Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical features of chronic urticaria in aging population.

BACKGROUND Different clinical features of skin diseases have been addressed between aging patients and non-aging patients. However, data focusing on the clinical features of chronic urticaria (CU) in aging patients especially in the Asian population are still limited. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of CU in aging and non-aging patients in the Asian population. METHODS Case records of 1622 CU patients attending the Urticaria Clinic, Department of Dermatology, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand between 2000 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. All CU patients older than 60 years were recruited. Twice the number of CU patients who were non-aging were enrolled using a systematic sampling method. RESULTS Of the 1622 CU patients, 67 (4.1%) were aging patients. From these, 134 non-aging patients with CU were recruited. The majority of patients for both groups were female, with 67.2% and 77.6% of the aging and non-aging groups, respectively. In both groups, the most common cause of CU was chronic spontaneous urticaria. In the aging group, positive autologous serum skin test, anti-thyroid antibodies and antinuclear antibodies were found more commonly than in the non-aging group, without a statistically significant difference. The mean duration of the disease tended to be shorter in the aging group. CONCLUSION Our study showed that CU in aging patients was uncommon (4.1%). Aging patients with CU seemed to have shorter disease duration and higher percentages of autoantibodies than non-aging patients with CU without a statistically significant difference.
Midline brain lesions in children with hormone insufficiency indicate early prenatal damage

The relationships between midline brain morphology, anterior visual pathway morphology and hormonal status in children with impaired growth were studied. Intracranial morphology was studied by magnetic resonance imaging in 47 children (14F, 33M), median age 9.7y (range 2.6–18.7y) undergoing growth hormone treatment (GH; 0.1 U/kg/d). They were chosen to represent various birth sizes and a spectrum of hormone insufficiencies. There was a relationship between GH secretion and the morphology of the neurohypophysis, the pituitary stalk and the anterior visual pathways, i.e. the greater the GH insufficiency, the more abnormal were these structures. The children with anterior visual pathway abnormalities had the lowest GH levels and the smallest adenohypophysis. The association between abnormalities of the anterior visual pathways and the hypothalamo‐pituitary structures may reflect a common prenatal neural damage in embryologically and anatomically closely related structures.
Nucleotide excision repair of actively transcribed versus nontranscribed DNA in rat hepatocytes: effect of age and dietary restriction.

The ability of primary cultures of rat hepatocytes to remove cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) from DNA fragments containing the transcriptionally active albumin gene and the transcriptionally inactive embryonic myosin heavy chain (MHCemb) and H-ras fragments as well as the genome overall was measured. At all UV doses studied, more CPDs were observed in the three DNA fragments and the genome overall in hepatocytes isolated from old (24-month-old) rats fed ad libitum than in young (6-month-old) rats fed ad libitum or old rats fed a calorie-restricted diet. The cultured hepatocytes preferentially removed CPDs from the albumin fragment compared to the genome overall or the MHCemb and H-ras fragments. The rate of repair (12 h after UV irradiation) of the albumin fragment was approximately 40% less in hepatocytes isolated from old rats than from young rats; this was due to a decrease in repair of the transcribed strand of this fragment, and dietary restriction prevented this decrease. The extent of repair (24 h after UV irradiation) of the MHCemb and H-ras fragments as well as the genome overall was reduced approximately 40% with age, and this decrease was reversed by dietary restriction.
Structural abnormalities revealed by magnetic resonance imaging in rats prenatally exposed to methylazoxymethanol acetate parallel cerebral pathology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a highly familial, neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with several neuropsychiatric, psychological, and neuropathological features. Although pharmacological animal models of dopaminergic and glutamatergic dysfunction have helped advance our understanding of the disease biology, there is a clear need for translational models that capture the neuropathological and functional manifestations associated with the intermediate phenotype and the clinical illness. Neuroimaging of preclinical neurodevelopmental approaches such as methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) exposure may afford a powerful translational tool to establish endpoints with greater congruency across animals and humans. Using in vivo volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), manganese‐enhanced MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we investigated morphological and cytoarchitectural changes of brain structures in MAM‐exposed rats, a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Compared to saline‐exposed controls, MAM‐exposed rats showed significant enlargement of lateral and third ventricles as well as reduced hippocampal volumes, which is consistent with findings observed in schizophrenia. In addition, DTI revealed that diffusion fractional anisotropy retrieved from corpus callosum and cingulum were significantly decreased in MAM‐exposed rats, suggesting that demyelination occurred in these white‐matter fiber tracts. Imaging findings were confirmed by conducting histological analysis using hematoxylin and eosin and Luxol fast blue stainings. In summary, structural abnormalities resulting from a MAM environmental challenge parallel cerebral pathology observed in schizophrenia. The MAM model incorporating noninvasive imaging techniques may therefore serve as an improved translational research tool for assessing new treatments for schizophrenia. Synapse, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Socioeconomic Disparities in Adult Oral Health in the United States

