Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical relevance of small-bowel findings detected by wireless capsule endoscopy

Objective. Capsule endoscopy is becoming known as a valid tool for identifying sources of obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Fewer data are available about its clinical value for other indications. Material and methods. Sixty patients (31 F, mean age 47 years, range 14–80 years) with no signs of overt GI bleeding were investigated by Given M2A video capsule for suspected small-bowel disease. The main clinical features were: iron deficient anemia (20), abdominal pain (12), chronic diarrhea (9), malabsorption and weight loss (7), Crohn's disease (CD) (5), and familial adenomatous polyposis (3). Three patients underwent wireless endoscopy for suspected GI neoplasm and one for portal thrombosis. Results. Complete vision of the small bowel was achieved in 55 patients. No small-bowel lesions were identified in 17 patients, but 5 of them had gastric abnormalities. Small-bowel abnormality was found in 38 patients. Lesions compatible with CD were found in 14 patients, diffuse or patchy enteropathy in 7 and polyps in 6. Actively bleeding lesions were detected in 6 patients and potential bleeding sources in 5. Capsule endoscopy had an overall diagnostic yield of 62%. In particular, three small-bowel malignancies were detected and 9 patients received a better definition of their already-known pathology. However, further endoscopies were needed in 10 patients to obtain a diagnosis. One patient, diagnosed with ileal CD, underwent surgery, as the capsule remained trapped in a stricture. Conclusions. Wireless endoscopy effectively visualizes small-bowel abnormalities even though more accurate selection of the patients is needed in order to optimize its diagnostic efficacy.
Comparative study using 685-nm and 830-nm lasers in the tissue repair of tenotomized tendons in the mouse.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 685- and 830-nm laser irradiations, at different fluences on the healing process of Achilles tendon (Tendon calcaneo) of mice after tenotomy. BACKGROUND DATA Some authors have shown that low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is able to accelerate the healing process of tendinuos tissue after an injury, increasing fibroblast cell proliferation and collagen synthesis. However, the mechanism by which LLLT acts on healing process is not fully understood. METHODS Forty-eight male mice were divided into six experimental groups: group A, tenomized animals, treated with 685 nm laser, at the dosage of 3 J/cm(2); group B, tenomized animals, treated with 685-nm laser, at the dosage of 10 J/cm(2); group C, tenomized animals, treated with 830-nm laser, at dosage of 3 J/cm(2); group D, tenomized animals, treated with 830-nm laser, at the dosage of 10 J/cm(2); group E, injured control (placebo treatment); and group F, non-injured standard control. Animals were killed on day 13 post-tenotomy, and their tendons were surgically removed for a quantitative analysis using polarization microscopy, with the purpose of measuring collagen fibers organization through the birefringence (optical retardation [OR]). RESULTS All treated groups showed higher values of OR when compared to injured control group. The best organization and aggregation of the collagen bundles were shown by the animals of group A (685 nm, 3 J/cm(2)), followed by the animals of group C and B, and finally, the animals of group D. CONCLUSION All wavelengths and fluences used in this study were efficient at accelerating the healing process of Achilles tendon post-tenotomy, particularly after the 685-nm laser irradiation, at 3 J/cm(2). It suggests the existence of wavelength tissue specificity and dose dependency. Further studies are required to investigate the physiological mechanisms responsible for the effects of laser on tendinuos repair.
Does cold blood cardioplegia solution cause deterioration in clinical pulmonary function following coronary artery bypass graft surgery?

Objective: Deterioration in pulmonary function is a common complication following coronary artery bypass graft surgery and there is still speculation to the precise causative factors thereof. Cardioplegia solution not drained by the atriocaval cannula enters the lung parenchyma unless removed by a pulmonary artery (PA) vent. The hypothesis of the present study was that cold blood cardioplegia solution damages the lung parenchyma, resulting in an observed deterioration of clinical lung function. Methods: A prospective, double-blind, randomised trial was conducted on 142 patients. The study group of 71 patients had a PA vent inserted at the time of cannulation, preventing cardioplegia from going through the lungs. In addition, positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) was applied and low-volume lung ventilation carried out during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The control group (n = 71) had cardioplegia enter the lung parenchyma during cardiopulmonary bypass. Clinical parameters of arterial blood gases, including estimated shunt fraction, spirometry tests and radiographic analysis was made preoperatively and at set times through the postoperative period. Results: Baseline demographics and intraoperative and postoperative management was the same in both groups, thus, yielding a homogenous sample for analysis. Significant changes were noted in arterial blood gases, spirometry, and radiographic analysis of effusion and atelectasis over the time periods studied (p < 0.001). There was, however, no significant difference between the study and control groups at any point (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The data, therefore, suggest that allowing cold blood cardioplegia solution to circulate the lungs during cardiopulmonary bypass does not have any (beneficial or detrimental) effect on clinical lung function postoperatively. Perfusion (2007) 22, 103—113.
Low-grade Sarcomas with CD34-Positive Fibroblasts and Low-Grade Myofibroblastic Sarcomas

