Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Curculigoside isolated from Curculigo orchioides prevents hydrogen peroxide-induced dysfunction and oxidative damage in calvarial osteoblasts.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including H(2)O(2), play a critical role in the pathophysiology of osteoporosis. Therefore, agents or antioxidants that can inhibit ROS production have a high clinical value in the treatment of osteoporosis. Curculigoside (CUR), one of the main bioactive phenolic compounds isolated from the rhizome of Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. , is reported to have potent antioxidant and anti-osteoporotic properties. However, there is no direct evidence to link the antioxidant capacity of CUR with the observed anti-osteoporotic effect, and relevant molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of CUR against oxidative stress in calvarial osteoblasts and discussed the related mechanisms. It was found that osteoblast viability decreased significantly after 48-h exposure to 400 μM of H(2)O(2), compared with vehicle-treated cells, and the cytotoxic effect of H(2)O(2) was reversed significantly when pretreated with 0.1-10 μM of CUR (P< 0.05). Pretreatment with 0.1-10 μM of CUR decreased ROS production and lipid peroxidation, and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in osteoblasts induced by H(2)O(2). In addition, H(2)O(2)-induced reduction of differentiation markers such as alkaline phosphatase, calcium deposition, and Runx2 level was significantly recovered in the presence of CUR. CUR also reversed H(2)O(2)-induced stimulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and nuclear factor-κB signaling and the inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. These results provide new insights into the osteoblast-protective mechanisms of CUR through reducing the production of ROS, suggesting that CUR may be developed as a bio-safe agent for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other bone-related human diseases.
Circulating microparticles from patients with septic shock exert protective role in vascular function.

RATIONALE Sepsis is an archetypal condition with molecular links between inflammation and coagulation. Both events can be orchestrated by the interaction between circulating and vascular cells that under activation release microparticles. OBJECTIVES We characterized circulating microparticles from both nonseptic subjects and patients with septic shock and evaluated their contribution to vascular function. METHODS Circulating microparticles and their cell origin were measured in blood from 36 patients with septic shock and 18 nonseptic subjects by flow cytometry. Microparticles were then injected intravenously into mice and vascular reactivity was assessed in aorta. Expression and activity of enzymes involved in nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxygenase metabolite production were analyzed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Circulating levels of microparticles and platelet- and endothelial-derived microparticles were increased in septic patients. Surprisingly, septic microparticles enhanced the sensitivity of contraction of mouse aorta in response to serotonin. Interestingly, septic microparticles enhanced the contraction of aorta from lipopolysaccharide-treated mice. This effect was linked neither to increased calcium entry nor to Rho kinase inhibitor-sensitive mechanisms. In addition, the effect of septic microparticles was not modified either by NO-synthase or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and was not associated with NO or O2- overproduction. The nonselective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor indomethacin reduced, and the specific thromboxane A2 antagonist SQ-29548 abolished, aortic contraction in mice treated with nonseptic and septic microparticles. The effect of septic microparticles was associated with increased thromboxane A2 production, and was sensitive to a selective thromboxane A2 antagonist. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence that increased circulating microparticles are protective against vascular hyporeactivity accounting for hypotension in patients with septic shock.
Improved Localizadon of Cortical Activity by Combining EEG and MEG with MRI Cortical Surface Reconstruction: A Linear Approach

We describe a comprehensive linear approach to the problem of imaging brain activity with high temporal as well as spatial resolution based on combining EEG and MEG data with anatomical constraints derived from MRI images. The "inverse problem" of estimating the distribution of dipole strengths over the cortical surface is highly underdetermined, even given closely spaced EEG and MEG recordings. We have obtained much better solutions to this problem by explicitly incorporating both local cortical orientation as well as spatial covariance of sources and sensors into our formulation. An explicit polygonal model of the cortical manifold is first constructed as follows: (1) slice data in three orthogonal planes of section (needle-shaped voxels) are combined with a linear deblurring technique to make a single high-resolution 3-D image (cubic voxels), (2) the image is recursively flood-filled to determine the topology of the gray-white matter border, and (3) the resulting continuous surface is refined by relaxing it against the original 3-D gray-scale image using a deformable template method, which is also used to computationally flatten the cortex for easier viewing. The explicit solution to an error minimization formulation of an optimal inverse linear operator (for a particular cortical manifold, sensor placement, noise and prior source covariance) gives rise to a compact expression that is practically computable for hundreds of sensors and thousands of sources. The inverse solution can then be weighted for a particular (averaged) event using the sensor covariance for that event. Model studies suggest that we may be able to localize multiple cortical sources with spatial resolution as good as PET with this technique, while retaining a much finer grained picture of activity over time.
Measurement of intervertebral disc pressure with T1ρ MRI

