Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety of a home exercise programme in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES To investigate whether a home exercise programme could safely be performed by patients with stable, inactive polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM), regarding disease activity, muscle function, health status and pain. METHODS Ten patients with reduced muscle function completed the study. A home exercise programme including exercises for strength in the upper and lower limbs, neck and trunk, for mobility in the upper limbs and moderate stretching was developed. The patients exercised for 15 min and took a 15 min walk 5 days a week during a 12 week period. Assessments included clinical evaluation of disease activity, serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the quadriceps, repeated muscle biopsy of the vastus lateralis, a muscle function index (FI), a walking test and a health status instrument (the SF 36) performed at the start of the study and after 12 weeks. RESULTS After 12 weeks of exercise, there were no signs of increased disease activity as assessed clinically, by CPK values, MRI or muscle biopsy findings. On an individual basis, all patients improved regarding muscle function according to the FI, in six cases the improvement reached statistical significance (P < 0.05). A significant improvement regarding muscle function in the upper and lower limbs, walking distance and general health status was achieved. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that this home exercise programme can be safely employed in patients with stable, inactive PM and DM, with beneficial effects on muscle function.
Statewide efforts to improve palliative care in critical care settings.

n a 2004 study, researchers found that almost 20% of American deaths occur in a critical care setting or shortly after a critical care stay. Historically, the focus of critical care has been primarily on curative therapies, and death has been viewed as failure. Now, awareness of the need to integrate palliative care in critical care settings has increased. The challenges to providing quality end-oflife care include the hectic, fast-paced environment; different perceptions among team members regarding the patient’s goals of care as far as aggressive treatment versus seeking limited or no treatment; communication barriers between health care professionals, patients, and patients’ families; and a lack of research on improvements in the care of the dying in critical care settings. Often, because of these and other barriers, pain and other symptoms Statewide Efforts to Improve Palliative Care in Critical Care Settings
DC Transmission Terminating at Low Short Cirucit Ratio Locations

In the past few years, application of dc links for the expansion of power transmission systems has been growing. A major application has been interconnection of large ac systems. The location of such dc interconnections are dictated more by economic and environmental considerations than by the purely technical aspects of the interconnection. Use of existing facilities (transmission lines, substations, etc.) lead to minimum new construction, minimizes need to acquire new land or rights-of-way and can also benefit a project with an early in-service date. Environmental issues such as locating new installations in less farmed areas outweigh technical aspects of a project. Therefore, quite often dc interconnections are located where the strengths of the ac systems being interconnected by the dc link are close to the dc power rating of the link. With such interconnections, system design and operation is influenced by several factors, including temporary overvoltages, reactive power compensation, ac voltage regulation and stability, and low-order harmonic resonances. The extent to which these factors cause concern is related to relative strength of the ac transmission system compared to the rating of the HVDC terminal. The relative strength of an ac system for such purposes is often described in terms of an indicator called the Effective Short-Circuit Ratio (ESCR); this term is explained later in the paper. Until recently, system planners were using an ESCR of 2.5 as the lower limit for considering interconnection of systems by dc. Advanced techniques developed by the industry have made it possible to successfully operate dc links located at terminals with ESCR's much less than the previous rule-of-thumb limit of 2.5.
Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy in fungal infections

To evaluate the role of fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in diagnosis of fungal infections, a retrospective analysis of 26 cases of fungal infection is described. The spectrum of various fungi encountered on cytologic microscopy of aspirated material and fungal culture was as follows: Aspergillus sp (16 cases), Cryptococcus neoformans (six cases), Mucorales (one case). Candida sp (one case), Phialophora parasiticus (one case). Sporothrix schenkii and Cladosporium sp (the last two isolated from a single case). In majority (71%) of cases, fungal infection was not clinically suspected but was picked up on cytologic material in all the cases. An accurate diagnosis based on morphology could be made in 21 cases (80%). Predisposing factor was found in three patients, two of them had diabetes mellitus and one was on immunosuppression. HIV serology was negative in seven cases tested. Commonest tissue reaction (75%) was foreign body giant cells with foamy macrophages and variable amount of necrosis. Although FNAB is helpful in the rapid diagnosis of fungal infections, culture is essential for more accurate identification. Diagn. Cytopathol. 16:31–34, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Shunt Behavior in RFID UHF Tag According to ISO Standards and Manufacturer Requirements

