Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PEITC treatment suppresses myeloid derived tumor suppressor cells to inhibit breast tumor growth

Breast tumors are heterogeneous with a complex etiology. The immune system plays a crucial role in the development of tumors and can facilitate tumor growth pleiotropically. Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytokines to suppress T cells, dendritic cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Hence, the inhibition of MDSCs could be an important strategy for anticancer therapeutics. Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a bioactive compound present in cruciferous vegetables, is known to have anticancer properties. However, the effects of PEITC administration on the immune system have not been previously reported. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of administering PEITC to immunocompromised NOD-SCID IL2Rγ−/− (SCID/NSG) host mice bearing MDA-MB-231 xenografts on MDSCs in the peripheral blood. Our results reveal that oral administration of 12 μmol PEITC attenuated tumor growth by 76%. This was marked tumor-inhibitory phenotype was associated with a significant reduction in the levels of MDSCs bearing the surface markers CD33, CD34 and CD11b in PEITC treated mice, indicating that overall tumor growth suppression by PEITC correlates with inhibition of MDSCs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing effects of PEITC on MDSCs.
A Cluster-Based Data Fusion Technique to Analyze Big Data in Wireless Multi-Sensor System

With the development of the latest technologies and changes in market demand, the wireless multi-sensor system is widely used. These multi-sensors are integrated in a way that produces an overwhelming amount of data, termed as big data. The multi-sensor system creates several challenges, which include getting actual information from big data with high accuracy, increasing processing efficiency, reducing power consumption, providing a reliable route toward destination using minimum bandwidth, and so on. Such shortcomings can be overcome by exploiting some novel techniques, such as clustering, data fusion, and coding schemes. Moreover, data fusion and clustering techniques are proven architectures that are used for efficient data processing; resultant data have less uncertainty, providing energy-aware routing protocols. Because of the limited resources of the multi-sensor system, it is a challenging task to reduce the energy consumption to survive a network for a longer period. Keeping challenges above in view, this paper presents a novel technique by using a hybrid algorithm for clustering and cluster member selection in the wireless multi-sensor system. After the selection of cluster heads and member nodes, the proposed data fusion technique is used for partitioning and processing the data. The proposed scheme efficiently reduces the blind broadcast messages but also decreases the signal overhead as the result of cluster formation. Afterward, the routing technique is provided based on the layered architecture. The proposed layered architecture efficiently minimizes the routing paths toward the base station. Comprehensive analysis is performed on the proposed scheme with state-of-the-art centralized clustering and distributed clustering techniques. From the results, it is shown that the proposed scheme outperforms competitive algorithms in terms of energy consumption, packet loss, and cluster formation.
Rotation invariant power line insulator detection using local directional pattern and support vector machine

Detecting and localizing insulator plays a vital role in any power line monitoring system. In this work, we present a novel method for rotation invariant insulator detection. Rotation invariance is achieved by an efficient approach for estimating rotation angle of all insulator of an image. Sliding window based local directional pattern (LDP) feature is extracted from the image and support vector machine is used for classing each of those sliding window. We demonstrate our approach on an evaluation set of 325 real-world insulator images captured from a moving vehicle and evaluate our results with respect to a manually created ground-truth. The performance of our insulator detector is comparable to other state-of-the-art detectors.
Prevalence of lower-extremity disease in the US adult population >=40 years of age with and without diabetes: 1999-2000 national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVE Although lower-extremity disease (LED), which includes lower-extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and peripheral neuropathy (PN), is disabling and costly, no nationally representative estimates of its prevalence exist. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of lower-extremity PAD, PN, and overall LED in the overall U.S. population and among those with and without diagnosed diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The analysis consisted of data for 2873 men and women aged >or=40 years, including 419 with diagnosed diabetes, from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The main outcome measures consisted of the prevalence of lower-extremity PAD (defined as ankle-brachial index <0.9), PN (defined as >or=1 insensate area based on monofilament testing), and of any LED (defined as either PAD, PN, or history of foot ulcer or lower-extremity amputations). RESULTS Of the U.S. population aged >or=40 years, 4.5% (95% CI 3.4-5.6) have lower-extremity PAD, 14.8% (12.8-16.8) have PN, and 18.7% (15.9-21.4) have any LED. Prevalence of PAD, PN, and overall LED increases steeply with age and is higher (P < 0.05) in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans than non-Hispanic whites. The prevalence of LEDs is approximately twice as high for individuals with diagnosed diabetes (PAD 9.5% [5.5-13.4]; PN 28.5% [22.0-35.1]; any LED 30.2% [22.1-38.3]) as the overall population. CONCLUSIONS LED is common in the U.S. and twice as high among individuals with diagnosed diabetes. These conditions disproportionately affect the elderly, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexican Americans.
Effects of estrogen and estrogen-progestin on mammographic parenchymal density. Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions (PEPI) Investigators.

