Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chromium (VI) inhibits heme oxygenase‐1 expression in vivo and in arsenic‐exposed human airway epithelial cells

Inhaled hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) promotes lung injury and pulmonary diseases through poorly defined mechanisms. One hypothesis for this lung pathogenesis is that Cr(VI) silences induction of cytoprotective genes, such as heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), whose total lung mRNA levels were reduced 21 days after nasal instillation of potassium dichromate in C57BL/6 mice. To investigate the mechanisms for this inhibition, Cr(VI) effects on basal and arsenic (As(III))‐induced HO‐1 expression were examined in cultured human bronchial epithelial (BEAS‐2B) cells. An effect of Cr(VI) on the low basal HO‐1 mRNA and protein levels in BEAS‐2B cells was not detectible. In contrast, Cr(VI) added to the cells before As(III), but not simultaneously with As(III), attenuated As(III)‐induced HO‐1 expression. Transient transfection with luciferase reporter gene constructs controlled by the full length ho‐1 promoter or deletion mutants demonstrated that this inhibition occurred in the E1 enhancer region containing critical antioxidant response elements (ARE). Cr(VI) pretreatment inhibited As(III)‐induced activity of a transiently expressed reporter construct regulated by three ARE tandem repeats. The mechanism for this Cr(VI)‐attenuated transactivation appeared to be Cr(VI) reduction of the nuclear levels of the transcription factor Nrf2 and As(III)‐stimulated Nrf2 transcriptional complex binding to the ARE cis element. Finally, exposing cells to Cr(VI) prior to co‐exposure with As(III) synergized for apoptosis and loss of membrane integrity. These data suggest that Cr(VI) silences induction of ARE‐driven genes required for protection from secondary insults. The data also have important implications for understanding the toxic mechanisms of low level, mixed metal exposures in the lung. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 113–121, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Extracellular matrix synthesis in vascular disease: hypertension, and atherosclerosis

Extracellular matrix (ECM) within the vascular network provides both a structural and regulatory role. The ECM is a dynamic composite of multiple proteins that form structures connecting cells within the network. Blood vessels are distended by blood pressure and, therefore, require ECM components with elasticity yet with enough tensile strength to resist rupture. The ECM is involved in conducting mechanical signals to cells. Most importantly, ECM regulates cellular function through chemical signaling by controlling activation and bioavailability of the growth factors. Cells respond to ECM by remodeling their microenvironment which becomes dysregulated in vascular diseases such hypertension, restenosis and atherosclerosis. This review examines the cellular and ECM components of vessels, with specific emphasis on the regulation of collagen type I and implications in vascular disease.
Representativeness of Participants in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium Relative to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program

BackgroundThe research goals of the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium are to determine how characteristics and beliefs of patients, providers, and health care organizations influence the treatments and outcomes of individuals with newly diagnosed lung and colorectal cancers. As CanCORS results will inform national policy, it is important to know how they generalize to the United States population with these cancers. Research DesignThis study assessed the representativeness of the CanCORS cohort of 10,547 patients with lung cancer (LC) or colorectal cancer (CRC) enrolled between 2003 and 2005. We compared characteristics (sex, race, age, and disease stage) with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) population of 234,464 patients with new onset of these cancers during the CanCORS recruitment period. ResultsThe CanCORS sample is well matched to the SEER Program for both cancers. In CanCORS, 41% LC/47% CRC were female versus 47% LC/49% CRC in SEER. African American, Hispanic, and Asian cases differed by no more than 5 percentage points between CanCORS and SEER. The SEER population is slightly older, with the percentage of patients older than 75 years 33.1% LC/37.3% CRC in SEER versus 26.9% LC/29.4% in CanCORS, and also has a slightly higher proportion of early stage patients. We also found that the CanCORS cohort was representative within specific SEER regions that map closely to CanCORS sites. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the CanCORS Consortium was successful in enrolling a demographically representative sample within the CanCORS regions.
Reactive Oxygen Species Play a Role in Regulating a Fungus–Perennial Ryegrass Mutualistic Interaction[W]

Although much is known about the signals and mechanisms that lead to pathogenic interactions between plants and fungi, comparatively little is known about fungus–plant mutualistic symbioses. We describe a novel role for reactive oxygen species (ROS) in regulating the mutualistic interaction between a clavicipitaceous fungal endophyte, Epichloë festucae, and its grass host, Lolium perenne. In wild-type associations, E. festucae grows systemically in intercellular spaces of leaves as infrequently branched hyphae parallel to the leaf axis. A screen to identify symbiotic genes isolated a fungal mutant that altered the interaction from mutualistic to antagonistic. This mutant has a single-copy plasmid insertion in the coding region of a NADPH oxidase gene, noxA. Plants infected with the noxA mutant lose apical dominance, become severely stunted, show precocious senescence, and eventually die. The fungal biomass in these associations is increased dramatically, with hyphae showing increased vacuolation. Deletion of a second NADPH oxidase gene, noxB, had no effect on the E. festucae–perennial ryegrass symbiosis. ROS accumulation was detected cytochemically in the endophyte extracellular matrix and at the interface between the extracellular matrix and host cell walls of meristematic tissue in wild-type but not in noxA mutant associations. These results demonstrate that fungal ROS production is critical in maintaining a mutualistic fungus–plant interaction.
Neural substrates of tactile object recognition: An fMRI study

