Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Operative delivery rates following induction of labour for obstetric cholestasis

The aim of this study was to determine whether women induced for obstetric cholestasis (OC) have increased rates of operative delivery compared with women without OC who are induced. This retrospective case-control study included 64 women with OC (singleton pregnancies), who had labour induced compared with two control groups (matched for parity and gestational week at delivery). The majority of women were induced at 37 weeks. We found no significant increase in the rate of operative or assisted delivery in OC cases compared with either control group. Women with OC who are induced between 36 and 40 weeks gestation do not have increased rates of assisted or operative delivery compared with induced controls.
Heated intra-operative intraperitoneal oxaliplatin after complete resection of peritoneal carcinomatosis: pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution.

PURPOSE This article reports the pharmacokinetics (PK) of heated intra-operative intraperitoneal oxaliplatin and its tolerance profile. Oxaliplatin has demonstrated significant activity in advanced colorectal cancer, and this is the first publication concerning its intraperitoneal administration. METHODS Twenty consecutive patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) of either gastrointestinal or uniquely peritoneal origin underwent complete cytoreductive surgery followed by intra-operative intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia (IPCH) with increasing doses of oxaliplatin. We performed IPCH using an open procedure (skin pulled upwards), at an intraperitoneal temperature of 42-44 degrees C, with 2 l/m2 of 5% dextrose instillate in a closed circuit. The flow-rate was 2 l/min for 30 min. Patients received intravenous leucovorin (20 mg/m2) and 5-fluorouracil (400 mg/m2) just before the IPCH to maximize the effect of oxaliplatin. We treated at least three patients at each of the six intraperitoneal oxaliplatin dose levels (from 260 to 460 mg/m2) before progressing to the next. We analysed intraperitoneal, plasma and tissue samples with atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS The mean duration of the entire procedure was 8.4 +/- 2.7 h. Half the oxaliplatin dose was absorbed in 30 min at all dose levels. Area under the curve (AUC) and maximal plasma concentration (Cmax) increased with dose. At the highest dose level (460 mg/m2), peritoneal oxaliplatin concentration was 25-fold that in plasma. AUCs following intraperitoneal administration were consistently inferior to historical control AUCs after intravenous oxaliplatin (130 mg/m2). Intratumoral oxaliplatin penetration was high, similar to absorption at the peritoneal surface and 17.8-fold higher than that in non-bathed tissues. Increasing instillate volume to 2.5 l/m2 instead of 2 l/m2 dramatically decreased oxaliplatin concentration and absorption. There were no deaths, nor severe haematological, renal or neurological toxicity, but we observed two fistulas and three deep abscesses. CONCLUSIONS Heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy gives high peritoneal and tumour oxaliplatin concentrations with limited systemic absorption. We recommend an oxaliplatin dose of 460 mg/m2 in 2 l/m2 of 5% dextrose for intraperitoneal chemo-hyperthermia, at a temperature of 42-44 degrees C over 30 min. We may be able to improve these results by increasing the intraperitoneal perfusion duration or by modifying the instillate composition.
Muscle hypertrophy driven by myostatin blockade does not require stem/precursor-cell activity

Myostatin, a member of the TGF-β family, has been identified as a powerful inhibitor of muscle growth. Absence or blockade of myostatin induces massive skeletal muscle hypertrophy that is widely attributed to proliferation of the population of muscle fiber-associated satellite cells that have been identified as the principle source of new muscle tissue during growth and regeneration. Postnatal blockade of myostatin has been proposed as a basis for therapeutic strategies to combat muscle loss in genetic and acquired myopathies. But this approach, according to the accepted mechanism, would raise the threat of premature exhaustion of the pool of satellite cells and eventual failure of muscle regeneration. Here, we show that hypertrophy in the absence of myostatin involves little or no input from satellite cells. Hypertrophic fibers contain no more myonuclei or satellite cells and myostatin had no significant effect on satellite cell proliferation in vitro, while expression of myostatin receptors dropped to the limits of detectability in postnatal satellite cells. Moreover, hypertrophy of dystrophic muscle arising from myostatin blockade was achieved without any apparent enhancement of contribution of myonuclei from satellite cells. These findings contradict the accepted model of myostatin-based control of size of postnatal muscle and reorient fundamental investigations away from the mechanisms that control satellite cell proliferation and toward those that increase myonuclear domain, by modulating synthesis and turnover of structural muscle fiber proteins. It predicts too that any benefits of myostatin blockade in chronic myopathies are unlikely to impose any extra stress on the satellite cells.
Power factor improvement in WECS using cascade PI control of passive damping LCL-filter

