Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A modified technique of rat tail suspension for longer periods of observation.

BACKGROUND Rat tail suspension is an accepted method to create experimental osteopenia. However, suspension periods longer than 3 wk may cause tail skin sloughing or rat slippage. The hypothesis was that a traction system with skeletal anchorage through one tail vertebra would prolong the suspension time without significant complications. METHODS There were 80 young adult female Wistar rats that were submitted to one of the following interventions: skeletal tail suspension (N = 20), skin tail suspension (N = 20), no intervention (N = 20), and a baseline control (N = 20). All animals were followed up either for 3 (N = 10) or 6 (N = 10) wk. Animals were assessed for clinical signs of stress and tolerance to suspension. The femur evaluation was in terms of mineral density content, mechanical resistance, and histomorphometry. RESULTS/DISCUSSION All animals reached the 3-wk end point. However, for the 6-wk period, seven animals suspended by the skin traction method were discarded (70%) because of signs of stress and skin sloughing. In contrast, there was one loss in the skeletal suspension group (10%). All suspended animals developed similar osteopenia at 3 wk characterized by decreased bone mineral content, weakened bone resistance, and loss of femoral mass. At 6 wk, all suspended animals had similar osteopenic parameters, but they were not statistically different from those of the rats in the 3-wk groups. Therefore, suspension longer than 3 wk did not increase the bone deterioration in the femur.
Changes in Self-Concept While Using SSRI Antidepressants

In this study, the authors analyze how younger women see themselves within the context of using the antidepressants selective seroton in re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Twelve in-depth interviews and 6 reinterviews were conducted with a community-based sample of women who had been taking SSRIs between 1 and 4 years. The empirical analysis revealed that SSRI users passed through stages in their careers as medicine users, these stages corresponding to how the users thought and felt about themselves. Four major changes in self-concept emerged: distressed and needing help, conflicts about taking the medicine, improvements in condition, and problems discontinuing the medicine. Users evaluated themselves from what they believed was the perspective of society, and the way they saw themselves was closely related to how they felt they functioned in everyday life.
Induction or prevention of immunopathological disease by cloned cytotoxic T cell lines specific for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Cloned lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines were prepared from spleens of 129/J (H‐2b) mice immunized 7‐9 months earlier with LCMV (UBC strain), or of C57BL/10J (H‐2b) mice immunized 4 to 5 weeks earlier with LCMV (Armstrong strain). One uncloned and 3 cloned cytotoxic T cell lines were assessed for their respective abilities to produce, or protect against, fatal disease upon transfer to appropriate recipients or to induce specific footpadswelling reaction. The effects of all lines were essentially identical. In recipient mice acutely infected with LCMV and immunosuppressed either by irradiation (750‐990 rds) or treatment with cyclophosphamide, cloned T cells administered intracerebrally (i.c.) caused a convulsive disease and death within 1‐4 days. No disease was produced when the same CTL were transferred to uninfected recipients or when they had been frozen and thawed prior to transfer to infected recipients. When admixed with 500 plaque‐forming units of LCMV and transferred i.c. to immunocompetent H‐2b mice, the T cell clones prevented overt disease. Allogeneic (H‐2k) recipients of this same admixture all developed typical LCM disease as did H‐2b recipients of the admixture after T cells had been frozen and thawed. Inoculation of cloned CTL into preinfected footpads induced a specific footpad‐swelling reaction, which reached maximum levels after about 36 h. Irradiated and infected recipients of cloned LCMV‐specific T cells showed the footpad‐swelling reaction only when they had been reconstituted with bone marrow cells. In contrast, cloned T cells induced LCM disease in i.c. infected and irradiated mice independent of bone marrow reconstitution. These findings indicate that both fatal LCMV‐induced neurologic disease and protection against it are mediated directly by virus‐specific CTL.
Validation of a Chinese version of the short form of the pelvic organ prolapse/urinary incontinence sexual questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in women with pelvic organ prolapse and/or urinary incontinence. An instrument is needed to assess sexual function in urogynecologic patients who speak Chinese. AIM To evaluate the reliability and validity of a Chinese translation of the short form of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) in urogynecologic patients in Taiwan. METHODS After a pilot study showing good test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Chinese PISQ-12, 120 urogynecological patients and 63 normal women were recruited. All participants underwent the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system and urodynamic assessment. They each completed the Chinese PISQ-12 and the short form of Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES PISQ-12, POP-Q system and IIQ-7 scores were compared between the urogynecologic patients and normal controls. RESULTS The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Chinese PISQ-12 total score (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.939, Cronbach's alpha = 0.892, respectively) and of each of its three domains were excellent. The mean total PISQ-12 score and mean scores in each domain indicated significantly worse sexual dysfunction in the urogynecologic group as compared with the control group were correlated with the severity of prolapse and distress caused by incontinence. CONCLUSION This Chinese translation of the PISQ-12 is a reliable, consistent and valid instrument to evaluate sexual function in Taiwanese women with pelvic organ prolapse and/or urinary incontinence.
Alpha‐1‐antitrypsin stimulates fibroblast proliferation and procollagen production and activates classical MAP kinase signalling pathways