The aim of this study is to demonstrate T1ρ MRI's capability for measuring intervertebral disc osmotic pressure. Self‐coregistered sodium and T1ρ‐weighted MR images were acquired on ex vivo bovine intervertebral discs (N = 12) on a 3 T clinical MRI scanner. The sodium MR images were used to calculate effective nucleus pulposus fixed‐charge‐density (mean = 138.2 ± 27.6 mM) and subsequently osmotic pressure (mean = 0.53 ± 0.18 atm), whereas the T1ρ‐weighted images were used to compute T1ρ relaxation maps. A significant linear correlation (R = 0.56, P < 0.01) between nucleus pulposus fixed‐charge‐density and T1ρ relaxation time constant was observed. More importantly, a significant power correlation (R = 0.72, P < 0.01) between nucleus pulposus osmotic pressure as predicted by sodium MRI and T1ρ relaxation time constant was also observed. The current clinical method for assessing disc pressure is discography, which is an invasive procedure that has been shown to have negative effects on disc biomechanical and biochemical properties. In contrast, T1ρ MRI is noninvasive and can be easily implemented in a clinical setting due to its superior signal‐to‐noise ratio compared with sodium MRI. Therefore, T1ρ MRI may serve as a noninvasive clinical tool for the longitudinal evaluation of disc osmotic pressure. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A clinically validated prediction method for facial soft‐tissue changes following double‐jaw surgery

Purpose: It is clinically important to accurately predict facial soft‐tissue changes prior to orthognathic surgery. However, the current simulation methods are problematic, especially in anatomic regions of clinical significance, e.g., the nose, lips, and chin. We developed a new 3‐stage finite element method (FEM) approach that incorporates realistic tissue sliding to improve such prediction. Methods: In Stage One, soft‐tissue change was simulated, using FEM with patient‐specific mesh models generated from our previously developed eFace template. Postoperative bone movement was applied on the patient mesh model with standard FEM boundary conditions. In Stage Two, the simulation was improved by implementing sliding effects between gum tissue and teeth using a nodal force constraint scheme. In Stage Three, the result of the tissue sliding effect was further enhanced by reassigning the soft‐tissue‐bone mapping and boundary conditions using nodal spatial constraint. Finally, our methods have been quantitatively and qualitatively validated using 40 retrospectively evaluated patient cases by comparing it to the traditional FEM method and the FEM with sliding effect, using a nodal force constraint method. Results: The results showed that our method was better than the other two methods. Using our method, the quantitative distance errors between predicted and actual patient surfaces for the entire face and any subregions thereof were below 1.5 mm. The overall soft‐tissue change prediction was accurate to within 1.1 ± 0.3 mm, with the accuracy around the upper and lower lip regions of 1.2 ± 0.7 mm and 1.5 ± 0.7 mm, respectively. The results of qualitative evaluation completed by clinical experts showed an improvement of 46% in acceptance rate compared to the traditional FEM simulation. More than 80% of the result of our approach was considered acceptable in comparison with 55% and 50% following the other two methods. Conclusion: The FEM simulation method with improved sliding effect showed significant accuracy improvement in the whole face and the clinically significant regions (i.e., nose and lips) in comparison with the other published FEM methods, with or without sliding effect using a nodal force constraint. The qualitative validation also proved the clinical feasibility of the developed approach.
Hyperemesis gravidarum in Chinese women.

