Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies of barrier function in patients with ulcerative colitis and pouchitis

Background : About 10-15% of patients with an ileoanal pouch develop a severe, form of pouchitis that necessitates long and/or frequent use of antibiotics and in rare cases even pouch excision. Probiotics have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrence after induction treatment with antibiotics. The mechanisms behind the positive effects of probiotics are not fully understood. The aim of our study was to examine the mucosal barrier function in relation to pouchitis, before and after treatment with probiotics. Methods: 16 patients with a history of severe pouchitis underwent endoscopy with biopsies of the pouch on three occasions: Once during active pouchitis, second after 4 weeks of treatment with antibiotics until clinical remission and third after eight weeks of probiotic treatment. 13 controls with an ileoanal pouch with no recent history of pouchitis were used. The biopsies were mounted in Ussing chambers and mucosal barrier function was assessed by electrophysiology, transmucosal uptake of E coli K12, permeability to Cr-EDTA and Horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Pouchitis Disease Activity Index (PDAI) was used in all subjects. Results: PDAI was significantly improved after treatment with antibiotics and probiotics. There was a significant difference in E. coli K12 passage before treatment compared to controls (3.7 units (3.4-8.5) vs 1.7 units (1.0-2.4) p< 0.01). E. coli K12 passage did not change after antibiotic treatment (5.0 units (3.3-7.1) p = ns vs controls). In contrast a significant reduction in bacterial uptake was seen after probiotics (2.2 units (1.8-3.3) p< 0.05). Likewise, a significant normalization of HRP flux was seen after probiotic treatment. Pouchitis did not affect paracellular permability or electrophysiology. Conclusion: Probiotic treatment restored the increased permeation to E. coli and HRP in patients with chronic pouchitis. This could be an important factor behind the positive effects of probiotics in patients with chronic pouchitis.
Inflammation in Overuse Tendon Injuries

Overuse tendon injuries present with pain and swelling of the affected tendon with associated decrease in exercise tolerance and function of the limb. After early inflammatory and degenerative hypotheses, the term “tendinopathy” is now deemed a more appropriate reflection of the mixed histopathological picture seen in operative biopsies from affected patients. The condition presents histopathological evidence of “failed healing response,” but its etiology remains unclear. The incidence of tendinopathy is increased in individuals with obesity and decreased insulin sensitivity (as seen in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus). These groups of patients also exhibit an increased risk of developing a state of chronic low-grade, systemic inflammation. This paper considers the theoretical bases to discuss whether these conditions may predispose to the development of tendinopathy and the implication that such a relationship may have on its management.
The pituitary gland of the musk shrew. Suncus murinus L. (Insectivora), with special reference to the cytology of the adenohypophysis.

The pituitary gland of the musk shrew, Suncus murinus L. was studied with special reference to the cytology of the adenohypophysis. In addition to the agranular cells (chromophobes), seven morphologically and tinctorially distinct chromophilic cell types (four mucoid and three acidophilic) were observed in the pars anterior. These cells have been tentatively named as types one to seven. On the basis of their morphology, topography and staining reactions, cells of types one to six were compared, respectively, with the TSH, FSH, ICSH (LH), LTH (prolactin), STH and ACTH cells of other mammals. The identity of type 7 cells could not be determined. Although mucoid cells (types 1, 2) are more concentrated in the rostroventral region of the pars anterior, a definite “zona tuberalis” seems to be lacking. Since the musk shrew is not a seasonal breeder, the gonadotropic cells (types 2, 3) of the adenohypophysis do not seem to fluctuate in structure during the different times of the year. However, conspicuous hypertrophy, hyperplasia and intense secretory activity of type 4 cells during pregnancy and lactation reinforces the postulation that these cells are lactotropic in function. Follicular cysts and colloid in the residual cleft were observed in a few instances. Their possible origin and significance are discussed.
CW Laser Operation of  ${\hbox {KLu}}_{0.945}{\hbox {Tm}}_{0.055}({\hbox {WO}}_{4})_{2}{\hbox {–KLu}}({\hbox {WO}}_{4})_{2}$ Epilayers Near 2 $\mu{\hbox {m}}$

