Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved protocol for laser microdissection of human pancreatic islets from surgical specimens.

Laser microdissection (LMD) is a technique that allows the recovery of selected cells and tissues from minute amounts of parenchyma. The dissected cells can be used for a variety of investigations, such as transcriptomic or proteomic studies, DNA assessment or chromosomal analysis. An especially challenging application of LMD is transcriptome analysis, which, due to the lability of RNA, can be particularly prominent when cells are dissected from tissues that are rich of RNases, such as the pancreas. A microdissection protocol that enables fast identification and collection of target cells is essential in this setting in order to shorten the tissue handling time and, consequently, to ensure RNA preservation. Here we describe a protocol for acquiring human pancreatic beta cells from surgical specimens to be used for transcriptomic studies. Small pieces of pancreas of about 0.5-1 cm(3) were cut from the healthy appearing margins of resected pancreas specimens, embedded in Tissue-Tek O.C. T. Compound, immediately frozen in chilled 2-Methylbutane, and stored at -80 °C until sectioning. Forty serial sections of 10 μm thickness were cut on a cryostat under a -20 °C setting, transferred individually to glass slides, dried inside the cryostat for 1-2 min, and stored at -80 °C. Immediately before the laser microdissection procedure, sections were fixed in ice cold, freshly prepared 70% ethanol for 30 sec, washed by 5-6 dips in ice cold DEPC-treated water, and dehydrated by two one-minute incubations in ice cold 100% ethanol followed by xylene (which is used for tissue dehydration) for 4 min; tissue sections were then air-dried afterwards for 3-5 min. Importantly, all steps, except the incubation in xylene, were performed using ice-cold reagents - a modification over a previously described protocol. utilization of ice cold reagents resulted in a pronounced increase of the intrinsic autofluorescence of beta cells, and facilitated their recognition. For microdissection, four sections were dehydrated each time: two were placed into a foil-wrapped 50 ml tube, to protect the tissue from moisture and bleaching; the remaining two were immediately microdissected. This procedure was performed using a PALM MicroBeam instrument (Zeiss) employing the Auto Laser Pressure Catapulting (AutoLPC) mode. The completion of beta cell/islet dissection from four cryosections required no longer than 40-60 min. Cells were collected into one AdhesiveCap and lysed with 10 μl lysis buffer. Each single RNA specimen for transcriptomic analysis was obtained by combining 10 cell microdissected samples, followed by RNA extraction using the Pico Pure RNA Isolation Kit (Arcturus). This protocol improves the intrinsic autofluorescence of human beta cells, thus facilitating their rapid and accurate recognition and collection. Further improvement of this procedure could enable the dissection of phenotypically different beta cells, with possible implications for better understanding the changes associated with type 2 diabetes.
A Novel Fuzzy-Bayesian Classification Method for Automatic Text Categorization

Text categorization is mostly required to label the documents automatically with the predefined set of topics. It has been achieved by the large number of advanced machine learning algorithms. In the proposed system, fuzzy rule along with Bayesian classification method is proposed for automatic text categorization using the class-specific features. The proposed method selects the particular feature subset for each class. Then, these class features are applied for the classification. To achieve this, Baggenstoss‘s PDF Projection Theorem is followed to reconstruct PDF in raw data space from the class-specific PDF in low-dimensional feature space and build the fuzzy based Bayes classification rule. The noticeable significance of this method is that most feature selection criteria such as information gain and maximum discrimination which can be easily incorporated into the proposed method. The proposed classification performance is evaluated on different datasets and compared with the different feature selection methods. The experimental results illustrate that the effectiveness of the proposed method and further indicates its wide applications in text categorization.
Determinants of donor platelet variability when testing for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is a common immune-mediated drug reaction that can be complicated by life-threatening arterial thrombosis. The diagnosis can be confirmed by demonstrating heparin-dependent release of radiolabeled serotonin from washed normal platelets in the presence of patient serum. However, certain serum samples from these patients produce 14C-serotonin release from some but not other normal donor platelets. We investigated this problem of donor platelet variability by studying the reactivities of 10 serum samples from patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with platelets from 10 normal donors (100 serum and platelet combinations). We observed a marked variability in reactivity for patient serum and platelets from normal donors; this initially appeared random. However, closer examination indicated that the reactivities varied hierarchically. Because heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is caused by binding of heparin-dependent IgG to platelet Fc receptors, we examined whether platelet Fc receptor number or function explained the variability in platelet reactivity. We observed that platelet Fc receptor function, as measured by platelet release associated with heat-aggregated IgG, was highly correlated with platelet reactivity to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia serum samples. No significant correlation, however, was found between Fc receptor number and platelet response. Reaction of murine monoclonal antibodies that activate human platelets by means of the platelet Fc receptors was not predictive of platelet reactivity to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia serum. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Serial analysis of gene expression in the skeletal muscle of endurance athletes compared to sedentary men

