Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NK-1 as a melanoma target

Introduction: Melanoma expresses both neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptors and substance P (SP). After binding to the NK-1 receptor, SP induces tumor cell proliferation in melanoma cells, whereas after binding to the same NK-1 receptor, antagonists inhibit melanoma cell proliferation and cause tumor cell death by apoptosis. Thus, the NK-1 receptor could be a new and promising target in melanoma therapy. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of the underlying mechanism of action of the SP/NK-1 receptor system, and NK-1 receptor antagonists in human melanoma, over the last 7 years. Expert opinion: In stages III – IV, no effective treatment exists for melanoma and hence there is an urgent need to improve therapy in melanoma patients. The NK-1 receptor is a promising new target in human melanoma treatment, since preclinical assays (most of them in vitro assays) have reported that NK-1 receptor antagonists exert an antitumor action against melanoma. The NK-1 receptor antagonist aprepitant is used in clinical practice and exerts an antitumor action against human melanoma in vitro. In the future, such antitumor action should be tested in human clinical trials. This should be faster compared with less investigated NK-1 receptor antagonists, because a great part of the required safety and characterization studies for aprepitant have already been carried out.
The Contribution of NKT Cells, NK Cells, and Other γ-Chain-Dependent Non-T Non-B Cells to IL-12-Mediated Rejection of Tumors 1

IL-12 is a potent cytokine that impairs the growth of several tumors in vivo in natural as well as in therapeutic conditions. Although IL-12 can enhance a number of immunological antitumor mechanisms, including those mediated by NK cells and CTL, recent reports have suggested that the mouse CD1d-restricted Vα14-Jα18 NKT cell was the essential cell type recruited in most, if not all tumor rejection models, including the B16 melanoma. In this study, we have examined and compared the role of NKT cells, T cells, NK cells, and other non-T non-B cells in the rejection of B16 melanoma cells after exogenous administration of IL-12. Surprisingly, our results failed to confirm a necessary role for NKT cells in this model. Instead, we found that NK cells mediated the rejection of liver metastases, whereas other γc-dependent non-T non-B cells, possibly lymphoid dendritic cells, were required for rejection of skin tumors. These findings challenge the view that NKT cells are systematically required for IL-12-mediated rejection of tumors, and instead reveal that a variety of effector pathways can be recruited depending on the tumor microenvironment.
Michel Dumas and Pierre-Marie Preux: Promoting Tropical Neurology Silently - The Gist of Their Contributions

This article presents the contribution by two senior French Neurologists over the past three decades in building, developing and promoting ‘tropical neurology' in a number of neglected countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. It talks about the ‘human, dedicational and contributive value' of these two experts who do not come from an English-speaking world. It highlights meaningful changes that have been achieved in different tropical countries as a result of their direct contribution. This overview may likely be a cause for learning and motivation to others to really work in and for tropical countries, where a large proportion of global health burden is to be found.
A picosecond-resolution hybrid method of TDC implementation in FPGAs, based on differential time delays

Time-to-digital converters (TDCs) are useful and required building blocks in the field of fast measurement of small time intervals. When they are implemented through the use of time delays, there are three basic approaches for that, each with its benefits and downsides. However, trade-offs between speed, accuracy and precision are always present between them, which necessitates fine tuning of each created TDC for a specific purpose. This article proposes a new approach to a delay-based TDC implementation - a hybrid between the aforementioned basic approaches with an added external differential delay. This avoids some downsides of the hybrid constituents at the cost of prolonged and more complex system start-up sequence.
Tritanium acetabular wedge augments: short-term results.

BACKGROUND Reconstruction of acetabular defects in total hip arthroplasty (THA) presents a great challenge to orthopaedic surgeons. Previous studies have reported on the use and outcomes of trabecular metal acetabular augments for the reconstruction of acetabular defects. However, no study has been conducted evaluating the short-term results of tritanium acetabular wedge augments for the reconstruction of acetabular defects in THA. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted using a prospective database at a single institution including primary and revision THA patients from January 2013 to December 2014. Patients were included if they received a tritanium acetabular wedge augment system and had a minimum of 2-year follow-up (average 2.2 years ±0.3, range, 2-2.6 years). Demographic data and outcomes data [Harris Hip Score-HHS and Short Form (SF)-36] was collected. Radiographic data was also collected on THA revision cases (Paprosky classification), developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) cases (Crowe classification), and radiographic follow-up using DeLee and Charnley's classification system. RESULTS There were 4 revision THA patients, 3 DDH patients, and 1 patient with posttraumatic arthritis. At the latest radiographic follow-up, there were no lucent lines in DeLee and Charnley Zones I, II or III. During the follow-up period, there was no open revision surgery. The SF-36 physical score significantly improved from preoperative measurement (29.6±2.2) to postoperative measurement (52.2±8.7, P=0.003), and the SF-36 mental score also significantly improved from preoperative assessment (34.5±4.5) to postoperative assessment (52.2±7.5, P=0.003). Total HHS scores also significantly improved postoperatively (P=0.02), with significant improvements in both the pain score (P=0.01) and function score (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Tritanium acetabular wedge augments in this short follow-up case series exhibit high clinical outcome scores, no radiographic lucency, and no early failures.
Antibacterial Effect of Garlic ( Allium sativum ) on Staphylococcu aureus : An in vitro Study

