Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of insulin on dexamethasone-induced ultrastructural changes in skeletal and cardiac muscle

Glucocorticoids help animals respond to stressors but excessive glucocorticoids cause muscle atrophy, while insulin can promote anabolism and growth. In order to compare the glucocorticoids-induced ultrastructural changes between skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, and investigate the preventive effects of insulin on the changes, eighteen male chicks with similar initial weight were randomly divided into three groups. The two test groups were respectively treated with high-dose dexamethasone alone or together with low-dose insulin by intraperitoneal injection, and the control group was treated with an equal volume of saline solution. The experiment lasted for ten days, and then the body weight, muscle size and ultrastructure in skeletal and cardiac muscles of twelve chicks were qualitatively or quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that high-dose dexamethasone induced obvious skeletal and cardiac muscle atrophy. The differences of ultrastructural changes between skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle (such as for the former or the latter, the intermyofibrillar-and-interfilamentary spaces reducing or enlarging, the mitochondria swelling seriously or enlarging lightly, the myofibril filaments compacting or loosing) suggested that dexamethasone induced skeletal and cardiac muscle atrophy by different mechanisms. Low-dose insulin did not affect the dexamethasone-induced decreases of body weight and skeletal muscle size, but alleviated lightly the dexamethasone-induced ultrastructural changes in skeletal muscle. Different from skeletal muscle, low-dose insulin almost resisted the dexamethasone-induced ultrastructural changes in cardiac muscle.
Essential Contribution of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1/C-C Chemokine Ligand-2 to Resolution and Repair Processes in Acute Bacterial Pneumonia

Neutrophil infiltration is the first step in eradication of bacterial infection, but neutrophils rapidly die after killing bacteria. Subsequent accumulation of macrophage lineage cells, such as alveolar macrophages (AMs), is essential to remove dying neutrophils, which are a source of injurious substances. Macrophage lineage cells can promote tissue repair, by producing potential growth factors including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). However, it remains elusive which factor activates macrophage in these processes. Intratracheal instillation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa caused neutrophil infiltration in the airspace; subsequently, the numbers of total AMs and neutrophil ingested AMs were increased. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1/CC chemokine ligand-2 (CCL2), a potent macrophage-activating factor, were increased before the increases in the number of AM ingesting neutrophils and HGF levels in BAL fluid. Immunoreactive MCP-1 proteins were detected in alveolar type II epithelial cells and AMs only after P. aeruginosa infection. The administration of anti-MCP-1/CCL2 Abs reduced the increases in the number of AM-ingesting neutrophils and HGF levels in BAL fluid, and eventually aggravated lung tissue injury. In contrast, the administration of MCP-1/CCL2 enhanced the increases in the number of AM ingesting neutrophils and HGF levels in BAL fluid, and eventually attenuated lung tissue injury. Furthermore, MCP-1/CCL2 enhanced the ingestion of apoptotic neutrophils and HGF production by a mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 267.4, in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, MCP-1/CCL2 has a crucial role in the resolution and repair processes of acute bacterial pneumonia by enhancing the removal of dying neutrophils and HGF production by AMs
Saccadic lateropulsion and upbeat nystagmus: Disorders of caudal medulla

A patient developed a primary position upbeat nystagmus and a left saccadic lateropulsion. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a probable cavernoma at right caudal paramedian medullary level. Anatomical correlations are discussed. Saccadic lateropulsion is attributed to olivocerebellar pathway impairment but usually is described in more rostral medullar lesions. Our case would still support this hypothesis because the lesion could have involved the olivocerebellar pathway at its very caudal level. Upbeat nystagmus could be attributed to impairment of the nucleus intercalatus and/or cell groups of the paramedian tract.
Antioxidants and cancer. IV. Initiating activity of malonaldehyde as a carcinogen.