BACKGROUND In longitudinal studies, greater mammographic density is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer. OBJECTIVE To assess differences between placebo, estrogen, and three estrogen-progestin regimens on change in mammographic density. DESIGN Subset analysis of a 3-year, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Seven ambulatory study centers. PARTICIPANTS 307 of the 875 women in the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions Trial. Participants had a baseline mammogram and at least one follow-up mammogram available, adhered to treatment, had not taken estrogen for at least 5 years before baseline, and did not have breast implants. INTERVENTION Treatments were placebo, conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), CEE plus cyclic medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), CEE plus daily MPA, and CEE plus cyclic micronized progesterone (MP). MEASUREMENTS Change in radiographic density (according to American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System grades) on mammography. RESULTS Almost all increases in mammographic density occurred within the first year. At 12 months, the percentage of women with density grade increases was 0% (95% CI, 0.0% to 4.6%) in the placebo group, 3.5% (CI, 1.0% to 12.0%) in the CEE group, 23.5% (CI, 11.9% to 35.1%) in the CEE plus cyclic MPA group, 19.4% (CI, 9.9% to 28.9%) in the CEE plus daily MPA group, and 16.4% (CI, 6.6% to 26.2%) in the CEE plus cyclic MP group. At 12 months, the odds of an increase in mammographic density were 13.1 (95% CI, 2.4 to 73.3) with CEE plus cyclic MPA, 9.0 (CI, 1.6 to 50.1) with CEE plus daily MPA, and 7.2 (CI, 1.3 to 40.0) with CEE plus cyclic micronized progesterone compared with CEE alone. CONCLUSIONS Further study of the magnitude and meaning of increased mammographic density due to use of estrogen and estrogen-progestins is warranted because mammographic density may be a marker for risk for breast cancer.
Black, white, and unequal: Examining situational determinants of arrest decisions from police–suspect encounters

Using data from systematic social observations of police officers in Cincinnati, Ohio, this study examines the influence of situational characteristics of police–suspect encounters on arrest outcomes with a focus on the effects of citizen race. In several ways, the findings are consistent with much of the extant research in this area. Regardless of suspect race, legal variables like offense seriousness and evidence of criminal wrongdoing influence arrest. Several extralegal factors like citizen age, gender and demeanor also influence the likelihood of arrest. However, the effects of these variables differ between black and white suspects. The findings from the estimated models and their implications are discussed.
Morning Glory Disc Anomaly With Peripheral Retinal Nonperfusion in 4 Consecutive Cases

