Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Rat-to-Mouse Bioartificial Pancreas Xenotransplantation on Diabetic Renal Damage and Survival

Objective: Diabetic nephropathy is a life-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus. Bioartificial pancreas transplantation is becoming a therapeutic option for diabetes mellitus as it protects both allogeneic and xenogeneic islets from the host immune system. This study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of bioartificial pancreas transplantation to improve or prevent diabetic renal damage. Methods: Approximately 800 rat islets were macroencapsulated in polyvinyl alcohol gel and then transplanted into the peritoneal cavity of diabetic mice (transplantation group [Tx group]). Diabetic mice transplanted with a capsule without islets served as a sham operation group. After transplantation, the following data were collected: survival, body weight, blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine levels, urinalysis, water intake, and histological changes in the kidney. Results: There was a significant improvement in survival, blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine in the Tx group compared with the sham operation group. No remarkable changes were seen in urinary parameters between the 2 groups, and there was also no significant difference in water intake. Histological examination revealed that mesangial matrix expansion was decreased in the Tx group. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that polyvinyl alcohol gel bioartificial pancreas transplantation can protect the kidney from diabetic damage.Abbreviations: BG = blood glucose, BUN = blood urea nitrogen, BW = body weight, DM = diabetes mellitus, DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide, FBS = fetal bovine serum, H-E = hematoxylin-eosin, IDDM = type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, PAS = periodic acid-Schiff, PET = polyethylene terephthalate, PVA = polyvinyl alcohol, SEM = Standard error of mean, STZ = streptozotocin, Tx = transplantation, UW = University of Wisconsin
Evaluation of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a coke production and a graphite electrode manufacturing plant: assessment of urinary excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene as a biological indicator of exposure.

OBJECTIVES--Characterisation of the airborne concentration of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at various workplaces in a graphite electrode and a coke production plant. Validation of the urinary excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene (hydroxypyrene) as a biological marker of exposure to PAH. DESIGN--Cross sectional study of workers exposed to PAHs (106 in the graphite electrode producing plant and 16 in the coke works). METHODS--Personal air sampling during at least six hours per workshift using a glass fibre filter and a Chromosorb 102 solid sorbent tube and analysis of PAHs by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrofluorometric detection (SFD). Collection of spot urine samples before and after the shift and analysis of 1-hydroxypyrene by HPLC and SFD. RESULTS--The workers most exposed to PAHs were those occupied at the topside area of the coke oven plant and those working in the blending and impregnation areas of the graphite electrode producing plant (mean airborne concentration of total PAHs: 199 and 223 micrograms/m3 respectively). Except for naphthalene and perylene, the relative proportion of the different PAHs did not differ between the plants. Pyrene concentration in air was highly correlated with the total airborne PAH concentration (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and the correlation coefficients between hydroxypyrene concentration in postshift urine samples and pyrene or total PAHs in air were 0.67 (p < 0.0001) and 0.72 (p < 0.0001) respectively. Excretion of hydroxypyrene doubled when the exposure to pyrene in air increased 10-fold. The half life for the urinary excretion of hydroxypyrene was around 18 hours (95% confidence interval 16.1-19.8). Smoking habits only explained 2.3% of the variance in hydroxypyrene excretion compared with 45% for the pyrene concentration in air. CONCLUSION--The determination of the urinary excretion of hydroxypyrene in postshift urine samples can be used as a suitable biomarker to assess individual exposure to PAHs in coke ovens and in graphite electrode manufacturing plants.
An optimized mapping algorithm based on Simulated Annealing for regular NoC architecture