Physical exercise produces several adaptive changes in skeletal muscle. However, the molecular mechanisms of these effects are poorly understood. We performed serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to quantify the global gene expression profile in sedentary and endurance‐trained muscle. A total of 10869 SAGE tags was sequenced and represented 4727 genes. The genes most expressed in muscle are mainly involved in contraction and energy metabolism. Thirty‐three genes were differentially expressed between endurance athletes and sedentary individuals. Four genes such as myosin binding protein C fast‐type, glycogen phosphorylase, and pyruvate kinase were expressed less in endurance athletes, whereas eight genes coding for expressed sequence tag similar to (EST) crystallin alpha B, EST myosin light chain 2, EST surfactant pulmonary‐associated protein A1, EST thrombospondin, EST fructose‐bisphosphate aldolase A, EST cytochrome oxidase 1, NADH dehydrogenase 3, and G8 protein were up‐regulated. Most of the up‐regulated tags corresponded to novel genes. On the other hand, different isoforms of fructose‐bisphosphate aldolase A were also differentially expressed. The current study underlying the most highly expressed genes allows a better understanding of global muscle characteristics in normal and endurance‐trained individuals. Moreover, the current data suggest novel candidate genes that may be responsible for enhanced endurance performance. —Yoshioka, M. , Tanaka, H. , Shono, N. , Snyder, E. E. , Shindo, M. , St‐Amand, J. Serial analysis of gene expression in the skeletal muscle of endurance athletes compared to sedentary men. FASEB J. 17, 1812–1819 (2003)
Assessing the internal consistency and temporal stability of advance directives generated by an interactive, online computer program

Objective Evaluate the internal consistency and temporal stability of advance directives (ADs) generated by an interactive, online computer program. Methods 33 participants completed the program at three visits, 2 weeks apart. Agreement rates were calculated for the General Wishes component of the AD. The test–retest method was used to examine the temporal stability of the Specific Wish for Treatment component which contains five clinical scenarios. Results General Wishes remained stable with 94% selecting the identical response at each visit. For the Specific Wish for Treatment scale, significant variations in test–retest correlations existed (ie, ρ=0.32–0.78, between time points 1 and 2); however within scenario, correlations did not significantly vary between time points. Temporal stability was lower in the Specific Wish for Treatment scale compared with General Wishes (average ρ=0.59, between time points 1 and 2; and ρ=0.75, between time points 2 and 3). Conclusions ADs generated by an online decision aid demonstrate good temporal stability, with highest stability for General Wishes and moderate stability for Specific Wish for Treatment regarding medical treatments in specific clinical scenarios. Internal consistency for wish for treatment across all time points and scenarios was high (Cronbach α>0.90).
A Phase 2 Evaluation of Irofulven as Second-line Treatment of Recurrent or Persistent Intermediately Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian or Primary Peritoneal Cancer: A Gynecologic Oncology Group Trial

