Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Angiogenic Phenotype of Endothelial Cells and Pericytes Induced by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A

VEGF-A is a major angiogenesis and permeability factor. Its cellular effects, which can be used as targets in anti-angiogenesis therapy, have mainly been studied in vitro using endothelial cell cultures. The purpose of the present study was to further characterize these effects in vivo in vascular endothelial cells and pericytes, in an experimental monkey model of VEGF-A-induced iris neovascularization. Two cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) received four injections of 0.5 μg VEGF-A in the vitreous of one eye and PBS in the other eye. After sacrifice at day 9, eyes were enucleated and iris samples were snap-frozen for immunohistochemistry (IHC) and stained with a panel of antibodies recognizing endothelial and pericyte determinants related to angiogenesis and permeability. After VEGF-A treatment, the pre-existing iris vasculature showed increased permeability, hypertrophy, and activation, as demonstrated by increased staining of CD31, PAL-E, tPA, uPA, uPAR, Glut-1, and αvβ3 and αvβ5 integrins, VEGF receptors VEGFR-1, −2 and −3, and Tie-2 in endothelial cells, and of NG2 proteoglycan, uPA, uPAR, integrins and VEGFR-1 in pericytes. Vascular sprouts at the anterior surface of the iris were positive for the same antigens except for tPA, Glut-1, and Tie-2, which were notably absent. Moreover, in these sprouts VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 expression was very high in endothelial cells, whereas many pericytes were present that were positive for PDGFR-β, VEGFR-1, and NG2 proteoglycan and negative for α-SMA. In conclusion, proteins that play a role in angiogenesis are upregulated in both pre-existing and newly formed iris vasculature after treatment with VEGF-A. VEGF-A induces hypertrophy and loss of barrier function in pre-existing vessels, and induces angiogenic sprouting, characterized by marked expression of VEGFR-3 and lack of expression of tPA and Tie-2 in endothelial cells, and lack of α-SMA in pericytes. Our in vivo study indicates a role for α-SMA-negative pericytes in early stages of angiogenesis. Therefore, our findings shed new light on the temporal and spatial role of several proteins in the angiogenic cascade in vivo.
Improvement of adaptive fractal image coding on GPUs

GPGPU (General Purpose computing on Graphic Processing Unit) attracts a great deal of attention, which is used for general-purpose computations like numerical calculations as well as graphic processing. In this paper, we implement adaptive fractal image coding algorithms on GPUs by using CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) in order to achieve a given quality of a compressed image and evaluate the improved version of the coding algorithm by enhancing the occupancy of GPU cores.
Albumin Density Gradient Separation and Washing of Platelets and the Study of Platelet Coagulant Activities

Summary: Platelets were centrifuged into a specific gravity gradient made by mixing the interface between platelet rich plasma (PRP) and a 40–45% aqueous solution of bovine albumin. By this method of albumin density gradient separation (ADGS) it was possible to centrifuge platelets without disruptive squashing upon a hard surface. The separated platelets were washed in calcium‐free Tyrode's solution without releasing coagulant activity. Platelet yields after multiple washings were high. Morphology and ADP‐induced aggregation of platelets washed by ADGS (in contrast to platelets washed by conventional methods) were indistinguishable from those of unwashed platelets tested as PRP.
Preliminary evidence for an association between a dopamine D3 receptor gene variant and obsessive‐compulsive personality disorder in patients with major depression

We have previously reported that the Ser9Gly dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) polymorphism was associated with increased rates of obsessive‐compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) symptomology. We tested the replicability of this association within a further two independent groups of individuals with a history of depression, from a clinical sample (n = 149) and a family study (n = 213). The data from the replication samples and the original sample, within which the association was found, were compiled within a meta‐analysis. Although the independent samples did not replicate the original finding, the meta‐analysis elucidated significant evidence supporting the association. An individual with Gly/Gly genotype is 2.4 (P = 0.017) times more likely to be diagnosed with OCPD. Male gender was also found to be a significant predictor of OCPD diagnosis (OR = 2.82, P = 0.001). An exploration of an association of DRD3 with Axis I anxiety disorder diagnoses and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) traits, in particular persistence, revealed no support for an association. We conclude that DRD3 may contribute to the development of OCPD. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Correlation between in‐vitro microsomal enzyme activity and whole organ hepatic elimination kinetics: analysis with a dispersion model

A new model, the dispersion model of hepatic elimination, is applied to the correlation between in‐vitro microsomal data and corresponding rat isolated perfused liver data for a number of drugs reported in the literature, whose extraction ratio varies over the range of 0.01 to 0.995. The dispersion model described the data better than either the ‘well‐stirred’ model or the ‘parallel‐tube’ model, two other widely used models of hepatic elimination. The experimental data support the concept that elimination of solutes is affected by is a considerable dispersion on passage through the liver.
Some applications of Gelfand pairs to number theory

