Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Induction of VEGF in perivascular cells defines a potential paracrine mechanism for endothelial cell survival

Small tumor vessels are composed of endothelial cells (ECs) surrounded by pericytes. Pericytes are believed to be an EC survival factor, but their mechanism of action is unknown. One possible mediator, VEGF, promotes angiogenesis, EC proliferation, and EC permeability, and it protects ECs from apoptosis. We hypothesized that PDGF (platelet‐derived growth factor)‐BB, a cytokine released from tumor and ECs, mediates pericyte function by inducing VEGF, which in turn may affect EC survival. Using two pericyte‐like cell lines, 10T1/2 cells (murine pericyte cell line) and human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs), we showed that PDGF‐BB increased VEGF mRNA transcription. Although PDGF‐BB activated both the mitogen‐activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3‐K) pathways, activation of the PI3‐K pathway was the most important pathway for VEGF induction. Conditioned medium derived from colon cancer cells also induced VEGF in pericyte‐like cells via the PI3‐K pathway, which was blocked by SU6668, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that blocks the receptors for PDGF, VEGF, and basic fibroblast growth factor. Conditioned medium from hVSMCs pretreated with PDGF‐BB prevented apoptosis of ECs, and this effect was partially abrogated by neutralizing antibodies to VEGF. These studies suggest that pericytes may protect ECs from apoptosis, in part, by cytokine signaling that increases VEGF.
Desarrollo de un prototipo de una ontología para la escuela de ingeniería informática de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

La aplicacion de ontologias unifica la terminologia de cada concepto y las relaciones entre los conceptos; y las ontologias de informacion unifican las estructuras de almacenamiento, de forma que pueden ser reutilizadas por varias aplicaciones informaticas con la misma fuente de informacion. Ahora la utilizacion de distintas ontologias para diferentes fines, es la clave para poder facilitar las problematicas que existen hoy en dia con la informacion y en particular el problema que existe en la Escuela de Ingenieria Informatica con los sistemas desarrollados por los alumnos para ayudar las labores de Docencia y que muy pocas veces son utilizados, una de las causas que se logran identificar es la falta de un modelo comun que permita la integracion e interoperabilidad a nivel semantico.La creacion de una ontologia en el dominio de la Escuela de Informatica se fundamentado en lanecesidad de establecer un lenguaje comun para compartir y recuperar los datos a partir de la descripcion de los conceptos y terminos que intervienen en los procesos de gestion de la Escuela. Su finalidad es que estos conceptos y terminos puedan ser entendidos por los distintos usuarios de la informacion.La ontologia se implemento en el lenguaje OWL con la utilizacion de la herramienta Protege parafacilitar la reutilizacion en el futuro y se utilizo el modelado de procesos de la Escuela para validar la ontologia.
Divergent roles of p120‐catenin isoforms linked to altered cell viability, proliferation, and invasiveness in carcinogen‐induced rat skin tumors

The heterocyclic amine 2‐amino‐1‐methyl‐6‐phenylimidazo[4,5‐b]pyridine (PhIP) targets multiple organs for tumorigenesis in the rat, including the colon and the skin. PhIP‐induced skin tumors were subjected to mutation screening, which identified genetic changes in Hras (7/40, 17.5%) and Tp53 (2/40, 5%), but not in Ctnnb1, a commonly mutated gene in PhIP‐induced colon tumors. Despite the absence of Ctnnb1 mutations, β‐catenin was overexpressed in nuclear and plasma membrane fractions from PhIP‐induced skin tumors, coinciding with loss of p120‐catenin from the plasma membrane, and the appearance of multiple p120‐catenin‐associated bands in the nuclear extracts. Real‐time RT‐PCR revealed that p120‐catenin isoforms 1 and 4 were upregulated in PhIP‐induced skin tumors, whereas p120‐catenin isoform 3 was expressed uniformly, compared with adjacent normal‐looking tissue. In human epidermoid carcinoma and colon cancer cells, transient transfection of p120‐catenin isoform 1A enhanced the viability and cell invasion index, whereas transient transfection of p120‐catenin isoform 4A increased cell viability and cell proliferation. Knockdown of p120‐catenin revealed a corresponding reduction in the expression of β‐catenin and a transcriptionally regulated target, Ccnd1/Cyclin D1. Co‐immunoprecipitation experiments identified associations of β‐catenin with p120‐catenin isoforms in PhIP‐induced skin tumors and human cancer cell lines. The results are discussed in the context of therapeutic strategies that might target different p120‐catenin isoforms, providing an avenue to circumvent constitutively active β‐catenin arising via distinct mechanisms in skin and colon cancer.
The links between team characteristics, transactive memory system, and team performance

