Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relation of interleukin-1β gene to treatment response in chronic patients infected with HCV genotype 4.

INTRODUCTION Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection results in chronic hepatitis in more than 70% of infected patients, while 20-30% of patients recover spontaneously. This strengthens the role of the host genetic factors in either spontaneous or drug-induced viral clearance. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between interleukin-1β +3953 gene polymorphism and the response to interferon therapy in chronic HCV patients infected with genotype 4. METHODOLOGY The interleukin-1β (+3953 C/T) (rs1143634) gene was amplified in 115 chronic HCV patients. Interleukin-1β single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) plus several clinical and pathological factors were statistically analyzed in correlation with response to therapy. RESULTS Genotypes C/T and T/T had a significant association with non-response to treatment compared to genotype C/C, which had a strong association with response to treatment (95% confidence; 6.4884-48.5818, p = 0.0001). Furthermore, analysis of allele frequency in this cohort revealed that the T allele is associated with non-response, higher fibrosis, and higher hepatic activity, while the C allele had a significant association with sustained virologic response lower fibrosis, and lower hepatic activity (p value = 0.0001). CONCLUSION This is the first study to examine the correlation between interleukin-1β (+3953 C/T) (rs1143634) gene polymorphism and the response of interferon therapy in genotype 4 HCV-infected patients. The results encourage further assessment of this SNP as a marker to predict response to therapy and disease progression, which can have major implications in saving money, time, and in avoiding unnecessary adverse effects.
Production of Angiotensin II Receptors Type One (AT1) and Type Two (AT2) During the Differentiation of 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes

During their development from progenitor cells, adipocytes not only express enzymatic activities necessary for the storage of triglycerides, but also achieve the capability to produce a number of endocrine factors such as leptin, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), complement factors, adiponectin/adipoQ, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), angiotensin II and others. Angiotensin II is produced from angiotensinogen by the proteolytic action of renin and angiotensin-converting enzyme; and several data point to the existence of a complete local renin-angiotensin system in adipose tissue, including angiotensin II receptors. In this study, we directly monitored the production of angiotensin II type one receptor (AT1) and angiotensin II type two receptor (AT2) proteins during the adipose conversion of murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by immunodetection with specific antibodies. AT1 receptors could be detected throughout the whole differentiation period. The strong AT2 signal in preadipocytes however was completely lost during the course of differentiation, which suggests that expression of AT2 receptors is inversely correlated to the adipose conversion program.
Systematic mapping study of quality attributes measurement in service oriented architecture

A service-oriented architecture (SOA) promotes software reuse and interoperability as its niche. A developer usually expects that the services being used are performing as promised. The capability to measure the quality of service helps the developer to predict the software behavior. Measuring the quality attributes of software can be treated as a way to ensure that the developed software will/does meet expected qualities. This study investigates the state-of-art in quality attributes measurement for SOA. It tries to answer those types of studies that have been done regarding quality-attributes measurement over SOA. A systematic mapping study is selected as the method for this study where primary studies related to quality attributes measurement are chosen and analysed based on research questions. Based on these research questions, the results of this mapping study show performance as a highly-sought quality attribute in this field, where the measurement technique that is mostly used is a metric, and finally the measurement is usually done at the service level. This study was initiated to find out how studies on quality attributes measurement in SOA have matured during these recent years. The result shows an up-and-down trend regarding the number of studies, whilst a lot of research gaps can still be covered for future researches.
Protective Effects of Nobiletin on Hypertension and Cerebral Thrombosis in Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRSP)