Thin epilayers of monoclinic KLu(WO4)2 doped with thulium are grown by liquid phase epitaxy on undoped KLu(WO4 )2 substrates. The epitaxial composites are optically characterized and implemented in a cavity, longitudinally pumped (normal to the layer) by a Ti:sapphire laser. Tunable (1894-2039 nm) continuous-wave laser operation is achieved with maximum slope efficiency as high as 64% with respect to the absorbed pump power at 802 nm. The output power is limited by the crystal absorption
Carbamate-resistance in mosquitos. Selection of Culex pipiens fatigans Wiedemann (=C. quinquefasciatus Say) for resistance to Baygon.

The authors investigated the rate of development and other characteristics of Baygon-resistance in Culex pipiens fatigans (=C. quinquefasciatus) recently colonized from Southern California. Selective pressure against the larvae (strain L) for 35 generations resulted in 25.4-fold resistance in larvae, but only 3-fold and 4.8-fold resistance in adults, as determined by contact and topical application, respectively. Conversely, selective pressure on adults (strain A) for 24 generations resulted in 8.4-fold (contact) and 5.3-fold (topical) resistance in adults, but only 2.7-fold resistance in larvae. About 10% of strain A adults survived 1-hour contact exposure even when the concentration of Baygon was increased 100-fold. This was not due to enhanced phototropism in this stage. Larvae of strain L metabolized (14)C-labelled Baygon at a rate 2.5-fold greater than the non-selected strain. Cross-resistance in strain L to carbamates closely related to Baygon was high, but was extremely low to remotely related carbamates.The authors consider the relatively slow rate of development of resistance to Baygon, the reduced expressivity of the resistance character in adults, and its specificity for the selective agent and for closely related carbamates to be encouraging indications as to the usefulness of this class of compounds for mosquito control.
Role of protein S deficiency in children with venous thromboembolism

Summary Venous thromboembolism [TE] is a multifactorial disease, and protein S deficiency [PSD] constitutes a major risk factor. In the present study the prevalence of PSD and the clinical presentation at TE onset in a cohort of children is reported. In 367 unselected paediatric patients with TE (age 0.1–18 years) recruited between July 1996 and December 2013, a comprehensive thrombophilia screening was performed along with recording of anamnestic data. Thirty of 367 paediatric patients (8.2 %) derived from 27 families had PSD. Mean age at first TE onset was 14.5 years (range 0.1 to 18). Thrombotic locations were cerebral veins (n=8), calf vein TE (n=3) deep veins (DVT) of the leg (n=12), DVT & pulmonary embolism (n=5) and intra-cardiac veins (n=1) or purpura fulminans (n=1). PSD co-occurred with the factor 5 mutation at rs6025 or the homozygous factor 2 susceptibility variant at rs1799963 in one case each. The Heerlen polymorphism detected in five children presented with milder PSD. In 18 patients (60 %) a concomitant risk factor for TE was identified. A second TE event within primarily healthy siblings occurred in three of 27 PSD families (11.0 %). In this cohort of children with symptomatic TE, the prevalence of PSD adjusted for family status was 7.4 %. Given its clinical implication for patients and family members, thrombophilia testing should be performed and the benefit of medical or educational interventions should be evaluated in this high-risk population.
An Efficient Hybrid Feature Selection Method based on Rough Set Theory for Short Text Representation