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted during which seven subjects carried out naturalistic tactile object recognition (TOR) of real objects. Activation maps, conjunctions across subjects, were compared between tasks involving TOR of common real objects, palpation of “nonsense” objects, and rest. The tactile tasks involved similar motor and sensory stimulation, allowing higher tactile recognition processes to be isolated. Compared to nonsense object palpation, the most prominent activation evoked by TOR was in secondary somatosensory areas in the parietal operculum (SII) and insula, confirming a modality‐specific path for TOR. Prominent activation was also present in medial and lateral secondary motor cortices, but not in primary motor areas, supporting the high level of sensory and motor integration characteristic of object recognition in the tactile modality. Activation in a lateral occipitotemporal area associated previously with visual object recognition may support cross‐modal collateral activation. Finally, activation in medial temporal and prefrontal areas may reflect a common final pathway of modality‐independent object recognition. This study suggests that TOR involves a complex network including parietal and insular somatosensory association cortices, as well as occipitotemporal visual areas, prefrontal, and medial temporal supramodal areas, and medial and lateral secondary motor cortices. It confirms the involvement of somatosensory association areas in the recognition component of TOR, and the existence of a ventrolateral somatosensory pathway for TOR in intact subjects. It challenges the results of previous studies that emphasize the role of visual cortex rather than somatosensory association cortices in higher‐level somatosensory cognition. Hum. Brain Mapping 21:236–246, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Monoclonal antibodies suppress replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 in trigeminal ganglia

The effect of monoclonal antibodies on the growth of herpes simplex virus type 1 in trigeminal ganglia was investigated. Four-week-old mice were infected on an abrased cornea with herpes simplex virus type 1. Forty-eight hours after infection, trigeminal ganglia ipsilateral with infected eyes were removed and placed in culture. Incubation of infected ganglia in the presence of a pool of nonneutralizing monoclonal antibodies specific for glycoproteins of gB and gE suppressed virus growth by greater than 90%. This was comparable to the amount of suppression observed when infected ganglia were incubated in hyperimmune serum. Individual monoclonal antibodies were less efficient, being able to inhibit virus growth by only two- to threefold. The mechanism of suppression was examined. Reduction in virus growth was observed under conditions in which all susceptible ganglion cells were infected in vitro before nonneutralizing monoclonal antibody was added. Similar results were obtained in tests with virus-infected neuroblastoma cells. Furthermore, suppression of infectious progeny was seen in the absence of complement and immunologically reactive cells. Thus, neither virus neutralization nor immunocytolysis could account for the effects of antibody on virus growth. Rather, the data suggest that antibody can bind to herpes simplex virus type 1-infected neuronal cells and suppress intracellular virus replication.
Determinants of troponin release in patients with stable coronary artery disease: insights from CT angiography characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque

Objective To understand the determinants of troponin release in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) by comparing high sensitive troponin T (hsTnT) levels with computed tomography angiography (CTA) characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque. Methods hsTnT was determined in 124 consecutive patients with stable angina, who underwent clinically indicated 256-slice CTA for suspected CAD. CTA was used to assess (1) coronary calcification; (2) stenosis severity; (3) non-calcified plaque volume; (4) plaque composition (soft or mixed, described as ‘non-calcified’ versus calcified) and (5) the presence of vascular remodeling in areas of non-calcified plaque. Results All CT scans were performed without adverse events, and diagnostic image quality was achieved in 1830/1848 available coronary segments (99.0%). In 29/124 patients, hsTnT was ≥14 pg/ml (range 14.0–34.4). Weak, albeit significant, correlations were found between hsTnT and calcium scoring (r=0.45, p<0.001), while a stronger correlation was found between hsTnT and the total non-calcified plaque burden (r=0.79, p<0.001). Patients with non-calcified plaque (n=44) yielded significantly higher hsTnT values than those with normal vessels (n=46) or those with only calcified lesions (n=26), (12.6±5.2 vs 8.3±2.6 and 8.8±3.0 pg/ml, respectively, p<0.001). Furthermore, those with remodeled non-calcified plaque (n=8) showed even higher hsTnT values of 26.3±6.5 pg/ml than all other groups (p<0.001). This allowed the identification of patients with remodeled non-calcified plaque by hsTnT with high accuracy (area under the curve=0.90, SE=0.07, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.95). Conclusions Chronic clinically silent rupture of non-calcified plaque with subsequent microembolisation may be a potential source of troponin elevation. In light of recent imaging studies, in which patients with positively remodeled non-calcified plaque were shown to be at high risk for developing acute coronary syndromes, hsTnT may serve as a biomarker for such ‘vulnerable’ coronary lesions even in presumably stable CAD.
Is there a difference between the management of grade 2b and 3 corrosive gastric injuries?

