Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sinusitis update

Purpose of reviewRhinosinusitis affects more than 10% of the US population. It results in high health care expenditure as well as decreased productivity through lost days of school or work. This review includes recent findings in diagnostics and pathophysiology, as well as recent advances in treatment. Recent findingsParameters used in the diagnosis of rhinosinusitis include patient symptomatology, physical and endoscopic findings, computed tomography scan scores, and culture results. There has been poor correlation between patient symptoms and computed tomography scan scores, but middle meatal cultures have been shown to correlate well with ethmoid sinus cultures obtained from chronic rhinosinusitis patients. Chronic inflammation with a predominance of eosinophils and T lymphocytes in the tissues is being recognized as a hallmark of chronic rhinosinusitis, especially in patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis. Th2 cytokines are prominent in sinus tissues of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and allergic rhinitis. While antibiotics are used with greater frequency in the treatment of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis, adjuvant therapies, such as intranasal steroids, might affect patient symptoms and curb disease recurrence. SummaryClinical symptoms are important in making the diagnosis of rhinosinusitis and should be supported by objective findings on nasal endoscopy and, if necessary, computed tomography scans. The mainstay of treatment remains antibiotics, with a potential role for decongestants and intranasal steroids. The presence of chronic inflammation with a Th2 cytokine predominance in sinus tissues should be kept in mind, especially in patients with coexistent morbidities such as allergic rhinitis and asthma.
Influence of Incubation Time and Sensitizer Localization on Meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (mTHPC)-Induced Photoinactivation of Cells

Abstract Sasnouski, S. , Pic, E. , Dumas, D. , Zorin, V. , D'Hallewin, M-A. , Guillemin, F. and Bezdetnaya, L. Influence of Incubation Time and Sensitizer Localization on Meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (mTHPC)-Induced Photoinactivation of Cells. Radiat. Res. 168, 209–217 (2007). The present study addresses the impact of different aggregation states of meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (mTHPC) on the photoinactivation of cells. Measurements of the photophysical properties of mTHPC in MCF-7 cells showed progressive sensitizer aggregation with increasing incubation time. Reconstructed absorption spectra of intracellular mTHPC showed a significant decrease in the molar extinction coefficient and broadening of the Soret band at 24 h incubation compared to 3 h. Intracellular photobleaching of mTHPC slowed down, and the profile changed from mono- to bi-exponential upon incubation. Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) measurements revealed a substantial decrease in the lifetime of mTHPC fluorescence at 24 h compared to 3 h. In addition, the intracellular localization of mTHPC as observed by fluorescence microscopy changed from a diffuse homogeneous fluorescence pattern at short incubation times to a punctiform pattern at 24 h. The efficiency of photodynamic therapy (PDT) assessed by a clonogenic assay was three times greater at 24 h. However, when the survival curves were replotted as a function of the number of absorbed photons, the efficiency was 1.8 times greater at 3 h than at 24 h. The loss of photosensitizing efficiency at higher mTHPC concentrations was attributed to self-quenching of the triplet states of the sensitizers.
Psychological consultation before living kidney donation: finding out and handling problem cases

Background. Since 1996, a team of medical psychologists, nephrologists, and urologists at Heidelberg University Hospital has developed a family-oriented consultation procedure for donors, recipients, and family members before living kidney transplantation. Qualitative content analyses of these consultations and their follow-up histories are presented, with particular focus on “problem cases. ” Methods. Sixty-seven consultation interviews were explored by rating family interaction, consultee-consultant interaction, decision-making process, and intervention strategies in problem cases. Subsequently, 33 catamnestic interviews 1 year or more after living donation were explored by qualitative content analysis for donor and recipient quality of life, quality of relationships, and health status. Results. Generally, donors show themselves to be eager; recipients appear more reluctant. Expectations focus on spontaneity and a “normal life. ” Fears are usually expressed not about oneself but about the partner involved. Types of confrontation with possible complications are anxious avoidance, active consideration, and optimistic fatalism. Past family experiences of medical traumata may influence content and level of anxiety. Problem cases are characterized by unilaterally dependent close relationships, unrealistic expectations, anxious avoidance of problem confrontation, and negative experiences with the medical system. At follow-up, the majority are in good medical and psychological health. Few donors and recipients are suffering from disappointed expectations or unexpected treatment side effects. Conclusions. The Heidelberg consultation setting has proven useful for allowing open discussion about critical issues. In problem cases, prescribing a moratorium instead of rejecting donation helps to relax consultation anxiety. Psychological support after transplantation seems to be indicated for a minority with typical first-year problems.
Comparison of Monoclonal and Polyclonal ELISAs for Fecal Elastase in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis and Pancreatic Insufficiency

