Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Architecture of the integument in lower teleostomes: Functional morphology and evolutionary implications

A bony ganoid squamation is the plesiomorphic type in actinopterygians. During evolution, it was replaced by weak and more flexible elasmoid scales. We provide a comparative description of the integument of “ganoid” fishes and “nonganoid” fishes that considers all dermal components of mechanical significance (stratum compactum, morphology of ganoid scales, and their regional differences) in order to develop a functional understanding of the ganoid integument as a whole. Data were obtained for the extant “ganoid” fishes (Polypteridae and Lepisosteidae) and for closely related “lower” actinopterygians (Acipenser ruthenus, Amia calva) and “lower” sarcopterygians (Latimeria chalumnae, Neoceratodus forsteri). Body curvatures during steady undulatory locomotion, sharp turns, prey‐strikes, and fast starts in “ganoid” fishes were measured from videotapes. Extreme body curvatures as measured in anesthetized specimens are never reached during steady swimming, but are sometimes closely approached in certain situations (sharp turns, prey‐strike). During extreme body curvatures we measured high values of lateral strain on the convex and on the concave side of the body. Scale overlap changes considerably (66–127% in Lepisosteus, 42–140% in Polypterus). The ganoid squamation forms a protective coat, but at the same time it permits extreme body curvatures. This is reflected in characteristic morphological features of the ganoid scales, such as an anterior process, concave anterior margin, and peg‐and‐socket articulation. These characters are most pronounced in the anterior body region, where maximum changes in scale overlap are required. The anterior processes and anterior concave margin, together with the attached stratum compactum, guide movements in a horizontal plane during bending. Displacements of scales relative to each other are possible for scales of different scale rows, but are impeded in scales of the same scale row due to the peg‐and‐socket articulation. Furthermore, ganoid scale rows, fibers of collagen layers of the stratum compactum, and the lateral myoseptal structures follow the same oblique orientation, which is needed to achieve extreme body curvatures. There is no evidence that body curvatures are limited by the ganoid squamation in Polypterus or Lepisosteus to any larger extent than by a type of integument devoid of ganoid scales in teleostomes of similar body shape. Our results essentially contradict former functional interpretations: 1) Ganoid scales do not especially limit body curvature during steady undulatory locomotion; 2) They do not act as torsion‐resisting devices, but may be able to damp torsion together with the stratum compactum and internal body pressure. J. Morphol. 253:290–309, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Poor outcomes with treatment of hepatorenal syndrome type 1 with splanchnic vasoconstrictors and albumin: report of seven cases and review of the literature.

CONTEXT Treatment of hepatorenal syndrome type 1 (HRS-1) with splanchnic vasoconstrictors and high-dose albumin has been associated with reversal of renal failure in approximately 60% to 80% of the cases in pilot or uncontrolled studies. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the results of treatment of HRS-1 with terlipressin and high-dose albumin. METHODS All patients with HRS-1 that underwent treatment with terlipressin and high-dose albumin at our unit were retrospectively reviewed. Outcomes including reversal of renal failure and death were recorded and compared to baseline clinical and laboratory parameters. RESULTS Seven subjects (median age 64 [47-69] years, 5 males) with median Child-Pugh and MELD scores of 12 [10-15] and 22 [17-38], respectively, hospitalized with decompensated chronic liver disease secondary to tense ascitis and infections, who exhibited criteria for HRS-1, were submitted to therapy with terlipressin and high-dose albumin according to a predefined standard protocol. Baseline creatinine levels were 2.9 [2.3-4.0] mg/mL. None of the patients achieved reversal of HRS-1 and five subjects died on-treatment due to sudden-death (n = 1), multiple organ dysfunction associated with end-stage liver failure (n = 2) and sepsis (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS Treatment of HRS-1 with terlipressin and high-dose albumin was not associated with reversal of renal failure, but most of the treated subjects had severe end-stage liver disease with high MELD scores as well as high baseline creatinine values, parameters previously associated with bad outcomes.
Antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors of Streptococcus suis strains isolated from diseased pigs in southern Italy (Sardinia)