sia is an unusual condition whose phenotypic findings may reflect several genotypes. Hence, variable inheritance patterns have been reported in the literature. The arrival of SD-OCT now allows us to potentially differentiate some of these subtypes, something that was not available to previous investigators. The ability to test for the presence of the PAX6 mutation is another potential way to differentiate between subgroups that was not available to earlier investigators. Previous studies have reported SD-OCT findings in patients with IFH. Thomas et al described 14 patients with nonfamilial IFH, absent PAX6 mutation, a mean best-corrected visual acuity of 0.2 logMAR, and grade 1 foveal hypoplasia on SD-OCT imaging. Charbel Issa et al described 2 patients with foveal hypoplasia in their series, one associated with posterior embryotoxon and the second with IFH. Applying the recently published SD-OCT grading system to the images by Charbel Issa et al demonstrates foveal hypoplasia grades 3 and 4, respectively (correlating to their reported best-corrected visual acuities of 0.2 and 0.4 logMAR, respectively). The PAX6 mutation status was not reported for the patients in their series. In our case series, we describe 5 affected individuals with familial IFH with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern and absent PAX6 mutation. Our patients have a mean best-corrected visual acuity of 0.82 logMAR and grade 4 foveal hypoplasia on SD-OCT imaging. Our cohort’s poorer best-corrected visual acuity and more severe grade of foveal hypoplasia demonstrated on SDOCT imaging support the correlation of structure and function as well as the grading system described by Thomas et al. To our knowledge, this is the first case series to describe the foveal characteristics on SD-OCT imaging in a family with autosomal recessive IFH and absent PAX6 mutation. The uniqueness of the SDOCT findings and the inheritance pattern suggest that our cohort likely represents a different subtype of IFH. The use of SD-OCT in assessing the foveal characteristics and correlating the findings with visual function in patients with IFH may lead us to better understand and isolate different subsets of this rare condition for additional study.
Infectious haemolytic anaemia causes jaundice outbreaks in seawater-cultured coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), in Chile.

In the last 9 years, epizootics of an icterus condition has affected coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), reared in seawater cages in southern regions of Chile. At necropsy, fish from field cases exhibited signs of jaundice accompanied by pale light-brown livers and dark spleens. Histopathological and haematological results indicated that these fish presented haemolytic anaemia. After microbiological examination no bacterial or viral agents could be identified as aetiological agents of this disease. In an infectivity trial, coho salmon, Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. , and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), were inoculated intraperitoneally with a filtrate of an organ homogenate (0.45 microm) from a diseased coho salmon and held for 60 days in tanks supplied with fresh water. The disease was only reproduced in coho salmon in which mortalities, beginning at day 23 post-inoculation (p.i.), reached a cumulative value of 24% at day 27 p.i. This condition was transmitted to non-inoculated cohabiting coho salmon suggesting that it is a waterborne disease. Thus, this icteric condition is caused by an infectious form of haemolytic anaemia, probably of viral aetiology, and coho salmon are more susceptible than either Atlantic salmon or rainbow trout.
Stromal progenitor cell therapy corrects the wound‐healing defect in the ischemic rabbit ear model of chronic wound repair

Chronic wounds create a formidable clinical problem resulting in considerable morbidity and healthcare expenditure. The etiology for wound healing impairment appears to be multifactorial; however, ischemia is a common factor in most types of chronic wounds. Ideal therapy for such wounds would be to correct deficiencies in growth factors and matrix components and provide cellular precursors required for timely wound closure. We hypothesized that stromal progenitor cell (SPC) therapy could correct the ischemic wound‐healing defect through both direct and indirect mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, we used the ischemic rabbit ear model of chronic wound healing. We found that treatment of the wounds with SPCs was able to reverse the ischemic wound‐healing impairment, with improved granulation tissue formation and reepithelialization compared with vehicle or bone marrow mononuclear cell controls. In vitro, SPCs were found to produce factors involved in angiogenesis and reepithelialization, and extracellular matrix components, providing evidence for both direct and indirect mechanisms for the observed correction of the healing impairment in these wounds. Treatment of ischemic wounds with SPCs can dramatically improve wound healing and provides a rationale for further studies focused on SPCs as a potential cellular therapy in impaired wound healing.
Gastrostomy and growth in dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

