Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transient Ca2+ mobilization caused by osmotic shock initiates salmonid fish sperm motility

SUMMARY Salmonid fish sperm motility is known to be suppressed in millimolar concentrations of extracellular K+, and dilution of K+ upon spawning triggers cAMP-dependent signaling for motility initiation. In a previous study, however, we demonstrated that suspending sperm in a 10% glycerol solution and subsequent dilution into a low-osmotic solution induced motility independently of extracellular K+ and cAMP. In the present study, we further investigated the glycerol-induced motility mechanism. We found that treatment with solutions consisting of organic or inorganic ions, as well as glycerol, induced sperm motility in an osmolarity-dependent manner. Elimination of intracellular Ca2+ by BAPTA-AM significantly inhibited glycerol-treated sperm motility, whereas removal of extracellular Ca2+ by EGTA did not. Monitoring intracellular Ca2+, using fluo-4, revealed that intracellular Ca2+ increased when sperm were suspended in hypertonic solutions, and a subsequent dilution into a hypotonic solution led to a decrease in intracellular Ca2+ concomitant with motility initiation. In addition, upon dilution of sperm into a hypertonic glycerol solution prior to demembranation, the motility of demembranated sperm was reactivated in the absence of cAMP. The motility recovery suggests that completion of axonemal maturation occurred during exposure to a hypertonic environment. As a result, it is likely that glycerol treatment of sperm undergoing hypertonic shock causes mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ from the intracellular Ca2+ store and also causes maturation of axonemal proteins for motility initiation. The subsequent dilution into a hypotonic solution induces a decrease in intracellular Ca2+ and flagellar movement. This novel mechanism of sperm motility initiation seems to act in a salvaging manner for the well-known K+-dependent pathway.
robust synchronisation of nonlinear multi-agent systems with sampled-data information

ABSTRACT A distributed controller is presented for nonlinear multi-agent systems in this paper. The nonlinear dynamics of each agent are characterised by the Lipschitz condition. With the appearance of system uncertainty and external disturbance, a sampled-data feedback control protocol is carried out along the Lyapunov functional approach. Meanwhile, a state observer is incorporated to reinforce the capability of the proposed control strategy. It is demonstrated that the synchronisation of the networked nonlinear agents are essentially achieved with locally shared information. Remarkably, the system uncertainty and external disturbance are considered in the controller design and the influence caused by -bounded disturbance is minimised effectively. Furthermore, the control gain and observer gain derivation are equivalently transformed to a convex optimisation problem, which is solved by an iterative algorithm developed based on the sufficient conditions of system stability. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified by simulations.
Enhanced expression of resident leukocyte interferon gamma mRNA in endometriosis.

PROBLEM Previous studies have shown that the endometrial epithelial/stromal cell proliferative activity of endometriosis is significantly less than that of normal endometrium and that the concentration of resident stromal leukocytes is significantly greater in ectopic than in eutopic endometrium. Other work has shown that interferon gamma (IFN gamma), secreted by resident leukocytes, inhibits endometrial cell proliferation in vitro. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the lower proliferative activity of endometriosis may be related to enhanced resident leukocyte IFN gamma production. This study was designed to assess whether resident leukocytes in endometriosis express IFN gamma mRNA and to compare this expression to that of normal endometrium. METHODS Biopsies of ectopic endometrium (N = 16) from women in the follicular phase and normal proliferative (N = 9) and secretory (N = 8) endometria were examined for IFN gamma expression. Using monoclonal antibodies specific for CD45 (leukocyte common antigen), CD3 (a T-cell marker) and CD11c (a macrophage marker), leukocyte types were identified immunocytochemically, followed by in situ hybridization to examine expression of IFN gamma mRNA. RESULTS Results demonstrated that (1) the overall concentration of T cells and macrophages expressing IFN gamma mRNA is significantly greater in endometriosis as compared to eutopic endometrium, and (2) the percent of each leukocyte type expressing IFN gamma mRNA is greater in endometriosis than in normal endometrium. CONCLUSIONS These findings support a possible paracrine role for resident leukocytes in regulating cell proliferation in endometriosis.
Risk Communication and Prostate Cancer

The format in which risk is communicated influences how patients make health care decisions. The same statistical information may be summarized differently according to relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction, number needed to treat, or odds ratio. A total of 76 men participated in focus groups exploring their understanding of information about prostate cancer treatments when framed across these different formats. Using thematic analysis, it was identified that the study participant best understood information when outcomes were framed as an absolute risk reduction and in a positive frame. Patient education materials about prostate cancer treatment options should be reported as an increase in probability of survivorship rather than decrease in risk of mortality and incorporate impact of treatment on patient-centered quality-of-life outcomes.
Generalized canonical transformations and path integrals.