A transactive memory system (TMS) is a mechanism that can explain how members of effective teams process information needed for solving problems, and how they apply what they know. Different from studies in the laboratory, the relationships between TMS and other team factors were examined with a sample of 41 teams from various industries in China. The results indicate that, TMS is significantly related to the routine level of task and expertise diversity of team members, but not so with the general diversity of members (demographic characteristics). In addition, TMS is positively related to team performance. The index rwg was used to test within group agreement, as providing a feasible resolution to multilevel problem in organizational studies.
Honoring One’s Word: CEO Integrity and Accruals Quality

We forward and validate using survey data a linguistically derived measure of CEO integrity by documenting a negative association between CEO use of causation words and employee perceptions of the extent to which their CEOs honor their word. Using causation words from annual shareholder letters, we then create CEO integrity scores for a large archival sample. Accounting accruals capture the CEOs word regarding firm cash flows, and we find that highintegrity CEOs report accruals that better map into cash flows. Given that poor accruals quality is costly, we also find boards rationally respond by increasing governance over low-integrity CEOs.
Fast orthostatic tremor in Parkinson's disease mimicking primary orthostatic tremor

Leg tremor during standing is a rare feature in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Tremor during standing usually has a low frequency (range, 4–6 Hz), similar to PD rest tremor frequency, and is improved by levodopa. We describe three cases of fast orthostatic tremor (FoT) of legs and trunk mimicking primary orthostatic tremor (OT) in patients treated with levodopa for PD. Asymmetrical akinetorigid syndrome was accompanied by a rest tremor in two cases. We obtained electrophysiological parameters by electromyographic (EMG) polygraphic recording after 16 hours withdrawal of antiparkinsonian treatment and at the maximal effect of levodopa in order to investigate the effect of dopaminergic stimulation upon such cases of orthostatic tremor in PD. Electrophysiological parameters of orthostatic tremor, especially frequency (range 14–18 Hz), were similar to that seen in POT. Severity of tremor was independent of seriousness and duration of PD. Levodopa had no effect either on the handicap due to OT or on the amplitude and frequency of the EMG OT activity. In contrast, mild improvement of OT was obtained with benzodiazepines in two cases and parkinsonian syndrome was levodopa‐sensitive. These findings suggest that FoT in PD would not be directly controlled by the dopaminergic system. However, increased rhythmicities in basal ganglia or in cerebello‐thalamic loops at the rapid frequencies range seen in PD could favor the emergence of a primary orthostatic tremor‐like tremor in PD patients. © 2001 Movement Disorder Society.
Prevalence of bladder dysfunction in Parkinsons disease

Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in Parkinsons disease (PD) is reported as 27%–39% based on validated questionnaires which do not consider the degree of bother. To estimate the prevalence of LUTS in patients with PD, the severity of symptoms, the volume of postmicturitional urine, and to estimate differences compared to non‐PD patients referred for urological evaluation.
A comparison of an adaptive full-order observer and a reduced-order observer for synchronous reluctance motor drives

Two back-EMF-based position observers are compared for motion-sensorless synchronous reluctance motor drives. The reduced-order observer is of the second order, and the adaptive full-order observer is of the fourth order. The proposed design rules guarantee the stability of the adaptive full-order observer, if the parameter estimates are accurate. The observers are experimentally evaluated using a 6.7-kW synchronous reluctance motor drive in low-speed operation and under parameter errors. The gain selection of the second-order observer is easier, but the adaptive full-order observer is more robust against parameter variations and spatial harmonics.
How a System for Reporting Medical Errors Can and Cannot Improve Patient Safety

The Institute of Medicine has recommended systems for reporting medical errors. This article discusses the necessary components of patient safety databases, steps for implementing patient safety reporting systems, what systems can do, what they cannot do, and motivations for physician participation. An ideal system captures adverse events, when care harms patients, and near misses, when errors occur without any harm. Near misses signal system weaknesses and, because harm did not occur, may provide insight into solutions. With an integrated system, medical errors can be linked to patient and team characteristics. Confidentiality and ease of use are important incentives in reporting. Confidentiality is preferred to anonymity to allow follow-up. Analysis and feedback are critical. Reporting systems need to be linked to organizational leaders who can act on the conclusions of reports. The use of statistics is limited by the absence of reliable numerators and denominators. Solutions should focus on changing the cultural environment. Patient safety reporting systems can help bring to light, monitor, and correct systems of care that produces medical errors. They are useful components of the patient safety and quality improvement initiatives of healthcare systems and they warrant involvement by physicians.
Emerging technologies for cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator restoration in all people with CF

