Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Noise Levels: Methodological Implications for Tinnitus Treatment

Objective To measure noise levels generated by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Intervention Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Main Outcome Measures rTMS noise levels measured in equivalent continuous sound level (LAeq) and in peak level (LC, peak), as a function of maximum power output of the equipment. Methods rTMS noise levels were measured for an active and a corresponding sham coil, as a function of distance and percentage power output of a MagPro X100 system (Medtronic) and compared with occupational noise exposure standards, using parameters classically used for rTMS tinnitus treatment. Results Significant differences in frequency composition and intensity levels were observed between sham and active coil noises. The active coil noise reached, at 50% power, 96 LAeq (peak at 132 LC, peak), varying by 3.9 LAeq (3.9 LC, peak) per 10% of power increase, whereas the sham coil reached 87 LAeq (114 LC, peak), varying by 3.2 LAeq (3.6 LC, peak) per 10% of power increase. Conclusion rTMS noise levels differ significantly between active and sham coils, and can go beyond the American and European legal occupational noise limits, hence making ear protection a specific issue, particularly relevant to rTMS treatment for tinnitus.
Dengue viruses and mononuclear phagocytes. II. Identity of blood and tissue leukocytes supporting in vitro infection

Studies were made on the identity of human and monkey mononuclear leukocytes permissive to antibody-enhanced dengue 2 virus (D2V) infection. In cultures of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) inoculated immediately after separation, it was concluded that only mononuclear phagocytes support dengue infection. This is based upon observations that D2V-permissive cells were resistant to 1,200 rads, were both plastic adherent and nonadherent, were removed when passed through nylon wool columns in 10 percent fetal bovine serum or 100 percent autologous serum, and were destroyed by incubation with 100 μg/ml particulate silica. On direct immunofluorescence staining, perinuclear dengue antigen was visualized at 24 h, becoming maximal at 60 h. Antigen-containing cells had ample cytoplasm, ruffled cytoplasmic membrane, and 73 percent were actively phagocytic. As further evidence of the infection of mononuclear phagocytes, antibody-enhanced D2V replication was observed in bone marrow cultures from five of five rhesus monkeys, but not in cell cultures of spleen, thymus, or lymph nodes prepared from the same animals. It is hypothesized that dengue virus complexed with non-neutralizing antibody is internalized by immune phagocytosis in a mononuclear phagocyte with a defective virus-destroying mechanism. Dengue permissiveness may depend upon cellular immaturity since bone marrow leukocytes could be infected even when held for 4 days before infection while PBL held for this time decreased in permissiveness. In vitro antibody-dependent infection of mononuclear phagocytes should prove useful as a model for study of immunopathologic mechanisms in human dengue.
HOW WELL DO MATING FREQUENCY AND DURATION PREDICT PATERNITY SUCCESS IN THE POLYGYNANDROUS WATER STRIDER AQUARIUS REMIGIS?

Abstract The relationship between mating success and paternity success is a key component of sexual selection but has seldom been estimated for species in which both sexes mate with many partners (polygynandry). We used a modification of Parker's sterile male technique to measure this relationship for the water strider Aquarius remigis in 47 laboratory populations simulating natural conditions of polygynandry. We also tested the hypothesis that prolonged copulation, a characteristic of this species, enhances paternity success. Mating behavior and paternity success were assayed for four days while males and females freely interacted. Paternity success was also assayed for an additional 7 days when females were isolated from males. Mating success significantly predicted paternity success and accounted for ≤ 36% of the variance. Copulation duration was negatively related to both mating success and paternity success and did not explain any of the residual variance in paternity success. Thus, we found no evidence that prolonged copulation functions as a paternity assurance strategy in this species. Comparisons of sterile and fertile males suggested that paternity success is directly influenced by the quantity of sperm transferred. Our results support previous studies that have used mating success to estimate sexual selection, but also highlight the potential importance of sperm competition and other postinsemination processes.
The STF2p Hydrophilin from Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is Required for Dehydration Stress Tolerance

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is able to overcome cell dehydration; cell metabolic activity is arrested during this period but restarts after rehydration. The yeast genes encoding hydrophilin proteins were characterised to determine their roles in the dehydration-resistant phenotype, and STF2p was found to be a hydrophilin that is essential for survival after the desiccation-rehydration process. Deletion of STF2 promotes the production of reactive oxygen species and apoptotic cell death during stress conditions, whereas the overexpression of STF2, whose gene product localises to the cytoplasm, results in a reduction in ROS production upon oxidative stress as the result of the antioxidant capacity of the STF2p protein.
Groupthink: usability of secure group association for wireless devices

