Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Demonstration of collagenase activity in adult Strongyloides ratti (Nematoda: Strongyloididae) and its absence in the infective larvae

ABSTRACT Larvae and adults of Strongyloides ratti were examined for collagenolytic activity on 14C proline-labelled, native, guinea-pig skin collagen substrate. The activity was measured by determining either the amount of hydroxyproline released or the amount of radioactivity in the solubilized fraction of the collagen substrate. Bacterial collagenase was used for enzyme control and trypsin served as substrate control. No collagenolytic activity was found in living larvae, their extracts or metabolites. The collagenolytic activity of the metabolites of adult worms appeared weak, whereas that of the extracts of the adults was pronounced. It is suggested that collagenase is active in the adult females at the time of migration in the intestinal mucosa during oviposition.
The Anticonvulsant Effects of Progesterone and 5α‐dihydroprogesterone on Amygdala‐kindled Seizures in Rats

Summary: Purpose: Progesterone has been shown to be anticonvulsant in several animal seizure models. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the anticonvulsant actions of progesterone and its primary metabolite 5α‐dihydroprogesterone in the amygdala kindling model.
The duplex DNA is very underwound in the three‐stranded RecA protein‐mediated synaptic complex

The RecA protein is a central player in bacterial homologous recombination. It promotes two key events: the search for homology between two DNA molecules and the subsequent formation of the synaptic complex composed of RecA and three DNA strands (two from one duplex and one single strand). In spite of numerous studies, the architecture of the synaptic complex is still far from clear.
A new acute transforming feline retrovirus with fms homology specifies a C-terminally truncated version of the c-fms protein that is different from SM-feline sarcoma virus v-fms protein

The HZ5-feline sarcoma virus (FeSV) is a new acute transforming feline retrovirus which was isolated from a multicentric fibrosarcoma of a domestic cat. The HZ5-FeSV transforms fibroblasts in vitro and is replication defective. A biologically active integrated HZ5-FeSV provirus was molecularly cloned from cellular DNA of HZ5-FeSV-infected FRE-3A rat cells. The HZ5-FeSV has oncogene homology with the fms sequences of the SM-FeSV. The genome organization of the 8.6-kilobase HZ5-FeSV provirus is 5' delta gag-fms-delta pol-delta env 3'. The HZ5-and SM-FeSVs display indistinguishable in vitro transformation characteristics, and the structures of the gag-fms transforming genes in the two viruses are very similar. In the HZ5-FeSV and the SM-FeSV, identical c-fms and feline leukemia virus p10 sequences form the 5' gag-fms junction. With regard to v-fms the two viruses are homologous up to 11 amino acids before the C terminus of the SM-FeSV v-fms protein. In HZ5-FeSV a segment of 362 nucleotides then follows before the 3' recombination site with feline leukemia virus pol. The new 3' v-fms sequence encodes 27 amino acids before reaching a TGA termination signal. The relationship of this sequence with the recently characterized human c-fms sequence has been examined. The 3' HZ5-FeSV v-fms sequence is homologous with 3' c-fms sequences. A frameshift mutation (11-base-pair deletion) was found in the C-terminal fms coding sequence of the HZ5-FeSV. As a result, the HZ5-FeSV v-fms protein is predicted to be a C-terminally truncated version of c-fms. This frameshift mutation may determine the oncogenic properties of v-fms in the HZ5-FeSV.
Ganoderma lucidum is an inhibitor of testosterone‐induced prostatic hyperplasia in rats

