Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel virus capture assay reveals a differential acquisition of host HLA-DR by clinical isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 expanded in primary human cells depending on the nature of producing cells and the donor source.

Previous findings indicated that HLA-DR is probably one of the most abundant cellular constituents incorporated within the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope. Given that the life-cycle of HIV-1 has been reported to be modulated by virion-bound host HLA-DR, an improved version of a virus capture technique was developed to assess the degree of HLA-DR incorporation in several clinical isolates of HIV-1 derived from primary human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Analysis of virus stocks purified from PBMCs and MDM indicated that primary isolates of HIV-1 bearing distinct tropism (i.e. T-, macrophage-, and dual-tropic) all incorporate host cell membrane HLA-DR protein. The amount of incorporated HLA-DR varies among the primary HIV-1 isolates tested. Propagation of some clinical HIV-1 isolates in either autologous PBMCs or MDM resulted in differential incorporation of virion-bound cellular HLA-DR depending on the nature of the virus producer cells. Differences in the degree of HLA-DR incorporation were also noticed when macrophage-tropic isolates of HIV-1 were produced in MDM from different donors. Altogether these data show that the efficiency of HLA-DR incorporation into the envelope of primary isolates of HIV-1 is a multifactorial phenomenon since it is affected by the virus isolate itself, the nature of host cells (i.e. PBMCs or MDM) and the donor source.
Evaluation of nestin in lung adenocarcinoma: relation to VEGF and Bcl-2

Abstract Context: Nestin is a marker of multipotent precursor cells that is up regulated in cancer. Objective: To explore its diagnostic role and its relationship to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Bcl-2 in lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and methods: Evaluation of nestin expression in lung biopsies by real-time PCR and serum VEGF and Bcl-2 by ELISA in 27 adenocarcinoma patients and 15 control subjects. Results: Nestin was significantly higher in lung adenocarcinoma patients especially with advanced grade and stage and it was significantly correlated to VEGF and Bcl-2. Conclusion: Nestin can be considered as a potential diagnostic marker in lung adenocarcinoma.
Drug interactions with the taxanes: clinical implications.

BACKGROUND The taxanes paclitaxel and docetaxel are among the most active antitumor agents. Clinically important pharmacodynamic interactions have been reported to occur with these agents that are sequence or schedule dependent. Because the taxanes undergo hepatic oxidation via the cytochrome P450 system, pharmacokinetic interactions due to enzyme induction or inhibition can also occur. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline to identify clinically important drug-interactions with the taxanes. RESULTS Clinically significant taxane interactions were identified for carboplatin, cisplatin, doxorubicin, docetaxel, epirubicin and anticonvulsants. Doxorubicin and epirubicin should be administered 24 h before paclitaxel, and the cumulative anthracycline dose limited to 360 mg/m(2). This will prevent the enhanced toxicities due to sequence and schedule dependent interactions between anthracyclines and paclitaxel. Conversely, paclitaxel should be administered at least 24 h before cisplatin to avoid a decrease in clearance and increase in myelosuppression. With concurrent anticonvulsant therapy, cytochrome p450 enzyme induction results in decreased paclitaxel plasma steady state concentrations, possibly requiring an increased dose of paclitaxel. A number of other drug interactions have been reported in preliminary studies for which clinical significance has yet to be established. CONCLUSION Clinically significant drug interactions have been reported to occur when paclitaxel is administered with doxorubicin, cisplatin, or anticonvulsants (phenytoin, carbamazepine, and phenobarbital).
Serum antibody response of ewes and their lambs to Pasteurella haemolytica

