Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum Thrombopoietin Level in Various Hematological Diseases

To investigate the pathophysiological role of thrombopoietin (TPO) in thrombopoiesis, we measured its serum levels in 15 healthy individuals, 84 patients with various hematological diseases and 2 patients with liver cirrhosis using an enzyme immunoassay procedure. The TPO level was 0.84 ± 0.40 f mol/ml in normal individuals. TPO levels were considerably elevated in patients with myelosuppression after intensification chemotherapy of acute leukemia in complete remission (postchemotherapy group; n = 18; 18.46 ± 9.70 f mol/ml). When the data of normal individuals and the postchemotherapy group were combined, TPO levels were inversely correlated with the platelet count in this combined group. We compared these data of normal individuals and the postchemotherapy group with various hematological disease states. In aplastic anemia (n = 13; 16.03 ± 9.44 f mol/ml), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 5; 10.36 ± 5.57 f mol/ml), malignant lymphoma (n = 6; 2.79 ± 2.27 f mol/ml), multiple myeloma (n = 3; 3.34 ± 0.20 f mol/ml) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n = 2; 1.71 ± 3.91 f mol/ml), the relationship of serum TPO levels and platelet counts was almost the same as in the combined group with normal individuals and the postchemotherapy group. However, the TPO levels were slightly higher in myeloproliferative disorders (n = 12; 1.99 ± 1.47 f mol/ml) and lower in acute myelogenous leukemia (n = 8; 2.27 ± 1.25 f mol/ml), hypoplastic leukemia (n = 3; 2.76 ± 2.23 f mol/ml), myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 2; 0.42 ± 0.60 f mol/ml), liver cirrhosis (n = 2; 1.50 ± 0.92 f mol/ml) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (n = 12; 2.08 ± 1.41 f mol/ml), when compared to the regression line for the combined group with normal individuals and postchemotherapy group. These findings suggest that TPO might play an important role in regulation of the platelet count in normal and pathological conditions.
The design and control of the flexible spine of a fully tendon-driven humanoid "Kenta"

We are trying to realize a humanoid which has flexibility. If humanoids have a flexible structure, safety and posture variety can be achieved. We focus on the role of the human spine and muscle-driven system. By having a flexible spine, a humanoid will have safety and many degrees of freedom to realize a variety of postures. By driving joints by tension-controllable tendons, flexibility of the joints can be controlled. We developed a whole-body tendon-driven flexible-spine humanoid named "Kenta". This paper describes the design and control of Kenta, focusing on the design of the spine. The spine consists of ten joints, vertebrae and rubber disks, ribs, and forty muscles equipped with tension sensors. We also propose control methods of the spine. One uses a geometric virtual robot model and another is based on direct teaching. Using these methods, some whole-body motions are presented.
Sp1 Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells by Repressing p21WAF1/Cip1 Transcription and Cyclin D1-Cdk4-p21WAF1/Cip1 Complex Formation*

Atherosclerosis and restenosis are common vascular disorders that involve excess proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the artery wall. In this study we demonstrate the anti-mitogenic, pro-apoptotic role of the zinc finger transcription factor Sp1 in vascular SMCs and define the underlying molecular mechanism via its capacity to repress the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/Cip1 at the level of transcription, mRNA, and protein. SMC proliferation inducible by a dominant-negative mutant form of Sp1 was abrogated by antisense strategies targeting p21WAF1/Cip1. Conversely, antisense p21WAF1/Cip1 induced apoptosis in SMCs overexpressing dominant-negative-Sp1. p21WAF1/Cip1 overexpression alone stimulated proliferation and inhibited apoptosis. Sp1 down-regulated p21WAF1/Cip1 expression in SMCs. Sp1 blocked assembly of cyclin D1-Cdk4-p21WAF1/Cip1 complex formation whose integrity is critical for G1->S transition. Moreover, Rb phosphorylation, which lies immediately downstream of the cyclin D1-Cdk4-p21WAF1/Cip1 complex, was blocked either by Sp1 overexpression or antisense p21WAF1/Cip1. These findings, using complementary approaches, demonstrate the inverse relationship between Sp1 and p21WAF1/Cip1 in SMCs and the capacity of Sp1 to regulate SMC proliferation and apoptosis via its repression of p21WAF1/Cip1.
Breakdown and Limit of Continuum Diffusion Velocity for Binary Gas Mixtures from Direct Simulation