Network on chip (NoC) architecture is viewed as a potential solution for the interconnect demands of the emerging multi-core systems since it renders the system high performance, flexibility and low-cost. Mapping tasks onto different cores of the network is a critical phase in NoC design because it determines the energy consumption and packet latency. In order to reduce the energy consumption of applications running on multi-core architecture, we propose a new mapping strategy based on Simulated Annealing (SA). By allocating tasks that have big communication volume to adjacent places on the mesh, the proposed method overcomes the shortcoming of blind search in traditional SA. The experiment results reveal that the solutions generated by the proposed algorithm reduce average energy consumption by 56.56% in mapping 16 tasks and 66.32% in mapping 49 tasks compared with traditional Simulated Annealing (SA). 1
Renin-angiotensin polymorphisms and QTc interval prolongation in end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND Polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) genes in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on chronic hemodialysis may be associated with QTc interval prolongation, leading to fatal arrhythmias. The objective of this study was to determine (1) the prevalence of QTc prolongation in hemodialysis patients, and (2) the association of a prolonged QTc in these patients with RAS polymorphisms [angiotensin-converting enzyme-insertion/deletion (ACE-I/D), angiotensin type 1 receptor-A1166C (AT1R-A1166C), and angiotensinogen-M235T (AGT-M235T)]. METHODS Twelve-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs), serum electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and calcium), and ACE and angiotensin II levels were obtained 10 to 12 hours after a hemodialysis session in 43 patients with ESRD on chronic hemodialysis [mean age (+/-SD), 55 +/- 14 years]. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the presence of polymorphisms of the ACE-I/D, AT1R-A1166C, and AGT-M235T genes was determined from the buccal cells. A maximum QT interval in patients with sinus rhythm and normal QRS duration was corrected for heart rate using Hodges' formula. RESULTS Fifty-eight percent of the patients had QTc interval prolongation (>440 msec). The ACE-DD genotype (P = 0.002) and the C allele of the AT1R-A1166C gene (P = 0.004), but not the AGT-M235T gene, contributed to QTc prolongation. CONCLUSION Polymorphisms of ACE and AT1R genes additively contribute to QTc prolongation found in a great majority of ESRD patients. Therefore, ESRD patients with both or one of these polymorphisms may be at a higher risk for sudden cardiac death.
Factors associated with fertility of nulliparous dairy heifers following a 10-day fixed-time artificial insemination program with sex-sorted and conventional semen.

OBJECTIVE To examine factors associated with fertility on dairy farms that used a common fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) program in yearling heifers. METHODS Records were analysed from 954 yearling heifers on 10 south-west Victorian dairy farms that used a common FTAI program, involving the insertion of a 1.9-g progesterone-releasing device for 10 days; 2 mg oestradiol benzoate at insertion; 500 µg cloprostenol on day 7; and FTAI 48 h after device removal. Weight, age, expression of oestrus, sire, semen type (frozen sex-sorted or frozen conventional) and timing of insemination were examined for their relationship with first-service conception rates. RESULTS Heifers over 300 kg body weight were 1.18-fold more likely to express oestrus during the FTAI program. For every extra 1 kg, there was a 1.5% increase in the likelihood of expressing oestrus. First-service conception rates were 40.3% and 56.0% for sex-sorted and conventional semen, respectively, and were significantly higher when oestrus was expressed. The difference was greater for sex-sorted semen (3.4-fold) compared with conventional semen (1.5-fold). The interval from device removal to insemination varied between 47 and 51.4 h and had no significant effect on conception rates. However, there was a trend towards a higher conception rate for sex-sorted semen when inseminations were performed >50 h after device removal. CONCLUSIONS Increased fertility was associated with larger heifers and heifers that expressed oestrus, particularly when sexed-sorted semen was used. Variation in the timing of AI with respect to device removal between 47 and 51.4 h did not adversely affect conception rates.
Robust H/sub /spl infin// filtering for a class of uncertain Lurie time-delay singular systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of the robust H/sub /spl infin// filtering for a class of Lurie singular system with state time-delays, parameters uncertainties and unknown statistics characteristics but limited power disturbance. The purpose is to design a robustly stable filter such that the uncertain Lurie time-delay singular systems are not only regular, impulse free and stable, but also have a prescribed level of H/sub /spl infin// performance for the filtering error dynamics for all admissible uncertainties. A sufficient condition for the existence of such a filter is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). When a solution to this set of LMIs exists, the parametric matrices of a desired filter can be easily obtained using LMI toolbox. Finally, illustrative examples are given to demonstrate the superiority of the presented method.
Efecto del CIDR posinseminación sobre la tasa de preñez en vacas de carne