Some citrus flavonoids have been reported to possess antioxidant activities that moderate endothelial dysfunction and show protective effects on cardiovascular disease. We have investigated the protective effects of nobiletin (5,6,7,8,3’,4’-hexamethoxy flavone) derived from the peel of Citrus depressa Hayata (Shiikuwasha), a citrus fruit produced in Okinawa prefecture in Japan on hypertension and thrombogenicity in cerebral vessels of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). Nobiletin was added to the diet of male SHRSP (7 weeks old) for 4 weeks. The age-related increase in systolic blood pressure usually observed in SHRSP was significantly suppressed in the treated animals. Thrombogenesis in pial blood vessels, determined using a He-Ne laser technique, and antioxidant activity, assessed by measuring urinary 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), were significantly reduced after treatment. Urinary nitric oxide (NO) metabolites and acetylcholine-induced endothelial relaxation were increased after dietary intervention. These results strongly suggested that antihypertensive and antithrombotic effects of nobiletin may be related to an increase in bioavailable NO, possibly mediated by the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Impact of nitrogen deposition at the species level

In Europe and, increasingly, the rest of the world, the key policy tool for the control of air pollution is the critical load, a level of pollution below which there are no known significant harmful effects on the environment. Critical loads are used to map sensitive regions and habitats, permit individual polluting activities, and frame international negotiations on transboundary air pollution. Despite their fundamental importance in environmental science and policy, there has been no systematic attempt to verify a critical load with field survey data. Here, we use a large dataset of European grasslands along a gradient of nitrogen (N) deposition to show statistically significant declines in the abundance of species from the lowest level of N deposition at which it is possible to identify a change. Approximately 60% of species change points occur at or below the range of the currently established critical load. If this result is found more widely, the underlying principle of no harm in pollution policy may need to be modified to one of informed decisions on how much harm is acceptable. Our results highlight the importance of protecting currently unpolluted areas from new pollution sources, because we cannot rule out ecological impacts from even relatively small increases in reactive N deposition.
Overlapping gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome: increased dysfunctional symptoms.

AIM To investigate the association of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Iranian patients and examine the prevalence of functional symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract in patients presenting with either IBS, GERD or both. METHODS Six thousand four hundred and seventy six patients presented to the Gastro-intestinal (GI) clinic with symptoms of functional dysfunction of GI tract, 1419 patients (62.0% women, 38.0% men; mean age: 37.4 +/- 11.5 years) met Rome II or Rome III criteria (depending on the year of diagnosis) for IBS. 2658 patients were diagnosed with GERD based on clinical presentation and endoscopic findings. We assessed other functional symptoms (epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, belching, constipation and diarrhea) in patients suffering from GERD, IBS or both. RESULTS Among IBS subjects, 63.6% (69.0% women, 31.0% men; mean age: 36.4 +/- 10.3 years) also had GERD, whereas 34.7% of the non-IBS patients had GERD [odds ratio (OR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.9-3.7, P < 0.0001]. Among patients with GERD, 33.9% of subjects met Rome criteria compared to 13.5% of non-GERD patients (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 3.1-4.3, P < 0.0001). Prevalence of all functional symptoms was higher in overlapping GERD and IBS subjects, when compared with their prevalence in the IBS subjects without GERD or GERD only subjects (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION This finding shows that in overlapping GERD and IBS, other functional abnormalities of the GI tract are also highly prevalent, suggesting a common underlying dysfunction.
Differential antinociceptive effects of intrathecal administration of C‐terminal esterified endomorphin‐2 analogues in mice

We have previously synthesized three esterified endomorphin‐2 (EM‐2) analogues 1–3 by substitution of C‐terminus with methyl, ethyl and tert‐butyl ester, respectively. Interestingly, the increase of EM‐2 in bulkness of the esterified group decreased the μ‐opioid receptor affinity but increased the δ‐affinity. Presently, we extended our studies to investigate the antinociceptive potencies of these esterified analogues given intrathecally in the mouse tail‐flick test. Also, the specific opioid receptor antagonists and antibodies against endogenous opioid peptides were used to determine whether there are any differential mechanisms on the antinociception produced by these analogues.
Adaptive SIFT / SURF Algorithm for Off-line signature Recognition

