Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide production and nitric oxide synthase expression in acute human renal allograft rejection.

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by nitric oxide synthases (NOS), which are either constitutively expressed in the kidney or inducible, in resident and infiltrating cells during inflammation and allograft rejection. NO is rapidly degraded to the stable end products nitrite and nitrate, which can be measured in serum and urine, and may serve as noninvasive markers of kidney allograft rejection. METHODS Total nitrite and nitrate levels (NOx) were measured in serum and urine thrice weekly after an overnight fast in 18 consecutive patients following renal cadaveric transplantation. Inducible NOS (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression was immunochemically determined in renal biopsy specimens with or without acute rejection (AR). RESULTS Serum NOx levels increased days before AR and were significantly higher at the moment of AR (27+/-12.4 micromol/L) compared with recipients with an uncomplicated course (13+/-7.6 micromol/L), but not compared with recipients with cyclosporine (CsA) toxicity (20+/-13.0 micromol/L). Urinary NOx levels were significantly lower during AR (20+/-13.6 micromol/mmol creatinine) compared with an uncomplicated course (64+/-25.2 micromol/mmol creatinine) or CsA toxicity (53.8+/-28.3 micromol/mmol creatinine). Interstitial and glomerular iNOS expression was significantly increased in biopsy specimens showing AR. Unexpectedly, glomerular eNOS expression was significantly decreased in patients with AR. CONCLUSIONS This study reports differences in NOx levels in serum and urine, which may help discriminate AR episodes from an uncomplicated course or CsA toxicity. As expected, renal iNOS expression is increased in acute allograft rejection. The decrease in glomerular eNOS expression suggests an intriguing link between acute and chronic rejection.
Development of the helmet-chin PET prototype

There is a strong potential demand for high-sensitivity and low-cost brain positron emission tomography (PET) imaging that is applicable to early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, we have proposed a high-sensitivity dedicated brain PET geometry composed of a helmet detector having a hemisphere shape and a chin detector, which we call helmet-chin PET. Because the shape of a human head is a sphere, the hemispherical arrangement of the detectors allows closer positioning of detectors and better sensitivity than the conventional cylindrical arrangement. In addition, adding detectors around the chin position significantly improves the sensitivity at the center where the cerebellum is located. For a proof-of-concept of the helmet-chin PET, we developed the first prototype of the helmet-chin PET using 4-layer depth-of-interaction (DOI) detectors. The helmet detector for the prototype system was realized by multiple rings having different numbers of detectors and a cross-shaped part covering the top. We used in total 54 DOI detectors, each of which consisted of 1,024 Zr-doped GSO crystals with dimensions of 2.8 × 2.8 × 7.5 mm3 and a high-sensitivity, 64-ch flat-panel photomultiplier tube. In performance evaluations, we determined there were uniform spatial resolutions of 3.0 mm by an analytical method and 1.4 mm by an iterative method. Peak sensitivity was measured as 10 % at a region near the top of the head, which was almost equivalent to the central sensitivity of the cylindrical PET composed of 120 DOI detectors. In addition, we performed an initial imaging test with a brain phantom and we reconstructed the images with and without the chin detector. We found the slice near the bottom of the helmet detector had strong noise without the chin detector, while the slice had good imaging performance with it, and the overall image quality was improved. Therefore, we concluded that the helmet-chin PET had high potential for realizing high-sensitivity, low-cost, and accurate brain imaging.
High‐Throughput Quantitative Analysis of Hepatitis B Virus DNA in Serum Using the TaqMan Fluorogenic Detection System