Although effective cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapy has the potential to change the lives of many patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), it is unlikely that these drugs will be a game changing therapy for all. There are about 10% of patients with CF who don't produce a mutant protein tomodulate, potentiate, or optimize and for these patients such therapies are unlikely to be of significant benefit. There is a need to develop new therapeutic approaches that can work for this patient population and can advance CF therapies. These new therapies will be genetic‐based therapies and each approach will result in functional CFTR protein inpreviously affected CF cells. In this review we will examine the potential of RNA therapies, gene transfer therapies, and gene editing therapies for the treatment of CF as well as the challenges that will need to be facedas we harness the power of these emerging therapies towards a one‐time cure.
Age- and sex-associated trends in bloodstream infection: a population-based study in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

BACKGROUND Despite increasing concerns about antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens among blood culture isolates, contemporary population-based data on the age- and sex-specific incidence of bloodstream infections (BSIs) are limited. METHODS Retrospective, population-based, cohort study of all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, with a BSI between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2005. The medical record linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project and microbiology records were used to identify incident cases. RESULTS A total of 1051 unique patients with positive blood culture results were identified; 401 (38.2%) were classified as contaminated. Of 650 patients with cultures deemed clinically relevant, the mean +/- SD age was 63.1 +/- 23.1 years, and 52.5% were male. The most common organisms identified were Escherichia coli (in 163 patients with BSIs [25.1%]) and Staphylococcus aureus (in 108 patients with BSIs [16.6%]). Nosocomial BSIs were more common in males than females (23.8% vs 13.9%; P = .002). The age-adjusted incidence rate of BSI was 156 per 100 000 person-years for females and 237 per 100 000 person-years for males (P<.001), with an age- and sex-adjusted rate of 189 per 100 000 person-years. Rates of BSI due to gram-positive cocci were 64 per 100 000 person-years for females and 133 per 100 000 person-years for males (P<.001); gram-negative bacillus BSI rates (85/100 000 person-years for females and 79/100 000 person-years for males) were not significantly different between sexes (P = .79). The rate of S aureus BSI was 23 per 100 000 person-years for females and 46 per 100 000 person-years for males (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS There are significant differences in the age and sex distribution of organisms among patients with BSIs. The incidence of BSI increases sharply with increasing age and is significantly higher in males, mainly because of nosocomial organisms, including S aureus.
Adr1p-dependent regulation of the oleic acid-inducible yeast gene SPS19 encoding the peroxisomal beta-oxidation auxiliary enzyme 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase.

The role of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Adr1p was examined with respect to the transcriptional regulation of the SPS19 gene encoding the peroxisomal beta-oxidation auxiliary enzyme 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase. The SPS19 promoter contains both an oleate response element that binds the Pip2p-Oaf1p transcription factor as well as a canonical Adr1p-binding element, termed UAS1(SPS19). Northern analysis demonstrated that transcriptional up-regulation of SPS19 was abolished in cells devoid of Adr1p. Expression of an SPS19-lacZ reporter gene was shown to be quiescent in the adr1Delta mutant and abnormally elevated in cells containing multiple ADR1 copies. UAS1(SPS19) was able to compete for formation of a specific complex between recombinant Adr1p-LacZ and UAS1(CTA1) representing the corresponding Adr1p-binding element in the promoter of the catalase A gene, and to interact directly with this fusion protein. We conclude that in the presence of fatty acids in the medium transcription of SPS19 is directly regulated by both Pip2p-Oaf1p and Adr1p.
A Unique case of primary squamous carcinoma of the salpinx associated with serous carcinoma of the omentum: a pathological and molecular study.

In this article, we report a case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the salpinx (PSCCS) with immunohistochemical and molecular studies to evaluate the phenotype and define the etiopathogenesis of this neoplasm. A 77-year-old woman, 38 years postmenopausal, was admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for ascites. Her clinical history showed breast carcinoma and left salpingooophorectomy as a result of extrauterine pregnancy. Cytological examination of the free peritoneal fluid showed clusters of malignant cells consistent with ovarian carcinoma. Transvaginal ultrasonography and a pelvic computed tomography scan disclosed a right pelvic mass with solid and cystic areas, measuring 3.222. 3 cm. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy. Intraoperative findings showed a mass that had replaced the salpinx and enveloped the ovary and ureter. The surface of the omentum was covered in small white nodules. Pathological examination showed that the right pelvic mass corresponded to PSCCS, whereas the omental white nodules were primary serous carcinoma. On immunohistochemical analysis, the tubal neoplasm showed positivity to Ca-125, keratin 14, and p63 and negativity to WT1 and p16. The hyper-expression of the p53 protein was evident as nuclear positivity. Molecular study by polymerase chain reaction amplification of the tumor DNA did not show any signal for human papilloma virus DNA. In summary, in this case we showed that the PSCCS was not due to human papilloma virus infection, but in all probability due to other pathogenetic mechanisms that cause a mutation of the p53 tumor-suppressor gene.
Single-molecule investigations of the stringent response machinery in living bacterial cells