A fairly common modern setting entails users, each in possession of a personal wireless device, wanting to communicate securely, via their devices. If these users (and their devices) have no prior association, a new security context must be established. In order to prevent potential attacks, the initial context (association) establishment process must involve only the intended devices and their users. A number of methods for initial secure association of two devices have been proposed; their usability factors have been explored and compared extensively. However, a more challenging problem of initial secure association of a group of devices (and users) has not received much attention. Although a few secure group association methods have been proposed, their usability aspects have not been studied, especially, in a comparative manner. This paper discusses desirable features and evaluation criteria for secure group association, identifies suitable methods and presents a comparative usability study. Results show that some simple methods (e.g., peer- or leader-based number comparisons) are quite attractive for small groups, being fast, reasonably secure and well-received by users.
Requirement for natural killer cell-produced interferon gamma in defense against murine cytomegalovirus infection and enhancement of this defense pathway by interleukin 12 administration

The presence of natural killer (NK) cells contributes to early defense against murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. Although NK cells can mediate in vivo protection against MCMV, the mechanism by which they do so has not been defined. The studies presented here evaluate cytokine production by NK cells activated during MCMV infection and the role of NK cell-produced cytokines in early in vivo antiviral defenses. Experiments with normal C57BL/6, T cell-deficient C57BL/6 nude, and severe combined immunodeficient mice lacking T and B cells demonstrated that both interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production were induced at early times after infection with MCMV. Conditioned media samples prepared with cells from these mice, on day 2 after infection, produced 11-43 pg/million cells of IFN-gamma and 12-19 pg/million cells of TNF as evaluated by specific protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Studies in the NK- and T cell-deficient mouse line, E26, in mice that had been depleted in vivo of NK cells by treatment with antibodies eliminating NK cells, anti-asialo ganglio-N- tetraosylceramide or anti-NK1.1, and with populations of cells that had been depleted of NK cells by complement treatment with the anti-NK cell antibody, SW3A4, demonstrated that NK cells were solely responsible for the IFN-gamma but were not required for TNF production. The in vivo absence of NK cells was accompanied by increased viral hepatitis and viral replication in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice, as well as decreased survival time of immunodeficient mice. In vivo treatments with antibodies neutralizing IFN-gamma demonstrated that this factor contributed to the NK cell-mediated antiviral defense and reduced the measured parameters of viral defense to levels indistinguishable from those observed in NK cell-deficient mice. These effects appeared to be independent of cytolytic activity, as NK cells isolated from anti-IFN-gamma-treated mice mediated killing at levels comparable to those observed in control-treated mice. The consequences of interleukin 12 (IL-12) administration, a known potent inducer of IFN- gamma production by NK cells, were evaluated in MCMV-infected mice. Low IL-12 doses, i.e., 1 ng/d, increased NK cell cytotoxicity and IFN-gamma production up to twofold and resulted in improved antiviral status; virus-induced hepatitis was decreased as much as fivefold, and viral burdens were decreased to levels below detection. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Nuclear Localization of the Parafibromin Tumor Suppressor Protein Implicated in the Hyperparathyroidism-Jaw Tumor Syndrome Enhances Its Proapoptotic Function

Parafibromin is a tumor suppressor protein encoded by HRPT2, a gene recently implicated in the hereditary hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome, parathyroid cancer, and a subset of kindreds with familial isolated hyperparathyroidism. Human parafibromin binds to RNA polymerase II as part of a PAF1 transcriptional regulatory complex. The mechanism by which loss of parafibromin function can lead to neoplastic transformation is poorly understood. Because the subcellular localization of parafibromin is likely to be critical for its function with the nuclear PAF1 complex, we sought to experimentally define the nuclear localization signal (NLS) of parafibromin and examine its potential role in parafibromin function. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we define a dominant bipartite NLS and a secondary NLS, both in the NH2-terminal region of parafibromin whose combined mutation nearly abolishes nuclear targeting. The NLS-mutant parafibromin is significantly impaired in its association with endogenous Paf1 and Leo1. We further report that overexpression of wild-type but not NLS-mutant parafibromin induces apoptosis in transfected cells. Inhibition of endogenous parafibromin expression by RNA interference inhibits the basal rate of apoptosis and apoptosis resulting from DNA damage induced by camptothecin, a topoisomerase I inhibitor. These experiments identify for the first time a proapoptotic activity of endogenous parafibromin likely to be important in its role as a tumor suppressor and show a functional role for the NLS of parafibromin in this activity. (Mol Cancer Res 2007;5(2):183–93)
Global Assessment of Antrodia cinnamomea-Induced MicroRNA Alterations in Hepatocarcinoma Cells

