic exposure to this type of endotoxin. Serum antiendotoxin antibody levels were measured in 55 patients during routine cardiac surgery at the following times: Preoperatively, Pre-CPB (immediately before initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB]), Pre-CPB+5 (5 min after initiation of CPB), and End (end of surgery). Antiendotoxin antibody levels were determined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Total immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were measured by using laser nephelometry and decreases in total IgM levels were used to control changes in antiendotoxin antibody levels attributable to hemodilution. Median (interquartile range) hemodilution corrected IgM anti-B fragilis antibody levels decreased by 12% (5%–20%) from Preoperatively to End of surgery (P < 0.001). In contrast, median hemodilution corrected anti-B fragilis antibody levels did not change significantly from Pre-CPB to Pre-CPB+5, validating the correction for hemodilution. Immunoglobulin G anti-B fragilis antibody levels and IgM and immunoglobulin G anticore antibody levels decreased similarly during surgery. Intraoperatively, levels of anti-B fragilis endotoxin antibodies decreased significantly out of proportion to hemodilution. These results suggest that cardiac surgical patients are exposed to B fragilis endotoxin. Implications: We prospectively measured hemodilution-corrected antiendotoxin antibody levels in 55 cardiac surgical patients. We observed significant decreases in hemodilution-corrected levels of antibody to both Bacteroides fragilis and the core of endotoxin.
Arousal effect of orexin A depends on activation of the histaminergic system

Orexin neurons are exclusively localized in the lateral hypothalamic area and project their fibers to the entire central nervous system, including the histaminergic tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN). Dysfunction of the orexin system results in the sleep disorder narcolepsy, but the role of orexin in physiological sleep–wake regulation and the mechanisms involved remain to be elucidated. Here we provide several lines of evidence that orexin A induces wakefulness by means of the TMN and histamine H1 receptor (H1R). Perfusion of orexin A (5 and 25 pmol/min) for 1 hr into the TMN of rats through a microdialysis probe promptly increased wakefulness for 2 hr after starting the perfusion by 2.5- and 4-fold, respectively, concomitant with a reduction in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. Microdialysis studies showed that application of orexin A to the TMN increased histamine release from both the medial preoptic area and the frontal cortex by ≈2-fold over the baseline for 80 to 160 min in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, infusion of orexin A (1.5 pmol/min) for 6 hr into the lateral ventricle of mice produced a significant increase in wakefulness during the 8 hr after starting infusion to the same level as the wakefulness observed during the active period in wild-type mice, but not at all in H1R gene knockout mice. These findings strongly indicate that the arousal effect of orexin A depends on the activation of histaminergic neurotransmission mediated by H1R.
Microsatellite instability predicts improved response to adjuvant therapy with irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin in stage III colon cancer: Cancer and Leukemia Group B Protocol 89803.

PURPOSE Colon cancers exhibiting DNA mismatch repair (MMR) defects demonstrate distinct clinical and pathologic features, including better prognosis and reduced response to fluorouracil (FU) -based chemotherapy. This prospective study investigated adjuvant chemotherapy containing FU and irinotecan in patients with MMR deficient (MMR-D) colon cancers. PATIENTS AND METHODS Cancer and Leukemia Group B 89803 randomly assigned 1,264 patients with stage III colon cancer to postoperative weekly bolus FU/leucovorin (LV) or weekly bolus irinotecan, FU, and LV (IFL). The primary end point was overall survival; disease-free survival (DFS) was a secondary end point. Tumor expression of the MMR proteins, MLH1 and MSH2, was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). DNA microsatellite instability was also assessed using a panel of mono- and dinucleotide markers. Tumors with MMR defects were those demonstrating loss of MMR protein expression (MMR-D) and/or microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) genotype. RESULTS Of 723 tumor cases examined by genotyping and IHC, 96 (13.3%) were MMR-D/MSI-H. Genotyping results were consistent with IHC in 702 cases (97.1%). IFL-treated patients with MMR-D/MSI-H tumors showed improved 5-year DFS as compared with those with mismatch repair intact tumors (0.76; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.88 v 0.59; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.64; P = .03). This relationship was not observed among patients treated with FU/LV. A trend toward longer DFS was observed in IFL-treated patients with MMR-D/MSI-H tumors as compared with those receiving FU/LV (0.57; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.71 v 0.76; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.88; P = .07; hazard ratio interaction between tumor status and treatment, 0.51; likelihood ratio P = .117). CONCLUSION Loss of tumor MMR function may predict improved outcome in patients treated with the IFL regimen as compared with those receiving FU/LV.
Desferrioxamine improves neutrophil phagocytosis in thalassemia major

