Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CDB-4124 Does Not Cause Apoptosis in Cultured Fibroid Cells

Objective: Selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs), such as asoprisnil (J867) and ulipristal (CDB-2914), have been shown to reduce fibroid volume in vivo and to induce apoptosis in vitro. CDB-4124 (telapristone), a SPRM with different side groups, also reduced fibroid volume in vivo, and we hypothesized that this SPRM would also cause apoptosis in cultured fibroid cells. Methods: Immortalized, progesterone receptor-positive fibroid cells, known to be capable of apoptosis, were grown to 80% confluence in serum-containing media. Cells were then treated for 48 hours in serum-free media with 0, 10, 100, or 1000 nmol/L CDB-4124. Actinomycin-D and staurosporine were used as positive controls to induce apoptosis. Apoptosis was quantified using a TUNEL-fluorescein kit. Images were captured with a widefield-fluorescence microscope and analyzed using MetaMorph image analysis software. To validate results, Western blots of total cell lysates were probed for cleaved caspase-3 (c-CASP3). Experiments were repeated 3 times using independent cell batches. Results: Analysis of 19 712 nuclei indicated 14.8% ± 10.9% (mean ± SEM), 8.4% ± 4.6%, 8.2% ± 4.7%, and 9.3% ± 6.3% apoptosis in 0, 10, 100, and 1000 nmol/L CDB-4124-treated cells, respectively. There was no evidence of elevated c-CASP3 over vehicle control after treatment with CDB-4124. Conclusion: CDB-4124 did not significantly induce apoptosis in cultured fibroid cells under the conditions described suggesting apoptosis may not be the main pathway responsible for CDB-4124-induced fibroid shrinkage. Variations in SPRM biological effects may be due to differences in fibroid source cells, binding kinetics, or extracellular matrix characteristics, and can be exploited in further investigations of the mechanisms of action of SPRMs in fibroid biology.
Magnetic Multivalent Trehalose Glycopolymer Nanoparticles for the Detection of Mycobacteria

A multivalent trehalose-grafted poly(lactic acid) is synthesized and encapsulated with iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles. The magnetic micelles interact with Mycobacterium smegmatis to form orange clusters. Very little particle interaction is found on Staphylococcus epidermidis 35984 or Escherichia coli ORN 208. The presented new approach to the detection of mycobacteria does not require molecular biology reagents or sophisticated instruments.
Clinically Relevant Cardiovascular Findings Detected on Staging Computed Tomography in Patients with Several Malignancies

We evaluated the frequency and subtypes of clinically relevant cardiovascular (CV) findings identified on staging computed tomography (CT) in a large sample. Patients (n = 5026) with different malignant diseases were staged by CT. Clinically relevant CV findings (CRCFs) were included into the study. The CRCFs were defined as cardiac aneurysm, cardiac thrombus, venous thrombosis, arterial thrombosis, arterial dissection, pulmonary thromboembolism, arterial dissection, and dislocation of venous ports/central venous catheters. The CRCFs were identified in 342 patients (6.8% of all patients). Overall, 491 CRCFs were identified in the patients (1.4 per patient). In 203 (59.4%) patients, 1 CRCF; in 129, 2 (37.7%) CRCFs; and in 10 (2.9%) cases, 3 CRCFs were detected. There were incidental venous thrombosis (n = 298, 60.7% of all CRCFs), pulmonary thromboembolism (n = 84, 17.1%), arterial aneurysms (n = 44, 8.9%), arterial thrombosis (n = 43, 8.8%), heart thrombus (n = 15, 3.1%), arterial dissection (n = 3, 0.6%), heart aneurysms (n = 2, 0.4%), and port catheter dislocation (n = 2, 0.4%). The identified CRCF can be associated with potential hazardous complications. The CV system should be carefully evaluated in staging CT investigations.
Endoscopic ultrasound guided-fine needle aspiration ( EUS-FNA ) , in comparison with gross and histologic diagnoses of pancreatic lesions

