Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytokine profile during high‐dose rhG‐CSF therapy in severe congenital neutropenia

The effect of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhG‐CSF) on cytokine profile was evaluated in a case of severe congenital neutropenia. The plasma levels of cytokines were measured before and during rhG‐CSF therapy. These included G‐CSF, granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF), interleukin‐1α, in‐terleukin‐1 β, interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), interleukin‐3 (IL‐3), interleukin‐4, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and tumor necrosis factor‐α. Soluble Interleukin‐2 receptor (sIL‐2R) was measured serially during rhG‐CSF therapy. Lymphocyte subpopulations Including CD2, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD20, and CD25 were also measured, rhG‐CSF was administered once daily as a 30‐min infusion. The patient was treated with Increasing dose levels of 100,200,400, 800, and 1,600 μg/m2/day. The level of endogenous G‐CSF was elevated to 334 pg/ml before treatment and GM‐CSF, IL‐2, IL‐3, and IL‐6 were slightly elevated. Clinically, he showed a moderate response to a high dose of rhG‐CSF (1,600 μg/m2/day). Plasma levels of G‐CSF markedly Increased during therapy but plasma levels of other cytokines did not show significant changes during therapy and iymphocyte subpopulations did not significantly change. A drastic Increase in siL‐2R expression was observed after rhG‐CSF infusion and an Increase in siL‐2R expression occurred even before a major increase in granulocyte counts. These results showed that a high dose rhG‐CSF therapy may influence the cytokine network as judged by the increased slL‐2R expression. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Digestion in the pig between 7 and 35 d of age

1. One hundred and fourteen pigs between 7 and 35 d of age were given diets containing milk or soya-bean proteins in four separate experiments. 2. The substitution of milk protein by soya-bean meal (SBM) to 75% of the total dietary protein reduced the weight gains and food conversion efficiencies of the pigs by 85% between 7 and 14 d of age and 31% between 21 and 28 d of age. 3. The treatment of soya-bean protein with alkali did not improve the performance of the pigs. 4. The substitution of milk protein by two different isolated soya-bean proteins (ISP) resulted in weight gains of 34 and 60% of the gains of pigs given milk protein diets. 5. Supplementation of the soya-bean-protein diets with methionine to 13.7 g/kg (5 g/16 g nitrogen) resulted in reduced food intakes and weight gains of the pigs and a 20-fold increase in the concentration of methionine in the blood plasma. 6. Supplementation of soya-bean-protein diets with lysine to 22 g/kg (8g/16 g N) in addition to methionine doubled the concentration of lysine in the blood plasma. 7. The apparent digestibility (AD) of dry matter (DM) and N of the diets containing soya-bean protein increased with increasing age of the pigs, but the AD of the milk-protein diet was not affected by the age of the pigs. The retention of N as a percentage of the N intake increased from 57–67% for soya-bean protein over the duration of the experiments while the average value for the milk-fed pigs was 85% at all ages. 8. At 35 d of age, the fat content of the carcasses of the pigs given the ISP diet was 249 g/kg DM compared to 164 g/kg DM for the pigs given the milk diets.
High-sensitivity troponin T as a diagnostic tool for acute coronary syndrome in the real world: an observational study

Background The 2011 European Society of Cardiology guidelines state that acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may be excluded with a rapid 3 h high-sensitivity troponin T (HsTnT) sampling protocol. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of HsTnT in patients with chest pain admitted with possible ACS in routine care. Methods A total of 773 consecutive patients admitted for in-hospital care for chest pain suspicious of ACS were included retrospectively. HsTnT values at admission and at 3–4 and 6–7 h were analysed for diagnostic performance. In addition, prognostic performance towards a combined 60-day endpoint of ACS, nonelective revascularization or death of all causes was studied. Results Twenty-three per cent of the patients had ACS during the hospital stay and 1.6% had an endpoint after discharge but within 60 days. The sensitivity of HsTnT for ACS at admission, 3–4 and 6–7 h was only 68, 79 and 81%, respectively. Sensitivity and negative predictive value for acute myocardial infarction alone were 80 and 93% on admission and 97 and 99% at 3–4 h. Among patients aged 75 years and older, 63% had a positive HsTnT on admission, but only 39% of these had an ACS during hospital stay. Conclusion Our data confirm that prolonged testing with HsTnT after 3–4 h does not improve diagnostic performance for ACS. However, although sensitivity for acute myocardial infarction was very good, sensitivity for ACS was insufficient to rule out ACS even at 6–7 h. Less than half of all recorded positive HsTnT were true positives. On the basis of these results, we find it unlikely that HsTnT has improved the diagnosis of ACS in the emergency care setting.
Oceanographers' contribution to climate modelling and prediction: progress to date and a future perspective

