Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhaled salbutamol for wheezy infants: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Salbutamol is frequently used as a bronchodilator for infants who wheeze. Many single dose studies have questioned its effectiveness. AIMS To investigate the response of wheezy infants to salbutamol over an extended time period in order to elucidate either symptomatic relief or a protective effect. METHODS Eighty infants under 1 year, with persistent or recurrent wheeze and a personal or family history of atopy, were recruited to a randomised, double blind, cross over, placebo controlled trial. Salbutamol (200 μg three times daily) or placebo were administered regularly over two consecutive treatment periods of four weeks via a spacer and mask. Symptoms of wheeze and cough were recorded in a diary. At the end of the study pulmonary function tests were performed before and after salbutamol (400 μg). RESULTS Forty eight infants completed the diary study; 40 infants underwent pulmonary function testing. No difference in mean daily symptom score was observed between the salbutamol and placebo periods. There was no difference in the number of symptom free days. Compliance and forced expiratory flows remained unchanged and resistance increased following salbutamol. There was no relation between the response measured by symptom score or pulmonary function in individual patients. CONCLUSION In wheezy infants with an atopic background, there was no significant beneficial effect of salbutamol on either clinical symptoms or pulmonary function. Clinical effects could not be predicted from pulmonary function tests. Salbutamol cannot be recommended as the bronchodilator of choice in this age group.
Expression of PDGF and their receptors in human retinal pigment epithelial cells and fibroblasts: Regulation by TGF‐β

Platelet derived growth factors (PDGF) are known to be associated with vitreoretinal disorders such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). We have studied the expression of PDGF and their receptors in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (HRPE) and choroid fibroblasts (HCHF), and the regulation of PDGF and its receptors by various cytokines and growth factors. RT‐PCR analyses showed enhanced expression of PDGF‐A and PDGF‐B mRNA in HRPE treated with TGF‐β, but not with other cytokines. A minimal increase was observed in PDGF‐A mRNA in TGF‐β treated HCHF cells. PDGF‐Rα mRNA, which was expressed prominently in HCHF and at very low levels in HRPE, was not affected by any of the agents. PDGF‐Rβ was not detectable in either HRPE or HCHF. HRPE secreted PDGF‐AA and AB constitutively, and this secretion was significantly enhanced by TGF‐β. In contrast, HCHF cultures did not secrete detectable levels of any of the three isoforms of PDGF (AA, AB, BB). All three human recombinant PDGF isoforms enhanced HCHF cell proliferation significantly, while only a minimal increase was observed in HRPE. PDGF isoforms also induced HCHF cell elongation and promoted migration of HCHF in an in vitro wound assay. The results presented in this study demonstrate that TGF‐β activated RPE cells produce PDGF that may act on fibroblasts and other mesenchyme derived cells which express PDGF receptors. These studies indicate that the promotion of the proliferation and migration of mesenchymal cells by RPE cell derived PDGF may facilitate the formation of fibrovascular tissues associated with PVR. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Overexpression of NSUN2 by DNA hypomethylation is associated with metastatic progression in human breast cancer

NSUN2 is a RNA methyltransferase that has been shown to be implicated in development of human cancer. However, the functional role of NSUN2, mechanism of NSUN2 overexpression and its association with clinicopathologic features in breast cancer remain unclear. To investigate alterations in the expression and functional role of NSUN2 in breast cancer, NSUN2 expression was assessed in breast cancer cells and tissues obtained from cancers at different American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages, and its functions were investigated using breast cancer cells. NSUN2 expression was shown to be significantly higher in breast cancer cells and tissues than in normal breast epithelial cells and tissues, at both mRNA and protein levels. Overexpression of NSUN2 was shown to promote cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while NSUN2 knockdown inhibited these processes in vitro and in vivo. NSUN2 expression level was associated with the methylation level of its promoter. Our results demonstrated that the overall expression of NSUN2 significantly correlated with clinical stage (P=0.027), tumor classification (P=0.012), pathological differentiation (P=0.023), as well as with the expression levels of estrogen receptor (P<0.001), progesterone receptor (P=0.001), and Ki-67 (P<0.001). Our findings provide a unique insight into the roles and effects of NSUN2 overexpression in breast cancer cells, and highlight the necessity of the investigation of novel therapeutic targets, such as NSUN2, for the improvement of breast cancer treatments.
Flux and magnetized plasma compression driven by Shiva Star

