Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vesicourethral Anastomotic Strictures after Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy: The Experience of a Single Institution

Objective: Stricture of the vesicourethral anastomosis remains a well-documented complication after radical retropubic prostatectomy. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 294 patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy. Possible correlations between anastomotic stricture formation, tumor stage, positive surgical margins, number of anastomotic sutures, bladder neck preservation, urine leakage, previous prostate surgery and/or intraoperative blood loss were examined. Results: An anastomotic stricture was found in 18 cases (6%) requiring some kind of treatment. In 10 patients (56%), the bladder neck stricture occurred within 3 months after surgery, in 5 (28%) at 4–12 months after surgery and in 3 (16%) more than 12 months after surgery. Intraoperative blood loss (>1,000 ml) was found to be significantly correlated with urinary leakage (p < 0.001) and both correlated with anastomotic stricture formation (p < 0.005). Conclusion: Excessive intraoperative blood loss (>1,000 ml) and urine leakage was found to be significantly correlated to the formation of anastomotic stricture following radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Trivalent Chromium: Assessing the Genotoxic Risk of an Essential Trace Element and Widely Used Human and Animal Nutritional Supplement

Trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] is recognized as an essential nutrient, and is widely used as a nutritional supplement for humans and animals. Recent reports of the induction of genetic damage in cultured cells exposed to Cr(III) compounds in vitro have heightened the concern that Cr(III) compounds may exert genotoxic effects under certain conditions, raising the question of the relative benefit versus risk of dietary and feed supplementation practices. We have reviewed the literature since 1990 on genotoxic effects of Cr(III) compounds to determine whether recent findings provide a sufficient weight of evidence to modify the conclusions about the safety of this dietary supplement reached in the several comprehensive reviews conducted during the period 1990–2004. The extensive literature on genotoxic effects of Cr(III) compounds includes many instances of conflicting information, with both negative and positive findings often reported in similar test systems. Outcomes of in vitro tests conducted with Cr(III) in cultured cells are quite variable regardless of the chemical form of the chromium compound tested. The in vitro data show that Cr(III) has the potential to react with DNA and to cause DNA damage in cell culture systems, but under normal circumstances, restricted access of Cr(III) to cells in vivo limits or prevents genotoxicity in biological systems. The available in vivo evidence suggests that genotoxic effects are very unlikely to occur in humans or animals exposed to nutritional or to moderate recommended supplemental levels of Cr(III). However, excessive intake of Cr(III) supplements does not appear to be warranted at this time. Thus, like other nutrients that have exhibited genotoxic effects in vitro under high exposure conditions, nutritional benefits appear to outweigh the theoretical risk of genotoxic effects in vivo at normal or modestly elevated physiological intake levels.
A case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the bronchus presented with hydropneumothorax in a child

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare pulmonary neoplasm seen in the pediatric population. We report a low grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma in a 12‐year‐old boy who presented with spontaneous pneumothorax. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2014; 49:E86–E89. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Attenuation of cysteamine‐induced duodenal ulcer with Cochinchina momordica seed extract through inhibiting cytoplasmic phospholipase A2/5‐lipoxygenase and activating γ‐glutamylcysteine synthetase

Background and Aim: Cysteamine is a reducing aminothiol used for inducing duodenal ulcer through mechanisms of oxidative stress related to thiol‐derived H2O2 reaction. Cochinchina momordica saponins have been suggested to be protective against various gastric diseases based on their cytoprotective and anti‐inflammatory mechanisms. This study was aimed to document the preventive effects of Cochinchina momordica seed extract against cysteamine‐induced duodenal ulcer as well as the elucidation of its pharmacological mechanisms.
Characterization of the d-Glucuronyl C5-epimerase Involved in the Biosynthesis of Heparin and Heparan Sulfate*