The ocean plays an essential role in determining aspects of the climate through its influence on coupled processes involving the atmosphere, cyrosphere and biogeochemistry, including budgets of heat and carbon dioxide and sea-level rise. Here, the key developments in ocean modelling over the past 20 years are reviewed and the prospects for the next 20 years are outlined, considering a hierarchy of idealized, conceptual and realistic modelling frameworks. It is emphasized that any long-term modelling strategy needs to be underpinned and complemented by fundamental theoretical and observational research activities. The need to be aware of the societal and technological drivers that will shape future research directions is also articulated.
The internet age and the role of telecommunication operators: the case of France Telecom

In the internet era, telecommunication operators clearly appear as strategic actors. This paper focuses on some fundamental issues for both management science and FRANCE TELECOM, particularly from the point of view of techno-organisational management. On one hand, our methodology relies on a long-term in-depth inductive case study which was begun in the early 1990s and, on the other, we adopt an analytical approach using a constructivist theoretical framework. The first part deals with the three-dimensional uncertainty which characterises FRANCE TELECOM in the context of its privatisation and internationalisation. The second part shows why strategic planning can no longer be considered as the touchstone for adaptation to the external environment in the context of a coordinated strategy centred on customer processes. Our third part focuses on FRANCE TELECOM and its Information System (IS). What is the path dependency? What dilemmas are they faced with? How can FRANCE TELECOM evolve from a monopolistic network operator into a "Net Company"?
Efficient support of java RMI over heterogeneous wireless networks

Distributed object-oriented platforms are increasingly important over wireless environments to provide frameworks for collaborative computations and for managing a large pool of distributed resources. For beyond 3G environments, distributed object-oriented platforms can provide the framework and toolkits for application developments with heterogeneous wireless environments. In this paper, we present our support for Java RMI over Bluetooth, GPRS, and WLAN environments. We propose a software mechanism which can be used to dynamically adapt RMI over different networks with optimization-related strategies. This is an important middleware for component communications. We will show how to employ Java Dynamic Proxy and exception handling techniques to help perform roaming and resource scheduling among heterogeneous wireless environments. Java Grande benchmarks are used to demonstrate that our RMI implementations over GPRS, WLAN, and Bluetooth environments are effective in supporting parallel and distributed control of Java layers over heterogeneous wireless environments.
A Search for Hyperglycosylation Signals in Yeast Glycoproteins*

N-oligosaccharides of Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycoproteins are classified as core and mannan types. The former contain 13–14 mannoses whereas mannan-type structures consist of an inner core extended with an outer chain of up to 200–300 mannoses, a process known as hyperglycosylation. The selection of substrates for hyperglycosylation poses a theoretical and practical question. To identify hyperglycosylation determinants, we have analyzed the influence of the second amino acid (Xaa) of the sequon in this process using the major exoglucanase as a model. Our results indicate that negatively charged amino acids inhibit hyperglycosylation, whereas positively charged counterparts promote it. On the basis of the tridimensional structure of Exg1, we propose that Xaa influences the orientation of the inner core making it accessible to mannan polymerase I in the appropriate position for the addition of α-1,6-mannoses. The presence of Glu in the Xaa of the second sequon of the native exoglucanase suggests that negative selection may drive evolution of these sites. However, a comparison of invertases secreted by S. cerevisiae and Pichia anomala suggests that hyperglycosylation signals are also subjected to positive selection.
Acute lung injury in two experimental models of acute pancreatitis: Infusion of saline or sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct

Objective: To compare acute pulmonary changes secondary to sodium taurocholate hemorrhagic pancreatitis with those changes secondary to a less severe pancreatitis induced by saline infusion into the biliopancreatic duct. Design: Prospective, randomized controlled trial. Setting: University pulmonary laboratory. Subjects: A total of 110 male Wistar rats. Interventions: Pancreatitis was induced by either 0.5 mL of a 4% solution of sodium taurocholate (TAU group) or 0.5 mL of normal saline (SAL group) injection into the biliopancreatic duct. Data were compared with data from control (sham‐operated) animals (SHAM group). Measurements and Main Results: The severity of pancreatic and pulmonary injuries was evaluated 1, 3, and 8 days after the induction of acute pancreatitis by morphometric and pulmonary mechanical studies. Biliopancreatic duct pressure was measured during infusion of solutions in SAL and TAU groups. SAL and TAU groups developed an intense necrohemorrhagic pancreatitis on day 1 without differences in biliopancreatic duct pressures (134.0 ± 45.1 cm H2O vs. 123.3 ± 23.4 cm H2O). Acute pancreatic lesions were still intense on day 3 in the TAU group only. Pulmonary resistance in SAL and TAU groups was significantly greater than in the SHAM group on day 3 only. On day 1, there was an increase in intraalveolar edema in both groups (p < .02). There was an increase in polymorphonuclear cells in alveolar septa on day 1 only in the TAU group (p < .001). In contrast, both experimental groups presented greater values of PMN cells on day 8 compared with the SHAM group (p < .001). Both groups with pancreatitis showed an increase in alveolar distention and collapse on day 1 that persisted only in the TAU group on days 3 and 8. No deaths were observed in the control (SHAM) group. In contrast, the SAL group had lower mortality than the TAU group in the first two days (17% and 52%, respectively, p = .03). Conclusion: High‐pressure infusion of normal saline into the biliopancreatic duct of rats results in significant pancreatic and lung alterations. These changes are worse in the presence of sodium taurocholate.
Different Polar Metabolites and Protein Profiles between High- and Low-Quality Japanese Ginjo Sake

Japanese ginjo sake is a premium refined sake characterized by a pleasant fruity apple-like flavor and a sophisticated taste. Because of technical difficulties inherent in brewing ginjo sake, off-flavors sometimes occur. However, the metabolites responsible for off-flavors as well as those present or absent in higher quality ginjo sake remain uncertain. Here, the relationship between 202 polar chemical compounds in sake identified using capillary electrophoresis coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and its organoleptic properties, such as quality and off-flavor, was examined. First, we found that some off-flavored sakes contained higher total amounts of metabolites than other sake samples. The results also identified that levels of 2-oxoglutaric acid and fumaric acid, metabolites in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, were highly but oppositely correlated with ginjo sake quality. Similarly, pyridoxine and pyridoxamine, co-enzymes for amino transferase, were also highly but oppositely correlated with ginjo sake quality. Additionally, pyruvic acid levels were associated with good quality as well. Compounds involved in the methionine salvage cycle, oxidative glutathione derivatives, and amino acid catabolites were correlated with low quality. Among off-flavors, an inharmonious bitter taste appeared attributable to polyamines. Furthermore, protein analysis displayed that a diversity of protein components and yeast protein (triosephosphate isomerase, TPI) leakage was linked to the overall metabolite intensity in ginjo sake. This research provides insight into the relationship between sake components and organoleptic properties.
Increasing the Reach of Health Sponsorship: Using a “Sponsorship Kit” to Promote Health

