Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental enteropathy

Purpose of review Environmental enteropathy has long been recognized as an important intermediary condition leading to chronic malnutrition in children in developing countries. Interest has lately renewed in this topic because of increased focus on improving the quality of lives as opposed to just saving them. Here, we provide an overview of recent scientific literature and our perspective about this disorder. Recent findings Current understanding of the disorder of environmental enteropathy is based on studies conducted decades ago. Results of some new studies on histopathologic characterization of environmental enteropathy are currently awaited. Given the challenges of diagnosing environmental enteropathy using the gold standard test of intestinal biopsy, different biomarkers have been tested as proxies of environmental enteropathy and eventually, chronic malnutrition. Available data fail to point toward a single ideal biomarker, though considerable work is still ongoing. A few interventional studies have also been conducted with improvement in environmental enteropathy as outcome. Summary The basic histopathology of environmental enteropathy has been defined previously, and more advanced analysis to study the pathophysiology of this disorder is currently being carried out. Many biomarkers, which represent the different mechanisms involved in environmental enteropathy, have been tested as proxies of environmental enteropathy. Although no single biomarker fits the description of an ideal biomarker yet, a few of the more promising biomarkers are being validated in different studies. Finally, the few interventions which have been tried to treat environmental enteropathy, thus far, are summarized.
Relativistic quarks in one-dimensional periodic structures.

We obtain the band condition for relativistic quarks moving in one-dimensional periodic potentials using the transfer matrix method. Using a strong electrostatic type of potential in the Dirac equation does not give confining properties, while Lorentz scalar potentials do. We give an analytic form for the wave function which results when the potential is taken to a delta function limit, and discuss the discrepancy between this result and that obtained by ''solving'' the Dirac equation for a delta function potential.
Network management platform based on mobile agents

Many of the modern network management solutions are based on commercially available management platforms. These platforms offer common management services, such as support for multiple‐management protocols, alarm management, and event correlation. Most of these platforms are based on the traditional manager—agent model adopted in standard protocols, such as Internet SNMP. However, these platforms suffer from limitations imposed by the centralized, static, polling‐based management model of SNMP, and the need for maintaining a central intelligence at the platform level. In view of the dynamic nature of evolving networks, future network management solutions need to be flexible, adaptable, and intelligent without increasing the burden on network resources. We have addressed this requirement with a new management platform architecture based on ontology‐driven mobile agents. This paper presents the new management platform architecture, its prototype implementation, and the results of its evaluation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Laparoscopic assisted transversus abdominis plane block: a novel insertion technique during laparoscopic nephrectomy

References 1 Teoh WHL, Saxena S, Shah MK, Sia ATH. Comparison of three videolaryngoscopes: Pentax Airway Scope, C-MAC, Glidescope vs the Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation. Anaesthesia 2010; 65: 1126–32. 2 Cormack RS, Lehane J. Difficult tracheal intubation in obstetrics. Anaesthesia 1984; 39: 1105–11. 3 Ochroch EA, Hollander JE, Kush S, Shofer FS, Levitan RM. Assessment of laryngeal view: percentage of glottic opening score vs Cormack and Lehane grading. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia 1999; 46: 987–90. 4 Adnet F, Borron SW, Racine SX, et al. The intubation difficulty scale (IDS): proposal and evaluation of a new score characterizing the complexity of endotracheal intubation. Anesthesiology 1997; 87: 1290–7.
Raf-1 Kinase Regulates Smooth Muscle Contraction in the Rat Mesenteric Arteries

We investigated the potential role of Raf-1 kinase in mesenteric arterial contraction. Inhibitors of Raf-1 kinase, GW5074, L779450 and ZM 336372 reversed phenylephrine (PE)-induced mesenteric vascular contraction. Studies in vivo in rats showed that GW5074 inhibited PE-induced increase in mean arterial pressure in adult female Sprague-Dawley rats. Isometric tension studies in mesenteric arteries of rats showed that GW5074 did not change the KCl-evoked contraction but significantly inhibited the contractions to PE, 5-HT, U46619, endothelin 1, angiotensin II and phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBu). In mesenteric vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), PE stimulated increase in Raf-1 phosphorylation which was inhibited by GW5074. Measurement of [Ca2+]i with Fura-2 showed that GW5074-mediated inhibition of PE-induced contraction was not associated with decreases in [Ca2+]i. VSMCs treated with PE exhibited higher levels of the contractile proteins, p-MYPT1 and p-MLC20, which was inhibited by GW5074. Similarly, PDBu induced increases in phosphorylation of Raf-1, MLC20 and MYPT1 and this was inhibited by GW5074. However, GW5074 did not have any significant effect on PE/PDBu-induced MEK/ERK activation. The results indicate that Raf-1 kinase plays an important role in the regulation of vascular contractility through regulation of calcium sensitization.
Impact of graft‐versus‐host disease in reduced‐intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST) for patients with haematological malignancies