The aims of the present study are: first, to assess the toxic role of serum from thalassemic patients in phagocytosis of PMN from healthy controls, and second, to seek to determine whether serum and cellular disturbances of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) phagocytosis, observed in thalassemic patients, can be prevented and/or corrected by use of desferrioxamine (DFX).
Influence of Trp64Arg Polymorphism of Beta 3-Adrenoreceptor Gene on Insulin Resistance, Adipocytokines and Weight Loss Secondary to Two Hypocaloric Diets

Objective: To investigate the influence of the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the beta 3-adrenoreceptor gene on adipocytokines, insulin resistance and weight loss secondary to a low fat versus a low carbohydrate diet. Methods: A population of 193 obese patients was analyzed. A nutritional evaluation was performed at the beginning and at the end of a 2-month period in which subjects received 1 of 2 hypocaloric diets. Results: 172 (89.1%; 44 males, 128 females) subjects had the genotype Trp64/Trp64 (wild-type group) and 21 subjects (10.9%; 4 males, 17 females) had Trp64/Arg64 (mutant-type group). In the wild-type group BMI, weight, fat mass, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides, insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and leptin decreased significantly regardless of the diet. In the mutant-type group, this was the case for BMI, weight, waist circumference, fat mass and leptin levels. Only leptin levels have a significant decrease in the wild-type group (diet I 13.7%, diet II 26.3%, p < 0.05 for both). In the mutant group, leptin decreased as well (diet I 22.5%, diet II 30.1%, p < 0.05 for both). Conclusion: The metabolic effect of mild weight reduction by 2 hypocaloric diets is greatest in subjects homozygous for the normal beta 3-adrenoreceptor gene. Improvement in glucose, insulin and HOMA is better than in the mutant-type group.
Laminin-5 gamma 2 chain is colocalized with gelatinase-A (MMP-2) and collagenase-3 (MMP-13) in odontogenic keratocysts.

BACKGROUND Odontogenic keratocyst (KC) differs from other epithelial odontogenic cysts in regard to increased epithelial proliferation and a strong tendency to recur. Laminin-5 (Ln-5) is an epithelial anchoring filament component, which after modulation by certain matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), like MMP-2 and MMP-13, induces epithelial cell migration. METHODS Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, we studied the Ln-5 gamma-2 chain expression related to the expression of MMP-2, -8, and -13 in different odontogenic cysts, including radicular cysts (RC; n = 11), follicular cysts (FC; n = 11), and odontogenic keratocysts (KC; n = 16). RESULTS Ln-5 mRNA was present in all cysts examined, while less than half of KCs and RCs (33 and 40%, respectively) demonstrated MMP-2 mRNA. MMP-13 mRNA was present in all KC samples. Ln-5 protein was located as a continuous ribbon in BM zone of all KCs, and MMP-2 and MMP-13 immunoreactivities colocated significantly with Ln-5 in that area. MMP-8 was expressed by stromal macrophages and epithelial goblet cells, but never located in BM zone. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the colocalization of Ln-5 with MMP-2 or MMP-13, but not with MMP-8, in BM zone of KCs, may be related to special characteristics of KC.
The profile of scabies patients in Zagreb.

BACKGROUND Scabies is a mandatory notifiable disease according to Croatian law. Due to an increased reports of scabies within a couple of years in Zagreb, we decided to present epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies in Zagreb. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A retrospective survey was carried out in county Public Health Institute "Dr. Andrija Stampar" in Zagreb and analysis was performed for the period of 2010-2013 upon individual notifications on scabies cases. The patients are presented by sociodemographic data, diagnosis and treatment. RESULTS In a 4 year period there were 246 scabies cases recorded in Zagreb. Cases have been registered in all quarters of the City. The highest incidence (50/100 000) was recorded in every child age group following by incidence of over 30/100 000 in elderly institutionalized in nursing homes. In almost two thirds of patients management of scabies has not been conducted in accordance to current guidelines. 10% of scabies cases were found in medical health personnel predominantly in those working in nursing homes and psychiatric wards. A small amount of cases 19 (8%) were infected outside Croatia; the majority of these cases 15 (78%) are registered within last two years. CONCLUSION High percentage of scabies cases registered in nursing homes and psychiatric wards suggests that there is a need of raising awareness on scabies epidemiology and management by public health officers. Due to a higher incidence of scabies in children age, the obligation of medical practitioners is also to emphasize the importance of following treatment guidelines. In order to control scabies cases as well to prevent outbreaks within hospital wards or nursing homes there is an obligation of implementation of strict guidelines regarding treatment of scabies and a public health service referral.
Grain Yield and Economic Benefit of Intercropping Barley and Faba Bean in the Highlands of Southern Ethiopia