A subset of low-grade fibrosarcomas is composed of CD34-positive spindle cells. These include dermatofibrosarcoma, its morphologic variants, and its associated fibrosarcoma, solitary fibrous tumor, hemangiopericytoma and their malignant counterparts, and some cases of myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma. Dermatofibrosarcoma and related lesions are characterized by a t(17;22)(q22;q13) rearrangement resulting in fusion of the genes COL1A (17q21-22) and PDGFB1 (22q13). Solitary fibrous tumor displays varying cellularity and fibrosis and a peripheral hemangiopericytomatous pattern; most tumors formerly called hemangiopericytoma are now subsumed into the category of solitary fibrous tumor, although a few strictly defined examples are recognized; however, these are probably not composed of pericytes. Myofibroblastic malignancies are best identified by electron microscopy, with which varying degrees of differentiation, including the presence of fibronexus junctions, can be identified. Low-grade sarcomas showing myofibroblastic differentiation include myofibrosarcomas and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors. Myofibrosarcomas are spindle cell neoplasms that occur in children or adults in the head and neck, trunk, and extremities as infiltrative neoplasms and that display a fascicular or fasciitis-like pattern with focal nuclear atypia and variable expression of myoid antigens. These sarcomas are prone to recurrence and a small number metastasize. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (synonymous with inflammatory fibrosarcoma) is a neoplasm arising predominantly in childhood, and frequently in intraabdominal locations. It has spindle cells in fascicular, fasciitis-like and sclerosing patterns, with heavy chronic inflammation including abundant plasma cells. Many IMT have clonal chromosomal abnormalities involving 2p22-24, and fusion of the ALK gene with tropomyosin 3 (TPM3-ALK) or tropomyosin 4 (TPM4-ALK) is found in a subset.
HIV Rev response element (RRE) directs assembly of the Rev homooligomer into discrete asymmetric complexes

RNA is a crucial structural component of many ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, including the ribosome, spliceosome, and signal recognition particle, but the role of RNA in guiding complex formation is only beginning to be explored. In the case of HIV, viral replication requires assembly of an RNP composed of the Rev protein homooligomer and the Rev response element (RRE) RNA to mediate nuclear export of unspliced viral mRNAs. Assembly of the functional Rev-RRE complex proceeds by cooperative oligomerization of Rev on the RRE scaffold and utilizes both protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions to organize complexes with high specificity. The structures of the Rev protein and a peptide-RNA complex are known, but the complete RNP is not, making it unclear to what extent RNA defines the composition and architecture of Rev-RNA complexes. Here we show that the RRE controls the oligomeric state and solubility of Rev and guides its assembly into discrete Rev-RNA complexes. SAXS and EM data were used to derive a structural model of a Rev dimer bound to an essential RRE hairpin and to visualize the complete Rev-RRE RNP, demonstrating that RRE binding drives assembly of Rev homooligomers into asymmetric particles, reminiscent of the role of RNA in organizing more complex RNP machines, such as the ribosome, composed of many different protein subunits. Thus, the RRE is not simply a passive scaffold onto which proteins bind but instead actively defines the protein composition and organization of the RNP.
Evaluation of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 levels in gingival fibroblasts of cyclosporin A-treated patients.

BACKGROUND Cyclosporin A (CsA) is a potent immunosuppressant used to prevent organ transplant rejection and to treat various autoimmune diseases. CsA-induced gingival overgrowth (CsA GO) is the most widely seen side effect of this drug; its pathogenesis is not completely understood. The aim of this study was to identify and compare matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) levels in gingival fibroblast cultures of tissues derived from renal transplant patients receiving CsA and exhibiting gingival overgrowth and from periodontally healthy control subjects. METHODS Gingival overgrowth samples were obtained from patients undergoing therapy with CsA, and control tissues were obtained from systemically healthy donors. Gingival fibroblasts were grown using explant cultures. Three different study groups were identified: 1) CsA GO fibroblast culture; 2) CsA-treated healthy gingival fibroblast culture (H+CsA); and 3) healthy gingival fibroblast culture (H). The levels of MMP-1 and TIMP-1 in these groups of gingival fibroblasts were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS The levels of TIMP-1 were significantly lower in CsA GO than H (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the levels of MMP-1 between H and CsA GO (P = 0.505). The ratio of MMP-1 to TIMP-1 was significantly higher in CsA GO than H (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that CsA therapy does not have a significant effect on MMP-1 levels. However, low TIMP-1 levels can be an important factor in the pathogenesis of CsA GO, since the balance between MMP-1 and TIMP-1 levels was changed by CsA.
Expression of the p16INK4A Gene Is Associated Closely with Senescence of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Is Potentially Silenced by DNA Methylation During In Vitro Expansion

