Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amelioration of murine dextran sulfate sodium‐induced colitis by ex vivo extracellular superoxide dismutase gene transfer

Background: Although the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease has not been fully clarified, reactive oxygen species is speculated to be involved. Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC‐SOD), an isozyme of SODs, is known to function mainly in body fluids. We investigated the efficacy of an ex vivo EC‐SOD gene transfer into dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis mice. Materials and Methods: Experimental colitis was induced by providing Balb/c mice with DSS in sterile distilled water provided as desired. The syngenic fibroblasts were obtained from Balb/c mice embryos and retrovirally transduced with the hEC‐SOD gene. These engineered cells were confirmed to secrete EC‐SOD in culture medium by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and were inoculated subcutaneously in the backs of DSS‐treated mice. Mucosal injury of the colon was evaluated by the disease activity index (DAI: body weight, rectal bleeding, and stool consistency), grading of histologic disease severity, and levels of cytokine (tumor necrosis factor‐&agr;, interleukin‐1&bgr;) production. 8‐Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) levels in the mucosal tissue were assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured using a colorimetric assay. Results: A significant improvement was observed in DAI score and histologic severity as well as in mucosal tissue levels of inflammatory cytokines, 8‐OHdG, and MDA of mice treated with the EC‐SOD gene as compared with those without gene therapy, not only in a mild colitis model but also in a severe colitis model. Survival of treated mice in these models was significantly prolonged. Conclusions: Ex vivo transfer of the EC‐SOD gene was feasible for treatment of DSS‐induced colitis.
Salvage of immature forearm fistulas for haemodialysis by interventional radiology.

BACKGROUND The goal of this article is to assess the value of endovascular techniques for the salvage of fistulas that fail to mature. METHODS Over a 6-year period, 52 dysfunctional and 17 thrombosed immature forearm fistulas (mean age 10 weeks) were treated by interventional radiology. Angiography was performed by puncture of the brachial artery but dilation of underlying stenoses was performed after cannulation of the fistula itself, whenever possible, with a balloon never smaller than 5 mm. Embolization or ligation of any type of vein was never indicated and never performed. For thrombosed fistulas, significant clots were removed by manual catheter-directed aspiration. A covered stent (Passager) was used in cases of dilation-induced rupture not controlled by balloon tamponade. RESULTS An underlying stenosis was diagnosed in 100% of cases. Half of them were located in the anastomotic area. The initial success rate of interventional radiology was 97%. Dilation-induced rupture occurred in nine cases (13%) but stents were necessary in only two cases. The rate of significant clinical complications was 2.8% (bacteraemia, pseudoaneurysm). Primary and secondary patency rates at 1 year were 39 and 79%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Delayed maturation of native fistulas should lead systematically to imaging as an underlying stenosis is diagnosed in all cases. Interventional radiology can treat the majority of cases and achieve a 97% success rate but early recurrence of stenoses can occur. Multidisciplinary re-evaluation of the patient must, therefore, be performed after radiological salvage of the fistula.
Load Balancing By Max-Min Algorithm in Private Cloud Environment

Cloud computing is a latest emerging technology because of its high availability, high performance, low cost and pay for use model. Wherein IT infrastructure and applications are provided as services to end-users. It enables On-Demand services where resources can be commissioning and decommissioning according to user needs. Private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud are the three main deployment model of cloud computing. Private cloud that can be building within the organization and the data security is more when compared to the other model clouds. In which storage nodes that can be increased when there will be an increase in the storage demand. During such increase, storage nodes in the private cloud have to be balanced with load in order to avoid the traffic in private cloud. Cloudsim is a simulation toolkit which ensures simulating, modeling and experimenting on cloud computing Design. It supports and to model the behavior component of cloud system such as data centers, virtual machines, hosts, service brokers, Scheduling and allocation polices. The idea behind this paper is to use max-min algorithm in cloudsim to show how to balance the load across the different storage nodes in the private cloud, which reduce the make span and data traffic. Max-Min algorithm is also used to reduce idle time and so efficient in mapping the load across the nodes.
Drug‐related admissions to an Australian hospital

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of drug‐related hospital admissions in southern Tasmania, Australia. The causes of consecutive admissions to medical wards of the Royal Hobart Hospital were reviewed. Comprehensive data were collected over a 10‐week period on 691 admissions (median age: 67 years and range: 11–97 years; 50.8% males). Sixty‐eight (9‐8%) of the admissions were classified as being either probably or definitely drug‐related. Most of these admissions were attributable to intentional overdose (38.2%) or an adverse drug reaction (30.9%). The overdoses often involved benzodiazepines or antipsychotics. Gastrointestinal bleeding related to the use of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs was the most common adverse drug reaction (38.1% of all reactions). Other drug‐related admission categories were poor compliance (14.7%), dosage decrease or therapy cessation by a doctor producing an exacerbation of symptoms (7.4%), substance abuse (4.4%) and drug interaction (4.4%). Patients with a drug‐related admission were, on average, younger than the other medical admissions, with no significant difference in gender. Patients admitted due to an overdose or substance abuse were younger than other drug‐related admissions and non‐drug related admissions. In conclusion, this study has determined that almost 10% of medical admissions to the hospital are drug‐related and it is estimated that 40 to 50 elderly people are admitted each year suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding related to nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs.
Correlation filter tracking via bootstrap learning

