Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Clinical effect of circumcision stapler in the treatment of phimosis and redundant prepuce].

OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical effect and safety of circumcision stapler in the treatment of phimosis and redundant prepuce. METHODS We treated 120 patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis using circumcision stapler and another 60 by conventional dorsal-incision circumcision. We observed intraoperative blood loss, operation time, postoperative pain, wound healing time, cosmetic appearance of the penis, and postoperative complications and compared them between the two groups of patients. RESULTS Stapler circumcision showed obvious advantages over the conventional method in intraoperative blood loss ([2. 3 ± 1. 3] vs [15.6 ± 2.9] ml), operation time ([7.1 ± 1.4] vs [22.6 ± 4.6] min), wound healing time ([12.0 ± 2.9] as [16.3 ± 3. 1] d), postoperative pain score (1. 9 ± 1. 3 vs 5. 2 ± 1. 7), incision edema, and cosmetic appearance of the penis (all P <0. 05). Besides, stapler circumcision exempted the patients from stitch-removal pain. However, the incidence rate of postoperative local ecchymosis was significantly higher in the circumcision stapler group than in the conventional circumcision group (20. 8% vs 8. 3% , P <0. 05). CONCLUSION Circumcision stapler, with its advantages of easier manipulation, shorter operation time, better cosmetic penile appearance, less pain, and fewer complications, is superior to conventional circumcision in the treatment of phimosis and redundant prepuce.
The effect of electricity losses on GDP in Benin

The current study has assessed the losses of GDP caused by electricity losses in Benin over the period 1980-2014. The technique used was the Autoregressive Distributive Lags (ARDL). Results showed that in the long run Benin loses 0.16% of its GDP on average because of electricity losses. Benin is a country which faces important losses of electricity. A financing mechanism of the cost associated with reduction of electricity losses has been proposed in the national policy framework for electricity. By investigating the gain in GDP resulting from a reduction in electricity losses, the current study has assessed the feasibility of such mechanism, and thus contributes to the advancement of energy efficiency policy in Benin.
Transcranial Doppler sonography: effects of halothane, enflurane and isoflurane on blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery.

Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (Vs,mca; Vd,mca; Vm,mca) and pulsatility (Vs-Vd)/Vm of the waveform obtained were recorded in 51 patients before, during and after general anaesthesia. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonographic variables were measured in the awake patient and after induction of anaesthesia with thiopentone 5-6 mg kg-1. After tracheal intubation, 17 patients received 0.8% halothane and 66% nitrous oxide in oxygen for 30 min (15 min normoventilation; 15 min hyperventilation). The inspired halothane concentration was then increased to 1.6% for 45 min (15 min normoventilation; 15 min hyperventilation; 15 min normoventilation with nitrous oxide replaced by oxygen). Enflurane (1.7% for 30 min and 3.4% for 45 min) was given to another 17 patients; 17 other patients received isoflurane (1.2% and 2.4%). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), nasopharyngeal temperature, end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration, inspired and end-tidal anaesthetic agent concentrations, haemoglobin concentration, PVC and TCD variables were measured at the end of each 15 min period. After recovery from anaesthesia, TCD variables were measured again. There were no intergroup differences in changes in MAP, nasopharyngeal temperature, haemoglobin concentration and PCV. Halothane, enflurane and isoflurane at low doses and normoventilation had little influence on TCD variables compared with awake values. In large concentrations with nitrous oxide in oxygen and normoventilation, there were differences between the volatile agents. Halothane increased blood flow velocities, but enflurane and isoflurane caused little change. Hyperventilation always decreased blood flow velocities and increased pulsatility. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
High efficiency transfection of porcine vascular cells in vitro with a synthetic vector system

