Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low‐density Lipoprotein Apheresis: An Overview

Abstract: Atherosclerosis with myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral cellular disease still maintains its position at the top of morbidity and mortality statistics in industrialized nations. Established risk factors widely accepted are smoking, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and central obesity. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. The prognosis of patients suffering from severe hyperlipidemia, sometimes combined with elevated lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) levels, and coronary heart disease (CHD) refractory to diet and lipid‐lowering drugs is poor. For such patients, regular treatment with low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis is the therapeutic option. Today, there are four different LDL apheresis systems available: immunoadsorption, heparin‐induced extracorporeal LDL/fibrinogen precipitation, dextran sulfate LDL adsorption and LDL hemoperfusion. Regarding the different LDL apheresis systems used, there is no significant difference with respect to the clinical outcome or concerning total cholesterol, LDL, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), or triglyceride concentrations. With respect to elevated Lp(a) levels, however, the immunoadsorption method seems to be the most effective. In 45 patients (25 women, 20 men) suffering from familial hypercholesterolemia resistant to diet and lipid lowering drugs, low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis was performed over 95.6 ± 44.7 months. Four different systems (Liposorber, 32 of 45, Kaneka, Osaka, Japan; Therasorb, 6 of 45, Baxter, Munich, Germany; Lipopak, 2 of 45, Pocard, Moscow, Russia; and Dali, 5 of 45, Fresenius, St. Wendel, Germany) were used. With all methods, average reductions of 57% for total cholesterol, 55.9% for LDL, 75.8% for lipoprotein (a) (Lp[a]), and 45.9% for triglycerides, and an average increase of 14.3% for HDL were reached. Severe side‐effects such as shock or allergic reactions were very rare (0.3%) in all methods. In the course of treatment, an improvement in general well‐being and increased performance were experienced by 44 of 45 patients. The present data demonstrate that treatment with LDL apheresis of patients suffering from familial hypercholesterolemia resistant to maximum conservative therapy is very effective and safe even in long‐term application.
Inter- and Intrapatient Variability of Facial Nerve Response Areas in the Floor of the Fourth Ventricle

BACKGROUND: Surgical exposure of intrinsic brainstem lesions through the floor of the 4th ventricle requires precise identification of facial nerve (CN VII) fibers to avoid damage. OBJECTIVE: To assess the shape, size, and variability of the area where the facial nerve can be stimulated electrophysiologically on the surface of the rhomboid fossa. METHODS: Over a period of 18 months, 20 patients were operated on for various brainstem and/or cerebellar lesions. Facial nerve fibers were stimulated to yield compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) in the target muscles. Using the sites of CMAP yield, a detailed functional map of the rhomboid fossa was constructed for each patient. RESULTS: Lesions resected included 14 gliomas, 5 cavernomas, and 1 epidermoid cyst. Of 40 response areas mapped, 19 reached the median sulcus. The distance from the obex to the caudal border of the response area ranged from 8 to 27 mm (median, 17 mm). The rostrocaudal length of the response area ranged from 2 to 15 mm (median, 5 mm). CONCLUSION: Facial nerve response areas showed large variability in size and position, even in patients with significant distance between the facial colliculus and underlying pathological lesion. Lesions located close to the facial colliculus markedly distorted the response area. This is the first documentation of variability in the CN VII response area in the rhomboid fossa. Knowledge of this remarkable variability may facilitate the assessment of safe entry zones to the brainstem and may contribute to improved outcome following neurosurgical interventions within this sensitive area of the brain.
Synthesis of several chemokines but few cytokines by primed uncommitted precursor CD4 T cells suggests that these cells recruit other immune cells without exerting direct effector functions