Recent studies have demonstrated a potent anticancer potential of medicinal fungus Antrodia cinnamomea, especially against hepatocarcinoma. These studies, however, were performed with prolonged treatments, and the early anticancer events remain missing. To probe the early anticancer mechanisms of A. cinnamomea, we treated SK-Hep-1 liver cancer cell with A. cinnamomea fruiting body extract for 2 and 4 hours, sequenced RNA samples with next-generation sequencing approach, and profiled the genome-wide miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes. Results unmistakably associated the early anticancer effect of A. cinnamomea fruiting body extract with a global downregulation of miRNAs which occurred solely in the A. cinnamomea fruiting body extract-treated SK-Hep-1 cells. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of A. cinnamomea fruiting body extract upon cancer miRNAs imposed no discrimination against any particular miRNA species, with oncomirs miR-21, miR-191 and major oncogenic clusters miR-17-92 and miR-106b-25 among the most severely downregulated. Western blotting further indicated a decrease in Drosha and Dicer proteins which play a key role in miRNA biogenesis, together with an increase of XRN2 known to participate in miRNA degradation pathway. Transcriptome profiling followed by GO and pathway analyses indicated that A. cinnamomea induced apoptosis, which was tightly associated with a downregulation of PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathways. Phosphorylation assay further suggested that JNK and c-Jun were closely involved in the apoptotic process. Taken together, our data indicated that the anticancer effect of A. cinnamomea can take place within a few hours by targeting multiple proteins and the miRNA system. A. cinnamomea indiscriminately induced a global downregulation of miRNAs by simultaneously inhibiting the key enzymes involved in miRNA maturation and activating XRN2 protein involved in miRNA degradation. Collapsing of the miRNA system together with downregulation of cell growth and survival pathways and activation of JNK signaling unleash the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, leading to the cancer cell death.
Testosterone receptor blockade after trauma-hemorrhage improves cardiac and hepatic functions in males.

Although studies have shown that testosterone receptor blockade with flutamide after hemorrhage restores the depressed immune function, it remains unknown whether administration of flutamide following trauma and hemorrhage and resuscitation has any salutary effects on the depressed cardiovascular and hepatocellular functions. To study this, male rats underwent a laparotomy (representing trauma) and were then bled and maintained at a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 40 mmHg until the animals could not maintain this pressure. Ringer lactate was given to maintain a MAP of 40 mmHg until 40% of the maximal shed blood volume was returned in the form of Ringer lactate. The rats were then resuscitated with four times the shed blood volume in the form of Ringer lactate over 60 min. Flutamide (25 mg/kg) or an equal volume of the vehicle propanediol was injected subcutaneously 15 min before the end of resuscitation. Various in vivo heart performance parameters (e.g., maximal rate of the pressure increase or decrease), cardiac output, and hepatocellular function (i.e., the maximum velocity and the overall efficiency of indocyanine green clearance) were determined at 20 h after resuscitation. Additionally, hepatic microvascular blood flow (HMBF) was determined using a laser Doppler flowmeter. The results indicate that left ventricular performance, cardiac output, HMBF, and hepatocellular function decreased significantly at 20 h after the completion of trauma, hemorrhage, and resuscitation. Administration of the testosterone receptor blocker flutamide, however, significantly improved cardiac performance, HMBF, and hepatocellular function. Thus flutamide appears to be a novel and useful adjunct for improving cardiovascular and hepatocellular functions in males following trauma and hemorrhagic shock.
Crowdsourcing Ontology Lexicons

In order to make the growing amount of conceptual knowledge available through ontologies and datasets accessible to humans, NLP applications need access to information on how this knowledge can be verbalized in natural language. One way to provide this kind of information are ontology lexicons, which apart from the actual verbalizations in a given target language can provide further, rich linguistic information about them. Compiling such lexicons manually is a very time-consuming task and requires expertise both in Semantic Web technologies and lexicon engineering, as well as a very good knowledge of the target language at hand. In this paper we present an alternative approach to generating ontology lexicons by means of crowdsourcing: We use CrowdFlower to generate a small Japanese ontology lexicon for ten exemplary ontology elements from the DBpedia ontology according to a two-stage workflow, the main underlying idea of which is to turn the task of generating lexicon entries into a translation task; the starting point of this translation task is a manually created English lexicon for DBpedia. Comparison of the results to a manually created Japanese lexicon shows that the presented workflow is a viable option if an English seed lexicon is already available.
Massive-Training Artificial Neural Network Coupled With Laplacian-Eigenfunction-Based Dimensionality Reduction for Computer-Aided Detection of Polyps in CT Colonography