The murine gene for the glucuronyl C5-epimerase involved in heparan sulfate biosynthesis was cloned, using a previously isolated bovine lung cDNA fragment (Li, J.-P., Hagner-McWhirter, Å., Kjellén, L., Palgi, J., Jalkanen, M., and Lindahl, U. (1997)J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28158–28163) as probe. The ∼11-kilobase pair mouse gene contains 3 exons from the first ATG to stop codon and is localized to chromosome 9. Southern analysis of the genomic DNA and chromosome mapping suggested the occurrence of a single epimerase gene. Based on the genomic sequence, a mouse liver cDNA was isolated that encodes a 618-amino acid residue protein, thus extending by 174 N-terminal residues the sequence deduced from the (incomplete) bovine cDNA. Comparison of murine, bovine, and human epimerase cDNA structures indicated 96–99% identity at the amino acid level. A cDNA identical to the mouse liver species was demonstrated in mouse mast cells committed to heparin biosynthesis. These findings suggest that the iduronic acid residues in heparin and heparan sulfate, despite different structural contexts, are generated by the same C5-epimerase enzyme. The catalytic activity of the recombinant full-length mouse liver epimerase, expressed in insect cells, was found to be >2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the previously cloned, smaller bovine recombinant protein. The ∼52-kDa, similarly highly active, enzyme originally purified from bovine liver (Campbell, P., Hannesson, H. H., Sandbäck, D., Rodén, L., Lindahl, U., and Li, J.-P. (1994) J. Biol. Chem.269, 26953–26958) was found to be associated with an ∼22-kDa peptide generated by a single proteolytic cleavage of the full-sized protein.
ICOS/B7RP-1 Interference in Mouse Kidney Transplantation

Background. Activated T cells play a key role in allograft rejection. T cell activation requires signaling via the T cell receptor as well as costimulatory signals. Inducible costimulatory molecule (ICOS), with its ligand B7RP-1, is a recently discovered costimulatory molecule of the CD28 family. The role of this signaling pathway during the early phases of kidney allograft rejection is not clear so far. Methods. Kidneys were orthotopically transplanted from BALB/c to C57BL/6 mice. Animals were assigned to five experimental groups: blocking anti-ICOS monoclonal antibody, ICOS fusion protein, anti-B7RP1 monoclonal antibody, B7RP-1 fusion protein, and control immunoglobulin G. Results. Survival was significantly reduced in animals treated with ICOS monoclonal antibody (mAb) and B7RP-1 Fc as compared with controls. These animals had also a lower number of apoptotic graft infiltrating T cells, whereas the expression of intracellular interferon-&ggr; in CD3+CD4+ T cells was increased. Animals treated with ICOS Fc and B7RP-1 mAb had similar survival and numbers of apoptotic T cells as compared with controls. Conclusions. In summary, the blockade of ICOS with ICOS mAb or B7RP-1 Fc reduced the amount of apoptosis of infiltrating lymphocytes and resulted in continuous inflammatory processes with progressive tissue damage and graft failure.
Nanomechanical properties, SEM, and EDS microanalysis of dentin treated with 2.5% titanium tetrafluoride, before and after an erosive challenge.

The aim was to assess the nanohardness (H) and the reduced modulus of elasticity (Er ) of 2.5% titanium tetrafluoride (TiF4 ) modified dentin, before and after an erosive challenge with 0.3% citric acid (CA). Exposed dentin surfaces were divided into two groups (n = 5): (1) Control-no dentin pretreatment with TiF4 prior to etching with CA, and (2) Experimental-dentin pretreatment with TiF4 + CA. The H and the Er of intertubular dentin were measured using a triboindenter at different time points: baseline for both groups, after using 2.5% TiF4 for the experimental group, and after using CA for both the experimental and the control groups. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the dentin surfaces were undertaken at the same time points for both groups. Two-way ANOVA for randomized block design was applied. There was significant interaction between the application of the TiF4 solution and different time points (p = 0.001 for H and p < 0.001 for Er ), identified by Tukey's test. Erosive challenge provided a significant decrease in H and Er mean values. The TiF4 solution caused a significant increase in H and Er values, but no significant differences were found between post-TiF4 and post-CA application. TiF4 application produced a precipitate surface layer on intertubular and intratubular dentin. EDS analysis indicated the presence of titanium. The H and Er of the dentin surface were greatly increased after application of 2.5% TiF4 . TiF4 may modify the micromorphology of the dentin surface and produces an erosive resistance surface.
Indices of diet quality