Connective tissue formation at sites of tissue repair is regulated by matrix protein synthesis and degradation, which in turn is controlled by the balance between proteases and antiproteases. Recent evidence has suggested that antiproteases may also exert direct effects on cell function, including influencing cell migration and proliferation. The antiprotease, α1‐antitrypsin, is the major circulating serine protease inhibitor which protects tissues from neutrophil elastase attack. Its deficiency is associated with the destruction of connective tissue in the lung and the development of emphysema, whereas accumulation of mutant α1‐antitrypsin within hepatocytes often leads to liver fibrosis. In this study, we report that α1‐antitrypsin, at physiologically relevant concentrations, promotes fibroblast proliferation, with maximal stimulatory effects of 118 ± 2% (n = 6, P < 0.02) above media controls for cells exposed to 60 μM. We further show that α1‐antitrypsin also stimulates fibroblast procollagen production, independently of its effects on cell proliferation, with values maximally increased by 34 ± 3% (n = 6, P < 0.01) above media controls at 30 μM. Finally, mechanistic studies to examine the mechanism by which α1‐antitrypsin acts, showed that α1‐antitrypsin induced the rapid activation of p42MAPK and p44MAPK (also known as ERK1/2) and that the specific MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 totally blocked α1‐antitrypsin's mitogenic effects. These results support the hypothesis that α1‐antitrypsin may play a role in influencing tissue repair in vivo by directly stimulating fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix production via classical mitogen‐activated signalling pathways. J. Cell. Physiol. 186:73–81, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Changes in lung‐cancer mortality trends in Spain

Several changes in smoking patterns over the past decades in Spain can be expected to result in a shift in lung‐cancer mortality rates. We examined time trends in lung‐cancer mortality from 1973–1997 using a log‐linear Poisson age‐period‐cohort model. The standardized lung‐cancer mortality rate for men almost doubled, from 31.4 per 100,000 in 1973 to 58.6 in 1997, with an average annual increase of 2.7%. Mortality increased for male generations born until 1952 as a consequence of the increasing cigarette smoking in successive birth cohorts. However, the slight downward trend observed for the 2 youngest generations suggests a more favorable outcome of the lung‐cancer epidemic among Spanish males in the coming years, if this trend continues. For women, mortality rates were 5 to 9 times lower than those for men, 6.3 per 100,000 in 1973 and 6.4 in 1997. However, the increasing mortality among younger generations born since 1942 reflects the rise in the prevalence of smoking women during the last decades and can be expected to spread to older age groups as a cohort effect, indicating the early phase of the smoking‐related lung‐cancer epidemic among Spanish females. The decreasing mortality trend observed in women until the late 1980s could be attributed to a lower exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home as a result of a significant reduction in the prevalence of smoking men. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Intraperitoneal anaesthesia with propofol, medetomidine and fentanyl in mice