This multicenter phase 2 trial was conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group to evaluate the activity and the safety of irofulven in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. Eligible patients had documented recurrent ovarian cancer 6 to 12 months after receiving a front-line platinum-based regimen and no other chemotherapy. Patients were required to have measurable disease, performance status of 0 to 2, and adequate bone marrow, hepatic, and renal functions before study entry. The dose of irofulven was 0.45 mg/kg intravenously on days 1 and 8 every 21 days. Responses were defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Fifty-five of 61 enrolled patients were evaluable for response and toxicity. There were 7 partial responses (12.7%), and 30 patients (54.6%) had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival were 6.4 months (1.3-37.5 months) and 22.1 months or more (2.8-57.8+ months), respectively. Patients received a median of 3 cycles (range, 1-21) of protocol therapy. Grade 4 hematologic toxicity was limited to reversible neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Grade 4 nonhematologic toxicity was limited to one patient with anorexia and another with hypomagnesemia. Irofulven administered at this dose and schedule was well tolerated but had modest activity as a single agent.
STAT5b Down-regulates Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor α Transcription by Inhibition of Ligand-independent Activation Function Region-1trans-Activation Domain*

Growth hormone-activated STAT5b inhibits by up to 80% the transcriptional activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α, a nuclear receptor activated by diverse environmental chemicals and hypolipidemic drugs classified as peroxisome proliferators. This inhibitory cross-talk between STAT5b and PPAR is now reported for PPAR forms γ and δ and for thyroid hormone receptor, indicating a more general potential for inhibitory cross-talk between JAK/STAT and nuclear receptor signaling pathways. Further investigations revealed that SOCS-3, a growth hormone-inducible negative regulator of cytokine signaling to STAT5b, abolished the STAT5b inhibitory response. A constitutively active STAT5b mutant failed to inhibit PPARα activity, indicating that STAT5b does not induce synthesis of a more proximal PPARα inhibitor. STAT5b inhibition was not reversed by overexpression of the heterodimerization partner of PPAR (retinoid X receptor) or the nuclear receptor coactivators P300 and SRC-1, suggesting that STAT5b does not inhibit PPARα by competing for these limiting cellular cofactors. STAT5b did not inhibit a chimeric receptor comprised of yeast GAL4 DNA-binding domain linked to the ligand binding/AF-2 trans-activation domain of PPARα, indicating that the COOH-terminal AF-2 domain of PPAR is not the target of STAT5b inhibition. Rather, STAT5b inhibited transcription driven by the NH2-terminal ligand-independent AF-1 trans-activation domain of PPARα in a GAL4-linked chimera by ∼80%. The conservation of this AF-1trans-activation function in many nuclear receptors suggests that AF-1 may serve as an important target for inhibitory cross-talk between STAT transcription factors and nuclear receptors in a variety of signaling pathways.
Bacterial isolates degrading aliphatic polycarbonates.

Bacteria that degrade an aliphatic polycarbonate, poly(hexamethylene carbonate), were isolated from river water in Ibaraki. Prefecture, Japan, after enrichment in liquid medium containing poly(hexamethylene carbonate) suspensions as carbon source, and dilution to single cells. Four of the strains, 35L, WFF52, 61A and 61B2, degraded poly(hexamethylene carbonate) on agar plate containing suspended poly(hexamethylene carbonate). Degradation of poly(hexamethylene carbonate) was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography. Besides poly(hexamethylene carbonate), the strains were found to degrade poly(tetramethylene carbonate). The strains were characterized morphologically, physiologically, and by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Strains 35L and WFF52 were tentatively identified as Pseudomonas sp. and Variovorax sp. , respectively, while strains 61A and 61B2 constitute an unidentified branch within the beta subclass of the Proteobacteria.
Effect of X-ray exposure on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets using X-ray inspection equipment