Some time-dependent physical systems do not admit, in the general case, either an invariant or auxiliary equation. The study of these systems is then in general made easier by space-time transformation of coordinates. This is true for the case for a rectangular well with a moving wall, which generalized canonical transformations reduce, in the path-integral formalism, to the case of a variable-frequency oscillator with fixed walls. The variable-frequency harmonic oscillator is an example where the invariant and the auxiliary equations can be calculated. All calculations are done in phase space.
What is the self?

In this paper I briefly sketch a theory that answers the question “what is the self? ,” where this question is understood in a scientific sense that includes both natural science and systematic fundamental metaphysics. As selves, we are essentially rational human minded animals or real persons in a fully natural and desperately non‐ideal world—animals with meaningful lives, for better or worse.
Self-Control and Grit

Other than talent and opportunity, what makes some people more successful than others? One important determinant of success is self-control—the capacity to regulate attention, emotion, and behavior in the presence of temptation. A second important determinant of success is grit—the tenacious pursuit of a dominant superordinate goal despite setbacks. Self-control and grit are strongly correlated, but not perfectly so. This means that some people with high levels of self-control capably handle temptations but do not consistently pursue a dominant goal. Likewise, some exceptional achievers are prodigiously gritty but succumb to temptations in domains other than their chosen life passion. Understanding how goals are hierarchically organized clarifies how self-control and grit are related but distinct: Self-control entails aligning actions with any valued goal despite momentarily more-alluring alternatives; grit, in contrast, entails having and working assiduously toward a single challenging superordinate goal through thick and thin, on a timescale of years or even decades. Although both self-control and grit entail aligning actions with intentions, they operate in different ways and over different timescales. This hierarchical goal framework suggests novel directions for basic and applied research on success.
INCREASES IN SERUM MACROPHAGE MIGRATION INHIBITORY FACTOR IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE SEPSIS PREDICT EARLY MORTALITY

This prospective study aimed to delineate the association between the serum levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and the risks of early mortality in 112 patients who presented with clinically severe sepsis. Previous studies showed that elevated serum MIF levels on the first day are associated with an increased risk of 28-day mortality. Nonsurvivors may be the sickest population on arrival. Not all patients with severe sepsis follow the same clinical pathway, however, and the sequential change in MIF might be an important predictor of mortality. We hypothesized that, for septic patients, in addition to serum MIF levels on day 1, the percentage of change in MIF between days 1 and 2 after arriving in the emergency department predicts the probability of early mortality. Serum MIF levels were measured on days 1 (emergency department arrival) and 2 (24 h after arrival). Patients with a high percentage of increase between MIF levels on days 1 and 2 had higher 3-day (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.6; P = 0.003) and 7-day mortalities (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.9; P = 0.03) after adjusting for age and day-1 serum MIF levels. In conclusion, an increase in serum MIF from the first to second day of admission in patients with severe sepsis indicates a higher risk of early mortality; therefore, these patients need more aggressive therapeutic intervention.
Analysis of Pulmonary Infection of Hospitalized Patients Injured in the Wenchuan China 29 MATERIALS AND METHODS General data and diagnosis

Background: On 12 May 2008, a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Wenchuan County, Sichuan in China, and resulted in the casualties of thousands of people. Some of the hospitalized earthquake victims can occur pulmonary infection. However, few studies have been conducted on the clinical features of pulmonary infection in hospitalized casualty after Wenchuan Earthquake. Methods: To analyze retrospectively the clinical data of 115 pulmonary infection patients among wounded inpatients in West China Hospital of Sichuan University after the Wenchuan earthquake. Results: In our report, 76 cases (66.1%) of 115 hospitalized earthquake victims with pulmonary infection were patients with age > 60 years; 74 cases (64.3%) of them with long-term hospitalization(> 20 days); 23 cases (20.0%) of them with traumatic brain injury; 71 cases (61.7%) with torso trauma; 58 cases (50.4%) of them were patients with underlying disease; 25 cases(21.7%) of them were the patients treated with mechanical ventilation. A total of 143 nonduplicate clinical isolates from sputum specimen of 115 pulmonary infection patients were analyzed. Gram-negative bacilli were the most commonly isolated pathogens (73.4%). Only 7.7% of total isolates were gram-positive bacteria; 18.9% of total isolates were fungi. There were high rates of multiple drug resistance in most bacteria isolates. The detection rates and resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii were higher than others and 81.8% of all Staphylococcus aureus detected from sputum culture were resistant to antibiotics but vancomycin in this group patients. There were 98 cases of recovery, 17 death cases due to lung infection. Conclusions: Most of earthquake inpatients with pulmonary infection were patients with age > 60 years, longer hospital stay or severe trauma. These factors might increase the risk of pulmonary infection in earthquake inpatients. Gram-negative bacilli play the most important role in these pulmonary infection patients. Pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Methicillin resistant S.aureus in this study might increase the risk of nosocomial infection. The prevention and control of pulmonary infection are crucial for earthquake survivors during hospitalization. [Life Science Journal. 2010; 7(2): 28 – 34] (ISSN: 1097 – 8135).
Hydrodynamics: Fundamentals and Applications to High-Speed Bioassays

