Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactions between visitors and Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) at Shou‐Shan Nature Park, Taiwan

Ecotourism involving feeding wildlife has raised public attention and is a controversial issue, especially concerning nonhuman primates. Between July 2002 and April 2005, the behavior of monkeys and tourists was collected through scan samplings, focal samplings and behavior samplings at the Shou‐Shan Nature Park located in Taiwan's second largest city—Kaohsiung. In addition, the number of tourists and monkeys was counted in different hours and places within the park. Four hundred visitors were interviewed using a questionnaire to gather data on sex, age, purpose and frequency of visit to the park. The number of tourists was significantly higher during weekends than in weekdays in all locations. Humans dominated in the initiation of interspecies interactions—the overall ratio of human‐initiated and monkey‐initiated interactions was 2.44:1. Human–monkey conflicts accounted for only 16.4% of the total interactions (n=2,166), and adult human males and adult male macaques participated in higher rates than other age/sex groups in these conflicts. Visitors showed more affiliative behavior (15.9%) than agonistic behavior (8%) toward the macaques. In response to visitors' threat or attack, the Formosan macaques mostly showed submissive behavior with bared teeth, squealed or ran away to avoid confrontation (69.1%)—only few responded with counteraggression (18.7%). This study for the first time provided evidence that food provisioning increased both the frequency and duration of aggression among Formosan macaques (P<0.001). During food provisioning, the average frequency and the duration of agonistic events of macaques were more than 4 times higher compared with those without food provisioning. The average frequency of food provision by tourists was 0.73 times/hr—more than twice the incident that monkeys grabbed the food from tourists (0.34 times/hr). If people refrain from feeding monkeys and destroying the city park's natural vegetation, monkeys can be used to educate public about nature conservation in an urban setting. Am. J. Primatol. 71:214–222, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Role of double-balloon enteroscopy in malignant small bowel tumors.

AIM To assess the double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) role in malignant small bowel tumors (MSBT). METHODS This is a retrospective descriptive study performed in a single center. All consecutive patients who underwent a DBE with final diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm from 2004 to 2014 in our referral center were included. Patient demographic and clinical pathological characteristics were recorded and reviewed. MSBT diagnosis was achieved either by DBE directed biopsy with multiple tissue sampling, endoscopic findings or histological analysis of surgical specimen. We have analyzed double-balloon enteroscopy impact in outcome and clinical course of these patients. RESULTS Of 627 patients, 28 (4.5%) (mean age = 60 ± 17.3 years) underwent 30 procedures (25 anterograde, 5 retrograde) and were diagnosed of a malignant tumor. Patients presented with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 19, 67.9%), occlusion syndrome (n = 7, 25%) and diarrhea (n = 1, 3.6%). They were diagnosed by DBE biopsy (n = 18, 64.3%), histological analysis of surgical specimen (n = 7, 25%) and unequivocal endoscopic findings (n = 2, 7.1%). Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (n = 8, 28.6%), adenocarcinoma (n = 7, 25%), lymphoma (n = 4, 14.3%), neuroendocrine tumor (n = 4, 14.3%), metastatic (n = 3, 10.7%) and Kaposi sarcoma (n = 1, 3.6%) were identified. DBE modified outcome in 7 cases (25%), delaying or avoiding emergency surgery (n = 3), modifying surgery approach (n = 2) and indicating emergency SB partial resection instead of elective approach (n = 2). CONCLUSION DBE may be critical in the management of MSBT providing additional information that may be decisive in the clinical course of these patients.
GM-CSF Promotes Chronic Disability in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Altering the Composition of Central Nervous System–Infiltrating Cells, but Is Dispensable for Disease Induction