This work proposes an algorithm for the elimination of switching ripples caused by the commutation of power semiconductors used in STATCOM. LCL-filter is a favorite solution to achieve this goal; however it reduces the stability of the system with the presence of resonance phenomena. Passive damping resistor can be inserted in series with capacity of LCL-filter to solve this problem. The LCL-filter is divided into three parts in order to reduce the interaction between filter components and the complexity of the control algorithm. Moreover, in order to improve the dynamic of the system, a cascade PI control is proposed. Different design steps are presented with damping resonance phenomena using a resistor connected in series with the capacitance. Our investigations show that the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of voltage and current injected into the grid tends to zero. That means, the passive damping LCL-filter attenuates the major part of current ripples compared with results obtained by using L-filter.
Epidural Morphine After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair: A Comparison with Patient‐Controlled Intravenous Morphine

To compare the management of postoperative pain using morphine administered by epidural catheter with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), we prospectively studied 47 consecutive cases involving repair of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. Both the quality of analgesia and the incidence of side effects were documented. Compared with patients receiving PCA morphine, patients given epidural morphine reported significantly lower pain scores both at rest (0.7 ± 1.1 versus 3.4 ± 2.1, P < 0.01) and with mobilization (3.2 ± 2.1 versus 6.1 ± 2.1, P < 0.01). Although patients receiving epidural morphine had a greater incidence of urinary retention, there were no significant differences in the incidence of nausea or pruritis. There was no respiratory depression in either group. We conclude that epidural morphine provides superior analgesia with a clinically inconsequential increase in side effects. Further, epidural morphine may have special advantages when early mobilization is indicated.
Activation of c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase and Apoptosis in Endothelial Cells Mediated by Endogenous Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract Reactive oxygen species have been implicated in the activation of signal transduction pathways. However, extracellular addition of oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) often requires concentrations that cannot be readily achieved under physiological conditions to activate biological responses such as apoptosis. Explanations for this discrepancy have included increased metabolism of H2O2 in the extracellular environment and compartmentalization within the cell. We have addressed this issue experimentally by examining the induction of apoptosis of endothelial cells induced by exogenous addition of H2O2 and by a redox cycling agent, 2,3-dimethoxy 1,4-naphthoquinone, that generates H2O2 in cells. Here we show that low nanomolar steadystate concentrations (0.1 0.5 nmolmin 1106 cells) of H2O2 generated intracellularly activate cJun N terminal kinase and initiate apoptosis in endothelial cells. A comparison with bolus hydrogen peroxide suggests that the low rate of intracellular formation of this reactive oxygen species results in a similar profile of activation for both cJun N terminal kinase and the initiation of apoptosis. However, a detailed analysis reveals important differences in both the duration and profile for activation of these signaling pathways.
Identification and analysis of transcriptional regulatory signals for the kil and kor loci of Streptomyces plasmid pIJ101