A major challenge in the current computer-aided detection (CAD) of polyps in CT colonography (CTC) is to reduce the number of false-positive (FP) detections while maintaining a high sensitivity level. A pattern-recognition technique based on the use of an artificial neural network (ANN) as a filter, which is called a massive-training ANN (MTANN), has been developed recently for this purpose. The MTANN is trained with a massive number of subvolumes extracted from input volumes together with the teaching volumes containing the distribution for the “likelihood of being a polyp;” hence the term “massive training. ” Because of the large number of subvolumes and the high dimensionality of voxels in each input subvolume, the training of an MTANN is time-consuming. In order to solve this time issue and make an MTANN work more efficiently, we propose here a dimension reduction method for an MTANN by using Laplacian eigenfunctions (LAPs), denoted as LAP-MTANN. Instead of input voxels, the LAP-MTANN uses the dependence structures of input voxels to compute the selected LAPs of the input voxels from each input subvolume and thus reduces the dimensions of the input vector to the MTANN. Our database consisted of 246 CTC datasets obtained from 123 patients, each of whom was scanned in both supine and prone positions. Seventeen patients had 29 polyps, 15 of which were 5-9 mm and 14 were 10-25 mm in size. We divided our database into a training set and a test set. The training set included 10 polyps in 10 patients and 20 negative patients. The test set had 93 patients including 19 polyps in seven patients and 86 negative patients. To investigate the basic properties of a LAP-MTANN, we trained the LAP-MTANN with actual polyps and a single source of FPs, which were rectal tubes. We applied the trained LAP-MTANN to simulated polyps and rectal tubes. The results showed that the performance of LAP-MTANNs with 20 LAPs was advantageous over that of the original MTANN with 171 inputs. To test the feasibility of the LAP-MTANN, we compared the LAP-MTANN with the original MTANN in the distinction between actual polyps and various types of FPs. The original MTANN yielded a 95% (18/19) by-polyp sensitivity at an FP rate of 3.6 (338/93) per patient, whereas the LAP-MTANN achieved a comparable performance, i.e., an FP rate of 3.9 (367/93) per patient at the same sensitivity level. With the use of the dimension reduction architecture, the time required for training was reduced from 38 h to 4 h. The classification performance in terms of the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve of the LAP-MTANN (0.84) was slightly higher than that of the original MTANN (0.82) with no statistically significant difference (p-value= 0.48).
Trends in Biomedical Engineering: Focus on Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine is a critical frontier in biomedical and clinical research. The major progresses in the last few years were driven by a strong clinical need which could benefit from regenerative medicine outcomes for the treatment of a large number of conditions including birth defects, degenerative and neoplastic diseases, and traumatic injuries. Regenerative medicine applies the principles of engineering and life sciences to enhance the comprehension of the fundamental biological mechanisms underlying the structure-function relationships in physiologic and pathologic tissues and to accomplish alternative strategies for developing in vitro biological substitutes which are able to restore, maintain, or improve tissue, and organ function. This paper reviews selected approaches currently being investigated at Politecnico di Milano in the field of regenerative medicine. Specific tissue-oriented topics are divided in three sections according to each developmental stage: in vitro study, pre-clinical study, and clinical application. In vitro studies investigate the basic phenomena related to gene delivery, stem cell behavior, tissue regeneration, and to explore dynamic culture potentiality in different applications: cardiac and skeletal muscle, cartilage, hematopoietic system, peripheral nerve, and gene delivery. Specific fields of regenerative medicine, i.e., bone, blood vessels, and ligaments engineering have already reached the preclinical stage providing promising insights for further research towards clinical applications. The translation of the results obtained during in vitro and preclinical steps into clinical organ replacement is a very challenging issue, which can offer a valid alternative to fight morbidity, organ shortage, and ethical-social problems associated with allotransplantation as shown in the clinical case reported in this review.
Reference curves of anthropometric indices in two national studies conducted among Iranian children in 2003-2004 and 2009-2010: The Caspian study

Background: Reference percentile curves are usually used as a screening tool to determine growth disorders. Anthropometric indices are population-dependent and may differ according to ethnicity, dietary pattern and lifestyle habits. This study aims to compare the curves of anthropometric measures obtained in two national studies conducted among Iranian children and adolescents in 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. Materials and Methods: Anthropometric measures obtained in two nationwide surveys conducted in 10-18-year-old Iranian students were compared. Lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) Chart Maker Pro program was used to develop age- and gender-specific percentiles and to smooth and fit the model. Results: In 2003-2004, the mean and standard deviation (SD) of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were 18.98 ± 3.81 kg/m2 and 67.50 ± 11.05 cm in boys; and 19.44 ± 3.78 kg/m2 and 66.55 ± 9.89 cm in girls, respectively. In 2009-2010, the corresponding figures were 19.16 ± 4.07 kg/m2, 69.42 ± 11.43 cm, 19.63 ± 4.11 kg/m2, and 67.29 ± 9.69 cm, respectively. Height curves did not show considerable changes in two studies. Comparison of two series of studies showed that the weight, BMI, WC, and waist-to-height ratio were lower in adolescent girls than boys especially in higher percentiles. Moreover, in both genders, weight, BMI, and WC percentiles decreased. Conclusion: The growth charts of Iranian children and adolescents aged 10-18 years have changed over 5 years. The reference growth curves change over time in the pediatric age group, repeated surveys should be conducted to update the age- and gender-specific reference curves in different populations.