With the rapid development of Internet and telecommunication industries, various forms of information such as short text which plays an important role in people's daily life. These short texts suffer from curse of dimensionality due to their sparse and noisy nature. Feature selection is a good way to solve this problem. Feature selection is a process that extracts a number of feature subsets which are the most representative of the original feature set; thus it becomes an important step in improving the performance of any Text Mining task. In this paper, a hybrid feature selection, based on Rough Set Theory (RST) which is a mathematical tool to deal with vagueness and uncertainty and Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) which is a theory for extracting and representing the contextualusage meaning of words, is proposed in order to improve Arabic short text representation. The proposed method has been tested, evaluated and compared using an Arabic short text categorization system in term of the F1-measure. The experimental results show the interest of our proposition. Keywords—Arabic Language; short text; feature selection; Rough Set Theory; Latent Semantic Analysis
Cross‐protection in mice infected with influenza A virus by the respiratory route is correlated with local IgA antibody rather than serum antibody or cytotoxic T cell reactivity

Mice previously infected with an aerosol of A/Rec 31 influenza virus were strongly protected against an aerosol challenge with A/Vic influenza as judged by lung virus titers recovered 2 days after the challenge infection. Such complete homotypic immunity was not achieved by priming with live Rec 31 virus injected i.v. or UV‐inactivated Rec 31 virus administered s.c. together with Al(OH)3 and saponin. The reason for the superior protective effect of the natural infection was investigated. The protection induced by respiratory infection with Rec 31 virus was specific for influenza A viruses. It was not correlated with specific serum hemagglutination inhibition antibody titer or cross‐reactive cytotoxic T (Tc) cell reactivity. Moreover, the transfer of splenic and lymphoid T cell populations with strong secondary Tc activity did not significantly reduce lung virus titers in recipient mice 3 days after infection. The protection however occurred in parallel with the presence of cross‐reactive IgA antibody in the lung washings. It thus appears that local secretory IgA plays a causal role in the prevention of cross‐infection by influenza A virus. Serum antibody and Tc cells, on the other hand, may be crucial for recovery from such infection. All mice primed with live Rec 31 virus, administered i.v. or by aerosol and expressing equally high levels of Tc reactivity, survived a lethal challenge with A/PR8 virus. The same challenge, however, killed half of the mice immunized s.c. with inactivated Rec 31 virus which induced only a low level of Tc reactivity.
Comparison of Various Urban Radiowave Propagation Models With Measurements

A measurement campaign performed at 1.8 GHz in an urban environment of the city of Cartagena, Spain, is presented. The measurement procedure and data analysis are properly described. The experimental results are then compared with various urban propagation models in order to study their validity in predicting radio signal losses. The analysis shows that different considerations assumed in the models such as the type of wave incidence that is impinging over the series of buildings (plane or spherical) as well as the number of the latter existing across the different propagation paths can be significant in order to obtain more precise and realistic predictions of signal losses.
Dietary Phosphorus Transcriptionally Regulates 25-Hydroxyvitamin D-1α-Hydroxylase Gene Expression in the Proximal Renal Tubule.

Synthesis of the hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the biologically active form of vitamin D, occurs in the kidney and is catalyzed by the mitochondrial cytochrome P450 enzyme, 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1alpha-hydroxylase (1alpha-hydroxylase). We sought to characterize the effects of changes in dietary phosphorus on the kinetics of renal mitochondrial 1alpha-hydroxylase activity and the renal expression of P450c1alpha and P450c24 mRNA, to localize the nephron segments involved in such regulation, and to determine whether transcriptional mechanisms are involved. In intact mice, restriction of dietary phosphorus induced rapid, sustained, approximately 6- to 8-fold increases in renal mitochondrial 1alpha-hydroxylase activity and renal P450c1alpha mRNA abundance. Immunohistochemical analysis of renal sections from mice fed the control diet revealed the expression of 1alpha-hydroxylase protein in the proximal convoluted and straight tubules, epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule, thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, distal tubule, and collecting duct. In mice fed a phosphorus-restricted diet, immunoreactivity was significantly increased in the proximal convoluted and proximal straight tubules and epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule, but not in the distal nephron. Dietary phosphorus restriction induced a 2-fold increase in P450c1alpha gene transcription, as shown by nuclear run-on assays. Thus, the increase in renal synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D induced in normal mice by restricting dietary phosphorus can be attributed to an increase in the renal abundance of P450c1alpha mRNA and protein. The increase in P450c1alpha gene expression, which occurs exclusively in the proximal renal tubule, is due at least in part to increased transcription of the P450c1alpha gene.
Critical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life

