Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cell Therapy for Diabetic Neuropathy

A debilitating consequence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is neuropathy which globally affects between 20 -30% of diabetic patients and up to 50% [1, 2]. The lifetime incidence of diabetic neuropathy (DN) is estimated to be up to 45% for type 2 diabetic patients and 59% for type 1 diabetic patients in USA. The risk of DN rises with age, duration of DM, and vascular disease. Characterized by damages in the arms and legs, peripheral neuropathy is the most common complication of DM. The pathophysiology of DN is promoted by several risk factors: microvascular disease, neural hypoxia, and hyperglycemia-induced effects. At the molecular level, the primary cause of diabetic complications is known to be hyperglycemia, which disrupts cellular metabolism by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the aspect of nerve functions, ROS formation increases neuron’s susceptibility to damage. In addition, hyperglycemia impedes production of angiogenic and neurotrophic growth factors, which are necessary for normal function of neurons and glial cells and maintenance of vascular structure. The most common presentation of nerve damage due to the effects of hyperglycemia is neuropathic pain. Peripheral neuropathy may cause foot deformities such as hammertoes and unnoticed sores and infections in the numb areas of the foot. Improperly treated infection frequently extends to the bone and requires an amputation of the foot. There have not been any definitive disease-modifying treatments to reverse DN. The current treatment focuses on tight glycemic control which can reduce potential risk factors for further nerve damage and DN-associated pain management. In many studies, deficiency of neurotrophic factors and lack of vascular support have been regarded as key factors in the development DN. Therefore, cell therapy has recently emerged as an attractive therapeutic strategy to meet the needs of both neurotrophic and vascular deficiencies of DN.
Radio resource allocation for physical-layer security in D2D underlay communications

Device-to-Device (D2D) communications have been proposed recently to improve the spectral efficiency. In this paper, we consider physical-layer security in D2D communication as an underlay to cellular networks with an eavesdropper. Benefiting from the underlaid spectrum reuse, D2D users can contribute to the system secrecy capacity, while D2D users may interfere the cellular users and decrease their secrecy capacity. We formulate this problem as a matching problem in the weighted bipartite graph and introduce the Kuhn-Munkres (KM) algorithm to provide the optimal solution. Simulation results show that the system secrecy capacity can be greatly improved by introducing D2D communications underlaying cellular networks.
The Use of Electronic Health Records in Spanish Hospitals

The aims of this study were to describe the level of adoption of electronic health records in Spanish hospitals and to identify potential barriers and facilitators to this process. We used an observational cross-sectional design. The survey was conducted between September and December 2011, using an electronic questionnaire distributed through email. We obtained a 30% response rate from the 214 hospitals contacted, all belonging to the Spanish National Health Service. The level of adoption of electronic health records in Spanish hospitals was found to be high: 39.1% of hospitals surveyed had a comprehensive EHR system while a basic system was functioning in 32.8% of the cases. However, in 2011 one third of the hospitals did not have a basic electronic health record system, although some have since implemented electronic functionalities, particularly those related to clinical documentation and patient administration. Respondents cited the acquisition and implementation costs as the main barriers to implementation. Facilitators for EHR implementation were: the possibility to hire technical support, both during and post implementation; security certification warranty; and objective third-party evaluations of EHR products. In conclusion, the number of hospitals that have electronic health records is in general high, being relatively higher in medium-sized hospitals.
Dual Promoters Control Expression of the Bacillus anthracis Virulence Factor AtxA