Gene therapy strategies for the treatment of vascular disease such as the prevention of post‐angioplasty restenosis require efficient, non‐toxic transfection of vascular cells. In vitro studies in these cells contribute to vector development for in vivo use and for the evaluation of genes with therapeutic potential. The aim of this project was to evaluate a novel synthetic vector consisting of a liposome (L), an integrin targeting peptide (I), and plasmid DNA (D), which combine to form the LID vector complex.
Co-culture embedded in cumulus clumps promotes maturation of denuded oocytes and reconstructs gap junctions between oocytes and cumulus cells

Summary The present study was undertaken to establish an effective method for in vitro maturation (IVM) of denuded oocytes (DOs) by simulating the ovarian three-dimensional status in vivo using buffalo ovarian tissues or cumulus cells, so as to provide a model for investigating the mechanisms of oocyte maturation. Buffalo cumulus–oocyte complexes from ovaries taken at slaughter were denuded by pipetting, and then allocated randomly into four groups for IVM by direct culture in maturation medium (M1, control group), co-culture with a monolayer of cumulus cells (M2), embedded in cumulus cell clumps (M3) and ovarian tissue (M4) for 24 h. The nuclear maturation of DOs was assessed by the extrusion of the first polar body and the cytoplasmic maturation was evaluated by subsequently developmental capacity after parthenogenetic activation. More DOs matured to MII (56.89%) and developed to blastocysts (25.75%) when they were matured in vitro with M3 in comparison with DOs matured in vitro with M1 (45.14 and 15.97%) and M4 (40.48 and 13.49%). Further detection of gap junctions by injecting Lucifer yellow directly into cytoplasm of matured DOs with adherent cumulus cells and scanning with confocal microscope showed that Lucifer yellow were found in nine out of 11 the adherent cumulus cells in M3, indicating that the gap junctions between oocytes and cumulus cells was reconstructed in vitro. These results indicate that co-culture of DOs embedded in cumulus cell clumps can improve their nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of DOs, possibly through the reconstruction of gap junctions in vitro.
Peptide Fragments of Odin‐Sam1: Conformational Analysis and Interaction Studies with EphA2‐Sam

Odin is a protein belonging to the ANKS family, and has two tandem Sam domains. The first, Odin‐Sam1, binds to the Sam domain of the EphA2 receptor (EphA2‐Sam); this interaction could be crucial for the regulation of receptor endocytosis and might have an impact on cancer. Odin‐Sam1 associates with EphA2‐Sam by adopting a “mid‐loop/end‐helix” model. In this study three peptide sequences, encompassing the mid‐loop interacting portion of Odin‐Sam1 and its C‐terminal α5 helix, were designed. Their conformational properties were analyzed by CD and NMR. In addition, their abilities to interact with EphA2‐Sam were investigated by SPR studies. The peptides adopt a predominantly disordered state in aqueous buffer, but a higher helical content is evident in the presence of the cosolvent trifluoroethanol. Dissociation constants towards EphA2‐Sam were in the high micromolar range. The structural findings suggest further routes for the design of potential anti‐cancer therapeutics as inhibitors of EphA2‐Sam heterotypic interactions.
Platoon Formation Control With Prescribed Performance Guarantees for USVs

This paper studies the platoon formation control problem for unmanned surface vehicles, in the presence of modeling uncertainties and time-varying external disturbances. The control objective is to make the vehicular platoons proceed along a given trajectory while maintaining a desired line-of-sight (LOS) range between each vehicle and its predecessor. To provide transient performance specifications on formation errors, including LOS range and angle errors, we enforce prescribed performance guarantees in the control design. The prescribed performance guarantees mean that formation errors evolve always within the predefined regions that are bounded by exponentially decaying functions of time. Using prescribed performance control methodology, neural network approximation, disturbance observers, dynamic surface control technique, and Lyapunov synthesis, we propose an adaptive formation control that ensures internal stability of closed-loop systems with guaranteed prescribed performance. Meanwhile, both collision avoidance and connectivity maintenance between two consecutive vehicles are guaranteed during the whole operation. The proposed formation control is decentralized in the sense that the control action on each vehicle depends only on information from its immediate predecessor. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed control.
High Refractive Index and Transparent Nanocomposites as Encapsulant for High Brightness LED Packaging

