Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential serum biomarkers in the pathophysiological processes of stroke

Stroke is a leading cause of death and serious long-term disability. Ischemic stroke is the major subtype of stroke. Currently, its diagnosis is mainly dependent upon clinical symptoms and neuroimaging techniques. Despite these clinical and imaging modalities, often strokes are not recognized after initial onset. As early intervention of medical or surgical therapy is often associated with improved outcomes, there is an urgent need to improve the speed and accuracy of stroke diagnosis. Stroke is a complex pathophysiological process involving; energy failure, imbalance of ion homeostasis, acidosis, intracellular calcium overload, neuronal excitotoxicity, free radical-mediated lipid oxidation, inflammatory cell infiltration, and glial cell activation. These events ultimately lead to neuronal apoptotic cell death or necrosis. In this review, we have summarized the serum biomarkers according to the pathophysiological processes of stroke, which have been intensively studied in clinical trials of stroke over the past five years, and also used Medline's ‘related article’ option to identify further articles. We focused on the potential biomarkers pertaining to vascular injury, metabolic changes, oxidative injury, and inflammation, and newly studied biomarkers, and discussed how these biomarkers could be used for the diagnosis or determining the prognosis of stroke.
Positive correlation between serum and peritoneal fluid CA-125 levels in women with pelvic endometriosis.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE One of the diagnostic markers of endometriosis is CA-125, and elevated levels of this are caused by high concentrations in the ectopic endometrium. The objective of this study was to correlate CA-125 levels in serum and peritoneal fluid from women with and without pelvic endometriosis. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a prospective, cross-sectional, controlled study of consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopy for infertility, pelvic pain or tubal ligation, during early follicular phase, at the university hospital of Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto. METHODS Fifty-two patients were divided into two groups: endometriosis group, consisting of 35 patients with biopsy-confirmed pelvic endometriosis, and control group, consisting of 17 patients without endometriosis. CA-125 levels in serum samples and peritoneal fluid were determined by chemiluminescence. RESULTS CA-125 levels in serum and peritoneal fluid were higher in patients with advanced pelvic endometriosis (means of 39.1 +/- 45.8 U/ml versus 10.5 +/- 5.9 U/ml in serum, p < 0.005; 1,469.4 +/- 1,350.4 U/ml versus 888.7 +/- 784.3 U/ml in peritoneal fluid, p < 0.05), and showed a positive correlation between each other (correlation coefficient (r) = 0.4880). Women with more advanced degrees of endometriosis showed higher CA-125 levels in both serum and peritoneal fluid (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION There is a positive correlation between serum and peritoneal fluid values of CA-125 in women with and without endometriosis, and their levels are higher in peritoneal fluid. Advanced endometriosis is related to higher levels in both serum and peritoneal fluid.
Analysis of the parasitic S/D resistance in multiple-gate FETs

The multiple-gate field-effect transistor (FET) is a promising device architecture for the 45-nm CMOS technology node. These nonplanar devices suffer from a high parasitic resistance due to the narrow width of their source/drain (S/D) regions. We analyze the parasitic S/D resistance behavior of the multiple-gate FETs using a novel, S/D geometry-based analytical model, which is validated using three-dimensional device simulations and experimental results. The model predicts limits to parasitic S/D resistance scaling, which reveal that the contact resistance between the S/D silicide and Si-fin dominates the parasitic S/D resistance behavior of multiple-gate FETs. It is shown that the selective epitaxial growth of Si on S/D regions alone may be insufficient to meet the semiconductor roadmap target for parasitic S/D resistance at the 45-nm CMOS technology node.
The clinical value of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor in pulmonary sarcoidosis