ABSTRACT The AtxA virulence regulator of Bacillus anthracis is required for toxin and capsule gene expression. AtxA is a phosphotransferase system regulatory domain-containing protein whose activity is regulated by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of conserved histidine residues. Here we report that transcription of the atxA gene occurs from two independent promoters, P1 (previously described by Dai et al. [Z. Dai, J. C. Sirard, M. Mock, and T. M. Koehler, Mol. Microbiol. 16:1171-1181, 1995]) and P2, whose transcription start sites are separated by 650 bp. Both promoters have −10 and −35 consensus sequences compatible with recognition by σA-containing RNA polymerase, and neither promoter depends on the sporulation sigma factor SigH. The dual promoter activity and the extended untranslated mRNA suggest that as-yet-unknown regulatory mechanisms may act on this region to influence the level of AtxA in the cell.
A Design Approach for Intelligent Speed Adaptation System Using Hybrid Controller

Millions of road users and pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents each year. The need to increase road safety is one of the major concerns, and the better way to increase safety is to develop systems which are able to automatically drive. The authors have tried to extract the information of sharpness of curves on the road and have presented the system which will provide the Intelligent Speed Adaptation. The data thus acquired is fed into the network, which controls steering, brake and throttle of the vehicle. Experimental results have shown that the proposed system is able to correctly adapt its speed according to the curvature of the road, in the same way that human do. The paper is concluded with exploring the processing of data on suitable image processing tool/platform as future scope.
Expression of Integrin αvβ6 and TGF-β in Scarless vs Scar-forming Wound Healing

Oral mucosal wounds heal with reduced scar formation compared with skin. The epithelial integrin αvβ6 is induced during wound healing, and it can activate fibrogenic transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and anti-fibrogenic TGF-β3 that play key roles in scar formation. In this study, expression of β6 integrin and members of the TGF-β pathway were studied in experimental wounds of human gingiva and both gingiva and skin of red Duroc pigs using real-time PCR, gene microarrays, and immunostaining. Similar to human wounds, the expression of β6 integrin was induced in the pig wounds 7 days after wounding and remained upregulated >49 days. The αvβ6 integrin was colocalized with both TGF-β isoforms in the wound epithelium. Significantly higher expression levels of β6 integrin and TGF-β1 were observed in the pig gingival wounds compared with skin. Early gingival wounds also expressed higher levels of TGF-β3 compared with skin. The spatio-temporal colocalization of αvβ6 integrin with TGF-β1 and TGF-β3 in the wound epithelium suggests that αvβ6 integrin may activate both isoforms during wound healing. Prolonged expression of αvβ6 integrin along with TGF-β3 in the gingival wound epithelium may be important in protection of gingiva from scar formation.
HoME: a Household Multimodal Environment

We introduce HoME: a Household Multimodal Environment for artificial agents to learn from vision, audio, semantics, physics, and interaction with objects and other agents, all within a realistic context. HoME integrates over 45,000 diverse 3D house layouts based on the SUNCG dataset, a scale which may facilitate learning, generalization, and transfer. HoME is an open-source, OpenAI Gym-compatible platform extensible to tasks in reinforcement learning, language grounding, sound-based navigation, robotics, multi-agent learning, and more. We hope HoME better enables artificial agents to learn as humans do: in an interactive, multimodal, and richly contextualized setting.
Validation of FLAIR Hyperintense Lesions as Imaging Biomarkers to Predict the Outcome of Acute Stroke after Intra-Arterial Thrombolysis following Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator

Background: Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) given within 4.5 h of symptom onset is accepted as the standard treatment of ischemic stroke. Persistent occlusion of cerebral arteries despite intravenous thrombolysis and unremitting neurologic deficits lead us to consider additional intra-arterial approaches. The aim of this study was to elucidate the potential of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI performed during or immediately after intravenous thrombolysis for predicting clinical outcomes of subsequent intra-arterial thrombolysis. Methods: With a prospective stroke registry database of patients hospitalized in our institution from January 2004 to February 2010, we identified ischemic stroke patients with the following conditions: (1) presentation within 2.5 h of onset, (2) treated with intravenous tPA based on brain CT, (3) persistent occlusion on subsequent MRI/MR angiography, including a FLAIR sequence, and (4) eventually treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis. Demographic, clinical and laboratory findings including initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), follow-up NIHSS at the 7th day or discharge, modified Rankin scale (mRS) score at 3 months, and symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation were captured. FLAIR images were reviewed by 2 investigators blinded to clinical information independently and dichotomized into the absence and presence of FLAIR change within the diffusion-restriction lesions. Results: Of the 57 patients who met these conditions, FLAIR-hyperintense lesions (FHL) were observed in 32 (56.1%). The FHL-negative group was 69.1 ± 12.1 years old on average and the FHL-positive group 67.3 ± 11.0 years old. In both groups, hypertension was the most common vascular risk factor, cardioembolic stroke was the most common subtype, and distal middle cerebral artery was the most common site of occlusion. The incidence of symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation was 4.0% in the FHL-negative group and 9.4% in the FHL-positive group (p = 0.62). NIHSS scores of 0-1 on the 7th day of hospitalization or at discharge were observed in 36% of the FHL-negative group and in 9.4% of the FHL-positive group; mRS scores of 0-1 at 3 months was 32% in the FHL-negative group and 21% in the FHL-positive group. An ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of FHL was associated with higher 7-day NIHSS scores (adjusted for relevant covariates) but not with higher 3-month mRS scores. Conclusions: This study suggests that the FHL might be used as imaging biomarker to predict outcomes for additional intra-arterial thrombolysis in patients treated with intravenous tPA.
Impact of Bacterial Biomass on Contaminant Sorption and Transport in a Subsurface Soil

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of bacterial biomass on the sorption and transport of three solutes (quinoline, naphthalene, and 45Ca) in a subsurface soil. Miscible displacement techniques were employed to measure sorption and transport of the above compounds during steady, saturated water flow in sterile and/or bacterium-inoculated soil columns. The soil was inoculated with either a quinoline-degrading bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. 3N3A isolate, or its mutant isolate, B53, which does not degrade quinoline. In soil columns inoculated with the B53 and 3N3A isolates, quinoline sorption was reduced by about 60 and 20%, respectively. In contrast, 45Ca sorption was minimally reduced, which indicated that biomass did not significantly alter the cation-exchange capacity of the soil. Biomass impacts on sorption were solute specific, even when the sorption mechanism for both quinoline and 45Ca was similar. Thus, the differential response is attributed to biomass-induced changes in quinoline speciation; an increase in pH at the sorbent-water interface would result in a larger proportion of the neutral species and a decrease in sorption. Sorption of naphthalene was reduced by about 30%, which was attributed to accessibility of hydrophobic regions. Minimal biosorption of all solutes indicated negligible biofacilitated transport. Alteration of the soil surfaces upon addition of bacterial biomass reduced sorption of quinoline and naphthalene, thereby enhancing transport.
Information Learned from Monitoring Microblogs during the 2014 Seasonal Flu Vaccination in Brazil

We present preliminary data and information collected from microblogs during the 2014 seasonal flu vaccination in Brasil. A quantitative analysis of tweets compiled over 50 days is reported. A categorization analysis of these tweets in three major axis: content, qualifier and links, is described and preliminary results are revealed. A comparison with the data collected during the H1N1 outbreak in USA is also disclosed.
Molecular insights into the normal operation , regulation and multisystemic roles of K +-Cl − cotransporter 3 ( KCC 3 )

