Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strictureplasty in Selected Crohn’s Disease Patients Results in Acceptable Long-term Outcome

BACKGROUND:Strictureplasty is an alternative to resection in patients with Crohn’s disease. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of patients who have undergone strictureplasty. DESIGN:This is a retrospective cohort study. SETTING:This study was conducted at a tertiary referral center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. PATIENTS:All patients who had a strictureplasty of the small bowel between 1985 and 2010 were identified from a prospective database. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The main outcomes were short-term complications, need for further surgery, and surgery-free survival. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine factors affecting the need for further surgery. Quality of life was measured by use of the short version of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire. RESULTS:Ninety-four patients (42 women; age at first strictureplasty, 33.4 ± 9.7 years) underwent 119 operations (range per patient, 1–4). The number of strictureplasties was 278 (range, 1–11), including 9 in the duodenum and 269 in the jejunum-ileum. The most common type of procedure was the Heineke-Mickulicz (258, 92.8%). Median follow-up of the patients was 94 months (interquartile range, 27–165 months). The surgery-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 70.7% (95% CI 59.8, 81.7) and 26.6% (95% CI 13.6, 39.6). In multivariate analysis, only age at the time of first strictureplasty was associated with the need for further surgery. Fifty-seven (64.8%) patients returned the questionnaire. The average score was 5.2 ± 1.2 (range, 2.2–7.0) with no significant differences between patients with or without previous surgery (p = 0.22), with or without simultaneous resection (p = 0.71) or with or without further surgery (p = 0.11). LIMITATIONS:This study was limited by its sample size and retrospective design. CONCLUSIONS:Strictureplasty is a safe procedure with acceptable long-term outcomes. The risk of needing further surgery is high, which reflects the complexity of this disease. Younger age is associated with a higher risk of need for further surgery. However, most patients have a satisfactory quality of life.
Selective Inhibition of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase by an Antiviral Inhibitor, (R)-9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine*

(R)-9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine (PMPA) is an acyclic nucleoside phosphonate that has been shown to be effective in the treatment of AIDS although it has a shorter separation between the adenine and phosphorus than dideoxy-AMP and dAMP. By using pre-steady state kinetic methods, we examined the incorporation of the diphosphate of PMPA, 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine 5′-triphosphate (ddATP), and dATP catalyzed by wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase, an exonuclease-deficient T7 DNA polymerase (T7 exo−), and wild-type rat DNA polymerase β in order to evaluate the selectivity of PMPA as an antiviral inhibitor. With a DNA/DNA or DNA/RNA 22/43-mer duplex, the diphosphate of PMPA (PMPApp) is as effective as ddATP in reactions catalyzed by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase in that both analogs have similar substrate specificity constants (k p /K d ) which are only 5-fold lower than dATP. In contrast, PMPApp is a much weaker inhibitor of the reaction catalyzed by T7 exo−(with the DNA/DNA 22/43-mer duplex) in that PMPApp has a 5 × 10−4-fold lowerk p /K d than ddATP and dATP. The lower k p /K d of PMPApp is due to a 1000–2000-fold lower incorporation rate (k p ) and a 35–45-fold lower binding constant (K d ). Similarly, PMPApp is 800-fold less inhibitory toward polymerase β with the DNA/DNA 22/43-mer duplex, whereas in studies with a single nucleotide gapped DNA (22–20/43-mer) PMPApp is 13-fold less inhibitory than ddATP. Although parallel studies will need to be performed using appropriate human polymerases, these results begin to define the mechanistic basis for the reported lower toxicity of PMPA in the treatment of AIDS.
Millimeter-wave technology for medical applications