Signature recognition is the process of verifying a writer’s identity by checking the signature against samples previously stored in the database. Several techniques such as the distance-based and statistical classifiers used for feature extraction on a signature image are not invariant to scaling and rotation and the Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) though invariant to scaling and rotation cannot cater for intra-class variation (Transposition) among set of genuine signature images. This paper proposed a SIFT-SURF algorithm which is used for enhanced offline signature recognition. The SIFT-SURF algorithm computes integral image; obtains hessian data and interest point for each computed integral image; applied neuro-scaling PCA based radial basis function neural network to compute the optimal features for each signature image to come up with an algorithm that is invariant to scaling and rotation as well as reliably match transposition among genuine samples of a signature image. It was experimentally found that the newly developed adaptive SIFT-SURF algorithm performed better in times of computational time, scaling, rotation and transposition as compared to the existing SIFT. KeywordsSIFT, HSV, ADAPTIVE SIFT-SURF, SIGNATURE, NEURAL NETWORK.
Interstitial pulmonary inflammation due to Microbacterium sp. after heart transplantation.

A coryneform bacterium was isolated from the bronchoalveolar aspirate of a patient with interstitial pulmonary inflammation. Commercial systems identified the isolate as Corynebacterium sp. or Aureobacterium sp. /Corynebacterium aquaticum, but 16S rRNA gene analysis unequivocally attributed it to the genus Microbacterium. This represents the first documented case of Microbacterium pulmonary infection.
Avoidable admissions and repeat admissions: what do they tell us?

eady access to primary healthcare is a desire of governments, healthcare providers and the public. One indicator that is recognized as an indirect measure of access to and quality of primary healthcare is the rate of hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). An ACSC hospitalization, also known as a potentially preventable hospitalization, is one in which an individual is admitted for a condition that under most circumstances is manageable on an outpatient basis. While not all admissions for these conditions are avoidable, “timely and effective outpatient care can help to reduce the risks of hospitalization by either preventing the onset of an illness or condition, controlling an acute episodic illness or condition, or managing a chronic disease or condition” (Billings et al. 1993: 163). In this context, a disproportionately high rate may reflect problems in obtaining access to primary healthcare, differences in communityor hospital-based practice patterns or other factors. The conditions captured under this definition include angina, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy and hypertension. This list is a subset of a larger selection of conditions developed by Billings et al. (1993) in a consultative process using a diagnostic framework for assessing hospital use. In 2004–2005, ACSC hospitalizations accounted for 5.1% of all acute care in-patient hospitalizations in Canada for persons less than 75 years of age at admission discharged alive, and ranged from 3.3% to 7.2% among the provinces and territories. CIHI Survey
Closed-loop Subspace Predictive Control for Fault Tolerant MPC Design

Abstract Subspace predictive control (SPC) is recently seen in the literature for joint system identification and control design. This combination enables automatically tuning the parameters in conventional model predictive control (MPC); and therefore provides a solution to the problem of fault tolerant MPC design. The existing SPCs either deal with open-loop data or depend on the information of the controller in a closed loop. In this paper we introduce a new closed-loop SPC method, which is independent of any controller information. Both the analytic solution to the unconstrained case and the quadratic programming problem for the constrained case are formulated. A recursive solution for updating the SPC control law is proposed. A fault tolerant MPC scheme is then developed based on the recursive algorithm, whose effectiveness is demonstrated on tolerating a fault in a steer-by-wire actuator.
The effects of exercise capacity and sedentary lifestyle on haemostasis among middle-aged women with coronary heart disease

Summary Previous studies have established a link/relationship between haemostatic factors and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, physical conditioning is associated with lower coronary heart disease risk. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between physical exercise and haemostatic factors among middle-aged women surviving an acute coronary event. The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study included 292 women aged < 65 years, resident in the greater Stockholm area, who were hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome. Extensive clinical screening including exercise testing, and blood tests were performed 3–6 months after the coronary event. Self-reported physical activity was assessed by a WHO questionnaire. Patients on warfarin treatment were excluded from our analyses. Haemostatic factors were generally higher among physically inactive patients when compared to physically active women in our univariate models. Exercise capacity had a statistically significant relationship with factor VII antigen (p=0.039) and vWFag (p=0.038) even in our multiadjusted analyses. Physical inactivity and poor physical fitness are associated with a potentially prothrombotic blood profile in middle aged women with coronary heart disease.
Transport of black carbon to polar regions: Sensitivity and forcing by black carbon