In Australia, a tobacco tax provides funding for Healthway, the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation. Healthway provides sponsorships for the arts and racing and sporting events to replace funds previously provided by tobacco companies. These sponsorships provide visibility for Healthway and positive health messages. Normally, Healthway staff attends these events to help promote health messages. To reduce Healthway staff time spent helping event organizers promote health messages, Healthway developed a sponsor kit of promotional materials which communicate health messages without requiring Healthway staff to attend events. Recognition, awareness, comprehension, and acceptance of health messages was comparable at events that featured Healthway staff versus the sponsor kits, but the average cost of the sponsorship kits was only 40% of the cost when Healthway staff was featured.
Effect of increasing CO2 on the terrestrial carbon cycle

Significance Feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to atmospheric CO2 concentrations contribute the second-largest uncertainty to projections of future climate. These feedbacks, acting over huge regions and long periods of time, are extraordinarily difficult to observe and quantify directly. We evaluated in situ, atmospheric, and simulation estimates of the effect of CO2 on carbon storage, subject to mass balance constraints. Multiple lines of evidence suggest significant tropical uptake for CO2, approximately balancing net deforestation and confirming a substantial negative global feedback to atmospheric CO2 and climate. This reconciles two approaches that have previously produced contradictory results. We provide a consistent explanation of the impacts of CO2 on terrestrial carbon across the 12 orders of magnitude between plant stomata and the global carbon cycle. Feedbacks from the terrestrial carbon cycle significantly affect future climate change. The CO2 concentration dependence of global terrestrial carbon storage is one of the largest and most uncertain feedbacks. Theory predicts the CO2 effect should have a tropical maximum, but a large terrestrial sink has been contradicted by analyses of atmospheric CO2 that do not show large tropical uptake. Our results, however, show significant tropical uptake and, combining tropical and extratropical fluxes, suggest that up to 60% of the present-day terrestrial sink is caused by increasing atmospheric CO2. This conclusion is consistent with a validated subset of atmospheric analyses, but uncertainty remains. Improved model diagnostics and new space-based observations can reduce the uncertainty of tropical and temperate zone carbon flux estimates. This analysis supports a significant feedback to future atmospheric CO2 concentrations from carbon uptake in terrestrial ecosystems caused by rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This feedback will have substantial tropical contributions, but the magnitude of future carbon uptake by tropical forests also depends on how they respond to climate change and requires their protection from deforestation.
Outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea: the overlap syndrome.

RATIONALE Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (overlap syndrome) are more likely to develop pulmonary hypertension than patients with either condition alone. OBJECTIVES To assess the relation of overlap syndrome to mortality and first-time hospitalization because of COPD exacerbation and the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on these major outcomes. METHODS We included 228 patients with overlap syndrome treated with CPAP, 213 patients with overlap syndrome not treated with CPAP, and 210 patients with COPD without OSA. All were free of heart failure, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Median follow-up was 9.4 years (range, 3.3-12.7). End points were all-cause mortality and first-time COPD exacerbation leading to hospitalization. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, comorbidities, severity of COPD, apnea-hypopnea index, and daytime sleepiness, patients with overlap syndrome not treated with CPAP had a higher mortality (relative risk, 1.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.77) and were more likely to suffer a severe COPD exacerbation leading to hospitalization (relative risk, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-2.38) versus the COPD-only group. Patients with overlap syndrome treated with CPAP had no increased risk for either outcome compared with patients with COPD-only. CONCLUSIONS The overlap syndrome is associated with an increased risk of death and hospitalization because of COPD exacerbation. CPAP treatment was associated with improved survival and decreased hospitalizations in patients with overlap syndrome.
[Effects of triptolide on prostate carcinoma in mouse RM-1 cells].