The AFRL Shiva Star capacitor bank (1300 microfarads, up to 120 kilovolts) operated typically with 4 to 5 megajoules of electrically stored energy, with axial discharge currents of 10 to 15 megamps, and current rise times of approximately 10 microseconds, has been used to drive metal shell (solid liner) implosions in several geometries, including long cylindrical designs, which are suitable for compression of axial magnetic fields to multi-megagauss levels. Such imploding liners are also suitable for compressing magnetized plasmas to magneto-inertial fusion conditions. Magneto-Inertial Fusion (MIF) approaches take advantage of embedded magnetic field to improve plasma energy confinement by reducing thermal conduction relative to conventional inertial confinement fusion (ICF). MIF reduces required implosion speed and convergence ratio relative to ICF. AFRL, its contractors and collaborating institutions LANL, UNM, and UNR have developed one version of magnetized plasmas at pre-compression densities, temperatures, and magnetic fields that may be suitable for such compression. These are Field Reversed Configurations (FRCs). This effort reliably formed, translated, and captured FRCs in magnetic mirrors inside10 cm diameter, 30 cm long, mm thick metal shells or liners in preparation for subsequent compression by liner implosion; imploded a liner with an interior magnetic mirror field, obtaining evidence for compression of 1.36 T field to approximately 500 T; performed a full system experiment of FRC formation, translation, capture, and imploding liner compression operation; identified by comparison of 2D-MHD simulation and FRC capture experiments factors limiting the closed- field lifetime of FRCs to about half that required for good liner compression of FRCs to multi-keV, 1019 ion/cm3, high energy density plasma (HEDP) conditions; and designed and prepared hardware to increase that closed field FRC lifetime to the required amount. Those lifetime extension experiments have obtained imaging evidence of FRC rotation (which is a phenomenon that limits such closed field lifetimes), and of initial rotation control measures slowing and stopping such rotation. These and the results of subsequent closed field plasma lifetime and compression experiments and related simulations will be discussed.
Electrochemical Study of Some Charge-Transfer Complexes Involving Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline and Determination of Drugs

Spectrophotometric and electrochemical studies were successfully used in quantitative analysis of Amitriptyline Hydrochloride (ATH) and Nortriptyline Hydrochloride (NTH). Conductometric titration were carried out in equeous solution using iodide and dopamine and serotonine as titrant. Two new methods using spectrophotometry are dascribed for the determination of (ATH) and (NTH) with potassium bromate as the oxidizing agent and acid dyes, Methyl orange and Indigo carmine. Both spectrophotometric methods are based on the oxidation of mentioned drugs by a known excess of bromate in acid medium and in the presence of excess of bromide followed by estimation of surplus oxidant by reacting with either Indigo carmine (method A) or Methyl orange (method B) and measuring the absorbance at 609 or 507 nm.
Prevention of Puerperal Lactation by a Single Oral Administration of the New Prolactin-Inhibiting Drug, Cabergoline

To evaluate the efficacy of a single oral administration of the new ergot derivative Cabergoline in the prevention of postpartum lactation, we compared the effects of three different doses of the drug with those of placebo in 32 puerperal women. In a controlled, double-blind trial, the subjects were randomly allocated to four treatment groups receiving either placebo or 400, 600, or 800 ng Cabergoline (N=8 in each group) within 24 hours after delivery. Treatment efficacy was assessed clinically by physical examination before (day 0) and at one, two, three, four, and 14 days after treatment. Plasma prolactin (PRL) concentrations were measured in blood samples collected before and at one, two, three, and four days after treatment. Lactation was prevented in four of the eight subjects (50%) who received 400 μg Cabergoline and in all subjects who received 600 or 800 μg Cabergoline. By contrast, only one of the eight subjects (12.5%) receiving placebo showed no signs of spontaneous lactation within the 14 days after delivery. No effects of placebo administration on plasma PRL levels were observed. Plasma PRL concentrations were significantly reduced starting from one day after Cabergoline administration, however, and the amount of inhibition of PRL secretion induced by different doses of the drug was not statistically different. These preliminary data demonstrate that Cabergoline has a dose-related effect in the prevention of postpartum lactation, and milk secretion can be prevented completely by a single oral administration of 600 or 800 μg of the drug.
Factors underlying variation in spontaneous and clastogen‐induced sister chromatid exchanges and chromosome breakage frequencies