GM-CSF has been portrayed as a critical cytokine in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and, ostensibly, in multiple sclerosis. C57BL/6 mice deficient in GM-CSF are resistant to EAE induced by immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)35–55. The mechanism of action of GM-CSF in EAE is poorly understood. In this study, we show that GM-CSF augments the accumulation of MOG35–55-specific T cells in the skin draining lymph nodes of primed mice, but it is not required for the development of encephalitogenic T cells. Abrogation of GM-CSF receptor signaling in adoptive transfer recipients of MOG35–55-specific T cells did not alter the incidence of EAE or the trajectory of its initial clinical course, but it limited the extent of chronic CNS tissue damage and neurologic disability. The attenuated clinical course was associated with a relative dearth of MOG35–55-specific T cells, myeloid dendritic cells, and neutrophils, as well as an abundance of B cells, within CNS infiltrates. Our data indicate that GM-CSF drives chronic tissue damage and disability in EAE via pleiotropic pathways, but it is dispensable during early lesion formation and the onset of neurologic deficits.
Clinical experience with the Carpentier-Edwards supra-annular porcine bioprosthesis implanted in the aortic position.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS OF THE STUDY Between 1st January 1988 and 30th June 1996, a total of 165 patients (115 males, 50 females; mean age 66.8 years) underwent isolated aortic valve replacement with Carpentier-Edwards supra-annular porcine bioprostheses in our unit. Our clinical experience with this device is reported. METHODS In this retrospective study, mortality and complications observed in these patients were analyzed. Complications appearing with a non-biased time-course were expressed by means of linearized rates. Actuarial analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Cumulative follow up was 551.2 patient-years, with a mean follow up of 3.5 years per patient. The hospital mortality rate was 6.7%. Linearized rates (events per 100 patient-years) and actuarial probabilities of freedom from the different complications at 8.5 years follow up, respectively, were: late mortality, 4.5 and 58.6%; valve-related mortality, 1.1 and 82.6%; thromboembolism, 1.3 and 92.7%; prosthetic endocarditis, 0.5 and 97.4%; non-structural dysfunction, 0.5 and 94.7%; structural deterioration, 0.5 and 91.6%; reoperation, 0.5 and 94.2%. Actuarial freedom from any valve-related mortality or morbidity at 8.5 years was estimated at 66.3%. CONCLUSIONS The Carpentier-Edwards supra-annular bioprosthesis, when implanted in the aortic position, presents a low rate of valve-related complications at this length of follow up. However, the limited life expectancy of our patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with bioprostheses (usually elderly subjects) may overshadow the potential good performance of this device.
Understanding Systematic Errors Through Modeling of ALMA Primary Beams

Many aspects of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) instrument are still unknown due to its young age. One such aspect is the true nature of the primary beam of each baseline, and how changes to the individual primary beams affect astronomical observations when said changes are ignored during imaging. This paper aims to create a more thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of ALMA through realistic modeling of the primary beams and simulated observations, which in turn can inform the user of the necessity of implementing more computationally costly algorithms, such as A-Projection, and when simpler, quicker algorithms will suffice. We quantify our results by examining the dynamic range of each observation, along with the ability to reconstruct the Stokes I amplitude of the test sources. These tests conclude that for the dynamic ranges of less than 1000, for point sources and sources much smaller than the main lobe of the primary beam, the accuracy of the primary beam model beyond the physical size of the aperture simply does not matter. In the observations of large extended sources, deconvolution errors dominate the reconstructed images and the individual primary beam errors were indistinguishable from each other.
The efficacy of ginger in prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting after outpatient gynecological laparoscopy.

OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy of ginger in prevention of nausea and vomiting after outpatient gynecological laparoscopy. STUDY DESIGN Double blind randomized controlled trial. SETTING Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thammasat Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University. MATERIAL AND METHOD From January, 2001-December, 2001, 80 patients who underwent outpatient gynecological laparoscopy were randomly allocated into group A (n = 40) and group B (n = 40). The patients in group A received 2 capsules of ginger (1 capsule contain 0.5 g of ginger powder) 1 h before the procedure while the patients in group B received the placebo. The visual analogue nausea scores (VANS) and vomiting times were evaluated at 2, 4 and 24 hours after operation. RESULT There was a significant difference in the incidence of the nausea between group A [12 (30%)] and group B [23 (57.50%)]. The VANS was lower in group A than in group B at 2 and 4 hours (p < 0.05). No difference of VANS at 24 hours was found in both groups. Incidence and frequency of vomiting in group A were lower than group B but there were not statistically different. CONCLUSION From our data, ginger is effective in prevention of nausea after outpatient gynecological laparoscopy.
Prise en charge diagnostique et thérapeutique des tumeurs épithéliales malignes de l’ovaire dans le centre ouest-africain de lutte contre le cancer de Dakar

