Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stereotactic Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Recurrent High-Grade Gliomas.

BACKGROUND The value of maximal safe cytoreductive surgery in recurrent high-grade gliomas (HGGs) is gaining wider acceptance. However, patients may harbor recurrent tumors that may be difficult to access with open surgery. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is emerging as a technique for treating a variety of brain pathologies, including primary and metastatic tumors, radiation necrosis, and epilepsy. OBJECTIVE To review the role of LITT in the treatment of recurrent HGGs, for which current treatments have limited efficacy, and to discuss the possible role of LITT in the disruption of the blood-brain barrier to increase delivery of chemotherapy locoregionally. METHODS A MEDLINE search was performed to identify 17 articles potentially appropriate for review. Of these 17, 6 reported currently commercially available systems and as well as magnetic resonance thermometry to monitor the ablation and, thus, were thought to be most appropriate for this review. These studies were then reviewed for complications associated with LITT. Ablation volume, tumor coverage, and treatment times were also reviewed. RESULTS Sixty-four lesions in 63 patients with recurrent HGGs were treated with LITT. Frontal (n = 34), temporal (n = 14), and parietal (n = 16) were the most common locations. Permanent neurological deficits were seen in 7 patients (12%), vascular injuries occurred in 2 patients (3%), and wound infection was observed in 1 patient (2%). Ablation coverage of the lesions ranged from 78% to 100%. CONCLUSION Although experience using LITT for recurrent HGGs is growing, current evidence is insufficient to offer a recommendation about its role in the treatment paradigm for recurrent HGGs. ABBREVIATIONS BBB, blood-brain barrierFDA, US Food and Drug AdministrationGBM, glioblastoma multiformeHGG, high-grade gliomaLITT, laser interstitial thermal therapy.
Constitutive Expression of Growth-related Oncogene and Its Receptor in Oligodendrogliomas

OBJECTIVEGliomas may result from transformation of glial precursor cells. In the developing rat central nervous system (CNS), a paracrine pathway involving the cytokines growth-related oncogene (GRO1) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) A chain closely regulates oligodendrocyte precursor cell number. The purpose of the present study was to analyze whether abnormal expression and activity of the GRO1–PDGF pathway is present in human gliomas. METHODSTumor specimens were studied to compare the messenger ribonucleic acid with the protein expression of components of the GRO1–PDGF pathway. Neutralizing antibodies were used in vitro to analyze whether the pathway contributed to tumor cell proliferation. RESULTSImmunohistochemistry demonstrated that all components of the GRO1–PDGF pathway (GRO1 protein, its receptor CXCR2, PDGF A chain, and its receptor PDGF&agr;R) were expressed by tumor cells in 6 (86%) of 7 of oligodendrogliomas as well as by 0 of 4 diffuse astrocytomas (World Health Organization Grades II and III) and 2 (18%) of 11 glioblastomas. Analysis by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed CXCR2 messenger ribonucleic acid and GRO1 protein expression were present in oligodendrogliomas. Functional analyses with neutralizing antibodies limited bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in vitro by oligodendroglioma tumor cells, demonstrating a requirement for the GRO1–PDGF pathway in the proliferation of these cells. CONCLUSIONThe GRO1–PDGF pathway was primarily expressed and functional in oligodendrogliomas. The tightly controlled paracrine pathway that regulates oligodendrocyte precursor proliferation in the developing rodent CNS was constitutively active in most oligodendrogliomas in the present study. The presence of this aberrantly functioning oncogenic pathway in a subset of primary CNS tumors opens new avenues to glioma treatment that are based directly on the biology of the proliferative glial cell type, a novel strategy for primary CNS tumor therapy.
Bromelain Degrades Aβ1-42 Monomers and Soluble Aggregates: An In Vitro Study in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