Background: Sarcoidosis is a multi-system granulomatous disease in which T-helper type 1 cytokines play a key role. We evaluated the clinical value of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) as a marker of disease activity and prognosis in sarcoidosis. Methods: This study included 67 patients who were newly diagnosed with sarcoidosis from 2006 to 2012 at our department. The clinical and follow-up data were retrospectively collected from their medical records. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 53.9±15.4 years; 41 patients were women and were significantly older than men. Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme had a mean value of 15.3±6.1 U/L and a positive rate of 10.4%. Serum sIL-2R had mean level of 818.8±453.1 U/mL and a positive rate of 45.9%. Moreover, the sIL-2R level of patients who had lung parenchymal lesions was significantly higher than that of patients who had no lung parenchymal lesions. Fifty-two patients who had no medications were followed up at our hospital for a median period of 37 months (range, 0–107 months). Patients who demonstrated chest imaging evidence of exacerbation (n = 8) tended to have higher sIL-2R levels than those who remained stable. Conclusion: Serum sIL-2R may have a role as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in pulmonary sarcoidosis. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2017; 34: 41-47)
Outcome of 131I therapy in hyperthyroidism using a 550MBq fixed dose regimen

Background Radioiodine is the treatment of choice for relapsed hyperthyroidism although the optimum protocol is uncertain. Fixed dose radioiodine is increasingly popular but responses may vary. Aim To assess the outcome of 131I therapy in hyperthyroidism using a standard dose regimen in a regional referral centre and to explore factors influencing outcome. Methods We studied 449 patients (M:F 82:367; age range 13-89y, median 42y) with hyperthyroidism treated between 2003 and 2007 with a standard dose of 550MBq 131I. Patients were classified as either Graves’ disease, toxic multinodular goitre or indeterminate aetiology. Antithyroid drugs were routinely stopped at least 1 week before radioiodine. Results One year after radioiodine 334 (74%) were hypothyroid, 85 (19%) were euthyroid and 30 (7%) had required a further dose of 131I. Patients with Graves’ disease were more likely to become hypothyroid than those with toxic multinodular goitre (78% v 37%, p<0.001) and less likely to become euthyroid (11% v 55%, p<0.001). Free T4 >80pmol/L (normal range 9.0 – 19.0 pmol/L) at presentation was associated with an increased failure rate (17% compared with 5% and 3% for 40-79pmol/L and <40pmol/L respectively; p=0.01). Patients with either a small or no goitre were more likely to be successfully treated by a single dose (96%) than those with a medium/large goitre (85%, p<0.001). Anti-thyroid medication was taken by 345 (77%) (carbimazole n=319) patients up to 1 week prior to 131I and was associated with an increased failure rate (8% v 2%, p=0.027) compared to those who had not had antithyroid medication. Logistic regression showed free T4 at presentation to be the only independent risk factor for failure of the first dose of radioiodine (OR 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2–5.1, p=0.012). Conclusion A single standard dose of 550MBq 131I is highly effective in treating hyperthyroidism. The aetiology, severity of hyperthyroidism at diagnosis, goitre size and prior antithyroid medication all had a significant effect on outcome.
A stable and efficient adaptive notch filter for direct frequency estimation

We investigate the problem of direct frequency estimation. A new adaptive algorithm is developed for constrained pole-zero notch filters. The basic characteristic of this algorithm is that the notch filter is cascaded and, hence, purely parametrized by the notching frequencies. This makes the algorithm much simpler and, hence, more efficient and more robust such that the poles and zeros are automatically located on the respective constrained circle, no matter if the algorithm is implemented with infinite or finite precision. The algorithm is analyzed and compared with some existing algorithms. Several numerical examples are given as well as the corresponding simulations.
Medication adherence and subjective weight perception in patients with first-episode psychotic disorder.

INTRODUCTION Medication adherence is critical to the management of psychotic disorder. Different factors associated with medication adherence have been investigated in previous studies. However, the association with subjective weight perception, which is related to the weight gain side effect of antipsychotics, has not been thoroughly investigated. Subjective weight perception may not equal objective weight status. This study tests the hypothesis that medication adherence is related to subjective weight perception in a group of patients with first-episode psychotic disorder who have taken antipsychotics for one year. METHODS This study recruited 160 participants with one-year histories of first-episode psychotic disorder and measured their actual and perceived weights, amount of weight gain in the past year, body size satisfaction and medication adherence levels. The associations between medication adherence and both the actual and perceived weight status were analyzed controlling for other confounding factors including insight, drug attitude, illness severity and other medication side effects. RESULTS Stepwise multiple regression analysis found that the participants' perceived weight status, negative attitude toward their drugs and insight were the major factors associated with poor medication adherence. Of the participants who perceived themselves as being overweight, 86% believed that antipsychotics were responsible. Among those who had such beliefs, 72% had reduced their antipsychotic dosages on their own. About half of the participants had gained more than 7% of their baseline weight and 43.1% of the participants were found to be overweight after one year of treatment with antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that medication adherence is associated with perceived weight status. Healthcare professionals should be aware of this relationship and address this issue early in the management of patients. Apart from weight management programs, education on a correct weight perception should be carried out with the promotion of proper drug attitudes and better insight for the improvement of medication adherence in the early course of psychotic disorder.
Effect of post design on endodontically restored teeth

