Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bone morphogenetic protein-2 is a negative regulator of hepatocyte proliferation downregulated in the regenerating liver.

AIM To characterize the expression and dynamic changes of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 in hepatocytes in the regenerating liver in rats after partial hepatectomy (PH), and examine the effects of BMP-2 on proliferation of human Huh7 hepatoma cells. METHODS Fifty-four adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: A normal control (NC) group, a partial hepatectomized (PH) group and a sham operated (SO) group. To study the effect of liver regeneration on BMP-2 expression, rats were sacrificed before and at different time points after PH or the sham intervention (6, 12, 24 and 48 h). For each time point, six rats were used in parallel. Expression and distribution of BMP-2 protein were determined in regenerating liver tissue by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Effects of BMP-2 on cell proliferation of human Huh7 hepatoma cell line were assessed using an MTT assay. RESULTS In the normal liver strong BMP-2 expression was observed around the central and portal veins. The expression of BMP-2 decreased rapidly as measured by both immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. This decrease was at a maximum of 3.22 fold after 12 h and returned to normal levels at 48 h after PH. No significant changes in BMP-2 immunoreactivity were observed in the SO group. BMP-2 inhibited serum induced Huh7 cell proliferation. CONCLUSION BMP-2 is expressed in normal adult rat liver and negatively regulates hepatocyte proliferation. The observed down regulation of BMP-2 following partial hepatectomy suggests that such down regulation may be necessary for hepatocyte proliferation.
Pipeline defect detection and sizing based on MFL data using immune RBF neural networks

Corrosion inspection tools, or pipeline pigs, based on magnetic flux leakage (MFL) are commonly used in oil-gas pipeline inspections. One of the difficult areas in applying this type of technology is how to recognize and quantify the corrosion characteristics. A radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) has been found to be a suitable technique for such purposes. The RBFNN has excellent local closing ability and the Immune algorithm has self-organization ability. Utilizing the advantages of both, an Immune RBFNN (IRBFNN) algorithm was proposed to process the MFL data. In this paper, steps of the algorithm are shown in detail, and the model built was applied to lab data to assess this technique's ability to determine the location and size of the corrosion spots on the pipeline. A segment of metal pipeline was taken as an object for inspection. Several corrosion spots were artificially made on it. The sizes of the square corrosion spots were first computed by using standard 3D finite-element analysis and this was then compared to the MFL data collected. These sizes were regarded as training inputs to the neural network. Experimental results show that the method successfully identified the location and size of corrosion on the pipe. It is fast in convergence, responds to the geometrical characteristics of corrosion correctly and, thus provides a promising new method for accurately detecting and sizing oil-gas pipeline corrosion.
PI3K inhibition results in enhanced estrogen receptor function and dependence in hormone receptor–positive breast cancer

Inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway results in induction of ER-dependent transcriptional activity and susceptibility to anti-estrogen therapy in ER-positive breast cancer. PIKing the correct therapeutic combination Mutations in a gene called PIK3CA are very common in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancers, and drugs that inhibit PI3K, the protein product of this gene, are already in clinical development. Unfortunately, these drugs are not always effective, and this study by Bosch et al. demonstrates a reason for this problem and a practical way to overcome it. By studying both mouse models and human patients’ tumors, the authors discovered that inhibition of PI3K often stimulates the activity of the estrogen receptor, which then drives tumor growth. By combining PI3K inhibitors with clinically available drugs that inhibit the estrogen receptor, the authors were able to overcome treatment resistance and effectively induce tumor regression in mouse models. Activating mutations of PIK3CA are the most frequent genomic alterations in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast tumors, and selective phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α (PI3Kα) inhibitors are in clinical development. The activity of these agents, however, is not homogeneous, and only a fraction of patients bearing PIK3CA-mutant ER-positive tumors benefit from single-agent administration. Searching for mechanisms of resistance, we observed that suppression of PI3K signaling results in induction of ER-dependent transcriptional activity, as demonstrated by changes in expression of genes containing ER-binding sites and increased occupancy by the ER of promoter regions of up-regulated genes. Furthermore, expression of ESR1 mRNA and ER protein were also increased upon PI3K inhibition. These changes in gene expression were confirmed in vivo in xenografts and patient-derived models and in tumors from patients undergoing treatment with the PI3Kα inhibitor BYL719. The observed effects on transcription were enhanced by the addition of estradiol and suppressed by the anti-ER therapies fulvestrant and tamoxifen. Fulvestrant markedly sensitized ER-positive tumors to PI3Kα inhibition, resulting in major tumor regressions in vivo. We propose that increased ER transcriptional activity may be a reactive mechanism that limits the activity of PI3K inhibitors and that combined PI3K and ER inhibition is a rational approach to target these tumors.
The effects of salt solutions on the properties of bentonite-sand mixtures