In recent years, correlation filter based trackers outperform better than other trackers. Nevertheless, they only employ one feature and a single kernel, so they are usually not robust in complex scenes. In this paper, we derive a multi-feature and multi-kernel correlation filter based tracker which fully takes advantage of the invariance-discriminative power spectrums of various features and kernels to further improve the performance. A novel bootstrap learning method is utilized to obtain a strong classifier by fusing these weak kernel correlation filters (KCFs). Moreover, a new target scale estimation strategy is incorporated into our framework. The efficient and effective scale estimation method is based on target dictionary representation. The proposed method is tested on several videos and compared with seven state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results have provided further support to the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.
Developmental Switch in Neurovascular Coupling in the Immature Rodent Barrel Cortex

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) in the adult central nervous system (CNS) is a mechanism that provides regions of the brain with more oxygen and glucose upon increased levels of neural activation. Hemodynamic changes that go along with neural activation evoke a blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that can be used to study brain activity non-invasively. A correct correlation of the BOLD signal to neural activity is pivotal to understand this signal in neuronal development, health and disease. However, the function of NVC during development is largely unknown. The rodent whisker-to-barrel cortex is an experimentally well established model to study neurovascular interdependences. Using extracellular multi-electrode recordings and laser-Doppler-flowmetry (LDF) we show in the murine barrel cortex of postnatal day 7 (P7) and P30 mice in vivo that NVC undergoes a physiological shift during the first month of life. In the mature CNS it is well accepted that cortical sensory processing results in a rise in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). We show in P7 animals that rCBF decreases during prolonged multi-whisker stimulation and goes along with multi unit activity (MUA) fatigue. In contrast at P30, MUA remains stable during repetitive stimulation and is associated with an increase in rCBF. Further we characterize in both age groups the responses in NVC to single sensory stimuli. We suggest that the observed shift in NVC is an important process in cortical development that may be of high relevance for the correct interpretation of brain activity e.g. in fMRI studies of the immature central nervous system (CNS).
AppWarp: retargeting measured materials by appearance-space warping

We propose a method for retargeting measured materials, where a source measured material is edited by applying the reflectance functions of a template measured dataset. The resulting dataset is a material that maintains the spatial patterns of the source dataset, while exhibiting the reflectance behaviors of the template. Compared to editing materials by subsequent selections and modifications, retargeting shortens the time required to achieve a desired look by directly using template data, just as color transfer does for editing images. With our method, users have to just mark corresponding regions of source and template with rough strokes, with no need for further input. This paper introduces AppWarp, an algorithm that achieves retargeting as a user-constrained, appearance-space warping operation, that executes in tens of seconds. Our algorithm is independent of the measured material representation and supports retargeting of analytic and tabulated BRDFs as well as BSSRDFs. In addition, our method makes no assumption of the data distribution in appearance-space nor on the underlying correspondence between source and target. These characteristics make AppWarp the first general formulation for appearance retargeting. We validate our method on several types of materials, including leaves, metals, waxes, woods and greeting cards. Furthermore, we demonstrate how retargeting can be used to enhance diffuse texture with high quality reflectance.
Bayesian clinical trials in action

Although the frequentist paradigm has been the predominant approach to clinical trial design since the 1940s, it has several notable limitations. Advancements in computational algorithms and computer hardware have greatly enhanced the alternative Bayesian paradigm. Compared with its frequentist counterpart, the Bayesian framework has several unique advantages, and its incorporation into clinical trial design is occurring more frequently. Using an extensive literature review to assess how Bayesian methods are used in clinical trials, we find them most commonly used for dose finding, efficacy monitoring, toxicity monitoring, diagnosis/decision making, and studying pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics. The additional infrastructure required for implementing Bayesian methods in clinical trials may include specialized software programs to run the study design, simulation and analysis, and web‐based applications, all of which are particularly useful for timely data entry and analysis. Trial success requires not only the development of proper tools but also timely and accurate execution of data entry, quality control, adaptive randomization, and Bayesian computation. The relative merit of the Bayesian and frequentist approaches continues to be the subject of debate in statistics. However, more evidence can be found showing the convergence of the two camps, at least at the practical level. Ultimately, better clinical trial methods lead to more efficient designs, lower sample sizes, more accurate conclusions, and better outcomes for patients enrolled in the trials. Bayesian methods offer attractive alternatives for better trials. More Bayesian trials should be designed and conducted to refine the approach and demonstrate their real benefit in action. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes suppress migration and bactericidal activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in a paracrine manner.