En aquest article es fa una revisio de l'efecte del disseny del pern en les prestacions de les dents endodonciades a partir de l'analisi de la bibliografia i dels treballs dels autors. De l'estudi es conclou que existeixen proves suficients de l'efecte d'alguns parametres en determinades caracteristiques de la dent restaurada: la longitud del pern facilita la retencio de la restauracio, que es major en el cas dels perns actius, seguits dels cilindrics, mentre que els conics presenten menor retencio. El diametre del pern ha de mantenir-se inferior a la meitat de l'amplaria de l'arrel. Amb els perns de fibra s'obtenen distribucions de tensions menys sensibles al diametre o a la longitud del pern que amb els metal·lics. No existeixen conclusions clares sobre altres aspectes de la restauracio, com ara l'efecte de la forma del pern en la seva resistencia, l'efecte del diametre en la retencio o el comportament dels diferents sistemes davant de carregues de fatiga. Els treballs previs dels autors han permes desenvolupar un model biomecanic per a elements finits, validat amb dades experimentals, que pot servir d'ajuda per a clarificar l'efecte de cada parametre en les prestacions finals de la restauracio.
Emission-Induced Nonlinearities in the Global Aerosol System: Results from the ECHAM5-HAM Aerosol-Climate Model

In a series of simulations with the global ECHAM5-HAM aerosol-climate model, the response to changes in anthropogenic emissions is analyzed. Traditionally, additivity is assumed in the assessment of the aerosol climate impact, as the underlying bulk aerosol models are largely constrained to linearity. The microphysical aerosol module HAM establishes degrees of freedom for nonlinear responses of the aerosol system. In this study’s results, aerosol column mass burdens respond nonlinearly to changes in anthropogenic emissions, manifested in alterations of the aerosol lifetimes. Specific emission changes induce modifications of aerosol cycles with unaltered emissions, indicating a microphysical coupling of the aerosol cycles. Anthropogenic carbonaceous emissions disproportionately contribute to the accumulation mode numbers close to the source regions. In contrast, anthropogenic sulfuric emissions less than proportionally contribute to the accumulation mode numbers close to the source regions and disproportionately contribute in remote regions. The additivity of the aerosol system is analyzed by comparing the changes from a simulation with emission changes for several compounds with the sum of changes of single simulations, in each of which one of the emission changes was introduced. Close to the anthropogenic source regions, deviations from additivity are found at up to 30% and 15% for the accumulation mode number burden and aerosol optical thickness, respectively. These results challenge the traditional approach of assessing the climate impact of aerosols separately for each component and demand for integrated assessments and emission strategies.
Life (and death) in the Fas lane

See article on page48 The hallmark of an immune response is the generation of a large new cohort of specific lymphocytes dedicated to the removal of the stimulating antigen. The protection afforded by the mobilisation of an army of potentially destructive cells comes at a price as these cells, if uncontrolled, may turn on the host. Thus when excessive immune activity occurs, immunopathology resulting from the “friendly fire” of inflammatory cells may compromise healthy tissue. To safeguard against this, mechanisms have evolved that remove the expanded population of leucocytes both at the end of the immune response, when antigen is eradicated, and also when excessive activation may be taking place.1 The ligation of a surface membrane molecule CD95 (Fas/Apo-1) on activated T cells by its ligand leads to apoptosis.2 Although once activated, the expression of the CD95 receptor is stable, …
Kidney Cancer Simple Enucleation for the Treatment of PT 1 a Renal Cell Carcinoma : Our 20-Year Experience