El objetivo principal de este trabajo fue aumentar los porcentajes de gestacion en bovinos, estableciendo el uso del CIDR (Controlled Internal Drug Release) como coadyuvante del mantenimiento del Cuerpo Luteo (CL). Se utilizaron 137 animales de las razas Simmental, Simbrah y Tuli fueron sometidos al programa de sincronizacion de ciclo estral e inseminacion artificial. Los animales que respondieron al programa (n=65) se dividieron en tres grupos a los cuales se les aplico (siete dias postIA) o no un CIDR usado por 0 (testigo, n=20), 7 (n=24) o 14 dias (n=21) postinseminacion. Los porcentajes de prenez obtenidos (66.6%) al aplicar el CIDR por 14 dias postIA son mas altos (6.6%) en comparacion con el grupo testigo (60.0%). Aunque los resultados de prenez no fueron diferentes (P>0.05) entre tratamientos, existio una tendencia a mejorar la tasa de prenez, lo que podria significar de seis a siete becerros mas, aplicando esta practica de estudio, ademas de tener una resincronizacion de estros elevada (41.2%) en animales no prenados
Precancerous changes in the cervix and risk of subsequent preterm birth

Sir, One of the underlying principles of screening is that any resultant intervention should not increase the risk of harm. We therefore welcome the study of Bruinsma et al.1 with data on the risk of preterm birth in a cohort of 1951 women treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). This paper has excited widespread interest. The authors’ conclusion that consideration should be given preferentially to ablative treatments is not supported by their data. The use of diathermy, an ablative method of treatment abandoned because of its radicality, was the only treatment method significantly associated with preterm delivery. There were only 69 women in the study treated by large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) (loop electrosurgical excision procedure), and the study had 80% power to identify a relative risk of 3.5 in this subgroup with 95% confidence. The results presented suggest that at least 500 women treated by LLETZ would be required to confirm these findings statistically. The reasons for preterm delivery are complex and multifactorial. As highlighted, many of the risk factors for preterm birth are shared among women developing CIN. In our study on pregnancy outcome after LLETZ,2 we matched 149 women post-LLETZ for these characteristics and found no significant difference. Only 3.5% of women in the cohort of Bruinsma et al. had undergone LLETZ compared with the UK where at least 70% of women are treated by this method. This might suggest that excision was reserved for extended treatment where a greater depth of the cervical canal is removed or that there is less experience with this form of treatment. We fully support the need to monitor the outcomes for women treated for CIN compared with recognised risk factors including the type of transformation zone and depth of treatment to ascertain the depth of cervical canal destroyed. We would caution, given the success of the screening programmes in the UK, that we do not yet have data to support abandoning LLETZ for ablation. j
Primary cutaneous lymphomas

Primary cutaneous lymphomas have a distinct clinical behavior and prognosis, and therefore require a different therapeutic approach, as compared with their primary nodal equivalents. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) classification for primary cutaneous lymphomas recognizes a limited number of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas and cutaneous B-cell lymphomas and is at present the best guide to optimal management and treatment of these conditions. Herein, the relationship between the EORTC classification and the recently published World Health Organization classification is discussed, and recent developments regarding the main types of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas and cutaneous B-cell lymphomas recognized in the EORTC classification are presented.
Auxiliary Constrained Control of a Class of Fault-Tolerant Systems