Antigen‐stimulated naive CD4 T cells may differentiate into effector T cells such as Th1 and Th2 cells, or may remain as proliferating but uncommitted, primed, precursor cells (Thpp cells) that can subsequently differentiate into Th1 or Th2 cells in appropriate cytokine environments. To examine potential Thpp effector functions, we compared the genes expressed by mouse Thpp, naive, Th1 and Th2 cells, using Affymetrix GeneChip and RNase Protection assays. Similar to naive CD4 T cells, Thpp cells expressed IL‐2 but not the cytokines characteristic of differentiated Th1 or Th2 cells, such as IFN‐γ, IL‐4, or IL‐5. However, Thpp, Th1 and Th2 cells, but not naive cells, expressed several CC chemokines including CCL1/TCA3, CCL5/RANTES, CCL3/MIP‐1α, CCL4/MIP‐1β, and CCL9/MIP‐1γ. Secretion of the corresponding proteins was confirmed by ELISA and Elispot. Consistent with this chemokine expression, supernatants of activated Thpp, Th1 and Th2 cells but not naive CD4T cells induced pertussis toxin‐sensitive chemotaxis of B and T cells. Supernatants of Thpp cells did not bias differentiation of naive CD4 T cells towards either Th1 or Th2 cells. The secretion of several chemokines, but few cytokines, by primed uncommitted Thpp cells suggests that their activation during an immune response may recruit effector cells without directly polarizing effector functions.
Hierarchical competition in a pond-breeding anuran larvae community in a Mediterranean area

The anuran larval guild is characterised by the co-occurrence of distinct species in the same pond at high densities during development with a high niche overlap. For these reasons anuran larvae have been studied widely as a model system for competition. Body size and activity level are considered the most important factors that influence the outcome of competition between tadpoles. As species from temporary ponds normally show higher activity levels in order to achieve rapid growth and thus escape from the risk of death due to desiccation of the habitat, these species are considered superior competitors. We will test whether body size or activity level determines competition ability among six species from a Mediterranean anuran community. With this objective we designed several laboratory experiments to examine the intraand interspecific effects on growth rate, mass at metamorphosis and survival to metamorphosis of the six species. An asymmetric and hierarchical relationship was found among the six species. Larger tadpole species were more successful in competitive interactions than the smaller ones. However, no relationship between activity level and competition effects was found. Species typically found in temporary ponds (Pelodytes punctatus and Bufo calamita) were considered poor competitors in comparison with others communities studied. Species with low competitive ability can persist by using refuges in which competition is reduced (e.g. drying ponds).
Cellulolytic activity in the rumen of lambs fed a high concentrate diet is not affected by the removal of protozoa

Removing protozoa from the rumen may increase animal productivity. However, it is also known that protozoa play an important role in fibre degradation in the rumen. The aim of this work was to study the cellulolytic activity and microbial numbers in the rumen of faunated and protozoa free animals fed a high concentrate diet. Ten crossbred lambs were used. They were taken from the ewes within the first 24 h after birth and kept isolated from adult animals and bottle fed during 6 weeks. Once weaned five of them were given orally 10 ml of rumen fluid collected from adult sheep rumen at the slaughter house (faunated group, F). The other five lambs were given 10 ml of rumen fluid that had been previously centrifuged at 1000 g for 10 min and then frozen and thawed (protozoa free group, PF). Both groups were fed a mix of concentrate supplement and grass hay (60:40) for 5 months. Methane emissions were measured individually over a 3 day period. After slaughter, samples from the rumen were collected to study cellulose degradation using the most-probable number procedure. The numbers of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Ruminoccus albus and total fungi were quantified by real time PCR using specific primers and DNA isolated from rumen samples (200 mg). PF lambs produced 26% less methane than F lambs. No differences in the cellulolytic numbers were observed between groups. Real time PCR showed no differences in F. succinogenes and other cellulolytic bacteria numbers between F and PF animals. Our results show that in animals fed high concentrate diets the removal of protozoa from the rumen does not seem to affect cellulolytic activity.
The Six-Helix Bundle of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Env Controls Pore Formation and Enlargement and Is Initiated at Residues Proximal to the Hairpin Turn

