Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An in vitro expansion score for tissue‐engineering applications with human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells

Human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have limited growth potential in vitro and cease to divide due to replicative senescence, which from a tissue‐engineering perspective has practical implications, such as defining the correct starting points for differentiation and transplantation. Time spent in culture before the loss of required differentiation potential is different and reflects patient variability, which is a problem for cell expansion. This study aimed to develop a score set which can be used to quantify the senescent state of MSCs and predict whether cells preserve their ability to differentiate to osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic phenotypes, based on colony‐forming unit (CFU) assay, population doubling time (PDT), senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐β‐Gal) activity, cell size, telomere length and gene expression of MSCs cultured in vitro over 11 passages. This set of morphological, physiological and genetic senescence markers was correlated to the ability of MSCs to differentiate. Differentiation efficiency was assessed by marker genes and protein expression. CFUs decreased with increasing passage number, whereas SA‐β‐Gal activity and PDT increased; however, the correlation with MSCs' differentiation potential was sometimes unexpected. The expression of genes related to senescence was higher in late‐passage cells than in early‐passage cells. Early‐passage cells underwent efficient osteogenic differentiation, with mid‐passage cells performing best in chondrogenic differentiation. Late‐passage cells preserve only adipogenic differentiation potential. Based on this marker set, we propose a senescence score in which combined markers give a reliable quality control of MSCs, not depending only on mechanistic passage number. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radiation exposure from fluoroscopy during fixation of hip fracture and fracture of ankle: Effect of surgical experience

Background: Over the years, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of fluoroscopy in orthopaedics. The risk of contracting cancer is significantly higher for an orthopedic surgeon. Hip and spine surgeries account for 99% of the total radiation dose. The amount of radiation to patients and operating surgeon depends on the position of the patient and the type of protection used during the surgery. A retrospective study to assess the influence of the radiation exposure of the operating surgeon during fluoroscopically assisted fixation of fractures of neck of femur (dynamic hip screw) and ankle (Weber B) was performed at a district general hospital in the United Kingdom. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients with undisplaced intertrochanteric fracture were included in the hip group, and 60 patients with isolated fracture of lateral malleolus without communition were included in the ankle group. The hip and ankle groups were further divided into subgroups of 20 patients each depending on the operative experience of the operating surgeon. All patients had fluoroscopically assisted fixation of fracture by the same approach and technique. The radiation dose and screening time of each group were recorded and analyzed. Results: The radiation dose and screening time during fluoroscopically assisted fixation of fracture neck of femur were significantly high with surgeons and trainees with less than 3 years of surgical experience in comparison with surgeons with more than 10 years of experience. The radiation dose and screening time during fluoroscopically assisted fixation of Weber B fracture of ankle were relatively independent of operating surgeon's surgical experience. Conclusion: The experience of operating surgeon is one of the important factors affecting screening time and radiation dose during fluoroscopically assisted fixation of fracture neck of femur. The use of snapshot pulsed fluoroscopy and involvement of senior surgeons could significantly reduce the radiation dose and screening time.
Piracetam in Severe Breath Holding Spells

Background: Breath holding spells (BHS) are apparently frightening events occurring in otherwise healthy children. Generally, no medical treatment is recommended and parental reassurance is believed to be enough, however, severe BHS can be very stressful for the parents and a pharmacological agent may be desired in some of these children. Objective: In this prospective study aim was to determine the usefulness of piracetam as prophylactic treatment for severe BHS. Methods: Children were recruited from Neurology Clinic in Children's Hospital, Islamabad between January 2002 to December 2004. Diagnosis of BHS was based on characteristic history and normal physical examination. Piracetam was prescribed to those children who were diagnosed as severe BHS in a dose ranging from 50–100 mg/kg/day. Iron supplements were added if hemoglobin was less than 10 gm%. Patients were seen at 2–4 weeks interval and follow-up was continued until 3 months after the cessation of drug therapy. Results: Fifty-two children were enrolled in the study, 34 boys and 18 girls. Ages ranged from 4 weeks to 5 years with mean age of 17 months. In 81% of children, spells disappeared completely and in 9% frequency was reduced to less than one per month and of much lesser intensity. Prophylaxis was given for 3–6 months (mean 5) duration. Conclusions: Piracetam is an effective prophylactic treatment for severe BHS.
Combination of apigenin and ischemic postconditioning protects against renal ischemia / reperfusion injury in rat by inhibiting TLR 4 / NF-κB signaling pathway