EUS-FNA of the pancreas is the preferred method of investigating and diagnosing pancreatic masses, both solid and cystic. Most solid tumors of the pancreas are conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). EUS-FNA has a variable sensitivity but high specificity in the preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic lesions, although the diagnosis for well differentiated PDAC is much more challenging than for poorly differentiated PDAC. The criteria for distinguishing other solid neoplastic lesions from PDAC are reviewed. Contamination by duodenal or gastric epithelium is a common pitfall in the diagnosis of the two most common cystic lesions, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and mucinous cystic neoplasm. In this review, based on our experience, we highlight and discuss the cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of pancreatic lesions, correlate these with the gross and histologic appearance, and discuss ancillary tests including KRAS and GNAS mutations, diagnostic pitfalls and future perspectives. Future studies on identifying and validating more sensitive and specific molecular markers are necessary to improve the EUS-FNA diagnosis of pancreatic lesions.
Cardiac Arrest in Dialysis Patients: Taking a Small Step

Dialysis patients are at high risk for death, and cardiac disease accounts for 43% of all‐cause mortality. The single greatest cause of death in dialysis patients is sudden cardiac death. The survival of dialysis patients after cardiac arrest is poor. Clinical strategies for improving the outcomes of dialysis patients should include therapies to reduce the risk of cardiac arrest and the likelihood of surviving cardiac arrest. Defibrillators should be available in all dialysis centers.
Women's Contraceptive Decision-Making: Juggling the Needs of the Sexual Body and the Fertile Body

ABSTRACT The contradictions faced by women in the area of fertility management justify an in-depth qualitative study of contraceptive use. The experience of needing emergency contraception (EC) is an opportunity to study decision-making about fertility management. Thirty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with users of EC recruited in Melbourne, Australia. Women were juggling the needs of the sexual body and the fertile body. The sexual body was expected to be available in women's relationships, and the fertile body required protection from pregnancy in the present and preservation for the future. The needs of these two bodies were very often in conflict and women chose to resolve this conflict in subtly different ways; three strategies were identified. Some women chose to make sexual availability and security from pregnancy a priority; others felt forced to sacrifice sexual availability and security from pregnancy; and a final group chose to make the protection of the fertile body for the future a priority. This study provides a starting point for developing a context-based, woman-centered understanding of the experience of fertility management for women in developed countries.
Using Unified Personal Information in Workspaces

Knowledge work gains more and more importance for the workforce. Thereby knowledge workers (KWers) deal with information personally relevant to them and their work. Furthermore, they use tools to support their work like, e.g., desktop workspaces and specialized applications. However, KWer support is hindered in these applications by personal information fragmentation, i.e., applications needed for a particular activity at hand keep their own set of personal information while not interconnecting this. The KWer faces redundant work to manage this information in several applications and lacks an overview on available information. This thesis shows at hand of two application domains, personal task management and personal meeting management, how to address the personal information fragmentation problem for the support of particular, higher-level KWer activities across individual application boundaries. By using a common unified personal information model and building the applications on top of a personal information management (PIM) system like the recently proposed semantic desktops, e.g., the Nepomuk Social Semantic Desktop, one unified set of a KWer's personal information can be provided across individual applications in a workspace. In particular, this thesis shows a framework with information models, reference architecture and example applications leveraging the former. The information model extends the unified personal information model in the particular domains, i.e., an ontology models respectively the personal task and personal meeting management domain. The reference architecture shows how to efficiently build applications which use unified personal information. The applications for personal task management (Kasimir) and personal meeting management (Nepomuk Meeting Manager) have been designed using this unified personal information and feature methods on how to leverage this information for the KWer. The presented applications have been evaluated with end-users by combining both formative and summative evaluation techniques. Formative usability tests ensured the continuous incorporation of user feedback in the whole design process, ranging from early evaluating design ideas in paper-based prototypes over to evaluating these features in working prototypes of implemented applications. In a summative evaluation, 13 users worked throughout 3.5 weeks with a matured version of the prototype application. This work represents to a large extent an interdisciplinary work among the research fields of semantic web technology, personal information management and human-computer interaction. III Content Overview Content Overview Abstract . II Content Overview . III Table of
Intrinsic motivation toward using information systems : a rich conceptualization and empirical test