Fast recoveries are essential when looking for a safe anaesthetic protocol to use on mice. Propofol is a short-acting anaesthetic agent, which provides a smooth, fast recovery. A recent study carried out in our laboratory showed that the intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of propofol combined with a fast-acting opioid does not provide a sufficiently stable anaesthesia. In this experiment, we hypothesized that the additional application of medetomidine would increase muscle relaxation and analgesia. Fifty-four male CD1 mice, divided into six groups of five and three groups of eight, were used to test nine different combinations of propofol, medetomidine and fentanyl administered i.p. and reversed with atipamezole 30 min after induction. These combinations were composed in the following manner: propofol 75 mg/kg, medetomidine 1 and 2 mg/kg and fentanyl 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 mg/kg. The depth of anaesthesia, loss of righting reflex, loss of pedal withdrawal reflex, pulse rate and respiratory rate were recorded along with the duration and quality of the recovery. The combination of propofol and medetomidine provided a predictable induction, hypnosis and muscle relaxation, but surgical anaesthesia (loss of pedal withdrawal reflex) was not achieved. The addition of fentanyl increased analgesia leading to surgical anaesthesia. We concluded that a combination of 75/1/0.2 mg/kg of propofol, medetomidine and fentanyl, respectively, is a safe, easy and reversible technique for i.p. anaesthesia in mice, providing a surgical window of 15 min and restraint for 30 min with a fast recovery.
A novel immunization approach for dengue infection based on conserved T cell epitopes formulated in calcium phosphate nanoparticles

ABSTRACT Dengue virus (DV) is the etiologic agent of dengue fever, the most significant mosquito-borne viral disease in humans. Most DV vaccine approaches are focused on generating antibody mediated responses; one such DV vaccine is approved for use in humans but its efficacy is limited. While it is clear that T cell responses play important role in DV infection and subsequent disease manifestations, fewer studies are aimed at developing vaccines that induce robust T cells responses. Potent T cell based vaccines require 2 critical components: the identification of specific T cell stimulating MHC associated peptides, and an optimized vaccine delivery vehicle capable of simultaneously delivering the antigens and any required adjuvants. We have previously identified and characterized DV specific HLA-A2 and -A24 binding DV serotypes conserved epitopes, and the feasibility of an epitope based vaccine for DV infection. In this study, we build on those previous studies and describe an investigational DV vaccine using T cell epitopes incorporated into a calcium phosphate nanoparticle (CaPNP) delivery system. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of functional immunogenicity of DV CaPNP/multipeptide formulations in vitro and in vivo and demonstrates the CaPNP/multipeptide vaccine is capable of inducing T cell responses against all 4 serotypes of DV. This synthetic vaccine is also cost effective, straightforward to manufacture, and stable at room temperature in a lyophilized form. This formulation may serve as an effective candidate DV vaccine that protects against all 4 serotypes as either a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine.
Does the interval from primary surgery to chemotherapy influence progression-free survival in ovarian cancer?

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine whether the length of the interval from primary surgery to commencement of chemotherapy has any direct effect on progression-free survival in ovarian cancer. METHODS The progression-free survival of 472 patients enrolled in four trials who had all received platinum-containing chemotherapy (either in combination with a taxane or cyclophospamide) was subjected to univariate analysis. Dividing subjects into those above and below the median interval from surgery to chemotherapy formed two groups for analysis. The analysis was stratified by study and arm/cohort within study to remove any possible influence of the different studies and study doses. Multivariate analysis was then performed including stage, bulk of residual disease, and performance status as well as interval to starting chemotherapy. RESULTS The median interval from surgery to chemotherapy was 22 days (range 7-100). Univariate analysis of the above median and below median groups showed worse progression-free survival for those with earlier treatment (hazard ratio 0.84, P = 0.14, 95% CI 0.67-1.06); however, those treated earlier tended to have bulkier residual disease (>2 cm; P = 0.006). When multivariate analysis was performed incorporating residual disease status, FIGO stage, and performance status, the hazard rate ratio for interval to surgery was 0.99 (P = 0.91, 95% CI 0.79-1.24). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the interval from surgery to commencement of chemotherapy is not an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival.
Cooperative Communications in Wireless Networks - A Requested Relaying Protocol