Four regulated promoters that direct the transcription of genes (i.e., korA, tra, kilB, and korB) involved in the transfer of the Streptomyces plasmid pIJ101 were isolated following the in vitro fusion of plasmid DNA fragments to a promoterless gene encoding the S. lividans extracellular enzyme beta-galactosidase. Introduction of pIJ101 into cells carrying each of these promoter-lac fusions resulted in decreased lac expression. The sites of initiation of transcription by the promoter sequences were identified by primer extension experiments, and the DNA sequences specifically required for promoter activity and regulation by pIJ101-encoded functions were determined by deletion analysis. The data obtained indicate that the korB locus encodes a repressor that regulates its own transcription, as well as transcription of the kilB promoter; korA and tra are transcribed from overlapping divergent promoters that are coregulated by the korA gene product. Common DNA sequence domains within coregulated promoters allowed the identification of putative binding sites for each of the kor gene products.
SLBP: An Improved Texture Feature for Pedestrian Detection

The algorithm of extracting pedestrian features based on Local Binary Pattern (LBP) has the problems of being unable to depict the human visual sensitivity. We proposed an Significant Local Binary Pattern (SLBP) which fused the characteristics of human visual pedestrian system. We extracted the significant factor based on Weber's law, and added the significant factor as a weight to the LBP eigenvalue and the statistical histogram is the SLBP feature. Experiments on the public INRIA dataset using AdaBoost classifier and the results shown that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the recognition rate of pedestrian detection.
On the decline and etiology of high‐incidence motor system disease in West Papua (southwest New Guinea)

The etiology of a high‐incidence focus of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism–dementia (ALS/P‐D) in south West Papua (Irian Jaya, Indonesia), first described in the 1960s and 1970s, has been attributed to mineral deficiencies, hyperparathyroidism, and metal neurotoxicity arising from reliance on drinking water obtained from springs and shallow wells. More recent visits (1987 and 1990) to the south West Papua focus of neurodegenerative disease cast doubt on this explanation by revealing changes in disease prevalence in communities with an unchanged water supply. These communities have experienced a dramatic decline in ALS and a reversal in the relative prevalence of ALS and parkinsonism. The extrapyramidal disorder can be distinguished from Parkinson disease by pyramidal features (and dementia) reminiscent of Guam P‐D. Topical use of cycad seed (termed kurru) gametophyte to treat large skin lesions is advanced as a plausible but unproven etiologic factor. Medicinal use of untreated cycad seed (Cycas sp.) has also been linked with ALS foci in Japan (oral use) and Guam (topical use), with the additional consumption on Guam of food items prepared from Cycas sp. seed or animals that consume cycad seed components. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society
Ultrastructural Variability in the Locomotor Cortex of the Ciliated Protozoa, Mytilophilus pacificae

ABSTRACT. Mytilophilus pacificae is an endocommensal ciliate found in the mantle cavity of the Pacific Coast mussel Mytilus californianus. In this paper we report our findings on pellicular organization of this species. Transmission and scanning electron microscope examination of the somatic cortex revealed that a number of different types of kinetids, i.e. monokinetids, dikinetids, and polykinetids are found in the locomotor cortex. The type and distribution of the kinetids are described. Surprisingly, the locomotor region was found to be highly variable among individuals with respect to its kinetid distribution; each cell appears to have its own characteristic kinetid pattern. Some cells have mostly monokinetids and dikinetids in their locomotor cortex, while others may have dikinetids and polykinetids but very few monokinetids. In contrast to the locomotor region, the thigmotactic field (a region specialized for attachment) is exclusively composed of dikinetids and shows no heterogeneity. The finding of ultrastructural variability in the locomotor cortex was unexpected since, in the view of the structural conservation hypothesis, the somatic cortex is seen as a “stable” element. These observations raise new questions with regard to cortical pattern formation in this organism.
Effects of electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) on inflammatory cytokines in a rat model of smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE Improvement in lung function was reported after acupuncture treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Because an immune response imbalance could be seen in COPD, we hypothesize that electroacupuncture (EA) may play a role in regulating inflammatory cytokines and contribute to lung protection in a rat model of smoke-induced COPD. METHODS A COPD model using male Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to cigarette smoke was established. The rats were randomly divided into four groups (control, sham, COPD, and COPD plus EA), and COPD model was evaluated by measuring pulmonary pathological changes and lung function. EA was applied to the acupuncture point Zusanli (ST36) for 30 min/d for 14 d in sham and COPD rats. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was used to measure levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and malonaldehyde (MDA). RESULTS Compared with the control rats, COPD rats had significant changes in lung resistance (RL) and lung compliance (CL) (both P<0.01), bronchi and bronchiole airway obstruction (P<0.01), and levels of MDA, TNF-α, and IL-1β (P<0.01). There were no significant differences between the control and the sham groups. Compared with the COPD rats, the COPD plus EA rats had decreased RL and increased CL (both P<0.05), and reduced bronchi and bronchiole airway obstruction (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively), while levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MDA in BALF were lowered (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). However, TNF-α and IL-1β levels of the EA group rats remained higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION EA at ST36 can reduce lung injury in a COPD rat model, and beneficial effects may be related to down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects may prolong the clinical benefit of EA.
Internet and Print Resources to Facilitate Pathology Analysis When Phenotyping Genetically Engineered Rodents