Objectives:Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methodologies are used to detect pancreatic insufficiency: monoclonal and polyclonal. We sought to compare these assays in patients with cystic fibrosis and to correlate these with the coefficient of fat absorption (CFA). Study Design:As part of a larger study, subjects had stool elastase measured by both methods while taking exogenous enzymes. Subjects subsequently stopped enzymes and had a fecal fat balance study performed; the CFA was then calculated. Results:One hundred twenty-four subjects participated in this substudy. The median values for the monoclonal and polyclonal assays were 0.3 and 22.75 μg/g, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the 2 tests was 0.86 (P < 0.0001). The correlation coefficients between CFA and the monoclonal and polyclonal assays were 0.24 (P = 0.006) and 0.10 (P = 0.27), respectively. If the criterion standard definition of pancreatic insufficiency was set at a CFA < 90% and the test definition of pancreatic insufficiency was set at <100 μg/g, then the monoclonal and polyclonal assay positive predictive values were 97.6% (120 of 123) and 97.4% (111 of 114), respectively. Conclusions:The positive predictive value of both monoclonal and polyclonal fecal elastase in patients with cystic fibrosis is extremely good; however, correlation of either test with CFA was poor. The median value for the polyclonal elastase assay is higher than for the monoclonal assay, which could potentially lead to lower sensitivity of the polyclonal assay at lower cutpoints for the monoclonal assay is used.
Severe position effects imposed on a 1 kb mouse whey acidic protein gene promoter are overcome by heterologous matrix attachment regions

Matrix attachment regions (MARs) have been shown to participate in the insulation of transcription elements from surrounding chromatin in tissue culture cells and transgenic mice. A whey acidic protein (WAP) transgene containing 1 kb promoter sequence was active in mammary tissue from 1 out of 17 lines of mice, demonstrating that the transcription elements were highly susceptible to position effects. To test whether MARs could insulate this WAP gene promoter and thereby restore transcription, we ligated MARs from the chicken lysozyme gene to the WAP transgene. Seven of the nine lines generated exhibited WAP transgene activity, expression was confined to mammary tissue, and correct regulation was observed in three of the four lines analyzed. This study provides strong additional evidence that the MAR fragments from the chicken lysozyme gene have the capacity to insulate transgenes from severe position effects. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Vitamin A deficiency induces prooxidant environment and inflammation in rat aorta

We evaluated whether nutritional vitamin A deficiency generates oxidative stress and inflammation in aorta. Wistar male rats (21 days old) were given free access to a control (8 mg retinol as retinyl palmitate/kg) or a vitamin A- deficient diet for three months. One group of deficient animals was fed with the control diet fifteen days before sacrifice. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and nitrite concentration where both analyzed in serum and aorta. Aorta Copper–Zinc Superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), Glutathion peroxidase (GPx) and Catalase (CAT) activities were measured. In addition, binding activity of the nuclear factor- kB (NF-kB), inducible and endothelial Nitric Oxide synthase (iNOS and eNOS, respectively) and Ciclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expressions were determinated in aorta. Rats fed the vitamin A- deficient diet were characterized by sub-clinical plasma retinol concentration and showed increased serum and aorta concentrations of TBARS compared to controls. Lower than control activities of CuZnSOD, GPx, and CAT were observed in aorta of the vitamin A- deficient group. The binding activity of NF- kB was higher in vitamin A- deficient animals than controls. In addition, NO production evaluated as nitrite concentration increased in aorta and serum, associated with a higher expression of iNOS, eNOS and COX-2 in aorta of vitamin A-deficient rats. The incorporation of vitamin A into the diet of vitamin A-deficient rats reverted the changes observed in TBARS level, CuZnSOD and GPx activities, nitrite concentration and also, iNOS, eNOS and COX-2 expression. Prooxidant environment and inflammation are induced by vitamin A deficiency in rat aorta.
Normal and retrograde perfusion to probe the zonal distribution of sulfation and glucuronidation activities of harmol in the perfused rat liver preparation.