This work investigates the breakdown of the continuum relations for diffusion velocity in inert binary gas mixtures. Values of the relative diffusion velocities for components of a gas mixture may be calculated using of Chapman‐Enskog theory and occur not only due to concentration gradients, but also pressure and temperature gradients in the flow as described by Hirschfelder. Because Chapman‐Enskog theory employs a linear perturbation around equilibrium, it is expected to break down when the velocity distribution deviates significantly from equilibrium. This breakdown of the overall flow has long been an area of interest in rarefied gas dynamics. By comparing the continuum values to results from Bird’s DS2V Monte Carlo code, we propose a new limit on the continuum approach specific to binary gases. To remove the confounding influence of an inconsistent molecular model, we also present the application of the variable hard sphere (VSS) model used in DS2V to the continuum diffusion velocity calculation. Fitt.
Pulmonary metastasis: A pathologic and radiologic study

A combined histopathologic and radiologic study has been performed on lungs obtained at autopsy to record the frequency and patterns of pulmonary metastasis in patients dying with a malignant neoplasm. The frequency of metastasis was higher and the patterns of tumor growth were more variable than expected, often making radiologic differentiation of tumor from nonneoplastic lesions difficult. The findings are discussed with particular reference to the problems of making an in vivo radiologic diagnosis of secondary tumor in the lung even with computed tomography.
Girls, Boys, and Bots: Gender Differences in Young Children's Performance on Robotics and Programming Tasks

Prior work demonstrates the importance of introducing young children to programming and engineering content before gender stereotypes are fully developed and ingrained in later years. However, very little research on gender and early childhood technology interventions exist. This pilot study looks at N=45 children in kindergarten through second grade who completed an eight-week robotics and programming curriculum using the KIWI robotics kit. KIWI is a developmentally appropriate robotics construction set specifically designed for use with children ages 4 to 7 years old. Qualitative pre-interviews were administered to determine whether participating children had any gender-biased attitudes toward robotics and other engineering tools prior to using KIWI in their classrooms. Post-tests were administered upon completion of the curriculum to determine if any gender differences in achievement were present. Results showed that young children were beginning to form opinions about which technologies and tools would be better suited for boys and girls. While there were no significant differences between boys and girls on the robotics and simple programming tasks, boys performed significantly better than girls on the advanced programming tasks such as, using repeat loops with sensor parameters. Implications for the design of new technological tools and curriculum that are appealing to boys and girls are discussed.
Scintillation from slow protons: A probe of monopole detection capabilities.

We describe an experiment which has detected light emission from a plastic scintillator due to neutron-induced recoil protons with initial energies as small as 410 eV. The velocity of such protons is smaller than that expected of grand-unified-theory magnetic monopoles. Searches for these exotic particles will therefore not be limited by kinematic or adiabatic constraints at velocities in excess of 9 x 10/sup -4/c.
Report on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Homozygous Protein C Deficiency