Abstract The swelling behaviour and hydraulic conductivity of Na-bentonite powder and bentonite-sand mixtures (10 and 20% of bentonite by dry weight) have been measured with distilled water and various salt solutions (0.01, 0.1 and 1 mol/l concentrations), It was found that in dilute solutions, the bentonite in mixtures subjected to small confining stresses swells sufficiently to separate the sand particles and reach a clay void ratio similar to that achieved by bentonite alone. At high stresses, or in strong solutions, the bentonite in a mixture has insufficient swelling capacity to force the sand particles apart and swelling is limited by the sand pore volume. The hydraulic conductivity of a mixture depends on the bentonite void ratio, and the porosity and tortuosity of the sand matrix. A design model is proposed to predict the engineering properties of a mixture over a range of confining stresses from the properties of its constituents and the permeant.
Susceptibility to merocyanine 540‐mediated photosensitization: A differentiation marker on murine hematopoietic progenitor cells

Merocyanine 540 (MC 540) is an impermeant fluorescent dye that binds preferentially to fluidlike domains of the cell membrane. Photoexcitation of membrane‐bound dye causes a breakdown of the normal permeability properties of the membrane and, eventually, cell death. We have used in vitro and in vivo clonal assays to determine the relative sensitivities of different classes of normal murine hematopoietic progenitor cells to MC 540‐mediated photo‐sensitization. Late erythroid progenitors (CFU‐E) were the most sensitive cells, followed in order of decreasing sensitivity by early erythroid progenitors (BFU‐E), megakaryocyte progenitors (CFU‐Meg), day 7‐spleen colony forming cells (day 7‐CFU‐S), granulocyte/macrophage progenitors (CFU‐GM), and day 11‐spleen colony forming cells (day 11‐CFU‐S). Bipotent progenitors of the granulocyte/macrophage lineage were more sensitive than unipotent macrophage progenitors but less sensitive than unipotent granulocyte progenitors. Progenitors giving rise to large granulocyte/macrophage colonies were more sensitive than progenitors giving rise to small colonies (“clusters”). We conclude that sensitivity to MC 540‐mediated photosensitization is developmentally regulated and that differences occur even between the most closely related classes of progenitor cells. Our findings indicate the usefulness of MC 540 as a plasma membrane probe. They also support the contention that early and late‐appearing spleen colonies are the progeny of two distinct classes of progenitor cells.
A Presurgical Study of Oral Silybin-Phosphatidylcholine in Patients with Early Breast Cancer

Silybin-phosphatidylcholine is an orally bioavailable complex of silybin, a polyphenolic flavonolignan derived from milk thistle, endowed with potential anticancer activity in preclinical models. The purpose of this window of opportunity trial was to determine, for the first time in early breast cancer patients, the breast tissue distribution of silybin. Twelve breast cancer patients received silybin-phosphatidylcholine, 2.8 g daily for 4 weeks prior to surgery. Silybin levels were measured before (SIL) and after (TOT-SIL) enzymatic hydrolysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-MS/MS in biologic samples (plasma, urine, breast cancer, and surrounding normal tissue). Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline, before the last administration, and 2 hours later. All patients were fully compliant and completed the treatment program. No toxicity was observed. SIL and TOT-SIL were undetectable in baseline samples. Despite a high between-subject variability, repeated administration of Siliphos achieved levels of TOT-SIL of 31,121 to 7,654 ng/mL in the plasma and up to 1,375 ng/g in breast cancer tissue. SIL concentrations ranged from 10,861 to 1,818 ng/mL in plasma and up to 177 ng/g in breast cancer tissue. Median TOT-SIL concentration was higher in the tumor as compared with the adjacent normal tissue (P = 0.018). No significant change in either blood levels of IGF-I and nitric oxide or Ki-67 in tumors was noted. Silybin-phosphatidylcholine, taken orally, can deliver high blood concentrations of silybin, which selectively accumulates in breast tumor tissue. These findings provide the basis for a future phase II biomarker trial in breast cancer prevention. Cancer Prev Res; 9(1); 89–95. ©2015 AACR.
Rorschach Comprehensive System Data for a Sample of 478 Iranian Children at Four Ages

