Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Curcumin Augments Gemcitabine Cytotoxic Effect on Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines

Background and aim: Gemcitabine, the first-line agent in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, has shown limited clinical benefit. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) represent one of the most promising targets for cancer prevention and treatment. In this study, we investigated whether the phytochemical curcumin, a natural COX-2 inhibitor, can potentiate gemcitabine effect on survival of human pancreatic cancer cells. Methods: P34 (high COX-2 expression) and Panc-1 (low COX-2 expression) pancreatic cancer cell lines were exposed to different concentrations of gemcitabine (0.1-10 μM), curcumin (0-50 μM), and their combination. Cell viability was evaluated by XTT assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. COX-2, EGFR, and p-ERK1/2 expression was measured by Western blot analysis. Results: Curcumin increased the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine on cell viability as well as its pro-apoptotic effect in COX-2 positive, p34 cells, but not in COX-2 negative, Panc-1 cells. In p34 cells, combination of curcumin and gemcitabine downregulated both COX-2 and p-ERK1/2 in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: The increased cytotoxic effect of the combination on cell survival and on the induction of apoptosis in COX-2 expressing pancreatic cancer cells is probably associated with downregulation of COX-2 and p-ERK1/2 levels. This finding may contribute to the development of an effective treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Multiple elements regulate Mash1 expression in the developing CNS.

Mash1, a transcription factor of the basic helix-loop-helix class, is expressed during embryogenesis in restricted regions of the nervous system. An essential role for Mash1 in neural development was demonstrated previously in mice carrying a targeted disruption of the Mash1 gene. Regulation of the precise temporal and spatial expression of Mash1 is thus likely to be important for proper neural development. In this study, sequences that regulate Mash1 expression in the central nervous system were characterized by assaying the expression of lacZ reporter genes in transgenic embryos. A 1158-bp enhancer localized approximately 7 kb upstream of the Mash1 coding region was identified. Deletions within this enhancer region reveal the presence of both positive and negative cis-acting elements. Analysis of multiple sequences within the enhancer demonstrate that different elements preferentially function in different regions within the Mash1-specific CNS expression domain. In addition, a role for sequences 3' of the Mash1 coding region is revealed, providing evidence for posttranscriptional control of Mash1 expression in multiple CNS domains.
Chip-delay locked matched filter for DS-CDMA systems using long sequence spreading