OBJECTIVE Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) play prominent roles in acute respiratory distress syndrome, ischemia-reperfusion injury, trauma, and sepsis. Whereas direct effects of TNF-alpha on PMN function and viability are well documented, little data are available addressing the ability of PMN to communicate with each other in response to cytokine stimulation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether TNF-alpha can modulate PMN function by inducing PMN to secrete products upon stimulation, which would affect other PMN in vitro in a manner independent of cell contact. METHODS PMN were purified daily from blood obtained from a pool of 22 healthy volunteers. Conditioned media (CM-TNF) was prepared by incubating PMN in Hanks' balanced salt solution plus TNF-alpha for 1-4 hrs. Freshly isolated PMN were resuspended in CM-TNF and analyzed for 1) phagocytosis of opsonized Escherichia coli, 2) oxidative metabolism as measured as an index of DCF-DA activation, and 3) migration to chemoattractants through Transwell inserts. RESULTS CM-TNF decreased PMN phagocytotic activity by 8% to 15% and completely suppressed oxidative metabolism but did not modulate the expression of receptors associated with these functions. CM-TNF suppressed the migration of PMN to two biologically relevant agents, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and leukotriene B4, by approximately 65%, but had no effect on PMN migration to interleukin-8. This suppression was observed for migration across plastic filters as well as extracellular matrix proteins. CONCLUSION Our data demonstrate that PMN stimulated with TNF-alpha suppress the immunologic function and migration of other PMN independent of cell-cell contact and suggest that TNF-alpha may participate in a negative feedback loop by inducing a PMN-derived factor that counteracts its activity.
Lunar Surface Temperature of Global Moon: Preparation of Database With Topographic and Albedo Effects

Lunar surface temperature (LST) is important for both uncovering the thermal environment and evolution and planning lunar robotic and human exploration such as exploring water/ice. Therefore, an LST calculation method is proposed in this letter for the preparation of the LST database, with an improved effective solar irradiance model, including the topographic effect. As an example, the global LST map with the spatial resolution of 1° is shown, based on the topography and albedo data and retrieved parameters from in situ experiments. The topographic signatures can be identified in the map, including the boundaries between mare and highlands and the contours of craters. The good agreements of the global moon between the simulated temperature and the bolometric brightness temperature by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) demonstrate the validity of our model and the credibility of the simulated global LST map. The better fitness with the DLRE data produced by our physical model than that by the analytic model proves the advantage of our method.
High-Risk Sexual and Drug Using Behaviors Among Male Injection Drug Users Who Have Sex With Men in 2 Mexico-US Border Cities

Objectives: The population of Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and who are also injection drug users (IDUs) is understudied. We explored risk behaviors of MSM/IDUs compared with other male IDUs in 2 Mexican border cities. Study Design: In 2005, IDUs who had injected within the previous 30 days were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. They underwent antibody testing for HIV, HCV, and syphilis and interviewer-administered surveys. Men were categorized as MSM if they reported ≥1 lifetime male partners. Logistic regression was used to compare MSM/IDUs with non-MSM/IDUs. Results: A third (31%) of 377 male IDUs were categorized as MSM (47% in Tijuana and 13% in Ciudad Juárez, P <0.01). Combined RDS-adjusted prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C was 3% (95% CI: 1, 5) and 96%, (95% CI: 94, 99) respectively, while 17% (95% CI: 2, 36) of MSM and 8% (95% CI: 3, 12) of non-MSM tested positive for syphilis antibody. In multivariate logistic regression adjusted for site, MSM/IDUs were more likely than non-MSM/IDUs to have ever used inhalants (OR: 3.4; 95% CI: 1.8, 6.2) or oral tranquilizers (OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.6), received treatment for a drug problem (OR:1.9; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.2) shared needles in the last six months (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 4.2) and also had higher numbers of lifetime female partners (log-transformed continuous variable, OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.1). Conclusions: In these Mexican cities, the proportion of MSM among male IDUs was high. Compared with other male IDUs, MSM/IDUs were more likely to engage in behaviors placing them at risk of acquiring HIV/STIs. Culturally appropriate interventions targeting Latino MSM/IDUs are warranted.
Clinical cerebral microdialysis: a methodological study.