This paper is concerned with the robust constrained control problem for a class of fault-tolerant time-varying systems against actuator faults and input amplitude saturation. An adaptive technique is proposed to compensate for the impacts of actuator bias faults and partial loss of control effectiveness, as well as to eliminate the effects of unknown time-varying parameters of the systems. An auxiliary system is developed to ensure that the actuator behaves within the limitation of the actuator amplitude. Based on the compensation strategies and auxiliary signals, a novel adaptive fault-tolerant constrained controller is constructed to guarantee the convergence of the system states into a small stability domain in the presence of actuator faults, actuator amplitude limitations, and unknown system parameters. An example of F-18 flight control systems is given to illustrate the proposed procedures and its effectiveness.
The Analysis of Malignancy by Cell Fusion: III. Hybrids Between Diploid Fibroblasts and Other Tumour Cells

Diploid fibroblasts were fused with cells of two highly malignant near euploid tumours, a sarcoma induced by polyoma virus and a spontaneous carcinoma; the resulting hybrid cells were tested for their ability to grow progressively in vivo . In the case of the sarcoma/fibroblast hybrids, 15 clonal populations, each derived from a separate primary fusion, were examined. Most of these populations already showed substantial losses of chromosomes by the time enough cells had been generated to permit chromosomal analysis; but a few clones were isolated with chromosomal constitutions approximating to the sum of the 2 parental chromosome sets. Those clones that had undergone substantial chromosomal losses were highly tumorigenic, but some of the clones that contained the complete, or almost complete, chromosome sets of both parent cells, showed a greatly reduced take incidence. Initially these clones produced very few tumours, but the take incidence rose as continued cultivation of the cells in vitro resulted in progressive loss of chromosomes. In the case of the carcinoma/fibroblast hybrids, clonal populations with very high chromosome numbers were selected for special study. These were also found to have a very low take incidence, comparable to that of the hybrids formed by the fusion of the tumour cells with L cell derivatives. None of the tumours produced by the injection of either the sarcoma/fibroblast or carcinoma/fibroblast hybrids were composed of cells containing chromosome complements corresponding to the sum of the 2 parental chromosome sets; all the tumours were formed by selective overgrowth of cells from which some chromosomes had been eliminated. These results indicate that the malignancy of the tumour cells can be suppressed by diploid fibroblasts as well as by the L cell derivatives, but that the rapid chromosome losses characteristic of hybrids between these tumour cells and diploid fibroblasts generate malignant segregants with much greater frequency. In the range of material examined in the present experiments malignancy thus behaves as if it were a recessive character.
Predictors of spirituality at the end of life.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness, desire for hastened death, and clinical and disease-related characteristics among patients with advanced cancer, and to investigate predictors of spirituality. Spiritual well-being is thought to have a beneficial effect on patients' response to illness. DESIGN Patients were asked to complete 4 questionnaires: the Greek version of the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, the Greek version of the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and a questionnaire on demographics. SETTING A palliative care unit in Athens, Greece. PARTICIPANTS A total of 91 patients with advanced cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Associations between scores on the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs scale and scores on the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death scale and the Beck Hopelessness scale, and demographic characteristics. RESULTS Statistically significant associations were found between spirituality and sex of patients (P = .001) and spirituality and stronger hopelessness (r = 0.252, P = .016). In multivariate analyses, stronger hopelessness, male sex, younger age, and receiving chemotherapy were found to be the strongest predictors of being spiritual. CONCLUSION Demographic and clinical characteristics and stronger hopelessness appeared to have statistically significant relationships with spirituality. Interventions to improve patients' spiritual well-being should take these relationships into account.
Experimental study on origin of VTH variability under NBT stress