Summary Chronic malnutrition and growth failure are features of severe dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). Conventional dietetic interverion is of limited benefit. Oesophageal dilatation or reconstruction to alleviate stricture is associated with substantial risks. Surgical placement of a feeding gastrostomy is a comparatively straightforward procedure, provided that specialized anaesthetic and surgical techniques are employed. Gastrostomy insertion was undertaken in 18 children with severe DEB and the effects of this intervention were retrospectively evaluated. The majority received button devices (inserted primarily) and gastrostomy feeding supplemented oral intake. One year postoperatively, the average increase in weight standard deviation scores (SDS) of 13 patients was 0.9 SDS (9S% confidence interval 0.44. 1. 351 in Height 042 SDS (95% confidence interval 005, 0.79). One patient developed an incisional hernia and four patients experienced minor leakage around the gastrostomy entry site. Two patients never accepted their gastrostomies, which were therefore removed. Two further patients died for reasons unrelated to the procedure. Our observations suggest that gastrostomy feeding can play a valuable role in severe DEB and is associated with minimal morbidity. Such intervention is best undertaken before growth failure is established, and prior to puberty.
Geological events play a larger role than Pleistocene climatic fluctuations in driving the genetic structure of Quasipaa boulengeri (Anura: Dicroglossidae)

Paleoclimatic and paleogeological events have been identified as being the two main drivers of genetic structuring in extant organisms. We used a montane stream‐dwelling frog, Quasipaa boulengeri, to explore the relative roles played by these drivers on species in southern China, a region needing thorough studies. We detected four major matrilines, and no broadly distributed haplotypes occurred. The complex orogenesis of south‐western China drove matrilineal divergence in Q. boulengeri into highly structured geographical units. These matrilines subsequently persisted in situ with stable populations rather than undergoing expansions during glacial cycling. The unification of the upper and middle Yangtze River in the Three Gorges mountain region mediated downstream colonization of this frog. Analyses identified geological events as playing a larger role than climatic fluctuations in driving the population history of Q. boulengeri. Nuclear allele analyses indicated gene flow; this maintained genetic cohesion of the species. South‐eastern Sichuan Basin was identified as the area of secondary contact for several matrilines, and this area deserves further study and special protection.
Formation of male and female sex cords in gonadal development of C57BL/6 mouse.

The sex cords of male and female fetal C57BL/6 mice were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the origins of Sertoli cells (male) and follicle cells (female) in detail. In the testes of fetal mice from day 12 to day 14 post coitum (p.c.), PAS-positive substances were detected exclusively throughout the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells. On day 12 p.c. , pre-Sertoli cells, identified by PAS-reaction, formed irregular and cord-like arrangements around germ cells. The arrangements were not associated with the coelomic epithelium. Thus, it is suggested that Sertoli cells are originated from the mesonephric tissues. In the ovaries, germ cell cords were still not observed at a stage immediately following the gonadal sex differentiation in male. On about day 15 p.c. , connective tissues including many capillaries penetrated into the ovaries, resulting in obvious formation of germ cell cord-like arrangements. At the same time, the coelomic epithelium-derived cells (CEd cells) as well as the mesonephros-derived cells (Md cells) invaded the adjacent arrangements. It is concluded that the follicle cells are originated most from Md cells and some from CEd cells.
[Pathology of South American Camelids: a retrospective study of necropsies at the Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Leipzig, Germany].