A high refractive index (RI) and transparent encapsulant material is in great demand for light emitting diode (LED) packaging to lower the RI contrasts between a LED chip and an encapsulant, and therefore improve the light extraction efficiency. In this paper, we prepared TiO2/silicone nanocomposites and studied the effects of the crystalline phases of TiO2, and the TiO2 surface modifications on their optical properties. The rutile TiO2 was found to be more effective to increase the RI of the nanocomposite than the anatase phase TiO2. At a 5 wt. % loading of TiO2, the RI was as high as 1.62 at the wavelength of 589 nm, which represents a significant improvement from 1.54 for silicone resin. In addition, surface modification was carried out using vinyl-terminated silane to improve the dispersion of nanoparticles in a silicone matrix, leading to a high relative transmittance of 84%. We also demonstrated that the optical property degradation of the nanocomposites in this paper was negligible after the accelerated reliability test.
Relative and Absolute Quantitative Real-Time PCR-Based Quantifications of hcnC and phlD Gene Transcripts in Natural Soil Spiked with Pseudomonas sp. Strain LBUM300

ABSTRACT Transcriptional analysis of microbial gene expression using relative quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) has been hampered by various technical problems. One such problem is the unavailability of an exogenous standard robust enough for use in a complex matrix like soil. To circumvent this technical issue, we made use of a recently developed artificial RNA (myIC) as an exogenous “spike-in” control. Nonsterile field soil was inoculated with various concentrations of the test bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain LBUM300, ranging from 4.3- to 8.3-log bacterial cells per gram of soil. Total soil RNA was extracted at days 0, 7, and 14 postinoculation, and using two-step TaqMan assays, phlD (encoding the production of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol) and hcnC (encoding the production of hydrogen cyanide) gene expression was monitored. For relative quantification, a defined quantity of in vitro-synthesized myIC RNA was spiked during the RNA extraction procedure. Absolute qRT-PCR was also performed in parallel. Both the absolute and relative quantifications showed similar transcriptional trends. Overall, the transcriptional activity of phlD and hcnC changed over time and with respect to the bacterial concentrations used. Transcripts of the phlD and hcnC genes were detected for all five bacterial concentrations, but the phlD transcript copy numbers detected were lower than those detected for hcnC, regardless of the initial bacterial concentration or sampling date. For quantifying a low number of transcripts, the relative method was more reliable than the absolute method. This study demonstrates for the first time the use of a relative quantification approach to quantifying microbial gene transcripts from field soil using an exogenous spike-in control.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND RISK AVERSION RATE FOR SEVERAL STOCK INDICES IN INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE

There are numerous stock indices in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Several of them are LQ-45, MBX, DBX, JII, SRI-KEHATI, PEFINDO-25, BISNIS-27, IDX-30 and KOMPAS-100. Unfortunately there are limi­ted researches which have been done to measure those indices performance specifically. The same condition also occurs on risk aversion level usage in Indonesia Stock Exchange, only few numbers of researches use this me­a­surement in the portfolio valuation. Based on that, this research measured the performance and risk aversion rate of those indices in Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results of this study were SRI-KEHATI becomes the best performer with the highest risk aversion rate, while Jakarta Islamic Index (JII) produces the lowest positive per­formance with the lowest risk aversion rate. This finding shows that sharia stocks’ characters (i.e. usury free) could give relieveness and convenience regardless its per­formance.
ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE FISCAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS ON THE LEVEL OF FINANCIAL - ECONOMIC INEQUALITY OF MUNICIPALITIES OF RESOURCE REGIONS OF RUSSIA