Long before the molecular identity of the Na+-dependent K+-Cl− cotransporters was uncovered in the mid-nineties, a Na+-independent K+-Cl− cotransport system was also known to exist. It was initially observed in sheep and goat red blood cells where it was shown to be ouabain-insensitive and to increase in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). After it was established between the early and mid-nineties, the expressed sequence tag (EST) databank was found to include a sequence that was highly homologous to those of the Na+-dependent K+-Cl− cotransporters. This sequence was eventually found to code for the Na+-independent K+-Cl− cotransport function that was described in red blood cells several years before. It was termed KCC1 and led to the discovery of three isoforms called KCC2, KCC3 and KCC4. Since then, it has become obvious that each one of these isoforms exhibits unique patterns of distribution and fulfill distinct physiological roles. Among them, KCC3 has been the subject of great attention in view of its important role in the nervous system and its association with a rare hereditary sensorimotor neuropathy (called Andermann syndrome) that affects many individuals in Québec province (Canada). It was also found to play important roles in the cardiovascular system, the organ of Corti and circulating blood cells. As will be seen in this review, however, there are still a number of uncertainties regarding the transport properties, structural organization and regulation of KCC3. The same is true regarding the mechanisms by which KCC3 accomplishes its numerous functions in animal cells.
Head Movement Effects in a Cost-Effective Virtual Reality Training Environment for Balance Rehabilitation

Falling is a major risk to the health and quality of life for the elderly and for those with vestibular impairment. Virtual environments have been investigated in the past for their potential for vestibular rehabilitation. In this study, a low cost, off-the-shelf virtual reality game was evaluated for user head movements. Two levels of difficulty were used in the training, conducted in five sessions over the course of one week. Subjects felt very immersed in the environment and game performance increased gradually. Lateral head movements were recorded consistently throughout the training period and between difficulty levels, with a range of 60° left and right. Performance on standard balance tests after training also showed improvement. This suggests that this readily available virtual reality game could be used in balance rehabilitation.
Development of a method for fabricating polypropylene non-articulated dorsiflexion assist ankle foot orthoses with predetermined stiffness

Background: A non-articulated plantarflexion resist ankle foot orthosis (AFO), commonly known as a posterior leaf spring AFO, is indicated for patients with motor impairment to the dorsiflexors. The AFO is often custom molded to a patient's lower limb anatomy and fabricated from polypropylene. There are no established guidelines for fabricating this type of AFO with predetermined stiffness of the ankle region for normal walking speeds. Therefore an AFO may not meet the biomechanical needs of the patient. Objectives: Quantify the biomechanical ankle stiffness requirement for an individual with complete dorsiflexor impairment and develop a method for fabricating an AFO with ankle stiffness to meet that requirement. Study Design: Experimental, bench research. Methods: The literature on sagittal biomechanics of non-pathological adults was reviewed to derive the stiffness of the ankle during loading response. Computer models of 144 AFOs were created with geometric variations to account for differences in human anthropometrics. Computer-based finite element analysis was employed to determine the stiffness and safety factor of the models. Results: Stiffness of the AFOs ranged from 0.04 to 1.8 Nm/deg. This ample range is expected to account for the stiffness required for most adults with complete dorsiflexor impairment. At 5° deflection the factor of safety (ratio of strength to stress) ranged from 2.8 to 9.1. A computer program was generated that computes AFO stiffness from user-input variables of AFO geometry. The stiffness is compared to a theoretically appropriate stiffness based on the patient mass. The geometric variables can be modified until there is a close match, resulting in AFO design specification that is appropriate for the patient. Conclusion: Through validation on human subjects, this method may benefit patient outcomes in clinical practice by avoiding the current uncertainty surrounding AFO performance and reducing the labor and time involved in rectifying a custom AFO post-fabrication. Clinical relevance This method provides an avenue for improving patient outcomes by avoiding the current uncertainty surrounding non-articulated plantarflexion resist ankle foot orthosis performance. The ability to quantify the biomechanical ankle stiffness requirement for an individual with complete dorsiflexor impairment provides insight into how other AFO types should be designed as well.
Sexual health of teenagers in England and Wales: analysis of national data