All living cells generate alternating electromagnetic fields. Cells communicate within our body in millimeter waves (mmWave), or frequencies centre at 42.2, 53.6, and 61.2 GHz. Unbalances in these waves are a basic cause for health problem. If an external low power (mW/cm2) mmWave source with right frequency is brought to right exposure site, it can stimulates and establish communicate with body cells and cell membranes. Harmonic and balanced resonance contact with the frequencies of the body can thus correct the unbalances in the organism. This non-thermal low-intensity electromagnetic energy treatment is millimeter-wave therapy (MWT), a new revolutionary method in health care. Scientifically it is based on quantum physics. Over 40 years of researches and clinic trials have been conducted, in particular in Russia. It has shown clear healing effect for cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, dermatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, wound healing, pain relief, and the reduction of toxic side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients, depression, etc. In order to use millimeter-wave as an effective medical treatment method, we must first explore the different nature of the millimeter-wave source and a variety of specific effects on organisms, and based on them, doing specific treatment research and design optimization of millimeter-wave instruments, including millimeter-wave source, instrument hardware platform and treatment methods (algorithms). In addition, in order to using it in family occasions, there is a need for miniaturized medical devices, and do low-power design, and thus making it portable and wearable. In this talk, the most recently early staege MWT study will be shared, including possible mechanism and mininature MWT solutions in this new R&D direction for the next integrated waves of biology, neurology and electromagnetics coming together.
Design and Evaluation of a Data-Driven Scenario Generation Framework for Game-Based Training

Generating suitable game scenarios that can cater for individual players has become an emerging challenge in procedural content generation. In this paper, we propose a data-driven scenario generation framework for game-based training. An evolutionary scenario generation process is designed with a fitness evaluation methodology that integrates the processes of AI player modeling, simulation and model training based on artificial neural networks. The fitness function for scenario evaluation can be automatically constructed based on the proposed methodology. To further enhance the evaluation of scenarios, we specifically study the impact of the timing of events in a scenario and propose a generic scenario representation model that characterizes individual scenario based on the types and timing of events in the scenario. We present an extensive evaluation of our framework by validating our AI player model, demonstrating the impact of timing of events in a scenario and comparing the effectiveness of our data-driven framework with our previous heuristic-based approach and a random baseline. The results show that it is necessary to consider the timing of events for scenario evaluation and the proposed framework works well in generating scenarios for game-based training.
A Hypoallergenic Vaccine Obtained by Tail-to-Head Restructuring of Timothy Grass Pollen Profilin, Phl p 12, for the Treatment of Cross-Sensitization to Profilin1

Profilins are highly cross-reactive allergens in pollens and plant food. In a paradigmatic approach, the cDNA coding for timothy grass pollen profilin, Phl p 12, was used as a template to develop a new strategy for engineering an allergy vaccine with low IgE reactivity. Non-IgE-reactive fragments of Phl p 12 were identified by synthetic peptide chemistry and restructured (rs) as a new molecule, Phl p 12-rs. It comprised the C terminus of Phl p 12 at its N terminus and the Phl p 12 N terminus at its C terminus. Phl p 12-rs was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Determination of secondary structure by circular dichroism indicated that the restructuring process had reduced the IgE-reactive α-helical contents of the protein but retained its β-sheet conformation. Phl p 12-rs exhibited reduced IgE binding capacity and allergenic activity but preserved T cell reactivity in allergic patients. IgG Abs induced by immunization of mice and rabbits with Phl p 12-rs cross-reacted with pollen and food-derived profilins. Recombinant Phl p 12-rs, rPhl p 12-rs, induced less reaginic IgE to the wild-type allergen than rPhl p 12. However, the rPhl p 12-rs-induced IgGs inhibited allergic patients’ IgE Ab binding to profilins to a similar degree as those induced by immunization with the wild type. Phl p 12-rs specific IgG inhibited profilin-induced basophil degranulation. In conclusion, a restructured recombinant vaccine was developed for the treatment of profilin-allergic patients. The strategy of tail-to-head reassembly of hypoallergenic allergen fragments within one molecule represents a generally applicable strategy for the generation of allergy vaccines.
The inhibitory activity of gallic acid against DNA methylation: application of gallic acid on epigenetic therapy of human cancers