BACKGROUND Therapeutic approaches targeting amyloid β42 (Aβ42) oligomers may represent a promising neuroprotective strategy for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE In this study we evaluated the ability of bromelain, a plant cysteine protease derived from pineapple stems, to interact with synthetic Aβ42 monomers and oligomers. We also examined the ability of bromelain to interfere in vitro with synthetic Aβ42 aggregates in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Alzheimer's disease as well as of control patients affected by other neurological diseases. METHOD Both synthetic monomers and aggregates of Aβ42 were incubated in CSF with varying concentrations of bromelain. The effects of digestion were evaluated by Western Blot analysis using the specific monoclonal antibody 4G8 to identify the patterns of residual content of Aβ42. We further used rat primary cortical culture neurons (CN) to examine the cytotoxic action of this natural compound. RESULTS We found that bromelain successfully degraded Aβ42 monomers and low and high molecular weight oligomers. Indeed, when bromelain preparations of 3 and 6 mU were added to the CSF, the residual amount of Aβ42 monomers and oligomers were significantly reduced when compared to the same standard Aβ42 preparations incubated in CSF without bromelain. Moreover, bromelain incubations of 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mU/ml were not toxic to CN, as compared to vehicle treated cells. CONCLUSION Overall, these results represent an important insight into the action of bromelain on Aβ42 oligomers, suggesting its potential use in the therapy of AD.
Optimization of attenuation estimation in reflection for in vivo human dermis characterization at 20 MHz

In vivo skin attenuation estimators must be applicable to backscattered radio frequency signals obtained in a pulse-echo configuration. This work compares three such estimators: short-time Fourier multinarrowband (MNB), short-time Fourier centroid shift (FC), and autoregressive centroid shift (ARC). All provide estimations of the attenuation slope (/spl beta/, dB.cm/sup -1/.MHz/sup -1/); MNB also provides an independent estimation of the mean attenuation level (IA, dB.cm/sup -1/). Practical approaches are proposed for data windowing, spectral variance characterization, and bandwidth selection. Then, based on simulated data, FC and ARC were selected as the best (compromise between bias and variance) attenuation slope estimators. The FC, ARC, and MNB were applied to in vivo human skin data acquired at 20 MHz to estimate /spl beta//sub FC/, /spl beta//sub ARC/, and IA/sub MNB/, respectively (without diffraction correction, between 11 and 27 MHz). Lateral heterogeneity had less effect and day-today reproducibility was smaller for IA than for /spl beta/. The IA and /spl beta//sub ARC/ were dependent on pressure applied to skin during acquisition and IA on room and skin-surface temperatures. Negative values of IA imply that IA and /spl beta/ may be influenced not only by skin's attenuation but also by structural heterogeneity across dermal depth. Even so, IA was correlated to subject age and IA, /spl beta//sub FC/, and /spl beta//sub ARC/ were dependent on subject gender. Thus, in vivo attenuation measurements reveal interesting variations with subject age and gender and thus appeared promising to detect skin structure modifications.
Evolution of the connection patterns of the cephalic lateral line canal system and its use to diagnose opsariichthyin cyprinid fishes (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)

Abstract The cephalic lateral line canal systems were compared among 12 species of the cyprinid tribe Opsariichthyini. All species were characterized by the separation of the supraorbital canal from both the infraorbital and the temporal canals, and the left side of the supratemporal canal from the right side of the canal. In species of Candidia, Opsariichthys, Parazacco, and Zacco, and Nipponocypris sieboldii the temporal canal was separated from the preoperculomandibular canal. In Nipponocypris temminckii and N. koreanus, the temporal canal was connected to the preoperculomandibular canal. Separation of the left and right sides of the supratemporal canal is a possible synapomorphy of the opsariichthyin cyprinids. Opsariichthys uncirostris and O. bidens are unique among the opsariichthyins in that the connection between the infraorbital and temporal canals is retarded. The variation in arrangement of the cephalic lateral line canal system can be used as diagnostic characters for the opsariichthyin species.
A sparse-matrix/canonical grid method for analyzing densely packed interconnects