Information System (IS) studies traditionally conceptualize and operationalize ‘intrinsic motivation toward using systems’ as perceived enjoyment (PE). Enlightened by Vallerand’s (1997) theorization, we develop a tri-dimensional, second-order construct – Rich Intrinsic Motivation (RIM), specifically targeting at mandatory use contexts (e.g., workplaces). RIM contains three aspects: intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment (IMap), to know (IMkw), and to experience stimulation (IMst), where IMst is analogous to the traditional PE conceptualization. We validated RIM with data from a large telecom service company that has implemented CRM systems. Our results support validity and reliability of RIM and illustrate its superiority over PE in predicting user attitude.
Reduced Cannibalistic Behavior of African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus, Larvae Under Dark and Dim Conditions

In general, African catfish shows higher survival rates in the dark conditions than in the light conditions. In this study, larval behavior of African catfish was observed under 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 lx using a CCD camera to investigate the reason why African catfish larvae show higher survival rates in dark conditions. The larvae showed significantly higher swimming activity under 0, 0.01, and 0.1 lx than that under 10 and 100 lx. The larvae also showed significantly increased aggressive behavior under 10 and 100 lx; the swimming larvae attacked resting individuals more frequently under 10 and 100 lx than under 0, 0.01, and 0.1 lx. The aggressive behavior and sharp teeth of the attacking larvae appeared to induce skin surface lesions on injured larvae. Chemical substances were then generated from the injured skin surface, and these chemical stimuli triggered cannibalistic behavior in other fish near the injured fish. The results of this study demonstrate that the higher survival rates of African catfish larvae under dark conditions are a result of inactivity and subsequent increase in chemical releasing stimuli concentrations around inactive individuals that triggers feeding behavior in nearby active catfish. Therefore, we recommend larval rearing of African catfish in dark or dim conditions, as it improves catfish survival rates.
Evidence that Fgf10 contributes to the skeletal and visceral defects of an apert syndrome mouse model

Apert syndrome (AS) is a severe congenital disease caused by mutations in fibroblast growth factor receptor‐2 (FGFR2), and characterised by craniofacial, limb, visceral, and neural abnormalities. AS‐type FGFR2 molecules exert a gain‐of‐function effect in a ligand‐dependent manner, but the causative FGFs and their relative contribution to each of the abnormalities observed in AS remains unknown. We have generated mice that harbour an AS mutation but are deficient in or heterozygous for Fgf10. The genetic knockdown of Fgf10 can rescue the skeletal as well as some of the visceral defects observed in this AS model, and restore a near normal level of FgfR2 signaling involving an apparent switch between ERK(p44/p42) and p38 phosphorylation. Surprisingly, it can also yield de novo cleft palate and blind colon in a subset of the compound mutants. These findings strongly suggest that Fgf10 contributes to AS‐like pathologies and highlight a complexity of Fgf10 function in different tissues. Developmental Dynamics 238:376–385, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Impaired Heart Function And Noradrenaline Release After Ischaemia In Stroke‐Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

1. Stroke‐prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) are a strain of rat that exhibit severely high blood pressure and stroke attacks at an early age, but their heart function in vitro has seldom been studied in detail. Although the activity of the sympathetic nervous system is known to increase after myocardial ischaemia, there is little information about the cardiac release of noradrenaline (NA) associated with heart function after ischaemia in SHRSP. The aim of the present study was to examine heart function and cardiac NA release after ischaemia in SHRSP.
Optimal Configuring of Multiple Scan Chains