Purpose: To investigate the effect and possible mechanism of combination of apigenin and ischemic post conditioning on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Materials and methods: Fifty rats were randomly separated into 5 groups: (1) sham-operation groups: a midline laparotomy was performed only; (2) I/R group: rats were underwent 45 min of renal ischemia; (3) apigenin group: rats was subjected to the same surgical procedures as I/R group, and apigenin was intravenously injected at 10 min prior to the experiment; (4) IPO group: I/R+three cycles of 10 secs of reperfusion and 10 secs of re-occlusion before full reperfusion; (5) apigenin+IPO group: IPO plus the apigenin pretreatment. Rats were sacrificed at 24 hours after I/R injury. Blood samples were collected for the detection of serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels. Histologic examinations were evaluated. The expression of TLR4, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β and ICAM-1 were performed by immunohistochemistry, Real-time PCR and Western blot. Results: Apigenin and IPO significantly reduced the increase of serum creatinine and urea nitrogen induced by renal ischemia/reperfusion, showing an improvement in renal function. The histologic evidence of renal damage associated with ischemia/reperfusion reduced by apigenin and IPO. Compared with I/R group, the expression of TLR4, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β and ICAM-1 were downregulated by apigenin and IPO on mRNA and protein levels. Conclusions: The combination of apigenin and ischemic postconditioning inhibited TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury, provided remarkable protection against renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.
Model Approach to Immunological Rejuvenation of the Aged

Reconstitution of a damaged or exhausted immune system by injection of genetically compatible immunocompetent cells (immunologic rejuvenation) is a promising approach for restoration of immune activity. By using this model, spleen cells from young-adult mice, previously immunized with Salmonella typhimurium, were transferred to either young-adult or old, syngeneic recipients before or after storage at −196 C. The susceptibility of recipient mice was then determined by challenging them at increasing time intervals after reconstitution with lethal doses of the virulent organisms. The findings, although preliminary in nature, demonstrate that (i) immunological rejuvenation of mice is possible with immunocompetent cells from specifically immunized donors; (ii) prolonged “takes” of these cells can occur even in nonirradiated recipient mice, and (iii) storage at −196 C does not impair their protective capacity.
A1,2BO1,2 genotyping by multiplexed allele‐specific PCR

The ABO blood group is the most clinically important human alloantigen system in transfusion medicine. The system involves three antigens A, B and H. H antigen is converted to either A or B by the activity of α1 → 3‐ n‐acetyl‐galactosaminyl transferase (A transferase) or α1 → 3 galactosyl transferase (B transferase). The O phenotype is the result of an inactive glycosyltransferase, which is unable to glycosylate the H antigen.
Happiness, an inside job? : Turnover prediction using employee likeability, engagement and relative happiness

In this paper, we describe how to rank employees for risk of turnover by using data obtained from a happiness self-reporting app. Two data sources are used: daily happiness and social interactions. The data spans 2.5 years and 4,356 employees of 34 companies based in Barcelona. For each employee, we build features at three levels: individual, company level and social interaction graph level. We develop various turnover risk models and we compare how different features affect performance prediction. The results show that the top three features that explain turnover risk are: ratio of likes received (likeability), posting frequency (engagement), and relative happiness (employee happiness normalized by company mean). Surprisingly, a priori expected explanatory features such as mean happiness level and the ratio of likes (positivity), were not significant. Precision@50 = 80% out of a test set with 116 churns, sample size N=2k.
Secondary school science predictors of academic performance in university bioscience subjects