Due to the continuous increase of the operating frequency, full-wave electromagnetic characterization of microstrip interconnects plays an important role in electronic packaging. To reduce the size of the package, microstrip interconnects may be densely packed together making the number of unknowns representing the currents large. It is a real challenge to model densely packed interconnects as we have to address both the issues of matrix fill-time and solution time in the moment method solution. We employ the fast Hankel transform (FHT) method to obtain an accurate numerical spatial-domain Green's function. This is followed by the matrix pencil (MP) method for the closed-form expression in terms of a sum of complex exponents. Taylor series expansions of these complex exponents are than incorporated into the sparse-matrix/canonical grid (SMCG) method for the analysis of densely packed microstrip interconnects. It is demonstrated that applying the FHT and MP procedure can greatly reduce the matrix fill-time while the fast SMCG method greatly reduce the matrix solution time. The efficiency of the method is further improved by implementing the algorithm on a parallel-computing platform.
HNF4&agr; and CDH1 are associated with ulcerative colitis in a Dutch cohort

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), consisting of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are complex disorders with multiple genes contributing to disease pathogenesis. A recent genome‐wide association scan identified three novel susceptibility loci for UC: HNF4&agr;, CDH1, and LAMB1. We performed an analysis of these three loci in an independent cohort. Methods: In all, 821 UC patients and 1260 healthy controls of central European Caucasian descent were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs6017342 (HNF4&agr;), rs1728785 (CDH1), and rs6949033 (LAMB1). Differences in allele and genotype distribution in cases and controls were tested for significance with the χ2 test. Results: Allelic association analysis showed that SNP rs6017342 in the HNF4&agr; locus was strongly associated with UC (P = 1,04 × 10−11, odds ratio [OR] = 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.37–1.77) and SNP rs1728785 (CDH1) was associated with P = 0.01 (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.05–1.44). SNP rs6949033 in LAMB1 was not associated in our cohort (P = 0.12, OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.97–1.26). We found an association for SNP rs6949033 (LAMB1) for disease limited to the rectum (P = 0.02). However, this association was lost after correcting for multiple testing. No further specific subphenotype associations were identified. Conclusions: This is the first independent study to replicate the HNF4&agr; and CDH1 loci as susceptibility loci for UC. The main candidate genes in these risk loci play important roles in the maintenance of the integrity of the epithelial barrier, highlighting the importance of the mucosal barrier function for UC pathogenesis. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010)
Short-term effects and adverse events of endoscopically applied radiofrequency ablation appear to be comparable with photodynamic therapy in hilar cholangiocarcinoma

Background and study aims Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a new endoscopic palliation therapy for malignant biliary obstruction. The aim of this study was to compare the short-term effects of biliary drainage and adverse events of this technique with the standard of endoscopical treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma, photodynamic therapy (PDT). Patients and methods We retrospectively and since December 2012 prospectively investigated the efficacy and adverse events of RFA in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma in two tertiary referral centers between November 2011 and January 2013. The approach of the study was prospective, but because of the large amount of retrospectively included patients, the design of the study is overall retrospective. A group of 20 patients treated with PDT between April 2005 and May 2011 served as a historical control. Results Fourteen patients received 31 biliary RFAs and 20 patients received 36 PDTs. Within the RFA group, a significant decrease (p = 0.046) of the bilirubin level was seen 14 days after the first RFA (3.3 ± 3.9 (mg/dl) versus 2.3 ± 2.6 (mg/dl)). In the PDT group no significant decrease (p = 0.67) of the bilirubin level was obtained (4.1 ± 6.9 (mg/dl) versus 3.5 ± 5.3 (mg/dl)). In the PDT group (13/20, 65%) a significantly higher number of premature stent replacements (<3 months) after the first intervention was noticed in comparison with the RFA group (four of 14, 29%) (p < 0.01). Between the first and fifth procedure, post-interventional adverse events tend to occur more frequently in patients with PDT (eight of 20, 40%) than with RFA (three of 14, 21%) (p = 0.277). Conclusions Looking at the short-term effects, we conclude that RFA may present a therapeutic alternative to PDT for palliative treatment of malignant biliary obstruction because of its simple feasibility and moderate adverse event rate. To provide a definitive evaluation of the long-term effects and of overall median survival, a controlled trial with PDT must follow.
User-oriented QoE-driven server selection for multimedia service provisioning in content distribution networks