The latent “factors” influencing spontaneous and clastogen‐induced genetic damage, measured by rates of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and chromosome breakage (CB), were investigated in a small sample of 20 unrelated, healthy individuals. The covariation of spontaneous and clastogen‐induced (bleomycin [BLM], streptonigrin [SN], mitomycin‐C [MMC], 4‐nitroquinolinel‐oxide [4NQO]) SCEs and CBs was analyzed by maximum‐likelihood factor analysis. A single‐factor model resulted in large standardized regression coefficients of measured variables on the factor for spontaneous and BLM‐ and SN‐induced SCE frequencies, and a modest regression coefficient for MMC‐induced SCEs. A two‐factor model, after varimax rotation, yielded one factor strongly associated with spontaneous and BLM‐ and SN‐induced SCE frequencies, and a second factor associated with spontaneous and BLM‐ and SN‐induced CBs. A bootstrap analysis of this data set indicated the statistical significance of one regression coefficient (i.e., P ≤ 0.05) and borderline significance (0.07 ≤ P ≤ 0.11) of three other regression coefficients on the first factor, to be interpreted as an effector of SCE frequencies. However, for the second factor, none of the bootstrapped regression coefficients was significant (P ≤ 0.22). Due to the modest sample utilized in this study, the validity of this model should be further explored using additional, larger data sets.
Regulation of Hemin and Iron Transport in Porphyromonas Gingivalis

As with other pathogens, a requirement for the in vivo growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis is that the organism must be capable of obtaining iron from the host. The ability to utilize hemin and hemin-containing compounds for nutritional iron has been documented for several pathogenic bacteria, including P. gingivalis; however, the mechanisms involved in hemin uptake are poorly defined. I have determined that P. gingivalis transports the entire hemin moiety into the cell by an energy-dependent mechanism and that the binding and accumulation of hemin are induced by growth of cultures in the presence of hemin. A model of hemin transport in P. gingivalis consistent with these results is presented. I have also found that, in P. gingivalis, hemin regulates the expression of several putative virulence factors; this in turn results in the increased virulence potential of P. gingivalis as assessed in an animal model. Regulation of hemin-responsive genes in P. gingivalis may occur by a negative regulator, as has been described in other pathogenic organisms.
Cathepsin D Triggers Bax Activation, Resulting in Selective Apoptosis-inducing Factor (AIF) Relocation in T Lymphocytes Entering the Early Commitment Phase to Apoptosis*

Activated human T lymphocytes exposed to apoptotic stimuli targeting mitochondria (i.e. staurosporine), enter an early, caspase-independent phase of commitment to apoptosis characterized by cell shrinkage and peripheral chromatin condensation. We show that during this phase, AIF is selectively released from the intermembrane space of mitochondria, and that Bax undergo conformational change, relocation to mitochondria, and insertion into the outer mitochondrial membrane, in a Bid-independent manner. We analyzed the subcellular distribution of cathepsins (Cat) B, D, and L, in a search for caspase-independent factors responsible for Bax activation and AIF release. All were translocated from lysosomes to the cytosol, in correlation with limited destabilization of the lysosomes and release of lysosomal molecules in a size selective manner. However, only inhibition of Cat D activity by pepstatin A inhibited the early apoptotic events and delayed cell death, even in the presence of bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of vacuolar type H+-ATPase, which inhibits acidification in lysosomes. Small interfering RNA-mediated gene silencing was used to inactivate Cat D, Bax, and AIF gene expression. This allowed us to define a novel sequence of events in which Cat D triggers Bax activation, Bax induces the selective release of mitochondrial AIF, and the latter is responsible for the early apoptotic phenotype.
An investigation of the subjective experiences of sex after alcohol or drug intoxication