Streptococcus suis is a major swine pathogen responsible for important economic losses to the porcine industry worldwide. The objective of this study was to characterize strains of S suis isolated from dead piglets from farms located in southern Italy (Sardinia) between 2012 and 2014, by determining their genotype profiles, antimicrobial resistance profiles, and presence of associated virulence factors in order to evaluate a potential association between antimicrobial resistance serotypes and virulence factors. A total of 39 S suis isolates were examined for possession of virulence-associated factors using multiplex polymerase chain reaction assays. All isolates were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Fisher’s exact test was performed in order to study the correlation between antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors epf+/epf-. Genotypes cps2+/ epf+/sly+/mrp+/arcA+, cps2+/epf-/sly+/ mrp+/arcA+, and cps2-/epf-/sly+/mrp+/ arcA+ were identified, representing 18.0%, 74.6%, and 7.4% of the isolates, respectively. A high frequency of resistance was observed for tetracycline (88.9%) and erythromycin (38.9%). No correlation between the virulence factor epf and resistance to multiple antibiotics was found.
Assessing Banks’ Systemic Risk Contribution: A Leave-One-Out Approach

The last financial crisis has shown that large banking crises not only pose a highly dangerous risk to financial systems, but also to both the real economy and public finances. Reducing that risk has become a priority for regulators and governments. Still, the debate is open on what the systemic risk is, and how to measure the contribution of each single bank.Market based measures have almost partially failed this goal, as the markets were not able to adequately signal the system riskiness before the crisis start.In this paper we propose an alternative approach for measuring risk contributions, based on balance sheet data, developed on the idea that the contribution of each bank to the system can be captured by the variation of the expected shortfall of the banking system when excluding the considered bank. We thus refer to it as the Leave-One-Out contribution to systemic risk.This measure can be split as the sum of two components, namely the idiosyncratic bank risk (the value of expected losses of the bank when not linked to the system), and the systemic component, defined as the system expected loss variation due to the bank linkages to the system.Results show that the distinction in idiosyncratic and systemic contribution is relevant, as the two components affects the bank riskiness in different ways, and the balance sheet variables related to each component are different. This consciousness of how linkages affect the system riskiness can relevantly contribute to macroprudential regulation.Moreover, we proof that thresholds set for computing the ES relevantly affect results, so that some banks can have a barrier effect in small crises while having a positive contribution in larger crises.Analyzing the evolution of the European financial system riskiness from 2007 to 2013, differently from the market based measures, we find a huge drop in the systemic component between 2011 and 2013, when the system experienced a strong recapitalization, leading the system to a much more reliable stability than what registered for 2007.Finally, comparing the Leave-One-Out outcome to the Shapley values on a small sample of nine French banks, we proof that the two measures are really highly correlated (more than 99.9%), but as LOO doesn’t suffer the computational limits, it is also feasible.
Atrial natriuretic peptide in stable and decompensated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND--Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are elevated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may have a role in preventing oedema formation in these patients. METHODS--Plasma ANP levels were measured in 60 patients with COPD and these measurements were related to pulmonary haemodynamics, response to treatment during exacerbations, and clinical patterns of the stable disease. RESULTS--Plasma ANP levels did not correlate significantly with right atrial or pulmonary arterial pressures but did correlate significantly with both the right ventricular end diastolic volume and right ventricular wall volume measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Oxygen (2 1/min by nasal prongs for 30 minutes) did not change the mean pulmonary arterial pressure or the level of plasma ANP. In 20 patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD plasma ANP levels were higher in those with oedema (302 (185) pg/ml) than in those without oedema (87 (43) pg/ml). Oxygen given for one hour had no effect on plasma levels of ANP. However, plasma ANP levels fell over the first three days during treatment in those with oedema, the fall correlating with the change in body weight. In a further 20 stable patients with hypoxic COPD, those with hypercapnia and previous episodes of oedema had higher levels of plasma ANP (120 (50) pg/ml) than normocapnic patients with no previous oedema (54 (15) pg/ml). CONCLUSIONS--The level of ANP is high in the plasma of patients with COPD, particularly during exacerbations in those with oedema. The association of a high plasma ANP level and volume overload is shown by the fall in ANP levels with treatment of the oedema, and the correlation between levels of ANP and right ventricular end diastolic or wall volumes.
Autoantibodies against apolipoprotein A‐1 and phosphorylcholine for diagnosis of non‐ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction

Abstract. Keller P‐F, Pagano S, Roux‐Lombard P, Sigaud P, Rutschmann OT, Mach F, Hochstrasser D Vuilleumier N (Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva). Autoantibodies against apolipoprotein A‐1 and phosphorylcholine for diagnosis of non‐ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction. J Intern Med 2012; 271: 451–462.
Transfer and Tunneling of Ca2+ from Sarcoplasmic Reticulum to Mitochondria in Skeletal Muscle*

The role of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport in regulating intracellular Ca2+ signaling and mitochondrial enzymes involved in energy metabolism is widely recognized in many tissues. However, the ability of skeletal muscle mitochondria to sequester Ca2+ released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) during the muscle contraction-relaxation cycle is still disputed. To assess the functional cross-talk of Ca2+ between SR and mitochondria, we examined the mutual relationship connecting cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca2+ dynamics in permeabilized skeletal muscle fibers. Cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca2+ transients were recorded with digital photometry and confocal microscopy using fura-2 and mag-rhod-2, respectively. In the presence of 0.5 mm slow Ca2+ buffer (EGTA (ethylene glycolbis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid)), application of caffeine induced a synchronized increase in both cytosolic and mitochondrial [Ca2+]. 5 mm fast Ca2+ buffer (BAPTA (1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid)) nearly eliminated caffeine-induced increases in [Ca2+]c but only partially decreased the amplitude of mitochondrial Ca2+ transients. Confocal imaging revealed that in EGTA, almost all mitochondria picked up Ca2+ released from the SR by caffeine, whereas only about 70% of mitochondria did so in BAPTA. Taken together, these results indicated that a subpopulation of mitochondria is in close functional and presumably structural proximity to the SR, giving rise to subcellular microdomains in which Ca2+ has preferential access to the juxtaposed organelles.
Thyroid cancer in toxic and non-toxic multinodular goiter.

BACKGROUND Many authors have claimed that hyperthyroidism protects against thyroid cancer and believed that the incidence of malignancy is lower in patients with toxic multinodular goiter (TMG) than in those with non-toxic multinodular goiter. But in recent studies, it was reported that the incidence of malignancy with TMG is not as low as previously thought. AIM To compare the thyroid cancer incidence in patients with toxic and non-toxic multinodular goiter. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Histology reports of patients treated surgically with a preoperative diagnosis of toxic and non-toxic multinodular goiter were reviewed to identify the thyroid cancer incidence. Patients having a history of neck irradiation or radioactive iodine therapy were excluded from the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed 294 patients operated between 2001-2005 from toxic and non-toxic multinodular goiter. One hundred and twenty-four of them were toxic and 170 were non-toxic. Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed by elevated tri-iodothyroinine / thyroxine ratios and low thyroid-stimulating hormone with clinical signs and symptoms. All patients were evaluated with ultrasonography and scintigraphy and fine needle aspiration biopsy. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED Significance of the various parameters was calculated by using ANOVA test. RESULTS The incidence of malignancy was 9% in the toxic and 10.58% in the non-toxic multinodular goiter group. Any significant difference in the incidence of cancer and tumor size between the two groups could not be detected. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of malignancy in toxic multinodular goiter is not very low as thought earlier and is nearly the same in non-toxic multinodular goiter.
Risk minimizing portfolio optimization and hedging with Conditional Value-at-Risk

We look at the problem of how to find a dynamic optimal portfolio so that the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) is minimized under the condition where the returns are bounded. CVaR is a risk measure based on the popular VaR that is coherent. In a complete market setting, we derive the exact optimal conditions. Then we provide applications in two classic complete market models: the Binomial model and the Black-Scholes model. In these cases, the procedures to find the optimal strategies are given with exact formulas. Numerical results show, as expected, dynamic portfolio provide much lower CVaR risk than static portfolios.
Marimba Kids Are Music Kids: Tracing the Effects of Involvement in a Music Ensemble within the School Setting