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of simple enucleation as a conservative treatment for pT1a RCC, and to report on the incidence of major complications, local recurrence, and progression-free and disease-specific survival rates. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 232 patients who had nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) by simple enucleation between 1986 and 2004 for sporadic, unilateral, pathologically confirmed pT1a RCC. The patients’ status was evaluated last in September 2005. The mean (median, range) follow-up was 76 (61, 12–225) months. Results: The mean (SD, median, range) tumor greatest dimension was 2.8 (0.78, 2.85, 0.6–4) cm. The histopathologic review according to the International Union Against Cancer and American Joint Commission for Cancer (1997) classification revealed 198 clear cell (85.3%), 18 papillary (7.8%), 15 chromophobe (6.5%) and one (0.4%) collecting duct RCCs. There were no major complications, such as prolonged acute tubular necrosis/ chronic renal insufficiency and bleeding requiring open reoperation. One patient developed postoperative late retroperitoneal fluid collection consistent with urinoma, which required aspiration, drainage position and JJ stenting for 3 weeks. The 5and 10-year cancer-specific survival were 96.7% and 94.7%, respectively. The 5and 10-year progression-free survival were 96% and 94%, respectively. Overall, 13 (6.4%) patients had disease progression, three of whom had local recurrences alone (1.5%) elsewhere in the kidney; none had local recurrence at the level of the enucleation bed. Conclusions: Simple tumor enucleation is a safe and acceptable nephronsparing treatment that provides excellent long-term local control and cancer-specific survival rates. # 2006 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Involvement of H2-Receptors in the Mechanism of Analgesic Action of Tyr-MIF-1

The antinociceptive effects of H2-agents cimetidine (CIM) and dimaprit (DMP) as well as their effects on the Tyr-MIF-1-evoked analgesia have been studied after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration in rats. In the paw-pressure (PP) test Tyr-MIF-1 (1 mg/kg), CIM (50 and 100 mg/kg) and DMP (5 and 10 mg/kg) induced analgesia. Injected before DMP, naloxone (NAL) and CIM diminished or completely prevented the pain-relieving effect of H2-agonist DMP. The antinociceptive effect of Tyr-MIF-1 has been potentiated by DMP dose-dependently. CIM (50 mg/kg) decreased the antinociceptive action of the combination Tyr-MIF-1 + DMP, while CIM (100 mg/kg) expressed a weaker inhibitory effect on it. The data obtained clearly show that H2-receptor activation is involved in the mechanism of the Tyr-MIF-1 antinociceptive action.
Retention forces and seating discrepancies of implant-retained castings after cementation.

PURPOSE The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of cement type and application technique on seating discrepancies and retention forces of noble alloy castings cemented on titanium abutments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eugenol-free zinc oxide (Freegenol), zinc phosphate (Harvard), glass ionomer (KetacCem), polycarboxylate (Durelon), and self-adhesive resin (RelyX Unicem) cements were used. The inner surfaces of the castings were either completely coated or half-coated with cement. Abutments were used as delivered with a machined surface for the first part of the study. Groups of 8 castings were cemented in both ways. For the second part of the study, the abutments were air-abraded (aluminum oxide, 50 microm particle size), and groups of 8 completely coated castings were cemented with all cements. Marginal discrepancies were measured before and immediately after cementation. Tensile tests were conducted to measure the retention forces. Statistical analysis was performed with pair-wise comparison using the Wilcoxon rank sum test modified by Bonferroni-Holm. RESULTS Change in seating discrepancies did not differ significantly among the different application techniques. The median retention forces for completely-coated castings were 177 N for eugenol-free zinc oxide, 346 N for zinc phosphate, 469 N for glass ionomer, 813 N for polycarboxylate, and 653 N for self-adhesive resin. With respect to retention force, 3 significantly different groups (P < .05) were identified: (1) zinc oxide, (2) zinc phosphate/glass ionomer, and (3) polycarboxylate/self-adhesive resin. No differences in retention between the 2 coating techniques were found for any cement. However, air abrading the abutments resulted in increased retention of the castings for some of the cements. CONCLUSIONS Half-coating of the restorations with cements did not result in reduced retention values compared to the complete coating technique, but air abrasion resulted in increased retention with some cements.
Estrogen and Progesterone receptor expression in vulvar Condyloma acuminata