Malonaldeh yde was applied once to the shaved backs of mice. After daily treatment with 0.1% croton oil, 52% of the mice had tumors at 30 weeks. In the same experiment, other mice were treated once with fi-propiolactone, glycidaldehyde, or 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene DMBA), and then daily with croton oil. These animals had 44, 40, and 95% tumors, respectively, at 30 weeks. Twelve mg malonaldehyde applied daily proved toxic, sometimes fatally so. Five animals also had carcinomas of their internal organs. After daily treatment with 0.36 mg malonaldehyde, no animals died of carcinoma. The predicted reactivity of malonaldehyde was confirmed; after 1 hour, only 1.9% of the applied malcaaldehyde was detectable. All skin treated with DMBA, benzo[a]pyrene, and 3-methylcholanthrene had increased
Mosaicing-by-recognition for recognizing texts captured in multiple video frames

Text recognition in video frames is promising because of its following superiorities over text recognition in a still camera image: (1) it is possible to recognize longer texts by concatenating the frames, and (2) it is also possible to improve the quality of the text image by integrating the frames. In this paper, a mosaicing-by-recognition technique is proposed where video mosaicing and text recognition are simultaneously and collaboratively performed in a one-step manner by a dynamic programming-based optimization algorithm. In this optimization algorithm, rotation, scaling, vertical shift, and speed fluctuation of camera motion are efficiently compensated. The results of experiments to evaluate not only the accuracy of text recognition but also that of video mosaicing indicates that the proposed technique is practical and can provide reasonable results in most cases.
Delayed Retraction of the Pipeline Embolization Device and Corking Failure: Pitfalls of Pipeline Embolization Device Placement in the Setting of a Ruptured Aneurysm

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: The safety of flow-diverting stents for the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms is unknown. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 35-year-old woman with a ruptured dissecting aneurysm of the intradural right vertebral artery and incorporating the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery was treated with a Pipeline Embolization Device (PED). Five days after reconstruction of the diseased right vertebral segment, she was treated for vasospasm, and retraction of the PED was observed, leaving her dissecting aneurysm unprotected. A second PED was placed with coverage of the aneurysm, but vasospasm complicated optimal positioning of the device. CONCLUSION: In addition to the potential risks of dual antiplatelet therapy in these patients, this case illustrates 2 pitfalls of flow-diverting devices in vessels in vasospasm: delayed retraction of the device and difficulty positioning the device for deployment in the setting of vasospasm. ABBREVIATIONS: ANR, aneurysm PED, Pipeline Embolization Device PICA, posterior inferior cerebellar artery SAH, subarachnoid hemorrhage
Genome Sequences of Three Spore-Forming Bacteria Isolated from the Feces of Organically Raised Chickens

ABSTRACT Antibiotic feed supplements have been implicated in the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria. An alternative to antibiotics is probiotics. Here, we report the genome sequences of two Bacillus and one Solibacillus species, all spore-forming, Gram-positive bacteria, isolated from the feces organically raised chicken feces, with potential to serve as probiotics.
Lessons Learned About Public Health from Online Crowd Surveillance

The Internet has forever changed the way people access information and make decisions about their healthcare needs. Patients now share information about their health at unprecedented rates on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and on medical discussion boards. In addition to explicitly shared information about health conditions through posts, patients reveal data on their inner fears and desires about health when searching for health-related keywords on search engines. Data are also generated by the use of mobile phone applications that track users' health behaviors (e.g., eating and exercise habits) as well as give medical advice. The data generated through these applications are mined and repackaged by surveillance systems developed by academics, companies, and governments alike to provide insight to patients and healthcare providers for medical decisions. Until recently, most Internet research in public health has been surveillance focused or monitoring health behaviors. Only recently have researchers used and interacted with the crowd to ask questions and collect health-related data. In the future, we expect to move from this surveillance focus to the "ideal" of Internet-based patient-level interventions where healthcare providers help patients change their health behaviors. In this article, we highlight the results of our prior research on crowd surveillance and make suggestions for the future.
Disease- and Cell-Specific Expression of GP73 in Human Liver Disease