Summary. To clarify the impact of graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) on the outcome of reduced‐intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST), 40 patients who received RIST were compared with those who received conventional stem cell transplantation (CST). RIST regimens consisted of either cladribine (0·11 mg/kg/d × 6, n = 13) or fludarabine (30 mg/m2/d × 6, n = 27) with busulphan (BU, 4 mg/kg/d orally × 2), with or without antithymocyte globulin (ATG). CST regimens were either cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation (CY/TBI, n = 23), BU/CY (n = 19) or others (n = 6). The RIST group contained more patients who were at high risk of transplant‐related mortality, including older patients, while the two groups contained the same percentages of patients at high risk of relapse. There were no differences between these groups in the incidences of acute (grade II–IV, 31·6% RIST vs 33·3% CST, P = 0·6742) and chronic GVHD (56·2%vs 64·1%, P = 0·8512), relapse rate (15·0%vs 18·8%, P = 0·6642), or overall (69·3%vs 65·6%, P = 0·4817) and progression‐free survival (64·7%vs 63·8%, P = 0·6920) at d 500. Multivariate analysis of progression‐free survival identified only grade III–IV acute GVHD and relapse risk dose as adverse risk factors. Although GVHD is a major threat in RIST, appropriate induction of GVHD may be associated with anti‐tumour activity in RIST comparable to that of CST.
The Yeast Cap Binding Complex Modulates Transcription Factor Recruitment and Establishes Proper Histone H3K36 Trimethylation during Active Transcription

ABSTRACT Recent studies have revealed a close relationship between transcription, histone modification, and RNA processing. In fact, genome-wide analyses that correlate histone marks with RNA processing signals raise the possibility that specific RNA processing factors may modulate transcription and help to “write” chromatin marks. Here we show that the nuclear cap binding complex (CBC) directs recruitment of transcription elongation factors and establishes proper histone marks during active transcription. A directed genetic screen revealed that deletion of either subunit of the CBC confers a synthetic growth defect when combined with deletion of genes encoding either Ctk2 or Bur2, a component of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog of P-TEFb. The CBC physically associates with these complexes to recruit them during transcription and mediates phosphorylation at Ser-2 of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II. To understand how these interactions influence downstream events, histone H3K36me3 was examined, and we demonstrate that CBCΔ affects proper Set2-dependent H3K36me3. Consistent with this, the CBC and Set2 have similar effects on the ability to rapidly induce and sustain activated gene expression, and these effects are distinct from other histone methyltransferases. This work provides evidence for an emerging model that RNA processing factors can modulate the recruitment of transcription factors and influence histone modification during elongation.
Organ-conserving approaches to muscle-invasive bladder cancer: future alternatives to radical cystectomy

In the USA radical surgery remains the golden standard for invasive bladder cancer. Yet in most other areas of surgical oncology the trend of the 1990s has been towards organ conservation with chemoradiation with or without limited local surgery. Patients with breast, oesophageal, anal, lung and larynx cancer are routinely offered conservative therapies as valid options in the management of their diseases but bladder stands apart from the crowd. Evidence is presented here to show that this need not be the case. Four older randomized trials failed to show a survival advantage when immediate cystectomy was compared with radiation followed by salvage cystectomy, if required. Five and 8-year survival rates for clinically staged patients treated by transurethral resection and chemoradiation (trimodality therapy) in several modern, large and mature series show survival rates comparable to those reported in contemporary radical cystectomy series. Eighty per cent of those alive 5 years after chemoradiation still retain their native bladder. Although superficial relapse occurs in 20% of cases, it remains responsive to BCG (Bacilles bilié de Calmette-Guérin) in the manner of de nouo superficial disease. Quality-of-life studies show that the retained bladder functions well. At the Massachusetts General Hospital and in the multicentre prospective trials, less than 1% of patients needed cystectomy for bladder morbidity. It is of note that continent diversions may be performed as salvage after contemporary radiation therapy. Trimodality therapy is a novel and contemporary approach that owes little to the radiation treatment offered in the 1970s. While it will never entirely take the place of radical cystectomy, it should be offered as a reasonable alternative to patients with a new diagnosis of bladder cancer. This multidisciplinary approach will allow uro-oncology to keep in step with the oncological vanguard.
Minimally invasive removal of thoracic and lumbar spinal tumors using a nonexpandable tubular retractor.