Vaccination of pregnant ewes with a Pasteurella haemolytica adjuvanted vaccine which contained serotypes A1, A2 and A6 antigens caused significant increases in serum antibody titres to A1 and A6 measured by the indirect haemagglutination test (IHA). The response to vaccination with the serotype A2 antigen contained in this vaccine cannot be measured by the IHA test. There were also increased antibody titres in the colostrum from the vaccinated ewes and in the serum of their lambs after sucking compared with the corresponding titres in unvaccinated ewes and their lambs. The inoculation of either 10 +/- 2- or 18 +/- 2-day-old lambs from both vaccinated or unvaccinated ewes with the same vaccine induced the active production of antibodies to serotypes A1 and A6 despite the presence of passively acquired antibodies. By four weeks after vaccination the group geometric mean serum antibody titres of lambs from both vaccinated and unvaccinated were similar whether the lambs were vaccinated at 10 or 18 days of age. Successful vaccination of young lambs with this type of vaccine is therefore possible. Optimum protection would be obtained by vaccinating ewes in late pregnancy and their lambs within the first two weeks of life.
The good and the bad: Alkaloid screening and brineshrimp bioassays of aqueous extracts of 31 medicinal plants of eastern Nicaragua

Context: Presence/absence tests for alkaloids of 31 medicinal vascular plant species from 31 genera and 26 families of eastern Nicaragua provided a baseline for bioactivity tests. Objective: To determine the bioactivity and cytoxicity of aqueous extracts of widely used medicinal species in eastern Nicaragua. Materials and methods: Ethnomedicinal applications were obtained from interviews of traditional healers. We used Dragendorff’s reagent to test alkaloids and brine shrimp for cytotoxicity of aqueous extracts. Results: Twenty-nine of the 31 species tested positive for alkaloids. The median lethal concentration that kills 50% of the larvae within 24 h of contact with the extract (LC50 was less than 1000 µg/mL for 4 (13%) species (the usual cytotoxic category), 1001–5000 µg/mL for 23 (74%) species, and between 5001–7500 µg/mL for the remaining 4 (13%) species. Discussion and Conclusion: Twenty-five of the ethnomedicines contain alkaloids but are not cytotoxic. In contrast to first suppositions, we suggest that this is a good and desirable, and perhaps expected, outcome. Medicinal plants that are cytotoxic may obviously control or kill bacteria or other pathogens, but may also negatively affect the patient; some high alkaloid levels have been associated with carcinogens. Thus, perhaps the majority of effective medicinals should be expected to be noncytotoxic. We suggest that this is a new paradigm for consideration of the overall value and effectiveness of medicinals. Of course, medicinals also can be effective in numerous ways (e.g., organ stimulation or other physiological functions) other than simply as antimicrobials or antipathogens.
MCMI-II item weights: their lack of effectiveness.

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II (MCMI-II; Millon, 1987) results from 134 patients were scored twice; with and without the item weights. The results showed that the correlations between the weighted and unweighted versions of the same scales were extremely high, exceeding . 90 in all cases. Furthermore, weighting did not significantly reduce the correlations among the scales, either within each of the four syndrome/pattern categories of the MCMI-II, or between categories. It is concluded that item weighting reduces the access of the MCMI-II by clinicians, without increasing its psychometric properties.
Assessment of the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy by dobutamine stress echocardiography.

BACKGROUND After heart transplantation, accelerated coronary vasculopathy is a major factor that limits long-term survival and is usually detected by serial coronary angiography. The aim of this study was to determine whether dobutamine stress echocardiography could accurately identify the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy. METHODS Two sequential controls by dobutamine stress echocardiography were performed at an 18-month interval in 37 heart transplant recipients at the time of their routine coronary angiography. The first control (control 1) occurred 37+/-20 months after transplantation, and the second control (control 2) occurred after 56+/-21 months. Standard echocardiographic views were acquired at baseline and at incremental dobutamine infusion levels. Regional wall motion score was calculated in a 16-segment model, and each segment was graded from 1 (normal) to 4 (dyskinesia). Visual and quantitative coronary angiographic analysis were used to assess the severity of the coronary vasculopathy. RESULTS The incidence of coronary vasculopathy increased from 46% (17/37 patients, four of whom had stenoses > 50%) at control 1 fo 70% (26/37 patients, six of whom had stenoses > 50%) at control 2. Progression of coronary vasculopathy was diagnosed by coronary angiography in 25 patients (new abnormalities in 19 and worsening of previous abnormalities in 6). Dobutamine stress echocardiography correctly identified the progression of vasculopathy in 21 of these 25 patients (84%) with new abnormalities in 17 and worsening in four. In the four remaining patients with evidence of progression of vasculopathy on coronary angiography, the result of dobutamine stress echocardiography was abnormal in three patients and normal in only one. Therefore dobutamine stress echocardiography results were abnormal in 12 patients at control 1 (sensitivity: 65%, specificity: 95%) and in 27 at control 2 (92% sensitivity, 73% specificity). CONCLUSION Dobutamine stress echocardiography is a sensitive, noninvasive method to diagnose the progression of allograft vasculopathy, and a negative test result is a strong predictor of absence of allograft coronary vasculopathy. Therefore serial routine coronary angiography may be deferred when dobutamine stress echocardiography results are normal.
Tactual discrimination of softness.

