Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Nonhealing Cutaneous Wounds

Summary: Chronic wounds remain a major challenge in modern medicine and represent a significant burden, affecting not only physical and mental health, but also productivity, health care expenditure, and long-term morbidity. Even under optimal conditions, the healing process leads to fibrosis or scar. One promising solution, cell therapy, involves the transplantation of progenitor/stem cells to patients through local or systemic delivery, and offers a novel approach to many chronic diseases, including nonhealing wounds. Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent, adult progenitor cells of great interest because of their unique immunologic properties and regenerative potential. A variety of preclinical and clinical studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells may have a useful role in wound-healing and tissue-engineering strategies and both aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Recent advances in stem cell immunobiology can offer insight into the multiple mechanisms through which mesenchymal stem cells could affect underlying pathophysiologic processes associated with nonhealing mesenchymal stem cells. Critical evaluation of the current literature is necessary for understanding how mesenchymal stem cells could potentially revolutionize our approach to skin and soft-tissue defects and designing clinical trials to address their role in wound repair and regeneration.
Low-Dose Propranolol Improves Cutaneous Wound Healing of Burn-Injured Rats

Background: Severe burns stimulate a hypermetabolic response that causes systemic complications. Propranolol, a nonselective β-blocker, reduces this response and increases survival. Nevertheless, few studies have shown the effects of propranolol on healing of severe burns. This study evaluated macroscopically and microscopically the effects of the administration of propranolol (low-dose) on cutaneous wound healing of burn-injured rats. Methods: A third-degree burn (10 percent total body surface area) was created in female Wistar rats. Beginning 1 week after burning, animals were treated daily with propranolol (n = 5) (6 mg/kg) dissolved in water until they were euthanized, whereas rats in the control group (n = 5) received only water. Wound area was measured weekly and animals were euthanized 63 days after burning. Lesions and adjacent skin were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Sirius red, and toluidine blue, and immunostained for CD68, α-smooth muscle actin, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Results: The wound area was greater in the control group than in the propranolol-treated group 21, 53, and 63 days after burning. All propranolol-treated animals presented more than 70 percent of reepithelialized wound area 63 days after burning, whereas control animals did not. The number of inflammatory cells and blood vessel density were greater in the control group than in the propranolol-treated group 63 days after burning. Cellular proliferation, myofibroblast density, collagen deposition, and active matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels were reduced in the control group compared with the propranolol-treated group 63 days after burning. Conclusion: Administration of (low-dose) propranolol improves healing of burned rats, reducing the local inflammatory response and improving subsequent healing phases.
Highly Focused T Cell Responses in Latent Human Pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

The elucidation of the molecular and immunological mechanisms mediating maintenance of latency in human tuberculosis aids to develop more effective vaccines and to define biologically meaningful markers for immune protection. We analyzed granuloma-associated lymphocytes (GALs) from human lung biopsies of five patients with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. MTB CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response was highly focused in the lung, distinct from PBL, as assessed by TCR-CDR3 spectratyping coupled with a quantitative analysis of TCR VB frequencies. GALs produced IFN-γ in response to autologous macrophages infected with MTB and to defined MTB-derived HLA-A2-presented peptides Ag85a242–250, Ag85b199–207, early secreted antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6)28–36, 19-kDa Ag88–97, or the HLA-DR-presented ESAT-61–20 epitope. Immune recognition of naturally processed and presented MTB epitopes or the peptide ESAT-61–20 could be linked to specific TCR VB families, and in two patients to unique T cell clones that constituted 19 and 27%, respectively, of the CD4+ and 17% of the CD8+ GAL population. In situ examination of MTB-reactive GALs by tetramer in situ staining and confocal laser-scanning microscopy consolidates the presence of MHC class I-restricted CD8+ T cells in MTB granuloma lesions and supports the notion that clonally expanded T cells are crucial in immune surveillance against MTB.
3-D FDTD design simulation and experimental measurement of a Ka-band planar antipodal linearly-tapered slot antenna (ALTSA)

Three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation of a planar broadband Ka-band (25-35 GHz) antipodal linearly-tapered slot antenna (ALTSA) and the experimental measurements are presented. The Berenger perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary condition is used for the FDTD computation. A printed ALTSA has been realized by using the RT/Duroid PCB substrate. Good agreement between simulation and measurement were achieved.
Purification of intravenous immunoglobulin G from human plasma – aspects of yield and virus safety

Plasma‐derived intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) preparations have been successfully applied for the prophylactic prevention of infectious diseases in immunodeficient patients. In addition to its replacement therapy of primary and secondary antibody deficiencies, IVIG has found increased use in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. IVIG has become the major plasma product on the global blood product market. The world wide consumption nearly tripled between 1992 and 2003, from 19.4 to 52.6 tons.
Initial-Boundary Value Problems and the Navier-Stokes Equations