In this paper we present a requested relaying protocol that helps mitigating multipath and shadowing effects in wireless networks. In our approach it is assumed that the destined mobile station has not been able to receive information from the base station and sends a request to surrounding terminals. Those terminals able to receive the request act as relays and help to transmit information from the base station to the destination. Performance analysis with respect to probability of decoding error and outage probability have been made with the results that both can be enormously improved by exploiting diversity. Additionally, order of diversity is defined and applied to our relaying approach as well.
Flocculation Process Optimization of a Novel Coagulant for Landfill Leachate Pretreatment

Sanitary landfill leachates are considered as heavily polluted industrial wastewaters, so special care is required for their efficient treatment and disposal. The most popular biological treatments are mostly the secondary stage in a combination with additional physical-chemical pre-process. A novel inorganic polymer flocculants, poly-ferric(III)-magnesium(II)-aluminum(III)-sulfate (PFMAS in brief) is used to pretreat landfill leachate. Jar-test experiments are employed to investigate the effect of flocculation conditions such as PFMAS dosage, leachate pH, leachate temperature, and sedimentation time to organics removal. It is demonstrated that the removals of COD, BOD5 and color by coagulation with PFAMS can reach 67%, 56% and 90% respectively under the optimum conditions (including PFMAS dosage at 3.3 g/L (Fe+Al+Mg), the leachate pH at 8.0, the leachate temperature at 20degC, and the sedimentation time at 50 min, respectively), which greatly weakens its pollution extent and improves its visual appeal. Flocculation with PFMAS may be used as a useful pretreatment step for landfill leachate.
The association of urolithiasis and androgenetic alopecia

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate whether patients with androgenetic alopecia were at risk in terms of urinary system stone disease. Patients and methods: Patients with no baldness (Hamilton–Norwood Scala [HNS] stage I) were categorized as Group I, those with hair loss in the frontal region (HNS stages II, III, IIIa, and IVa) as Group II, those with hair loss in the vertex region (HNS stage III-vertex, V) as Group III and those with hair loss in both vertex and frontal regions (HNS stages IV, Va, VI, and VII) as Group IV. Patients in all groups were compared in terms of presence of stone, and the presence of any association between alopecia and urolithiasis, with common etiological risk factors, was investigated. Results: Three hundred and two male patients were included in the study. The presence of urolithiasis was detected in 28.9% of patients in Group I; 26.5% of Group II; 36.9% of Group III; and 44.4% of Group IV (p = 0.085). Among patients aged under 60, urinary stone disease was detected in 30.8% of patients in Group I; 26.4% of Group II; 41.2% of Group III; and 53.8% of Group IV (p = 0.001). In patients aged over 60, urolithiasis was detected in 12.5% of patients in Group I; 26.9% of Group II; 32.2% of Group III; and 37.8% of Group IV (p = 0.371). Conclusions: We determined a significant correlation between vertex pattern and total alopecia with urolithiasis in patients younger than 60 years old.
A low-cost scalable solution for digitizing analog X-rays with applications to rural healthcare