ABSTRACT Residues that create the grooves of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Env triple-stranded coiled coil (HR1) and the residues that pack into the grooves (HR2) to complete the formation of the six-helix bundle (6HB) were mutated. The extent and kinetics of fusion as well as pore enlargement were measured for each mutant. Mutations near the hairpin turns of each monomer of the 6HB were more important than those far from the turn, for both HR1 and HR2. This result is consistent with the idea that binding of HR2 to the HR1 grooves is initiated near the hairpin turn of each monomer. Mutations at the distal portions also reduced fusion, albeit to a smaller extent. An intermediate of fusion (temperature-arrested state [TAS]) was formed, and the consequences of mutation were compared; a mutant that exhibited less fusion also showed slower kinetics from TAS. This suggests that formation of the bundle is a rate-limiting step downstream of the intermediate state. The rate of enlargement of a fusion pore also correlated with the extent and kinetics of fusion. The rate of pore enlargement was severely reduced by mutation. This supports our prior conclusion that formation of the 6HB occurs after pore creation and strongly suggests that the free energy released by bundle formation is directly used to promote pore growth.
Knowledge, attitude and practice of epilepsy in Uttarakhand, India

Objectives: This study was conducted to find out knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of epilepsy among 12th-class students in Uttarakhand state. Secondly data of Uttarakhand was compared with KAP study from other parts of the country. Materials and Methods: All 12th-class students studying in six schools of randomly selected 36 villages in Chakrata block of Dehradun district of Uttarakhand state were provided a printed questionnaire having answer as “yes or no”. This questionnaire used was used previously by various authors and validated for KAP analysis. These filled questionnaires were collected by village health workers and medical officer. Results: This study conducted on 219, 12th-class students revealed that epilepsy was heard by 98%, 74.9% thought epilepsy a mental disease and 4.8% believed that it is contagious. Negative attitude showed as nearly 2/3rd students stated that epilepsy is hindrance in marriage and occupation. Nearly 41% would use onion or shoe for terminating seizure attack. Ayurvedic treatment was preferred over allopathic drugs. Conclusions: Study on 12th-class students of Uttarakhand revealed poor knowledge, attitude and practice for epilepsy and needs special education program to dispel these misconceptions.
Reduced telomere length in older men with premutation alleles of the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene

Reduced telomere length has recently been reported in T lymphocytes of individuals with trisomy 21 Down syndrome (DS) and dementia. Shorter telomeres also have been documented in dyskeratosis congenita, cell senescence, Alzheimer disease, and neoplastic transformation. These observations suggest that similar shortening may occur in people with fragile X‐associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), which frequently is accompanied by dementia. To test this hypothesis, telomere length has been quantified in T lymphocytes from older male carriers of premutation FMR1 alleles, with or without FXTAS, and FXTAS with dementia. Shorter telomeres (relative to age‐matched controls) were observed in 5/5 individuals with FXTAS and dementia, in 2/2 individuals with FXTAS without dementia, and in 3/3 individuals with the fragile X premutation only (P values ranged from <0.001 to <0.05; Student's t‐test), indicating that telomere shortening is associated with the premutation expansion of the FMR1 gene. The current study design allowed simultaneous comparisons among control, premutation, FXTAS, and FXTAS with dementia samples, and showed nearly equal degrees of shortening relative to controls among the three premutation sample groups. Thus, telomere shortening may serve as a biomarker for cellular dysregulation that may precede the development of the symptoms of FXTAS. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An Optimal Spot-electrodes Array for Electrical Impedance Cardiography Through Determination of Impedance Mapping of a Regional Area along the Medial Line on the Thorax