Epigenome aberrations have been observed in tobacco-associated human malignancies. (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been proven to modulate gene expression by targeting DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) through a proposed mechanism involving the gallate moiety of EGCG. We show that gallic acid (GA) changes the methylome of lung cancer and pre-malignant oral cell lines and markedly reduces both nuclear and cytoplasmic DNMT1 and DNMT3B within 1 week. GA exhibits stronger cytotoxicity against the lung cancer cell line H1299 than EGCG. We found that GA reactivates the growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 45 (GADD45) signaling pathway may through the demethylation of CCNE2 and CCNB1 in H1299 cells. To improve the epigenetic anti-cancer activities of oolong tea, we identified a fungus, Aspergillus sojae which can efficiently increase the GA content in oolong tea via a 2-week fermentation process. The fungus dramatically increased GA up to 44.8 fold in the post-fermentation oolong tea extract (PFOTE), resulting in enhanced demethylation effects and a significant reduction in the nuclear abundances of DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B in lung cancer cell lines. PFOTE also showed stronger anti-proliferation activities than oolong tea extract (OTE) and increased sensitivity to cisplatin in H1299 cells. In summary, we demonstrate the potent inhibitory effects of GA on the activities of DNMTs and provide a strong scientific foundation for the use of specialized fermented oolong tea high in GA as an effective dietary intervention strategy for tobacco-associated cancers.
Impact of comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation on anxiety and depression in hospitalized COPD patients.

To prospectively evaluate the effect of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (iPR) on anxiety and depression as outcome measures in patients with COPD, we studied 149 consecutive adults COPD referred to our iPR after an exacerbation. Patients were divided according to the GOLD staging into: Group 1 (stage 2a, n = 48, FEV1 63 +/- 9% pred.), Group 2 (stage 2b, n = 53, FEV1 42 +/- 6% pred.) and Group 3 (stage 3, n = 48, FEV1 25 +/- 7% pred.). The iPR consisted of twelve 3-hours daily sessions. Hospital Anxiety Depression (HAD) Scale as well as 6-minute walk (6MWD) with evaluation of dyspnea (D) and leg fatigue (F) at rest and end of effort, and health related quality of life by means of St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the iPR. 6MWD, D and F at end of effort and SGRQ total score similarly improved (p < 0.001) in all groups after iPR. The mean level of HAD-anxiety (from 9.1 +/- 4.0 to 7.7 +/- 3.5, from 9.0 +/- 4.6 to 7.2 +/- 4.6 and from 8.1 +/- 4.1 to 6.7 +/- 4.3 in group 1,2 and 3 respectively) and HAD-depression (from 9.4 +/- 3.5 to 8.2 +/- 3.5, from 9.1 +/- 4.2 to 8.2 +/- 4.5 and from 9.0 +/- 4.0 to 7.4 +/- 4.5 respectively) similarly changed (p < 0.0001) over time in all groups. The total percentage of patients with abnormal score (> 10) of HAD-anxiety (from 31% to 21%) and HAD-depression (from 30% to 22%) significantly decreased (p < 0.05) after the iPR. Inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation may improve levels of anxiety and depression as well as symptoms, exercise capacity and health related quality of life in moderate to severe COPD patients after an acute exacerbation.
Absorbing Boundary Conditions for the Finite-Difference Approximation of the Time-Domain Electromagnetic-Field Equations

When time-domain electromagnetic-field equations are solved using finite-difference techniques in unbounded space, there must be a method limiting the domain in which the field is computed. This is achieved by truncating the mesh and using absorbing boundary conditions at its artificial boundaries to simulate the unbounded surroundings. This paper presents highly absorbing boundary conditions for electromagnetic-field equations that can be used for both two-and three-dimensional configurations. Numerical results are given that clearly exhibit the accuracy and limits of applicability of highly absorbing boundary conditions. A simplified, but equally accurate, absorbing condition is derived for two- dimensional time-domain electromagnetic-field problems.
Electron beam quality kQ,Q0 factors for various ionization chambers: a Monte Carlo investigation with penelope