The transport of black carbon (BC) to polar regions is studied using the University of Michigan IMPACT aerosol model driven by two sets of meteorological fields from the NCAR CAM5 and GFDL AM3 models. The sensitivity of the transport of BC to wet deposition processes is tested by varying the wet deposition in large‐scale precipitation. BC concentrations and deposition in polar regions are shown to be sensitive to both the meteorological fields and the wet deposition treatment. Using the default wet deposition, both IMPACT‐CAM5 and IMPACT‐AM3 simulate an appropriate amount of BC deposition in polar regions as compared to ice core observations. Although the seasonal cycle of BC surface air concentrations is reasonable, the concentrations are about 1∼2 orders of magnitude smaller than observations. With reduced wet deposition efficiency, the total deposition of BC increases by a factor of ∼2 to ∼3 due to more transport to the poles. The near surface BC concentrations increase even more (by a factor of ∼3 to ∼10) but are still largely underestimated especially in the north polar region. The radiative forcing from the BC deposited on snow and sea ice is also sensitive to the wet deposition treatment and the different meteorological fields. The global (Arctic) annual mean forcing is about +0.020 W m−2 (+0.11 W m−2) for IMPACT‐CAM5 and +0.022 W m−2 (+0.13W m−2) for IMPACT‐AM3.
Outcome of singleton preterm small for gestational age infants born to mothers with pregnancy-induced hypertension. A population-based study

Abstract Background: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) has been associated with a decreased risk of infant mortality in small for gestational age (SGA) preterm infants. Objective: To evaluate the influence of PIH on mortality and major neonatal morbidities in singleton preterm SGA infants, in the presence and absence of acute pregnancy complications. Methods: Population-based observational study of singleton SGA infants, born at 24 to 32 weeks gestation in the period 1995–2010 (n = 2139). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the independent effect of PIH on mortality and neonatal morbidities. Acute pregnancy complications comprised premature labor, premature rupture of membranes >6 h, antepartum hemorrhage and clinical chorioamnionitis. Results: In the absence of pregnancy complications, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for mortality (0.77; 0.50–1.16), survival without severe neurological morbidity (1.14; 0.79–1.65) and survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (0.85; 0.59–1.21) were similar in the PIH versus no-PIH groups. In the presence of pregnancy complications, mortality (0.76; 0.40–1.44), survival without severe neurological morbidity (1.16; 0.64–2.12) and survival without BPD (1.04; 0.58–1.86) were also similar in the PIH versus no-PIH groups. Conclusions: PIH was not associated with improved outcome in preterm SGA infants, both in the presence and absence of acute pregnancy complications.
[The effects of tissue factor/activated factor VII complex on the invasion and metastasis of human ovarian cancer].

OBJECTIVE To explore the role of tissue factor/activated factor VII (TF/FVIIa) complex in human ovarian cancer invasion and metastasis. METHODS (1) Constructed an expression vector of TF, pcDNA3-TF and established a human ovarian cell line A2780/TF expressing high level TF by using molecular cloning and gene transfection techniques. (2) By Boyden chamber assay to count the numbers of A2780 and A2780/TF cells that penetrated the matrigel to the back of PVPF membrane after FVIIa stimulation. (3) BALB/c nude mice were used to establish experimental model of metastasis with A2780 or A2780/TF and the lung tissue sections were examined by microscopy for cancer metastasis. RESULTS (1) Compared with their parental A2780 cells, A2780/TF cells expressed high level of TF mRNA (3.99 +/- 0.15 vs 0.97 +/- 0.23, P < 0.01) and TF antigen on cell surface \[(48.56 +/- 9.53)% vs (2.73 +/- 1.15)%, P < 0.01\]. (2) After stimulation, the A2780/TF cell number on the back of PVPF membrane increased from basal level 157.3 +/- 19.2 to 447.7 +/- 39.4 (P < 0.01), which could decreased to basal level when coincubated with anti-TF antibody. (3) Cancer metastasis was found in 22.2% of nude mice transplanted with A2780 cells, while in 88.9% of those transplanted with A2780/TF cells. CONCLUSION TF could promote the invasion and metastasis of human ovarian cancer cells through TF/FVIIa pathway.
Criterion and Longitudinal Validity of a Fixed-Distance Incremental Running Test for the Determination of Lactate Thresholds in Field Settings