In 1985, the ICTH-Subcommittee on Protein C and Protein S instituted a Working Party to review the diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic data on the individual cases of homozygous or double heterozygous protein C deficiency, and recommend strategies for the initial and long-term treatment of these affected individuals. In this report, we summarize the recommendations of this committee for the diagnosis and treatment of homozygous protein C deficiency as set-forth in the forthcoming paper in the Journal of Pediatrics (1). This summary report and the paper in the Journal of Pediatrics (1) are the combined effort of those individuals who have diagnosed and cared for the children with homozygous or double heterozygous protein C deficiency. Protein C is the central protein in a major antithrombotic regulatory system of hemostasis, the protein C pathway (2). Hereditary protein C deficiency is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic complications (3-5). In the autosomal dominant form of protein C deficiency, heterozygotes with pro­ tein C levels of approximately 50% of normal may develop venous thrombosis as young adults (3-5). A complete deficiency of protein C is associated with massive thrombosis, resembling purpura fulminans, during the neonatal period (6-18). Although the syndrome seems to be rare, the timely identification of such patients may be lifesaving and permit therapeutic intervention.
Analysis of quality control data of eight modern radiotherapy linear accelerators: the short- and long-term behaviours of the outputs and the reproducibility of quality control measurements

Quality control (QC) data of radiotherapy linear accelerators, collected by Helsinki University Central Hospital between the years 2000 and 2004, were analysed. The goal was to provide information for the evaluation and elaboration of QC of accelerator outputs and to propose a method for QC data analysis. Short- and long-term drifts in outputs were quantified by fitting empirical mathematical models to the QC measurements. Normally, long-term drifts were well (⩽1%) modelled by either a straight line or a single-exponential function. A drift of 2% occurred in 18 ± 12 months. The shortest drift times of only 2–3 months were observed for some new accelerators just after the commissioning but they stabilized during the first 2–3 years. The short-term reproducibility and the long-term stability of local constancy checks, carried out with a sealed plane parallel ion chamber, were also estimated by fitting empirical models to the QC measurements. The reproducibility was 0.2–0.5% depending on the positioning practice of a device. Long-term instabilities of about 0.3%/month were observed for some checking devices. The reproducibility of local absorbed dose measurements was estimated to be about 0.5%. The proposed empirical model fitting of QC data facilitates the recognition of erroneous QC measurements and abnormal output behaviour, caused by malfunctions, offering a tool to improve dose control.
[Evaluation of the visual function in employees working with computers].

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of long-term work with computer monitor on the accommodation, convergence, stereopsis, near and distant visual acuity. MATERIAL AND METHODS The studies of the accommodation, convergence, stereopsis, near and distant visual acuity have been performed in 50 employees working with the computer 6.5 hours daily, 5-6 days weekly and 5 to 12 years. The same studies have been performed in 50 white-collar workers, who had no contact with the computer in their work. RESULTS No changes in the accommodation, convergence, stereopsis, near and distant visual acuity have been found in the employees in both studies groups. CONCLUSION Long-term work with the computer monitor does not cause changes in the visual function of the employees. Reported changes are probably cause by the visual fatigue associated with the near work, and not by the direct influence of the computer monitor.
Feather pecking in domestic chicks: its relation to dustbathing and foraging

Feather pecking is a serious problem in poultry housing, as it may lead to feather damage, injuries and even mortality. We tested predictions of the two prevalent hypotheses claiming that feather pecking is related to dustbathing and foraging, respectively. Forty-two groups of 30 laying hen chicks, Gallus gallus domesticuswere reared in pens with a slatted floor. Access to sand as a dustbathing substrate and straw as a foraging substrate was varied between groups. The rate of feather pecking was measured in early development up to week 7. The provision of a sand area did not prevent the chicks from developing high rates of feather pecking that caused injuries. Chicks that had access to sand from day 10 showed higher rates of feather pecking than chicks that had access to sand from day 1. The provision of straw to chicks that had developed high rates of feather pecking led to a decrease in this behaviour. Chicks that could use both sand and straw from day 1 on did not show high rates of feather pecking, and no injuries were observed in these groups. There was no significant difference in dustbathing activity between housing conditions characterized by high or low rates of feather pecking. On the other hand, foraging activity was inversely related to the rate of feather pecking, and the occurrence of feather pecking could be delayed from week 4 to week 7 by postponing procedures that led to changes in foraging behaviour. In conclusion, the results show that the presence of an appropriate substrate for dustbathing does not prevent domestic chicks from developing feather pecking. On the other hand, housing conditions that promote foraging behaviour are effective in reducing and preventing feather pecking.Copyright 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour1997The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Blood pressure screening practices of a group of dental hygienists: a pilot study.