Preface to the Classics Edition Introduction 1. The Navier-Stokes equations 2. Constant-coefficient Cauchy problems 3. Linear variable-coefficient Cauchy problems in 1D 4. A nonlinear example: Burgers' equations 5. Nonlinear systems in one space dimension 6. The Cauchy problem for systems in several dimensions 7. Initial-boundary value problems in one space dimension 8. Initial-boundary value problems in several space dimensions 9. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations: the spatially periodic case 10. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations under initial and boundary conditions Appendices References Author index Subject index.
Moro orange juice prevents fatty liver in mice.

AIM To establish if the juice of Moro, an anthocyanin-rich orange, may improve liver damage in mice with diet-induced obesity. METHODS Eight-week-old mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and were administrated water or Moro juice for 12 wk. Liver morphology, gene expression of lipid transcription factors, and metabolic enzymes were assessed. RESULTS Mice fed HFD displayed increased body weight, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Moro juice administration limited body weight gain, enhanced insulin sensitivity, and decreased serum triglycerides and total cholesterol. Mice fed HFD showed liver steatosis associated with ballooning. Dietary Moro juice markedly improved liver steatosis by inducing the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and its target gene acylCoA-oxidase, a key enzyme of lipid oxidation. Consistently, Moro juice consumption suppressed the expression of liver X receptor-α and its target gene fatty acid synthase, and restored liver glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 1 activity. CONCLUSION Moro juice counteracts liver steatogenesis in mice with diet-induced obesity and thus may represent a promising dietary option for the prevention of fatty liver.
Traditional Knowledge to Contemporary Medication in the Treatment of Infectious Disease Dengue: A Review

Dengue has become a worldwide affliction despite incessant efforts to search for a cure for this long-lived disease. Optimistic consequences for dengue vaccine are implausible as the efficiency is tied to previous dengue virus (DENV) exposure and a very high cost is required for large-scale production of vaccine. Medicinal plants are idyllic substitutes to fight DENV infection since they constitute important components of traditional medicine and show antiviral properties, although the mechanism behind the action of bioactive compounds to obstruct viral replication is less explored and yet to be discovered. This review includes the existing traditional knowledge on how DENV infects and multiplies in the host cells, conscripting different medicinal plants that obtained bioactive compounds with anti-dengue properties, and the probable mechanism on how bioactive compounds modulate the host immune system during DENV infection. Moreover, different plant species having such bioactive compounds reported for anti-DENV efficiency should be validated scientifically via different in vitro and in vivo studies.
A threshold size for metamorphosis in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (L.).

1. Under standard laboratory rearing conditions, caterpillars of Manduca sexta invariably go through 5 larval instars before pupating.2. Evidence is presented that the head capsule width of a given instar is proportional to the weight that the individual had attained at the time that the molt to that instar occurred. Fifth-instar larvae with a large range of head capsule sizes were produced by temporarily starving 3rd and 4th instars, thus inducing them to molt at subnormal weights.3. Further observations on such larvae revealed that individuals with head capsules wider than 5.1 mm proceeded to pupate at the following molt whereas larvae with smaller head capsules underwent a supernumerary larval molt.4. It was concluded that larvae of Manduca simply continue to grow and molt until they reach or exceed a sharply defined threshold size (corresponding to a head capsule size of 5.1 mm). The instar in which this threshold size is attained is then the final larval instar during which the corpora allata will be.
Social cognitive and physical health determinants of exercise adherence for HIV-1 seropositive, early symptomatic men and women

This study examined social cognitive and physical health factors that might explain variations in exercise adherence in a 3-month supervised exercise intervention for a group of mildly symptomatic, HIV-1 seropositive men and women. The social cognitive predictor variables were outcome expectations and self-efficacy. The physical health predictor variables included CD4 cell counts, self-report inventories of physical symptoms, and physicians’ examinations. Self-report inventories of physical symptoms were associated with physicians’ examinations and combined into a composite measure of physical health. Criterion variables included exercise adherence rates, VO2 max change, and status as a “remainer” versus “drop-out. ” The composite measure of physical health emerged as a significant predictor of adherence rate and gave perfect prediction of remainers and a moderate prediction of dropouts. No significant associations were observed between the social cognitive predictors and adherence. Results suggest that for this population physical health status is a better predictor of exercise adherence than either perceived self-efficacy or outcome expectancy.
Costs of managing severe hypoglycaemia in three European countries