The RelA-mediated stringent response is at the heart of bacterial adaptation to starvation and stress, playing a major role in the bacterial cell cycle and virulence. RelA integrates several environmental cues and synthesizes the alarmone ppGpp, which globally reprograms transcription, translation, and replication. We have developed and implemented novel single-molecule tracking methodology to characterize the intracellular catalytic cycle of RelA. Our single-molecule experiments show that RelA is on the ribosome under nonstarved conditions and that the individual enzyme molecule stays off the ribosome for an extended period of time after activation. This suggests that the catalytically active part of the RelA cycle is performed off, rather than on, the ribosome, and that rebinding to the ribosome is not necessary to trigger each ppGpp synthesis event. Furthermore, we find fast activation of RelA in response to heat stress followed by RelA rapidly being reset to its inactive state, which makes the system sensitive to new environmental cues and hints at an underlying excitable response mechanism.
The Positive Research on Customer Equity Measurement for a Multi-brands Firm Based on Principal Components Analysis

This article first presents a conceptual model to explain how to calculate customer lifetime value and measure customer equity for a multi-brands firm using the brand-switching matrix. The change in the firm's customer equity is the change in its current and future customers' lifetime values, summed across all customers in the market. Each customer's lifetime value results from the frequency of category purchases, average quantity of purchase, and brand-switching patterns combined with the firm's contribution margin. Also we extend the return on marketing model, breaking the assumption that the firm has only one brand (product), and considering the impacts of reputation publicizing and cross-purchase. To demonstrate how the approach can be implemented in a specific firm, using Principal Components Analysis, we take a positive study to customer equity measurement by using data from a daily chemical manufacture firm Q offering three sets of brands (products) under the Chinese circumstance, validating the feasibility and reliability of the extended model
Morphologic studies of human subcutaneous adipose tissue in vitro

A simple method for in vitro studies of human subcutaneous adipose tissue is described. Explants of adipose tissue have been maintained in vitro for 30 weeks in Parker medium 199. The morphology of cultured explants compared well with that of freshly excised specimens. In the absence of serum there was no outgrowth of fibroblast‐like cells. When human serum was added to the medium at concentrations exceeding 5% there was a proliferation of fibroblast‐like cells. This cell proliferation could still be obtained when serum was added after two weeks of culture in a serum free medium. The adipose cells were isolated with collagenase and the cell size determined. Explants with an initial mean cell size larger than about 95 μ showed a significant decrease in cell size during the incubation. This could not be attributed to a traumatic effect. Metabolic differences between large and small adipose cells was suggested as a possible reason.
Spatial color indexing using ACC algorithm

This paper presents a fast and robust color indexing techniques, namely auto color correlation (ACC) based on a color correlogram (CC), for extracting and indexing low-level features of images. The proposed technique can reduce computational time of color correlogram technique from O(m2d) to O(md). Additionally, an extended technique of ACC based on the autocorrelogram, namely Auto Color Correlogram and Correlation (ACCC) is proposed. It is the integration of Autocorrelogram and Auto Color Correlation techniques that the computational time of ACCC is still O(md). The experimental result show that the ACCC algorithm has the bester efficiency than the AC algorithms for retrieving images. Moreover, the proposed method consumes less processing time than the CC algorithm so that the proposed method is applicable in practice for real-time processing.
The use of tissue microarrays for semiquantitative evaluation of ATPaseC1 expression is ineffective

Abstract We described earlier the possible role of ATPaseC1 expression as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for oral cancer; others have reported its use for tumors of the lung and breast. We assessed ATPaseC1 expression in a sample of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using tissue microarrays (TMAs) to analyze the relation between ATPaseC1 expression and clinical, histopathological and prognostic parameters. We performed a retrospective study of 48 cases of OSCC. We constructed TMAs using two different regions of each tumor. V-ATPaseC1 immunohistochemistry was performed and assessed semiquantitatively. ATPaseC1 staining was observed in most of the neoplastic cells in all tumors. Staining was diffusely cytoplasmic and, to a lesser extent, nuclear. The degree of concordance between the measurements performed in tissue microarray 1 (TMA1) and tissue microarray 2 (TMA2), as evaluated using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), was low. We found great variability in the immunohistochemical staining of the different regions of each tumor. We found 16 cases with mild expression (33.3%), 20 with moderate expression (41.7%) and 12 with intense expression (25%). Differences in the clinical-pathological variables studied were not statistically significant. The difficulty of immunohistochemical evaluation, the heterogeneity of the carcinomas and the fact that evaluation of expression requires semiquantitative analysis render the reliability of the results obtained from TMA-based techniques questionable.