Genetically engineered mice and rats are increasingly used as models for exploring disease progression and mechanisms. The full spectrum of anatomic, biochemical, and functional changes that develop in novel, genetically engineered mouse and rat lines must be cataloged before predictions regarding the significance of the mutation may be extrapolated to diseases in other vertebrate species, including humans. A growing list of reference materials, including books, journal articles, and websites, has been produced in the last 2 decades to assist researchers in phenotyping newly engineered rodent lines. This compilation provides an extensive register of materials related to the pathology component of rodent phenotypic analysis. In this article, the authors annotate the resources they use most often, to allow for quick determination of their relevance to research projects.
Gsα overexpression and loss of Gsα imprinting in human somatotroph adenomas: Association with tumor size and response to pharmacologic treatment

Gsα, the α‐subunit of the heterotrimeric GTP‐binding protein, is coded from the GNAS gene, which is imprinted in a tissue‐specific manner. Gsα is paternally silenced in normal pituitary, but Gsα imprinting relaxation is found in some tumoral tissue. In addition, Gsα mRNA levels are high in some somatotroph adenomas not bearing the active Gsα mutant, the gsp oncogene. In this study, the impact of loss of imprinting on Gsα expression level and on tumoral phenotype has been investigated. We compared the expression and imprinting of 4 transcripts of GNAS locus (NESP55, XLαs, exon 1A, Gsα) of 60 somatotroph adenomas with those of 23 lactotroph adenomas. The paternal and maternal transcripts were quantified using allele‐specific real‐time PCR and FokI polymorphism. Moreover, the methylation of exon 1A DMR was analyzed. As is the case for the gsp oncogene, high Gsα expression in gsp‐ tumors was associated with smaller tumor size and better octreotide sensitivity. A strong imprinting relaxation (percentage of paternal Gsα expression ≥7.5%) was found only in gsp‐ tumors. The loss of Gsα imprinting was associated with a decrease in exon 1A mRNA expression. Unexpectedly, the methylation status of exon 1A DMR was not modified in relaxed tumors. Maternal Gsα mRNA level decreased with exon 1A level, and consequently the loss of Gsα imprinting did not induce the expected Gsα overexpression. Finally, XLαs mRNA level correlated with that of paternal Gsα and of NESP55 showing the complexity of gene regulation in the GNAS locus. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In vitro and in vivo expression of foreign genes by transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus-derived minigenomes.

A helper-dependent expression system based on transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) has been developed using a minigenome of 3.9 kb (M39). Expression of the reporter gene beta-glucuronidase (GUS) (2-8 microg per 10(6) cells) and the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV) ORF5 (1-2 microg per 10(6) cells) has been shown using a TGEV-derived minigenome. GUS expression levels increased about eightfold with the m.o. i. and were maintained for more than eight passages in cell culture. Nevertheless, instability of the GUS and ORF5 subgenomic mRNAs was observed from passages five and four, respectively. About a quarter of the cells in culture expressing the helper virus also produced the reporter gene as determined by studying GUS mRNA production by in situ hybridization or immunodetection to visualize the protein synthesized. Expression of GUS was detected in the lungs, but not in the gut, of swine immunized with the virus vector. Around a quarter of lung cells showing replication of the helper virus were also positive for the reporter gene. Interestingly, strong humoral immune responses to both GUS and PRRSV ORF5 were induced in swine with this virus vector. The large cloning capacity and the tissue specificity of the TGEV-derived minigenomes suggest that these virus vectors are very promising for vaccine development.
Onboarding for Pathology Residency Programs—The Montefiore Experience