While children sometimes appear to be passive recipients in school ensemble situations including rehearsal and performance, this may belie much dynamism, music subtlety, and the growth of high levels of personal confidence. Therefore, understanding more about ensemble musicianship, and how children, their families and teachers perceive the outcomes, seems important as teachers plan school music programmes. The interim data from this research suggest that possibly some unique and integral elements emerge in the children's musicianship as a result of marimba ensembles. Similarly, the withdrawal nature of the programme does not appear to affect children's wider achievement, and social and personal efficacy outcomes appear to be significant. On that basis, is there legitimacy in recommending that learning music through band participation should be a more prevalent curriculum alternative in schools?
Suppression of the intravascular adherence of granulocytes by N-acetyl neuraminic (sialic) acid.

Adherence of granulocytes to the endothelium of small veins in different microvascular beds was quantified by visual counting of the adherent cells. Increased adherence of granulocytes induced by the stress of preparation or by ultraviolet light irradiation of the microvasculature was greatly reduced by i.v. administration of sialic acid. In the rabbit ear chamber laser irradiation induced increased granulocyte stickiness which was similarly prevented by intra-arterial infusion of sialic acid. In normal rats, sialic acid treatment induced granulocytosis and the effect was more striking on Busulphan-induced leucopenia in rats. Glucuronic acid applied under identical conditions had no effect on granulocyte adhesiveness in vivo or on the peripheral blood granulocyte count. According to these findings exogenous sialic acid greatly reduces the effect different pathogenic stimuli have of inducing adherence of granulocytes to blood vessel walls and induces granulocytosis by mobilizing cells from the "marginating" and reserve pools.
Fabrication of silicon nanowire arrays by near-field laser ablation and metal-assisted chemical etching

We present an elegant route for the fabrication of ordered arrays of vertically-aligned silicon nanowires with tunable geometry at controlled locations on a silicon wafer. A monolayer of transparent microspheres convectively assembled onto a gold-coated silicon wafer acts as a microlens array. Irradiation with a single nanosecond laser pulse removes the gold beneath each focusing microsphere, leaving behind a hexagonal pattern of holes in the gold layer. Owing to the near-field effects, the diameter of the holes can be at least five times smaller than the laser wavelength. The patterned gold layer is used as catalyst in a metal-assisted chemical etching to produce an array of vertically-aligned silicon nanowires. This approach combines the advantages of direct laser writing with the benefits of parallel laser processing, yielding nanowire arrays with controlled geometry at predefined locations on the silicon surface. The fabricated VA-SiNW arrays can effectively transfect human cells with a plasmid encoding for green fluorescent protein.
Angiogenesis in Uterine Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Study

SummaryChanges in vascular patterns aid in the colposcopic diagnosis of cervical neoplasia. We have studied vessels in 50 cases of normal cervix, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN I, II, III), and invasive carcinoma by two markers, Von-Willebrand factor (VWF) and ulex europaeus lectin I. With both markers, an increase in microvessel counts parallel to neoplastic progression was seen, with highest counts observed in CIN III. Average counts for ulex lectin and VWF increased from ∼6 vessels per field in normal cervices to 15 vessels per field in CIN III. For each diagnostic group, comparable numbers of vessels were stained by both markers, with a slight preponderance of VWF in invasive carcinomas and of ulex lectin in noninvasive lesions. No correlation was found between microvessel count and human papilloma virus (HPV) by in situ hybridization. We conclude that enhanced microvessel density occurs in cervical neoplasia. The vessels are mostly blood vessels, not lymphatics. Therefore, the role of enhanced microvessel density in tumor spread remains to be proven.
Fast computation of the exact FIM for deterministic signals in colored noise