OBJECTIVES:GP73, a Golgi membrane protein, is expressed at high levels in hepatocytes of patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Its expression in other forms of liver disease has not been investigated. Therefore, we studied GP73 expression in patients with noncirrhotic liver disease.METHODS:GP73 expression was detected immunohistochemically and by immunofluorescence microscopy in patients with acute hepatitis of various etiologies, autoimmune hepatitis, chronic HCV infection, and alcoholic liver disease. In order to quantitate hepatocyte GP73 expression, an immunohistochemical scoring system was developed, and validated by a direct comparison with GP73 protein levels as determined by Western blotting.RESULTS:GP73 immunostaining and Western blotting data were highly correlated, demonstrating the suitability of the immunohistochemical scoring system to quantitate hepatocyte GP73 expression. Hepatocyte GP73 expression was increased in patients with acute and autoimmune hepatitis. Treatment of autoimmune hepatitis was associated with a normalization of GP73 expression, indicating that the initial upregulation was reversible. Increased levels of GP73 expression were also noted in chronic HCV infection and alcoholic liver disease. Under these conditions, GP73 levels were correlated with disease stage but not grade. GP73 immunoreactivity was occasionally detected in α-SMA-positive, sinusoidal lining cells, suggesting activated stellate cells as a potential source of GP73.CONCLUSIONS:Hepatocyte GP73 levels are upregulated in acute hepatitis and during the progression of liver disease to cirrhosis. This expression pattern suggests the presence of two regulatory mechanisms, the first triggered during acute hepatocellular injury, the second during the progression of chronic liver disease.
Exploring global changes in nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in agriculture induced by livestock production over the 1900–2050 period

Crop-livestock production systems are the largest cause of human alteration of the global nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles. Our comprehensive spatially explicit inventory of N and P budgets in livestock and crop production systems shows that in the beginning of the 20th century, nutrient budgets were either balanced or surpluses were small; between 1900 and 1950, global soil N surplus almost doubled to 36 trillion grams (Tg)·y−1 and P surplus increased by a factor of 8 to 2 Tg·y−1. Between 1950 and 2000, the global surplus increased to 138 Tg·y−1 of N and 11 Tg·y−1 of P. Most surplus N is an environmental loss; surplus P is lost by runoff or accumulates as residual soil P. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development scenario portrays a world with a further increasing global crop (+82% for 2000–2050) and livestock production (+115%); despite rapidly increasing recovery in crop (+35% N recovery and +6% P recovery) and livestock (+35% N and P recovery) production, global nutrient surpluses continue to increase (+23% N and +54% P), and in this period, surpluses also increase in Africa (+49% N and +236% P) and Latin America (+75% N and +120% P). Alternative management of livestock production systems shows that combinations of intensification, better integration of animal manure in crop production, and matching N and P supply to livestock requirements can effectively reduce nutrient flows. A shift in human diets, with poultry or pork replacing beef, can reduce nutrient flows in countries with intensive ruminant production.
The Pentapeptide Repeat Proteins MfpAMt and QnrB4 Exhibit Opposite Effects on DNA Gyrase Catalytic Reactions and on the Ternary Gyrase-DNA-Quinolone Complex