Bioassays are indispensable tools in areas ranging from fundamental life science research to clinical practice. Improving assay speed and levels of detection will have a profound impact in all of these areas. We recently developed a rapid, sensitive format for immunosorbent assays that expedites antigen mass transport by rotating the capture substrate. This review outlines the theoretical foundation of rotationally induced hydrodynamics and its application in heterogeneous assays. We describe a general solution that solves the rates of immunoreactions on rotating capture substrates, taking into account both diffusion and the rate of reaction between antibody and antigen. The general solution applies to a wide range of rotation rates, including mass transport–limited to reaction rate–limited assays, and is validated experimentally. We discuss several applications that demonstrate how immunoassays can be tailored to increase speed as well as lower the limit of detection of viral particles, pathogens, toxins, and proteins.
Lymphocyte depleted Hodgkin lymphoma: an evaluation with immunophenotyping and genetic analysis

Lymphocyte depleted classical Hodgkin lymphoma (LDHL) is a vanishing category of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL); many cases previously placed in this category are now recognised as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), or nodular sclerosis CHL with lymphocyte depletion. In addition, the recent recognition of high grade B-cell lymphomas intermediate between DLBCL and CHL (grey-zone lymphomas) raises the question of whether LDHL exists at all as a category of CHL. We studied eight cases that fulfilled diagnostic criteria of LDHL according to the 2008 WHO Classification. The cases involved lymph nodes (7 cases) and pleura (1 case) from four males and four females (age 30–71 years; median 62 years). All tumors contained numerous Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, fibroblasts and histiocytes and scattered lymphocytes. In three cases the tumors had a more diffuse fibrotic appearance, while in five cases they appeared reticular and anaplastic. Neoplastic cells in all cases expressed CD30, CD15, fascin, weak PAX5 and MUM-1 and lacked CD45, Alk-1, EMA, CD3, CD68, Mart-1 and cytokeratin. Oct.2 and/or Bob-1 were expressed in all cases. Two cases variably expressed CD20 but were CD79a negative. Four cases were positive for EBV. All the four cases with adequate DNA had clonally rearranged IGH genes. The combined morphologic, immunophenotypic and molecular genetic features of this group of cases distinguish LDHL from other disease entities, including grey-zone lymphomas.
Total Shoulder Arthroplasty as an Outpatient Procedure Using Ambulatory Perineural Local Anesthetic Infusion: A Pilot Feasibility Study

We investigated the feasibility of converting total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) into an outpatient procedure using ambulatory interscalene perineural ropivacaine infusion. Of the patients of the first phase (n = 8) who were required to remain hospitalized for at least 1 postoperative night, 5 met discharge criteria in the recovery room. Of the subsequent patients of the second phase (n = 6), all met discharge criteria in the recovery room after surgery, and 5 were discharged directly home. For all patients, postoperative pain was well controlled, oral opioid requirements and sleep disturbances were minimal, range-of-motion consistently reached or exceeded the surgeon’s expectations, and patient satisfaction was high. These results suggest that TSA may be performed on an outpatient basis using perineural local anesthetic infusion. Additional research is required to define the appropriate subset of patients and assess the incidence of complications associated with this practice before its mainstream use.
Analysis of the Characteristics of the New Converter Transformer Based on the Matrix Model

This paper presents a matrix model which is applied for analysis of the new converter transformer with its filters connected to the common winding of the transformer. Based on this matrix model, the effects of the filters on the characteristics of the transformer are analyzed. The results show that the short-circuit impedances of the transformer are nearly constant and almost symmetrical with or without filters. The new converter transformer cannot only greatly reduce the harmonics of the grid-side currents, grid-side voltages, and the load-side voltages, but also dramatically improve its operational parameters, for example: voltage, current, apparent power, and power factor. Simulation and experimental results verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus, xerostomia, and salivary flow rates.