The precise biological characteristics of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), including growth regulatory mechanisms, have not yet been defined. Using 29 strains of hMSCs isolated from bone marrow, we have performed extensive analyses of the growth profiles of hMSCs in vitro. All 29 strains stopped proliferating with a mean population doubling (PD) of 28, although there was a considerable difference among strains. The mean telomere restriction fragment length of the cells passaged twice correlated well with the final number of PDs in each strain, suggesting the value of this measurement to be predictive of the growth potential of hMSCs. The expression level of the p16INK4A gene was associated closely with the PD number of each strain (p = .00000001). Most of the p16INK4A‐positive cells were Ki67‐negative and senescence associated β‐galactosidase‐positive, and the suppression of p16INK4A gene expression by small interfering RNA in senescent hMSCs reduced the number of senescent cells and endowed them with the ability to proliferate. Twenty‐five of the 29 strains showed a steady gradual increase in the expression of p16INK4A. The remaining four strains (13.8%) showed different profiles, in which DNA methylation in the promoter region occurred in vitro. One of the four strains continued to proliferate for much longer than the others and showed chromosomal aberrations in the later stages. These results indicated p16INK4A to be a key factor in the regulation of hMSC growth, and, most importantly, careful monitoring of DNA methylation should be considered during the culture of hMSCs, particularly when a prolonged and extended propagation is required.
Structure of the hydrophobic core in the transition state for folding of chymotrypsin inhibitor 2: a critical test of the protein engineering method of analysis.

Chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) unfolds and refolds according to a simple two-state kinetic mechanism. The single rate-determining transition state may thus be studied by kinetics of both unfolding and refolding. This has allowed the direct testing of some facets of the protein engineering procedure (phi-value analysis). The structure of the hydrophobic core of CI2 in the transition state was analyzed from kinetic and thermodynamic measurements of guanidinium chloride-induced unfolding of 11 mutants and of their rates of refolding. In all cases, the strengths of the interactions measured from refolding kinetics in water are in excellent agreement with those measured from unfolding kinetics in guanidinium chloride solutions and extrapolated to zero molar denaturant. Changes in the free energies of unfolding on mutation, as well as other equilibrium properties calculated from the rate constants, are also in excellent agreement with those measured directly from equilibrium studies. These data provide further evidence for application of the principle of microscopic reversibility to aspects of protein folding in the presence of denaturant and the validity of extrapolation to the absence of denaturant. The edges of the hydrophobic core of CI2 are significantly weakened in the transition state, and, in many cases, the interactions are totally lost. The center of the core remains partially intact; the interaction energy is lowered by about 50%. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Service quality improving effects and recreational benefits for sports tourism—A case study

Service quality is one of many crucial items for sport event participants. Using Sun Moon Lake Swimming Carnival Event as an example, this study measures the perception of service quality for various participant groups and their associated recreational benefits from the demand model. Three service quality clusters, interaction and information, physical facility improving, and program and outcome, were extracted. Later, the contingent behavior method was used to measure the hypothetical benefits from service quality improvements. This study’s findings discover that the amenity of Sun Moon Lake and its surroundings at current status is not sufficient to make participants come back. Findings show that an improvement in the service quality of sports program and the outcome will result in an NT$85.78 million consumer surplus gain, with the facility improvement producing a gain of NT$72.90 million arising simply from the event in each year. Therefore, recreation managers may find it justifiable to improve an event’s service quality in this regard.
Interaction Goals in Negotiation

Negotiation is a strategic process, carried out through maneuvers designed to accomplish goals. Most negotiation theorists, however, treat goals as global, predetermined, and static task-oriented objectives. This chapter focuses on the role of interaction goals in negotiation. Bargainers’ interaction goals are organized within a scheme that varies in two respects: type (instrumental, relational, and identity) and level of abstraction (globat, regional, local). Following the discussion of goal types, the chapter explores the dynamic and conflictual nature of negotiators’ interaction goals, and then suggests that goal analyses could shed insight into how bargaining contexts influence strategies and outcomes, and how negotiators develop expertise. A goals focus emphasizes that negotiators act purposefully but with “bounded rationality,” constantly manage conflicting objectives, and enact bargaining behavior that are guided by interaction goals but often reframe those goals.
Recorded Delirium in a National Sample of Elderly Inpatients: Potential Implications for Recognition