This paper deals with ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag modeling. Examples of electrical models and measurements of backscattering by load modulation in RFID systems can be found in scientific literature in far-field conditions. Load modulation and loading effect are based on the same physical phenomenon: the antenna current is modified by switching the load impedance between two impedances which are frequency dependent. All these models neglect the shunt resistance which can deeply affect the load impedance and may produce failures in the communication system.
High Peak Power Pulse Amplification in Large-Core Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifiers

High peak power fiber lasers are important for a variety of applications ranging from material processing and remote sensing to laser-plasma produced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) generation. These applications require high peak powers in the megawatt range, < 1-10-ns pulse durations and high average powers in preferably diffraction-limited beams. In this paper, we review our work on high peak power pulse generation using large- mode-area (LMA) Yb-doped fibers with very large cores. We report achieving up to > 5-MW peak power with subnanosecond pulses, the highest peak power achieved so far from a fiber laser. Use of a variety of core sizes between 65 and 200 mum has been explored and it has been shown that for core sizes as large as 80 mum, a good output beam quality of M2 ~ 1.3 can be maintained. This corresponds to the largest ever demonstrated mode area (2750 mum2) of a conventional LMA fiber with nearly diffraction-limited output. We also demonstrate average-power scaling of megawatt peak power pulses of up to ~90 W.
Activation of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors Enhances the Release of Endogenous Cannabinoids in the Hippocampus

Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) are endogenous compounds that resemble the active ingredient of marijuana and activate the cannabinoid receptor in the brain. They mediate retrograde signaling from principal cells to both inhibitory [“depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition” (DSI)] and excitatory (“depolarization-induced suppression of excitation”) afferent fibers. Transient endocannabinoid release is triggered by voltage-dependent Ca2+ influx and is upregulated by group I metabotropic glutamate receptor activation. Here we show that muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) activation also enhances transient endocannabinoid release (DSI) and induces persistent release. Inhibitory synapses in the rat hippocampal CA1 region of acute slices were studied using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. We found that low concentrations (0.2–0.5 μm) of carbachol (CCh) enhanced DSI without affecting basal evoked IPSCs (eIPSCs) by activating mAChRs on postsynaptic cells. Higher concentrations of CCh (≥1 μm) enhanced DSI and also persistently depressed basal eIPSCs, mainly by releasing endocannabinoids. Persistent CCh-induced endocannabinoid release did not require an increase in [Ca2+]i but was dependent on G-proteins. Although they were independent at the receptor level, muscarinic and glutamatergic mechanisms of endocannabinoid release shared intracellular machinery. Replication of the effects of CCh by blocking acetylcholinesterase with eserine suggests that mAChR-mediated endocannabinoid release is physiologically relevant. This study reveals a new role of the muscarinic cholinergic system in mammalian brain.
Preclinical activity of an i.v. formulation of rubitecan in IDD-P™ against human solid tumor xenografts