In this work we calculate the beam quality correction factor kQ,Q0 ? > for various plane-parallel ionization chambers. A set of Monte Carlo calculations using the code penelope/penEasy have been carried out to calculate the overall correction factor fc,Q for eight electron beams corresponding to a Varian Clinac 2100 C/D, with nominal energies ranging between 6 MeV and 22 MeV, for a 60Co beam, that has been used as the reference quality Q0 and also for eight monoenergetic electron beams reproducing the quality index R50 of the Clinac beams. Two field sizes, 10 × 10 cm2 and 20 × 20 cm2 have been considered. The kQ,Q0 ? > factors have been calculated as the ratio between fc,Q and fc,Q0 ? >. Values for the Exradin A10, A11, A11TW, P11, P11TW, T11 and T11TW ionization chambers, manufactured by Standard Imaging, as well as for the NACP-02 have been obtained. The results found with the Clinac beams for the two field sizes analyzed show differences below 0.6%, even in the case of the higher energy electron beams. The kQ,Q0 ? > values obtained with the Clinac beams are 1% larger than those found with the monoenergetic beams for the higher energies, above 12 MeV. This difference can be ascribed to secondary photons produced in the linac head and the air path towards the phantom. Contrary to what was quoted in a previous work (Sempau et al 2004 Phys. Med. Biol. 49 4427–44), the beam quality correction factors obtained with the complete Clinac geometries and with the monoenergetic beams differ significantly for energies above 12 MeV. Material differences existing between chambers that have the same geometry produce non-negligible modifications in the value of these correction factors.
An efficient deinterlacing algorithm using Wiener filter and geometric duality

Nowadays the deinterlacing algorithm is using for converting the interlaced scan to progressive scan in HDTV system. The reason that the deinterlacing algorithm is necessity for this system is to prevent the serious distortion like flickering in fast motion. This paper presents an efficient deinterlacing algorithm that uses Wiener filter to detect the reliable direction of edge. With this algorithm the better image quality can be obtained in both subjective and objective way.
Insulin sensitivity and its measurement: structural commonalities among the methods.

Insulin is the principal hormone of metabolic regulation. Reduced responses to insulin constitute an underlying feature of type 2 diabetes. It is, therefore, incumbent on those who work in this area (as well as many others) to characterize this response, in as simple and consistent a way as possible, so that this measure can be used both in the investigational and clinical setting. This type of approach, although eminently useful, is necessarily an oversimplification. Not only does insulin sensitivity change in pathological situations, but also in normal physiology. Tissue-specific, metabolite-specific, as well as process-specific responses may be expected to occur. Variations also occur in time-depending on the physiological state of the individual (e.g. pregnancy, aging) or following diurnal rhythms. It is perhaps remarkable that any consistent assessment of overall insulin sensitivity can be made. The observation that this can often be achieved has led to hypotheses suggesting that sensitivity to insulin is primarily determined at a single site (tissue, metabolite). At the same time, there are many discussions about the inconsistencies inherent in different approaches to the measurement of this parameter, suggesting that some of these variants, metabolic or otherwise, could lead to the low correlation between methods sometimes seen. Nevertheless, most methods used in the assessment of insulin sensitivity examine the response to insulin of a single metabolite, glucose, primarily in the muscle and liver, and under fasting conditions and should, therefore, demonstrate insulin sensitivity that is comparable among methods.
Arterial wall MRI characteristics are associated with elevated serum markers of inflammation in humans

Inflammation contributes to atherosclerosis, but assessment in humans is largely restricted to measurement of markers in blood. We determined whether MRI properties of large arteries were associated with markers of inflammation in serum. Double inversion recovery, fast spin‐echo images of the common carotid arteries and infrarenal aorta were obtained at 1.5 T both before and after gadolinium‐DTPA (0.1 mmol/kg) in 52 subjects ≥40 years of age, 17 of whom had no risk factors for atherosclerosis and thus served as controls. Twenty‐two study participants had increases in wall thickness ( 14 ), T2‐weighted signal intensity ( 11 ), and/or contrast enhancement values ( 7 ) that were >2 standard deviations (SDs) from control group mean values. Ten subjects in this group had evidence of focal plaques in the carotids ( 5 ) and/or aorta ( 6 ). Compared with the remaining 30 subjects, these 22 had significantly higher levels of interleukin‐6 (3.53 ± 2.46 vs. 1.97 ± 1.37 pg/mL, P = 0.004), C‐reactive protein (0.56 ± 0.98 vs. 0.30 ± 0.52 mg/dL, P = 0.019), vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (572 ± 153 vs. 471 ± 130 ng/mL, P = 0.012), and intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (244 ± 80 vs. 202 ± 45 ng/mL, P = 0.015), and nonsignificant differences in levels of E‐selectin (46.1 ± 18.9 vs. 42.3 ± 11.3 ng/mL, P = 0.369). Thus, MRI characteristics of the aorta and carotid arteries were associated with elevated serum markers of inflammation, frequently in the absence of definite atheroma. MRI of large arteries may provide a new approach to investigate the contribution of inflammation to atherogenesis. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;14:698–704. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Twin Study of Chronic Fatigue