Abstract Context: X-ray inspection equipment is widely used to detect missing materials and defective goods in opaque containers. Its application has been expanded to the pharmaceutical industry to detect the presence of drug tablets in aluminum foil press-through packaging. However, the effect of X-rays on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets is not well known. Objective: In this study, the effect of X-rays on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets was investigated. Methods: Exposure of acetaminophen, loxoprofen and mefenamic acid tablets to X-ray doses of 0.34 mGy (thrice the dose by X-ray scanning) to 300 Gy (maximum dose from our X-ray equipment) was demonstrated, and the samples were evaluated by formulation tests. Results: Exposure to X-rays did not affect the pharmaceutical quality of the drug content. The samples exposed to X-rays exhibited almost the same profile in formulation tests (dissolution test, disintegrating test and hardness test) as control samples (0 Gy). The combination of X-ray exposure with accelerated temperature and humidity tests (six months) also did not affect the pharmaceutical quality. The color change of light-sensitive drugs (nifedipine and furosemide tablets) after X-ray exposure was negligible (< 1.0). In contrast, tablet color was remarkably changed by light from a D65 lamp. Conclusion: The X-ray scanning and X-ray exposure under our experimental conditions did not affect the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets.
The Influence of Foreign Direct Investments on Regional Development in Croatia

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of foreign direct investments (FDI) on regional development in Croatia and to contribute to previous studies that deal with regional FDI re-allocations. Our analysis was conducted at the NUTS 3 level (21 Croatian counties) and applied panel data analysis to determine the influence of FDI as well as other factors that proved to be significant in regional development in Croatia. The results point out that investment (i.e., both domestic and foreign direct investments), labor productivity, and export have a positive and significant influence on regional development, while absorptive capacity has a negative influence. It is therefore important to strengthen the absorptive capacity of Croatian regions to create a favorable investment environment and to provide good preconditions for the development of other factors of regional development. Findings are relevant for policy makers who should take more proactive roles in attracting FDI as a way of strengthening regional development in Croatia. This may help policy-makers to act locally to achieve cohesion, but it can also be important for foreign investors that observe regional FDI determinants in the European Union.
Development and validation of an instrument for supply chain resilience measurement

Despite the emergence of supply chain resilience (SCR), empirical research in this area has been beset by inadequate conceptualization and the lack of a validated measurement model. In this backdrop, the purpose of this research was to develop measurement instrument for SCR. A series of studies were conducted for the development and validation of SCR measurement scale. Once the dimensions of SCR were determined from literature review, a field study was conducted to contextualise the data. Then, a pilot study data were used to select items based on factor analysis. Followed by this, a second stage survey data were collected to conduct confirmatory factor analyses. Study finds that SCR is a multidimensional and hierarchical construct, which consists of four primary dimensions: supply chain proactive capability, supply chain design, readiness, and response-recovery. The proposed scale in this study could be used as a diagnostic tool to identity areas where specific improvements are needed, and to pinpoint the aspects of resilience in supply chain network.
640 (2 × 32λ × 10) Gbit/s Polarization-Multiplexed, Wide-Colored Optical Packet Switching Achieved by Polarization-Independent High-speed PLZT Switch

We demonstrate 640 (2 x 32λ x 10) Gbit/s polarization-multiplexed, wide-colored optical packet switching by using a polarization-independent and high-speed (<; 2.5 ns) PLZT optical switch to attain error-free (bit-error-rate <; 10 ~ 9) operation for all 64 payload channels.
Penitrem A as a Tool for Understanding the Role of Large Conductance Ca2+/Voltage-Sensitive K+ Channels in Vascular Function