Quality of Experience (QoE) support becomes more demanding due to the increasing popularity of multimedia services. However, QoE-based multimedia provisioning will impose a high pressure on server capacity and network bandwidth, which becomes one of the major concerns for both content providers and network operators. A common approach for efficient and scalable multimedia service provisioning in content distribution networks (CDN) is to replicate certain “hot” service or content from the original server to multiple replica servers, usually closer to end users. However, how to direct distributed user requests to an appropriate replica server to fundamentally improve the user perceived service quality largely remains unknown. In this paper, we present a user-oriented QoE-driven server selection scheme to solve the aforementioned problem. Experiments carried out on a real-world network have been performed to evaluate the proposed scheme, and the results show that the proposed scheme can improve QoE perceived by end users at least 24.6%.
Exopolysaccharide Production and Ropy Phenotype Are Determined by Two Gene Clusters in Putative Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11, a putative probiotic strain isolated from a soft, white, artisanal cheese, produces a high-molecular-weight heteropolysaccharide, exopolysaccharide (EPS)-CG11, responsible for the ropy phenotype and immunomodulatory activity of the strain. In this study, a 26.4-kb region originating from the pCG1 plasmid, previously shown to be responsible for the production of EPS-CG11 and a ropy phenotype, was cloned, sequenced, and functionally characterized. In this region 16 putative open reading frames (ORFs), encoding enzymes for the production of EPS-CG11, were organized in specific loci involved in the biosynthesis of the repeat unit, polymerization, export, regulation, and chain length determination. Interestingly, downstream of the eps gene cluster, a putative transposase gene was identified, followed by an additional rfb gene cluster containing the rfbACBD genes, the ones most probably responsible for dTDP-l-rhamnose biosynthesis. The functional analysis showed that the production of the high-molecular-weight fraction of EPS-CG11 was absent in two knockout mutants, one in the eps and the other in the rfb gene cluster, as confirmed by size exclusion chromatography analysis. Therefore, both eps and rfb genes clusters are prerequisites for the production of high-molecular-weight EPS-CG11 and for the ropy phenotype of strain L. paraplantarum BGCG11.
When science is not enough – a risk/benefit profile of thiomersal-containing vaccines

Without a preservative, such as thiomersal (known as thimerosal in the US), multi-dose liquid presentations of vaccine are vulnerable to bacteriological contamination that can result in death or serious illness of the recipient. Concerns about levels of mercury exposure from thiomersal-containing vaccines were first raised in the US during 1999 in the context of Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. Since then, a large body of evidence from animal and epidemiological studies has accumulated on the safety of thiomersal. Ironically, these data have become largely irrelevant in wealthy countries, where mono-dose, thiomersal-free vaccines have been introduced as a precautionary measure in almost all childhood vaccines, in part related to residual public scepticism. In poor countries, multi-dose vials remain important for vaccine delivery. There is a real danger that this controversy may result in the loss to the world of thiomersal as a preservative, simply from popular pressure. In reality, it would be impossible to cease overnight using thiomersal and maintain the supply of vital vaccines. This paper reviews and summarises the data available from published studies on mercury toxicity, and thiomersal in vaccines in particular, that overwhelmingly indicate continued use of thiomersal is safe in those countries where it is most needed.
Improved rotor position estimation employing voltage distortion compensation for sensorless PMSM drives at low speed