OBJECTIVE The Oral Health Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh has completed a cross-sectional epidemiologic study of 406 subjects with type 1 diabetes and 268 control subjects without diabetes that assessed the associations between oral health and diabetes. This report describes the prevalence of dry-mouth symptoms (xerostomia), the prevalence of hyposalivation in this population, and the possible interrelationships between salivary dysfunction and diabetic complications. STUDY DESIGN The subjects with diabetes were participants in the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications study who were enrolled in an oral health substudy. Control subjects were spouses or best friends of participants or persons recruited from the community through advertisements in local newspapers. Assessments of salivary function included self-reported xerostomia measures and quantification of resting and stimulated whole saliva flow rates. RESULTS Subjects with diabetes reported symptoms of dry mouth more frequently than did control subjects. Salivary flow rates were also impaired in the subjects with diabetes. Regression models of potential predictor variables were created for the 3 self-reported xerostomia measures and 4 salivary flow rate variables. Of the medical diabetic complications studied (ie, retinopathy, peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, nephropathy, and peripheral vascular disease), only neuropathy was found to be associated with xerostomia and decreased salivary flow measures. A report of dry-mouth symptoms was associated with current use of cigarettes, dysgeusia (report of a bad taste), and more frequent snacking behavior. Xerogenic medications and elevated fasting blood glucose concentrations were significantly associated with decreased salivary flow. Resting salivary flow rates less than 0.01 mL/min were associated with a slightly higher prevalence of dental caries. Subjects who reported higher levels of alcohol consumption were less likely to have lower rates of stimulated salivary flow. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with type 1 diabetes who had developed neuropathy more often reported symptoms of dry mouth as well as symptoms of decreased salivary flow rates. Because of the importance of saliva in the maintenance and the preservation of oral health, management of oral diseases in diabetic patients should include a comprehensive evaluation of salivary function.
Interactive video retrieval using semantic level features and relevant feedback

Recent years, many literatures presents a lot of work for content-based video retrieval using different set of feature. But, most of the works are concentrated on extracting features low level features. But, the relevant videos can be missed out if the interactive with the users are not considered. Also, the semantic richness is needed further to obtain most relevant videos. In order to handle these challenges, we propose an interactive video retrieval system. The proposed system consists of following steps: 1) Video structure parsing, 2) Video summarization and 3) Video Indexing and Relevance Feedback. At first, input videos are divided into shots using shot detection algorithm. Then, three features such as color, texture and shape are extracted from each frame in video summarization process. Once the video is summarized with the feature set, index table is constructed based on these features to easily match the input query. In matching process, query video is matched with index table using semantic matching distance to obtain relevant video. Finally, in relevance feedback phase, once we obtain relevant video, it is given to identify whether it is relevant for the user. If it is relevant, more videos relevant to that video is given to the user. The evaluation of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of precision, recall and f-measure. Experiments results show that our proposed system is competitive in comparison with standard method published in the literature.
Risks and benefits of soy isoflavones for breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To present state-of-the-art information about the risks and benefits of soy isoflavones for breast cancer survivors. DATA SOURCES Published research articles, pertinent articles and books, and computerized databases. DATA SYNTHESIS Some epidemiologic data suggest that soy isoflavones play an important role in preventing breast cancer in Asian women and promoting women's health in a variety of ways. However, the use of soy isoflavones in women with breast cancer is controversial. Risks and benefits exist regarding the use of soy isoflavones by breast cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS The use of soy isoflavones to promote health in breast cancer survivors remains controversial because of scant scientific data. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Nurses should not only provide updated information to the public but also interpret research results carefully. More clinical trials need to be conducted on a longitudinal basis with the enrollment of breast cancer survivors.
The phenotype of partial dup(7q) reconsidered: a report of five new cases

Five unrelated patients with partial trisomy 7q are described. In two of them the duplicated region was 7q21→qter and in the others 7q22→qter, 7q34→qter and 7q35→qter, respectively. Clinical features were compared with those reported in published cases. Karyotype‐phenotype correlations showed a relationship between the size of the unbalanced region and the survival, and prenatal and postnatal growth. In contrast, the same proportionality was not demonstrated between the severity of dysmorphic features and the size of the duplicated region. However, cleft palate seemed associated rather characteristically with dup 7q22/31→qter.
Spatial Structuring of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) Populations from Northwestern Argentina Using Wing Geometric Morphometry

Abstract Wing geometric morphometry was used to study the spatial structuring of populations of Triatoma infestans from different villages, ecotopes, and sites within a village in northwestern Argentina. A total of 308 male and 197 female wings of T. infestans collected from peridomestic and domestic ecotopes in March 2000 was analyzed. On average, female bugs had a significantly larger wing size than males. Triatomines collected from domiciles or structures associated with chickens had larger wings than bugs collected from goat or pig corrals. The wing size of bugs did not differ significantly between villages. Discriminant analyses of wing shape showed significant divergence between villages, ecotopes, and individual collection sites. The study of metric variation of males between sites belonging to the same ecotope also revealed significant heterogeneity. Indeed, within the same section of the village the difference between two goat corrals was sometimes greater than that between neighboring goat and pig corrals. Thus, morphometric heterogeneity within villages may be the result not only of ecotope and host associations, but also of physical isolation between subunits. The strong structuring of T. infestans populations in the study area indicates that recolonization could be traced back to a small geographic source.