Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repression of autocrine transforming growth factor beta 1 and beta 2 in quiescent CBS colon carcinoma cells leads to progression of tumorigenic properties.

Previous work has shown that repression of negative autocrine transforming growth factor (TGF) beta 1 did not alter the growth rate of a human colon carcinoma cell line, but the time required for the cells to enter exponential growth from lag phase was reduced (S. P. Wu, D. Theodorescu, R. Kerbel, J. K. V. Willson, K. M. Mulder, L. E. Humphrey, and M. G. Brattain, J. Cell Biol., 116: 187-196, 1992). These results have led to the hypothesis that the tumor suppressive activity of autocrine TGF-beta 1 was directed at quiescent nondividing cells rather than actively dividing cells. In order to test this hypothesis, a weakly tumorigenic, well-differentiated human colon carcinoma cell line designated CBS, which expressed autocrine TGF-beta 1 and -beta 2 activity in quiescent cells, but not in exponential growth phase cells, was identified. This cell line was stably transfected with a full-length TGF-beta 1 antisense complementary DNA. Constitutive expression of TGF-beta 1 antisense mRNA in CBS cells resulted in repression of autocrine TGF-beta 1 and -beta 2 protein activity in quiescent cells of approximately 10-fold. TGF-beta 2 repression could have been due to interaction with TGF-beta 1 antisense mRNA, since these two isoforms have a high degree of homology, or it could have been indirectly due to TGF-beta 1 repression, since this isoform has been shown to affect transcriptional and posttranscriptional control of TGF-beta 2. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Impact of Long-Term Tiotropium Bromide Therapy on Annual Lung Function Decline in Adult Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Background Chronic lung disease is the leading cause of death in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and is often treated with bronchodilators. It is not known whether long-term tiotropium bromide treatment may have a positive impact on lung function. Methods This retrospective cohort study estimated annual lung function decline utilizing longitudinal data for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Results A total of 160 adult patients with CF were analyzed. The subjects treated for 24 months with tiotropium bromide had a significantly slower decline of mean annual change of FEV1 (treated: -0.3±4.0%; control: -2.3±5.0%; p = 0.0130). In patients with FEV1 ≥70% predicted, long-term tiotropium bromide treatment was associated with greater improvements in annual lung function decline (FEV1 ≥70% predicted: treated: +0.5±4.7%; control: -4.0±6.3%; p = 0.0132; FEV1 50–69% predicted: treated: -0.5±4.4%; control: -0.8±3.8%; p = 0.7142; FEV1 ≤49% predicted: treated: -0.6±3.4%; control: -2.4±4.8%; p = 0.0898). Conclusion This study suggests that long-term tiotropium bromide treatment may be associated with reduced annual decline of FEV1 in patients with CF, particularly in adults with a mild degree of severity.
A fast color correction method based on image analysis

The colors in a digital image depend not only on the surface properties of the objects present in the scene depicted, but also on the lighting conditions and the characteristics of the capturing device. The estimation of scene colorimetric from raw data is still an open issue, especially for digital images that have been acquired by digital image-capturing devices in unknown conditions. A color correction method is developed and tested in this paper. In order to increase the running speed of color correction, we introduce a simple statistical analysis to detect the color distorts. An approach for recognizing the dominant color objects based on block-features and region-features is presented for improving accuracy and reliability. All functions are run in the decorrelated color space. The results of many experiments show that it can get a better performance than the other existing methods.
Reflections on the US Guidelines on Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Treatment in Children and Adolescents

In the first place, the focus on treatment with GH and IGF-I in the guidelines may be interpreted as reinforcement of the traditional idea that every growth disorder has something to do with the GH-IGF-I axis. Instead, Baron et al. [2] convincingly argued that disorders of this axis represent only a small part of the spectrum of growth disorders. In fact, the majority of growth disorders are associated with one of the many other regulatory pathways of the epiphyseal growth plate. With regard to the definitions of the three diagnostic groups, the PES Committee decided to stick to the texts given in the FDA indications, and provide no further explanation of the delimitations and uncertainties of these relatively poorly defined conditions, nor of the diagnostic process to arrive at these diagnoses. While they appropriately refer to the International Classification of Pediatric Endocrine Diagnoses (ICPED) that recently became available (www.icped.org) [3] , even these definitions ofIn this issue of Hormone Research in Paediatrics , Grimberg et al. [1] , on behalf of the Drug and Therapeutics Committee and Ethics Committee of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, present a very comprehensive and wellstructured paper containing updated and expanded guidelines for growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) treatment in children and adolescents with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), idiopathic short stature (ISS), and primary insulin-like growth factor-I deficiency (PIGFD). It is the result of a very laborintensive endeavor to evaluate a great deal of the relevant literature using a structured analytical method of grading evidence (GRADE), focusing on adult height as the primary efficacy outcome. This is an important and timely paper, as the previous guidelines on the use of GH by a PES Committee were published in 2003, and did not include the use of IGF-I. We believe that the paper may well contribute to an improvement of the quality of treatment with these drugs, and to a more cautious use of GH and IGF-I in short children. In this commentary, we discuss three issues related to the guidelines. First, we shall discuss the definitions and diagnosis of the three conditions that are the subject of the new guidelines, but have not been exhaustively dealt Published online: November 30, 2016 HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS
Containment control of networked autonomous underwater vehicles guided by multiple leaders using predictor-based neural DSC approach