This paper reviews national routine data pertaining to sexual ill health among teenagers in England and Wales; birth and termination statistics from the Office for National Statistics; and reports from sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics. There were 86,174 conceptions among females under age 20 in 1996, of which 30,296 were terminated and 55,878 led to still or live births. Rates of pregnancy termination among teenagers rose in 1996 compared with 1995--by 14.5% in under-16 year olds and by 12.5% in 16-19 year olds. Maternity rates also rose in the two age groups, by 6.7% and 4.6%, respectively. When data were combined for 1995-96 and analyzed by health district for females under age 16 (a Health of the Nation indicator), substantial inequalities were found. Termination rates varied from 2.2 to 10.5 per 1000 and live births from 1.1 to 9.9 per 1000, the highest rates being in urban districts. Teenage birth rates in England and Wales were the highest in western Europe. There were 2272 cases of gonorrhea reported among teenagers aged 16-19 years attending STD clinics in 1996. Compared to 1995 data, the numbers increased by 34% in women and 30% in men. Sexual health should be a priority for coordinated national and local health promotion among young people.
Major impact of an early bone marrow checkpoint (day 21) for minimal residual disease in flow cytometry in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The early persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD) is considered a poor prognostic factor indicative of chemoresistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In French children, chemosensitivity is assessed at day 21 post‐induction by cytomorphology. Here, it was investigated whether a more precise evaluation could be obtained at this time point with multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC).
The effects of temporal and event uncertainty in determining the waveforms of the auditory event related potential (ERP).

In each of two experimental conditions, subjects were presented with a series of tones; one of two tones (1500 Hz or 1000 Hz) was presented on each trial with a probability respectively of . 10 or . 90. The subjects counted the rare (p=.10) tones; such counted rare tones are normally associated with a large P300 component. The two conditions differed in that in one the tunes were triggered by the subject's button press; in the other the tones were triggered by computer. Schafer and Marcus (1973) reported that all the components of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by self-triggered tones were substantially smaller than those elicited by machine-triggered stimuli. Our paradigm allowed a detailed assessment of the effects of self-stimulation on specific ERP components as well as the interaction of temporal with event uncertainty. Data were analyzed using a Principal Components technique. Both temporal and event uncertainty appeared to augment a negative component of the ERP with approximately 140 msec latency. Such effects, however, were confounded by the presence of slow negative potentials preceding the button press in the self-stimulation conditions. As expected, the P300 component was largest for the ERPs elicited by the rare tones. Temporal uncertainty diminished the amplitude of P300 at central electrode sites. A large slow wave was present following P300; its anterior-posterior distribution was altered by mode of stimulus presentation. It appears that temporal and event uncertainty have distinct effects upon the morphology and distribution of KRP components.
Chronic fatigue syndrome after Q fever.

BACKGROUND Q fever is a common and acute but rare chronic zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Its acute form manifests as atypical pneumonia, flu-like syndrome, or hepatitis. Some authors observed symptoms of chronic fatigue in a small number of patients after the acute phase of Q fever; in many cases serological assay confirmed the activity of Coxiella burnetii infection. The effect of antibiotic therapy on post-Q-fever fatigue syndrome has not been studied in south-east Europe thus far. CASE REPORTS Three patients are presented with post-Q-fever fatigue syndrome. All fulfilled the CDC criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. IgA antibodies to phase I of the growth cycle of Coxiella burnetii were positive in two patients and negative in one. Two patients were treated with doxycycline for two weeks in the acute phase of illness and one with a combination of erythromycin and gentamycin. After 4-12 months they developed post-Q-fever fatigue syndrome and were treated with intracellular active antibiotics (fluoroquinolones and tetracycline) for 3-12 months. Efficacy of the treatment was observed in two patients, but in one patient the results were not encouraging. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest the possibility of the involvement of Coxiella burnetii infection in the evolution of chronic fatigue syndrome. This is the first report on post-Q-fever fatigue syndrome in Mediterranean countries. Evidence of IgA antibodies to phase I of the growth cycle of Coxiella burnetii is not a prerequisite for establishing a diagnosis of CFS. The recommendation of antibiotic treatment in post-Q-fever fatigue syndrome requires further investigation.