This article contributes to the international reference data for the Rorschach Comprehensive System by reporting the responses of 478 nonpatient Iranian children at the 4 age levels of 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 11 to 13, and 14 to 16. Interrater reliability is reported, and descriptive statistics are presented for each age level. In common with previous cross-national samples of young people, the Iranian Rorschach findings mirror several expected developmental changes, which indicates their construct validity, and show a low frequency of elevated PTI and DEPI, which limits the likelihood of Rorschach assessment suggesting serious cognitive or affective disorder when neither is present.
Determination of octanol-air partition coefficients and supercooled liquid vapor pressures of organochlorine pesticides

Octanol-air partition coefficients (KOA) and supercooled liquid vapor pressures (PL) of nine organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) including p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDD, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, δ-HCH were determined as functions of temperature using a gas chromatographic retention time method. Among them, the KOA of o,p′-DDE and o,p′-DDD and the PL of o,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDD, β-HCH and δ-HCH were determined for the first time. The determined KOA and PL values of investigated compounds at 25°C ranged from 3.14 × 107 (α-HCH) to 3.76×109 (p,p′-DDD), and 8.95×10− 4 Pa (p,p′-DDD) to 1.08×10− 1 Pa (α-HCH), respectively. The KOA and PL data were compared with published data. The KOA values of o,p′-DDT at 25°C were 3.23×109, higher than o,p′-DDE (1.02×109) and o,p′-DDD (2.01×109), indicating o,p′-DDT were more preferred to partition in soil compared with the metabolites. The KOA values were lower and PL values were higher for o,p′-DDE and o,p′-DDD, compared with their p,p′-isomeric counterparts, leading to a potential difference in behavior and fate of these isomers. The discrepancies among chemicals are obvious, which reflected in the increasing KOA and decreasing PL values in order of α-HCH, γ-HCH, β-HCH, δ-HCH, o,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDD. For each compound, the LogKOA decreased linearly with reciprocal absolute temperature, while LogPL had a significant positive correlation with the inverse absolute temperature. The present study suggested that the method of gas chromatographic retention time was appropriate to measure the KOA and PL of a number of OCPs.
Responses of gas-exchange rates and water relations to annual fluctuations of weather in three species of urban street trees.

The frequency of extreme weather has been rising in recent years. A 3-year study of street trees was undertaken in Tokyo to determine whether: (i) street trees suffer from severe water stress in unusually hot summer; (ii) species respond differently to such climatic fluctuations; and (iii) street trees are also affected by nitrogen (N) deficiency, photoinhibition and aerosol pollution. During the study period (2010-12), midsummers of 2010 and 2012 were unusually hot (2.4-2.8 °C higher maximum temperature than the long-term mean) and dry (6-56% precipitation of the mean). In all species, street trees exhibited substantially decreased photosynthetic rate in the extremely hot summer in 2012 compared with the average summer in 2011. However, because of a more conservative stomatal regulation (stomatal closure at higher leaf water potential) in the hot summer, apparent symptoms of hydraulic failure were not observed in street trees even in 2012. Compared with Prunus × yedoensis and Zelkova serrata, Ginkgo biloba, a gymnosperm, was high in stomatal conductance and midday leaf water potential even under street conditions in the unusually hot summer, suggesting that the species had higher drought resistance than the other species and was less susceptible to urban street conditions. This lower susceptibility might be ascribed to the combination of higher soil-to-leaf hydraulic conductance and more conservative water use. Aside from meteorological conditions, N deficiency affected street trees significantly, whereas photoinhibition and aerosol pollution had little effect. The internal CO2 and δ(13)C suggested that both water and N limited the net photosynthetic rate of street trees simultaneously, but water was more limiting. From these results, we concluded that the potential risk of hydraulic failure caused by climatic extremes could be low in urban street trees in temperate regions. However, the size of the safety margin might be different between species.
The importance of measured intake in assessing exposure of breast-fed infants to organochlorines.