ABSTRACT MfpAMt and QnrB4 are two newly characterized pentapeptide repeat proteins (PRPs) that interact with DNA gyrase. The mfpA Mt gene is chromosome borne in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while qnrB4 is plasmid borne in enterobacteria. We expressed and purified the two PRPs and compared their effects on DNA gyrase, taking into account host specificity, i.e., the effect of MfpAMt on M. tuberculosis gyrase and the effect of QnrB4 on Escherichia coli gyrase. Whereas QnrB4 inhibited E. coli gyrase activity only at concentrations higher than 30 μM, MfpAMt inhibited all catalytic reactions of the M. tuberculosis gyrase described for this enzyme (supercoiling, cleavage, relaxation, and decatenation) with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 2 μM. We showed that the D87 residue in GyrA has a major role in the MfpAMt-gyrase interaction, as D87H and D87G substitutions abolished MfpAMt inhibition of M. tuberculosis gyrase catalytic reactions, while A83S modification did not. Since MfpAMt and QnrB4 have been involved in resistance to fluoroquinolones, we measured the inhibition of the quinolone effect in the presence of each PRP. QnrB4 reversed quinolone inhibition of E. coli gyrase at 0.1 μM as described for other Qnr proteins, but MfpAMt did not modify M. tuberculosis gyrase inhibition by fluoroquinolones. Crossover experiments showed that MfpAMt also inhibited E. coli gyrase function, while QnrB4 did not reverse quinolone inhibition of M. tuberculosis gyrase. In conclusion, our in vitro experiments showed that MfpAMt and QnrB4 exhibit opposite effects on DNA gyrase and that these effects are protein and species specific.
Changes in sexual functioning and sex hormone levels in women following bariatric surgery.

IMPORTANCE Obesity has been associated with impairments in sexual function and untoward changes in reproductive hormones in women. Relatively few studies have investigated changes in these domains following bariatric surgery. OBJECTIVE To investigate changes in sexual functioning, sex hormone levels, and relevant psychosocial constructs in women who underwent bariatric surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A prospective cohort study of 106 women from phase 2 of the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery who underwent bariatric surgery (median [interquartile range] body mass index, 44.5 [41.4-49.7]). Assessments were completed between 2006 and 2012. INTERVENTIONS Bariatric surgery was performed by a surgeon certified by the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (85 women underwent a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and 21 women underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Sexual functioning was assessed by use of the Female Sexual Function Index. Hormones were assessed by use of a blood assay. Quality of life, body image, depressive symptoms, and marital adjustment were assessed by use of validated questionnaires. RESULTS Women lost a mean 32.7% (95% CI, 30.7%-34.7%) of initial body weight at postoperative year 1 and a mean 33.5% (95% CI, 31.5%-35.6%) at postoperative year 2. Two years following surgery, women reported significant improvements in overall sexual functioning and specific domains of sexual functioning: arousal, lubrication, desires, and satisfaction. They also experienced significant changes at 2 years in all hormones of interest. Women reported significant improvements in most domains of quality of life, as well as body image and depressive symptoms, within the first year after surgery, with these improvements being maintained through the second postoperative year. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Women who underwent bariatric surgery had significant improvements in overall sexual functioning, in most reproductive hormones of interest, and in psychosocial status. Improvements in sexual health can be added to the list of health benefits associated with bariatric surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00670098.
Non-invasive detection of high gamma band activity during motor imagery

High gamma oscillations (70–150 Hz; HG) are rapidly evolving, spatially localized neurophysiological signals that are believed to be the best representative signature of engaged neural populations. The HG band has been best characterized from invasive electrophysiological approaches such as electrocorticography because of the increased signal-to-noise ratio that results when by-passing the scalp and skull. Despite the recent observation that HG activity can be detected non-invasively by electroencephalography (EEG), it is unclear to what extent EEG can accurately resolve the spatial distribution of HG signals during active task engagement. We have overcome some of the limitations inherent to acquiring HG signals across the scalp by utilizing individual head anatomy in combination with an inverse modeling method. We applied a linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) beamformer method on EEG data during a motor imagery paradigm to extract a time-frequency spectrogram at every voxel location on the cortex. To confirm spatially distributed patterns of HG responses, we contrasted overlapping maps of the EEG HG signal with blood oxygen level dependence (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired from the same set of neurologically normal subjects during a separate session. We show that scalp-based HG band activity detected by EEG during motor imagery spatially co-localizes with BOLD fMRI data. Taken together, these results suggest that EEG can accurately resolve spatially specific estimates of local cortical high frequency signals, potentially opening an avenue for non-invasive measurement of HG potentials from diverse sets of neurologically impaired populations for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Switch point finding using polynomial regression for fuzzy type reduction algorithms