Purpose of reviewThe present review provides an overview of the different dietary quality indices in use. In the first decades, most indices were developed for the general adult population and were based on the American dietary guidelines and the Mediterranean diet. This review focuses on new, other dietary quality indices with special attention to the make-up of the score and methodological issues. Recent findingsMost of the new diet quality indices are based on the national dietary recommendations in Europe and Australia. In addition, one index is based on international recommendations and two indices use recommendations for the prevention of specific diseases. In addition, there are dietary scores that focus on specific groups (children, pregnant women), and on dietary variety or diversity. SummaryThe use of diet quality indices becomes more widespread and tailored to the specific purpose and population. However, different approaches are also due to arbitrary choices because of lacking knowledge on healthy diets and unsolved methodological issues. The ways of dealing with differences in energy intake, scoring each component, and combining the different components into one measure are aspects that still need further research.
Animal Health Canine Influenza ( H 3 N 8 ) in the Rocky Mountain Region

Canine influenza (H3N8) is new respiratory pathogen of dogs. Since emerging in racing greyhounds in 2004, serologic evidence indicates virus circulation in the pet dog population. Although estimates of prevalence among dogs in Colorado and Wyoming varies in the literature, recent syndromic serosurveillance reports 30% and 38% prevalence in dogs showing clinical signs of acute respiratory disease in Wyoming and Colorado, respectively. In the present study, we surveyed convalescent dogs in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming for influenza A antibody to determine disease prevalence in these states. Serologic testing of 175 dogs found 32% of institutionalized dogs in Colorado and 34% of dogs in Wyoming were seropositive for influenza A antibody. There was no significant difference between prevalence among institutionalized dogs in Colorado and Wyoming, but significantly more institutionalized dogs than non-institutionalized dogs were seropositive in Wyoming, suggesting a greater risk of exposure in this population. Continued surveillance of canine influenza should monitor virus infection in a larger population of dogs to determine if prevalence among dogs with acute respiratory disease accurately reflects rate of exposure and infection in the total dog population.
DIF signalling and cell fate.

The DIFs are a family of secreted chlorinated molecules that control cell fate during development of Dictyostelium cells in culture and probably during normal development too. They induce stalk cell differentiation and suppress spore cell formation. The biosynthetic and inactivation pathways of DIF-1 (the major bioactivity) have been worked out. DIF-1 is probably synthesised in prespore cells and inactivated in prestalk cells, by dechlorination. Thus, each cell type tends to alter DIF-1 level so as to favour differentiation of the other cell type. This relationship leads to a model for cell-type proportioning during normal development.
Reconstitution of Glucosylceramide Flip-Flop across Endoplasmic Reticulum