The aim of the present study was to find out whether Ganoderma lucidum (GL) can be used as a clinically effective medicine for the management of prostatic hyperplasia. In vitro studies were conducted to assess the 5α‐reductase inhibitory potential of GL. A biochemical marker viz. β‐sitosterol was identified and characterised in the extracts utilising high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography. Testosterone (3 mg kg−1 s.c.) was administered to the rats along with the test extracts (10, 20 and 50 mg kg−1 p.o.) and β‐sitosterol (10 and 20 mg kg−1 p.o.) for a period of 28 days. Finasteride was used as a positive control (1 mg kg−1 p.o.). GL extracts attenuated the increase in the prostate/body weight ratio induced by testosterone. Petroleum ether extract exhibiting the best activity. Ethanolic extract also exhibited significant activity. The urine output also improved significantly, which emphasise the clinical implications of the study. Testosterone levels measured weekly and prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) levels measured at the end of the study also support our claims. The PSA levels decreased in the extract‐treated groups, indicating their usefulness in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Histological studies have shown a considerable improvement in the prostatic histoarchitecture in the extract‐treated groups when compared to the testosterone‐treated group.
Efficient Power Consumption Strategies for Stationary Sensors Connected to GSM Network

The number of large sensor systems are rapidly growing nowadays in many fields. Well-designed Big Data solutions are able to manage the enormous data flow and create real business benefits. One dynamically growing application area is precision farming. It requires robust and energy-efficient sensors, because the devices are placed outdoors, often in harsh conditions, and there is no power outlet in the middle of a corn field. Power efficiency is one of the major themes of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to the IoT vision, embedded sensors send their data to processing units (either located near to the sensor or on some intermediate gateway device or in the cloud) using heterogeneous transport networks. Some sensors employ short-range network like Bluetooth and some gateway device like a tablet. Other sensors directly connect to wide-area networks like cellular networks. This paper will analyse different communication patterns accomplished over GSM network from the viewpoint of the energy consumption of the sensor device with the assumption that the sensor is stationary. The measurements were done using two different GSM modems designed for embedded systems to ensure that the results represent a wider picture and not some implementation property of a particular GSM modem. Recommendations are given about the strategies applications should follow in order to minimize the energy consumption of their GSM subsystems.
Sociopsychological factors relating to suicide prevention in a Japanese rural community: Coping behaviors and attitudes toward depression and suicidal ideation

Abstract In response to the rise in suicide in Japan since 1998, some suicide prevention measures in local communities have been put into action. However, in the previous suicide prevention measures, sociopsychological factors were not fully taken into consideration. In the present study, the authors surveyed sociopsychological factors relating to suicide and depression (i.e. people’s coping behavior and thoughts about depression and suicidal ideation, and their attitudes toward suicide and psychiatric treatment), and their differences in gender and generations. The present study was conducted in a rural area of Japan (Town A), where the suicide rate is much higher than the national average. The authors randomly selected 10% of the residents (i.e. 532 people) aged between 40 and 79 years on the basis of resident registration. Health promotion volunteers in Town A visited these 532 people individually, distributed questionnaires, and asked them to anonymously answer the questionnaire within 4 weeks. Data from 450 residents (193 men, 257 women) were analyzed in the present study. Although there were few gender differences, some significant differences were found between the younger (40–59 years) and older (60–79 years) residents. Generally, the younger were more pessimistic about their mental health than the elderly. It was also noteworthy that about 10% of the people thought that it was natural for them to have suicidal ideation, and about 18% reported that they had experienced suicidal ideation. Some suggestions were given to provide more effective suicide prevention measures.
Automated CT image evaluation of the lung: a morphology-based concept

Computed tomography (CT) provides the most reliable method to detect emphysema in vivo. Commonly used methods only calculate the area of low attenuation [pixel index (PI)], while a radiologist considers the bullous morphology of emphysema. The PI is a good, well-known measure of emphysema. But it is not able to detect emphysema in cases in which emphysema and fibrosis occur at the same time. This is because fibrosis leads to a low number of low-attenuation pixels, while emphysema leads to a high number of pixels. The PI takes the average of both and, consequently, may present a result within the normal range. The main focus of this paper is to present a new algorithm of thoracic CT image evaluation based on pulmonary morphology of emphysema. The PI is extended, in that it is enabled to differentiate between small, medium, and large bullae (continuous low-attenuation areas). It is not a texture-based algorithm. The bullae are sorted by size into four size classes: class 1 being within the typical size of lung parenchyma; classes 24 presenting small, medium, and large bullae. It is calculated how much area the different classes take up of all low-attenuation pixels. The bullae index (BI) is derived from the percentage of areas covered, respectively, by small, medium, and large bullae. From the relation of the area of bullae belonging to class 4, to that of those belonging to class 2, a measure of the emphysema type (ET) is calculated. It classifies the lung by the type of emphysema in bullous emphysema or small-sized, diffuse emphysema, respectively. The BI is as reliable as the PI. In cases in which the PI indicates normal values while in fact emphysema is coexisting with fibrosis, the BI, nevertheless, detects the destruction caused by the emphysema. The BI combined with the ET reflects the visual assessment of the radiological expert. In conclusion, the BI is an objective and reliable index in order to quantify emphysematous destruction, hence, avoiding interobserver variance. This is particularly interesting for follow-up. The classification of the ET is a helpful and unique approach to achieving an exact diagnosis of emphysema.
Is Inequality Underestimated in Egypt