Information on clinical parameters of oral health for 14,000 + persons 18 years and over obtained through the 1988–1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) was analyzed. SES was measured by a composite index based on individual educational attainment and family economic status (based on the ratio of annual family income to the poverty threshold). This index was grouped into four approximately equal categories describing persons with lower, lower middle, upper middle, and higher SES index scores. SES disparities in the prevalence of each oral health characteristic studied were quantified by the ratio between the odds for persons in each of the three lower SES categories and the odds for persons in the higher SES category. Particular attention was given to the ratios between the odds for the lowest and highest SES categories. Both stratified and multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out using SUDAAN software (Release 7.0). t -Tests were used in evaluating pairwise comparisons; the Satterthwaite adjusted F statistic was used in the context of the logistic analyses to evaluate potential two-way interactions between SES and age, gender, race/ethnicity, and (when appropriate) a recent dental visit. A 0.01 level of significance was used in evaluating statistical results.
Who’s Afraid of the Big Enlargement?

Tito Boeri, IGIER, Università Bocconi, Milano, Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti and CEPR Guiseppe Bertola, European University Institute, Firenze and CEPR Herbert Brücker, Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) Fabrizio Coricelli, Università di Siena and CEPR Juan Dolado, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and CEPR John Fitzgerald, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) Angel de la Fuente, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona Pietro Garibaldi, Università Bocconi, Milano and CEPR Gordon Hanson, University of California, San Diego Juan Jimeno, Fundación de Estudios de Economia Aplicada and CEPR Richard Portes, London Business School (LBS) and CEPR Gilles Saint-Paul, Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse and CEPR Antonio Spilimbergo, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and CEPR
Scientific computing with Java and C++: a case study using functional magnetic resonance neuroimages

Modern systems for the analysis of image‐based biomedical data, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), require fast computational techniques and rapid, robust development. Object‐oriented programming languages such as Java and C++ provide the foundations for the development of complex data analysis applications. This case study explores the advantages and disadvantages of using these two programming environments for scientific computation as typified in the analysis of fMRI datasets. C++ is well suited for computational and memory optimization while Java is more compliant to the object‐oriented paradigm, supports cross‐platform development and has a rich set of application programming interface (API) classes. The same data model and algorithms were implemented in C++ and Java, and a user interface was developed with the Java API. Comparisons were made with respect to computational performance and ease of development. Benchmarks show that C++ generally outperforms Java, while Java is easier to use, leading to more robust code and shorter development times. However, with the advent of newer just‐in‐time compilers, Java performance is at times comparable to C++. The latest Java virtual machine technology is closing the gap and eventually Java should be a good compromise between efficient algorithm performance and effective application development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Aminosalicylates and colorectal cancer in IBD: a not-so bitter pill to swallow