In this paper, we present a low-cost scalable solution for digitizing analog X-ray images with the goal of improving diagnostics in rural and remote areas, in addition to having potential applications in disaster healthcare. Our solution attempts to capitalize on the rapid gains made in cellular communication and mobile technologies. The proposed mobile application lets the user digitally acquire the analog X-ray image and apply enhancement operations to it. A novel nonlinear technique for X-ray image enhancement has been proposed and implemented in the application. Additionally, several standard enhancement techniques have also been implemented. A proof-of-concept of the proposed solution is demonstrated with an Android application running on a smartphone. Results from real-world data collected at a semi-urban hospital in India are presented. The Android application has been made available online at the fifth authors' homepage.
Pyoderma outbreak among kindergarten families: Association with a Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-producing S. aureus strain

Objectives We report on an outbreak of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) among kindergarten families. We analyzed the transmission route and aimed to control the outbreak. Methods The transmission route was investigated by nasal screening for Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-producing Staphylococcus aureus (PVL-SA), subsequent microbiological investigation including whole genome sequencing and a questionnaire-based analysis of epidemiological information. The control measures included distribution of outbreak information to all individuals at risk and implementation of a Staphylococcus aureus decontamination protocol. Results Individuals from 7 of 19 families were either colonized or showed signs of SSTI such as massive abscesses or eye lid infections. We found 10 PVL-SA isolates in 9 individuals. In the WGS-analysis all isolates were found identical with a maximum of 17 allele difference. The clones were methicillin-susceptible but cotrimoxazole resistant. In comparison to PVL-SAs from an international strain collection, the outbreak clone showed close genetical relatedness to PVL-SAs from a non-European country. The questionnaire results showed frequent travels of one family to this area. The results also demonstrated likely transmission via direct contact between families. After initiation of Staphylococcus aureus decontamination no further case was detected. Conclusions Our outbreak investigation showed the introduction of a PVL-SA strain into a kindergarten likely as a result of international travel and further transmission by direct contact. The implementation of a Staphylococcus aureus decontamination protocol was able to control the outbreak.
Engineering a multimodal nerve conduit for repair of injured peripheral nerve

Injury to nerve tissue in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) results in long-term impairment of limb function, dysaesthesia and pain, often with associated psychological effects. Whilst minor injuries can be left to regenerate without intervention and short gaps up to 2 cm can be sutured, larger or more severe injuries commonly require autogenous nerve grafts harvested from elsewhere in the body (usually sensory nerves). Functional recovery is often suboptimal and associated with loss of sensation from the tissue innervated by the harvested nerve. The challenges that persist with nerve repair have resulted in development of nerve guides or conduits from non-neural biological tissues and various polymers to improve the prognosis for the repair of damaged nerves in the PNS. This study describes the design and fabrication of a multimodal controlled pore size nerve regeneration conduit using polylactic acid (PLA) and (PLA):poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) fibers within a neurotrophin-enriched alginate hydrogel. The nerve repair conduit design consists of two types of PLGA fibers selected specifically for promotion of axonal outgrowth and Schwann cell growth (75:25 for axons; 85:15 for Schwann cells). These aligned fibers are contained within the lumen of a knitted PLA sheath coated with electrospun PLA nanofibers to control pore size. The PLGA guidance fibers within the nerve repair conduit lumen are supported within an alginate hydrogel impregnated with neurotrophic factors (NT-3 or BDNF with LIF, SMDF and MGF-1) to provide neuroprotection, stimulation of axonal growth and Schwann cell migration. The conduit was used to promote repair of transected sciatic nerve in rats over a period of 4 weeks. Over this period, it was observed that over-grooming and self-mutilation (autotomy) of the limb implanted with the conduit was significantly reduced in rats implanted with the full-configuration conduit compared to rats implanted with conduits containing only an alginate hydrogel. This indicates return of some feeling to the limb via the fully-configured conduit. Immunohistochemical analysis of the implanted conduits removed from the rats after the four-week implantation period confirmed the presence of myelinated axons within the conduit and distal to the site of implantation, further supporting that the conduit promoted nerve repair over this period of time. This study describes the design considerations and fabrication of a novel multicomponent, multimodal bio-engineered synthetic conduit for peripheral nerve repair.