OBJECTIVE The number of South American Camelids (New World Camelids) housed in Germany has increased in the recent years. While these species were formerly kept solely in zoological gardens, ever more private and commercial livestock is being established. Compared to indigenous livestock animals, they bear some distinctive differences, particularly in terms of digestive tract anatomy and physiology. Therefore, it is of considerable interest for veterinarians working with South American Camelids to obtain knowledge about the distinguishing features of these animals and the typical diseases affecting them in Germany. MATERIAL AND METHODS For this purpose, the necropsy reports, including the anamnestic data, and their diagnostic usefulness, from 1995 to 2012 were studied retrospectively. RESULTS Du- ring this period, a total of 233 New World Camelids were examined (195 alpacas and 38 llamas). Anamnestic data of diagnostic usefulness regarding the cause of disease were only submitted in a limited number of cases, because most of the animals died without specific symptoms. The following were the most frequent pathological findings: enteritis (n = 91), gastritis (n = 76), cachexia (n = 73), pneumonia (n = 30), stomatitis (n = 27), azotaemia (n = 22) and anaemia (n = 9). An endoparasitosis occurred in 107 cases and was considered the predominant cause of enteritis. CONCLUSION As with indigenous ruminants, llamas and alpacas primarily suffered from diseases of the digestive and respiratory tracts. Other organ systems were affected to a lesser extent. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Even in cases with severe alterations in the affected organs, South American Camelids do not show or show too late diagnostically indicative clinical symptoms. Therefore, a detailed clinical examination of these animals is important.
OF THE MORPHO CHALLENGE 2010 WORKSHOP

In natural language processing many practical tasks, such as speech recognition, information retrieval and machine translation depend on a large vocabulary and statistical language models. For morphologically rich languages, such as Finnish and Turkish, the construction of a vocabulary and language models that have a sufficient coverage is particularly difficult, because of the huge amount of different word forms. In Morpho Challenge 2010 unsupervised and semi-supervised algorithms are suggested to provide morpheme analyses for words in different languages and evaluated in various practical applications. As a research theme, unsupervised morphological analysis has received wide attention in conferences and scientific journals focused on computational linguistic and its applications. This is the proceedings of the Morpho Challenge 2010 Workshop that contains one introduction article with a description of the tasks, evaluation and results and six articles describing the participating unsupervised and supervised learning algorithms. The Morpho Challenge 2010 Workshop was held at Espoo, Finland in 2-3 September, 2010.
Fiber quality of upland cotton under different irrigation depths

Aiming to evaluate the effect of irrigation depths on fiber quality of upland cotton, an experiment was conducted from July to December 2010 in Barbalha-CE, Brazil. The treatments consisted of a factorial combination of two upland cotton cultivars (BRS Aroeira and BRS Araripe) and five irrigation depths (260.93, 418.93, 514.21, 711.81 and 894.68 mm), arranged in a split-plot design with four replicates. A line-source sprinkler irrigation system was used and irrigation depth in the control treatment was calculated according to the crop evapotranspiration. The analysed fiber quality variables were: fiber percentage, length, uniformity, short-fiber index, resistance, elongation at rupture, micronaire index, maturity, degree of yellowing, reflectance degree and count strength product (CSP) index. The irrigation depths influenced fiber length, short-fiber index, strength, micronaire index, maturity and reflectance degree. The cultivars influenced fiber percentage, length and color (degree of yellowing). The best results of fiber quality were found with irrigation depths of 514.21 and 418.93 mm for the upland cotton cultivars BRS Araripe and BRS Aroeira, respectively.
Job functions of Swedish public and private sector vocational rehabilitation workers

Purpose. This study has had two main aims, the first to investigate and gather knowledge of the major job functions of Swedish rehabilitation workers, the second to study the frequency of use of these functions in the VR process. Method. Structured questionnaires were sent to Swedish rehabilitation workers from public and private sectors. To identify the major dimensions of Swedish rehabilitation workers' job in the vocational rehabilitation (VR) process, a principal component factor analysis was performed. Results. Results revealed that there are four main factors (dimensions) that comprised the VR process in Sweden. The four factors (dimensions) are job development and career counselling; assessment and counselling interventions; workplace adjustment and employer consultation and client support, personnel development and public relations. Conclusions. The VR process in Sweden is limited in both its scope and depth. This when one compares with the results of studies carried out in the USA, who found seven and six dimensions, respectively. It is argued that it cannot be excluded that the negative trend of extensive sick leave and early pensions are attributable to the limitations in the VR process that have been found. Suggested is the urgent need to put resources in place that would support the further advancement of the knowledge and competencies of the VR services in Sweden.