In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good--or equally poor--health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.
Effectiveness of a once weekly double dose of etanercept in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a clinical study

Etanercept is effective in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). 1–3 Currently it is administered subcutaneously at a dose of 0.4 mg/kg (maximum of 25 mg) twice a week. Clinical trials in adults show that administration of a double dose once a week is effective enough to induce and retain remission.4,5 A pharmacokinetic model developed by Yim et al 6 indicates that the same dosing regimen could be used in children. Wallace7 mentions the once weekly double dose in patients with JIA, but this is not supported by clinical trials. Therefore we evaluated the efficacy of etanercept administered subcutaneously once a week at a dose of …
Calicoblastic neoplasms in Acropora palmata, with a review of reports on anomalies of growth and form in corals.

Colonies of the elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), possessing raised, whitened, irregularly shaped skeletal protuberances, were discovered at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks, Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary, Key Largo, FL. These lesions exhibited relatively rapid growth and spread along the branches, as polyps were overlaid by coenosteal skeletal material. Histopathological examinations of the soft tissues surrounding and extending into the skeletal masses revealed proliferation of gastrovascular canals and associated calicoblastic epidermis, with loss of normal polyp structures and zooxanthellae. The slightly atypical tumor calicoblasts were cuboidal to columnar, resembling those found in the rapidly growing apical tips. Stable carbon isotope ratios of skeletal samples revealed that the tumor skeleton was isotopically lighter than the skeleton in the normal or apical track regions, indicative of higher tissue metabolic rates and lack of carbon isotope fractionation by zooxanthellae. This condition appears to be a neoplasm of the coral, and it is proposed that it be classified "calicoblastic epithelioma. " Several different types of abnormal skeletal deposition, possibly the result of neoplastic processes, have been reported to occur in stony corals and are here reviewed.
Severe lipemia induced by tamoxifen

A 61‐year‐old woman was treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer and had marked hyperlipoprotenemia: high plasma triglyceride levels (2790 mg/dl); increased very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels (241 mg/dl); and high VLDL apoprotein B levels (126 mg/dl). Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was decreased (104 mg/dl) and LDL apoprotein B was at 107 mg/dl. A low activity of both postheparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (h‐TGL) was also noted. All these observations were reversed following tamoxifen withdrawal. Plasma triglyceride levels fell to 361 mg/dl. VLDL cholesterol and VLDL apoprotein B decreased to 41 mg/dl (83%) and 21 mg/dl (83%), respectively. Meanwhile, LDL cholesterol rose to 194 mg/dl (86%) and LDL apoprotein B increased to 138 mg/dl (29%). LPL and h‐TGL activities did increase following tamoxifen withdrawal. Our observations show that, in some patients, the previously described weak hypertriglyceridemic effect of tamoxifen is amplified. That observation supports the concept and helps to explain that, in such severe induced lipemia, reduction of the activities of LPL and h‐TGL might impede the conversion of VLDL to LDL, thus causing an amplification of the effect.
Persistent occult hypoperfusion is associated with a significant increase in infection rate and mortality in major trauma patients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the hypothesis that occult hypoperfusion (OH) is associated with infectious episodes in major trauma patients. METHODS Data were collected prospectively on all adult trauma patients admitted to the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit from November of 1996 to December of 1998. Treatment was managed by a single physician according to a defined resuscitation protocol directed at correcting OH (lactic acid [LA] > 2.4 mmol/L). RESULTS Of a total of 381 consecutive patients, 118 never developed OH and 263 patients exhibited OH. Seventeen patients were excluded because their LA never corrected, and they all subsequently died. One hundred seventy-six infectious episodes occurred in 97 of the 364 patients remaining. The infection rate in patients with no elevation of LA was 13.6% (n = 118) compared with 12.7% (n = 110) in patients whose LA corrected by 12 hours, 40.5% (n = 79; p < 0.01 compared with all other groups) in patients whose LA corrected between 12 and 24 hours, and 65.9% (n = 57; p < 0.01 compared with all other groups) in patients who corrected after 24 hours. Among the patients with infections, there were 276 infection sites with 42% of infections involving the lung and 21% involving bacteremia. There was no difference in proportion of infections occurring at each site between groups. The mortality rate of patients who developed infections was 7.9% versus 1.9% in patients without infections (p < 0.05). Of the patients who developed infections, 69.8% versus 25.8% (p < 0.001) did not have their lactate levels normalized within 12 hours of emergency room admission. Logistic regression demonstrated that both the Injury Severity Score and OH > 12 hours were independently predictive of infection. CONCLUSION A clear increase in infections occurred in patients with OH whose lactate levels did not correct by 12 hours, with an associated increase in length of stay, days in surgical/trauma intensive care unit, hospital charges, and mortality.
A Study of Endurance Issues in HfO2-Based Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistors: Charge Trapping and Trap Generation