Resume Introduction Les tumeurs epitheliales malignes de l’ovaire sont les cancers les plus frequents de l’ovaire et de pronostic pejoratif. Le but de notre etude est de decrire les aspects diagnostiques, therapeutiques et d’evaluer la survie des patientes. Materiel et methode C’est une etude retrospective realisee au service de cancerologie de l’hopital Aristide Le Dantec de janvier 2000 a decembre 2007, ayant collige 117 patientes traitees pour des tumeurs epitheliales malignes de l’ovaire. L’âge moyen des patientes etait de 49 ans avec une parite moyenne de cinq. Soixante patientes etaient des multipares, 47 des paucipares et dix des nullipares. La population comprenait 22 patientes au stade I, 32 stade II, 35 stade III et 26 stade IV. Trente-quatre patientes ont beneficie d’une chirurgie seule et les autres ont eu une chirurgie associee a une chimiotherapie. La survie a ete evaluee par la methode de Kaplan-Meier et le test de Logrank a permis de comparer les survies selon l’âge et le type de resection. Resultats La chirurgie de reduction de type R0 a ete realisee dans 20 cas, 45 reductions tumorales de type R2 ont ete faites. L’examen anatomopathologique a retrouve 65 cystadenocarcinomes sereux, 28 cystadenocarcinomes mucineux, 21 cystadenocarcinomes endometrioides et une tumeur maligne de Brenner. La survie globale a cinq ans etait de 13,3 %. La survie selon la resection montrait une difference significative avec une valeur de 16,3 % pour la chirurgie optimale et 2,3 % pour la chirurgie suboptimale. La survie selon l’âge ne montrait pas de difference significative pour les patientes de moins de 40 ans et celles de plus de 40 ans ( p = 0,334). Conclusion Le cancer de l’ovaire est une pathologie de mauvais pronostic au Senegal comme dans le monde. L’amelioration de son pronostic dans notre contree reside dans son diagnostic plus precoce dans une chirurgie radicale associee a une chimiotherapie neoadjuvante.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection may protect against allergy in a tuberculosis endemic area

Background Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse relation of mycobacterial infection and the frequency of allergic diseases and asthma. Recent evidence suggests that allergic inflammation may be inhibited in the presence of chronic and persistent infections, such as that by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The relation of tuberculin skin test (TST) size, an accepted marker of MTB infection and the frequency of allergic disease symptoms has not been reported from an area where MTB infection is endemic.
Hypoxia induces expression of connective tissue growth factor in scleroderma skin fibroblasts

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) plays a role in the fibrotic process of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Because hypoxia is associated with fibrosis in several profibrogenic conditions, we investigated whether CTGF expression in SSc fibroblasts is regulated by hypoxia. Dermal fibroblasts from patients with SSc and healthy controls were cultured in the presence of hypoxia or cobalt chloride (CoCl2), a chemical inducer of hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α. Expression of CTGF was evaluated by Northern and Western blot analyses. Dermal fibroblasts exposed to hypoxia (1% O2) or CoCl2 (1–100 µM) enhanced expression of CTGF mRNA. Skin fibroblasts transfected with HIF‐1α showed the increased levels of CTGF protein and mRNA, as well as nuclear staining of HIF‐1α, which was enhanced further by treatment of CoCl2. Simultaneous treatment of CoCl2 and transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β additively increased CTGF mRNA in dermal fibroblasts. Interferon‐γ inhibited the TGF‐β‐induced CTGF mRNA expression dose‐dependently in dermal fibroblasts, but they failed to hamper the CoCl2‐induced CTGF mRNA expression. In addition, CoCl2 treatment increased nuclear factor (NF)‐κB binding activity for CTGF mRNA, while decreasing IκBα expression in dermal fibroblasts. Our data suggest that hypoxia, caused possibly by microvascular alterations, up‐regulates CTGF expression through the activation of HIF‐1α in dermal fibroblasts of SSc patients, and thereby contributes to the progression of skin fibrosis.
Adenylyl Cyclase, a Coincidence Detector for Nitric Oxide*