A fast algorithm for computing the exact finite-sample Fisher information matrix (FIM) for the parameters of a deterministic signal observed in Gaussian AR noise is derived. In the case of a harmonic signal with random phases, closed-form expressions for the finite-sample posterior Cramer-Rao bound (PCRB) are established. It is shown that the fast algorithm is also useful for computing the conditional CRB when the additive noise is a non-Gaussian AR process. It is seen that the asymptotic CRB may deviate significantly from the exact CRB even when the data length is moderate, whereas the PCRB, which is easy to compute, provides a better approximation. Theoretical results are illustrated via numerical evaluation of the different lower bounds.
Supplemental oxygen for prevention of nausea and vomiting after breast surgery.

BACKGROUND Administration of supplemental oxygen 80% has been shown to halve the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). We tested the efficacy of supplemental oxygen 50% in decreasing the incidence of PONV after breast surgery. METHODS One hundred patients receiving standardized sevoflurane anaesthesia were randomly assigned to two groups: oxygen 30% administration (Group 30); and oxygen 50% administration (Group 50). Oxygen was administered during surgery and for 2 h from the end of surgery. RESULTS The incidence of PONV over 24 h after surgery showed no difference between the groups: 82% in Group 30 and 89% in Group 50. However, during the postoperative oxygen administration, eight patients vomited in Group 30, compared with none in Group 50 (P<0.05). After oxygen therapy ceased, there was no difference in the incidence of vomiting between the groups. Nausea and need for rescue antiemetics did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION The incidence of vomiting decreased during the short postoperative administration of supplemental oxygen 50%. However, perioperative oxygen 50% administration did not prevent PONV over the 24-h follow-up period in patients undergoing breast surgery performed under general anaesthesia.
Dividing subpopulation of Escherichia coli in stationary phase

The bacterial growth cycle contains different phases: after the growth substrate is exhausted of the toxic waste products accumulate the growth stops. In this non-growing culture the number of colony forming bacteria remains constant or starts to decrease. It has been shown that during prolonged incubation there is constant growth and death of bacteria and certain mutant populations take over the culture. Here we show that the dynamic cell division and death balance can be obtained even before mutants take over the culture.
Effect of Ratio of Residual Alveolar Bone to Graft Material in Contact With Fixture Surface on Marginal Bone Loss of Implants in Augmented Maxillary Sinuses: A 1-Year Retrospective Study

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the influences of height or area ratio of residual alveolar bone to graft material on marginal bone loss around implants in the augmented maxillary sinuses with delayed implant placement. Materials and Methods: In this study, 42 patients with Astra implants in sinuses that had been augmented with alloplasts and allografts or xenografts (alveolar bone height ⩽ 5 mm) were selected. Marginal bone level surrounding 1 implant per sinus was assessed by radiographic imaging at the time of final restoration delivery and 12 months after functional loading. To evaluate the marginal bone level alterations using clinical and radiographic data, Pearson's correlation analysis and Mann–Whitney test were performed. Results: Forty-six implants were included in this study. The residual bone/implant length ratio and the residual bone/implant area ratio were not associated with marginal bone loss at 1 year after functional loading (P > 0.05). And, marginal bone loss did not differ significantly between 2 types of graft materials during the observation period (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The residual bone/implant length ratio and residual bone/implant area ratio were not associated with marginal bone loss around implants placed in augmented sinuses during 1 year of functional loading.
Mechanism of drug inhibition and drug resistance of influenza A M 2 channel

Correction for ‘‘Demographic models and IPCC climate projections predict the decline of an emperor penguin population,’’ by Stéphanie Jenouvrier, Hal Caswell, Christophe Barbraud, Marika Holland, Julienne Strœve, and Henri Weimerskirch, which appeared in issue 6, February 10, 2009, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (106:1844–1847; first published January 26, 2009; 10.1073/pnas.0806638106). The authors note that the following acknowledgment was omitted from the article: ‘‘This work was supported by the REMIGE (Behavioural and demographic REsponses of Indian Ocean Marine top predators to Global Environmental changes) program funded by ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) Biodiversité (ANR Biodiv 011). ’’