Garlic (Allium sativum) has an important dietary and medicinal role for centuries. It is a large annual plant of the Liliaceae family, which grows in most of Africa and in Ethiopia. Ethiopian garlic is used in traditional medicine for infectious disease and some other cases. The present study tested the aqueous extract of garlic in vitro for its antibacterial activity. The extract showed concentration dependent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The traditional use of Ethiopian garlic for infectious diseases and for controlling fever appears to be justified.
Regenerative Therapies in Neonatology: Clinical Perspectives

Abstract Regenerative therapy based on stem cells is applied as standard therapy in pediatric oncology. Furthermore, they are frequently used to treat immunodeficiency disorders of infants. For severe neonatal diseases, e. g. hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in term neonates or bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants, animal models have been established. According to some first preclinical results stem cell administration appears as a promising tool to improve the clinical outcome in high-risk infants. Provided the benefit of regenerative therapies can further be evaluated in appropriate preclinical neonate models, carefully controlled clinical trials to assess the significance of regenerative therapies, such as autologous stem cell administration, are indicated.
Factor structure of a combined measure of major depressive disorder and male depression in prostate cancer patients

Significant numbers of prostate cancer (PCa) patients become depressed [1], but treatment of this depression is inconsistently effective [2]. One possible reason for that inconsistency could be inadequate assessment of depression in PCa patients because most scales do not recognise the specific extra symptoms that comprise ‘male’ depression [3]. The authors of the Gotland Scale of Male Depression (GSMD) [4] identified those extra symptoms of male depression as aggression, irritability and alcohol use, not included in major depressive disorder (MDD) [5]. Therefore, a previous study [6] suggested that male depression might be measured by combination of the first nine items of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) [7] (which diagnoses MDD) plus those items from the GSMD that are not included in the PHQ-9. This combined scale was called the PHQ9-GSMD but, although either a one-factor solution or a two-factor solution has been reported for the PHQ-9 [8] (but not on PCa patients) and a single-factor structure for the GSMD [9] (also not on PCa patients), the factor structure of the combined PHQ9-GSMD has not been reported. Description of this factor structure may contribute to more targeted interventions that may increase the efficacy of treatment for PCa depression, and this was the aim of the present study.
Reduced Complexity Decoding Algorithm of LDPC Codes using Node Elimination

We propose a modified belief propagation algorithm that uses node elimination for bit nodes of large log-likelihood ratio. With this algorithm, we can reduce decoding complexity and improve performance by enhancing the cycle properties. Simulation results show that the decoding complexity is reduced and the proposed algorithm outperforms the belief propagation algorithm in the high-Eb/No region
Cost efficiency of US hospitals: a stochastic frontier approach.

This study examined the impact of managed care and other environmental factors on hospital inefficiency in 1631 US hospitals during the period 1990-1996. A panel, stochastic frontier regression model was used to estimate inefficiency parameters and inefficiency scores. The results suggest that mean estimated inefficiency decreased by about 28% during the study period. Inefficiency was negatively associated with health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration and industry concentration. It was positively related with Medicare share and for-profit ownership status.
Zn 2-induced IL-8 expression involves AP-1 , JNK , and ERK activities in human airway epithelial cells

Yu-Mee Kim, William Reed, Weidong Wu, Philip A. Bromberg, Lee M. Graves, and James M. Samet Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology, Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Human Studies Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Clinical Interest of Ambulatory Assessment of Physical Activity and Walking Capacity in Peripheral Artery Disease

The purpose of the present review was to provide, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the available studies that highlighted the clinical interest of the ambulatory assessment of either physical activity (PA) or walking capacity in patients with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). We identified 96 related articles published up to March 2015 through a computer‐assisted search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. Ambulatory‐measured PA or related energy expenditure (EE) in PAD patients was performed in 87 of the 96 included studies. The main clinical interests of these measurements were (a) the assessment of PA/EE pattern; (b) the characterization of walking pattern; and (c) the control of training load during home‐based walking programs. Ambulatory‐measured walking capacity was performed in the remaining studies, using either Global Positioning System receivers or the Peripheral Arterial Disease Holter Control device. Highlighted clinical interests were (a) the assessment of community‐based walking capacity; (b) the use of new outcomes to characterize walking capacity, besides the conventional absolute claudication distance; and (c) the association with the patient's self‐perception of walking capacity. This review also provides for the clinicians step‐by‐step recommendations to specifically assess PA or walking capacity in PAD patients.
On the development of bone marrow innervation in new-born rats as studied with silver impregnation and electron microscopy.