Background: Lipid flip-flop, a key feature of many glycolipid biosynthetic pathways, requires as yet unidentified flippase proteins. Results: Glucosylceramide flips slowly across protein-free vesicles but rapidly across vesicles reconstituted with ER membrane proteins. Conclusion: Glucosylceramide flipping is facilitated by ATP-independent ER phospholipid flippases. Significance: Defining how glucosylceramide is transported across membranes is critical for understanding the glycosphingolipid biosynthetic pathway. Most glycosphingolipids are synthesized by the sequential addition of monosaccharides to glucosylceramide (GlcCer) in the lumen of the Golgi apparatus. Because GlcCer is synthesized on the cytoplasmic face of Golgi membranes, it must be flipped to the non-cytoplasmic face by a lipid flippase in order to nucleate glycosphingolipid synthesis. Halter et al. (Halter, D., Neumann, S., van Dijk, S. M., Wolthoorn, J., de Mazière, A. M., Vieira, O. V., Mattjus, P., Klumperman, J., van Meer, G., and Sprong, H. (2007) Pre- and post-Golgi translocation of glucosylceramide in glycosphingolipid synthesis. J. Cell Biol. 179, 101–115) proposed that this essential flipping step is accomplished via a complex trafficking itinerary; GlcCer is moved from the cytoplasmic face of the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by FAPP2, a cytoplasmic lipid transfer protein, flipped across the ER membrane, then delivered to the lumen of the Golgi complex by vesicular transport. We now report biochemical reconstitution studies to analyze GlcCer flipping at the ER. Using proteoliposomes reconstituted from Triton X-100-solubilized rat liver ER membrane proteins, we demonstrate rapid (t½ < 20 s), ATP-independent flip-flop of N-(6-((7-nitro-2–1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino)hexanoyl)-d-glucosyl-β1–1′-sphingosine, a fluorescent GlcCer analog. Further studies involving protein modification, biochemical fractionation, and analyses of flip-flop in proteoliposomes reconstituted with ER membrane proteins from yeast indicate that GlcCer translocation is facilitated by well characterized ER phospholipid flippases that remain to be identified at the molecular level. By reason of their abundance and membrane bending activity, we considered that the ER reticulons and the related Yop1 protein could function as phospholipid-GlcCer flippases. Direct tests showed that these proteins have no flippase activity.
Cooperative Strategy Learning in Multi-Agent Environment with Continuous State Space

Reinforcement learning is a powerful method for solving sequential decision making problems. But it is difficult to apply to practical problems such as multi-agent systems with continuous state space problems. In this paper we present a cooperative strategy learning method to solve the problem. It combines WoLF-PHC algorithms with function approximation of RL techniques. By this method an agent could learn cooperative behavior in the multi-agent environment with continuous state space. Using a subtask of RoboCup soccer, Keepaway, we demonstrate the effective of this learning method and the experiment results show that the algorithm converges
Association Between Arterial Stiffness and Atherosclerosis: The Rotterdam Study

Background and Purpose — Studies of the association between arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis are contradictory. We studied stiffness of the aorta and the common carotid artery in relation to several indicators of atherosclerosis. Methods — This study was conducted within the Rotterdam Study in >3000 elderly subjects aged 60 to 101 years. Aortic stiffness was assessed by measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and common carotid artery stiffness was assessed by measuring common carotid distensibility. Atherosclerosis was assessed by common carotid intima-media thickness, plaques in the carotid artery and in the aorta, and the presence of peripheral arterial disease. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA with adjustment for age, sex, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate. Results — Both aortic and common carotid artery stiffness were found to have a strong positive association with common carotid intima-media thickness, severity of plaques in the carotid artery, and severity of plaques in the aorta (P for trend <0.01 for all associations). Subjects with peripheral arterial disease had significantly increased aortic stiffness (P =0.001) and borderline significantly increased common carotid artery stiffness (P =0.08) compared with subjects without peripheral arterial disease. Results were similar after additional adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and after exclusion of subjects with prevalent cardiovascular disease. Conclusions — This population-based study shows that arterial stiffness is strongly associated with atherosclerosis at various sites in the vascular tree.
Posture of Patients with Sleep Apnea During Sleep

The relationship between sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) and posture during sleep has been noted and the beneficial effect of an optimal posture on sleep apnea has been empirically indicated. We investigated this effect in a group of subjects that included obese patients and found that the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) may be normalized in the lateral position, even among patients severely affected with apnea. Among those with intermediate or lower AHI values, sleeping in a lateral position markedly improved the symptoms, with AHI even approaching the normal range in many patients. A tendency was noted for AHI to rise regardless of posture but in proportion to the increase in body mass index (BMI). In other words, the improvement due to changes in posture became increasingly insignificant with increase in BMI.
Warrant pricing premiums on the JSE

Extracted from text . Number 56 - Part 1 A Apostolellis and T Maxwell* Warrant pricing premiums on the JSE Email: alexisa@mweb.co.za and Maxwell.t@wbs.wits. ac.za 1. Introduction On the 2nd of October 1997, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (DMG) issued the first warrant on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Since then the market has grown substantially. The value of warrants traded in 1998 exceeded R1 Billion (Cope, 1999). The number of listed instruments grew from one warrant in October 1997 to forty six warrants in February 1998 and over one hundred warrants in January 2000. No research had been published on this extremely fast growing market .
Effects of Vacuum Ultraviolet Surface Treatment on the Bonding Interconnections for Flip Chip and 3-D Integration

