Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wnt5a Potentiates TGF-β Signaling to Promote Colonic Crypt Regeneration After Tissue Injury

Gut, Heal Thyself Foods, drugs, and pathogens all represent possible threats to our guts on a daily basis. Fortunately, the gut is quite good at repairing itself—but how? Working in mice, Miyoshi et al. (p. 108, published online 6 September; see the Perspective by Barrett) selectively injured intestinal crypts containing intestinal stem cells and observed therepair process. The noncanonical Wnt ligand, Wnt5a, was required for crypt regeneration. Wnt5a inhibited intestinal stem cell proliferation, which paradoxically promoted regeneration of crypt tissue. Repair of the intestinal epithelium requires both cell proliferation and replacement of crypt stem cells. Reestablishing homeostasis after tissue damage depends on the proper organization of stem cells and their progeny, though the repair mechanisms are unclear. The mammalian intestinal epithelium is well suited to approach this problem, as it is composed of well-delineated units called crypts of Lieberkühn. We found that Wnt5a, a noncanonical Wnt ligand, was required for crypt regeneration after injury in mice. Unlike controls, Wnt5a-deficient mice maintained an expanded population of proliferative epithelial cells in the wound. We used an in vitro system to enrich for intestinal epithelial stem cells to discover that Wnt5a inhibited proliferation of these cells. Surprisingly, the effects of Wnt5a were mediated by activation of transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) signaling. These findings suggest a Wnt5a-dependent mechanism for forming new crypt units to reestablish homeostasis.
The dual role of biomarkers for understanding basic principles and devising novel intervention strategies in tuberculosis

There is great need for better control measures for tuberculosis (TB). High‐throughput analyses, such as transcriptomic and metabolic profiling, offer a promising path toward clinically useful biosignatures. With the help of biomarkers, it will be possible not only to reliably perform diagnosis but also to gain a better understanding of the disease process and, in the future, even predict the onset of disease in infected individuals. Biomarkers based on transcriptomic and metabolic profiles as well as on cytokine composition provide important insights into the basic biological principles of TB and give an opportunity to reliably distinguish TB patients from healthy individuals. Use of biomarkers for point‐of‐care diagnosis, however, is still a distant goal, which to achieve will require extensive analysis of TB biosignatures across different cohorts and a combination of different platforms.
Effectiveness of a Pharmacist‐Led Drug Counseling on Enhancing Antihypertensive Adherence and Blood Pressure Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Adherence to antihypertensive medications represents a crucial success factor for optimal blood pressure (BP) control in clinical practice. This study evaluated whether an additional pharmacist‐led medication counseling could achieve better optimal BP control and enhance compliance. In a designated family clinic in a region with similar resident characteristics to Hong Kong, patients taking ≥ one antihypertensive agent with suboptimal compliance were randomly allocated to a brief 3‐minute drug advice (control; n = 161) or pharmacist counseling (intervention; n = 113). The two groups were compared by repeated measure ANOVA at 3‐months and 6‐months with BP control and medication compliance as outcome variables, respectively. The proportions of patients having optimal compliance increased from 0% to 41.1% at 3 months and 61.9% at 6 months (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients having optimal BP control improved from 64.1% at baseline to 74.0% at 3 months and 74.5% at 6 months (P = 0.023). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the changes of BP control and compliance levels. This study implied that even a brief 3‐minute drug advice might lead to improved BP levels among patients on antihypertensive medications in general practice, but did not demonstrate additional effects by pharmacist counseling.
A multi-fold string kernel for sequence classification

A novel framework is proposed to classify biological sequences using a kernel. It considers the topological information along with the primary structural information. The widely used string kernel for sequence classification does not take into account the structural information which might be available for biological sequences. The proposed kernels incorporate the additional structural information and thus make the features more informative.
Development of a wireless battery charger for Dacia Electron EV

Wireless charging of electric or hybrid vehicles is a modern technology based on power electronics with high prospects of extension both due to the advantages it offers against the plug-in charging and as an integral part of the technology for achieving autonomous vehicles, a highly topical issue. Although the theory of these wireless systems is well known, at practical achievement one should take into account the conditions of use, where at least two elements with variable character intervene: the battery charging state and the vehicle ground clearance. Because transferred powers between 3 and 20 kW are involved, the efficiency of this conversion is essential. In this paper there is described the wireless charger used for Dacia Electron EV achieved on the structure of a Dacia Sandero series vehicle.
The effect of aqueous cinnamon extract on the apoptotic process in acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells

Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is an acute leukemia diagnosed by translocation of chromosomes 15 and 17 [T (15,17)] and aggregation of neoplastic promyelocytes which are incapable of being converted into mature cells. Today, many tend to use medicinal herbs in studies and clinical applications for treatment of cancers. Cinnamon with scientific name "cinnamomumzelanicum" is a shrub of Laurales order, lauraceae family with cinnamomum genus. It is a medicinal shrub with anti-proliferation effect on tumor cells. This study was conducted to determine the effects of aqueous cinnamon extract on HL-60 cells as a model for APL. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, HL-60 cell line was cultured under the influence of cinnamon extract′s concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 2 mg/ml in with intervals of 24, 48, and 72 h. Growth inhibition and toxic effects of cinnamon extract were evaluated through tetrazolium salt reduction. The effect of this herb on the cell cycle was studied by flow cytometry. The Hoechst stain was used to detect apoptotic cell nuclei. Results: Cinnamon extract inhibited the growth of HL-60 cells as correlated with concentration and time. After 72 h of treating HL-60 cells with 0.01 mg/l cinnamon extract, the growth of cells was inhibited by 90.1%. Cinnamon extract stopped the cell cycle in G1 phase and the Hoechst staining verified the apoptotic process in those cells. Conclusion: Considering the inhibitory property of cinnamon extract, we recommend it as a single drug or besides other medications for treating promyelocytic leukemia.
Etiology and symptoms of severe hypokalemia in emergency department patients

Objectives To investigate the prevalence, etiology, and symptoms of severe hypokalemia in patients presenting to the emergency department. Methods In this retrospective, cross-sectional analysis, we included all patients who received measurement of serum potassium between April 2008 and 31 March 2011 at the emergency department to calculate the prevalence rate for hypokalemia. Of all patients with a serum potassium below 2.6 mmol/l (severe hypokalemia), we performed a detailed review of the patients’ charts from the emergency department and the chart of the subsequent hospitalization. We identified ECG changes attributable to hypokalemia from the ECGs performed in the emergency department. Results During the study period, measurements of serum potassium for a total of 43 805 patients were performed. Of these patients, 4826 (11%) had hypokalemia (potassium <3.5 mmol/l) at presentation. Fifty-three (1%) patients with severe hypokalemia could be identified. Twenty-six (49%) patients were symptomatic, with weakness and muscle pain being the most common symptoms. Twenty (69%) patients had ECG changes with the presence of a U wave, followed by ST segment depression and ventricular extrasystoles. Malnutrition and use of diuretics were the main causes of severe hypokalemia. Conclusion Hypokalemia is common in the emergency department. Severe hypokalemia is often symptomatic and more than two-thirds of patients show ECG changes.
A Signal Processing Pipeline for Noninvasive Imaging of Ventricular Preexcitation

Summary Objectives: Noninvasive imaging of the cardiac activation sequence in humans could guide interventional curative treatment of cardiac arrhythmias by catheter ablation. Highly automated signal processing tools are desirable for clinical acceptance. The developed signal processing pipeline reduces user interactions to a minimum, which eases the operation by the staff in the catheter laboratory and increases the reproducibility of the results. Methods: A previously described R-peak detector was modified for automatic detection of all possible targets (beats) using the information of all leads in the ECG map. A direct method was applied for signal classification. The algorithm was tuned for distinguishing beats with an adenosine induced AV-nodal block from baseline morphology in Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) patients. Furthermore, an automatic identification of the QRS-interval borders was implemented. Results: The software was tested with data from eight patients having overt ventricular preexcitation. The R-peak detector captured all QRS-complexes with no false positive detection. The automatic classification was verified by demonstrating adenosine-induced prolongation of ventricular activation with statistical significance (p <0.001) in all patients. This also demonstrates the performance of the automatic detection of QRS-interval borders. Furthermore, all ectopic or paced beats were automatically separated from sinus rhythm. Computed activation maps are shown for one patient localizing the accessory pathway with an accuracy of 1 cm. Conclusions: The implemented signal processing pipeline is a powerful tool for selecting target beats for noninvasive activation imaging in WPW patients. It robustly identifies and classifies beats. The small beat to beat variations in the automatic QRS-interval detection indicate accurate identification of the time window of interest.
Modeling Human Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-Associated Changes in Drug Transporter Expression Using Experimental Rodent Models

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a prevalent form of chronic liver disease that can progress to the more advanced stage of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH has been shown to alter drug transporter regulation and may have implications in the development of adverse drug reactions. Several experimental rodent models have been proposed for the study of NASH, but no single model fully recapitulates all aspects of the human disease. The purpose of the current study was to determine which experimental NASH model best reflects the known alterations in human drug transporter expression to enable more accurate drug disposition predictions in NASH. Both rat and mouse NASH models were used in this investigation and include the methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet model, atherogenic diet model, ob/ob and db/db mice, and fa/fa rats. Pathologic scoring evaluations demonstrated that MCD and atherogenic rats, as well as ob/ob and db/db mice, developed NASH. Liver mRNA and protein expression analyses of drug transporters showed that in general, efflux transporters were induced and uptake transporters were repressed in the rat MCD and the mouse ob/ob and db/db models. Lastly, concordance analyses suggest that both the mouse and rat MCD models as well as mouse ob/ob and db/db NASH models show the most similarity to human transporter mRNA and protein expression. These results suggest that the MCD rat and mouse model, as well as the ob/ob and db/db mouse models, may be useful for predicting altered disposition of drugs with similar kinetics across humans and rodents.
Adaptive Inverse Power Control Using an FxLMS Algorithm