Recent demonstration of aggressively scaled HfO2-based ferroelectric field effect transistors (FE-HfO2-FETs) has illustrated a pathway to fabricate FeFETs that enjoy COMS-compatibility, low power, fast switching speed, scalability, and long retention. One potential issue of this promising technology is its limited endurance, which has been attributed to the degradation of gate stack before the fatigue of polarization in the ferroelectric HfO2 layer. Some associated work has identified charge trapping and trap generation as key villains, but a clear understanding of two aforementioned underlining mechanisms is still missing. In this letter, we initiated this letter to investigate the roles of charge trapping and trap generation in causing endurance failure of FE-HfO2 FETs.
Factors influencing Malaysian public attitudes to agro-biotechnology

Despite considerable research in advanced countries on public perceptions of and attitudes to modern biotechnology, limited effort has been geared towards developing a structural model of public attitudes to modern biotechnology. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevant factors influencing public attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) soybean, and to analyze the relationship between all the attitudinal factors. A survey was carried out on 1,017 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey have confirmed that attitudes towards complex issues such as biotechnology should be seen as a multifaceted process. The most important factors predicting support for GM soybean are the specific application-linked perceptions about the benefits, acceptance of risk and moral concern while risk and familiarity are significant predictors of benefit and risk acceptance. Attitudes towards GM soybean are also predicted by several general classes of attitude.
Crystal chemistry of Al-rich biotites coexisting with muscovites in peraluminous granites

Abstract A comparison was made between single-crystal structure refinements, electron microprobe analyses and octahedral site populations of seven biotite crystals and data obtained previously for coexisting muscovite in peraluminous granites using the same methods. Both micas, from several plutons of Northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) and Sardinia (Italy), show significant octahedral substitutions: biotite has a composition characterized by relatively high [6]Al content (0.32 ≤ [6]Al ≤ 0.59 apfu), whereas muscovite is characterized by phengite-like substitutions [0.12 ≤ [6](Mg + Fe + Ti + Mn) ≤ 0.35]. Mean bond-lengths and electron count data for six biotites-1M (space group C2/m, agreement factor 2.7% ≤ Robs ≤ 3.6%) and a biotite-2M1 (space group C2/c, Robs = 2.8%) show that Al substitutes for divalent cations in the octahedral M2 site and that the Fe and Mg distribution is disordered. The mean tetrahedral bond lengths determined for biotite-2M1 reflect Al-Si disorder. In coexisting muscovite-2M1 crystals, small positive electron density residuals close to M1 site position as well as the increase in M2 mean atomic number is in agreement with the presence of a significant phengitic component. Reduction in biotite unit-cell dimensions with the increase of Al follows a pattern similar to that of associated muscovites, and the octahedral site volumes of both micas are influenced by the Al saturation index (ASI) of the rock. These results, and the calculated partition coefficients between biotite and muscovite for elements in M sites, are consistent with continuous reaction and re-equilibration of biotite and muscovite during crystallization of peraluminous granitic melts.