Karnik-Mendel (KM) algorithm is the most widely used type reduction (TR) method in literature for the design of interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems (IT2FLS). Its iterative nature for finding left and right switch points is its Achilles heel. Despite a decade of research, none of the alternative TR methods offer uncertainty measures equivalent to KM algorithm. This paper takes a data-driven approach to tackle the computational burden of this algorithm while keeping its key features. We propose a regression method to approximate left and right switch points found by KM algorithm. Approximator only uses the firing intervals, rules centroids, and FLS structural features as inputs. Once training is done, it can precisely approximate the left and right switch points through basic vector multiplications. Comprehensive simulation results demonstrate that the approximation accuracy for a wide variety of FLSs is 100%. Flexibility, ease of implementation, and speed are other features of the proposed method.
Conscious sedation with remifentanil and midazolam during brief painful procedures in children.

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that remifentanil, because of its favorable pharmacokinetic properties, would be advantageous to use in combination with midazolam to provide analgesia and sedation during brief painful procedures. DESIGN Prospective observation and data collection. SETTING University hospital. PATIENTS Seventeen children aged 2 to 12 years, who underwent 20 brief, painful procedures. INTERVENTIONS Administration of intravenous midazolam hydrochloride, 0.05 mg/kg, and remifentanil hydrochloride, 1 microg/kg, followed by a remifentanil infusion at 0.1 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1). The dose was titrated at 5-minute intervals to levels of sedation and analgesia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Successful remifentanil doses, times to discharge readiness, side effects, complications, and requirement for additional medications. RESULTS The technique was successful in 17 of 20 procedures. The mean +/- SD successful dose was 0.4 +/- 0.2 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1). Four children developed hypoxemia that abated with mild stimulation; 1 child became unresponsive and required positive-pressure ventilation. The mean +/- SD time to reach discharge criteria was 9.5 +/- 4.3 minutes. Hypoxemia was avoided in 10 of 13 patients by continuous stimulation throughout the procedure. CONCLUSION The use of remifentanil and midazolam during brief, painful procedures results in rapid times to discharge but is complicated by a high incidence of life-threatening respiratory depression at subtherapeutic levels.
Age Vectors vs. Axes of Intraspeaker Variation in Vowel Formants Measured Automatically From Several English Speech Corpora

To test the hypothesis that intraspeaker variation in vowel formants is related to the direction of diachronic change, we compare the direction of change in apparent time with the axis of intraspeaker variation in F1 and F2 for vowel phonemes in several corpora of North American and Scottish English. These vowels were measured automatically with a scheme (tested on hand-measured vowels) that considers the frequency, bandwidth, and amplitude of the first three formants in reference to a prototype. In the corpus data, we find that the axis of intraspeaker variation is typically aligned vertically, presumably corresponding to the degree of jaw opening for individual tokens, but for the North American GOOSE vowel, the axis of intraspeaker variation is aligned with the (horizontal) axis of diachronic change for this vowel across North America. This may help to explain why fronting and unrounding of high back vowels are common shifts across languages.
Robust controller design for teleoperation systems

The controller design for a bilateral teleoperation system involves trade-offs between performance and robust stability. Beyond simple intuition, little is known how performance and robust stability trade off. This paper shows that it is possible to achieve robust stability and nominal performance of a bilateral teleoperation system by using a four-channel control architecture. The controller design problem is formulated as a multiple objective optimization problem, which is shown to be convex if parametrizing all stabilizing controllers via the Youla parametrization. Performance specifications, such as kinematic correspondence error, force tracking error, etc., are defined; and robust stability is also incorporated into the controller design. The controller design problem is formulated as a multiple objective optimization problem, which is shown to be convex if parametrizing all stabilizing controllers via the Youla parametrization. The limit of performance achievable with the designed controller, thus the exact form of the trade-offs between performance and robust stability can be computed numerically. To demonstrate those, this paper treats the design of a controller for a simple one degree-of-freedom (DOF) system model of a motion-scaling teleoperation system.