1. We investigated the ability of humans to tactually discriminate the softness of objects, using novel elastic objects with deformable and rigid surfaces. For objects with deformable surfaces, we cast transparent rubber specimens with variable compliances. For objects with rigid surfaces ("spring cells") we fabricated telescoping hollow cylinders with the inner cylinder supported by several springs. To measure the human discriminability and to isolate the associated information-processing mechanisms, we performed psychophysical experiments under three conditions: 1) active touch with the normal finger, where both tactile and kinesthetic information was available to the subject: 2) active touch with local cutaneous anesthesia, so that only kinesthetic information was available; and 3) passive touch, where a computer-controlled mechanical stimulator brought down the compliant specimens onto the passive fingerpad of the subject, who therefore had only tactile information. 2. We first characterized the mechanical behavior of the human fingerpad and the test objects by determining the relationship between the depth and force of indentation during constant-velocity indentations by a rigid probe. The fingerpad exhibited a pronounced nonlinear behavior in the indentation depth versus force trace such that compliance, as indicated by the local slope of the trace, decreased with increases in indentation depth. The traces for all the rubber specimens were approximately linear, indicating a constant but distinct value of compliance for each specimen. The fingerpad was more compliant than each of the rubber specimens. 3. All the human subjects showed excellent softness discriminability in ranking the rubber specimens by active touch, and the subjective perception of softness correlated one-to-one with the objectively measured compliance. The ability of subjects to discriminate the compliance of spring cells was consistently poorer compared with that of the rubber specimens. 4. For pairwise discrimination of a selected set of rubber specimens, kinesthetic information alone was insufficient. However, tactile information alone was sufficient, even when the velocities and forces of specimen application were randomized. In contrast, for discriminating pairs of spring cells, tactile information alone was insufficient, and both tactile and kinesthetic information were found to be necessary. 5. The differences in the sufficiency of tactile information for the discrimination of the two types of objects can be explained by the mechanics of contact of the fingerpad and its effect on tactile information. For objects with deformable surfaces, the spatial pressure distribution within the contact region depends on both the force applied and the specimen compliance. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Stroke during pregnancy: no increased risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight, a nationwide case-controlled study