Reproducible quantitative assays to detect viral nucleic acids have proven useful in defining disease progression and following response to therapy in a wide variety of viral infections. We describe the development of a quantitative assay to detect hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA using real‐time fluorescent‐probe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (TaqMan). The assay is highly reproducible, highly automated, and much more sensitive than the currently used branched‐chain DNA (bDNA) assay for HBV. The quantitative PCR assay accurately detected samples ranging from 10 to 109 copies of HBV DNA per milliliter. Of 157 serum samples submitted for HBV quantitation, 119 were positive by TaqMan PCR versus only 55 by bDNA (P < .001). All 55 bDNA‐positives were positive by TaqMan. Of the 77 samples with detectable HBV‐DNA titers below 3.75 × 105 copies by TaqMan, only 13 were detected by bDNA. We tested 119 patients negative for all HBV serologic markers, and all tested negative in the TaqMan assay. HBV DNA was detected by TaqMan in 164 of 195 (84%) of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive samples. Among hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive samples, median titers were 4.3 × 106 copies/mL versus 322 copies/mL in HBeAg‐negative samples (P = .012). The TaqMan assay for HBV DNA is highly sensitive and reproducible and thus appears useful in accurately defining levels of viral replication among persons with HBV infection.
Morphosemantic Analysis of Compound Word Forms Denoting Surgical Procedures

This paper describes a methodology for automated morphosemantic segmentation and semantic interpretation (paraphrasing rules) of medical compound word forms derived from Greek and Latin and denoting surgical procedures. Possible applications of such a procedure in medicine include the construction of computer-based medical dictionaries, automated processing of medical language, facilitation of international communication through national medical language, and vocabulary training for medical and paramedical personnel.
Effects of dietary saw palmetto on the prostate of transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate model (TRAMP)

Several of the proposed mechanisms for the actions of the liposterolic extract of saw palmetto (SPE) are exerted on known risk factors for prostate cancer (CaP). This study investigated whether SPE could prevent the progression of CaP in a transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) model.
Clinically relevant change and clinically relevant difference in knee osteoarthritis.

As clinical trialists in osteoarthritis, we were repeatedly met with the objection whether the difference between two treatments (as measured by group difference in change of disease status) was clinically relevant. To address this unsettled problem, we report post hoc analyses of three placebo-controlled clinical trials in knee osteoarthritis where Lequesne’s 24-point pain and function index (ISK) and a 100-mm visual analogue pain scale (VAS) to measure global pain during the past week were used as endpoints. The aim of this evaluation was to establish change scores which are ‘minimal clinically relevant’ as distinguished from clinically unimportant. We postulate that a difference between two treatments, one generating relevant and the other unimportant change score is also of clinical relevance. Two groups were extracted from the three trials using all patients with data available: patients who subjectively felt their complaints were reduced after about half a year of follow-up and those who expressed unaltered complaints at that time point. Change score was calculated as absolute change of ISK and VAS from baseline to half-year follow-up in each patient. The difference in mean reduction of ISK was 0.7. It was 8.4 mm regarding mean improvement on VAS. Results were in accordance with cut off points determined by linear discriminant analysis: 0.4 (cut-off for change of ISK) and 8.4 mm (cut off for change of VAS). These data suggest which difference in change is relevant to patients and may therefore be considered as a difference which is relevant for treatments.
Simultaneous effects of the apolipoprotein E polymorphism on apolipoprotein E, apolipoprotein B, and cholesterol metabolism.

Human apolipoprotein (apo) E is polymorphic. We have investigated the effect of the apo-E polymorphism on quantitative plasma levels of apo E, apo B, and total cholesterol in a sample of 563 blood-bank donors from Marburg and Giessen, West Germany. The relative frequencies of the epsilon 2, epsilon 3, and epsilon 4 alleles are . 063, . 793, and . 144, respectively. The average effects of the epsilon 2 allele are to raise apo-E levels by 0.95 mg/dl, lower apo B levels by 9.46 mg/dl, and lower total cholesterol levels by 14.2 mg/dl. The average effects of the epsilon 4 allele are to lower apo-E levels by 0.19 mg/dl, to raise apo-B levels by 4.92 mg/dl, and to raise total cholesterol levels by 7.09 mg/dl. The average effects of the epsilon 3 allele are near zero for all three phenotypes. The apo-E polymorphism accounts for 20% of the variability of plasma apo-E levels, 12% of the variability of plasma apo-B levels, and 4% of the variability of total plasma cholesterol levels. The inverse relationship between the genotype-specific average apo-E levels and both the genotype-specific average apo-B and cholesterol levels is offset by a positive relationship between apo-E levels and both apo-B and cholesterol levels within an apo-E genotype. The apo-E polymorphism also has a direct effect on the correlation between apo-E and total cholesterol levels. The implication of these results on multivariate genetic analyses of these phenotypes is discussed. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Physical characterization and in vitro skin permeation of solid lipid nanoparticles for transdermal delivery of quercetin