This paper focuses on the effects of a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) surface treatment process on the interconnections for flip chip and 3-D integration. Organic contaminants that hinder reliable bonding are broken down and eliminated from the bumps and pad surfaces by irradiation with UV light at a wavelength of 172 nm at room temperature. There is no charge buildup, no temperature increase, and no ion bombardment damage during the process. Two different VUV cleaning conditions, with N2 or O2 gas in the vacuum chamber, were compared and evaluated. Samples of flip chip with Cu/Sn bumps and Au surface substrate were examined by measurement of contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) before and after VUV surface treatment. Cleaning times and ambient conditions have dramatic effects on the surface contact angles. The photoelectron spectra of C 1s were obtained by XPS analysis for information on the chemical species and the XPS results showed a reduction in surface carbon for both Au and Cu/Sn after the cleaning. The evidence indicates cleavage of the carbon-carbon bonds in the organic molecules occurs during the cleaning process. From the shear test results, it appears that VUV treatment improves the Cu/Sn-bump bonding strength, making it two times larger than for untreated samples. No delamination or obvious voids were detected on the bonding interface by Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and cross-sectional SEM analysis. The experiments show that the VUV cleaning can effectively remove the organic contaminants on the surface of the bonding pads and improve the bonding strength.
Ovarian Weight and Responsiveness to Gonadotropin Throughout the Estrous Cycle of Mice

Summary 1) The average weight of the right ovary of C57BL/6JAX mice 90 to 120 days old was about the same in mice killed in estrus, early metestrus, and diestrus. The average uterine weight varied according to the stage of the cycle. 2) The average ovarian weight increase after 20 i.u. of equine serum gonadotrophin was the same when the gonadotrophin was administered in estrus, early metestrus, and diestrus. Also the average uterine weight after ovarian stimulation was about the same, regardless of the stage of the cycle in which the stimulus was begun.
Trade Union Strategy and Teamwork: The British and German Car Industry

There have been many studies on teamwork in the car industry but only a few have compared trade union strategies on teamwork in two countries. The two case studies analyze the strategies of a British and a German trade union in their respective plants: General Motors British Vauxhall and the German Opel plant. The analytical framework for the comparison utilizes Miles and Snow's model of prospector, defender, analyzer, and reactor strategy as well as Walton, Cutcher-Gershenfeld and McKersie's concepts of strategic negotiations and institutional secu rity. The paper concludes that British trade unions adopted a defender strategy, while the German union used a prospector strategy and that institutional security supports the development and application of union strategies on teamwork.
Women, men and working conditions in Europe

The public sector is important for female-dominated occupations – within male-dominated occupations, female employees are more likely to work in the public sector than their male counterparts. Workplaces provide another layer of segregation, with employees often working in same-sex environments, particularly women. Even when women and men are employed in mixed occupations, they are often working in samesex workplaces.
ECG power line interference removal using combination of FFT and adaptive non-linear noise estimator

Modern ECG instruments have a very high common mode rejection ratio to reduce power-line interference noise as much as possible. Nevertheless, the residual power-line noise should be eliminated. Due to the fact that, the central frequency of power-line may alters about ±1Hz and the desired signals around the central frequency should not be attenuated, applying the ideal notch filter with a fixed frequency or a band stop filter is not practical. Benefitting from the powerful microcontroller STM32F4 in a new brand of Electrocardiograph instrument “Araz630”, we present a low cost efficient method of powerline noise removal. This method includes an FFT-based algorithm to find the center frequency of power-line and then subtracting the noise estimated by adaptive non-linear algorithm. In our implementation, we achieve between 30 to 35 dB of cancellation of the fundamental power-line noise component and the central frequency is obtained by the resolution of 0.1 Hz.