This paper considers an improved single-user detection technique for asynchronous direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems using long sequence spreading (random-CDMA) Most of the known detection schemes for DS-CDMA suffer from either poor performance under power-imbalance (near-far like) conditions, excessive complexity, or incompatibility with systems employing long sequence spreading. To address these problems, this paper considers a signal-to-noise ratio maximizing linear time-invariant filter for one-shot bit symbol detection exploiting some information about the interferers. This filter, referred to as the chip-delay locked matched filter (CLMF), exploits the cyclostationarity in multiple-access interference, and it can offer good near-far resistance while remaining suitable for systems with long sequence spreading. The CLMF requires knowledge of interferers chip delays and signal powers; however, knowledge of their pseudonoise sequences is unnecessary. This paper also demonstrates the improvement in performances offered by the CLMF over other single-user receivers such as the conventional matched filter and noise-whitening matched filter performance is evaluated in terms of probability of outage for single-rate and dual-rate DS-CDMA systems using bandwidth-efficient chip pulses, over a single-path additive white Gaussian noise channel. Errors in the interferer chip delay estimates degrade the CLMF performance. However, if the root-mean-square value of these errors is less than 5% of the chip interval, then this degradation is small.
A multicenter study of 705 ruptured intracranial aneurysms treated with Guglielmi detachable coils.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The long-term durability of Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) embolization of cerebral aneurysms is still unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of anatomic occlusion of aneurysms treated with GDCs and assess the rate of recanalization and re-treatment. METHODS A multicenter study involving 650 patients with 705 ruptured aneurysms treated with GDCs between January 1998 to May 2003 was conducted. During this period, 63% of ruptured aneurysms were treated by the endovascular technique. The morbidity and mortality associated with this technique, procedural feasibility, acute angiographic occlusion results, and long-term angiographic follow-up were assessed. RESULTS Overall technical feasibility of GDC treatment was 96.9%. Upon admission, 25% of patients were Hunt and Hess grade IV or V. Acute angiographic results in 683 aneurysms demonstrated total occlusion in 496 cases (72.6%), subtotal occlusion in 171 cases (25.%), and incomplete occlusion in 16 cases (2.4%). All patients were controlled by angiography and MR imaging at 3 months, 1 year, and subsequent yearly examinations post-treatment. A second treatment was performed in 27 cases (recanalization, 4.7%). Long-term follow-up angiograms (mean, 36 months) were obtained in 571 aneurysms (95%). Of them, 422 aneurysms (73.9%) demonstrated complete occlusion, 148 aneurysms (25.9%) demonstrated subtotal occlusion, and only 1 aneurysm was incompletely occluded. Overall mortality was 11.4% for all patients, with procedural mortality evaluated at 1.4%. Overall morbidity was calculated at 8.6%. Only one rebleeding occurred in our study, with a second procedure performed without vital consequences for the patient. CONCLUSION Our multicenter study confirms the stability of aneurysm embolization with GDC, with only 4.7% of aneurysms requiring re-treatment.
Magnesium sulfate for treating exacerbations of acute asthma in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND Treatment of acute asthma is based on rapid reversal of bronchospasm and arresting airway inflammation. There is some evidence that intravenous magnesium can provide additional bronchodilation when given in conjunction with standard bronchodilating agents and corticosteroids. No systematic review of this literature has been completed on this topic. OBJECTIVES To examine the effect of additional intravenous magnesium sulfate in patients with acute asthma managed in the emergency department. SEARCH STRATEGY Randomised controlled trials were identified from the Cochrane Airways Review Group register. Bibliographies from included studies, known reviews and texts were searched. Primary authors and content experts were contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials or quasi-randomised trials were eligible for inclusion. Studies were included if patients presented with acute asthma and were treated with IV magnesium sulfate vs placebo. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Data were extracted and methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers. Missing data were obtained from authors. MAIN RESULTS Seven trials were included (5 adult, 2 pediatric). A total of 665 patients were involved. Patients receiving magnesium sulfate demonstrated non-significant improvements in peak expiratory flow rates when all studies were pooled (weighted mean difference: 29.4 L/min; 95% confidence interval: -3.4 to 62). In studies of people with severe acute asthma, peak expiratory flow rate improved by 52.3 L/min (95% confidence interval: 27 to 77.5). The forced expiratory volume in one second also improved by 9.8 % predicted (95% confidence interval: 3.8 to 15.8). Overall, admission to hospital was not reduced, odds ratio: 0.31 (95% confidence interval: 0.09 to 1.02). In the severe subgroup, admissions were reduced in those receiving magnesium sulfate (odds ratio: 0.10, 95% confidence interval: 0.04 to 0.27). No clinically important changes in vital signs or adverse side effects were reported. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS Current evidence does not support routine use of intravenous magnesium sulfate in all patients with acute asthma presenting to the emergency department. Magnesium sulfate appears to be safe and beneficial in patients who present with severe acute asthma.
A microsatellite polymorphism in the heme oxygenase‐1 gene promoter is associated with risk for melanoma

Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) has been demonstrated to play an important role in the regulation of signaling systems, which are involved in the control of cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Recently, a (GT)n dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the HO‐1 promoter was shown to modulate HO‐1 gene expression. Short (<25 GT) repeats are associated with an increased HO‐1 upregulation after stimulation than are longer repeats. Malignant melanoma (MM) is the most serious cutaneous malignancy with high tendency to aggressive growth and resistance to apoptosis. Therefore, we sought to study the influence of this polymorphism on the progression of MM. We determined the HO‐1 promoter genotype in 152 patients with MM and 398 healthy controls and studied their association in regard to susceptibility to MM, Breslow thickness and disease‐free survival. In our study, the homozygous short allele with <25 (GT)n repeats (S/S) was found more frequently in the melanoma group compared to the healthy control population (21 and 12%, respectively). The calculated risk for acquiring primary MM in S/S carriers was 2‐fold higher compared to those with L‐allele types (95% confidence interval: 1.2–2.4, p = 0.03). Additionally, the S/S genotype was significantly associated with primary tumors with deeper Breslow thickness compared to L‐allele (>25 repeats) carriers (mean Breslow thickness: 4.0 ± 2.9 mm versus 3.1 ± 1.7 mm, p = 0.03). These data suggest that HO‐1 might render a higher risk for MM in S/S genotype individuals and could represent an important candidate gene in the pathogenesis and growth of malignant melanoma. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Simultaneous Dual-Channel Retiming and Reshaping Using Two Independent Phase Clocks in Fiber-Optic Parametric Amplification

We propose a novel scheme for simultaneous retiming and reshaping of two wavelength-division-multiplexing channels using two independent phase clock pump and polarization multiplexing in fiber-optic parametric amplification, with the benefits of suppressing the interchannel cross-phase-modulation effect induced by the clock pumps and four-wave-mixing crosstalk. Operation of two 10-Gb/s channels is demonstrated experimentally. In both single- and dual-channel operation, eye diagrams after regeneration are significantly cleared with pulsewidth narrowed, and the nonlinear interferences are effectively reduced. An average 2-dB power penalty improvement at a bit-error rate of 10-9 is obtained in both single- and dual-channel operation.
The Positive Research of Peasant's Income Level,Humane Quality & Social Status

Rural economy,development and demography have become the hot social concern question.In all of these,the most outstanding one is the labor force,namely rural demography.The paper mainly carries on the positive research to the income level,education level and social status of Chinese peasants through four parts.First of all,it finds out various kinds of factors influencing peasant's income level and education level.Further more,it investigates the contribution of each factor to peasant's income level and education level by setting up economics model.Then it analyses the factor which influence peasant's social status.Finally,it analyses the conclusion one by one and give the ways to solve rural demography.
A cdc2‐Like Kinase Associated with Commitment to Division in Paramecium tetraurelia

ABSTRACT. Cell division in higher eukaryotes is mainly controlled by p34cdc2 or related kinases and by other components of these kinase complexes. We present evidence that cdc2‐like kinases also occur in Paramecium. Two polypeptides reacted with an antibody directed against the perfectly conserved PSTAIR region found in cdc2 kinases in other eukaryotes. Only the less abundant peptide bound to p13suc1 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Using centrifugal elutriation to select cells on the basis of size, we isolated highly synchronous Paramecium G1 cells. With this procedure, we demonstrated that the p13suc1‐associated cdc2‐like histone H1 kinase was activated before cell division at the point of commitment to division in Paramecium. Further, we show that Paramecium cdc2‐like proteins occurred principally as monomers and that these monomers were active as histone H1 kinases in vitro.
Review article: prebiotics in the gastrointestinal tract

Prebiotics are short‐chain carbohydrates that alter the composition, or metabolism, of the gut microbiota in a beneficial manner. It is therefore expected that prebiotics will improve health in a way similar to probiotics, whilst at the same time being cheaper, and carrying less risk and being easier to incorporate into the diet than probiotics.
The Properties of Time and Phase Variances in the Presence of Power Law Noise for Various Systems

This paper discusses the behavior of sample, standard, bandpass, and Allan variances of the time and phase error in the presence of negative power law or fbeta noise for a variety of systems. These systems include those in the digital, communications, signal processing, radar, ranging, and time transfer areas. A theory is presented which spectrally defines these variances by explicitly incorporating a system phase response function Hs(f) into the spectral integral. For many of the above systems, Hs(f) is shown to contain highpass as well as lowpass filtering properties, and these highpass properties, when present, are shown to enable both the sample and standard variances, as well as Allan variances, to be used in the presence of fbeta noise for beta>-4. It is also shown that the sample variance defined in this way can be used to justify the heuristic low and high frequency cut-offs that appear in the spectral definition of the bandpass variance (also known as the jitter). Hs(f) is further shown to fall into four general classes for the purposes of characterizing variance behavior. These classes we call: digital sampling, delay, delay with averaging, and PLL. The final part of the paper consists of a detailed discussion of the properties of these variances in the presence of negative power law noise for the above systems, organized by class of Hs(f)
Evaluation of nursing work effort and perceptions about blood glucose testing in tight glycemic control.