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased risk of developing intestinal cancer at sites of chronic inflammation. Aminosalicylates, including both sulfasalazine and mesalamine, are the most commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory agents prescribed in IBD. On balance, the body of literature to date suggests that aminosalicylates confer some protection against the development of colonic neoplasia in patients with IBD and in a variety of models, including in the noninflamed gut. This latter observation implies that aminosalicylates may be of chemopreventive value in normal as well as IBD individuals. The current review examines and gives an overview of the evidence from a variety of sources, including epidemiological, in vivo and in vitro studies that have investigated the potential anticancer effects of aminosalicylates.
Individualizing Neuroanatomic Atlases Using a Massively Parallel Computer

An anatomical atlas is an annotated volume of images, charts or tables that systematically illustrate an anatomical part. Atlas annotations often include structure names, descriptions, locations and functions, as well as other information specific to the atlas anatomy. Individualized digital atlases can be generated by using a computer to transform the shape of the atlas into the shape of images taken of the individual. Generalized electronic atlases of the head, created from MRI scans and labeled by experts, are currently available. The algorithms in this research create individualized, subject-specific atlases.
Nuclear Receptors HNF4α and LRH-1 Cooperate in Regulating Cyp7a1 in Vivo*

Background: FGF19 inhibits bile acid synthesis by repressing transcription of Cyp7a1 through a SHP-dependent mechanism. Results: Eliminating HNF4α or LRH-1 in liver reduces basal Cyp7a1 expression and disrupts its repression by FGF19 and SHP. Conclusion: HNF4α and LRH-1 cooperate in regulating basal Cyp7a1 transcription and its repression by FGF19. Significance: Understanding how bile acid synthesis is repressed has implications for treating chronic diarrhea syndromes. Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is a postprandial enterokine induced by the nuclear bile acid receptor, FXR, in ileum. FGF19 inhibits bile acid synthesis in liver through transcriptional repression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) via a mechanism involving the nuclear receptor SHP. Here, in a series of loss-of-function studies, we show that the nuclear receptors HNF4α and LRH-1 have dual roles in regulating Cyp7a1 in vivo. First, they cooperate in maintaining basal Cyp7a1 expression. Second, they enable SHP binding to the Cyp7a1 promoter and facilitate FGF19-mediated repression of bile acid synthesis. HNF4α and LRH-1 promote active transcription histone marks on the Cyp7a1 promoter that are reversed by FGF19 in a SHP-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that both HNF4α and LRH-1 are important regulators of Cyp7a1 transcription in vivo.
Three-Dimensional Imaging of the Highly Bent Architecture of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus by Using Cryo-Electron Tomography

ABSTRACT Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus cells are small deltaproteobacterial cells that feed on other gram-negative bacteria, including human pathogens. Using cryo-electron tomography, we demonstrated that B. bacteriovorus cells are capable of substantial flexibility and local deformation of the outer and inner membranes without loss of cell integrity. These shape changes can occur in less than 2 min, and analysis of the internal architecture of highly bent cells showed that the overall distribution of molecular machines and the nucleoid is similar to that in moderately bent cells. B. bacteriovorus cells appear to contain an extensive internal network of short and long filamentous structures. We propose that rearrangements of these structures, in combination with the unique properties of the cell envelope, may underlie the remarkable ability of B. bacteriovorus cells to find and enter bacterial prey.
Scanning Electron Microscopic Characterization of Healing and Normal Rat Ligament Microstructure Under Slack and Loaded Conditions