Abstract Eighty-two cases of hyperemesis gravidarum managed in a regional hospital in Hong Kong were reviewed. In contrast to the literature, the incidence of hyperemesis gravidarum in the Chinese population fall within the range reported in the European countries. Most of the women were nulliparous, and women who had 2 or more successful pregnancies seldom have this condition. The possible role of human chorionic gonadotrophin in hyperemesis gravidarum is discussed.
Mucosal Molecular Pattern of Tissue Transglutaminase and Interferon Gamma in Suspected Seronegative Celiac Disease at Marsh 1 and 0 Stages

Background/Aim: In celiac disease (CD), there is increased mRNA coding for tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and interferon gamma (IFNγ). In seronegative celiac patients, the mucosal immune complexes anti-tTG IgA/tTG are found. We assayed tTG- and IFNγ-mRNA in the mucosa of patients with a clinical suspicion of seronegative CD and correlated the values with intraepithelial CD3 lymphocytes (IELs). Materials and Methods: Distal duodenum specimens from 67 patients were retrieved and re-evaluated for immunohistochemically proven CD3 IELs. Five 10 μm sections were used for the extraction and assay of tTG and IFNγ coding mRNA levels using reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Samples from 15 seropositive CD patients and 15 healthy subjects were used as positive and negative controls. Results were expressed as fold-change. Results: Our series was divided into three groups based on IEL count: >25 (14 patients: group A), 15–25 (26 patients: group B), and 0–15 (27 patients: Group C). tTG-mRNA levels were (mean ± SD): CD = 9.8 ± 2.6; group A = 10.04 ± 4.7; group B = 4.99 ± 2.3; group C = 2.26 ± 0.8, controls = 1.04 ± 0.2 (CD = group A > group B > group C = controls). IFNα-mRNA levels were: CD = 13.4 ± 3.6; group A = 7.28 ± 3.6; group B = 4.45 ± 2.9; group C = 2.06 ± 1.21, controls = 1.04 ± 0.4. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tTG- and IFNγmRNA levels are increased in both seropositive and potential seronegative patients with CD, showing a strong correlation with the CD3 IEL count at stage Marsh 1. An increase in both molecules is found even when IELs are in the range 15–25 (Marsh 0), suggesting the possibility of a “gray zone” inhabited by patients which should be closely followed up in gluten-related disorders.
The Good and Bad of Ambidexterity: In Which Domains Should Firms Be Ambidextrous or Not to Foster Innovativeness?

Because it is difficult and costly for firms to practice exploration and exploitation simultaneously in their new product development, managers need to know when investing in ambidexterity is beneficial for their firm’s innovativeness and when it is not. To date, research has remained undecided about the performance implications of striving for the joint implementation of exploration and exploitation. To address this persistent debate, the current study develops a new conceptualization that distinguishes two forms of ambidexterity, with contrasting effects on innovativeness. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory, this study proposes that market-based ambidexterity benefits companies’ innovativeness, whereas product-based ambidexterity harms it. The empirical results, obtained from longitudinal data gathered from 229 executives in multiple industries, confirm these theorized effects of the two forms of ambidexterity on product program innovativeness, which in turn increases firm performance. These findings help explain the varying effects of ambidexterity in prior research and offer important managerial and decision-making implications.
Umbilical glutathione levels are higher after vaginal birth than after cesarean section

Abstract Glutathione plays an important role in quenching reactive oxygen species, resulting in oxidation of glutathione, which in times of prolonged oxidative stress may be excreted from the erythrocyte. We investigated arterial and venous umbilical cord levels of glutathione in neonates born by vaginal delivery (n = 140) or cesarean section (n = 38). In a subset of neonates who were delivered vaginally maternal levels were assessed in parallel (n = 14). Median (5th–95th percentile) glutathione levels in venous and arterial umbilical samples were higher after vaginal delivery as compared to cesarean section, 2.7 (0.9–7.3) versus 2.0 (0.6–11.5; P < 0.03) and 3.5 (0.6–22.7) versus 2.3 (0.7–24.3) μmol/L (P < 0.02), respectively. Maternal glutathione levels were higher, 7.8 (4.3–10.6) μmol/L, than corresponding venous (P < 0.001) or arterial (P < 0.02) umbilical levels. These results suggest that vaginal delivery is associated with more oxidative stress than delivery by cesarean section.
Wrist Accelerometer Cut Points for Classifying Sedentary Behavior in Children