This paper considers the containment control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in the presence of model uncertainty and time-varying ocean disturbances. A new predictor-based neural dynamic surface control design approach is proposed to develop adaptive containment controllers, under which the trajectories of AUVs converge to the dynamic convex hull spanned by the dynamic leaders. The prediction errors are used to update the neural adaptive laws, which enables fast identifying the vehicle dynamics without excessive knowledge of their dynamical models. The stability properties of the closed-loop network are established via Lyapunov analysis, and the containment errors converge to an adjustable neighborhood of the origin. Comparative studies are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Reirradiation of recurrent medulloblastoma: Does clinical benefit outweigh risk for toxicity?

Patients with recurrent medulloblastoma (MB) have a dismal prognosis. There has been a reluctance to use radiation in the salvage therapy regimens for these patients because of concerns about toxicity and unknown efficacy. Comparing survival outcomes and toxicities in relapsed patients treated with and without radiation may help to define its role.
Suicide ideation as a risk factor for Self-harm in a clinical population

Individuals who self-harm are at an increased risk of suicide ideation and attempts. Although risk of completed suicide for clinical adults who self-harm is often minimalized, individuals who experience suicide ideation are at a heightened risk for suicide attempts. It is therefore important to understand the risk factors associated with suicide ideation in order to identify those most at risk. The aim of this project was to determine the prevalence, risk factors and main differences associated with self-harm in a clinical population presenting with and without suicide ideation. The study was conducted using 675 patient review forms from a large psychiatric clinic in Western Australia. Logistic regression was used to determine if socio-demographic factors (age, gender, socio-economic status), acute alcohol use, and affect (deflated mood, anxiety) at the time of presentation were associated with an increased risk of self-harm behaviour. Self-harm with and without suicide ideation was found to be associated with female gender, younger age groups (<18 years), and alcohol use. In addition, suicide ideation was associated with a deflated mood. Compared to females who self-harm, male clinical adults were significantly more likely to present with co-morbid suicidal ideation than not. The findings support the need for more consistent and informative definitions of self-harm and suicidal behaviour. In particular, the factors associated with suicide ideation should be explored in young people/adults presenting with self-harm, and strategies targeting the antecedents and concomitants of self-harm behaviour, such as negative affective states and alcohol consumption, should be employed.
Internal wall losses of pharmaceutical dusts during closed-face, 37-mm polystyrene cassette sampling.

A current practice for the determination of personal exposures to dusts involves the aspiration of known quantities of air through membrane filters held in 37-mm plastic cassettes. Samples are collected with the cassettes in the closed-face configuration. A major negative bias error has been identified with this sampling procedure for low-level pharmaceutical dusts. For the pharmaceuticals studied, on average, 62% of the active dust collected in each sample was found on the inside surface of the cassette top. Only 22% of the total active ingredient of the dust was found on the filters. The remaining 16% was found on the inside of the cassette bottoms; electrostatic attraction appears to be the reason that pharmaceutical dusts adhere to the inside surface of the cassette. Adherence to the inside surfaces of the polystyrene cassette occurs without regard to the type of material used to seal the two-piece cassette together. The use of shrink wrap versus plastic tape versus using no sealing material had no effect on where or how much of the active ingredient was found on the inside cassette surfaces. Because very little active ingredient was identified in backup cassettes, it is hypothesized that the active ingredient found on the inside of the bottom portion of the cassettes (past the filter and support pad) got there by falling off the filter during filter removal from the cassette prior to analysis. To eliminate both of these errors, an internal cassette extraction procedure was developed that (1) negates the error caused by static charging and (2) eliminates the need for opening the cassettes prior to analysis. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Association between Genotype of the Serotonin Transporter-Linked Polymorphic Region of the Serotonin Transporter Gene and Age of Onset of Methamphetamine Use: a Preliminary Analysis