To reduce the high test time for serial scan designs, the use of multiple scan chains has been proposed. In this paper, the authors consider the problem of optimally constructing the multiple scan chains to minimize the overall test time. Rather than follow the traditional practice of using equal length chains, the authors allow the chains to be of different lengths and show that this cap lead to lower test times. The main idea in this approach is to place those scan elements that are more frequently accessed in shorter scan chains as this tends to reduce the overall test time. Given a design with N scan elements and given that if scan chains need to be used for applying tests, the authors present an algorithm of complexity O(kN/sup 2/) for constructing the specified number of chains such that the overall test application time is minimized. By analyzing a range of different circuit topologies, the authors demonstrate test time reductions as large as 40% over equal length chains. >
Molecular typing of Streptococcus suis from pigs in Cuba

Streptococcus suis is a bacterium commonly carried by pigs in the respiratory tract; thus the infections caused by virulent strains are considered a problem in the swine industry. A successful approach for the identifi cation of virulent strains is the differentiation of capsular serotypes using specifi c antisera or the corresponding cps types by geno- typic assessment, with the subsequent detection of virulence associated factors, namely the extracellular factor, the muramidase-released protein and the hemolysin suilysin. Data regarding serological and molecular identifi cation of S. suis from pigs in Cuba are not available. This study was aimed at identifying the capsular types cps2, 7 and 9, as well as three genes related to virulence using PCR assays. According to the results, 31 isolates were evaluated and classifi ed as cps2 (n = 21) or cps9 (n = 4), while six isolates not were typable. Considering the presence in these isolates of the genes mrp, epf and sly, six different genotypes were differentiated among the cps2 or cps9 strains and there were three non-typable isolates for the genes used in this study. The cps2 isolates were recovered from pigs between 6-12 and 14-17 weeks with pneumonia and systemic infection respectively, whereas the cps9 isolates were exclusively associated with pneumonia.
Semiquantitative Analysis and Characterization of Physiological Biodistribution of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT

Abstract The aim of this study was to describe the normal physiological distribution of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE using the SUV to reflect the density of somatostatin receptors in various organ systems. Methods A total of 250 patients (90 men and 160 women) were imaged on a Biograph 64 PET/CT TruePoint (Siemens Medical Solutions) 60 to 80 minutes after injection of 120 to 200 MBq (3.2-5.4 mCi) of 68Ga-DOTA-TATE. Visual assessment was performed on all studies on the multimodality workstation, and sites of increased uptake were recorded. The SUVmax was also calculated for each organ demonstrating increased 68Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake. Results Visual assessment of the 68Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT studies revealed increased uptake in the pituitary, salivary, thyroid glands, liver, spleen, adrenals, kidneys and bone reflecting normal increased somatostatin receptor expression. These sites were confirmed to be disease free on clinical follow-up and on correlation with other imaging (CT/MRI/ultrasound). Using semiquantitative analysis, SUVmax values were the highest in the pituitary gland [11 (4.5)], spleen [18.9 (6.6)], adrenal [14.0 (5.6)], and kidneys [14.2 (3.6)]. In addition, increasing uptake in the uncinate process of pancreas was noted in 12% of patients with SUVmax of 9.2 (3.3). Moderate 68Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake was also present in salivary gland [3.4 (1.8)], thyroid [2.9 (1.2)], and normal liver [6.5 (2.2)]. The bones generally showed low 68Ga-DOTA-TATE uptake with an SUVmax of 1.0 (0.3). Conclusions Knowledge of the normal 68Ga-DOTA-TATE distribution is highly important for accurate interpretation of this novel imaging modality, which is increasingly being used in the imaging of neuroendocrine tumor.
Modeling Extreme Risks in Ecology

Extreme risks in ecology are typified by circumstances in which data are sporadic or unavailable, understanding is poor, and decisions are urgently needed. Expert judgments are pervasive and disagreements among experts are commonplace. We outline approaches to evaluating extreme risks in ecology that rely on stochastic simulation, with a particular focus on methods to evaluate the likelihood of extinction and quasi‐extinction of threatened species, and the likelihood of establishment and spread of invasive pests. We evaluate the importance of assumptions in these assessments and the potential of some new approaches to account for these uncertainties, including hierarchical estimation procedures and generalized extreme value distributions. We conclude by examining the treatment of consequences in extreme risk analysis in ecology and how expert judgment may better be harnessed to evaluate extreme risks.
Drinking Level, Drinking Pattern, and Twenty-Year Total Mortality Among Late-Life Drinkers.