This study of innervation of the bone marrow in new-born rats demonstrates that major signs of differentiation occur in the nerves at the end of the second week after birth. Myelinated nerve fibers begin to acquire their myelin sheath at this time. The Schwann cells show abundant ergastoplasmic reticulum. Some of these cells separate individual axons and wrap them up with the double membranes that form the myelin sheath. From then on, the nerves of the marrow contain both myelinated and nonmyelinated fibers. Fibroblasts also differentiate during this time, producing collagen fibers around the nerves. Some fibroblasts are interconnected by desmosome-like structures. Fibroblasts and collagen fibers form the connective tissue sheaths of the nerve (perineurium and endoneurium). Upon completion of the myelin sheath by the Schwann cells and the connective tissue sheath by the fibroblasts, nerves of the marrow acquire the morphological characteristics of the peripheral nerves of the adult animal. The fine structure of the axons in contact with the muscle fibers of the arterial wall correspond to Type 2-a of Watari. These nerve fibers are considered to be of sympathetic type. The time of maturation of nerves in the bone marrow coincides with the beginning of responsiveness to stimulatory and inhibitory conditions demonstrated in this organ by other authors.
Immunocytochemical localization of the beta(3) subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) receptor in the rat brain.

A novel anti-beta(3) subunit-specific GABA(A) receptor (GABA(A)R) antibody has been prepared by immunizing a rabbit with a bacterial fusion protein of the large intracellular loop of the beta(3) subunit. The antiserum immunoprecipitated the solubilized GABA(A) receptor. The anti-beta(3) antibody was affinity purified on immobilized beta(3) large intracellular loop peptide. In immunoblots, the purified antibody reacted with a 57 KDa peptide. Immunocytochemistry with the affinity-purified antibody has revealed the localization of the beta(3) subunit in the rat brain. A comparative study with the immunocytochemical distribution of the beta(2) subunit has also been performed. There are areas of the brain and cell types where the distribution of beta(2) and beta(3) overlap (i.e., cerebral cortex, cerebellum,and most layers of the olfactory bulb). There are also clear differences in the expression of beta(3) and beta(2) in other brain areas and cell types. Thus, high beta(3) but low or no beta(2) expression was observed in the corpus striatum and in granule cells of the olfactory bulb. In the hippocampus the expression of beta(3) was considerably higher than that of beta(2), but some hippocampal interneurons showed high expression of beta(2). High beta(2) but little or no expression of beta(3) was observed in thalamic nuclei, substantia nigra, globus pallidus, inferior colliculus and the short axon cells of the olfactory bulb.
Anthocyanin-Rich Aronox Extract from Aroniamelanocarpa E Protects against 7β-Hydroxycholesterol-Induced Apoptosis of Endothelial Cells

Aims: It has been previously reported that dietary polyphenolic compounds have a positive effect in cardiovascular diseases, although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, the effects of Aronox, an anthocyanin-rich extract from Aronia melanocarpa E, on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) apoptosis was investigated. Methods: Apoptosis was measured in HUVEC pretreated with Aronox and than treated with 7β-hydroxycholesterol (20 μg/ml). For the evaluation of apoptosis we used the cell binding of annexin V, the propidium iodide uptake method and the TUNEL assay. We also measured the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells, using fluorescent probe 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein acetate. Moreover, alteration of the mitochondrial membrane potential with subsequent cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-3, and the level of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 were investigated. Results: Aronox significantly decreased 7β-hydroxycholesterol-induced apoptosis and ROS generation, and ameliorated the collapse of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential with subsequent inhibition of cytochrome c release. Furthermore, down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of caspase-3 activation were reversed by Aronox. Conclusion: The protective action of the extract against apoptosis in endothelial cells may contribute to the potential benefits drawn from consumption of plant polyphenols.
A Design Space Exploration Process for Large Scale, Multi-Objective Computer Simulations