PURPOSE Recent research suggests that one in five Americans has hypertension, according to the American Heart Association. When hypertension is undiagnosed or uncontrolled, it places patients at risk for other cardiovascular diseases, contributing to an increase in mortality. Dental hygienists are in an ideal setting to screen for this silent disease. This study was designed to determine how frequently a group of practicing dental hygienists performs screenings for hypertension on their patients, and to determine the barriers that prevent this screening from occurring. METHODS One hundred one dental hygienists were questioned with a written survey about their blood pressure screening practices and their reasons for not taking blood pressure readings, if applicable. RESULTS Sixty-seven dental hygienists completed the survey. Survey results revealed that the majority of dental hygienists were not recording blood pressure readings, even though their dental hygiene school curriculum had emphasized doing so for all patients. The most frequently cited reasons for not performing a routine blood pressure screening were insufficient time in the appointment and the minimal value given to the procedure by their employers. CONCLUSION To work against obstacles that prevent the provision of this service, dental and dental hygiene faculty must increase their efforts to inculcate in their students the value of blood pressure screening. Further studies are needed to determine if the findings of this study are indicative of only one segment of dental hygiene practitioners, or if they represent the norm in the profession.
Long-term genetic selection reduced prevalence of hip and elbow dysplasia in 60 dog breeds

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) and elbow dysplasia (ED) impact the health and welfare of all dogs. The first formally organized assessment scheme to improve canine health centered on reducing the prevalence of these orthopedic disorders. Phenotypic screening of joint conformation remains the currently available strategy for breeders to make selection decisions. The present study evaluated the efficacy of employing phenotypic selection on breed improvement of hips and elbows using the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals complete database spanning the 1970–2015 time period. Sixty breeds having more than 1000 unique hip evaluations and 500 elbow evaluations (1,056,852 and 275,129 hip and elbow records, respectively) were interrogated to derive phenotypic improvement, sex and age at time of assessment effects, correlation between the two joints, heritability estimates, estimated breeding values (EBV), and effectiveness of maternal/paternal selection. The data demonstrated that there has been overall improvement in hip and elbow conformation with a reduction in EBV for disease liability, although the breeds differed in the magnitude of the response to selection. Heritabilities also differed substantially across the breeds as did the correlation of the joints; in the absence of a universal association of these differences with breed size, popularity, or participation in screening, it appears that the breeds themselves vary in genetic control. There was subtle, though again breed specific, impact of sex and older ages on CHD and ED. There was greater paternal impact on a reduction of CHD. In the absence of direct genetic tests for either of these two diseases, phenotypic selection has proven to be effective. Furthermore, the data underscore that selection schemes must be breed specific and that it is likely the genetic profiles will be unique across the breeds for these two conditions. Despite the advances achieved with phenotypic selection, incorporation of EBVs into selection schemes should accelerate advances in hip and elbow improvement.
Blur Adaptation and Myopia

Previous studies have demonstrated a significant improvement in visual resolution during sustained periods of retinal defocus. This appears to result from perceptual adaptation designed to restore the perceived contrast of the degraded image. However, it is unclear whether perceptual adaptation to sustained blur is present in all individuals or only in certain subgroups, such as those who have been chronically exposed to sustained periods of blur due to uncorrected ametropia. Accordingly, the present study examined the effects of sustained retinal defocus on both high-and low-contrast visual acuity in emmetropes (n = 13) and myopes (n = 18). Subjects were required to view through +2.50-D spherical lenses worn over their distance refractive correction for a continuous 2-hour period. A significant improvement in both Landolt C and grating visual acuity measured through the fogging lenses was observed in both refractive groups. Although the mean change in grating visual acuity was significantly greater for the myopic subjects, the improvements in Landolt C acuity observed in the emmetropes and myopes were statistically equivalent. We hypothesize that the improvement in visual acuity results from perceptual adaptation to the blurred images, which may occur at central sites within the visual cortex.
Cellular immune response to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in nonviremic blood donors with indeterminate anti‐HCV reactivity