BACKGROUND Tight glycemic control is important in critically ill patients and involves insulin infusions and monitoring of blood glucose levels. Hourly measurements of blood glucose levels and adjustments of intravenous insulin doses require additional work by nurses. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the nursing work incurred with and nursing perceptions about tight glycemic control and blood glucose monitoring. METHODS A variety of intensive care units were studied. Surveys were used to gain information about nurses' perceptions. Time-in-motion observations were used to determine the time taken to measure blood glucose levels and adjust insulin doses. RESULTS Nurses thought that tight glycemic control was important and that the work associated with it was substantial. Nurses thought that easier and automated forms of blood glucose monitoring are needed. They preferred using an arterial catheter to obtain blood samples to avoid excessive finger sticks. The total number of blood glucose measurements was 77 954. The mean time taken for hourly blood glucose monitoring and adjustment of insulin doses was 4.72 minutes. The estimated costs of time spent on glycemic control during a 1-year period were $182 488 for nurses' salaries and $58 500 for supplies. CONCLUSIONS Although most nurses endorse tight glycemic control, the work associated with it is burdensome and costly. Because up to 2 hours might be required for tight glycemic control for a single patient in a 24-hour period, the costs in time and money are high. Easier clinical methods for monitoring blood glucose levels are needed.
The Influence of Direct Subsidies on Grain Producers' Initiatives

First,analysis has been made through agricultural household models and theoretical derivation indicates that grain subsidies has been effective in an overall environment of domestic agricultural production cost rising. Then the Tobit model and panel data quantile regression method are used to test the above hypothesis based on data collected from rural fixed observation points from year 2003-2010. Our research suggests that correlating subsidies with cultivated area is more incentive than separating them. Also,the negative effect of agricultural cost on the initiative of farmers has been greater than the positive effect of direct subsidies.
Progress and promise in the treatment of indolent lymphomas.

In the era of conventional alkylating agent-based chemotherapy, advanced stage indolent lymphoma has been considered incurable. The failure of our traditional therapies to cure these patients, coupled with the indolent course of the disease and the elderly population affected, has fostered a nihilistic attitude about the treatment of these diseases. Twenty years ago, in the absence of interesting alternatives to alkylating agents, judicious use and reuse of alkylators was perhaps the best we could do. There are now many reasons for optimism and excitement in the treatment of these diseases, including the availability of promising agents such as interferon-alpha, the nucleoside analogues, and rituximab. Radioimmunotherapy will also likely play a role in future therapy programs. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is a high-risk approach that is not an option for all patients, but it has the potential to cure patients, even in the setting of relapse. Mini-allogeneic transplantation may permit an approach to allogeneic transplantation that is better tolerated than standard transplant strategies. In addition to these therapy options, biological insights have provided new options for monitoring patients. Molecular monitoring (polymerase chain reaction for bcl-2) is a stringent measure of short-term treatment efficacy, and one that correlates with durability of remission, i.e., it is a surrogate marker by which to judge treatment efficacy. There used to be a limited number of conventional treatment approaches, which consistently failed. The pendulum has swung. There are now many promising new options. It is time to plan and conduct trials that are geared for success.
Functional genomics in cancer research: Identification of target genes of the Epstein‐Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 by subtractive cDNA cloning and high‐throughput differential screening using high‐density agarose gels