OBJECTIVE Research on moderate drinking has focused on the average level of drinking. Recently, however, investigators have begun to consider the role of the pattern of drinking, particularly heavy episodic drinking, in mortality. The present study examined the combined roles of average drinking level (moderate vs. high) and drinking pattern (regular vs. heavy episodic) in 20-year total mortality among late-life drinkers. METHOD The sample comprised 1,121 adults ages 55-65 years. Alcohol consumption was assessed at baseline, and total mortality was indexed across 20 years. We used multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for a broad set of sociodemographic, behavioral, and health status covariates. RESULTS Among individuals whose high level of drinking placed them at risk, a heavy episodic drinking pattern did not increase mortality odds compared with a regular drinking pattern. Conversely, among individuals who engage in a moderate level of drinking, prior findings showed that a heavy episodic drinking pattern did increase mortality risk compared with a regular drinking pattern. Correspondingly, a high compared with a moderate drinking level increased mortality risk among individuals maintaining a regular drinking pattern, but not among individuals engaging in a heavy episodic drinking pattern, whose pattern of consumption had already placed them at risk. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight that low-risk drinking requires that older adults drink low to moderate average levels of alcohol and avoid heavy episodic drinking. Heavy episodic drinking is frequent among late-middle-aged and older adults and needs to be addressed along with average consumption in understanding the health risks of late-life drinkers.
Pulse compensation for PD-type iterative learning control against initial state shift

The rectangular pulse function is adopted to incorporate feed-forward compensation for various proportional-derivative-type iterative learning control updating laws applied to a class of linear time-invariant systems with initial state shift. The objective of pulse compensation is to suppress the tracking discrepancy incurred by initial state shift. By means of the generalised Young inequality of the convolution integral, the tracking performance of the pulse-based learning updating laws is analysed and the suppressive effect of the pulse compensation is evaluated by measuring the tracking error in the sense of Lebesgue-p norm. The derivation clarifies that the upper bound of the asymptotical tracking error can be improved by tuning the compensation gain properly though it is determined not only by the proportional and derivative learning gains but also by the system state, input and output matrices as well. Numerical simulations show that pulse compensation can effectively suppress the tracking error caused by initial state shift.
Upper and lower critical magnetic fields of superconducting NdFeAsO1−xFx single crystals studied by Hall-probe magnetization and specific heat

The upper and lower critical fields have been deduced from specific heat and Hall-probe magnetization measurements in nonoptimally doped Nd O,F FeAs single crystals Tc 32-35 K . The anisotropy of the penetration depth is temperature independent and on the order of 4.0 1.5. Similarly specific-heat data lead to an anisotropy of the coherence length 5.5 1.5 close to Tc. Our results suggest the presence of rather large thermal fluctuations and the existence of a vortex liquid phase over a broad temperature range 5 K large at 2 T .
OnLine Test System, an application of passive testing in routing protocols test

In order to perform effective routing protocol testing, passive testing is introduced. The passive testing checks the protocol implementation through online observation. It can be performed in the production field without interfering with the network and possesses several other beneficial features. This test method was realized in an OnLine Test System (OLTS). Key techniques were worked out and the framework was designed. The OLTS exploits the state synchronization algorithm to test the protocol state machine. It tests the exchange and the manipulation of the routing information through topology analysis and internal process simulation. OLTS supports multiple instances to work in a distributed environment. It can also cooperate with an active test system to bring out the best in each other. The prototype of the OLTS has been implemented. The testing of BGP, OSPF and RIP has been performed.
Mechanically adjusted variable-flux concept for switched-flux permanent-magnet machines

This paper introduces a mechanically adjusted variable-flux (MVF) concept for switched flux permanent magnet (SFPM) machines. 2D FEA predictions and experimental results are presented showing the effectiveness of the MVF mechanism. Optimisation of the short circuit bar is carried out and several variations on the concept are presented, discussed, and experimentally validated.