OBJECT Resection of spinal tumors traditionally requires bilateral subperiosteal muscle stripping, extensive laminectomy, and, in cases of foraminal extension, partial or radical facetectomy. Fusion is often warranted in cases of facetectomy to prevent deformity, pain, and neurological deterioration. Recent reports have demonstrated safety and efficacy of mini-open removal of these tumors using expandable tubular retractors. The authors report their experience with the minimally invasive removal of extradural foraminal and intradural-extramedullary tumors using the nonexpandable tubular retractor. METHODS A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive resection of spinal tumors at Notre Dame Hospital was performed. RESULTS Between December 2005 and March 2012, 13 patients underwent minimally invasive removal of spinal tumors at Notre Dame Hospital, Montreal. There were 6 men and 7 women with a mean age of 55 years (range 20-80 years). There were 2 lumbar and 2 thoracic intradural-extramedullary tumors and 7 thoracic and 2 lumbar extradural foraminal tumors. Gross-total resection was achieved in 12 patients. Subtotal resection (90%) was attained in 1 patient because the tumor capsule was adherent to the diaphragm. The average duration of surgery was 189 minutes (range 75-540 minutes), and the average blood loss was 219 ml (range 25-500 ml). There were no major procedure-related complications. Pathological analysis revealed benign schwannoma in 8 patients and meningioma, metastasis, plasmacytoma, osteoid osteoma, and hemangiopericytoma in 1 patient each. The average equivalent dose of postoperative narcotics after surgery was 66.3 mg of morphine. The average length of hospitalization was 66 hours (range 24-144 hours). All working patients returned to normal activities within 4 weeks. The average MRI and clinical follow-up were 13 and 21 months, respectively (range 2-68 months). At last follow-up, 92% of patients had improvement or resolution of pain with a visual analog scale score that improved from 7.8 to 1.2. All patients with neurological impairment improved. The American Spinal Injury Association grade improved in all but 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS Intradural-extramedullary and extradural tumors can be completely and safely resected through a minimally invasive approach using the nonexpandable tubular retractor. This approach may be associated with even less tissue destruction than mini-open techniques, translating into a quicker functional recovery. In cases of foraminal tumors, by eliminating the need for facetectomy, this minimally invasive approach may decrease the incidence of postoperative deformity and eliminate the need for adjunctive fusion surgery.
NOVELTY-BASED FITNESS MEASURES IN GENETIC PROGRAMMING

x Acknowledgements . xi Chapter
Hippocampal nitric oxide synthase and arginase and age‐associated behavioral deficits

The present study investigated age‐related changes in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and arginase in the subregions of the hippocampus and their correlations with animals' performance in the open field, T‐maze, and water maze tasks. Aged rats (24 months old) showed reduced exploratory activity and poorer spatial learning relative to the young adults (4 months old). Significant increases in total NOS activity were found in the aged dentate gyrus and a dramatic decrease in endothelial NOS expression was observed in the aged CA2/3. Activity or protein expression of inducible NOS was not detected in any subregion of the hippocampus. There were no age‐related changes in total arginase activity or arginase I and arginase II protein expression. Correlation analysis revealed that animals' motor ability was associated with CA1 NOS and arginase, as well as hippocampal function. The present findings provide further support for the involvement of NOS/NO and arginase in the normal aging process. A strong positive correlation between CA1 eNOS protein expression and swimming speed in the water maze task may reflect a relationship between the local cerebral blood flow and neuronal activity. ©2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Use of Hydrotherapy for the Management of Spasticity

Introduction. Spasticity is a major problem for the rehabilitation team. Physiotherapy is a vital component of therapy. Oral medication and other modalities such as heat, cold, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and surgery (neuro-surgical or orthopedic) can also be used. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of hydrotherapy on spasticity and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Materials and Methods. This is a control case matched study. Twenty SCI patients were divided into 2 groups and matched for age, gender, injury time, Ashworth scores, oral baclofen intake, American Spinal Injury Association, and FIM scores. The control group received passive range of motion exercise twice a day and oral baclofen for 10 weeks. The study group also received passive range of motion and oral baclofen, as well as 20 min of water exercises (at 71 °F, full immersion) 3 times per week. The authors evaluated spasm severity, FIM scores, oral baclofen intake, and Ashworth scales, between groups at the beginning and at the end of the treatment period. Results. Both groups demonstrated a significant increase in FIM scores. However, the hydrotherapy group demonstrated a larger increase (P < 0.0001) than the control group. There was a statistically significant decrease in oral baclofen intake in the hydrotherapy group (P < 0.01). There was no statistical change in the control group. Spasticity was evaluated by the Ashworth scale. There was a statistical improvement in each group (P < 0.01, P < 0.02). However, when compared to the control group, the use of hydrotherapy produced a significant decrease in spasm severity (P < 0.02). Conclusion. Side effects are often seen when using oral drug treatment for spasticity. Adding hydrotherapy to the rehabilitation program can be helpful in decreasing the amount of medication required. Future studies must evaluate benefits of hydrotherapy for rehabilitation.
Head size and cognitive ability in nondemented older adults are related