Nitric oxide (NO) donors inhibit hormone- and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in purified plasma membrane preparations from N18TG2 neuroblastoma cells. Northern blot analyses indicate that the predominant isoform of adenylyl cyclase in N18TG2 cells is the type VI. Our experiments eliminate all the known regulatory proteins for this isoform as possible targets of NO. NO decreases the V max of the enzyme without altering the K m for ATP. Occupancy of the substrate-binding site protects the enzyme from the inhibitory effects of NO, suggesting that the conformation of the enzyme determines its sensitivity. The inhibition is reversed by reducing agents, implicating a Cys residue(s) as the target for nitric oxide and anS-nitrosylation as the underlying modification. These findings implicate NO as a novel cellular regulator of the type VI isoform of adenylyl cyclase.
ROLES OF RhoA AND Rac1 ON ACTIN REMODELING AND CELL ALIGNMENT AND DIFFERENTIATION IN FETAL TYPE II EPITHELIAL CELLS EXPOSED TO CYCLIC MECHANICAL STRETCH

Mechanical forces are critical for normal fetal lung development. However, the signaling events that promote lung maturation are not fully understood. In this study, the authors analyzed the role of Rho family guanidine triphosphatases (GTPases) in isolated embryonic day 19 (E19) fetal type II epithelial cells exposed to 5% cyclic stretch. The results showed that mechanical strain stimulated RhoA within 5 minutes of initiation of force. Rac1 was also activated, but not Cdc42. After 6 hours of equibiaxial stretch, actin filaments were oriented parallel to the long axis of the cells. By 16 hours, actin fibers still maintained the same orientation, but their intensity decreased when compared to 6 hours. These findings temporally correlated with a decrease in RhoA stimulation. Using adenoviruses encoding dominant negative mutants of RhoA and Rac1, the authors observed that both GTPases are important for strain-induced stress fiber formation, cell alignment, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation. However, whereas inhibition of Rho increased surfactant protein C (SP-C) mRNA expression (a marker of type II cell differentiation), suppression of Rac had no effects. These studies suggest that RhoA and Rac1 regulate actin remodeling and cell alignment in fetal type II cells exposed to mechanical stretch. RhoA is a negative regulator of stretch-induced type II cell maturation.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Inflammation-Linked Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

We tested the hypothesis that vascular endothelial function, assessed by endothelium-dependent dilation, is related to serum vitamin D status among middle-aged and older adults without clinical disease, and that this is linked to inflammation. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, a measure of endothelium-dependent dilation, was lower (P<0.01) in vitamin D–insufficient (3.7±0.2%; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]: 20 to 29 ng/mL; 62±1 years of age; n=31; mean± SE) and vitamin D–deficient (3.2±0.3%; 25(OH)D: <20 ng/mL; 63±2 years of age; n=22) versus vitamin D–sufficient (4.6±0.4%; 25(OH)D: >29 ng/mL; 61±1 years of age; n=22) subjects, whereas endothelium-independent dilation (brachial dilation to sublingual nitroglycerine) did not differ (P=0.45). Among all subjects, brachial flow-mediated dilation was positively related to serum 25(OH)D (%&Dgr;: r=0.35; P<0.01) but not 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (r=−0.06; P=0.61), the active form of vitamin D. Vascular endothelial cell expression of the proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor &kgr;B was greater in deficient versus sufficient subjects (0.59±0.07 versus 0.44±0.05; P<0.05), and inhibition of nuclear factor &kgr;B (4 days oral salsalate) improved flow-mediated dilation to a greater extent in subjects with lower versus higher 25(OH)D (+3.7±0.6 versus +2.0±0.2%; P<0.05). Endothelial cell expression of the downstream proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 also was higher in deficient versus sufficient subjects (0.67±0.08 versus 0.47±0.05; P<0.01) and inversely related to serum 25(OH)D level (r=−0.62; P<0.01), whereas vitamin D receptor and 1-&agr; hydroxylase, the 25(OH)D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D converting enzyme, were lower (P<0.05). Inadequate serum 25(OH)D is associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction among healthy middle-aged/older adults, and this is mediated in part by nuclear factor &kgr;B–related inflammation. Reduced vitamin D receptor and 1-&agr; hydroxylase may be molecular mechanisms linking vitamin D insufficiency to endothelial dysfunction.
SARS: clinical features and diagnosis