Objective The etiology of chronic fatigue syndrome is unknown, but genetic influences may be important in its expression. Our objective was to assess the role of genetic and environmental factors in unexplained chronic fatigue. Methods A classic twin study was conducted using 146 female-female twin pairs, of whom at least one member reported ≥6 months of fatigue. After completing questionnaires on symptoms, zygosity, physical health, and a psychiatric interview, twins were classified using three increasingly stringent definitions: 1) chronic fatigue for ≥6 months, 2) chronic fatigue not explained by exclusionary medical conditions, and 3) idiopathic chronic fatigue not explained by medical or psychiatric exclusionary criteria of the chronic fatigue syndrome case definition. Concordance rates in monozygotic and dizygotic twins were calculated for each fatigue definition along with estimates of the relative magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on chronic fatigue. Results The concordance rate was higher in monozygotic than dizygotic twins for each definition of chronic fatigue. For idiopathic chronic fatigue, the concordance rates were 55% in monozygotic and 19% in dizygotic twins (p = .042). The estimated heritability in liability was 19% (95% confidence interval = 0–56) for chronic fatigue ≥6 months, 30% (95% confidence interval = 0–81) for chronic fatigue not explained by medical conditions, and 51% (95% confidence interval = 7–96) for idiopathic chronic fatigue. Conclusions These results provide evidence supporting the familial aggregation of fatigue and suggest that genes may play a role in the etiology of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Sequence Requirements for Trafficking of the CRAM Transmembrane Protein to the Flagellar Pocket of African Trypanosomes

ABSTRACT CRAM is a cysteine-rich acidic transmembrane protein, highly expressed in the procyclic form of Trypanosoma brucei. Cell surface expression of CRAM is restricted to the flagellar pocket of trypanosomes, the only place where receptor mediated endocytosis takes place in the parasite. CRAM can function as a receptor and was hypothesized to be a lipoprotein receptor of trypanosomes. We study mechanisms involved in the presentation and routing of CRAM to the flagellar pocket of insect- and bloodstream-form trypanosomes. By deletional mutagenesis, we found that deleting up to four amino acids from the C terminus of CRAM did not affect the localization of CRAM at the flagellar pocket. Shortening the CRAM protein by 8 and 19 amino acids from the C terminus resulted in the distribution of the CRAM protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (the CRAM protein is no longer uniquely sequestered at the flagellar pocket). This result indicates that the truncation of the CRAM C terminus affected the transport efficiency of CRAM from the ER to the flagellar pocket. However, when CRAM was truncated between 29 and 40 amino acids from the C terminus, CRAM was not only distributed in the ER but also located to the flagellar pocket and spread to the cell surface and the flagellum. Replacing the CRAM transmembrane domain with the invariant surface glycoprotein 65-derived transmembrane region did not affect the flagellar pocket location of CRAM. These results indicate that the CRAM cytoplasmic extension may exhibit two functional domains: one domain near the C terminus is important for efficient export of CRAM from the ER, while the second domain is of importance for confining CRAM to the flagellar pocket membrane.
Gain enhancement of microstrip reflectarray incorporating a PBG structure

Reflectarray combines the features of the reflector and array and was first introduced in 1963. The microstrip reflectarray antenna is a planar antenna, printed on a dielectric substrate. It consists of thousands of microstrip elements specifically designed so that the scattered field from each of the elements yields a proper differential phase to achieve a focusing effect. Since the major part of the antenna is a flat structure with a low profile, the antenna can be mounted flush on a building and it is easy to fabricate and install. There are two key issues regarding the performance of microstrip reflectarrays. The first one is its narrow bandwidth and the second one is its efficiency. A novel approach for gain enhancement of microstrip reflectarrays is proposed. A 7/spl times/7 elements microstrip reflectarray with a PBG ground plane was designed and measured. It is found that by incorporating a PBG that consists of a periodic array of square perforations in the ground plane, the antenna gain can be improved by 2.8 dB than that without the PBG.