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the differences between treatment of patients with grade 2b or grade 3 gastric injuries. SETTING A University Hospital. DESIGN Retrospective review. PATIENTS Thirty patients who ingested caustic agents over a 5 year period were examined by endoscope within 48 hours of injury. RESULT Twenty one patients ingested strong acid or alkali. Among these patients, five had grade 2b, and two had grade 3 injuries. In both cases of grade 3 injuries, extensive surgical approach was initially performed, then delayed jejunal and colonic interpositions were done. On the other hand, one 2b patient had exploratory laparotomy, while others were treated conservatively. All 2b patients had satisfactory conditions during the initial follow-ups. Three patients were healthy during the 11, 16, and 44 months follow-up, one developed chronic gastritis at 5 months and one patient failed to follow-up. CONCLUSION Early and aggressive extensive removal of necrotic tissue is necessary and can certainly increase the survival. There is on going controversy in the management of injuries less than grade 3. Grade 2b gastric injury patients can be managed conservatively.
Intention analysis based on brain signal for participation induction during rehabilitation

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is one of the most common rehabilitation methods in purpose of recovery of paralyzed muscle by the means of sequential electrical stimulation. There are reports that in FES based therapy, like all rehabilitation, active participation of patient ensures better recovery result compared to simple stimulation itself. In this paper, we investigate the neurophysiological effect of participation intention of patient in rehabilitation therapy. To observe the difference in brain signal between intentional and involuntary movement during FES, electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was simultaneously measured in motor cortex area. The result revealed the presence of intention affects activation of the brain significantly, and classification result showed higher than 80% accuracy performance. The result of this study implies the possibility for quantification in motivation for rehabilitation, which has not been considered as an absolute measurable value in rehabilitation area.
TAX REFORM IN SWITZERLAND ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPERS N0. 222

ECO/WKP(99)142ABSTRACT/RESUMEThere have been a number of tax reforms in Switzerland in recent years aimed at enhancingeconomic efficiency and equity. This paper sets these reforms in the context of the forces shaping taxpolicy in Switzerland and the main features of the Swiss tax system and suggests areas where furtherreforms could be beneficial. These include applying more equal tax treatment to different forms of savings,moving to a flat-rate tax on corporate profits in all cantons and making greater use of environmental taxes.It is recognised that Switzerland’s highly decentralised federal structure and system of direct democracycan slow reforms, although these features also increase the legitimacy of reforms, reducing the risk ofpolicy reversals.
Total mesorectal excision is not necessary for cancers of the upper rectum.

BACKGROUND The technical aspects of surgery of the upper rectum (10 to 15 cm from the anal verge) and sigmoid colon are similar, but a change in technique is required for surgery of the lower rectum (< 10 cm). The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of the treatment of upper rectal cancer (UR), in which total mesorectal excision (TME) was not performed, with outcomes of sigmoid colon cancers (S) and lower rectal cancers (LR). METHODS Between 1980 and 1990, 891 patients were treated with curative intent for sigmoid (n = 225) and rectal cancer (UR = 229; LR = 437). The Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to compare outcomes. RESULTS The risk of local recurrence alone, local and distant recurrence, death as a result of cancer, or any recurrence or death as a result of cancer was 3.5, 2.7, 2.1, and 1.9 times higher for patients with LR than for patients with UR, but the risk was not increased for UR relative to S. CONCLUSIONS The outcome of treatment for UR is the same as for S and differs favorably from that for LR. UR should be treated by the same technique as S.
Tuberculosis in ageing: high rates, complex diagnosis and poor clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND worldwide, the frequency of tuberculosis among older people almost triples that observed among young adults. OBJECTIVE to describe clinical and epidemiological consequences of pulmonary tuberculosis among older people. METHODS we screened persons with a cough lasting more than 2 weeks in Southern Mexico from March 1995 to February 2007. We collected clinical and mycobacteriological information (isolation, identification, drug-susceptibility testing and IS6110-based genotyping and spoligotyping) from individuals with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Patients were treated in accordance with official norms and followed to ascertain treatment outcomes, retreatment, and vital status. RESULTS eight hundred ninety-three tuberculosis patients were older than 15 years of age; of these, 147 (16.5%) were 65 years of age or older. Individuals ≥ 65 years had significantly higher rates of recently transmitted and reactivated tuberculosis. Older age was associated with treatment failure (OR=5.37; 95% CI: 1.06-27.23; P=0.042), and death due to tuberculosis (HR=3.52; 95% CI: 1.78-6.96; P<0.001) adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables. CONCLUSIONS community-dwelling older individuals participate in chains of transmission indicating that tuberculosis is not solely due to the reactivation of latent disease. Untimely and difficult diagnosis and a higher risk of poor outcomes even after treatment completion emphasise the need for specific strategies for this vulnerable group.
Design and Development of a New Non-Contact Inductive Displacement Sensor