In the past, the identification and isolation of phenotype‐associated genes was a difficult and time‐consuming task. However, recent improvements of methods that are designed to isolate differentially expressed genes have remarkably speeded up the process of target gene isolation. The ultimate goal of functional genomics is to apply these technologies to clone phenotype‐associated genes irrespective of the availability of probes (e.g., antibodies) and an intimate knowledge of biological background. We demonstrate the use of a novel subtractive cDNA cloning approach for the isolation and characterization of target genes of the Epstein‐Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA2). Two different subtractive cDNA libraries specific for two different time periods following activation of a conditional estrogen receptor / EBNA2 (ER/EBNA2) fusion protein were generated. Comparison of the two libraries by cross‐hybridization experiments allowed the differentiation between direct and indirect target genes of EBNA2 and led to the identification of a novel direct target gene of EBNA2.
Objectively measured physical activity correlates with indices of insulin resistance in Danish children. The European Youth Heart Study (EYHS).

OBJECTIVE To explore the association between measures of insulin resistance with objectively assessed physical activity. DESIGN School-based, cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS A randomly selected sample of 589 children (310 girls, 279 boys, mean (standard deviations, s.d.) age=9.7 (0.44) y, weight=33.6 (6.4) kg, height=1.39 (0.06) m) from Denmark. METHODS Fasting blood samples were analysed for serum insulin and glucose. Physical activity was measured with the uniaxial Computer Science and Applications (CSA) model 7164 accelerometer, worn for at least 3 days (>/=10 h day(-1)). Adiposity was assessed by the sum of four skinfolds. Multiple linear regression were performed to model insulin and glucose from average CSA output, adjusted for age, gender, puberty, ethnicity, birth weight, parental smoking, socioeconomic group, and CSA unit. In addition, we adjusted for skinfold thickness. RESULTS Mean fasting serum glucose ranged from 4.1 to 6.5 mmol l(-1) with a mean (s.d.) of 5.1 (0.37) mmol l(-1). Fasting insulin was negatively correlated with CSA output on levels of adjustment. Fasting glucose was not significantly associated with physical activity. However, in girls both indices of insulin resistance were significantly related to activity, whereas in boys none of the associations were significant. CONCLUSION Physical activity is inversely associated with fasting insulin in the nondiabetic range of fasting glucose. The relationship was stronger for insulin than for glucose, indicating compensatory action by the beta cells. Our data emphasise the importance of physical activity in children for the maintenance of metabolic control.
Contribution of individual organ mass loss to weight loss-associated decline in resting energy expenditure.

BACKGROUND Weight loss leads to reduced resting energy expenditure (REE) independent of fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) loss, but the effect of changes in FFM composition is unclear. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that a decrease in REE adjusted for FFM with weight loss would be partly explained by a disproportionate loss in the high metabolic activity component of FFM. DESIGN Forty-five overweight and obese women [body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 28.7-46.8] aged 22-46 y followed a low-calorie diet for 12.7 +/- 2.2 wk. Body composition was measured by magnetic resonance imaging, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and a 4-compartment model. REE measured by indirect calorimetry (REEm) was compared with REE calculated from detailed body-composition analysis (REEc) by using specific organ metabolic rates (ie, organ REE/mass). RESULTS Weight loss was 9.5 +/- 3.4 kg (8.0 +/- 2.9 kg FM and 1.5 +/- 3.1 kg FFM). Decreases in REE (-8%), free triiodothyronine concentrations (-8%), muscle (-3%), heart (-5%), liver (-4%), and kidney mass (-6%) were observed (all P < 0.05). Relative loss in organ mass was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than was the change in low metabolically active FFM components (muscle, bone, and residual mass). After weight loss, REEm - REEc decreased from 0.24 +/- 0.58 to 0.01 +/- 0.44 MJ/d (P = 0.01) and correlated with the decrease in free triiodothyronine concentrations (r = 0.33, P < 0.05). Women with high adaptive thermogenesis (defined as REEm - REEc < -0.17 MJ/d) had less weight loss and conserved FFM, liver, and kidney mass. CONCLUSIONS After weight loss, almost 50% of the decrease in REEm was explained by losses in FFM and FM. The variability in REEm explained by body composition increased to 60% by also considering the weight of individual organs.