An i.v. formulation of rubitecan (9-nitrocamptothecin) was evaluated in five human solid tumor xenograft models. Rubitecan in IDD-P™, a particulate suspension of the insoluble analog, produced significant tumor growth delay in athymic nude mice bearing A375 melanoma, and MX-1 breast, SKMES non-small-cell lung, Panc-1 pancreatic and HT29 colon carcinomas. The activity of i.v. rubitecan was similar or somewhat superior to those of i.p. regimens with the reference drugs, irinotecan and topotecan. Tumor sensitivity to rubitecan in IDD-P was MX-1>A375>SKMES >Panc-1>HT29. Some complete regression responses were seen with MX-1, A375 and SKMES tumors treated with 2.5 mg/kg on a schedule of two 5-day dosing cycles separated by 2 drug-free days. In nude mice, the MTD of rubitecan in IDD-P lies between 2 and 2.5 mg/kg on this schedule; antitumor efficacy was achieved with doses between 2.5 and 1.25 mg/kg. Dosing with 6.6 mg/kg rubitecan in IDD-P on intermittent schedules (4- or 7-day intervals) was tolerated, but less efficacious, when tested in the A375 model. The good responses obtained with rubitecan in IDD-P suggest it could be used clinically in circumstances where an i.v. formulation offers advantages to oral or aerosol formulations.
Suppression of luteal function by a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonist during the early luteal phase in the stumptailed macaque monkey and the effects of subsequent administration of human chorionic gonadotropin.

In previous studies a single sc injection of the LHRH antagonist [N-Ac-D-Nal(2)1,D-pCl-Phe2,D-Trp3,D-hArg(Et2)6,D-Ala10 ]LHRH during the luteal phase of the stumptailed macaque menstrual cycle caused a transient suppression of serum LH and progesterone concentrations. To investigate whether a more prolonged suppression of LH release during the early luteal phase could result in a sustained suppression of progesterone, 10 monkeys were treated with 3 consecutive daily injections of 300 micrograms LHRH antagonist/kg beginning on days 0 (n = 2), 1 (n = 1), 2 (n = 1), 3 (n = 2), 4 (n = 2), and 5 (n = 2) after the LH surge. When the antagonist was administered on the day of the LH surge, serum concentrations of bioactive LH were still elevated on the following day, but then fell to low levels. Serum progesterone concentrations were subnormal in these monkeys for the next 10 days, but recovered toward the late luteal phase. In the 8 monkeys receiving antagonist starting between days 1-5 after the LH surge, serum concentrations of bioactive LH were suppressed to near the detection limit of the assay for 4 days after the first injection. Seven of the 8 monkeys demonstrated a progressive decline in serum progesterone concentrations to undetectable values which remained for the duration of the luteal phase. In the remaining monkey the decline in progesterone was less marked; this animal presented a normal progesterone profile 3 days after the last antagonist injection. Premature menses occurred in all 8 monkeys; the next ovulation occurred 18.9 +/- 0.3 days after the last antagonist injection. To test luteal function after antagonist treatment during the early luteal phase and to mimic the rescue of the corpus luteum during a fertile cycle and assess the contraceptive effects of antagonist, hCG in daily doses of 30, 60, 90, 180, and 360 IU was administered starting on day 7 of the luteal phase to monkeys previously treated with three daily injections of 300 micrograms antagonist/kg during the early luteal phase. Control monkeys received hCG injections alone. In the controls, hCG administration elevated serum progesterone concentrations to 15-20 ng/ml. In three monkeys in which antagonist administration did not commence until day 5 or 6, hCG overcame the suppressive effect of the antagonist. However, in seven monkeys in which antagonist administration began on days 1-4, hCG caused only a small progesterone rise (maximal range, 1.8-4.9 ng/ml), about 20% of that observed in control monkeys receiving hCG. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Refined best reply correspondence and dynamics

We call a correspondence, defined on the set of mixed strategy profiles, a generalized best reply correspondence if it (i) has a product structure, (ii) is upper hemicontinuous, (iii) always includes a best reply to any mixed strategy profile, and (iv) is convex- and closed-valued. For each generalized best reply correspondence, we define a generalized best reply dynamics as a differential inclusion based on it. We call a face of the set of mixed strategy profiles a minimally asymptotically stable face (MASF) if it is asymptotically stable under some such dynamics and no subface of it is asymptotically stable under any such dynamics. The set of such correspondences (and dynamics) is endowed with the partial order of pointwise set inclusion and, under a mild condition on the normal form of the game at hand, forms a complete lattice with meets based on pointwise intersections. The refined best reply correspondence is then defined as the smallest element of the set of all generalized best reply correspondences. We find that every persistent retract (Kalai and Samet 1984) contains a MASF. Furthermore, persistent retracts are minimal CURB (closed under rational behavior) sets (Basu and Weibull 1991) based on the refined best reply correspondence. Conversely, every MASF must be a prep set (Voorneveld 2004), based again, however, on the refined best reply correspondence.
Schizophrenia and osteoporosis