The role of zonal distributions of metabolic activities (sulfation and glucuronidation) in the liver on the kinetics of harmol conjugation was investigated. A computer simulation approach was adopted to better understand the effects of distributions of these conjugation activities in competition for a common drug substrate. Several distributions of the sulfation and glucuronidation systems were defined with respect to the flow path of blood; the conjugation activities along the flow path were in turn translated as time elapsed after entry of the substrate via blood into the organ. Realistic values of Km and Vmax for the sulfation and glucuronidation systems were assigned in the simulations. Directional flow, namely, normal vs. retrograde delivery of substrate was used as an additional variable. When the "center" of distribution of the sulfation system was anterior to that for glucuronidation, the steady-state hepatic extraction ratio of harmol (E) would increase, whereas the ratio of the steady-state rates of formation of harmol sulfate to harmol glucuronide (S/G ratio) would decrease when harmol was presented in a reversed direction (via retrograde perfusion), as compared with normal directional flow to the liver. The converse was true for an anterior distribution of the glucuronidation system; E would decrease, whereas S/G would increase with retrograde perfusion. To evaluate such zonal differences experimentally, perfusion studies were conducted in livers of male Wistar rats. A constant concentration of harmol (50 microM) was delivered under constant hepatic flow rate (10 ml/min/liver) by normal and retrograde perfusions to the same rat liver preparation. The steady-state hepatic E was higher (P less than .005) during retrograde perfusion than during normal perfusion, whereas the S/G ratio was significantly decreased (P less than .0005). The observations suggest an intercellular difference in the distribution of the two conjugating systems and are consistent with the view of the center of distribution for the sulfation system being anterior to the center of distribution for the glucuronidation system along the normal flow path of blood in the liver.
Capacitive Power Transfer Through a Conformal Bumper for Electric Vehicle Charging

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is emerging as a practical means for electric vehicle (EV) charging. Of the most common approaches to WPT, inductive coupling, and capacitive coupling, capacitive power transfer (CPT) is proposed to charge an EV at a kilowatt scale power level. CPT implementation replaces copper coils and permeable focusing/shielding materials of inductive approaches with foil surfaces, making CPT a cost effective and structurally simple system to implement while maintaining efficient power transfer capability. This paper addresses the primary technical hurdles to kilowatt scale CPT system development, namely, safe field confinement by achieving high coupling capacitance between the vehicle and the charging station. High capacitive coupling is achieved through a conformal (flexible and compressive) transmitter bumper that molds and contours itself to the vehicle. This minimizes the air gap and confines the field during charging. Here, a conformal surface demonstrates 3-5 times more coupling capacitance than its rigid counterpart of equal area. The associated power electronics are also discussed in detail, utilizing a Class E2 amplifier/rectifier. An experimental docking station was built to charge the 156 V battery pack of a Corbin Sparrow EV and measured throughput power is demonstrated at 1 kW at ~90% efficiency via a coupling capacitance of 10 nF operating at 530 kHz.
Human photoreceptor cone density measured with adaptive optics technology (rtx1 device) in healthy eyes