This retrospective study examined delirium and related confusional diagnoses recorded in patients older than age 60 discharged from Veterans Affairs (VA) acute inpatient units nationally in 1996 (n = 267,947). Only 4% of patients had delirium or related confusional diagnoses recorded. Patients with recorded delirium had significantly higher mortality than did those without recorded delirium or those with other confusional diagnoses (“organic psychoses”); the most common delirium types were dementia with delirium and alcohol intoxication/withdrawal delirium. Organic psychoses patients had the longest lengths of stay and significantly more admissions to nonmedical/surgical units and discharges to nursing homes; almost 20% were African American. The recorded rate of delirium in the VA health system likely underestimates true prevalence and possibly reflects nonrecognition of delirium in many older veterans. Certain motoric and etiologic types of delirium may be more commonly diagnosed and recorded. Future research should prospectively examine recognition of motoric and etiologic delirium subtypes and racial differences in delirium diagnoses. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2003; 16:32-38)
Comparison of electrode discrimination, pitch ranking, and pitch scaling data in postlingually deafened adult cochlear implant subjects.

The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between variation in electrode site of stimulation and the perceptual dimensions along which such stimuli vary. This information may allow more effective use of electrode place when encoding speech information. To achieve this goal, two procedures which measure pitch in subjects implanted with the Nucleus/Cochlear Corporation multichannel device were performed. Estimates of electrode discriminability that can be obtained from these procedures were compared to a more direct measure of electrode discriminability that was obtained in a previous study [Collins et al., Assoc. Res. Otolaryng. Abstracts, No. 642 (1994)]. In the first task, subjects performed a pitch ranking procedure similar to that used in previous studies [Townshend et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 82, 106-115 (1987); Nelson et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 98, 1987-1999 (1995)]. Estimates of the pitch percept elicited by stimulation of each electrode as well as the discriminability of the electrodes were generated from the data using two different statistical analyses. In the second task, subjects performed a pitch scaling procedure similar to one used in a previous study [Busby et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2658-2669 (1994)]. Again, two different statistical analyses were performed to generate estimates of the pitch percept corresponding to stimulation of each electrode and to generate estimates of electrode discriminability. In general, the estimates of the relationships between the pitch percepts obtained from the two procedures were not identical. In addition, the estimates of electrode discriminability were not equivalent to the electrode discrimination measures obtained from the same subjects during the previous study. Signal detection theory has been used to model the decision processes required by each of the procedures described above [e.g., Jesteadt and Bilger, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 55, 1266-1276 (1974)]. However, these models do not predict the differences that were observed between the data sets obtained during this study. An alternate model is proposed which may explain the data obtained from these subjects. This model is based on the assumption that the percept that is elicited by electrical stimulation of an electrode is multidimensional, as opposed to unidimensional in nature. Therefore, the perceived signal is more appropriately modeled using a multidimensional random vector, where each element of the vector represents the perceived value of one of the dimensions of the signal.
Suppression of human arthritis synovial fibroblasts inflammation using dexamethasone-carbon nanotubes via increasing caveolin-dependent endocytosis and recovering mitochondrial membrane potential

Dexamethasone (DEX), a non-particulate glucocorticoid (GC) to inhibit anti-inflammatory response, has been widely used for the treatment of various diseases such as arthritis, cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebral edema, and multiple sclerosis. However, prolonged and/or high-dose GC therapy can cause various serious adverse effects (adrenal insufficiency, hyperglycemia, Cushing’s syndrome, osteoporosis, Charcot arthropathy, etc). In this study, developed DEX-carbon nanotube (CNT) conjugates improved intracellular drug delivery via increased caveolin-dependent endocytosis and ultimately suppressed the expression of major pro-inflammatory cytokines in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) at low drug concentrations. Specifically, DEX on polyethylene-glycol (PEG)-coated CNTs induced caveolin uptake, recovered mitochondrial disruption, and inhibited reactive oxygen species production by targeting mitochondria that was released from the early endosome in TNF-α-stimulated FLS. The obtained results clearly demonstrated that DEX-PEG-coated CNTs significantly inhibited the inflammation by FLS in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by achieving greater drug uptake and efficient intracellular drug release from the endosome, thus suggesting a mechanism of effective low-dose GC therapy to treat inflammatory diseases, including RA and osteoarthritis.