Although it has been suggested that antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinaemia in schizophrenic patients may lead to an increased risk of osteoporosis, this has not been proven. Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease, and untreated patients with schizophrenia are at risk due to both the consequences of the disease and related lifestyle factors. Evidence from available studies does not show that antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinaemia is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis in schizophrenic patients. Osteoporosis would be expected in women who develop amenorrhoea as a result of hyperprolactinaemia secondary to antipsychotics, but there is no plausible mechanism in men. The uncertainty over this issue underlines the need for full medical and metabolic assessment and monitoring of psychiatric patients.
Regulation of luminal acidification in the male reproductive tract via cell–cell crosstalk

SUMMARY In the epididymis, spermatozoa acquire their ability to become motile and to fertilize an egg. A luminal acidic pH and a low bicarbonate concentration help keep spermatozoa in a quiescent state during their maturation and storage in this organ. Net proton secretion is crucial to maintain the acidity of the luminal fluid in the epididymis. A sub-population of epithelial cells, the clear cells, express high levels of the proton-pumping V-ATPase in their apical membrane and are important contributors to luminal acidification. This review describes selected aspects of V-ATPase regulation in clear cells. The assembly of a particular set of V-ATPase subunit isoforms governs the targeting of the pump to the apical plasma membrane. Regulation of V-ATPase-dependent proton secretion occurs via recycling mechanisms. The bicarbonate-activated adenylyl cyclase is involved in the non-hormonal regulation of V-ATPase recycling, following activation of bicarbonate secretion by principal cells. The V-ATPase is also regulated in a paracrine manner by luminal angiotensin II by activation of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AGTR2), which is located in basal cells. Basal cells have the remarkable property of extending long and slender cytoplasmic projections that cross the tight junction barrier to monitor the luminal environment. Clear cells are activated by a nitric oxide signal that originates from basal cells. Thus, a complex interplay between the different cell types present in the epithelium leads to activation of the luminal acidifying capacity of the epididymis, a process that is crucial for sperm maturation and storage.
Engineering of vascularized transplantable bone tissues: induction of axial vascularization in an osteoconductive matrix using an arteriovenous loop.

INTRODUCTION Vascularization remains an obstacle to engineering of larger volume bone tissues. Our aim was to induce axial vascularization in a processed bovine cancellous bone (PBCB) matrix using an arteriovenous (AV) loop (artery, vein graft, and vein). METHODS Custom-made PBCB discs (9 x 5 mm) were implanted into rats. In group A (n = 19), the matrices were inserted into microsurgically constructed AV loops between the femoral vessels using a vein graft from the contralateral side. In group B (n = 19), there was no vascular carrier. The matrices were encased in isolation chambers. After 2, 4, and 8 weeks, the animals were perfused with India ink via the abdominal aorta. Matrices were explanted and subjected to histological and morphometric analysis. Results were compared with intravital dynamic micro & magnetic resonance imaging and scanning electron microscopy images of vascular corrosion replicas. RESULTS In group A, significant vascularization of the matrix had occurred by the 8th week. At this time, vascular remodeling with organization into vessels of different sizes was evident. Blood vessels originated from all 3 zones of the AV loop. Group A was significantly superior to group B in terms of vascular density and vascularization kinetics. DISCUSSION This study demonstrates for the first time successful vascularization of solid porous matrices by means of an AV loop. Injection of osteogenic cells into axially prevascularized matrices may eventually create functional bioartificial bone tissues for reconstruction of large defects.
A dairy‐based high calcium diet improves glucose homeostasis and reduces steatosis in the context of preexisting obesity