Quercetin, a phenolic compound isolated from plants, can act as an antioxidant to protect the skin from oxidative stress induced by ultraviolet rays. The aims of this work were (i) to compare the physical characterization of quercetin‐loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (QSLNs) and (ii) to investigate the enhanced skin permeation of quercetin using QSLNs.
LAB-ONA-PRINTER PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY

This work introduces and demonstrates the concept of Lab-on-a-Printer whereby microfluidic components are integrated with inkjet dispensers. This concept allows for multi-functional microfluidic materials processing to be performed on chip and direct post-process printing of those materials enabling printing of programmable gradients and more generally structures with programmable composition. This concept is demonstrated with a disposable PDMS device that integrates an inkjet dispenser technology with a microfluidic mixer.
Physical scoring function based on AMBER force field and Poisson–Boltzmann implicit solvent for protein structure prediction

A well‐behaved physics‐based all‐atom scoring function for protein structure prediction is analyzed with several widely used all‐atom decoy sets. The scoring function, termed AMBER/Poisson–Boltzmann (PB), is based on a refined AMBER force field for intramolecular interactions and an efficient PB model for solvation interactions. Testing on the chosen decoy sets shows that the scoring function, which is designed to consider detailed chemical environments, is able to consistently discriminate all 62 native crystal structures after considering the heteroatom groups, disulfide bonds, and crystal packing effects that are not included in the decoy structures. When NMR structures are considered in the testing, the scoring function is able to discriminate 8 out of 10 targets. In the more challenging test of selecting near‐native structures, the scoring function also performs very well: for the majority of the targets studied, the scoring function is able to select decoys that are close to the corresponding native structures as evaluated by ranking numbers and backbone Cα root mean square deviations. Various important components of the scoring function are also studied to understand their discriminative contributions toward the rankings of native and near‐native structures. It is found that neither the nonpolar solvation energy as modeled by the surface area model nor a higher protein dielectric constant improves its discriminative power. The terms remaining to be improved are related to 1‐4 interactions. The most troublesome term is found to be the large and highly fluctuating 1‐4 electrostatics term, not the dihedral‐angle term. These data support ongoing efforts in the community to develop protein structure prediction methods with physics‐based potentials that are competitive with knowledge‐based potentials. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Harvesting Energy from CO2 Emissions

When two fluids with different compositions are mixed, mixing energy is released. This holds true for both liquids and gases, though in the case of gases, no technology is yet available to harvest this energy source. Mixing the CO2 in combustion gases with air represents a source of energy with a total annual worldwide capacity of 1570 TWh. To harvest the mixing energy from CO2-containing gas emissions, we use pairs of porous electrodes, one selective for anions and the other selective for cations. We demonstrate that when an aqueous electrolyte, flushed with either CO2 or air, alternately flows between these selective porous electrodes, electrical energy is gained. The efficiency of this process reached 24% with deionized water as the aqueous electrolyte and 32% with a 0.25 M monoethanolamine (MEA) solution as the electrolyte. The highest average power density obtained with a MEA solution as the electrolyte was 4.5 mW/m2, significantly higher than that with water as the electrolyte (0.28 mW/m2).
Joint rate regulation and power control for cochannel interference limited wireless networks

Centralized and distributed algorithms for joint rate regulation and power control are proposed for the wireless networks where the cochannel interference limits the capacity. The goal of the proposed algorithms is maximizing the data rate while minimizing the transmitting power on each hop of the wireless networks. The distributed algorithm simulates the operation of the centralized algorithm in a distributed fashion and need not measure the link gains for all transmission links and interference links. We prove that the distributed algorithm can find the maximal transmitting rate and the minimal transmitting power as the centralized algorithm does. Simulation results also show that the proposed distributed algorithm outperforms the previous distributed algorithm in the data rate achieved. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Inappropriate ICD Discharge Due to T‐Wave Oversensing in a Patient with Short QT Syndrome