In this paper, a novel adaptive inverse power control method that is based on the filtered-x LMS (FxLMS) algorithm is introduced. Inverse power control minimizes the interference that a cognitive radio creates to licensed users and allows more users to share the spectrum. It is also needed in multi-access systems like code division multiple access (CDMA) to alleviate the near-far problem. The proposed variable step algorithm adjusts the step size in a nearly optimal way. Based on numerical analysis this new method clearly improves system performance compared to the algorithm where the well-known fixed or variable step adjustment power control is used. A normalized version of the FxLMS algorithm is needed in a fading channel. In a slowly fading channel (e.g., normalized Doppler frequency of 0.001) the FxLMS power control can keep the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the desired level with a good accuracy most of the time. The standard deviation of the received SNR is 1.92 dB when the received SNR is kept at 10 dB. The results with almost all different SNR values are better than the other methods can achieve.
A Communitarian Ethical Model for Public Health Interventions: An Alternative to Individual Behavior Change Strategies

c HE problem of premature death, defined for the purposes of statistical comparison as death before the age of sixtym 2 g five, is one which presents a serious threat to Americans. I An analysis by Vaupel indicates, by comparison to other untries, how significant the problem is. The United States ranks twenty-sixth among all nations in survival rates to age sixty-five, behind Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, and Hong Kong (1). At the same time, Vaupel points out that the life expectancy for Americans at age sixty-five is just behind that of Sweden, which has the highest life expectancy in the world. This disparity makes the point clearly that the problem is truly one of premature death. Another way to state the problem dramatically, as Vaupel has done, is to indicate that the risk of premature death in the United States is 25%; one of four Americans dies before reaching age sixty-five (i). Presented in this way, early death becomes a problem equal to or greater in magnitude than any we as a society or as individuals face. However, one doesn't die of early death, but rather of a number of more definitive causes like heart disease, cancer, stroke, oraccidents-causes which admit a more precise analysis in terms of prevention. One striking similarity about most of the leading causes of death for all ages is the presence of behavioral risk factors. Individual behaviors, oftentimes everyday habits and choices, directly or indirectly contribute to the ultimate cause of death. These include diet, smoking, alcohol and other drugs, lack of exercise, driving behavior, etc. (2). In the past several years, these behavioral factors which contribute to chronic disease and premature death have been the focus of a call to redi-
Study of the localized surface plasmon resonance behaviors of Au nanorings with optical coherence tomography

Au nanoring solutions of ∼1300 nm in localized surface plasmon resonance wavelength are fabricated and characterized. Their functions of image contrast enhancement in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and photothermal effect are demonstrated. Also, they are delivered into mouse liver for tracking their diffusion in the sample through continuous OCT scanning.
Anxiety and depression in parents of sick neonates: a hospital-based study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression in parents of hospitalised neonates and to analyse their relationship with other factors such as stress and social support, to provide evidence for targeted clinical interventions. BACKGROUND The perinatal period, a special susceptibility to negative emotions, is a period that women and their spouses have to face. In this time, the fact that the neonates have to be hospitalised is no doubt a huge psychological stress to their parents. Little understanding of the hospitalisation environment, lacking awareness of neonatal diseases as well as concerns about the neonates' safety, can easily lead to negative emotions in parents. Under the influence of negative mood, parents could become irritable and vulnerable, which may do harm to their physical and mental health, impact family harmony and even result in ineffective communication with doctors, affecting the care of neonates. DESIGN This study applied a cross-sectional study design. METHODS The psychological status of 600 parents (400 fathers and 200 mothers) was assessed in the first week of the hospitalisation of neonates, using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depressive Scale, Social Support Rating Scale and Perceived Stress Scale. RESULTS The results of the cross-sectional survey showed that 20% of fathers and 24% of mothers had symptoms of anxiety, while 30.8% of fathers and 35% of mothers had depressive symptoms. The total scores for anxiety and depression in these parents were significantly higher than the normal population (p<0.01). The level of social support and perceived stress were the most important factors relating to parental anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION Parents of hospitalised neonates are more prone to suffer from negative emotions than normal population. Anxiety and depression are common emotions in these parents. However, the social support they receive is far from satisfactory, so timely and effective nursing interventions are essential. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Health professionals should understand the mental health of parents with hospitalised neonates and take measures to reduce their psychological pressure so as to improve their care of the neonates, and help to maintain the harmony and stability of families and the whole society.
Mobile Social Media Service Scenarios

Mobile social media services are in a technology selection stage with no clear dominant design. Experimentation is very common, and many service concepts are failing to find a valid business model. We have studied current mobile social media services and categorized them into four distinct scenarios. One of the scenarios does not have any current commercial services, which is seen as a most likely future dominant design. Predicted features in that scenario are composed based on the current state-of-the-art cases of other scenarios. Future technological development will enable more widespread use of social media services, which could be seen as substitutes for the legacy mobile services.
The natural history of radiographically occult bronchogenic squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective study of overdiagnosis bias.