The primary contributions of this thesis are associated with the development of a new method for exploring the relationships between inputs and outputs for large scale computer simulations. Primarily, the proposed design space exploration procedure uses a hierarchical partitioning method to help mitigate the curse of dimensionality often associated with the analysis of large scale systems. Closely coupled with the use of a partitioning approach, is the problem of how to partition the system. This thesis also introduces and discusses a quantitative method developed to aid the user in finding a set of good partitions for creating partitioned metamodels of large scale systems. The new hierarchically partitioned metamodeling scheme, the lumped parameter model (LPM), was developed to address two primary limitations to the current partitioning methods for large scale metamodeling. First the LPM was formulated to negate the need to rely on variable redundancies between partitions to account for potentially important interactions. While variable redundancies improve the accuracy of the partitioned metamodel, they do so at the cost of significantly reducing the efficiency of the partitioned metamodeling process. By using a hierarchical structure, the LPM addresses the impact of neglected, direct interactions by indirectly accounting for these interactions via the interactions that occur between the lumped parameters in intermediate to top-level mappings. Secondly, the LPM was developed to allow for hierarchical modeling of black-box analyses that do not have available intermediaries with which to partition the system around. The second contribution of this thesis is a graph-based partitioning method for large scale, black-box systems. The graph-based partitioning method combines the graph and sparse matrix decomposition methods used by the electrical engineering community with the results of a screening test to create a quantitative method for partitioning large scale, black-box systems. An ANOVA analysis of the results of a screening test can be used to determine the sparse nature of the large scale system. With this information known, the sparse matrix and graph theoretic partitioning schemes can then be used to create potential sets of partitions to use with the lumped parameter model.
Alzheimer's Mechanisms in Ischemic Brain Degeneration

There is increasing evidence for influence of Alzheimer's proteins and neuropathology on ischemic brain injury. This review investigates the relationships between β‐amyloid peptide, apolipoproteins, presenilins, tau protein, α‐synuclein, inflammation factors, and neuronal survival/death decisions in brain following ischemic episode. The interactions of these molecules and influence on β‐amyloid peptide synthesis and contribution to ischemic brain degeneration and finally to dementia are reviewed. Generation and deposition of β‐amyloid peptide and tau protein pathology are important key players involved in mechanisms in ischemic neurodegeneration as well as in Alzheimer's disease. Current evidence suggests that inflammatory process represents next component, which significantly contribute to degeneration progression. Although inflammation was initially thought to arise secondary to ischemic neurodegeneration, recent studies present that inflammatory mediators may stimulate amyloid precursor protein metabolism by upregulation of β‐secretase and therefore are able to establish a vicious cycle. Functional brain recovery after ischemic lesion was delayed and incomplete by an injury‐related increase in the amount of the neurotoxic C‐terminal of amyloid precursor protein and β‐amyloid peptide. Moreover, ischemic neurodegeneration is strongly accelerated with aging, too. New therapeutic alternatives targeting these proteins and repairing related neuronal changes are under development for the treatment of ischemic brain consequences including memory loss prevention. Anat Rec, 292:1863–1881, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dynamic reconfigurable UCR broker for educational robot control

In Robotics field communication is served as one of the key objectives. Communication plays significant role between controllers and robots, and during collaboration of number of robots. Providing safe and reliable communication between elements of collaborative environment had become important issue. The UCR Reconfigurable Communication Broker has been presented as a major contribution of this research work. This solution contains all functionalities of previous It was designed based on OSGi platform and all additional components can be built as a standard OSGi bundle. It makes system more flexible to run its bundles in a real-time. As a final instance result of this work Dynamic Reconfigurable Lightweight Broker was developed. It can run on different platforms, as an example it is demonstrated on Android platform, to control sort of robots by installing different bundles.
A monolithic 20 b delta-sigma A/D converter

Oversampled delta-sigma converters have been used for high-resolution analog-to-digital conversion over a wide range of input frequencies. Oversampled converters reduce the need for complex antialias filters, eliminate sample-and-hold amplifiers, and are free of differential nonlinearity errors. A fourth-order converter with a dynamic range of 123 dB and a signal-to-total-harmonic-distortion ratio of 126 dB is described. The input voltage range is 20 V peak to peak, the input signal bandwidth is DC to 500 Hz, the clock frequency is 1024 MHz, and the output word rate is 32 K/s. The 4.48*6.53-mm chip is packaged in a 28-pin plastic leaded chip carrier/leadless chip carrier (PLCC/LCC) and dissipates 120 mW using +5 V, -5 V, and ground. <<ETX>>
The Antecedents and Consequences of Crowdfunding Investors' Citizenship Behaviors - an Empirical Research on Motivations and Stickiness

This study investigates the antecedents (internal and external motivations) and consequences (stickiness intentions) of crowdfunding investors’ citizenship behavior. In addition, this study examines the moderating effects of investors’ perceived project novelty on the relationships between motivations and citizenship behavior. Based on a sample of 226 crowdfunding investors, results indicate that internal and external motivations significantly influence investors’ citizenship behavior, which further affect investors’ stickiness intentions. Furthermore, results show that investors’ perceived project novelty moderates the relationships between internal/ external motivation and citizenship behavior.
The Equalization Probability of the Pólya Urn

Abstract We consider a Pólya urn, started with b black and w white balls, where b > w. We compute the probability that there are ever the same number of black and white balls in the urn, and show that it is twice the probability of getting no more than w − 1 heads in b + w − 1 tosses of a fair coin.