Household income surveys often fail to capture top incomes which leads to an underestimation of income inequality. A popular solution is to combine the household survey with data from income tax records, which has been found to result in significant upward corrections of inequality estimates. Unfortunately, tax records are unavailable in many countries, including most of the developing world. In the absence of data from tax records, this study explores the feasibility of using data on house prices to estimate the top tail of the income distribution. In an application to Egypt, where estimates of inequality based on household surveys alone are low by international standards, the study finds strong evidence that inequality is indeed being underestimated by a considerable margin. The Gini index for urban Egypt is found to increase from 36 to 47 after correcting for the missing top tail.
An Immunoblot Study of Neurofilament Degradation In Situ and During Calcium‐Activated Proteolysis

Abstract: The degradation of neurofilament (NF) proteins was examined by immunoblot methods to identify, characterize, and monitor the appearance of immunoreactive breakdown products during the loss of NF triplet proteins. Individual NF proteins and their breakdown products were identified using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to NF proteins. NF degradation was compared during calcium‐activated proteolysis of isolated rat NF, during an experimental influx of calcium into excised rat spinal nerve roots, and during NF breakdown in transected rat peripheral nerve. These different experimental conditions produced similar patterns of NF fragmentation, including the transient appearance of NF immunobands between Mr 150,000–200,000 and 110,000–120,000 as well as the appearance and accumulation of NF immunobands between Mr 45,000 and 65,000. Most immunoreactive NF fragments remained Triton‐insoluble. Low levels of the same immunoreactive fragments were present in control neural tissues, suggesting that calciumactivated proteolysis may be operative in the turnover and/or processing of NF proteins in vivo. Very similar patterns of NF degradation during experimental calcium influxes into different CNS and PNS tissues are indicative of the widespread distribution of calcium‐activated NF protease in neural tissues.
ESTUDO DOS NÍVEIS DE IGG ESPECÍFICA PARA O PEPTÍDEO K18 DE PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS ATCC33277 NA PERIODONTITE CRÔNICA