In a cross-sectional analysis of 818 healthy older individuals (aged 50 to 81 years), head size was found to be related to performance on tests measuring intelligence, global cognitive functioning, and speed of information processing, but not memory. These relations were not confounded by educational level, socioeconomic background, or height. Large head/brain size may protect elderly people against cognitive deterioration, supporting a reserve hypothesis of brain aging.
Deep Learning for Automatic Summary Scoring

Automatic summary scoring is used very often by summarization system developers to test different algorithms and to tune their system. We have developed a new approach based on representation learning, using both unsupervised and supervised learning components, to score a summary based on examples of manually evaluated summaries. Our deep learning approach greatly surpassed ROUGE in terms of correlation with Pyramid (content) scores for individual summaries. However, ROUGE performed slightly better when comparing summarization systems based on their average score.
Effective connectivity measuring of ERP signals in recognition memory process by Generalized Partial Directed Coherence

Various processes occur in recalling in brain and it is necessary to investigate memory brain function. Dual process theory separates recollection from familiarity in recognition memory. By comparing individuals with respect to normal state and with impairment, one can understand performance of memory. Comparison of two conditions infers that particular brain mechanism is being affected from impairment. In this study, we use the data in which recollection has been affected more than familiarity by midazolam drug. To investigate this difference, connectivity between Brain regions is estimated. Multivariate autoregressive models (MVAR) is used for determination of Granger causality to estimate effective connectivity in time-frequency domain. In this regard, we use GPDC method. Results show specific connectivity between parietal and frontal that is evidence of recollection to continue process and familiarity compensation in failing of recollection.
The impact of gains and losses on homeowner decisions

Using unique data on condominium transactions that allow for accurately-measured capital gains and losses, we examine the impact of these gains and losses on homeowner decisions. Consistent with the disposition effect, owners with a gain have higher sell propensities than those with a loss. Since real estate prices result from owner negotiations with buyers and tenants, we also examine whether prices vary across otherwise comparable units depending on the owner’s capital gain. Owners with a gain accept lower selling prices, list for sale at lower prices, and accept lower rents from tenants. These pricing implications are sensitive to the magnitude of an owner’s gain, which is consistent with realization utility, and are economically large. For example, units with a capital gain have selling prices that are 5% lower than those with a capital loss. Overall, our findings indicate that realization utility influences homeowner decisions. Alternative explanations such as financing constraints, informed trading, and mean reversion cannot explain our results.
AM-FM Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Images

This thesis proposes the application of multi-dimensional Amplitude-Modulation Frequency-Modulation (AM-FM) methods to magnetic resonance images (MRI). The basic goal is to provide a framework for exploring non-stationary characteristics of structural and functional MRI (sMRI and fMRI). First, we provide a comparison framework for the most popular AM-FM methods using different filterbank configurations that includes Gabor, Equirriple and multiscale directional designs. We compare the performance and robustness to Gaussian noise using synthetic FM image examples. We show that the multi-dimensional quasi-local method (QLM) with an equiripple filterbank gave the best results in terms of instantaneous frequency (IF) estimation. We then apply the best performing AM-FM method to sMRI to compute the 3D IF features. We use a t-test on the IF magnitude for each voxel to find evidence of significant differences between healthy controls and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n=353) can be found in the IF.
Interleukin‐15 enhances host protection against acute Toxoplasma gondii infection in T‐cell receptor α−/−deficient mice

A potential role for T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐γδ cells in response to Toxoplasma gondii has been described. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether exogenous rIL‐15 can enhance the production of γδ T cells in response to infection with T. gondii. For this, C57BL/6 and TCR α‐gene deficient mice (α−/−) were vaccinated with Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) in combination with interleukin (IL)‐15. The cellular and humoral immune response was assessed following immunization. Administration of IL‐15/TLA to α−/−mice lengthened survival time post lethal challenge. Several immunological parameters were increased in the α−/−mice following immunization with IL‐15/TLA including serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 and IgG2a antibody titres and splenocyte lymphoproliferation in response to parasite antigen. Further, the CTL response to parasite infected target cells as well as the production of interferon γ was enhanced by IL‐15/TLA administration in the α−/−mice. These observations indicate that the γδ T cells response to this parasite can be enhanced by the administration of exogenous IL‐15 in the presence of parasite lysate antigen.