OBJECTIVES To estimate infants' intake of organochlorines (OCs) from their measured intake of breast milk; to compare these with the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). DESIGN Primiparous nursing mothers were recruited from either an industrial or rural area between January and November 1992. SETTING Mothers volunteered in response to information displayed at their Infant Welfare Centre. All sampling was undertaken in the subject's home. SUBJECTS The sole entry criterion was primiparity. Three breast milk samples were collected at one month intervals from each mother. OC levels were measured on a milk fat basis by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and individual milk intakes were used to determine the infant's daily OC intake. Of the 23 mothers who entered the study, 17 finished, resulting in 57 samples for intake determination. RESULTS Some intakes of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordane, dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide (HE) exceeded the ADI. High OC levels in breast milk did not necessarily result in a high intake for the infant. CONCLUSIONS Assessment of the exposure of infants to OC contaminants in breast milk requires an accurate estimate of OC intake. Intakes estimated using inferred rather than measured values for milk fat and milk intake are not reliable indicators of actual intakes.
Image Processing Technique for Characteristic Test of Cell Based on Electrorotation Chip

On the basis of image characteristic analysis of electrorotation (ROT) chip video, the initial cell contours of various movement objects in each frame have been segmented and each cell contour has been purified to extract using the Snake model, and then the projected area and centroid integral of cell etc. have been calculated. Moreover, the Snake cell contour is fitted into an ellipse using the least squares ellipse fitting algorithm. Through omitting the objects whose area, centroid and deflection angle change suddenly with the statistical rule, then the average of the direction (i.e. ellipse deflection angle) difference of the surplus objects between the continual two frames is taken as the rotation vector of the whole cells; The multi-objects are synchronously tracked in each continual dual- frames by the frame sequence. Finally the actual rotation speed of each cell is calculated at a specified equal time interval.
Mineralocorticoid receptor‐mediated DNA damage in kidneys of DOCA‐salt hypertensive rats

Epidemiological studies exploring the connection between hypertension and cancer demonstrate a higher cancer incidence, especially of kidney cancer, and a higher cancer mortality in hypertensive patients. Hormones elevated in hypertension, i.e., aldosterone and angiotensin II, which exert genotoxic effects in vitro, could contribute to carcinogenesis in hypertension. The present study was conducted to investigate the possible DNA‐damaging effect of aldosterone receptor activation in vivo. Crl:CD (Sprague‐Dawley) rats were treated for 6 wk with desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and salt to induce a mineralocorticoid‐dependent hypertension. DOCA‐salt treatment caused increased blood pressure (+26 mmHg) compared to untreated rats, elevated markers of kidney failure (up to 62‐fold for Kim‐1), and the induction of several proinflammatory genes and proteins (up to 2.6‐fold for tissue MCP‐1). The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist spironolactone (MR IC50 24 nM) and the novel nonsteroidal antagonist BR‐4628 (MR IC50 28 nM) decreased these damage markers. DOCA‐salt treatment also caused 8.8‐fold increased structural DNA damage, determined with the comet assay, double‐strand breaks (3.5‐fold), detected immunohistochemically, and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the oxidatively modified mutagenic DNA base 7,8‐dihydro‐8‐oxo‐guanine (8‐oxodG), quantified by LC‐MS/MS, was almost 2‐fold higher in DOCA‐salt‐treated kidneys. Our results suggest a mutagenic potential of high mineralocorticoid levels, frequent in hypertensive individuals. —Schupp, N. , Kolkhof, P., Queisser, N. , Gartner, S. , Schmid, U. , Kretschmer, A. , Hartmann, E. , Oli, R G. , Schäfer, S. , Stopper, H. Mineralocorticoid receptor‐mediated DNA damage in kidneys of DOCA‐salt hypertensive rats. FASEB J. 25, 968–978 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Multiwavelength Single-Longitudinal-Mode Brillouin–Erbium Fiber Laser Sensor for Temperature Measurements With Ultrahigh Resolution