The objective of this study was to observe and compare behavior of the collagen fiber microstructure in normal and healing ligaments, both in situ and ex vivo, in order to add insight into the structure-function relationship in normal and healing ligaments. Fifty-two ligaments from 26 male rats were investigated. Eleven animals underwent surgical transection of both medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) (22 ligaments), which were allowed to heal for a period of 2 weeks. An additional 15 animals (30 ligaments) were used as normals. Ligaments were placed into six groups: Slack ( n = 6 control, n = 6 healing), Reference ( n = 4 control, n = 4 healing), Loaded ( n = 4 control, n = 4 healing), 15° Flexion ( n = 4 control, n = 4 healing), 120° Flexion ( n = 4 control, n = 4 healing), and Tissue Strain vs. Flexion Angle ( n = 8 normals). All ligaments, except those in the Tissue Strain vs. Flexion Angle group, were prepared for scanning electron microscopy. Tissues were harvested, mounted in a load frame, and chemically fixed in one of five states: (1) slack, (2) reference (onset of loading), (3) loaded, (4) 15° knee flexion, or (5) 120° knee flexion. After fixation the tissues were prepared for electron microscopy (SEM). The micrographs from the slack, reference, and loaded groups show fiber straightening with loading in normal ligaments as well as in both scar and "retracted" regions of healing ligaments. Collagen fibers' diameter and crimp patterns were dramatically changed in the scar region of healing ligaments: Width decreased from 19.4 - 1.7 w m to 6.5 - 2.1 w m ( p < .000001), period from 51.4 - 15.1 w m to 11.0 - 2.4 w m ( p < .000001), and amplitude from 9.8 - 0.8 w m to 3.9 - 0.8 w m ( p < .000001). Normal ligaments fixed in situ show wavy regions at 120° but less so at 15° flexion. Healing ligaments fixed in situ show regions of fiber waviness in the scar region at 120° and also at 15° flexion, indicating ligament laxity persists toward both extremes of the range of motion. The data suggest that straightening of crimped fibers is a functionally relevant phenomenon, not only in normal but also in healing ligaments.
Electromechanical Effects of 1,25‐Dihydroxyvitamin D with Antiatrial Fibrillation Activities

Treatment with 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D) has several cardiovascular benefits. 1,25[OH]2D has direct cellular effects, but its effects on the atrium are not clear. We evaluated the effects of 1,25[OH]2D on the atrial electrophysiology and atrial fibrillation (AF).
On the lower bound of monitor solutions of maximally permissive supervisors for a subclass α-S3PR of flexible manufacturing systems

Recently, a novel and computationally efficient method – based on a vector covering approach – to design optimal control places and an iteration approach that computes the reachability graph to obtain a maximally permissive liveness enforcing supervisor for FMS (flexible manufacturing systems) have been reported. However, it is unclear as to the relationship between the structure of the net and the minimal number of monitors required. This paper develops a theory to show that the minimal number of monitors required cannot be less than that of basic siphons in α-S3PR (systems of simple sequential processes with resources). This confirms that two of the three controlled systems by Chen et al. are of a minimal monitor configuration since they belong to α-S3PR and their number in each example equals that of basic siphons.
Efficient algorithm for steady-state stability analysis of large analog/RF circuits