The PMSM is inherently electronically controlled and requires rotor position information for proper drives. However, the problems of the space, cost, and reliability of rotor position sensors have motivated research in the area of position sensorless PMSM drives. Numbers of rotor position sensorless control techniques have been proposed for PMSM drives, but most rely on the estimation of the rotor flux linkage vector. The performance of this method, however, is poor at low speed region due to the voltage distortions caused by the nonlinear behavior of a pulse width-modulation (PWM) voltage source inverter (VSI). In this paper, a new online voltage distortion compensation method is employed to overcome this problem. To prove effectiveness of the voltage distortion compensation method to the improvement of the rotor position estimation, the proposed method is applied to PMSM drive system and implemented in a digital manner using a digital signal processor.
New Insights into the Understanding of Hepatitis C Virus Entry and Cell-to-Cell Transmission by Using the Ionophore Monensin A

ABSTRACT In our study, we characterized the effect of monensin, an ionophore that is known to raise the intracellular pH, on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle. We showed that monensin inhibits HCV entry in a pangenotypic and dose-dependent manner. Monensin induces an alkalization of intracellular organelles, leading to an inhibition of the fusion step between viral and cellular membranes. Interestingly, we demonstrated that HCV cell-to-cell transmission is dependent on the vesicular pH. Using the selective pressure of monensin, we selected a monensin-resistant virus which has evolved to use a new entry route that is partially pH and clathrin independent. Characterization of this mutant led to the identification of two mutations in envelope proteins, the Y297H mutation in E1 and the I399T mutation in hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of E2, which confer resistance to monensin and thus allow HCV to use a pH-independent entry route. Interestingly, the I399T mutation introduces an N-glycosylation site within HVR1 and increases the density of virions and their sensitivity to neutralization with anti-apolipoprotein E (anti-ApoE) antibodies, suggesting that this mutation likely induces conformational changes in HVR1 that in turn modulate the association with ApoE. Strikingly, the I399T mutation dramatically reduces HCV cell-to-cell spread. In summary, we identified a mutation in HVR1 that overcomes the vesicular pH dependence, modifies the biophysical properties of particles, and drastically reduces cell-to-cell transmission, indicating that the regulation by HVR1 of particle association with ApoE might control the pH dependence of cell-free and cell-to-cell transmission. Thus, HVR1 and ApoE are critical regulators of HCV propagation. IMPORTANCE Although several cell surface proteins have been identified as entry factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV), the precise mechanisms regulating its transmission to hepatic cells are still unclear. In our study, we used monensin A, an ionophore that is known to raise the intracellular pH, and demonstrated that cell-free and cell-to-cell transmission pathways are both pH-dependent processes. We generated monensin-resistant viruses that displayed different entry routes and biophysical properties. Thanks to these mutants, we highlighted the importance of hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the E2 envelope protein for the association of particles with apolipoprotein E, which in turn might control the pH dependency of cell-free and cell-to-cell transmission.
Measuring perceived self-efficacy in occupational therapy.

OBJECTIVES Occupational therapists sometimes observe an alarming discrepancy between the occupational performance skills developed in the clinical setting and the degree to which the client willingly puts these skills to use outside the clinical environment. The literature strongly suggests that perceived self-efficacy partially explains this discrepancy; however, an understanding of perceived self-efficacy has not yet been integrated into the practice of occupational therapy. Both a lack of awareness of the construct and a lack of ability to assess perceived self-efficacy within the occupational performance domain are responsible for this lack of integration into practice. This article presents the development, reliability, and validity testing of a measure of perceived self-efficacy developed particularly for use by occupational therapists, the Self-Efficacy Gauge. METHOD Reliability and validity testing was performed through use of a mailed survey (n = 126). Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and alternate form reliability were examined. In addition, the subjects' scores on the Gauge were compared to actual performance and a hopelessness scale. RESULTS The Self-Efficacy Gauge has a reasonable degree of reliability when used on a clinical sample whose perceived self-efficacy for occupational performance activities is unlikely to change. The results also provide preliminary support for the validity of the instrument. CONCLUSION It is recognized that without a gold standard for comparison, validity testing will be an ongoing need.