Abstract: Farmers in the highland areas of southern Ethiopia own less cultivable land. Barley and faba bean are important crops in the southern highlands of Ethiopia. However, rapid population growth in the region, which has led to scarcity of cultivable land, is threatening cultivation of these crops. Therefore, farmers often resort to alternative ways of maximizing crop yields from the small plots of land they own through intercropping. However, little empirical information is available on the agronomic and economic benefits obtained from intercropping barley and faba bean as well as on the influence of pattern of intercropping the two crops on productivity. Thus, a study was conducted during 2011 and 2012 years to evaluate the effect of barley (Ba)-faba bean (Fb) intercrop on yield, yield related traits and economic benefit in the highlands of southern Ethiopia. The treatments consisted of planting patterns of one (1Fb), two (2Fb) and three (3Fb) rows of faba bean combined with one (1Ba), two (2Ba) and three (3Ba) rows of barley. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement with three replications per treatment. Data were collected on a number of plant parameters on both crops. The results indicated that there were significant main effects of year and planting pattern on grain, straw and total biomass yields, harvest index and net income of barley. The number of barley seeds per spike was significantly influenced by the main effect of year, and was 12% less in 2011 than in 2012. Grain yield of barley in 2011 was 67% more than in 2012 while straw and total biomass yields were 45 and 23% less, respectively. Intercropping of 1Faba bean: 1Barley yielded 2176 kg ha -1 grain, HI of 96%, LER of 1.56, system productivity index of 3013, better monetary benefit of 9056 Ethiopian birr, and additional land benefit of 36% over the control treatment. Intercropping in this pattern also produced 91% more energy and significantly more income (167%) compared to sole crop barley. Intercropping of 1Faba bean: 1Barley, 1Faba bean: 2Barley and 1Faba bean: 3Barley yielded 52 to 79% less grain of faba bean than sole faba bean. The productivity of barley-faba bean intercrop was more (LER>1) and varied between 32 and 56%. In conclusion, this study indicated that farmers with subsistence and low-input farming can benefit more from intercropping of one row of faba bean combined with one, two and three rows of barley in terms of productivity and economic benefit. Keywords : Land equivalent ratio; Land benefit; Monetary benefit; Planting pattern; System productivity index; Row ratio
High Levels of Interleukin-10 Impair Resistance to Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis in Mice in Part through Control of Nitric Oxide Synthase 2 Expression

ABSTRACT We have shown previously that there is a direct correlation between IL-10 levels and susceptibility to Coccidioides immitis peritonitis in C57BL/6 (B6), DBA/2, and BXD recombinant inbred mice. We now show that B6 mice are also more susceptible to C. immitis pneumonia and that interleukin-10 (IL-10)-deficient (IL-10−/−) B6 mice are more resistant to C. immitis pneumonia. In addition, we established that high levels of IL-10 are sufficient to make genetically resistant mice susceptible to both C. immitis peritonitis and pneumonia by infecting h.IL-10 transgenic mice. Infected h.IL-10 transgenic mice express lower levels of gamma interferon, IL-12 p40, and inducible nitric oxide synthetase 2 (NOS2) mRNA in their lungs, implicating inducible NOS as a defense mechanism in this disease. We treated DBA/2 mice with aminoguanidine, and they became more susceptible to C. immitis peritonitis and pneumonia. We conclude that high levels of IL-10 are both necessary and sufficient to make mice susceptible to C. immitis, regardless of the genetic background of the mice, and that IL-10 impairs resistance to C. immitis in part by suppressing NO synthesis.
Relationships among teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership and teachers’ perceptions of school climate in the high school setting

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore high school teachers’ perceptions about principal leadership practices, as well as to gain an understanding of the teachers’ perceptions of school climate in a large urban district in the Western United States. Data were collected with two surveys, the Leadership Practices Inventory and the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire Revised for Secondary Schools, along with five demographic questions including age, gender, number of years teaching, number of years teaching with current principal, and level of education. Across nine high schools, 334 completed surveys were used to examine relationships among variables within the instruments, as well as to explore possible differences by demographic variables. Teachers who were older within the school setting perceived themselves as being less engaged and intimate, as related to the school climate, while those with principals for a shorter amount of time and only a bachelor’s degree (perhaps more novice) perceived the principals’ practices more positively. Results also suggested that, in schools where teachers perceived their principal as carrying out the given leadership practices, higher levels of a positive school climate were also perceived among higher-performing schools and within schools higher levels of federal free and/or reduced lunch rates.
Central-peripheral chemoreceptor interaction in awake cerebrospinal fluid-perfused goats.