High dietary calcium (Ca) in the context of a dairy food matrix has been shown to reduce obesity development and associated inflammation in diet‐induced obese (DIO) rodents. The influence of Ca and dairy on these phenotypes in the context of preexisting obesity is not known. Furthermore, interpretations have been confounded historically by differences in body weight gain among DIO animals fed dairy‐based protein or high Ca.
Targeting LDH enzymes with a stiripentol analog to treat epilepsy

Targeting metabolism to tackle seizures About 1% of us suffer from epilepsy. Unfortunately, presently available drugs do not work for a third of epileptic patients. Sada et al. wanted to develop compounds to treat drug-resistant epilepsy (see the Perspective by Scharfman). They focused on a metabolic pathway in the brain, the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle. They found that lactate dehydrogenase, a key molecule in nerve cell metabolism, controls brain excitability. Searching for a substance that selectively targets this molecule, they found a potential anti-epileptic drug that strongly suppressed drug-resistant epilepsy in an animal model. Science, this issue p. 1362; see also p. 1312 A new drug that acts on lactate dehydrogenase causes neuronal hyperpolarization and decreases spiking activity in a mouse model of epilepsy. [Also see Perspective by Scharfman] Neuronal excitation is regulated by energy metabolism, and drug-resistant epilepsy can be suppressed by special diets. Here, we report that seizures and epileptiform activity are reduced by inhibition of the metabolic pathway via lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a component of the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle. Inhibition of the enzyme LDH hyperpolarized neurons, which was reversed by the downstream metabolite pyruvate. LDH inhibition also suppressed seizures in vivo in a mouse model of epilepsy. We further found that stiripentol, a clinically used antiepileptic drug, is an LDH inhibitor. By modifying its chemical structure, we identified a previously unknown LDH inhibitor, which potently suppressed seizures in vivo. We conclude that LDH inhibitors are a promising new group of antiepileptic drugs.
Theoretical study of hydrogen dissociative adsorption on the Cu(110) surface.

We have calculated the six-dimensional (6D) potential energy surface for H2 in front of a frozen Cu(110) surface using density functional theory for 22 H2-surface configurations and the corrugation reducing procedure to interpolate between them. We carry out classical trajectory calculations on the dissociative adsorption process and find excellent agreement with measurements. We find that it is of prominent importance to account for the rovibrational state distribution in the incident H2 beam. A straightforward analysis leads to the conclusion that the motion along the surface does not play an appreciable role in the dynamics whereas the dynamical role of molecular rotation is crucial. The latter fact precludes any interpretation of dissociation in terms of a static concept such as "barrier distributions. "
The clinicopathological significance of HES1 promoter hypomethylation in patients with colorectal cancer

Hairy/enhancer of split 1 (HES1) is a basic helix–loop–helix transcriptional repressor. Aberrant demethylation has been considered a common mechanism of tumor promoter gene activation. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the methylation status of the HES1 promoter and correlations with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression of HES1 in 50 paired CRC specimens and adjacent normal tissues was determined by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis. Moreover, DNA methylation status was evaluated through methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite sequencing. The correlation of methylation status with HES1 expression level and clinicopathological parameters was statistically analyzed in CRC patients. Our data showed that the methylation level of HES1 was significantly decreased and negatively correlated with HES1 expression in CRC tissues. Moreover, HES1 hypomethylation was associated with a poor histological grade, Dukes’ classification, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stages (P<0.05). Furthermore, survival analyses revealed that a decreased methylation status of HES1 was linked to poor prognosis of CRC patients. In conclusion, promoter hypomethylation upregulates HES1 expression and plays a critical role in the progression and prognosis of CRC patients.