Large conductance, Ca2+/voltage-sensitive K+ channels (BK channels) are well characterized, but their physiological roles, often determined through pharmacological manipulation, are less clear. Iberiotoxin is considered the “gold standard” antagonist, but cost and membrane-impermeability limit its usefulness. Economical and membrane-permeable alternatives could facilitate the study of BK channels. Thus, we characterized the effect of penitrem A, a tremorigenic mycotoxin, on BK channels and demonstrate its utility for studying vascular function in vitro and in vivo. Whole-cell currents from human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with hSlo α or α + β1 were blocked >95% by penitrem A (IC50 6.4 versus 64.4 nM; p < 0.05). Furthermore, penitrem A inhibited BK channels in inside-out and cell-attached patches, whereas iberiotoxin could not. Inhibitory effects of penitrem A on whole-cell K+ currents were equivalent to iberiotoxin in canine coronary smooth muscle cells. As for specificity, penitrem A had no effect on native delayed rectifier K+ currents, cloned voltage-dependent Kv1.5 channels, or native ATP-dependent KATP current. Penitrem A enhanced the sensitivity to K+-induced contraction in canine coronary arteries by 23 ± 5% (p < 0.05) and increased the blood pressure response to phenylephrine in anesthetized mice by 36 ± 11% (p < 0.05). Our data indicate that penitrem A is a useful tool for studying the role of BK channels in vascular function and is practical for cell and tissue (in vitro) studies as well as anesthetized animal (in vivo) experiments.
Optimal Power Allocation and Performance Analysis of Cooperative Multicast Systems Using Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access

For cooperative multicast systems using nonorthogonal multiple access, we propose optimal power allocation to maximize the achievable rate, and present its performance analysis in terms of average achievable rate and outage probability assuming Rayleigh fading channels. To perform the optimal power allocation, the source requires instantaneous channel information for a subset of the links. In the performance analysis, we provide approximate expressions for the average achievable rate and outage probability of the optimal power allocation using high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) approximation. From the high SNR performance analysis, we show that the performances for the optimal power allocation are not affected by the number of destinations, while those for the fixed power allocation become worse as the number of destinations increases, which can be a remarkable finding although the optimal power allocation requires the overhead for the channel information feedback and the complexity for computing the power allocation coefficients.
Performance of the First Superconducting Cold-Bore Undulator in an Electron Storage Ring

In March 2005 a superconducting cold-bore undulator was installed in ANKA (ANSTROEM SOURCE IN KARLSRUHE) and since that time has been in operation. The purpose of the installation was to evaluate if such a device can be operated in a heavy duty synchrotron radiation user facility like ANKA without problems. In order to demonstrate this the generated spectra were measured and the heat load induced by the beam was investigated. It was shown that the heat deposited by the beam in the 8 mm gap is less than 1 W per 100 mA at 2.5 GeV and can be cooled by cryocoolers. Finally, reference is made to the spectra produced by sub-picosecond X-rays using a special ANKA optics.
A glottal LPC-vocoder

A procedure is suggested for improving LPC speech quality. The central theme is to introduce a parametric model of voiced excitation - a glottal source model. In the analysis this allows for a different method than the AR-estimation used in conventional LPC. Here, a method known as AR-X-estimation is used. A complete analysis and coding method is presented. It is found that the additional glottal parameters can be coded effectively such that the total bit rate is in the same range as for conventional LPC. The glottal LPC-vocoder does significantly improve synthesis quality as compared to standard LPC. It should be emphasized, however, that the glottal vocoder requires high quality speech as input, recorded in a phase linear system. Moreover, the computational complexity is high.
Inhibition of voltage‐gated Na+ currents in sensory neurones by the sea anemone toxin APETx2

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE APETx2, a toxin from the sea anemone Anthropleura elegantissima, inhibits acid‐sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3)‐containing homo‐ and heterotrimeric channels with IC50 values < 100 nM and 0.1–2 µM respectively. ASIC3 channels mediate acute acid‐induced and inflammatory pain response and APETx2 has been used as a selective pharmacological tool in animal studies. Toxins from sea anemones also modulate voltage‐gated Na+ channel (Nav) function. Here we tested the effects of APETx2 on Nav function in sensory neurones.