Abstract The anatomic structures of the anterior segment of the eye enable correct reception of stimuli by the retina, which contains receptors that receive light impulses and transmit them to the visual cortex. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the size of the sampling window in an adaptive optics (AO) flood-illumination retinal camera (rtx1) on cone density measurements in the eyes of healthy individuals and to investigate the differences in cone density and spacing in different quadrants of the retina. Thirty-three subjects with no ophthalmic or systemic disease underwent a detailed ophthalmologic examination. Photographs of retinal fragments 3 degrees from the fovea were taken using the rtx1 AO retinal camera. We used sampling windows with 3 sizes (50 × 50, 100 × 100, and 250 × 250 &mgr;m). Cone density, spacing, and shape were determined using AOdetect software. The median (interquartile range) cone density was 19,269 (4964) cones/mm2. There were statistically significant differences between measurements taken with the 50/50 and 250/250-m windows. There were no significant differences in the cone spacing results between any of the windows examined, but the measurements differed according to location between the superior and temporal quadrants. The most common cone shape was hexagonal (47.6%) for all window sizes and locations. These findings may help in the development of a normative database for variation in cone density in healthy subjects and to allow the best window to be chosen for obtain the most correct values for eccentricity measurements of 3 degrees. In our study, the optimal sampling window was 100 × 100 &mgr;m.
The computer program structure for assigning individuals to populations: easy to use but easier to misuse

The computer program Structure implements a Bayesian method, based on a population genetics model, to assign individuals to their source populations using genetic marker data. It is widely applied in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, human genetics and conservation biology for detecting hidden genetic structures, inferring the most likely number of populations (K), assigning individuals to source populations and estimating admixture and migration rates. Recently, several simulation studies repeatedly concluded that the program yields erroneous inferences when samples from different populations are highly unbalanced in size. Analysing both simulated and empirical data sets, this study confirms that Structure indeed yields poor individual assignments to source populations and gives frequently incorrect estimates of K when sampling is unbalanced. However, this poor performance is mainly caused by the adoption of the default ancestry prior, which assumes all source populations contribute equally to the pooled sample of individuals. When the alternative ancestry prior, which allows for unequal representations of the source populations by the sample, is adopted, accurate individual assignments could be obtained even if sampling is highly unbalanced. The alternative prior also improves the inference of K by two estimators, albeit the improvement is not as much as that in individual assignments to populations. For the difficult case of many populations and unbalanced sampling, a rarely used parameter combination of the alternative ancestry prior, an initial ALPHA value much smaller than the default and the uncorrelated allele frequency model is required for Structure to yield accurate inferences. I conclude that Structure is easy to use but is easier to misuse because of its complicated genetic model and many parameter (prior) options which may not be obvious to choose, and suggest using multiple plausible models (parameters) and K estimators in conducting comparative and exploratory Structure analysis.
Biofilm Interactions between Distinct Bacterial Genera Isolated from Drinking Water

ABSTRACT In the environment, multiple microorganisms coexist as communities, competing for resources and often associated as biofilms. In this study, single- and dual-species biofilm formation by, and specific activities of, six heterotrophic intergeneric bacteria were determined using 96-well polystyrene plates over a 72-h period. These bacteria were isolated from drinking water and identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A series of planktonic studies was also performed, assessing the bacterial growth rate, motility, and production of quorum-sensing inhibitors (QSI). This constituted an attempt to identify key attributes allowing bacteria to effectively interact and coexist in a drinking-water environment. We observed that in both pure and dual cultures, all of the isolates formed stable biofilms within 72 h, with specific metabolic activity decreasing, in most cases, with an increase in biofilm mass. The largest single- and dual-biofilm amounts were found for Methylobacterium sp. and the combination of Methylobacterium sp. and Mycobacterium mucogenicum, respectively. Evidences of microbial interactions in dual-biofilm formation, associated with appreciable biomass variation in comparison with single biofilms, were found for the following cases: synergy/cooperation between Sphingomonas capsulata and Burkholderia cepacia, S. capsulata and Staphylococcus sp. , and B. cepacia and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and antagonism between S. capsulata and M. mucogenicum, S. capsulata and A. calcoaceticus, and M. mucogenicum and Staphylococcus sp. A neutral interaction was found for Methylobacterium sp. -M. mucogenicum, S. capsulata-Staphylococcus sp. , M. mucogenicum-A. calcoaceticus, and Methylobacterium sp. -A. calcoaceticus biofilms, since the resultant dual biofilms had a mass and specific metabolic activity similar to the average for each single biofilm. B. cepacia had the highest growth rate and motility and produced QSI. Other bacteria producing QSI were Methylobacterium sp. , S. capsulata, and Staphylococcus sp. However, only for S. capsulata-M. mucogenicum, S. capsulata-A. calcoaceticus, and M. mucogenicum-Staphylococcus sp. , dual-biofilm formation seems to be regulated by the QSI produced by S. capsulata and Staphylococcus sp. and by the increased growth rate of S. capsulata. The parameters assessed by planktonic studies did not allow prediction and generalization of the exact mechanism regulating dual-species biofilm formation between the drinking-water bacteria.
Hypoxia‐activated Ca2+ currents in pacemaker neurones of rat rostral ventrolateral medulla in vitro.