Abstract Objectives: To assess the costs of severe hypoglycaemic events (SHEs) in diabetes patients in Germany, Spain and the UK. Methods: Healthcare resource use was measured by surveying 639 patients aged ≥16 years, receiving insulin for type 1 (n=319) or type 2 diabetes (n=320), who experienced ≥1 SHE in the preceding year. Patients were grouped by location of SHE treatment: group 1, community (family/domestic); group 2, community (healthcare professional); group 3, hospital. Costs were calculated from published unit costs applied to estimated resource use. Costs per SHE were derived from patient numbers per subgroup. Weighted average costs were derived using a prevalence database. Results: Hospital treatment was a major cost in all countries. In Germany and Spain, costs per SHE for type 1 patients differed from those for type 2 patients in each group. Average SHE treatment costs were higher for patients with type 2 diabetes (Germany, €533; Spain, €691; UK, €537) than type 1 diabetes patients (€441, €577 and €236, respectively). Telephone calls, visits to doctors, blood glucose monitoring and patient education contributed substantially to costs for non-hospitalised patients. Conclusions: Treatment of SHEs adds significantly to healthcare costs. Average costs were lower for type 1 than for insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, in all three countries.
Visual response properties of retinal ganglion cells in the royal college of surgeons dystrophic rat.

PURPOSE Alterations in retinal ganglion cell response patterns were profiled in dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (hereafter RCS) rats over the first 100 postnatal days as a baseline for retinal rescue and vision restoration strategies. This method enabled the evaluation of the extent to which postreceptoral neuronal attributes in degenerating retinas mirror inferred declines in photoreceptor function. METHODS Single-unit responses from large retinal ganglion cells were recorded from age-matched dystrophic RCS (RCS-rdy(-)) and congenic RCS-p(+) (hereafter wild-type or wt) rats were recorded in vitro under visual control. Cells were profiled with conventional spatial and flux stimulus modulations. RESULTS Ganglion cell single unit and population attributes alter slowly over the course of photoreceptor degeneration in dystrophic RCS rats, with significant decreases in apparent receptive field size, contrast sensitivity, and threshold sensitivity detected by the first month of life. Spatial frequency tuning and contrast responses were extremely weak by postnatal day (P)76, paralleled by a progressive decline in signal-to-noise (S-N) ratio to roughly unity by postnatal day (P)107. This decline was only a simple loss of responsivity, as background firing rates increased substantially over time. Whereas wt retinas were dominated by ON-center cells (15/23 cells), dystrophic animals were dominated by OFF-center cells by P47 (24/27 cells). CONCLUSIONS The first definitive signs of degeneration in dystrophic RCS rats are parallel decreases in ganglion cell threshold sensitivity and receptive field size, followed by deterioration in spatial summation. Arguably, these changes can be qualitatively explained as photoreceptor signaling losses. However, the apparent shift in population profile from ON- to OFF-center ganglion cells long before loss of the b-wave at P90 implies that a reactive mechanism such as bipolar cell rewiring and/or transformation of neuronal phenotypes occur during the early phase of photoreceptor stress, before rod and cone death.
Improving high‐resolution MR bold venographic imaging using a T1 reducing contrast agent

Recently, a new imaging method was proposed by Reichenbach et al (Radiology 1997;204:272–277) to image small cerebral venous vessels specifically. This method, referred to as high‐resolution blood oxygen level‐dependent venography (HRBV), relies on the susceptibility difference between the veins and the brain parenchyma. The resulting phase difference between the vessels and the brain parenchyma leads to signal losses over and above the usual T2* effect. At 1.5 T, a rather long TE (roughly 40 msec) is required for this cancellation to become significant, leading to enhanced susceptibility artifacts and a long data acquisition time. In this study, we examine the utility of incorporating a clinically available T1 reducing contrast agent, Omniscan (Sanofi Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, NY, NY), with the HRBV imaging approach to reduce susceptibility artifacts and imaging time while maintaining the visibility of cerebral veins. Using a double‐dose injection of Omniscan, we were able to reduce TE from 40 to 25 msec. This led to a decrease in TR from 57 to 42 msec, allowing a 26% reduction in data acquisition time while maintaining the visibility of cerebral venous vessels and reducing susceptibility artifacts. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:118–123, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bloodmeal Mass and Oviparity Mediate Host Avidity and DEET Repellency in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

ABSTRACT This study was made to determine the effects of bloodmeal mass and oviparity in Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) on continued host-seeking activity in female mosquitoes and efficacy of the repellent N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). There was a curvilinear relationship between bloodmeal mass in partially fed Ae. albopictus and host avidity with a threshold between 0.8 and 1.0 mg of ingested blood for reduced host seeking by female mosquitoes. Egg development and fecundity were related to bloodmeal mass, which also evoked significantly different mean host seeking rates in nulliparous and parous Ae. albopictus. The repellency of DEET to partially blood fed female mosquitoes depended on oviparity status and host avidity with repellent failure soonest in partially blood fed nullipars.
Exergy analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors partially covered by Photovoltaic module connected in series