A 45‐year‐old man with diagnosis of short QT syndrome underwent successful implantation of dual‐chamber implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) to prevent sudden cardiac death. Ten days after implantation, the patient was treated by inappropriate ICD discharges for frequent T‐wave oversensing. After careful reprogramming of the ICD, the T‐wave oversensing was eliminated and no T‐wave oversensing or inappropriate discharge was documented during 6‐month follow‐up period. (PACE 2010; 113–116)
Dangerous liaisons? Component-based development and organizational subcultures

This paper presents an exploratory case study of the investment banking arm of a multinational banking corporation (Invebank) and its attempt to introduce component-based development (CBD). Based on a logic of opposition and utilizing literature on organizational culture and metaphors as an analytical device, issues confronting Invebank in CBD adoption are identified. In particular, problems in CBD implementation were encountered because, while CBD requires extensive knowledge sharing and collaboration, subcultural differences in Invebank meant that this proved difficult to enact. Thus, the paper considers the complexities of subcultural differences in firms and provides a salutary reminder that the implementation of corporate-wide integrative "solutions" such as CBD, may be problematic. Further, there is more to the issue of organizational subcultural differences than the oft-cited business-information technology (IT) divide. Nevertheless, the case demonstrates that subcultural differences should not simply be viewed as a threat. Rather, the recognition and discussion of these differences can provide a stimulus for identifying limitations of the policies surrounding technology implementation and use that if changed could help to maximize the benefits of the technology. Simplistic entreaties to knowledge sharing and the nurture of collaboration and consensus are, thus, brought into question. Implications for further research into the implementation of integrative software solutions like CBD in multifunctional and multifarious organizations are also considered.
Foreign body in the larynx in Nigerian children.

Les corps etrangers dans le larynx peuvent entrainer la mort. L'arete de poisson est l'objet le plus frequemment ingere, par les enfants au Nigeria. On note une frequence elevee d'Ascaris dans le larynx ce qui montre un etat sanitaire catastrophique
Inhibition of diethylnitrosamine-initiated alcohol-promoted hepatic inflammation and precancerous lesions by flavonoid luteolin is associated with increased sirtuin 1 activity in mice.

BACKGROUND Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption is an established risk for hepatic inflammation and carcinogenesis. Luteolin is one of the most common flavonoids present in plants and has potential beneficial effects against cancer. In this study, we examined the effect and potential mechanisms of luteolin supplementation in a carcinogen initiated alcohol-promoted pre-neoplastic liver lesion mouse model. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) [i.p. 25 mg/kg of body weight (BW)] at 14 days of age. At 8 weeks of age mice were group pair-fed with Lieber-DeCarli liquid control diet or alcoholic diet [ethanol (EtOH) diet, 27% total energy from ethanol] and supplemented with a dose of 30 mg luteolin/kg BW per day for 21 days. RESULTS DEN-injected mice fed EtOH diet displayed a significant induction of pre-neoplastic lesions, a marker associated with presence of steatosis and inflammation. Dietary luteolin significantly reduced the severity and incidence of hepatic inflammatory foci and steatosis in DEN-injected mice fed EtOH diet, as well the presence of preneoplastic lesions. There was no difference on hepatic protein levels of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) among all groups; however, luteolin supplementation significantly reversed alcohol-reduced SIRT1 activity assessed by the ratio of acetylated and total forkhead box protein O1 (FoXO1) and SIRT1 target proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1α). CONCLUSIONS Dietary intake of luteolin prevents alcohol promoted pre-neoplastic lesions, potentially mediated by SIRT1 signaling pathway.
Représentation et indexation d'objets mobiles dans un entrepôt de données