Electrical impedance or admittance cardiography is a simple method for non-invasive, continuous measurement the stroke volume and cardiac output. For the electrical impedance cardiography, the band-electrodes array proposed by Kubicek et al has been widely used, and various spot-electrodes array have been experimented in search of a less uncomfortable and equally reliable electrodes array that is easier to attach. From the uniformity of current distribution on the thorax, we have reinvestigated focusing on the measurement of contour maps of static and pulsatile components of a regional area along the medial line on the frontal part of the thorax. Consequently, the appropriate electrodes locations for current injection were determined as the back of an ear and on the lower abdomen, while those for voltage pick-up was on the medial portion at the level of clavicle and on the portion above the xiphisternum. Preliminary comparison experiments between the cardiac output values obtained by the electrical impedance cardiography and by a pulse dye-densitometry showed a fairy good agreement
Molecular Profiles of Pre- and Postoperative Breast Cancer Tumours Reveal Differentially Expressed Genes

Gene expression studies on breast cancer have generally been performed on tissue obtained at the time of surgery. In this study, we have compared the gene expression profiles in preoperative tissue (core needle biopsies) while tumor is still in its normal milieu to postoperative tissue from the same tumor obtained during surgery. Thirteen patients were included of which eleven had undergone sentinel node diagnosis procedure before operation. Microarray gene expression analysis was performed using total RNA from all the samples. Paired significance analysis of microarrays revealed 228 differently expressed genes, including several early response stress-related genes such as members of the fos and jun families as well as genes of which the expression has previously been associated with cancer. The expression profiles found in the analyses of breast cancer tissue must be evaluated with caution. Different profiles may simply be the result of differences in the surgical trauma and timing of when samples are taken and not necessarily associated with tumor biology.
A wearable inertial-sensing-based body sensor network for shoulder range of motion assessment

This paper presents a wearable inertial-sensing-based body sensor network (BSN) composed of two inertial modules that are placed on human upper limb for real-time human motion capture applications. Each inertial module consists of an ARM-based 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope, and a triaxial magnetometer. To estimate shoulder range of motion (ROM), the accelerations, angular velocities, and magnetic signals are collected and processed by a quaternion-based complementary nonlinear filter for minimizing the cumulative errors caused by the intrinsic noise/drift of the inertial sensors. The proposed BSN is a cost-effective tool and can be used anywhere without any external reference device for shoulder ROM. The sensor fusion algorithm can reduce orientation error effectively and thus can assess shoulder joint motions accurately.
Waterpipe Smoking Among Students in One US University: Predictors of an Intention to Quit

Abstract Objective: To examine the intention to quit waterpipe smoking among college students. Participants: A total of 276 University of Houston students identified through an online survey administered in February 2011. Participants indicated they had smoked a waterpipe in the month prior to the survey. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Questions included demographics, tobacco use, perceived risk of waterpipe smoking, and social acceptability. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of an intention to quit. Results: Most of the sample participants (n = 227; 83%) reported that they had no intention to quit. Students believing that waterpipe smoking was harmful were more likely to have an intention to quit (odd ratio [OR] = 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI; 1.05, 5.36]). Those who smoked for more than 60 minutes were less likely to have a desire to quit (OR = 0.29, 95% CI [0.12, 0.73]). Conclusions: The low level of a desire to quit demonstrated underscores the urgent need to develop interventions that educate users about expected harms of continued use.
[Load resistance of mandibular angle fracturs treated with a miniplate osteosynthesis].

AIMS The aim of this study was to evaluate the load resistance of mandibular angle fractures treated with a miniplate osteosynthesis according to Champy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We evaluated 22 completely dentate patients with fractures of the angle in addition to 15 controls. An electric test procedure for the determination of the load resistance between the incisors, canines and molars was carried out 1-6 weeks after treatment. RESULTS At 1 week postoperatively 90 N was registered between the molars while after 6 weeks this was 148 N. This revealed only 31% and 58% of the maximal vertical load found in the controls, respectively. CONCLUSION The minipate osteosynthesis according to Champy offers a secure method in the treatment of mandibular angle fractures with sufficient stability. Maximum voluntary bite forces were not registered during the time of healing.
The relationship between the metabolism of sphingomyelin species and the hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes induced by Clostridium perfringens α-toxins⃞ Published, JLR Papers in Press, February 8, 2008.