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from ∼50 to 99 in Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) scores. Under the previous structure, students in different courses completed a variety of different subjects at first year. Concern about the ability of such disparate groups to complete a common first year led to the current investigation of the relationships between year 12 (final year of secondary school) science subjects and performance in first year university bioscience subjects. Year 12 results for all science‐related units and ENTER scores were obtained for all Victorian students enrolling in a first year course in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2005 and 2006. Regression and other analyses were conducted for five first year bioscience subjects. The ENTER score was the best predictor of academic performance in all units except regional anatomy. Performance in many secondary school science subjects was highly predictive of performance in physiology, combined systematic physiology and anatomy and biomechanics units, but again not for regional anatomy units. It appears that year 12 performance in science subjects and ENTER scores may be important predictors of success in physiology, but not regional anatomy subjects at university. It is possible that regional anatomy is an entirely new subject area that requires new types of learning unrelated to year 12 science subjects. Anat Sci Ed 2:113‐118, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.
Impact of meteorological parameters and air pollution on emergency department visits for cardiovascular diseases in the city of Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate whether nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and certain meteorological conditions had an impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related emergency department (ED) visits in the metropolitan area of Zagreb. This retrospective, ecological study included 20,228 patients with a cardiovascular disease as their primary diagnosis who were examined in the EDs of two Croatian University Hospitals, Sisters of Charity and Holy Spirit, in the study period July 2008-June 2010. The median of daily CVD-related ED visits during the study period was 28 and was the highest during winter. A significant negative correlation was found between CVD-related emergency visits and air temperature measured no more than three days prior to the visit, and the highest negative correlation coefficient was measured two days earlier (R=0.266, p≤0.001). The number of CVD-related emergency visits significantly correlated with the average NO2 concentration on the same day (R=0.191, p<0.001). The results of multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the number of CVD-related emergency visits depended on air temperature, and NO2 and O3 concentrations. The higher the air temperatures, the lower the number of daily CVD-related emergency visits (p<0.001). An increase in NO2 concentrations (p=0.005) and a decrease in O3 concentrations of two days earlier (p=0.006) led to an increase in CVD-related ED visits. In conclusion, the decrease in O3 concentrations and the increase in NO2, even if below the legally binding thresholds, could be associated with an increase in CVD-related emergency visits and a similar effect was observed with lower temperature measured no more than three days prior to the visit.
Enhanced Gait-Related Improvements After Therapist- Versus Robotic-Assisted Locomotor Training in Subjects With Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Study

Background and Purpose— Locomotor training (LT) using a treadmill can improve walking ability over conventional rehabilitation in individuals with hemiparesis, although the personnel requirements often necessary to provide LT may limit its application. Robotic devices that provide consistent symmetrical assistance have been developed to facilitate LT, although their effectiveness in improving locomotor ability has not been well established. Methods— Forty-eight ambulatory chronic stroke survivors stratified by severity of locomotor deficits completed a randomized controlled study on the effects of robotic- versus therapist-assisted LT. Both groups received 12 LT sessions for 30 minutes at similar speeds, with guided symmetrical locomotor assistance using a robotic orthosis versus manual facilitation from a single therapist using an assist-as-needed paradigm. Outcome measures included gait speed and symmetry, and clinical measures of activity and participation. Results— Greater improvements in speed and single limb stance time on the impaired leg were observed in subjects who received therapist-assisted LT, with larger speed improvements in those with less severe gait deficits. Perceived rating of the effects of physical limitations on quality of life improved only in subjects with severe gait deficits who received therapist-assisted LT. Conclusions— Therapist-assisted LT facilitates greater improvements in walking ability in ambulatory stroke survivors as compared to a similar dosage of robotic-assisted LT.
A textual-based technique for Smell Detection

In this paper, we present TACO (Textual Analysis for Code Smell Detection), a technique that exploits textual analysis to detect a family of smells of different nature and different levels of granularity. We run TACO on 10 open source projects, comparing its performance with existing smell detectors purely based on structural information extracted from code components. The analysis of the results indicates that TACO's precision ranges between 67% and 77%, while its recall ranges between 72% and 84%. Also, TACO often outperforms alternative structural approaches confirming, once again, the usefulness of information that can be derived from the textual part of code components.
Quantum annealing in the transverse Ising model

We introduce quantum fluctuations into the simulated annealing process of optimization problems, aiming at faster convergence to the optimal state. Quantum fluctuations cause transitions between states and thus play the same role as thermal fluctuations in the conventional approach. The idea is tested by the transverse Ising model, in which the transverse field is a function of time similar to the temperature in the conventional method. The goal is to find the ground state of the diagonal part of the Hamiltonian with high accuracy as quickly as possible. We have solved the time-dependent Schrodinger equation numerically for small size systems with various exchange interactions. Comparison with the results of the corresponding classical ~thermal! method reveals that the quantum annealing leads to the ground state with much larger probability in almost all cases if we use the same annealing schedule. @S1063-651X~98! 02910-9# specific model system, rather than to develop a general argu- ment, to gain insight into the role of quantum fluctuations in the situation of optimization problem. Quantum effects have been found to play a very similar role to thermal fluctuations in the Hopfield model in a transverse field in thermal equi- librium @5#. This observation motivates us to investigate dy- namical properties of the Ising model under quantum fluc- tuations in the form of a transverse field. We therefore discuss in this paper the transverse Ising model with a vari- ety of exchange interactions. The transverse field controls the rate of transition between states and thus plays the same role as the temperature does in SA. We assume that the system has no thermal fluctuations in the QA context and the term ''ground state'' refers to the lowest-energy state of the Hamiltonian without the transverse field term.
Feasibility, Risk Profile and Diagnostic Yield of Stereotactic Biopsy in Children and Young Adults with Brain Lesions