A new, non-contact, planar spiral coil-based inductive displacement sensor is presented in this paper. The proposed sensor employs a fixed planar coil and a movable <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$U$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-shaped magnetic core. The sensor is designed such a way that the shape of inductance versus displacement <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$x$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is sinusoidal. Due to this feature, the value of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$x$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is obtained easily from the inductance measured without the need of a look-up table, which is not the case for most of the planar coil-based sensors. The proposed sensor has very low sensitivity to vertical misalignment of the core. A phase-sensitive detector-based measurement scheme is employed to measure the inductance. The inductance characteristic of the proposed sensor is symmetric with respect to the center of the coil. A simple capacitive detection scheme to distinguish the position of the core between the two halves of the coil is proposed in this paper. This method enables to extend the sensor range with multiple coils connected in series. A prototype of the proposed sensor has been developed and tested. The sensor has a worst case error of 0.6%. A modified sensor using two coil sets has been developed. The modified sensor has high sensitivity over its entire range, unlike the first prototype. It has a worst case error of 0.2% and a resolution of 6.5 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The low-cost sensor developed will be useful for many industrial linear position sensing applications.
The effect of yield curve shape and level on bond immunisation effectiveness

ABSTRACT The effect of different-shaped yield curves on the effectiveness of bond immunisation was investigated. Bonds were priced using historical yield curves of various shapes and simulated interest rate shocks applied. The resulting end-values of these bonds were calculated and compared at relevant duration dates using symmetrical (positive and negative) shocks. Yield curve shape and position were found to be important factors for immunisation effectiveness and results also demonstrated that – all else held constant – immunisation effects are asymmetrical for shocks of different sign. Changes in bond value are consistently less pronounced for positive shocks, regardless of yield curve shape or level.
An efficient framework for high-level power exploration

Although SystemC is considered the most promising language for system-on-chip functional modeling, it doesn't come with power modeling capabilities. This work presents PowerSC, a novel power estimation framework which instruments SystemC for power characterization, modeling and estimation. Since it is entirely based on SystemC, PowerSC allows consistent power modeling from the highest to the lowest abstraction level. Besides, the framework's API provides facilities to integrate alternative modeling techniques, either at the same or at different abstraction levels. As a result, the required power evaluation infrastructure is reduced to a minimum: the standard SystemC library, the PowerSC library itself and a C++ compiler. Experimental results show both the effectiveness and the efficiency of our framework. On the one hand, two well-known macromodeling techniques were easily integrated into the framework, leading to acceptable average errors at the RT level. On the other hand, library characterization was more than 13times faster as compared to a typical industrial flow.
A Meta-analysis of Voice Outcome Comparing Calcium Hydroxylapatite Injection Laryngoplasty to Silicone Thyroplasty

Objectives To compare the voice outcome of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) injection laryngoplasty (IL) vs silicone medialization thyroplasty (MT) in the treatment of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Data Sources Systematic review of English literature from MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane library from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 2010. Review Methods Included studies reporting voice-related quality of life (Voice Handicap Inventory [VHI]) following IL with CaHA or MT with silicone. The primary outcome measure was the improvement in VHI. The secondary outcome was improvement in maximum phonatory time (MPT). Results Of the 742 abstracts screened for relevancy, 24 studies qualified for analysis. The mean (SD) VHI scores were 72.22 (11.06) before MT and 34.02 (6.48) after MT. The mean (SD) VHI scores were 68.36 (6.88) before IL and 32.24 (7.33) after IL. The paired difference mean of VHI improvement was 38.20 (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.05-59.32; P = .007) for MT and 36.11 (95% CI, 29.65-42.57; P = .001) for IL. The mean (SD) MPT scores were 7.40 (3.14) before IL and 13.00 (1.75) after IL. The mean (SD) MPT scores were 6.16 (1.90) before MT and 12.40 (2.72) after MT. The paired difference mean of MPT improvement was 6.23 (95% CI, 4.74-7.73; P < .001) for MT and 5.60 (95% CI, 2.95-8.25; P = .006) for IL. Conclusion Injection laryngoplasty with CaHA and MT with silicone appear to achieve comparable voice improvement within 1 year, but a definitive conclusion is limited by a lack of standardized outcome measures.