Introduction This study aimed to examine the validity and accuracy of wrist accelerometers for classifying sedentary behavior (SB) in children. Methods Fifty-seven children (5–8 and 9–12 yr) completed an ~170-min protocol, including 15 semistructured activities and transitions. Nine ActiGraph (GT3X+) and two GENEActiv wrist cut points were evaluated. Direct observation was the criterion measure. The accuracy of wrist cut points was compared with that achieved by the ActiGraph hip cut point (⩽25 counts per 15 s) and the thigh-mounted activPAL3TM. Analyses included equivalence testing, Bland–Altman procedures, and area under the receiver operating curve (ROC-AUC). Results The most accurate ActiGraph wrist cut points (Kim; vector magnitude, ⩽3958 counts per 60 s; vertical axis, ⩽1756 counts per 60 s) demonstrated good classification accuracy (ROC-AUC = 0.85–0.86) and accurately estimated SB time in 5–8 yr (equivalence P = 0.02; mean bias = 4.1%, limits of agreement = −20.1% to 28.4%) and 9–12 yr (equivalence P < 0.01; −2.5%, −27.9% to 22.9%). The mean bias of SB time estimates from Kim were smaller than ActiGraph hip (5–8 yr: 15.8%, −5.7% to 37.2%; 9–12 yr: 17.8%, −3.9% to 39.5%) and similar to or smaller than activPAL3TM (5–8 yr: 12.6%, −39.8% to 14.7%; 9–12 yr: −1.4%, −13.9% to 11.0%), although classification accuracy was similar to ActiGraph hip (ROC-AUC = 0.85) but lower than activPAL3TM (ROC-AUC = 0.92–0.97). Mean bias (5–8 yr: 6.5%, −16.1% to 29.1%; 9–12 yr: 10.5%, −13.6% to 34.6%) for the most accurate GENEActiv wrist cut point (Schaefer: ⩽0.19 g) was smaller than ActiGraph hip, and activPAL3TM in 5–8 yr, but larger than activPAL3TM in 9–12 yr. However, SB time estimates from Schaefer were not equivalent to direct observation (equivalence P > 0.05) and classification accuracy (ROC-AUC = 0.79–0.80) was lower than for ActiGraph hip and activPAL3TM. Conclusion The most accurate SB ActiGraph (Kim) and GENEActiv (Schaefer) wrist cut points can be applied in children with similar confidence as the ActiGraph hip cut point (⩽25 counts per 15 s), although activPAL3TM was generally more accurate.
Asthma Patients' Knowledge, Perception, and Adherence to the Asthma Guidelines

Asthma patients' knowledge and perceptions about asthma management regimens have been shown to correlate with the quality of their asthma management and outcomes. This study addresses adult ambulatory asthma patients' knowledge and perception of the asthma management guidelines issued by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. We interviewed 76 patients at three adult medicine outpatient clinics. Of 37 patients who knew about peak flow monitoring, 21 found it to be useful, only 10 were using it regularly, and 7 had a notation about it in their chart. Eight patients knew about patient self-assessment forms, 6 found them useful, 3 had used one recently, and only 1 patient had one in the chart. Six patients knew about asthma action plans, 4 of them thought that these plans were useful, but only 1 patient was actively using it. This study demonstrates major gaps in the asthma patients knowledge, perceptions, and their adherence to recommendations and also with the documentation in the medical record.
Young and old faces in young and old heads: the factor of age in face recognition.