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly infectious disease with a significant morbidity and case fatality. The major clinical features include persistent fever, chills/rigor, myalgia, malaise, dry cough, headache and dyspnoea. Less common symptoms include sputum production, sore throat, coryza, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Older subjects may present with decrease in general well‐being, poor feeding, fall/fracture and delirium, without the typical febrile response. Common laboratory features include lymphopenia with depletion of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes, thrombocytopenia, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, elevated D‐Dimer, elevated alanine transminases, lactate dehydrogenase and creatinine kinase. The constellation of compatible clinical and laboratory findings, together with the rather characteristic radiological features especially on HRCT and the lack of clinical response to broad‐spectrum antibiotics, should quickly arouse suspicion of SARS.
Pulmonary Interleukin-23 Gene Delivery Increases Local T-Cell Immunity and Controls Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Lungs

ABSTRACT Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is a heterodimeric cytokine that shares IL-12 p40 but contains a unique p19 subunit similar to IL-12 p35. Previous studies indicate a greater importance for intact IL-12/23 p40 expression than IL-12 p35 for immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, suggesting a role for IL-23 in host defense. The effects of IL-23 on the outcome of pulmonary infection with M. tuberculosis have not been described. Here, we show that local delivery of replication-defective adenovirus vectors encoding IL-23 (AdIL-23) greatly stimulated expression of both gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and IL-17 in lung tissues of otherwise normal mice. When given 72 h prior to infection with M. tuberculosis, AdIL-23 significantly reduced the bacterial burden at 14, 21, and 28 days. Markedly lower levels of lung inflammation were observed at 28 days than in control mice pretreated with control adenovirus (AdNull) or vehicle controls. AdIL-23 pretreatment resulted in increased numbers of CD4+ CD25+ activated T cells in lungs and draining lymph nodes compared to control groups and more CD4+ T cells bearing surface memory markers in lung lymph nodes. IL-23 gene delivery also significantly enhanced host anti-mycobacterial T-cell responses, as shown by elevated levels of IFN-γ and IL-17 secreted in vitro following restimulation with M. tuberculosis purified protein derivative. Overall, our data show that transient IL-23 gene delivery in the lung is well tolerated, and they provide the initial demonstration that this factor controls mycobacterial growth while augmenting early pulmonary T-cell immunity.
Epidemiologic variability of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with different diagnostic criteria: Study of a UK population

Epidemiologic data on chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is limited, and previous studies have shown variable results. The frequencies of CIDP subtypes remain unknown. Variations due to use of different diagnostic criteria have not been studied. We examined the prevalence and incidence of CIDP in Leicestershire and Rutland, UK (population 963,600). Prevalence day was 1 May 2008. The prevalence of CIDP fulfilling the 2006 clinical and electrophysiologic European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society (EFNS/PNS) criteria was 4.77 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.49–6.37). Using the 1991 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) criteria, the prevalence was 1.97 per 100,000 in this population (95% CI 1.19–3.08). Lewis–Sumner syndrome was diagnosed in 15.2% of patients, and 23.9% had pure sensory onset. Over 40% required no immunotherapy, and 84.6% of those treated responded. More than 80% of the AAN criteria–negative but EFNS/PNS criteria–positive patients were responsive to treatment. Both sets of criteria were equally likely to identify patients who required therapy. The mean annual incidence rate over the 3 years preceding the prevalence day was 0.70 per 100,000/year using EFNS/PNS criteria (95% CI 0.43–1.08), and 0.35 per 100,000/year using AAN criteria (95% CI 0.17–0.64). We conclude that the AAN criteria may underestimate prevalence and incidence of the disease. The EFNS/PNS criteria provide higher diagnostic sensitivity and are of greater clinical relevance, and they also offer a useful breakdown of the epidemiologic data for CIDP subtypes. Muscle Nerve, 2008