As doenças periodontais acometem a população brasileira expressivamente(OPPERMANN et al., 2015) e influenciam outras condições sistêmicas, como doençascardiovasculares e cerebrovasculares isquêmicas; diabetes mellitus; doençaspulmonares; nascimento prematuro e baixo peso ao nascimento (GOMES-FILHO et al,2007; 2010; CATON et al., 2018). Uma atenção especial deve ser dispensada à periodontite, uma doençainflamatória que acomete os tecidos de suporte do dente, podendo levar a reabsorção doosso alveolar, destruição de fibras colágenas e, por fim, a perda dentária (CATON,2018). Apresenta etiologia multifatorial, tendo como um dos principais agentesetiológicos a presença de um biofilme disbiótico na região subgengival (MAYER et al,2013; HAJISHENGALIS e LAMONT, 2014). Dentre os microrganismos presentes no biofilme, destaca-se Porphyromonasgingivalis, bactéria intensamente proteolítica e indutora de inflamação (MAYER et al,2013). É um patógeno-chave na disbiose oral, sendo o microrganismo mais estudadoem sua relação com a periodontite crônica (HAJISHENGALLIS, 2012;HAJISHENGALIS e LAMONT, 2014). P. gingivalis possui uma ampla gama de fatores de virulência, dentre eles, asproteases (gingipaínas) que degradam moléculas sinalizantes e citocinas (PRESHAW& TAYLOR, 2011), contribuindo para a sua capacidade de induzir doença periodontal(TEUGHELS et al, 2011). Atualmente, são descritas, para P. gingivalis ATCC 33277,as Arg-gingipaínas (RgpA e RgpB) e a Lys-gingipaína (Kgp), que teve um dos seuspeptídeos, K18, obtidos por ferramenta de imunoinformática, investigado no presenteestudo.Diante da importância da compreensão da interação microrganismo-hospedeirona patogênese da periodontite, o presente trabalho pretende avaliar o reconhecimentodo peptídeo K18 de lys-gingipaína de P. gingivalis ATCC33e77 por IgG de indivíduoscom e sem periodontite.
Diagnosis and patient management of intraductal papillary-mucinous tumor of the pancreas by using peroral pancreatoscopy and intraductal ultrasonography.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Intraductal papillary-mucinous tumor (IPMT) of the pancreas has attracted increasing interest because of its unique presentation. The differential diagnosis between malignant and benign tumors is extremely important in the determination of the therapy for IPMT. The aims of this study are to determine the usefulness of peroral pancreatoscopy (POPS) and intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) in IPMT for the differentiation of malignant from benign disease, and to evaluate the significance of these techniques as new preoperative examinations. METHODS Sixty histopathologically confirmed patients with IPMT underwent POPS and/or IDUS preoperatively. POPS was perfomed in all patients, and IDUS in 40. Findings of POPS and IDUS were compared with histopathology of resected specimens. The postoperative follow-up data were analyzed. RESULTS Protruding lesions were detected by POPS in 40 patients. They were classified into 5 groups. Fish-egg-like type with vascular images, villous type, and vegetative type were considered to be malignant. By IDUS, lesions protruding 1 mm or more were observed in 36 patients. Of the lesions protruding 4 mm or more, 88% were malignant. Combination of POPS and IDUS improved the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant IPMT. The 3-year cumulative survival rate and disease-free survival rate were extremely high at 95% and 93%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The combination of POPS and IDUS results in a considerably improved differential diagnosis between malignant and benign IPMT and is useful for determining an effective therapeutic approach. These new techniques can contribute to improvements in postoperative results.
Immune profiling of NF1-associated tumors reveals histologic subtype distinctions and heterogeneity: Implications for immunotherapy.

Successful treatment of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-associated tumors poses a significant clinical challenge. While the primary underlying genetic defect driving RAS signaling is well described, recent evidence suggests immune dysfunction contributes to tumor pathogenesis and malignant transformation. As immunologic characterizations, prognostic and predictive of immunotherapeutic clinical response in other cancers, are not fully described for benign and malignant NF1-related tumors, we sought to define their immunologic profiles. We determined the expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A/-B/-C, β-2-microglobulin (B2M), and T cell inhibitory ligands PD-L1 and CTLA-4 by microarray gene analysis and flow cytometry. We examined HLA-A/-B/-C, B2M, and PD-L1 expression on thirty-six NF1-associated tumor samples by immunohistochemistry, and correlated these with tumoral CD4+, CD8+, FOXP3+, CD56+, and CD45RO+ lymphocytic infiltrates. We evaluated several tumors from a single patient, observing trends of increasing immunogenicity over time, even with disease progression. We observed similarly immunogenic profiles for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) and nodular and plexiform neurofibromas, contrasting with diffuse neurofibromas. These studies suggest that while immunotherapies may offer some benefit for MPNST and nodular and plexiform neurofibromas, tumor heterogeneity might pose a significant clinical challenge to this novel therapeutic approach.
Wave Computing with Passive Memristive Networks