Objective Population-based data regarding pregnancy outcomes for patients who experienced stroke during pregnancy is sparse and mainly from Western populations. The authors investigate the association between strokes and pregnancy outcomes in Chinese women through a nationwide case-controlled study. Methods A total of 161 women having live singleton births between 2001 and 2003 who had strokes during pregnancy were included in the study group. The authors randomly selected 1288 mothers matched in age and year of delivery for the comparison group. Conditional logistic regressions were performed to examine the odds of low birth weight (LBW), preterm and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) babies between these two groups, after adjusting for the characteristics of mother and infant and comorbid medical disorders. Results The authors found that the mothers with stroke during pregnancy were more likely to have lower monthly family incomes (p=0.031) and to have gestational hypertension (p=0.004), anaemia (p<0.001) and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (p=0.039) than the comparison group. Results showed no significant differences in the prevalence of preterm births (5.6% vs 7.1%, p=0.466), LBW (5.6% vs 7.1%, p=0.486) and SGA infants (14.3% vs 16.9%, p=0.396) between women who had strokes during pregnancy and mothers in the comparison group. After adjusting for other potential confounders, conditional logistic regression analyses showed no significant differences in the odds of having preterm, LBW babies and SGA infants between two groups. Conclusions The authors found that there is no statistically significant difference in the pregnancy outcomes between Chinese women who had strokes during pregnancy and those who did not.
The effects of Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy on macular thickness, intraocular pressure, and visual acuity.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To evaluate how different energy levels of Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy affect best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and macular thickness of patients with posterior capsule opacification. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty eyes of 30 patients with posterior capsule opacification following phacoemulsification were enrolled in the study. Patients were classified according to total energy used during Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy (≤ 80 mJ = group I, > 80 mJ = group II). RESULTS Mean total energy levels were 58 ± 18 mJ (range: 14 to 80 mJ) in group I and 117 ± 36 mJ (range: 84 to 200 mJ) in group II. BCVA at 1 week preoperatively and 1 and 3 months postoperatively was significantly better compared to preoperative BCVA in both groups (P < .001). In group I, IOP increased 1 week postoperatively (P = .007) and declined to preoperative levels at 1 month. In group II, IOP increased 1 week postoperatively (P = .001) and did not return to preoperative levels during 3 months of follow-up (P = .04). Both groups had increased macular thickness compared to preoperative levels, but group II measurements were significantly higher 1 week and 1 month postoperatively compared to group I (P = .004 and .03, respectively). CONCLUSION Increased IOP and macular thickness are inevitable after Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy, but the severity and duration are less when a total energy level less than 80 mJ is used.
Stage-adapted treatment of HIV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma: results of a prospective multicenter study.

PURPOSE Although the outcome of patients with HIV-related Hodgkin lymphoma (HIV-HL) has markedly improved since the introduction of combined antiretroviral therapy, standard therapy is still poorly defined. This prospective study investigates a stage- and risk-adapted treatment strategy in patients with HIV-HL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with early favorable HIV-HL received two to four cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) followed by 30 Gy of involved-field (IF) radiation. In patients with early unfavorable HIV-HL, four cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP baseline) or four cycles of ABVD + 30 Gy of IF radiation were administered. Six to eight cycles of BEACOPP baseline were given in patients with advanced-stage HIV-HL. In patients with advanced HIV infection, BEACOPP was replaced with ABVD. RESULTS Of 108 patients (including eight female patients) included in the study, 23 (21%) had early favorable HL, 14 (13%) had early unfavorable HL, and 71 (66%) had advanced-stage HL. The median CD4 count at HL diagnosis was 240/μL. The complete remission rates for patients with early favorable, early unfavorable, and advanced-stage HL were 96%, 100%, and 86%, respectively. The 2-year progression-free survival of the entire study population was 91.7%. Eleven patients (11%) have died, and treatment-related mortality was 5.6%. The 2-year overall survival rate was 90.7% with no significant difference between early favorable (95.7%), early unfavorable (100%), and advanced-stage HL (86.8%). CONCLUSION In patients with HIV-HL, stage- and risk-adapted treatment is feasible and effective. The prognosis for patients with HIV-HL may approach that of HIV-negative patients with HL.
Inhibition of LPS-stimulated NO production in mouse macrophage-like cells by Barbados cherry, a fruit of Malpighia emarginata DC.