This paper presents a method for the investigation of AC and large signal steady-state stability of electrical (analog/RF) circuits. In both cases stability/instability are detected through fast calculation and analysis of circuit poles. Thanks to iterative algorithms (Krylov-subspace methods) applied to modified nodal formulation of conversion matrices, a selection of poles is computed, allowing the method to be applied to large size circuits of any type of topology.
Detection of human papillomavirus DNA in malignant lesions from Chinese women with carcinomas of the upper genital tract.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-risk oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) in malignant lesions from Hong Kong Chinese women with carcinomas of the upper genital tract. METHODS The presence of high-risk HPVs in 55 cases of endometrial adenocarcinomas and 60 cases of primary epithelial ovarian cancers was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using consensus primers complementary to late 1 (L1) gene of the genital HPVs. Amplified PCR products were verified and typed by Southern blot analysis using (32)P-labeled DNA probes prepared from cloned HPV-16 and -18 plasmids. To confirm the presence of high-risk HPV types in the tumor tissues, PCR amplification using HPV type 16- and 18-specific primers for part of the E6 gene were also carried out. RESULTS While HPV-18 was not detected, HPV-16 DNA sequences were identified in 5 (9.1%) of the 55 studied endometrial carcinoma samples. Of the 5 HPV-16-positive cases, there were 4 stage I, and 1 stage II endometrial cancer. In addition, 6 (10%) of the 60 epithelial ovarian carcinomas were positive for high-risk HPVs, which included 5 cases with HPV-16 and 1 case with HPV-18. Clinical staging revealed that 5 of the 6 HPV-positive cases were stage I and the remaining case was stage III ovarian cancer. Histology of the 6 HPV-positive cases showed that there were 1 case of clear-cell adenocarcinoma, 1 case of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, and 4 cases of mucinous tumor of borderline malignancy. No other HPV types were detected. CONCLUSION High-risk HPV was detected in approximately 10% of the tumor samples from women with upper genital tract carcinomas. As compared to the high positive rate of HPV infections in cervical cancer, it appears that HPV infection plays a relatively minor role in the pathogenesis of endometrial and ovarian carcinomas.
Anti-hyperglycaemic, anti-oxidant and anti-hyperlipidaemic effects of Momordica charantia L. on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Gözde Atila*, Hamit Uslu, Ebru Beytut, Evren Koç & Yusuf Ersan Department of physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Kafkas, Kars-Turkey; Department of Health Care Services, Ataturk Health Vocational School, University of Kafkas, Kars-Turkey; Department of physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Erzincan, ErzincanTurkey; Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Kafkas, Kars-Turkey; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Art, University of Kafkas, Kars-Turkey E-mail: gzd.gozde@hotmail.com
Does the Geometry of Word Embeddings Help Document Classification? A Case Study on Persistent Homology-Based Representations

We investigate the pertinence of methods from algebraic topology for text data analysis. These methods enable the development of mathematically-principled isometric-invariant mappings from a set of vectors to a document embedding, which is stable with respect to the geometry of the document in the selected metric space. In this work, we evaluate the utility of these topology-based document representations in traditional NLP tasks, specifically document clustering and sentiment classification. We find that the embeddings do not benefit text analysis. In fact, performance is worse than simple techniques like tf-idf, indicating that the geometry of the document does not provide enough variability for classification on the basis of topic or sentiment in the chosen datasets.
L'incertitude du résultat, facteur clé de succès du spectacle sportif professionnel : l'intensité compétitive des ligues : entre impacts mesurés et effets perçus

La litterature economique sur le sport professionnel etablit un lien fort entre l’incertitude du resultat et la demande du public (Andreff, 2008 ; Neale, 1964 ; Rottenberg, 1956). Ceci correspond au concept d’equilibre competitif. Dans la continuite des travaux anterieurs, cette these part du constat suivant : sous un ensemble de regles sportives, il doit etre envisageable d’optimiser le caractere spectaculaire des competitions et donc la demande du public en favorisant l’incertitude du resultat, les rebondissements et l’existence d’enjeux. Ces trois elements determinent le concept d’intensite competitive (IC). La problematique consiste a s’interroger sur les regles permettant d’optimiser l’IC des ligues sportives professionnelles et la faisabilite de leur mise en place compte tenu de leur perception par les responsables de ligues et clubs. Les resultats quantitatifs mettent en evidence la perspicacite de regles specifiques : a l’echelle intra-match, les systemes de bonus induisent une plus forte incertitude du resultat ; a l’echelle intra-championnat, l’existence d’un plus grand nombre de places a enjeux (playoffs, places qualificatives pour les competitions continentales, relegations) permet de concerner plus d’equipes en saison reguliere. Neanmoins, les entretiens aupres de responsables font ressortir des freins percus quant a l’introduction de ces regles (illisibilite des systemes de bonus, qualification d’un trop grand nombre d’equipes en playoffs remettant en cause le merite sportif, voire la tenue de la saison reguliere, risque economique lie aux relegations). Des lors, l’optimisation de l’IC doit integrer ces contraintes.