OBJECTIVE An overdiagnosis bias occurs with the diagnosis of a disease that does not produce signs or symptoms before the patient dies from other causes. We sought to determine whether overdiagnosis bias is a factor when screening for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. DESIGN Retrospective study of the Miyagi Population-Based Lung Cancer Screening Registry for high-risk patients who were seen between January 1, 1982 (when sputum cytology tests were added for men with long smoking histories), and December 31, 1996. SETTING Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. PATIENTS A total of 251 patients (all men) who had sputum cytology test results that were positive for squamous cell carcinoma but had normal radiograph findings, 44 of whom declined cancer treatment (mean age, 70 years) and 207 of whom were treated with resection within 12 weeks of diagnosis (mean age, 65.5 year). END POINTS Five-year and 10-year survival rates from primary lung cancer in both groups as of August 15, 2001. RESULTS Among the 44 untreated patients, 15 (34%) remained asymptomatic. The survival rate due to primary lung cancer death in the untreated group was 53.2% at 5 years and 33.5% at 10 years. The survival rate among treated patients was 96.7% at 5 years and 94.9% at 10 years. Of the 125 treated patients who died, 14 (11.2%) died from primary lung cancer. CONCLUSION Given that the two thirds of the untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the bronchus died from lung cancer within 10 years, overdiagnosis bias does not appear to be a factor in screening for this disease. Thus, we recommend that patients with radiographically occult squamous cell carcinoma of the bronchus undergo tumor treatment after localization.
Human Lymphoid and Myeloid Cell Development in NOD/LtSz-scid IL2Rγnull Mice Engrafted with Mobilized Human Hemopoietic Stem Cells 12

Ethical considerations constrain the in vivo study of human hemopoietic stem cells (HSC). To overcome this limitation, small animal models of human HSC engraftment have been used. We report the development and characterization of a new genetic stock of IL-2R common γ-chain deficient NOD/LtSz-scid (NOD-scid IL2Rγnull) mice and document their ability to support human mobilized blood HSC engraftment and multilineage differentiation. NOD-scid IL2Rγnull mice are deficient in mature lymphocytes and NK cells, survive beyond 16 mo of age, and even after sublethal irradiation resist lymphoma development. Engraftment of NOD-scid IL2Rγnull mice with human HSC generate 6-fold higher percentages of human CD45+ cells in host bone marrow than with similarly treated NOD-scid mice. These human cells include B cells, NK cells, myeloid cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and HSC. Spleens from engrafted NOD-scid IL2Rγnull mice contain human Ig+ B cells and lower numbers of human CD3+ T cells. Coadministration of human Fc-IL7 fusion protein results in high percentages of human CD4+CD8+ thymocytes as well human CD4+CD8− and CD4−CD8+ peripheral blood and splenic T cells. De novo human T cell development in NOD-scid IL2Rγnull mice was validated by 1) high levels of TCR excision circles, 2) complex TCRβ repertoire diversity, and 3) proliferative responses to PHA and streptococcal superantigen, streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin. Thus, NOD-scid IL2Rγnull mice engrafted with human mobilized blood stem cells provide a new in vivo long-lived model of robust multilineage human HSC engraftment.
Transvaginal ultrasonic evaluation of lower uterine segment to predict integrity of caesarean scar during pregnancy and its correlation with obstetric outcome

Objective: To evaluate lower uterine segment thickness by transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) and its correlation with obstetrical outcome and to derive a critical cut off above which vaginal delivery is safe. Method: A prospective study included 140 antenatal women with history of previous caesarean with gestational age 37-40 weeks in study group and 100 antenatal women without history of any uterine surgery with same profile in control group. Lower uterine segment (LUS) was scanned using TVS. All the women were followed till delivery and further divided into two groups for mode of delivery. Statistical analysis was done by applying chi square test. Results: Overall vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) rate and VBAC success rate was observed as 48.57% and 65.38% respectively. The critical cut-off value for safe lower segment thickness derived from receiver operator characteristic curve was 2.5 mm. Conclusion: TVS measured thickness of lower uterine segment allows assessment of scar complications and thus safer management of patient. Key Words: Transvaginal ultrasonography, caesarean section, lower uterine segment, vaginal birth after caesarean