Early-onset methamphetamine use increases the lifetime prevalence of methamphetamine dependence. An earlier onset of methamphetamine use leads to greater damage to the terminal ends of serotonin neurons, more reduction in serotonin transporter (5-HTT) density, and an increased propensity toward further methamphetamine use. Because the 5-HTT-linked polymorphic region (5′-HTTLPR) within the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene leads to differential expression of the 5-HTT, we examined, for the first time, whether there is a differential association between the long (L) and short (S) alleles of the 5′-HTTLPR and the age of first methamphetamine use (AMU). The study included 120 methamphetamine-dependent adults of European descent. Diagnosis of methamphetamine dependence and AMU were collected using structured questionnaires, and the 5′-HTTLPR genotypes were determined using the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Statistical analysis with the general linear model detected a significant interactive effect of 5′-HTTLPR genotypes (SS vs. L-carriers) and gender, associated with AMU (F = 3.99; p = 0.048). Further analysis of 5′-HTTLPR effects on AMU in males and females separately showed that the SS genotype compared with L-carriers had about two times greater risk of an earlier onset of methamphetamine use in men (hazard ratio = 1.839; 95% confidence interval = 1.042–3.246; p = 0.036) but not in women. Together, our findings in this preliminary study suggest a greater risk for earlier onset methamphetamine use associated with the SS genotype of the 5′-HTTLPR among methamphetamine-dependent Caucasian males.
Between Tradition and Modernity

"Russell clearly succeeds in erasing historically one-dimensional views of Hamburg's late entry into shaping Germany's larger cultural and intellectual discourse. " * German Studies Review ". a valuable scholarly contribution, serving as a useful reminder of the broad spectrum of political views and levels of engagement to be found in the complex confrontations with modernity in later imperial Germany. " * The American Historical Review ". a compelling and needed nuance to overly simplified assumptions about Wilhelmine history. [Russell) offers instead a Hamburg that used its public art both to understand its unique history and to embrace a new path for the future.Russell's writing is clear and readable. he is able to add a significant contribution to the scholarship on Hamburg by moving beyond its role as a commercial hub within the empire and adding to its credence as a center of shaping the definition of a Kulturstadt. " * H-Net "This scholarly and highly nuanced book will be an invaluable source for art historians as well as those studying twentieth-century Germany and its political, cultural, intellectual and emotional history. " * Notable Book Reviews "This is real interdisciplinary work of the highest quality. " * Jonathan Steinberg, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Modern European History, University of Pennsylvania Aby Warburg (1866-1929), founder of the Warburg Institute, was one of the most influential cultural historians of the twentieth century. Focusing on the period 1896-1918, this is the first in-depth, book-length study of his response to German political, social and cultural modernism. It analyses Warburg's response to the effects of these phenomena through a study of his involvement with the creation of some of the most important public artworks in Germany. Using a wide array of archival sources, including many of his unpublished working papers and much of his correspondence, the author demonstrates that Warburg's thinking on contemporary art was the product of two important influences: his engagement with Hamburg's civic affairs and his affinity with influential reform movements seeking a greater role for the middle classes in the political, social and cultural leadership of the nation. Thus a lively picture of Hamburg's cultural life emerges as it responded to artistic modernism, animated by private initiative and public discourse, and charged with debate.
The psychology of schizophrenia.

We hope that psychiatry will one day be based completely on science, and that the constant repetition of “psychiatry must stand on science” will not fall increasingly on as deaf ears as did Cato the Elder’s Carthago delenda est. The compulsive scientizer, rushing about wildly, seeking to redefine psychiatric terms in basic English, stamping out untestable or irreducible concepts, querying incisively: “What do you mean by object relations? How do you measure milieu therapy? ” might well be a ludicrous figure. Yet a certain amount of this sort of behavior would not be beyond the bounds of good taste and, indeed, might even be beneficial to the advancement of psychiatry. As an example of how a scientific approach might be applied, we have devoted some thought to Gregory Bateson’s concept of the “double bind. ” This idea has been suggested as possibly explanatory of how parents make their children
Non-rigid registration and geometric approach for tracking in neurosurgery