The classical theory of Gelfand pairs has found a wide range of applications, ranging from harmonic analysis on Riemannian symmetric spaces to coding theory. Here we discuss a generalization of this theory, due to Gelfand-Kazhdan, and Bernstein, which was developed to study the representation theory of p-adic groups. We also present some recent number-theoretic results, on local e-factors and on the central critical values of automorphic L-functions, which fit nicely into this framework.
An integrated fuzzy-grey based approach to group decision making problem for a wagon company

Supplier Evaluation and Selection SES is one of the most crucial issues for many companies because of its strategic importance. Over the years a number of approaches have been presented to SES problems. SES problems are multi-criteria decision making problem involving both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Decision makers' DMs preferences on alternative supplier or on the criteria are often uncertain. So SES problems become more difficult. In order to overcome this difficulty, a Fuzzy-Grey based approach is suggested in this paper. We combined the favorable sides of Grey System Theory's GST power of mathematical analysis and Fuzzy Set's FS power of pointing out uncertainty for the sake of processing the uncertainty information. As the empirical study, a practical application proceeded for a leading wagon company in Turkey. A real numerical example is used to clarify the suggested approach and comparison results are presented with conclusion.
Unaltered retinal dopamine levels in a C57BL/6 mouse model of form-deprivation myopia.

PURPOSE Retinal dopamine has been long implicated in the signaling pathway regulating eye growth, as evidenced by its reduced levels in myopic eyes in various species. We examined whether and how retinal dopamine levels were changed in a C57BL/6 mouse model of experimental myopia. METHODS Form-deprivation myopia (FDM) was induced in C57BL/6 mice by wearing monocular occluder for 4 weeks. Refractive errors were measured using an infrared photorefractor. Retinal dopamine/DOPAC and vitreal DOPAC levels were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Extracellular dopamine concentrations were examined by Western blot analysis of dopamine transporter (DAT) expression levels. The intactness of retinal dopaminergic system was evaluated by counting tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive cells, measuring the areas occupied by processes of these cells, and quantifying retinal TH expression at both protein and transcription levels. RESULTS Form-deprivation myopia was successfully induced in C57BL/6 mice with the refractive status of deprived eyes being significantly different from fellow eyes. Unlike most of the previous results obtained in other myopic animal models, however, no significant changes in retinal dopamine, DOPAC, DAT, and vitreal DOPAC levels were detected in deprived eyes, either in the daytime or at night. Furthermore, neither the number of dopaminergic amacrine cells, the area size occupied by the processes of these cells, nor retinal TH expression, were altered in deprived eyes. CONCLUSIONS The retinal dopamine system remains intact in C57BL/6 mice with FDM, and retinal dopamine levels are not associated with the development of FDM in this mouse strain.
Impact of Advanced Healthcare Directives on Treatment Decisions by Physicians in Patients With Acute Stroke*

Background:The implementation of advanced healthcare directives, prepared by almost half of the adult population in United States remains relatively under studied. We determined the impact of advanced healthcare directives on treatment decisions by multiple physicians in stroke patients. Methods:A deidentified summary of clinical and radiological records of 28 patients with stroke was given to six stroke physicians who were not involved in the care of the patients. Each physician independently rated 28 treatment decisions per patient in the presence or absence of advanced healthcare directives 1 month apart to allow memory washout. The percentage agreement to treat/intervene per patient and proportion of treatment withheld as a group were estimated for each of the 28 treatment decision items. We also determined the interobserver reliability between the two raters (attorneys) in interpretation of six items characterizing the adequacy of documentation within the 28 advanced healthcare directives. Results:The percentage agreement among physician raters for treatment decisions in 28 stroke patients was highest for treatment of hyperpyrexia (100%, 100%) and lowest for ICU monitoring duration based on family-physician considerations outside of accepted criteria within institution (68%, 69%) in presence and absence of advanced healthcare directives. The physician rater agreement in choosing “yes” was highest for “routine-complexity” treatment decisions and lowest for “moderate-complexity” treatment decisions. The choice of withholding treatment in “routine-complexity,” “moderate-complexity,” or “high-complexity” treatment decisions was remarkably similar among raters in presence or absence of advanced healthcare directives. The only treatment decision that showed an impact of advanced healthcare directives was ICU monitoring withheld in 32% of treatment decisions in presence of directives (compared with 8% in the absence of directives). IV medication and defibrillation for cardiac arrest was withheld in 29% (compared with 19%) of the treatment decisions in the presence of advanced healthcare directives. The two attorney raters found the description of acceptable outcome inadequate in 14 and 21 of 28 advanced healthcare directives reviewed, respectively. The overall mean kappa for agreement regarding adequacy of documentation was modest (43%) for “does the advanced healthcare directive specify which treatments the patient would choose, or refuse to receive if they were diagnosed with an acute, terminal condition? ” and lowest (3%) for “description of acceptable outcome. ” Conclusions:We did not find any prominent differences in most “routine-complexity,” “moderate-complexity,” or “high-complexity” treatment decisions in patient management in the presence of advanced healthcare directives. Presence of advanced healthcare directives also did not reduce the prominent variance among physicians in treatment decisions.
Chemoembolization outcomes for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients with compromised liver function.