We examined the effects of brief periods of hypoxia or application of cyanide on the discharge and membrane properties of medullary pacemaker neurones in slices of the rostral ventrolateral reticular nucleus (RVL) of the medulla oblongata of rats. Stable intracellular recordings were obtained from seventy‐nine neurones within the RVL which exhibited spontaneous rhythmic discharge in the absence of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). The membrane potential cycles of these neurones could be reset with an evoked spike without eliciting EPSPs or inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and hence met criteria of RVL pacemaker neurones. Hypoxia, produced by reducing O2 from 95 to 20% for 40 s or exposure to cyanide (30‐300 microM for 40 s), reversibly increased neuronal discharge 1.6‐fold (20% O2) or 2.6‐fold (300 microM cyanide), respectively, in association with membrane depolarization and a significant fall in membrane resistance. The membrane responses to hypoxia and cyanide were observed in the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) at a concentration (10 microM) which eliminated spontaneous spikes or spikes evoked by intracellular depolarization. When recorded at a holding potential of ‐70 mV by single‐electrode voltage clamp, hypoxia or cyanide (300 microM) elicited inward currents of 0.44 +/‐ 0.06 and 0.58 +/‐ 0.08 nA, respectively, which are attenuated by reducing the concentration of extracellular Ca2+ ions, and abolished by 2 mM CoCl2 and 100 microM NiCl2, but not affected by 50 microM CdCl2, replacement of 83% extracellular Na+, or adenosine deaminase (2U ml‐1). We conclude that hypoxia and cyanide directly excite RVL pacemaker neurones in vitro by a common mechanism: activation of Ca2+ channel conductance.
Protein Subcellular Localization Prediction Using a Hybrid of Similarity Search and Error-Correcting Output Code Techniques That Produces Interpretable Results

In silico prediction of protein subcellular localization based on amino acid sequence can reveal valuable information about the protein's innate roles in the cell. Unfortunately, such prediction is made difficult because of complex protein sorting signals. Some prediction methods are based on searching for similar proteins with known localization, assuming that known homologs exist. However, it may not perform well on proteins with no known homolog. In contrast, machine learning-based approaches attempt to infer a predictive model that describes the protein sorting signals. Alas, in doing so, it does not take advantage of known homologs (if they exist) by doing a simple "table lookup". Here, we capture the best of both worlds by combining both approaches. On a dataset with 12 locations, similarity-based and machine learning independently achieve an accuracy of 83.8% and 72.6%, respectively. Our hybrid approach yields an improved accuracy of 85.9%. We compared our method with three other methods' published results. For two of the methods, we used their published datasets for comparison. For the third we used the 12 location dataset. The Error Correcting Output Code algorithm was used to construct our predictive model. This algorithm gives attention to all the classes regardless of number of instances and led to high accuracy among each of the classes and a high prediction rate overall. We also illustrated how the machine learning classifier we use, built over a meaningful set of features can produce interpretable rules that may provide valuable insights into complex protein sorting mechanisms.