Onboarding is a system frequently used in the corporate world as a means of orienting incoming employees to their duties and inculcating the workplace values. The program aims to facilitate transition into new work roles and improve employee retention rates. At Montefiore, we have instituted an onboarding curriculum that is given to new anatomic and clinical pathology residents about a month prior to the start of residency. The program includes an introductory video series of basic histology and a series of anatomic and clinical case studies illustrating basic laboratory principles. This didactic content is tagged to learning objectives and short self-assessment modules. In addition, content related to the work ethos at Montefiore and the role of the core competencies and milestones in residency education are included. Finally, a broader component of the onboarding gives the incoming residents a social welcome to our area, including key information about living in the area surrounding Montefiore. The program has been well received by our residents for whom the content has helped to boost confidence when starting. We feel that the program is helpful in ensuring that all incoming residents start having received the same baseline didactic content. Transmitting this didactic content via onboarding allows our residents to begin the work of learning pathology immediately, rather than spending the first weeks of residency covering remedial content such as basic histology. Such a program may be useful to other pathology residencies, most of whom have residents from a range of backgrounds and whose prior exposure to pathology may be limited.
Efficiently Mining Maximal Frequent Itemsets Based on Digraph

We present MFIMiner, a new algorithm for mining maximal frequent itemsets. The algorithm has a preprocessing phase in which a digraph is constructed. The digraph represents the set of the frequent 2-itemsets which is the key issue of the performance of the data mining. Then the search for maximal frequent itemsets is done in the digraph. Experiments show that the algorithm is efficient not only to dense data, but to sparse data.
Relationship between surgical oncologic outcomes and publically reported hospital quality and satisfaction measures.

BACKGROUND Hospital-level measures of patient satisfaction and quality are now reported publically by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. There are limited metrics specific to cancer patients. We examined whether publically reported hospital satisfaction and quality data were associated with surgical oncologic outcomes. METHODS The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was utilized to identify patients with solid tumors who underwent surgical resection in 2009 and 2010. The hospitals were linked to Hospital Compare, which collects data on patient satisfaction, perioperative quality, and 30-day mortality for medical conditions (pneumonia, myocardial infarction [MI], and congestive heart failure [CHF]). The risk-adjusted hospital-level rates of morbidity and mortality were calculated for each hospital and the means compared between the highest and lowest performing hospital quartiles and reported as absolute reduction in risk (ARR), the difference in risk of the outcome between the two groups. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS A total of 63197 patients treated at 448 hospitals were identified. For patients at high vs low performing hospitals based on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores, the ARR in perioperative morbidity was 3.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4% to 5.7%, P = .02). Similarly, the ARR for mortality based on the same measure was -0.4% (95% CI = -1.5% to 0.6%, P = .40). High performance on perioperative quality measures resulted in an ARR of 0% to 2.2% for perioperative morbidity (P > .05 for all). Similarly, there was no statistically significant association between hospital-level mortality rates for MI (ARR = 0.7%, 95% CI = -1.0% to 2.5%), heart failure (ARR = 1.0%, 95% CI = -0.6% to 2.7%), or pneumonia (ARR = 1.6%, 95% CI = -0.3% to 3.5%) and complications for oncologic surgery patients. CONCLUSION Currently available measures of patient satisfaction and quality are poor predictors of outcomes for cancer patients undergoing surgery. Specific metrics for long-term oncologic outcomes and quality are needed.