The origin of NBTI variability was investigated experimentally using the recovery by hydrogen annealing after NBT stressing. In the case of hydrogen-annealed devices after low voltage NBT stress, ΔVTH and ΔICP values including these distributions completely coincide with those in the case of the first NBT stress, irrespective the number of both the stress and the hydrogen annealing. This result indicates that the defects generated by applying low voltage NBT stress can be completely recovered by hydrogen incorporation. On the contrary, in the case of the hydrogen-annealed devices after high voltage NBT stress, the variability of ΔVTH under low-voltage NBT stress after hydrogen annealing becomes more marked compared to that for fresh device, while the relationship between the mean values and the variability of ΔICP coincides with that of fresh device. Based on the experimental results, we conclude that the variability of the quantity of hole-trapping precursors in gate oxide films is the dominant origin for the VTH-shift distribution, rather than the variability of the quality of the gate dielectric interface.
Rate of acyl migration in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is dependent upon the nature of the acyl group. Greater stability of sn-2 docosahexaenoyl LPC compared to the more saturated LPC species

Several previous studies reported that sn-2 acyl lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) undergo rapid isomerization due to acyl migration, especially at physiological pH and temperature. However, these studies have been carried out using mostly sn-2 palmitoyl LPC, whereas the naturally occurring sn-2 LPCs are predominantly unsaturated. In this study, we investigated the acyl migration in four naturally occurring sn-2 acyl LPCs (sn-2 16:0, sn-2 18:1, sn-2 20:4, and sn-2 22:6) stored at various temperatures in aqueous or organic solvents, employing LC/MS to analyze the isomer composition. At 37°C and pH 7.4, the order of acyl migration rates (from sn-2 to sn-1) in aqueous buffer was 16:0 LPC> 18:1 LPC> 20:4 LPC> 22:6 LPC. The rate of isomerization of sn-2 16:0 LPC was 2–5 times greater than that of sn-2 22:6 under these conditions. Complexing the LPCs to serum albumin accelerated the acyl migration of all species, but sn-2 22:6 LPC was least affected by the presence of albumin. The migration rates were lower at lower temperatures (22°C, 4°C, and -20°C), but the differences between the LPC species persisted. All the sn-2 acyl LPCs were more stable in organic solvent (chloroform: methanol, 2:1 v/v), but the effect of the acyl groups on acyl migration was evident in the solvent also, at all temperatures. Storage of sn-2 22:6 LPC at -20°C for 4 weeks in the organic solvent resulted in about 10% isomerization, compared to 55% isomerization for sn-2 16:0. These results show that the sn-2 polyunsaturated LPCs can be stored at -20°C or below for several days without appreciable isomerization. Furthermore, they demonstrate that the sn-2 polyunsaturated LPCs generated in vivo are much more stable under physiological conditions than previously assumed.
Viruses and type 1 diabetes: a new look at an old story

Epidemiological data suggesting an infectious origin of diabetes pre-date the discovery of insulin; indeed it was the variation in mortality rates from diabetes that led Gunderson to hypothesise that a virus with 'selective affinity for the pancreas' may cause 'acute diabetes' in youth (1). He noted an increase in deaths from diabetes in young people aged 10-20 yr in Norway from 1900 to 1921 following epidemics of parotitis, with a lag time of 3-4 yr between infection and death. In Norway, Denmark,France, and America, the increase in deaths from diabetes exceeded the expected number based on population growth; lending further weight to the proposal that diabetes was caused by infection. Since that time,a large body of epidemiological, clinical and experimental research, in humans, cellular and animal models, has provided further insights into the contribution of infections in the development of type 1 diabetes.Epidemiological evidence for a viral aetiology of diabetes A substantial body of epidemiological data point to a significant contribution of the environment in the development of type 1 diabetes,although much of the evidence is not specific to viruses per se. These data include rising rates of type 1 diabetes in both developed and developing countries in recent decades (2, 3) and a reduced contribution of high risk human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes (4, 5), indicating that non-genetic factors are important. Similarly, the pairwise concordance between monozygotic twins for type 1 diabetes of less than 40%, and the observation that the incidence of diabetes in migrant children reflects that of their adopted country (6, 7), provide circumstantial evidence that environmental agents contribute to the disease. Space-time clustering in the presentation of type 1 diabetes (8-10) and clustering of births in children who subsequently develop diabetes (11) support a direct role for infections in the initiation and acceleration of the disease process.