The research paper focuses on assessing the impact of the tools of the fiscal policy of the country for the resource regions and municipalities development in the context of the current budget federalism and inter-budget relations. Krasnoyarsk Krai – the largest in its area and the availability of natural resources region of Russia is considered as a model resource region. The Krai’s role in the Russian economy as well as its financial and social well-being are largely determined by the resource model of the economic development of the country. The article proposes an approach to the typology of the resource region municipalities, taking into account the level of the socio-economic and financial conditions differentiation between the municipalities and the level of sensitivity to the changes in the institutional conditions of the fiscal policy of the country. The results obtained in the article are based on the panel research of Krasnoyarsk Krai municipalities and the use of the econometric models with fixed effects.
Cutaneous Antigen Priming via Gene Gun Leads to Skin-Selective Th2 Immune-Inflammatory Responses1

It is becoming increasingly evident that the compartmentalization of immune responses is governed, in part, by tissue-selective homing instructions imprinted during T cell differentiation. In the context of allergic diseases, the fact that “disease” primarily manifests in particular tissue sites, despite pervasive allergen exposure, supports this notion. However, whether the original site of Ag exposure distinctly privileges memory Th2 immune-inflammatory responses to the same site, while sparing remote tissue compartments, remains to be fully investigated. We examined whether skin-targeted delivery of plasmid DNA encoding OVA via gene-gun technology in mice could generate allergic sensitization and give rise to Th2 effector responses in the skin as well as in the lung upon subsequent Ag encounter. Our data show that cutaneous Ag priming induced OVA-specific serum IgE and IgG1, robust Th2-cytokine production, and late-phase cutaneous responses and systemic anaphylactic shock upon skin and systemic Ag recall, respectively. However, repeated respiratory exposure to aerosolized OVA failed to instigate airway inflammatory responses in cutaneous Ag-primed mice, but not in mice initially sensitized to OVA via the respiratory mucosa. Importantly, these contrasting airway memory responses correlated with the occurrence of Th2 differentiation events at anatomically separate sites: indeed cutaneous Ag priming resulted in Ag-specific proliferative responses and Th2 differentiation in skin-, but not thoracic-, draining lymph nodes. These data indicate that Ag exposure to the skin leads to Th2 differentiation within skin-draining lymph nodes and subsequent Th2 immunity that is selectively manifested in the skin.
Characterization of individual mouse cerebrospinal fluid proteomes

Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) offers key insight into the status of the CNS. Characterization of murine CSF proteomes can provide a valuable resource for studying CNS injury and disease in animal models. However, the small volume of CSF in mice has thus far limited individual mouse proteome characterization. Through nonterminal CSF extractions in C57Bl/6 mice and high‐resolution 2D‐LC MS/MS analysis of individual murine samples, we report the most comprehensive proteome characterization of individual murine CSF to date. We identified a total of 566 unique proteins, including 128 proteins from three individual CSF samples that have been previously identified in brain tissue. Our methods and analysis provide a mechanism for individual murine CSF proteome analysis. The data are available in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000248 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000248).
Beyond Boolean SAT: Satisfiability modulo theories

Many systems can be naturally represented in some decidable fragments of first order logic. The expressive power provided by a background theory allows to describe important aspects such as real time, continuous dynamics, and data flow over integer variables. The corresponding verification problems can be tackled by means of Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers. SMT solvers are based on the tight integration of propositional SAT solvers with dedicated procedures to reason about the theory component. In this paper, we overview the techniques underlying SMT, we show how to represent dynamic systems in fragments of first order logic, and discuss the application of SMT solvers to their verification.
National REDD+ Strategy for Climate Change Mitigation: A Review and Comparison of Developing Countries

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) in developing countries requires a National REDD+ Strategy (NRS) to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and equity. So far, only a few countries have submitted their NRS to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to progress to the implementation phase of REDD+. To compare the NRS of eight countries from Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, we used content analysis to assess whether these countries have paid attention to the REDD+ design components and adhered to the UNFCCC REDD+ rules. Our results demonstrate that all eight countries have paid considerable attention to REDD+ activities, finance, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), and safeguard systems, and most countries have not adhered to the UNFCCC REDD+ rules on scale including the definition of national and subnational forests, subnational projects to be nested into national systems, and subnational activities to be verified by experts. REDD+ countries must develop definitions for national and subnational forests to enhance forest monitoring and they must develop technical and institutional infrastructure for MRV and safeguard systems, to receive results-based payments, and for the sustainability of REDD+ projects.
Differentiation and expansion of endothelial cells from human bone marrow CD133+ cells