In the present communication the Photovoltaic thermal water collectors partially covered by the photovoltaic modules have been analyzed. The analytical expressions in terms of climatic and design parameter for the temperature dependent electrical efficiency and the instantaneous thermal efficiency have been derived. Further the overall thermal energy and overall exergy exergy on daily basis have been computed for the clear sky condition for New Delhi climatic conditions in the month of January. The annual overall thermal energy and the annual overall exergy have been computed. Also the CO2 mitigation and price of CO2 mitigated in a year have been obtained.
The rd gene defect triggers programmed rod cell death. The Proctor Lecture.

Living cells consume energy-rich compounds, funneling, in a controlled series of incremental steps, the stored energy into packets of usable dimension. Restriction of an energy source or malfunctions in the mechanisms that underlie cellular functions can quench the life force of a cell, prompting the cell to die. The life force and the threshold for its extinction are fascinating issues that have motivated my investigations of retinal photoreceptors and their death as a consequence of inherited disease. My research has focused mainly on the inherited retinal degenerative disorders of rrfmice and rcdl Irish setter dogs. Accordingly, selected aspects of these investigations will be the dominate theme of this review. It was not always the case that I had an interest in vision research because, having been trained as a neurochemist, I came by back roads to the eye. The publications of three individuals were particularly important to my future commitment to vision research. Searching for an inherited disease of the central nervous system that appeared suitable for biochemical analysis, I was drawn to the inherited retinal degeneration (rd) of mice by the work of Richard Sidman. He published that the gene for rd was located on chromosome 5 of the mouse and that the rod photoreceptor population was depleted rapidly by cell death in early postnatal life. Years earlier, Claude Keeler had identified a similar disorder, which was named rodless. Having become lost for investigation, it was considered a genetic disease separate from rd. With improvement in techniques for genetic analysis, it has now been shown by Pittler et al that rodless and rd are the identical genetic defect. Warner K. Noell investigated the retina for two decades, seeking a unifying theory of photoreceptor cell death in a variety of lightor drug-induced condi-
Human-Inspired Bipedal Robotic Walking : From Theory to Experimental Implementation on AMBER

In this work, an approach towards experimental realization of underactuated bipedal robotic walking using human data is presented. Specifically, by studying experimental human walking data, we find that specific outputs of the human, i.e., functions of the kinematics, appear to be canonical to walking and are all characterized by a single function of time, termed a human walking function. Using the human outputs and walking function, we design a human-inspired controller that drives the output of the robot to the output of the human as represented by the walking function. The main result of this work is synthesis of a voltage based control law for rigid link electrically driven underactuated 2D bipedal robot. This result is demonstrated through the simulation and experimental implementation on a physical biped -AMBER. A state-based parameterization is introduced to remove time dependence and “Proportional feedback” control is used to track these functions. This leads to an autonomous feedback control law which results in stable, humanlike walking in two dimensions.
Structural Analysis of a Series of Copper(II) Coordination Compounds and Correlation with their Magnetic Properties

The chemistry of copper(II) is widely described in the literature due to its importance in various fields of research and because of the relative ease in the synthesis of new compounds. The magnetochemistry is one of these fields. However the results obtained with 'the magnetic methods' e. g. EPR and magnetic susceptibility, that may enable important insight in the properties of the compounds, are very often ambiguous. The structural correlation of the wide range of copper(II) complexes with the magnetic analysis can fulfil some gaps in this area. A series of copper(II) complexes, synthesized in our lab during the last decade, is discussed.
Outcome Analysis for Correction of Single Suture Craniosynostosis Using Resorbable Fixation

A retrospective review was performed on 63 patients at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite who underwent correction of single-suture craniosynostosis using a resorbable fixation system. Included in the series were 24 patients with metopic synostosis, 15 with sagittal synostosis, and 24 with unicoronal synostosis. The average age at operation was 22.7 months (range: 2.8 months–18 years), and mean follow-up time was 30.7 months (range: 7.1–10 years). Reoperation equal to or exceeding the magnitude of the original procedure occurred in 4.76% of the patients. This was comparable to the reoperation rate observed at our institution using traditional fixation systems. Minor complications related to the use of resorbable plates were also identified, and the final outcome for single-suture synostosis was favorable. Results suggest that resorbable plates and screws are as effective as titanium-based systems in the treatment of single-suture synostosis.