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of Triptolide (TL) on the growth of prostate carcinoma cell line, and analyze its function and mechanism in anti-prostate cancer. METHODS MTT experiments were performed to examine the inhibiting effect of TL on the proliferation of RM-1 cells, cell morphological changes observed by acridine staining, cellular cycles and apoptosis peak analyzed by flow cytometry, the apoptosis fracture zone investigated with DNA electrophoresis, and the expressions of caspase-3 and bcl-2 mRNA in RM-1 cells examined by RT-PCR. RESULTS The results of MTT experiments showed that after the treatment of TL (5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 ng/ml), the RM-1 cell proliferation inhibition rates were 9.8%, 25.1%, 39.2%, 48.8% and 53.2% respectively; 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours after the treatment of TL (10 and 20 ng/ml), the cell proliferation inhibition rates were 8.4%, 25.1%, 36.1%, 42.4% and 10.2%, 39.2%, 50.2% and 58.5% respectively. Acridine staining after the TL treatment revealed nucleus condensation, cell membrane invagination, irregular orange particles in the cells and apoptosis morphological changes; flow cytometry tests showed that 48 hours after the TL treatment (10, 20 ng/ml) of RM-1 cells, an obvious apoptosis peak appeared before the G1 stage; 24, 36 and 48 hours after it, DNA "trapezoid" strips could be seen; the caspase-3 mRNA expression in the TL treated cells was higher, and the bcl-2 mRNA expression was lower than in the controls. CONCLUSION TL can decrease bcl-2 expression, increase caspase-3 expression, induce apoptosis of prostate carcinoma cells, and consequently inhibit the proliferation of RM-1 cells in mice.
Medical Care Avoidance Among Older Adults

Objective: To examine factors and reasons associated with medical care avoidance among older adults in the United States. Method: Analysis of data on 2,155 adults aged 65 and older, who completed the 2008 Health Information National Trends Survey. Results: Nearly one fourth of older adults reported medical care avoidance (n = 449; weighted % = 22.5%). Of these, more than one third reported doing so because of feeling uncomfortable when their body is examined (34.5%) or fearing a serious illness (35.9%) and with fewer reporting avoiding care because it made them think of dying (14.3%). Likelihood of avoidance was higher among those with worse self-reported health status, severe psychological distress, lower health self-efficacy, lower confidence in obtaining health information, lower trust in doctors, less patient-centered communication, lower perceived health care quality, and those who were current smokers. Qualitative reasons for avoidance corroborated quantitative results. Conclusion: Avoidance by older adults appears to be largely associated with evaluations of the quality of care and provider communication.
Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia and usual interstitial pneumonia: comparative appearances at and diagnostic accuracy of thin-section CT.

PURPOSE To compare the morphologic abnormalities on thin-section computed tomographic (CT) images in a group of patients with histopathologically confirmed nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) or usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) and a clinical presentation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thin-section CT imaging patterns and distribution of disease in 53 patients with histologic diagnoses of NSIP (n = 21) or UIP (n = 32) were quantified retrospectively and independently by four observers. The appearances of NSIP and UIP at CT were compared with univariate and multivariate techniques. RESULTS The use of thin-section CT proved to have moderate sensitivity (70%), specificity (63%), and accuracy (66%) in the diagnosis of NSIP. An increased proportion of ground-glass attenuation was the cardinal feature of NSIP at CT (odds ratio: 1.04 for each 1% increase in the proportion of ground-glass attenuation). A histologic diagnosis of NSIP was most frequent (in 24 of 35 observations [69%]) when ground-glass attenuation predominated, and was more frequent with mixed (35 of 79 observations [44%]) than with predominantly reticular disease (25 of 98 [26%] observations, P < .005). Logistic regression analysis of the data indicated that misdiagnosis of UIP in patients with NSIP was associated with less ground-glass attenuation (P < .005) at CT and a subpleural disease distribution (P = .02), with the converse being true for UIP cases misdiagnosed as NSIP. CONCLUSION In patients with a clinical presentation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the accuracy of thin-section CT in identifying NSIP is considerably higher than previously reported. At CT, NSIP is characterized by more ground-glass attenuation and a finer reticular pattern than is UIP. Nevertheless, considerable overlap in thin-section CT patterns exists between NSIP and UIP.
Paradoxes in Capital Theory: A Symposium: Changes in the Rate of Profit and Switches of Techniques

I. A numerical example, 504. â€” II. Generalizations, 508. â€” III. A direct logical criticism, 510. â€” IV. Changes in the rate of profit and changes in the â€œquantity of capital,â€ 512. â€” V. The trap of an old mode of thinking, 514.