Research on aging and face recognition has shown age-related differences that are reflected most clearly in false-alarm errors. Elderly subjects exceed young adults in false recognitions that new faces are "old. " To determine if this difference between young and elderly subjects might differ for young versus elderly faces, an experiment was conducted in which half of the young and elderly subjects studied and recognized young and middle-aged faces, and the remainder studied and recognized middle-aged and elderly faces. Replicating prior research, age-related deficits in recognition accuracy (d') were reduced with older faces, and this effect generalized from measures of face recognition to measures of face-picture recognition. However, the age-related increase in false recognitions of faces was not affected by face age.
Efficacies of ofloxacin, rifampin, and clindamycin in treatment of Staphylococcus aureus abscesses and correlation with results of an in vitro assay of intracellular bacterial killing

We studied the efficacies of ofloxacin, rifampin, and clindamycin in a Staphylococcus aureus abscess model and seven antimicrobial regimens in an intracellular killing assay. Ofloxacin plus rifampin was the most effective regimen in the abscess model, and rifampin and ofloxacin were the most active regimens in the intracellular killing assay.
Dose enhancement in gold nanoparticle-aided radiotherapy for the therapeutic photon beams using Monte Carlo technique.

BACKGROUND Gold nanoparticle (GNP)-aided radiation therapy (RT) is useful to make the tumor more sensitive to radiation damage because of the enhancement in the dose inside the tumor region. Polymer gel dosimeter (PGD) can be a good choice for the physical measurement of dose enhancement produced by GNP inside the gel. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study uses EGSnrc Monte Carlo code to estimate dose enhancement factor (DEF) due to the introduction of GNPs inside the PGD at different concentrations (7 and 18 mg Au/g of gel) when irradiated by therapeutic X-rays of energy 100 kVp, 150 kVp, 6 MV, and 15 MV. The simulation was also carried out to quantify the dose enhancement in PAGAT gel and tumor for 100 kVp X-rays. RESULTS For 100 kVp X-rays, average DEF of 1.86 and 2.91 is observed in the PAGAT gel dosimeter with 7 and 18 mg Au/g of gel, respectively. Average DEF of 1.69 and 2.61 is recorded for 150 kVp X-rays with 7 and 18 mg Au/g of gel, respectively. No clinically meaningful DEF was observed for 6 and 15 MV photon beams. Furthermore, the dose enhancement within the PAGAT gel dosimeter and tumor closely matches with each other. CONCLUSION The polymer gel dosimetry can be a suitable method of dose estimation and verification for clinical implementation of GNP-aided RT. GNP-aided RT has the potential of delivering high localized tumoricidal dose with significant sparing of normal structures when the treatment is delivered with low energy X-rays.
Effects of fertilization on quality flower production and foliar nutrient content of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. Master

Carnation cv. Master plants fertilized with 250 ppm N and K fertigation through urea and MOP + 250 ppm NPK foliar spray through a water soluble fertilizer Sujala (19 : 19 : 19 NPK) once a week is improved flowering as well as quality parameters and proved superior over the earlier recommended practices and the rest of the treatments. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjb.v44i1. 22736 Bangladesh J. Bot. 44 (1): 133-137, 2015 (March)
Performance of 10 Gb/s lightwave systems based on lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulators with asymmetric Y-branch waveguides

The dependence of the transmission performance of 10 Gb/s systems on the splitting ratio of the Y-branch waveguides in a lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator is assessed theoretically for single arm and dual arm modulation formats. When the splitting ratio is optimized, dual arm modulation using a push-pull configuration offers better dispersion limited performance than a conventional negative chirp modulator with symmetric Y-branch waveguides and single arm modulation (/spl alpha/ parameter of -1). The push-pull configuration also has the advantage of reducing the requirement on the amplitude of the modulating signals. <<ETX>>
Tracheotomy in children with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

Fifty‐eight patients with laryngeal papillomatosis were managed at Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, between January 1978 and December 1987. Twelve of these patients (21%) had tracheotomies. A retrospective review of these 12 cases was undertaken to determine the incidence, pattern, timing, and clinical risk factors for trachéal spread after tracheotomy. Six of 12 patients (50%) developed tracheal papillomas after tracheotomy. Peristomal mucosa was consistently the site of initial involvement followed by progressive distal spread along the length of the tracheotomy tube. Stomal involvement followed tracheotomy by an average of 14 weeks, occurring as early as 7 weeks postoperatively. Mid‐tracheal spread followed stomal involvement by an average of 10 weeks. Risk factors for tracheal spread included the presence of subglottic disease at the time of tracheotomy and prolonged cannulation. Whenever possible, tracheotomy should be avoided in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. When unavoidable, every effort should be made to keep the duration of cannulation as short as possible.