Clostridium perfringens α-toxin induces the hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes by activating the metabolism of sphingomyelin (SM) via a GTP binding protein in membranes. α-Toxin stimulated the formation of 15-N-nervonoyl sphingosine (C24:1-ceramide), which was identified by positive ion fast atom bombardment-MS and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. C24:1-ceramide stimulated the toxin-induced hemolysis of saponin-pretreated sheep erythrocytes and increased the production of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in the cells, but N-lignoceroyl sphingosine did not. These events elicited by the toxin in the presence of C24:1-ceramide were significantly attenuated by treatment with dihydrosphingosine, a sphingosine kinase inhibitor. TLC showed that the level of C24:1-ceramide was highest among the ceramides with an unsaturated bond in the fatty acyl chain in the detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs). The toxin specifically bound to DRMs rich in cholesterol, resulting in the hydrolysis of N-nervonoic sphingomyelin (C24:1-SM) in DRMs. Treatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (PT) inhibited the α-toxin-induced formation of C24:1-ceramide from C24:1-SM in DRMs and hemolysis, indicating that endogenous sphingomyelinase, which hydrolyzes C24:1-SM to C24:1-ceramide, is controlled by PT-sensitive GTP binding protein in membranes. These results show that the toxin-induced metabolism of C24:1-SM to S1P in DRMs plays an important role in the toxin-induced hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes.
Understanding acceptance of dedicated e-textbook applications for learning: involving Taiwanese university students

Purpose – The prevalence of information technology (IT) has been introducing new trends into learning modalities spurring dedicated e‐textbook applications for learning. However, there is only a limited understanding of what factors drive university students' attitudes/willingness to use the new devices for learning. Hence, this study attempts to investigate what factors drive university students to use dedicated e‐textbook applications for learning.Design/methodology/approach – By integrating previous theories such as the technology acceptance model (TAM), innovation diffusion theory (IDT), and convenience in the form of an integrated model, this study presents a causal model that explores the influence of technological, intrinsic, and extrinsic factors, i.e. convenience, compatibility, enjoyment, usefulness, on university students' attitudes towards using dedicated e‐textbook applications for learning.Findings – The results of this study suggest that perceived usefulness, convenience, compatibility, and.
On symport/antiport P systems with a small number of objects

We look at the computational power of symport/antiport system (SA) acceptors and generators with small numbers of membranes and objects. We show that even with a single object and only three membranes, a SA acceptor can accept the non-semilinear set L={2 n | n≥0}. L can also be accepted with two objects and only one membrane. This latter model can accept all unary semilinear (i.e. regular) sets. We also show that, for any k≥1, the class of sets of k-tuples of non-negative integers accepted by partially blind (multi-) counter machines is a subclass of the class of sets of k-tuples accepted by one-object multi-membrane SA acceptors. Similarly, the class of sets of k-tuples of non-negative integers generated by partially blind counter machines is a subclass of the class of sets of k-tuples generated by one-object multi-membrane SA generators. As a corollary, the unary semilinear sets are a proper subclass of the unary sets of numbers accepted by SA acceptors with one object and five membranes. Whether or not one-object multi-membrane SA acceptors (resp. generators) are universal remains an interesting open question. However, allowing the use of priority relations makes them universal.
Pulse design for reducing intercarrier interference in FBMC

OFDM is widely used as a solution for broadband communications with multicarrier signals, but has disadvantages when it is used on certain applications especially in multiuser environments, where each user is assigned a subset of the system subcarriers. Although some researchers first investigated FBMC and then OFDM, FBMC recently has been recognized by the scientific community. In this article, we analyze why FBMC exceeds OFDM in terms of intercarrier interference, this interference is influenced by the filter used in FBMC and OFDM. The advantage of the former over the later is that you can design the pulse shape filter to reduce the inter-user interference, which is a big problem when you have multiple users; therefore FBMC is a solution for reducing this interference to not affect significantly to the subcarriers.