La Torre, A, Fiorella, P, Santos, TM, Marcello, F, Mauri, C, and Impellizzeri, FM. Criterion and longitudinal validity of a fixed-distance incremental running test for the determination of lactate thresholds in field setting. J Strength Cond Res 26(1): 146–151, 2012—The aim of this study was to examine the criterion validity of 2 lactate thresholds (LTs, intensity corresponding to 1 mmol·L−1 above baseline; onset of blood lactate accumulation, intensity at 4 mmol·L−1) determined with a fixed-distance incremental field test by assessing their correlation with those obtained using a traditional fixed-time laboratory protocol. A second aim was to verify the longitudinal validity by examining the relationships between the changes in LTs obtained with the 2 protocols. To determine the LTs, 12 well-trained male middle and long distance amateur and competitive runners training from 4 to 7 d·wk−1 (age 25 [5] years, body mass 66 [5] kg, estimated &OV0312;O2max 58.6 [4.9] ml·min−1·kg−1, SD in parentheses) performed in 2 separate sessions an incremental running test on the field starting at 12 km·h−1 and increasing the speed by 1 km·h−1 every 1,200 m (FixD test) and an incremental treadmill test in the laboratory starting at 12 km·h−1 and increasing the speed by 1 km·h−1 every 6 minutes. The 2 tests were repeated after 6–12 weeks. A nearly perfect relationship was found between the running speeds at LTs determined with the 2 protocols (r = 0.95 [CI95% 0.83–0.99]; p < 0.001). The correlations between longitudinal changes in LTs were very large (0.78 [0.32–0.95; p = 0.006]). The heart rate corresponding to the LTs were not significantly different. This study showed the criterion and longitudinal validity of LTs determined with a protocol consisting of fixed-distance intervals performed in field setting.
Transponder and reader concept for a HF locating system

This paper presents a low-frequency local positioning system operating at 13.56 MHz. With a wavelength of around 22 m the system operates in the near field. The phase shift between a CW signal generated at the base station and the response generated in a transponder is measured. The transponder is using the novel switched injection locked oscillator concept (SILO). Measurement results show that the proposed concept allows for robust indoor ranging with an uncertainty in the decimeter-range. The system is aiming at short range indoor localization problems, where a measurement through a crowd of people is required. Indoor navigation or information systems e.g. in museums, public buildings or fairs are possible applications.
The effect of gentamicin and furosemide given in combination on cochlear potentials in the guinea pig.

Single doses of gentamicin and furosemide given in combination result in a rapid and profound loss of cochlear function. In this study, measurement of three gross cochlear potentials (cochlear microphonics, compound action potentials and the endocochlear potential) were carried out in order to determine the ototoxic sites of action of the drugs given in combination. The rapidity and severity of the cochlear deficit is dose dependent and with the doses employed in this study (80 mg/kg gentamicin i.v. 80 mg/kg furosemide i.v.), complete loss of cochlear function is seen after about 72 hours. Twenty-four hours after i.v. administration of the drugs, significant increases in compound action potential thresholds between 6 and 32 kHz were seen. In contrast, over this frequency range the generation of cochlear microphonics in response to stimulus levels of 70 dB SPL appeared to be unaffected. The endocochlear potential remained unaffected at 24 and 72 hours after administration. These findings are taken as evidence that the primary site of ototoxic action of the two drugs in combination may be at the level of the inner hair cells and/or the afferent synapse.