We assessed the ventilatory interaction between central [central nervous system (CNS)] and peripheral chemoreceptor stimuli in five awake goats. CNS extracellular fluid (ECF) [H+] was altered with cisterna magna perfusion of mock CSF. Peripheral chemoreceptors were stimulated with three doses of NaCN given intravenously. The resulting dose-response curves were used to assess interaction of the central and peripheral stimuli. The observed interaction was hypoadditive; i.e., the average slope of the NaCN-inspired minute ventilation dose-response line was significantly greater during alkaline perfusion than during acidic perfusion. This correlation can be described by slope = -0.24 (CSF [H+]) + 30.7; r = 0.67 (P less than 0.01). Increased ventilatory responses were accompanied by increases in mean inspiratory flow, tidal volume, and breathing frequency and decreases in expiratory time in response to peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation. Unlike previous reports in anesthetized and denervated animals, in our awake intact goats the ventilatory and tidal volume responses showed no significant dependence on the level of control (pre-NaCN stimulus) inspired minute ventilation. We conclude that the level of [H+] in cerebral ECF exerts a significant reflex-mediated hypoadditive effect on the ventilatory responses to peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation.
A 1500 fps Highly Sensitive 256 , ˟, 256 CMOS Imaging Sensor With In-Pixel Calibration

High-speed CMOS imaging sensors (CIS) normally have low sensitivity because of the large integration capacitance. They also have high noise because pixel circuits cannot implement correlated double sampling (CDS) to remove the pixel reset noise. For applications, such as micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), this is a major limitation. In this work, we developed a technique to achieve high sensitivity and low noise for high-speed CIS. To maximize the sensitivity, we designed a new capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) pixel with a tiny metal-oxide-metal capacitor. The pixel circuit also implements CDS. As a result, the temporal noise is greatly reduced, and the sensitivity improves dramatically. To compensate the mismatch of small integration capacitors across the pixel array, an on-chip calibration scheme with in-pixel circuits is developed. Fully differential column circuits are designed to suppress the power supply injection in the large array of high-speed column circuits. A successive-approximation analog-to-digital (SAR ADC) is designed to achieve 10-bit resolution and to fit in the 15-μm column pitch. For testing modes, column circuits are configured into a two-step ADC to provide 13-bit dynamic range. The 256 × 256 CIS design is fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process. The imager samples up to 1500 fps. The pixel integration capacitor is 0.7 fF, which enables 68.5 V/lux · s sensitivity under the white illumination. The CIS temporal noise is 13.6e-. This sensitivity and noise performances are much better than previous high-speed CIS benchmark designs. Running at 1500 fps, the CIS can capture recognizable images with illumination down to 1 lux. The on-chip calibration suppresses the fixed-pattern noise lower than 0.52%. The prototype chip consumes 390 mW of power.
L-carnitine and haemodialysis: double blind study on muscle function and metabolism and peripheral nerve function.

Twenty-eight haemodialysis patients were randomized to L-carnitine, 2 g i.v. three times a week, and saline over a 6-week period. No obvious deficiency of carnitine was found in vastus lateralis with a median value of 12.9 mmol/kg dry weight; range 6.2-21.4. Female patients had lower total plasma carnitine compared to female controls, p less than 0.002, whereas no decrease was found in males. No relationship was found between muscle and total plasma carnitine. After carnitine administration the muscle carnitine level increased about 60%, p less than 0.01, and the total plasma carnitine level more than tenfold, whereas the initially high degree of acylation decreased, p less than 0.02. Maximum dynamic muscular strength was reduced with a mean value of 44% compared with healthy controls. Total metabolic activity of isolated skeletal muscle fibres, measured as heat production with a new technique using a perfusion microcalorimeter, showed a median value of 0.40 mW/g, 25% lower than normal, p less than 0.02. Carnitine administration had no effect on several different tests of muscular function. Neurophysiologically, discrete improvements in the temperature responses were recorded, but no changes in sensory and motor nerve conduction velocities or in vibration thresholds were noted. No symptomatic improvement was observed even in patients with the lowest carnitine levels prior to treatment. Our data do not support the hypothesis that carnitine deficiency contributes to muscle and nerve dysfunction in patients on chronic haemodialysis.