The extract of Barbados cherry (acerola fruit), a fruit of Malpighia emarginata DC. , has been reported to display diverse biological activities such as prevention of age-related diseases. We investigated here the possible effect of Barbados cherry extract on nitric oxide (NO) production by activated macrophages. Barbados cherry was roughly separated into 4 or 5 fractions by two different methods, using various organic solvents such as hexane, acetone, methanol (70% and 100%) and water, and assayed for its ability to inhibit NO production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophage-like Raw 264.7 cells. Among these fractions, AcOEt extracts (AE0) in Method I and acetone extract (A0) in Method II showed the highest inhibitory activity of NO production (SI > 20 and SI = 31, respectively). When these fractions were subjected to silica gel column chromatography, higher inhibitory activity for NO production was concentrated in AcOEt (AE6) (SI = 64) and benzene-AcOEt (1:4) (A10) fractions (SI > 59). Western blot analysis demonstrated that AE6 and A10 fractions reduced the intracellular concentration of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) by approximately one-third. ESR spectroscopy showed that these fractions scavenged various radical species such as superoxide anion (O2-) and NO radicals. These data suggest that the inhibitory effect on NO production by Barbados cherry extracts is partly due to the inhibition of iNOS expression, and scavenging of O2- and NO radicals.
Prevention of infectious complications after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in cirrhotic patients with a single dose of ceftriaxone.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Patients with cirrhosis of the liver are prone to bacterial infections. Therapeutic interventions such as endoscopic sclerotherapy increase the risk of bacterial infections in these patients. Following insertion of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), the incidence of severe bacterial infections was recently shown to be 20% after elective procedures. This finding suggests antibiotic prophylaxis with the TIPS procedure. Antibiotic prophylaxis using cefotiam or cefotaxime/ampicillin did not significantly reduce infectious complications. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the efficacy of two different doses of a long-acting cephalosporin in prevention of bacterial infection after TIPS. METHODOLOGY Eighty-two patients with cirrhosis (age: 52 +/- 2 years) who underwent elective TIPS were randomized to receive a single i.v. dose of either 1 g or 2 g Ceftriaxone 1 hour before the intervention. Patients with evidence of or suspected infections and patients on antibiotic therapy within 7 days prior to TIPS were excluded. Body temperature was monitored t.i. d. for 1 week and white blood count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined before TIPS and 1 day and 1 week after TIPS. RESULTS Only 2 of 82 patients (2.6%) showed signs of infection following TIPS insertion: One of 40 patients receiving 1 g Ceftriaxone and 1 of 42 patients receiving 2 g Ceftriaxone prior to TIPS developed temperature > 38.5 degrees C. In the latter patient this was due to pneumonia. This patient received antibiotic treatment with imipenem for 10 days. Temperature in the other patient normalized within 12 hours and he did not require antibiotic treatment. No significant differences in temperature, WBC and CRP between the different doses of Ceftriaxone were observed. CONCLUSIONS Prophylactic treatment with Ceftriaxone reduces the reported incidence of bacterial infections after TIPS in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Prophylaxis with 1 g Ceftriaxone seems as efficacious as 2 g.
Non-semantic facial parts for face verification

Human face is a very important research subject in computer vision due to its wide application prospect. However, pose, illumination and expression (PIE) variations challenge the robustness offace descriptions. Due to the unique structure and human perception of faces, facial parts are always considered most representative and discriminative in the whole face. In this paper, we propose a novel face representation called Non-Semantic Facial Parts (NSFP). By training a SVM classifier based on identity labels, we automatically find the most discriminative patches on human faces and cluster them to high-level facial parts according to their spatial and appearance correlation. We apply NSF-P to face verification on a public face dataset.
Detection of Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Mucosa of Patients with Gastroduodenal Diseases by PCR-Restriction Analysis Using the RNA Polymerase Gene (rpoB)

ABSTRACT A novel PCR restriction analysis method using the RNA polymerase β-subunit- coding gene (rpoB) was employed to both detect and identify Helicobacter pylori in biopsy specimens and culture isolates. The rpoB DNAs (458 bp) were specifically amplified by PCR with the Helicobacter-specific primers (HF and HR). Based on the determined rpoB sequences of the culture isolates, an H. pylori-specific restriction site, Tru9I, was found. H. pylori can be identified by observing two discernible DNA fragments (288 and 138 bp) after Tru9I digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis. The rpoB PCR and subsequent restriction analysis (PRA) enabled the specific detection and identification of H. pylori in biopsy specimens from patients with gastroduodenal diseases. The rpoB PRA conferred a compatible or a slightly higher positive rate (53.7%) than did the Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test (50.4%) and glmM PCR (48.8%), suggesting that it is useful for diagnosing an H. pylori infection without culture in the clinical laboratory.