Registration of points obtained from preoperative 3D model and points of intraoperative stereo 3D representation, as well as tracking of surgical devices are two important stages in computer aided surgery (CAS). This work shows the application and comparison of two different methods (RPM and ICP) in the registration process of patient's head markers, as well as the use of geometric methods to track the surgical device in real time.
Roles of lncRNAs in pancreatic beta cell identity and diabetes susceptibility

Type 2 diabetes usually ensues from the inability of pancreatic beta cells to compensate for incipient insulin resistance. The loss of beta cell mass, function, and potentially beta cell identity contribute to this dysfunction to extents which are debated. In recent years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as potentially providing a novel level of gene regulation implicating critical cellular processes such as pluripotency and differentiation. With over 1000 lncRNAs now identified in beta cells, there is growing evidence for their involvement in the above processes in these cells. While functional evidence on individual islet lncRNAs is still scarce, we discuss how lncRNAs could contribute to type 2 diabetes susceptibility, particularly at loci identified through genome-wide association studies as affecting disease risk.
In vivo MRI using positive‐contrast techniques in detection of cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Positive‐contrast techniques are being developed to increase the detection of magnetically labeled cells in tissues. We evaluated a post‐processing positive‐contrast technique, susceptibility‐gradient mapping (SGM), and compared this approach with two pulse sequences, a gradient‐compensation‐based “White Marker” technique and an off‐resonance‐based approach, inversion recovery on‐resonance water suppression (IRON), for the detection of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticle‐labeled C6 glioma cells implanted in the flanks of nude rats. The SGM, White Marker and IRON positive‐contrast images were acquired when the labeled C6 glioma tumors were ∼5 mm (small), ∼10 mm (medium) and ∼20 mm (large) in diameter along the largest dimension to evaluate their sensitivity to the dilution of the SPIO nanoparticles as the tumor cells proliferated. In vivo MRI demonstrated that all three positive‐contrast techniques can produce hyperintensities in areas around the labeled flank tumors against a dark background. The number of positive voxels detected around small and medium tumors was significantly greater with the SGM technique than with the White Marker and IRON techniques. For large tumors, the SGM resulted in a similar number of positive voxels to the White Marker technique, and the IRON approach failed to generate positive‐contrast images with a 200 Hz suppression band. This study also reveals that hemorrhage appears as hyperintensities on positive‐contrast images and may interfere with the detection of SPIO‐labeled cells. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of HIV Distribution Pattern and Application of Indigenous Bioresources and Microbicides in Expanding Preventive Options

Similarly, distinct transmission models have emanated over the years thus forming a special focal point in the management and prevention of HIV/AIDS. In resource poor settings, management of the disease remains a task as financial, infrastructure, and committed human resources are remarkably low. The current treatment options though widely accepted is still marred with issues of accessibility, resistance, toxicity, and financial burden on the recipient patients. This chapter discusses and brings to concept the current HIV distribution pattern and microbial bioresources deployed as a preventive and treatment option.
Posture and brain function in dementia. A study with special reference to orthostatic hypotension.

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is believed to be an important cause of cerebral hypoperfusion, leading to chronic fatigue, blurred vision, unsteadiness, dizziness and sometimes syncope. It may also result in episodes of confusion, falls and fractures. The coupling between OH and organic dementia is not clear. Our findings in a large group of patients with Alzheimer's disease, vascular- and frontotemporal dementia has shown a higher prevalence of OH than is seen in healthy elderly people. To examine the blood pressure we used a standardized orthostatic test. The systolic blood pressure drop varied from 20 to about 100 mm Hg. In about 30% of the patients the blood pressure drop did not appear until after 5 minutes or later in the upright position. About 50% of the patients did not report or show any orthostatic symptoms despite marked blood pressure drops. Falls and multiple fractures were significantly higher in the orthostatic patients. The aim of the study was also to investigate whether postural challenge and OH alters the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The results showed significant and consistent lower values in frontal areas during head-up tilt than during supine position. In autopsy verified Alzheimer-cases, additional white matter disease (wmd) was found in about 2/3 of the patients. A highly significant decrease of blood pressure was seen during the progression of dementia in the Alzheimer-patients, especially in those with wmd. The suggested cause of this regional white matter hypoperfusion is the interaction of non-occlusive small vessel sclerosis with recurrent episodes of low blood pressure. Our results also indicate, that in patients with orthostatic symptoms, the cerebral autoregulation seemed more vulnerable than in those without symptoms. Recognition of OH as well as low blood pressure is crucial, and as a risk factor it may not only be treatable but also preventable.