Resume. Le developpement considerable des techniques de geo localisation et des peripheriques mobiles mene a une profusion de bases d’objets mobiles et souleve la question de l’exploitation pour l’aide a la decision. Si les systemes conventionnels d’analyse en ligne (OLAP) sont utilises efficacement dans l’analyse des donnees basees sur la modelisation multidimensionnelle, ils ne sont pas adaptes aux bases d’objets mobiles. Ces objets possedent outre les attributs descriptifs, une trajectoire variant continuellement dans des dimensions spatiales et temporelles. Cet article etudie le probleme de l’entreposage d’objets mobiles dans un reseau. Ses contributions sont : (1) un modele conceptuel qui etend le modele multidimensionnel aux dimensions et aux faits continus ; (2) un modele de representation adapte ; (3) une structure d'indexation et des algorithmes optimaux pour les requetes spatiotemporelles OLAP sur ces objets mobiles. Un prototype a ete developpe et les resultats de l’experimentation, detailles ici, montrent l’efficacite des methodes proposees.
Performance evaluation of passive clustering based techniques for inter-vehicle communications

Inter-vehicle communication is one of the most significant transmission behaviors for diverse transportation applications in the vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). The existing studies have showed that clustering is a promising solution to data communication under the mobile environment, and especially the passive clustering (PC) technique is the efficient one compared to other clustering techniques. However, the original PC technique does not take into account the unique characteristics of VANETs, and thus it may face many challenges to inter-vehicle communication. This paper proposes three PC-based techniques, called VPCs, to determine the suitable vehicles to become the main participants in cluster structure formation. VPCs consider numerous metrics, such as vehicle density, link quality, and link sustainability. Simulation results demonstrate that VPCs collectively exhibit better performance than the PC technique in packet delivery ratio, delivery delay, and network throughput.
Exhaled Nitric Oxide Decreases in Association with Attendance at an Asthma Summer Camp

Attendance at a summer asthma camp has been associated with improved outcomes in children with asthma. We hypothesized that one mechanism involved in improved asthma outcomes is reduction in airway inflammation. To investigate this, we measured the fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 sec, FEV1) and asthma control (Juniper Asthma Control Questionnaire, ACQ) from children at the beginning and end of a 1-week asthma summer camp. We also obtained a symptoms-only ACQ at 1 and 6 months after the end of camp. We enrolled 10 girls, 17 boys, mean (± SD) age = 9.6 ± 1.3 years. At baseline, FeNO (ppb), median (25–75 IQR) = 11.4 (7.2–21.3); ACQ = 0.86 (0.43–1.21); FEV1 (%pred, mean ± SD) = 87 ± 10. At the end of camp, FeNO = 6.2 (4.4–8.4), a change of −45%, p < 0.0001; ACQ = 0.71 (0.43–1.14), a fall of 14%, p = 0.72; and mean FEV1% predicted remained unchanged. There were no significant changes in the follow-up symptoms-only ACQ at 1 and 6 months. We conclude that airway inflammation, as measured by FeNO, improved during 1 week of asthma camp, but there were no significant changes in lung function or asthma control. Since no child had a change in anti-inflammatory therapy during camp, these findings suggest that airway inflammation was reduced because of improved adherence to therapy and/or reduced exposure to pro-inflammatory stimuli in the home environment. The finding of reduced inflammation following attendance at an asthma summer camp should motivate the child, the parents and the clinician to focus their efforts on improving adherence to therapy and reducing exposures at home.
Akt-dependent Phosphorylation of p27Kip1Promotes Binding to 14-3-3 and Cytoplasmic Localization*

In many human cancers, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 is expressed at low or undetectable levels. The decreased p27Kip1 expression allows cyclin-dependent kinase activity to cause cells to enter into S phase and correlates with poor patient survival. Inhibition of serine/threonine kinase Akt signaling by some pharmacological agents or by PTEN induces G1 arrest, in part by up-regulating p27Kip1. However, the role of Akt-dependent phosphorylation in p27Kip1 regulation is not clear. Here, we show that Akt bound directly to and phosphorylated p27Kip1. Screening p27Kip1 phosphorylation sites identified the COOH-terminal Thr198 residue as a novel site. Further analysis revealed that 14-3-3 proteins bound to p27Kip1 through Thr198 only when it was phosphorylated by Akt. Although Akt also phosphorylated p27Kip1 at Ser10 and Thr187, these two sites were not involved in the binding to 14-3-3 proteins. p27Kip1 phosphorylated at Thr198 exists only in the cytoplasm. Therefore, Akt promotes cell-cycle progression through the mechanisms of phosphorylation-dependent 14-3-3 binding to p27Kip1 and cytoplasmic localization.