Background & objectives : Human papilloma virus is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases which have different clinical appearances such as Condyloma acuminate (CA) . Its prevalence is more common in women with preponderance in pregnancy which can be attributed to especial hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the estrogen and progesterone receptor expression in CA lesions of vulva.
Immunohistochemical Ki67 labeling index has similar proliferation predictive power to various gene signatures in breast cancer

The objective of this study was to examine the association between the immunohistochemical Ki67 labeling index (IHC Ki67), Ki67 mRNA expression level, and first‐generation gene signatures in a cohort of breast cancer patients. We assessed associations between IHC Ki67 and first‐generation gene signatures in a panel of 39 tumor samples, using an oligonucleotide microarray. Gene expression analyses included Ki67 alone (MKi67), 21‐gene signature, mitosis kinome score signature, and genomic grade index. Correlation coefficients were calculated by Spearman's rank correlation test. In all cases, IHC Ki67, MKi67, and three genetic markers were highly correlated (ρ, 0.71–0.97). Estrogen receptor (ER)‐positive cases showed strong correlations between IHC Ki67 and other signatures (ρ, 0.79–0.83). The ER‐negative cases showed slightly lower correlations (ρ, 0.58–0.73). In ER‐positive cases, the low IHC Ki67 group showed significantly longer relapse‐free survival than the high IHC Ki67 group (P = 0.007). This difference was confirmed by multivariate analysis. Our data indicate that IHC Ki67 shows similar predictive power for proliferation in ER‐positive cancers as genomic markers. Further study of IHC Ki67 is needed to define prognostic factors and predictive factors for chemotherapy using central laboratory assessment. (Cancer Sci, doi: 10.1111/j.1349‐7006.2012.02319.x, 2012)
Why are essential genes essential? - The essentiality of Saccharomyces genes

Essential genes are defined as required for the survival of an organism or a cell. They are of particular interests, not only for their essential biological functions, but also in practical applications, such as identifying effective drug targets to pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has approximately 6,000 open reading frames, 15 to 20% of which are deemed as essential. Some of the essential genes, however, appear to perform non-essential functions, such as aging and cell death, while many of the non-essential genes play critical roles in cell survival. In this paper, we reviewed and analyzed the levels of essentiality of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes and have grouped the genes into four categories: (1) Conditional essential: essential only under certain circumstances or growth conditions; (2) Essential: required for survival under optimal growth conditions; (3) Redundant essential: synthetic lethal due to redundant pathways or gene duplication; and (4) Absolute essential: the minimal genes required for maintaining a cellular life under a stress-free environment. The essential and non-essential functions of the essential genes were further analyzed.
Sphingosine kinase isoforms as a therapeutic target in endocrine therapy resistant luminal and basal-A breast cancer

Sphingosine kinase signaling has become of increasing interest as a cancer target in recent years. Two sphingosine kinase inhibitors, sphingosine kinase inhibitor (SKI)-II and ABC294640, are promising as potential breast cancer therapies. However, evidence for their therapeutic properties in specific breast cancer subtypes is currently lacking. In this study, we characterize these drugs in luminal, endocrine-resistant (MDA-MB-361) and basal-A, triple-negative (MDA-MB-468) breast cancer cells and compare them with previously published data in other breast cancer cell models. Both SKI-II and ABC294640 demonstrated greater efficacy in basal-A compared with luminal breast cancer. ABC294640, in particular, induced apoptosis and blocked proliferation both in vitro and in vivo in this triple-negative breast cancer system. Furthermore, Sphk expression promotes survival and endocrine therapy resistance in previously sensitive breast cancer cells. Taken together, these results characterize sphingosine kinase inhibitors across breast cancer cell systems and demonstrate their therapeutic potential as anti-cancer agents.