BACKGROUND Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is recommended as a treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with normal underlying liver function. The efficacy of TACE in cirrhotic patients with compromised liver function is unknown. METHODS All ‘first’ TACE interventions for HCC performed at a single institution from 2008 to 2012 were retrospectively reviewed (n = 190). Liver function was quantified via the Child's score. Tumour necrosis after TACE was quantified via the mRECIST criteria. RESULTS The 'first' TACE procedures of 100 Child's A and 90 Child's B/C cirrhotic patients were evaluated. As expected, the lab-model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was significantly higher in the Child's B/C group. Although the number of tumours were similar between the groups, both the size of the largest tumour and the total tumour diameter were greater in the Child's A group. There were no significant differences in post-TACE tumour necrosis between groups. The median survival after TACE was significantly longer in the Child's A compared with Child's B/C patients (21.9 versus 13.7 months, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS TACE appears to be equally efficacious in cirrhotic patients regardless of their Child's classification based upon equivalent mRECIST measures of tumour necrosis. However, inferior survival after TACE was observed in the Child's B/C group.
Staining of eccrine and apocrine neoplasms and metastatic adenocarcinoma with IKH‐4, a monoclonal antibody specific for the eccrine gland

The histogenesis of apocrine and eccrine neoplasms has always interested dermatopathologists. In addition, the histologic differential diagnosis of eccrine carcinoma from metastatic adenocarcinoma is of practical importance. We describe a novel monoclonal antibody IKH‐4 which stains the eccrine secretory coil, but not the apocrine secretory segment. Positive staining was observed in eccrine hidradenoma, eccrine poroma, eccrine spiradenoma, papillary eccrine adenoma, eccrine hidrocystoma, syringoma, eccrine carcinoma, and in 1 case of syringocystadenoma papilliferum. Negative staining was observed in apocrine adenocarcinoma, hidradenoma papilliferum, erosive adenomatosis of the nipple, and primary and metastatic adenocarcinomas. IKH‐4 antibody was useful in differentiating eccrine from apocrine neoplasms and in differentiating eccrine carcinoma from metastatic adenocarcinomas.
Design Decisions for Dynamics-Aware Coarsening

Accurate physical modeling of transient dynamics with contact is validated by experiment and generally requires simulation at close to convergent spatial and temporal grid sizes. This makes even a single forward dynamic simulation run in 3D prohibitively expensive. On the other end of the spectrum physically based animation methods seek efficiency by pushing simulations towards maximally stable time-step sizes and coarsest possible spatial meshes to obtain visually appealing but generally highly inaccurate dynamics. Here we detail our experiments and investigations towards designing predictive and efficient simulation of high-speed dynamics under frictional contact, impact, loading and free-flight suitable for fabrication design.
Optimal PMU placement based on Mean Square Error using Differential Evolution algorithm

This paper proposes a method for optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) to have a minimum Mean Square Error (MSE) from state estimation. A Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm is used to do a state estimation for a power system and calculation of MSE from results of state estimation and then determination of a minimum number of PMU needed to make a minimum MSE for system. The proposed method is applied on the IEEE 14-bus system in several cases to determine the optimal placement of PMUs in two sections when conventional measurements are available and are not available.
Lung cancer secreted microvesicles: Underappreciated modulators of microenvironment in expanding tumors

Microvesicles (MVs) are shed from cell membranes of several cell types and have an important function in cell‐to‐cell communication. Exponentially growing lung cancer cells secrete large quantities of MVs and we were interested in their role in tumor progression. We observed that both human and murine lung cancer cell lines secrete more MVs in response to non‐apoptotic doses of hypoxia and irradiation. These tumor‐derived (t)MVs activate and chemoattract stroma fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Furthermore, they induce expression of several pro‐angiopoietic factors in stromal cells such as IL‐8, VEGF, LIF, OSM, IL‐11 and MMP‐9. We also noticed that conditioned media harvested from stroma cells stimulated by tMVs enhanced the metastatic potential of both human and murine lung cancer cells in vivo. Thus, we postulated that tMVs are underappreciated constituents of the tumor microenvironment and play a pivotal role in tumor progression, metastasis and angiogenesis. © 2009 UICC
The effects of beta-alanine supplementation on performance: a systematic review of the literature.