Despite long-standing concern over the sexual health of the population there has been little work undertaken in the UK investigating sexual risk taking and sexual behaviours in the context of substance use. To investigate this further, 270 non-drug treatment seeking members of the public aged between 18 and 66 were administered a questionnaire containing the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST), the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), the Sexual Risks Scale and Attitudes toward condom use (SRSA), the Sexual Sensation Seeking ScaLe (SSSS); the Hospital Anxiety and Depression ScaLe (HADS), and questions pertaining to sexual episodes proximal to substance use. The population reported a varied history of substances and despite there not being self-awareness of problematic drug use, 39.4% reported above the cut-off mark of six on the DAST. An even greater percentage (57.8%) reported a score above eight on the AUDIT indicating hazardous or harmful drinking behaviour. The substance most often associated with sexual episodes was alcohol, followed by cannabis and ecstasy, and all were most frequently consumed in private houses. Sexual activity after drug use was most frequently circumstantial (i.e. the individual hadn't taken the substance for the specific purposes of sex), and was significantly associated with use of cannabis and ecstasy. The second most frequently reported association between drug use and sex was facilitation of a sexual encounter (i.e. to lower sexual inhibitions, increase self esteem and confidence), which was associated with use of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy. Although it was not possibLe to identify differences in subjective sexual changes after use of particular drugs, subjects reported that compared to sex after alcohol, sex on other drugs was more pleasurable and satisfying, with a greater perception of interpersonal contact with the partner and a greater willingness to sexually experiment. However, this latter change was not associated with changes in the type of sexual activity engaged in. Regression analysis revealed that the greatest subjective changes in sexual experiences were reported by younger participants who had ingested either ecstasy or cannabis prior to the sexual episode. These results are discussed in the context of sexual risk taking and suggest areas of intervention focus which may address substance use and sexuaL risk taking together.
SCOTRES: Secure Routing for IoT and CPS

Wireless ad-hoc networks are becoming popular due to the emergence of the Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems (CPSs). Due to the open wireless medium, secure routing functionality becomes important. However, the current solutions focus on a constrain set of network vulnerabilities and do not provide protection against newer attacks. In this paper, we propose SCOTRES—a trust-based system for secure routing in ad-hoc networks which advances the intelligence of network entities by applying five novel metrics. The energy metric considers the resource consumption of each node, imposing similar amount of collaboration, and increasing the lifetime of the network. The topology metric is aware of the nodes’ positions and enhances load-balancing. The channel-health metric provides tolerance in periodic malfunctioning due to bad channel conditions and protects the network against jamming attacks. The reputation metric evaluates the cooperation of each participant for a specific network operation, detecting specialized attacks, while the trust metric estimates the overall compliance, safeguarding against combinatorial attacks. Theoretic analysis validates the security properties of the system. Performance and effectiveness are evaluated in the network simulator 2, integrating SCOTRES with the DSR routing protocol. Similar schemes are implemented using the same platform in order to provide a fair comparison. Moreover, SCOTRES is deployed on two typical embedded system platforms and applied on real CPSs for monitoring environmental parameters of a rural application on olive groves. As is evident from the above evaluations, the system provides the highest level of protection while retaining efficiency for real application deployments.
Microdistillation and Analysis of Volatiles from Eight Ornamental Salvia Taxa