Since CMOS technology approaches its physical limits, the spotlight of computing technologies and architectures shifts to unconventional computing approaches. In this area, novel computing systems, inspired by natural and mostly nonelectronic approaches, provide also new ways of performing a wide range of computations, from simple logic gates to solving computationally hard problems. Reaction-diffusion processes constitute an information processing method, occurs in nature and are capable of massive parallel and low-power computing, such as chemical computing through Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. In this paper, inspired by these chemical processes and based on the wave-propagation information processing taking place in the reaction-diffusion media, the novel characteristics of the nanoelectronic element memristor are utilized to design innovative circuits of electronic excitable medium to perform both classical (Boolean) calculations and to model neuromorphic computations in the same Memristor-RLC (M-RLC) reconfigurable network.
Dance Participation and Attendance in Denmark

Dancing may be one of the most competitive professions available career-wise. The lack of job opportunities and the competitiveness, the inherent expense in costumes and training and the high risk of injuries mean that only few dancers are able to make it their profession. However, dancing is an activity that comes with positive externalities, as various socio-economic benefits are experienced by those who practice dance non-professionally. Despite the importance of dancing, very little is known with respect to the profiles of dancers. This chapter, by availing of an information database on cultural preferences and habits in Denmark for 2004, illustrates the profiles of dancers and dance audiences and so deepens the current knowledge on the functioning of the dance market. We show that there exists a very strong positive correlation between cultural participation and the well-being of a society. These links are carefully described in the chapter.
Fault Pattern Recognition of Thermodynamic System Based on SOM

Thermodynamic system has great effect on security and efficiency of modern thermal power station. According to experiences, thirteen fault types and nine kinds of symptom parameters were summarized and abstracted to diagnose faults. After fuzzy processing and normalization, feature pattern knowledge base was set up on the base of the processed data. Self-organization feature map (SOM) was chosen to establish an expert system that was completed by MATLAB, with nine neurons in input layer and 8×8 two-dimensional competition layer. The expert system was trained by the data of knowledge base. To test the actual performance of SOM, six input samples were used for simulation by MATLAB. Five samples were diagnosed accurately and only one sample was fuzzy. It corresponds with the result of simulation machine. Furthermore, according to simulation result, the number of arranged neurons in competition layer is important to SOM performance. Through mixed programming and application programming interface (API) provided by MATLAB, the expert system can easily be developed to online diagnosis system. Now the online expert system has been used for about one year in a thermal power station and the performance is satisfactory.
Asian Versus Non-Asian Outcomes in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A North American Population-based Analysis

Objectives:The effect of ethnicity on nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) outcomes is unclear. This retrospective analysis examines survival and the impact of concurrent chemoradiation (chemoRT) among Asian and non-Asian patients. Methods:Subjects included 380 consecutive patients with NPC treated at a Canadian institution from 2000 to 2009. Five-year Kaplan-Meier progression-free survival (PFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between Asian (n=279) and non-Asian (n=101) subjects. Multivariable analysis was performed using Cox regression modeling. Two-variable interaction terms with concurrent chemoRT were used to examine whether concurrent chemoRT conferred different effects among subgroups. Results:Asian subjects presented with earlier stage (P=0.005), were younger, had better performance status, and were less likely smokers (all P<0.001). Survival among Asian versus non-Asian subjects with stage I/II NPC were: PFS 68% versus 59% (P=0.04), DSS 87% versus 77% (P=0.08), and OS 84% versus 74% (P=0.003). Corresponding rates with stage III/IVA/IVB disease were PFS 49% versus 42% (P=0.12), DSS 72% versus 46% (P=0.001), and OS 70% versus 44% (P<0.001). On multivariable analysis, Asian ethnicity, age below 65 years, ECOG performance status 0-1, early stage, staging MRI use, and concurrent chemoRT were associated with improved DSS and OS (P<0.05). On testing interactions with concurrent chemoRT, Asian versus non-Asian ethnicity was significant (hazard ratio 3.9), suggesting that concurrent chemoRT conferred more benefit among non-Asian compared with Asian subjects. Conclusions:In this population-based study, Asian ethnicity was associated with improved DSS and OS. Concurrent chemoRT conferred more benefit among non-Asian compared with Asian subjects.