BACKGROUND: Blood donors with indeterminate hepatitis C virus antibody (anti‐HCV) reactivity are rejected from blood donation. As they are mostly nonviremic, the source of these reactions remains unclear. Reasons for such findings can be resolved HCV infections as well as unspecific antibody reactions. The aim of this study was to investigate HCV‐specific T‐cell response in blood donors to determine the reason for the weak antibody detection.
Edge-adaptive Kalman filtering for image restoration with ringing suppression

The authors extend the two-dimensional (2-D) linear space-invariant (LSI) reduced update Kalman filter (RUKF) to edge-adaptive space-invariant restoration of noisy and blurred images using a decision-directed approach. The edge-adaptive RUKF was motivated by the need to suppress the ringing artifacts caused by LSI processing. The authors show that ringing artifacts can be suppressed to a great extent by using multiple image models that provide a better match to local edge orientation. The maximum a posteriori probability decision procedure developed for model selection at each pixel can be used with other 2-D Kalman filtering algorithms as well. >
Identification and Biological Activity of the Active Metabolite of Clopidogrel

Summary Like ticlopidine, the ADP receptor antagonist clopidogrel is inactive in vitro and must be administered i.v. or orally to exhibit antiaggregatory and antithrombotic activities. We have previously shown that hepatic metabolism is necessary for activity. This study demonstrates that an active metabolite can be generated from human liver microsomes incubated with clopidogrel. Using several analytical methodologies (LC/MS, NMR, chiral supercritical fluid chromatography), we have identified its structure. In vitro, this highly unstable compound, different from that formed from ticlopidine, exhibited all the biological activities of clopidogrel observed ex vivo: Irreversible inhibition of the binding of 33P-2MeS-ADP to washed human platelets (IC50 = 0.53 µM), selective inhibition of ADP-induced platelet aggregation (IC50 = 1.8 µM) and ADP-induced adenylyl cyclase down-regulation. The irreversible modification of the ADP-receptor site which is responsible for the biological activity could be explained by the formation of a disulfide bridge between the reactive thiol group of the active metabolite and a cysteine residue of the platelet ADP receptor. Abbreviations: ADP: adenosine 5’diphosphate; 2-MeS-ADP: 2-methylthioadenosine-5’-diphosphate; Bmax: maximum binding capacity; IC50: concentration which inhibits 50% of the activity; Kd: dissociation constant; LC/MS: Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry; NMR: Nuclear magnetic resonance
Cervical gland area as an ultrasound marker for prediction of preterm delivery: A cohort study

Background: Preterm labor is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality and it might be predicted by assessing the cervical change. Objective: To assess the association between absence of cervical gland area (CGA) and spontaneous preterm labor (SPTL). Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was performed on 200 singleton pregnant women with a history of SPTL, second-trimester abortion in the previous pregnancy or lower abdominal pain in current pregnancy. Each patient underwent one transvaginal ultrasound examination between 14-28 wk of gestation. Cervical length was measured and CGA was identified and their relationship with SPTL before 35 and 37 wk gestation was evaluated using STATA software version 10. Results: The mean of cervical length was 36.5 mm (SD=8.4), the shortest measurement was 9 mm, and the longest one was 61 mm. Short cervical length (≤18mm) was significantly associated with SPTL before 35 and 37 wk gestation. Cervical gland area (the hypoechogenic or echogenic area around the cervical canal) was present in 189 (94.5%) patients. Absent of CGA had a significant relationship with SPTL before 35 and 37 wk gestation (p=0.01 and p<0.001, respectively). Cervical length was shorter in women with absent CGA in comparison with subjects with present CGA: 37±10 mm in CGA present group and 23±9 mm in CGA absent group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our study showed that cervical gland area might be an important predictor of SPTL which should be confirmed with further researches.