A multiwavelength single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) Brillouin-erbium fiber laser sensor with ultrahigh resolution is proposed and investigated experimentally. The one short common cavity with 50 m of single mode fiber (SMF) as the fiber under test and 100 m of SMF as the reference can effectively reduce the external perturbations and the cost. With the configuration that uses a fiber Fabry-Pérot (FFP) filter, every Stokes wavelength maintains SLM status, which can lead to the higher temperature resolution. In the experiment, 3.104 MHz/°C sensitivity of the third-order Stokes wavelength is demonstrated, which is three times that of the first-order Stokes wavelength. A less-than 0.2 °C temperature error is obtained for every Stokes wavelength. In contrast, with a beat frequency linewidth of a different order Stokes wavelength, approximately 10-6°C ultrahigh resolution in the short term is acquired at the third-order Stokes wavelength. This proposal can provide a feasible temperature sensing scheme with high sensitivity, high precision, and low-frequency detection.
Genetic differentiation of Echinostoma revolutum and Hypodereaum conoideum from domestic ducks in Thailand by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis

Abstract Echinostomes are common intestinal parasites causing zoonotic disease, which are endemic worldwide. Of the four species of medically important echinostomes reported in Thailand, two species, Echinostoma revolutum and Hypodereaum conoideum, have been detected in poultry. These two parasites are morphologically similar and are sometimes difficult to distinguish. In the present study, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis was used to differentiate E. revolutum from H. conoideum collected from domestic ducks in Thailand. The parasites were compared using 22 enzymes with 30 presumptive enzyme loci. The two species of echinostome could be distinguished at 17 of the 30 enzyme loci. Several loci were polymorphic within each species, suggesting that these can be used to examine their population genetics.
The Green Paradox and Interjurisdictional Competition across Space and Time

This paper demonstrates that unintended effects of climate policies (Green Paradox effects) also arise in general equilibrium when countries compete for mobile factors of production (capital and resources/energy). Second, it shows that countries have a rationale to use strictly positive source-based capital taxes to slow down resource extraction. Notably, this result comes about in the absence of any revenue requirements by the government, and independently of the elasticity of substitution between capital and resources in production. Third, the paper generalizes the results obtained by Eichner and Runkel (2012) by showing that the Nash equilibrium entails inefficiently high pollution.
Estimates of the need for palliative care consultation across united states intensive care units using a trigger-based model.

RATIONALE Use of triggers for palliative care consultation has been advocated in intensive care units (ICUs) to ensure appropriate specialist involvement for patients at high risk of unmet palliative care needs. The volume of patients meeting these triggers, and thus the potential workload for providers, is unknown. OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of ICU admissions who met criteria for palliative care consultation using different sets of triggers. METHODS Retrospective cohort study of ICU admissions from Project IMPACT for 2001-2008. We assessed the prevalence of ICU admissions meeting one or more primary palliative care triggers, and prevalence meeting any of multiple sets of triggers. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Overall, 53,124 (13.8%) ICU admissions met one or more primary triggers for palliative care consultation. Variation in prevalence was minimal across different types of units (mean 13.3% in medical ICUs to 15.8% in trauma/burn ICUs; P = 0.41) and individual units (mean 13.8%, median 13.0%, interquartile range, 10.2-16.5%). A comprehensive model combining multiple sets of triggers identified a total of 75,923 (19.7%) ICU admissions requiring palliative care consultation; of them, 85.4% were captured by five triggers: (1) ICU admission after hospital stay greater than or equal to 10 days, (2) multisystem organ failure greater than or equal to three systems, (3) stage IV malignancy, (4) status post cardiac arrest, and (5) intracerebral hemorrhage requiring mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS Approximately one in seven ICU admissions met triggers for palliative care consultation using a single set of triggers, with an upper estimate of one in five patients using multiple sets of triggers; these estimates were consistent across different types of ICUs and individual units. These results may inform staffing requirements for providers to ensure delivery of specialized palliative care to ICU patients nationally.