Volatile compounds from seven Salvia species and one interspecific hybrid growing at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Texas, US. Salvia coccinea, S. farinacea, S. greggii, S. leucantha, S. longispicata x farinacea, S. madrensis, S. roemeriana and S. splendens were investigated for their chemical compositions using a microdistillation technique. Volatiles were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). One hundred and twenty seven compounds were identified representing 94.3-99.7% of the oils. The major components in each of the seven species were as follows: S. coccinea (Z)-3-hexenal (31%), viridiflorol (19%); S. farinacea 1-octen-3-ol (30%) and (Z)-3-hexenal (23%); S. greggii 1,8-cineole (22%), borneol (17%), camphene (11%) and α-pinene (10%); S. leucantha limonene (35%) and α-pinene (17%); S. longispicata x farinacea 1-octen-3-ol (50%) and (Z)-3-hexenal (24%); S. madrensis (Z)-3-hexenal (53%); S. roemeriana limonene (49%) and α-pinene (20%); and S. splendens (Z)-3-hexenal (36%), 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (19%) and linalool (11%). The microdistillation method was fast, practical and a useful technique that enabled the isolation of the volatiles in samples when only limited quantities were available.
Maritime Traffic Probabilistic Forecasting Based on Vessels’ Waterway Patterns and Motion Behaviors

Maritime traffic prediction is critical for ocean transportation safety management. In this paper, we propose a novel knowledge assisted methodology for maritime traffic forecasting based on a vessel’s waterway pattern and motion behavior. The vessel’s waterway pattern is extracted through a proposed lattice-based DBSCAN algorithm that significantly reduces the problem scale, and its motion behavior is quantitatively modeled for the first time using kernel density estimation. The proposed methodology facilitates the knowledge extraction, storage, and retrieval, allowing for seamless knowledge transfer to support maritime traffic forecasting. By incorporating both the vessel’s waterway pattern and motion behavior knowledge, our solution suggests a set of probable coordinates with the corresponding probability as the forecasting output. The proposed forecasting algorithm is capable of accurately predicting maritime traffic 5, 30, and 60 min ahead, while its computation can be efficiently completed in milliseconds for single vessel prediction. Owing to such a high computational efficiency, an extensive predictive analysis of hundreds of vessels has been reported for the first time in this paper. A web-based prototype platform is implemented for Singapore waters to demonstrate the solution’s feasibility in a real-world maritime operation system. The proposed approaches can be generalized for other marine waters around the world.
Studies of ANF processing and secretion using a primary cardiocyte culture model.

In contrast to most other endocrine peptides ANF is stored in the heart as part of a larger prohormone, often called pro-ANF, yet is found in the circulation as a 28 amino acid peptide, called ANF. It has been shown that the conversion of the 126 amino acid pro-ANF to ANF occurs in the heart. This paper summarizes studies from our laboratory that have used a primary neonatal rat heart cell culture system to investigate the location and mechanism of this relatively unusual processing event. We have found that in culture the maintenance of the cells in a glucocorticoid-containing serum-free medium is required to observe processing as occurs in vivo. The cells contain the prohormone while ANF accumulates in the medium. Various experiments with protease inhibitors, pulse-chase biosynthetic labeling, incubation of cells with ANF-related peptides, and enrichment of cultures for myocytes have resulted in our conclusion that the processing of pro-ANF takes place most likely within the cardiac myocyte just prior to, but in concert with secretion. We have expanded on the use of this processing-competent atrial myocyte culture system to investigate mechanisms of stimulated ANF secretion. It has been shown that the activation of several phospholipase C-coupled receptors (e.g., alpha 1-adrenergic and endothelin receptors) produces a robust release of ANF, but only in cultures that have been maintained under appropriate conditions. Further, it is apparent that the phenylephrine- or endothelin-mediated release of ANF depends in part on influx of extracellular calcium (Ca2+o), while the remaining component of stimulated release may depend on mobilization of intracellular calcium. It also appears that these agonists produce an initial phase of stimulated release, occurring within the first 5 min of agonist exposure, independent of Ca2+o, and a sustained phase that persists as long as the agonists remain on the cells, and depends on the presence of Ca2+o and thus calcium influx. Taken together our studies indicate that the hormonal environment may be an important factor directing the development of differentiated endocrine functions by atrial myocytes and may be involved in the regulation of ANF expression, biosynthesis, and secretion.