PURPOSE To critically review the methodological quality and synthesize information from systematic reviews and high quality studies on the effects of beta alanine (BA) on exercise and athletic performance. METHODS A search strategy was developed in accordance with the standards for the reporting of scientific literature via systematic reviews. Five databases were thoroughly searched from inception to November 2012. Inclusion criteria were English language, human studies, used BA to increase exercise or athletic performance, systematic reviews or randomized controlled trials and were published in a peer-reviewed journal. Included studies were systematically graded for their methodological quality by rotating pairs of reviewers and the results were qualitatively synthesized. RESULTS One systematic review and 19 randomized trials were included in this review. There is one systematic review with several methodological weaknesses that limit the confidence in its results. There are moderate to high quality studies that appear to support that BA may increase power output and working capacity, decrease the feeling of fatigue and exhaustion, and have of positive effect on body composition and carnosine content. The reporting of side effects from BA supplementation in the athletic population was generally under-reported. CONCLUSIONS There appears to be some evidence from this review that supplementation with BA may increase athletic performance. However, there is insufficient evidence examining the safety of BA supplementation and its side effects. It is therefore recommended to err on the side of caution in using BA as an ergogenic aid until there is sufficient evidence confirming its safety.
Comparison of School Building Construction Costs Estimation Methods Using Regression Analysis, Neural Network, and Support Vector Machine

Accurate cost estimation at the early stage of a construction project is key factor in a project’s success. But it is difficult to quickly and accurately estimate construction costs at the planning stage, when drawings, documentation and the like are still incomplete. As such, various techniques have been applied to accurately estimate construction costs at an early stage, when project information is limited. While the various techniques have their pros and cons, there has been little effort made to determine the best technique in terms of cost estimating performance. The objective of this research is to compare the accuracy of three estimating techniques (regression analysis (RA), neural network (NN), and support vector machine techniques (SVM)) by performing estimations of construction costs. By comparing the accuracy of these techniques using historical cost data, it was found that NN model showed more accurate estimation results than the RA and SVM models. Consequently, it is determined that NN model is most suitable for estimating the cost of school building projects.
Ambulatory vs Office Blood Pressure Monitoring in Renal Transplant Recipients

Hypertension is common following renal transplantation and has adverse effects on cardiovascular and graft health. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is better at overall blood pressure (BP) assessment and is necessary to diagnose nocturnal hypertension, which is also implicated in poor outcomes. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 98 renal transplant recipients (RTRs) and compared office BP and ambulatory BP recordings. ABPM revealed discordance between office BP and ambulatory BP in 61% of patients, with 3% caused by white‐coat and 58% caused by masked hypertension (of which 33% were caused by isolated nocturnal hypertension). Overall, mean systolic BP was 3.6 mm Hg (0.5–6.5) and diastolic BP was 7.5 mm Hg (5.7–9.3) higher via ambulatory BP than office BP. This was independent of estimated glomerular filtration rate, proteinuria, transplant time/type, and comorbidities. A total of 42% of patients had their management changed after results from ABPM. ABPM should be routinely offered as part of hypertension management in RTRs.
A Bayesian Method for Evaluating Medical Test operating Characteristics When Some Patients' Conditions Fail to Be Diagnosed by the Reference Standard

The evaluation of a diagnostic test when the reference standard fails to establish a diagnosis in some patients is a common and difficult analytical problem. Conventional operating char acteristics, derived from a 2 x 2 matrix, require that tests have only positive or negative results, and that disease status be designated definitively as present or absent. Results can be displayed in a 2 x 3 matrix, with an additional column for undiagnosed patients, when it is not possible always to ascertain the disease status definitively. The authors approach this problem using a Bayesian method for evaluating the 2 x 3 matrix in which test operating characteristics are described by a joint probability density function. They show that one can derive this joint probability density function of sensitivity and specificity empirically by applying a sampling algorithm. The three-dimensional histogram resulting from this sampling pro cedure approximates the true joint probability density function for sensitivity and specificity. Using a clinical example, the authors illustrate the method and demonstrate that the joint probability density function for sensitivity and specificity can be influenced by assumptions used to interpret test results in undiagnosed patients. This Bayesian method represents a flexible and practical solution to the problem of evaluating test sensitivity and specificity when the study group includes patients whose disease could not be diagnosed by the reference standard. Key words: Bayesian analysis; test operating characteristics; probability density functions. (Med Decis Making 1990;10:102-111)
Cross-layer multi channel MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks in 2.4-GHz ISM band

In a smart grid environment, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) perform a significant role in supervising and taking control decisions based on the data transferred from source to destination. The work in this paper is aimed to develop a cross-layer multi-channel MAC (CMCMAC) protocol for interference mitigation between ZigBee and WiFi operating in common 2.4GHz frequency band. In this protocol, to avoid the interference between the channels, the future interference is predicted using the Hidden Markov Model (HMM), based on the prediction a channel with the minimum interference is selected for data transmission to enhance the network performance. The results obtained show the enriched network performance.