We report a method of purifying, characterizing and expanding endothelial cells (ECs) derived from CD133+ bone marrow cells, a subset of CD34+ haematopoietic progenitors. Isolated using immunomagnetic sorting (mean purity 90 ± 5%), the CD133+ bone marrow cells were grown on fibronectin‐coated flasks in M199 medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin growth factor (IGF‐1). The CD133+ fraction contained 95 ± 4% CD34+ cells, 3 ± 2% cells expressing VEGF receptor (VEGFR‐2/KDR), but did not express von Willebrand factor (VWF), VE‐cadherin, P1H12 or TE‐7. After 3 weeks of culture, the cells formed a monolayer with a typical EC morphology and expanded 11 ± 5 times. The cells were further purified using Ulex europaeus agglutinin‐1 (UEA‐1)‐fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and anti‐FITC microbeads, and expanded with VEGF for a further 3 weeks. All of the cells were CD45− and CD14−, and expressed several endothelial markers (UEA‐1, VWF, P1H12, CD105, E‐selectin, VCAM‐1 and VE‐cadherin) and typical Weibel–Palade bodies. They had a high proliferative potential (up to a 2400‐fold increase in cell number after 3 weeks of culture) and the capacity to modulate cell surface antigens upon stimulation with inflammatory cytokines. Purified ECs were also co‐cultivated with CD34+ cells, in parallel with a purified fibroblastic cell monolayer. CD34+ cells (10 × 105) gave rise to 17 951 ± 2422 CFU‐GM colonies when grown on endothelial cells, and to 12 928 ± 4415 CFU‐GM colonies on fibroblast monolayers. The ECs also supported erythroid blast‐forming unit (BFU‐E) colonies better. These results suggest that bone marrow CD133+ progenitor cells can give rise to highly purified ECs, which have a high proliferative capacity, can be activated by inflammatory cytokines and are superior to fibroblasts in supporting haematopoiesis. Our data support the hypothesis that endothelial cell progenitors are present in adult bone marrow and may contribute to neo‐angiogenesis.
Combined hypoxia and sodium nitrite pretreatment for cardiomyocyte protection in vitro

Methods that increase cardiomyocyte survival upon exposure to ischemia, hypoxia and reoxygenation injuries are required to improve the efficacy of cardiac cell therapy and enhance the viability and function of engineered tissues. We investigated the effect of combined hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment on rat neonatal cardiomyocyte (CM), cardiac fibroblast, and human embryonic stem cell‐derived CM (hESC‐CM) survival upon exposure to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in vitro. Cells were pretreated with and without hypoxia and/or various concentrations of NaNO2 for 20 min, then incubated for 2 h under hypoxic conditions, followed by 2 h in normoxia. The control cells were maintained under normoxia for 4 h. Pretreatment with either hypoxia or NaNO2 significantly increased CM viability but had no effect on cardiac fibroblast viability. Combined hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment significantly increased CM viability but significantly decreased cardiac fibroblast viability. In rat neonatal CMs, cell death, as determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, was significantly reduced with hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment; and in hESC‐CMs, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment increased the BCL‐2/BAX gene expression ratio, suggesting that hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment promotes cell viability by downregulating apoptosis. Additionally, we found a correlation between the prosurvival effect of hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment and the myoglobin content of the cells by comparing neonatal rat ventricular and atrial CMs, which express high and low myoglobin respectively. Functionally, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment significantly improved the excitation threshold upon H/R injury to the level observed for uninjured cells, whereas pretreatment did not affect the maximum capture rate. Hence, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment may serve as a strategy to increase CM survival in cardiac regenerative therapy applications and tissue engineering. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 31:482–492, 2015