Abstract Objective To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and diagnostic yield of stereotactic biopsy (SB) in children and adolescents with cerebral lesions. Methods We performed a systematic review of the literature and a retrospective analysis of all pediatric and adolescent patients who underwent SB for unclear brain lesions at our center. We collected patient and lesion-associated parameters, analysed the rate of procedural complications and diagnostic yield. Results Our institutional series consisted of 285 SBs in 269 children and young adults between 1989 and 2016 (median age, 9 (range 1–18) years). There was no procedure-related mortality. Permanent and transient morbidity was 0.7% and 5.8%, respectively. Lesions were located in brain lobes (26.3%) and in midline structures (73.7%). The diagnostic yield was 97.5% and histology consisted low-grade gliomas (44.2%), high-grade gliomas (15.1%), non-glial tumors (22.8%), and non-neoplastic disease (15.4%). Morbidity was not associated with tumor location, age, histology or intraoperative position of the patient. In order to compare our findings with previous reports, we reviewed 25 studies with 1 109 children and young adults which had underwent SB. The diagnostic yield ranged between 83% and 100%. The reported morbidity and mortality rates range from 0–27% and 0–3.3%, respectively. Conclusions SB in this particular patient population is a safe and a high-yield diagnostic procedure and indicates therefore its importance in the light of personalized medicine with the development of individual molecular treatment strategies.
Anti-inflammatory activity of myricetin from Diospyros lotus through suppression of NF-κB and STAT1 activation and Nrf2-mediated HO-1 induction in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages

Diospyros lotus is traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes, diarrhea, tumor, and hypertension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of myricetin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Myricetin dose-dependently suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory mediators (NO, iNOS, PGE2, and COX-2) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Myricetin administration decreased the production of NO, iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-12 in mice. Myricetin decreased NF-κB activation by suppressing the degradation of IκBα, nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-κB, and NF-κB DNA binding activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Moreover, myricetin attenuated the phosphorylation of STAT1 and the production of IFN-β in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, myricetin induced the expression of HO-1 through Nrf2 translocation. In conclusion, these results suggest that myricetin inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory mediators through the suppression of NF-κB and STAT1 activation and induction of Nrf2-mediated HO-1 expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Graphical abstract This study has elucidated the anti-inflammatory effects of myricetin in in vitro and in vivo.
Identifying Nuclear Matrix‐Attached DNA Across the Genome

Experimental approaches to define the relationship between gene expression and nuclear matrix attachment regions (MARs) have given contrasting and method‐specific results. We have developed a next generation sequencing strategy to identify MARs across the human genome (MAR‐Seq). The method is based on crosslinking chromatin to its nuclear matrix attachment sites to minimize changes during biochemical processing. We used this method to compare nuclear matrix organization in MCF‐10A mammary epithelial‐like cells and MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells and evaluated the results in the context of global gene expression (array analysis) and positional enrichment of gene‐regulatory histone modifications (ChIP‐Seq). In the normal‐like cells, nuclear matrix‐attached DNA was enriched in expressed genes, while in the breast cancer cells, it was enriched in non‐expressed genes. In both cell lines, the chromatin modifications that mark transcriptional activation or repression were appropriately associated with gene expression. Using this new MAR‐Seq approach, we provide the first genome‐wide characterization of nuclear matrix attachment in mammalian cells and reveal that the nuclear matrix‐associated genome is highly cell‐context dependent. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 1295–1305, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Failure of Short-Course Ceftriaxone Chemotherapy for Multidrug-Resistant Typhoid Fever in Children: a Randomized Controlled Trial in Pakistan

ABSTRACT The precise duration of therapy of multidrug-resistant (MDR) typhoid with broad-spectrum cephalosporins is uncertain. We prospectively randomized 57 children with culture-proven MDR typhoid to receive treatment with intravenous ceftriaxone (CRO) (65 mg/kg of body weight/day) for 7 days (short course; n = 29) or 14 days (conventional; n = 28). The response to therapy, as evaluated by the serial monitoring of the typhoid morbidity score and bacteriological clearance, was comparable between groups. In contrast to the conventional therapy, 14% of the children receiving CRO for 7 days had a confirmed bacteriological relapse within 4 weeks of stopping therapy.