OBJECT Clinical microdialysis enables monitoring of the cerebral extracellular chemistry of neurosurgical patients. Introduction of the technique into different hospitals' neurosurgical units has resulted in variations in the method of application. There are several variables to be considered, including length of the catheter membrane, type of perfusion fluid, flow rate of perfusion fluid, and on-line compared with delayed analysis of samples. The objects of this study were as follows: 1) to determine the effects of varying catheter characteristics on substance concentration; 2) to determine the relative recovery and true extracellular concentration by varying the flow rate and extrapolating to zero flow; and 3) to compare substance concentration obtained using a bedside enzyme analyzer with that of off-line high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). METHODS A specially designed bolt was used to conduct two adjacent microdialysis catheters into the frontal cortex of patients with head injury or poor-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage who were receiving ventilation. One reference catheter (10-mm membrane, perfused with Ringer's solution at 0.3 microl/minute) was constant for all studies. The other catheter was varied in terms of membrane length (10 mm or 30 mm), perfusion fluid (Ringer's solution or normal saline), and flow rate (0.1-1.5 microl/minute). The effect of freezing the samples on substance concentration was established by on-line analysis and then repeated analysis after storage at -70 degrees C for 3 months. Samples assayed with the bedside enzyme analyzer were reassessed using HPLC for the determination of glutamate concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Two adjacent microdialysis catheters that were identical in membrane length, perfusion fluid, and flow rate showed equivalent results. Variations in perfusion fluid and freezing and thawing of samples did not result in differences in substance concentration. Catheter length had a significant impact on substance recovery. Variations in flow rate enabled the relative recovery to be calculated using a modification of the extrapolation-to-zero-flow method. The recovery was approximately 70% at 0.3 microl/minute and 30% at 1 microl/minute (10-mm membrane) for all analytes. Glutamate results obtained with the enzyme analyzer showed good correlation with those from HPLC.
Predisposing factors and the development of reaginic allergy in infancy

In a prospective study of fifty‐eight newborn infants of parents with reaginic allergy, twenty‐seven developed eczema and twenty‐eight positive prick tests to one or more of six antigens during the first year of life. These reaginic manifestations were related to presymptomatic transient IgA deficiency. The development of positive skin tests was also related to HLA A1 B8, and to season of birth. The order of frequency of positivity was Dermatophagoides, grass pollens, cat fur, feathers and cow's milk. The skin tests were often positive in infants in whom serum IgE was not detected. The eczema disappeared and the skin tests became negative in some infants at the end of the first year. This work suggests that sensitization in the new‐born period is important in the subsequent development of disease.
Function-based flow modeling and animation

This paper summarizes a function-based approach to model and animate 2D and 3D flows. We use periodic functions to create cyclical animations that represent 2D and 3D flows. These periodic functions are constructed with an extremely simple algorithm from a set of oriented lines. The speed and orientation of the flow are described directly by the orientation and the lengths of these oriented lines. The resulting cyclical animations are then obtained by sampling the constructed periodic functions. Our approach is independent of dimension, i.e. for 2D and 3D flow the same types of periodic functions are used. Rendering images for 2D and 3D flows is slightly different. In 2D function values directly are mapped to color values. On the other hand, in 3D function values are first mapped to color and opacity and then the volume is rendered by our volume renderer. Modeled and animated flows are used to improve the visualization of operations of rolling piston and rotary vane compressors. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evolutionary escalation: the bat–moth arms race

ABSTRACT Echolocation in bats and high-frequency hearing in their insect prey make bats and insects an ideal system for studying the sensory ecology and neuroethology of predator–prey interactions. Here, we review the evolutionary history of bats and eared insects, focusing on the insect order Lepidoptera, and consider the evidence for antipredator adaptations and predator counter-adaptations. Ears evolved in a remarkable number of body locations across insects, with the original selection pressure for ears differing between groups. Although cause and effect are difficult to determine, correlations between hearing and life history strategies in moths provide evidence for how these two variables influence each other. We consider life history variables such as size, sex, circadian and seasonal activity patterns, geographic range and the composition of sympatric bat communities. We also review hypotheses on the neural basis for anti-predator behaviours (such as evasive flight and sound production) in moths. It is assumed that these prey adaptations would select for counter-adaptations in predatory bats. We suggest two levels of support for classifying bat traits as counter-adaptations: traits that allow bats to eat more eared prey than expected based on their availability in the environment provide a low level of support for counter-adaptations, whereas traits that have no other plausible explanation for their origination and maintenance than capturing defended prey constitute a high level of support. Specific predator counter-adaptations include calling at frequencies outside the sensitivity range of most eared prey, changing the pattern and frequency of echolocation calls during prey pursuit, and quiet, or ‘stealth’, echolocation. Summary: Bats and insects are ideal animals for investigating predator–prey interactions, both in real-time and over evolutionary time. Here, we review the evidence for adaptations and counter-adaptations in this system.