Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helicobacter pylori in gall bladder disease

In recent years, H. pylori has been detected in bile, liver and biliary epithelium obtained from patients with hepatobiliary diseases and is thought to be associated with these diseases. We, therefore, planned the present case control study to find the role of H. pylori in gall bladder disease through culture and serological studies. Serum and gall bladder tissue were obtained from 75 patients and only serum from 40 controls. Tissue was processed for smear and culture and sera were tested for presence of antibodies quantitatively by ELISA. H. py-lori was not detected by smear or culture from any sample, but statistically significant dif-ference was observed between patients and controls in positivity (80 % vs. 47.5%, p value < .05) as well as titres for antibodies against H. pylori (p value < .001). Statistically significant difference was observed between antibody levels in patients and controls. Further studies are required, to elucidate the role of Helicobacter in hepatobiliary diseases, especially with regard to the effective culture of the organisms from the biliary tree.
Fetal Echocardiography and Prenatal Cardiovascular Interventions - An Update (2012)

Fetal echocardiography has evolved considerably over the past 1-2 decades into an exciting field that bridges maternal-fetal medicine with neonatology and pediatric cardiology. With significant advances in imaging technology and experience in prenatal diagnosis, details of the cardiac pathology can now be defined much as it is postnatally; however, unique aspects of the fetal circulation limit our ability to consistently define lesion severity and to predict the evolution of cardiac defects after birth. Serial assessment has provided an understanding of the antenatal natural history of fetal heart disease, which has led to improved counseling and perinatal/neonatal management strategies. More recently, this field has focused on improving our evaluation of fetal arrhythmias, exploring the pathophysiology of fetal heart failure, detecting heart defects at earlier gestational ages, identifying novel interventions to alter the development and progression of severe disease, and investigating strategies to optimize prenatal and neonatal care in an effort to improve perinatal outcome of affected pregnancies. In this paper we will review the current state of the art of fetal/perinatal cardiology and the advances that have occurred in the field largely over the past decade.
Polyelectrolyte multilayer nanothin film coated long period grating fiber optic sensors for ammonia gas sensing

The formation of poly(acrylic acid), PAA, -anchored polyelectrolyte multilayers on an optical fibre long period grating (LPG) by the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique for highly sensitive ammonia gas detection is reported. PAA could act as a receptor for binding of amine compounds, especially ammonia, which would induce changes in the coating properties such as optical thickness (OT), film thickness/density and electrostatic interaction, thus influencing the transmission spectrum of the LPG. The ammonia binding is based on the acid-base interaction to free carboxylic acid groups of PAA. Film morphology and thickness changes due to the binding of ammonia gas, explaining the sensing mechanism, were confirmed through atomic force microscopic (AFM) measurements.
La maigreur et le surplus de poids chez l’enfant scolarisé en milieu rural de la Wilaya de Marrakech, Maroc

EnglishIn many developing countries, the prevalence of obesity is increasing gradually. Morocco does not escape this "epidemic" that seems linked to changing lifestyles, particularly diet and physical activity. This study was conducted among school children in rural areas of the Wilaya of Marrakesh in 2010. The sample consists of 487 students including 223 boys, aged 12 to 18 years. The assessment of nutritional status is performed from the Body Mass Index (BMI) according to the CDC curves. This study shows that 76% of students had a normal BMI and 24% had abnormal BMI values related to underweight and overweight (overweight and obesity). The prevalence of these two problems was higher in boys than in girls with a prevalence of 33.6%, against 16.4%. Overweight (overweight and obesity) is associated with the time spent a day in front of the TV. Indeed, it is particularly high among school children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a television screen. However no association has found between excess weight and the frequency of computer and internet. Also overweight and obesity are more observed in students who take a morning snack. Conclusion: This study has identified some factors favoring overweight in school children living in rural area of the Wilaya of Marrakesh which are sedentary behavior (time spent in front of a television screen) and the taking of the morning collation francaisDans de nombreux pays emergents, la prevalence de l’obesite augmente de facon progressive. Le Maroc n’echappe pas a cette "epidemie" qui semble liee a l’evolution des modes de vie et en particulier de l’alimentation et de l’activite physique. L’etude a ete realisee chez les enfants scolarises en milieu rural de la Wilaya de Marrakech en 2010. L’echantillon est constitue de 487 eleves dont 223 garcons, l’âge est compris entre 12 et 18 ans. L’evaluation de l’etat nutritionnel est realisee a partir de l’Indice de Masse Corporelle (IMC) suivant les courbes de CDC. Il ressort des resultats de cette etude que 76% des eleves avaient un IMC normal et 24% presentaient des valeurs anormales liees soit a la maigreur soit a la surcharge ponderale (surpoids et obesite). La prevalence de ces deux types de problemes etait plus importante chez les garcons que chez les filles avec une prevalence de 33,6%, contre 16,4%. La surcharge ponderale (surpoids et obesite) etait associee au temps passe devant un ecran de television et elle etait excedante chez les eleves qui prenaient une collation matinale. En effet, elle etait particulierement elevee chez les adolescents qui passaient plus de deux heures par jour devant un ecran de television. Cependant aucune association entre l’exces du poids et la frequence d’utilisation d’ordinateur et d’internet n’a ete notee. Conclusion: Cette etude a permis d’identifier certains facteurs favorisant l’exces de poids chez l’enfant scolarise habitant le milieu rural de la Wilaya de Marrakech qui sont le comportement sedentaire (temps passe devant un ecran de television) et l’habitude de prise de la collation matinale.
Decreased expression of stromal estrogen receptor α and β in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND Recently there has been an increased interest in the role of tumor-associated stroma in prostate tumorigenesis, but little is known about the respective roles of stomal ERα and ERβ in prostate cancer (PCa). This study characterizes the expression patterns of ERα and ERβ in tumor-associated stroma in association with various clinicopathological factors of importance in PCa prognosis and treatment. DESIGN Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against ERα and ERβ to characterize their expression patterns in PCa tissue. Stromal ER levels (ERα and ERβ) on tissue sections (n=47), were compared between tumor associated stroma and adjacent benign associated stroma. Immunohistochemistry was also performed on a PCa tissue microarray (TMA) (n=177) to correlate stromal expression with various clinicopathological parameters. The levels of ER nuclear expression were scored semi-quantitatively. RESULTS The expression levels of both ERα and ERβ were significantly lower in tumor-associated stroma than stroma surrounding benign prostatic glands on the same tissue section (ERα: p<0.01; ERβ: p=0.01). When correlated with clinicopathological factors, the level of ERα expression in tumor-associated stroma showed a positive correlation with Gleason score (R(2)=0.8638). The expression of ERα was higher in PCa with advanced tumor stage (p=0.05) and not significantly different in extraprostatic extension (p>0.05). The level of ERβ expression in tumor-associated stroma was decreased in patients older than 60 years compared to younger patients (p=0.01). CONCLUSION This study demonstrates significant down-regulation of ERα and ERβ expression in the tumor-associated stroma of PCa. However, the level of ERα expression in tumor-associated stroma shows a positive correlation with cancer differentiation and tumor stage.
Fusarium. A newly recognized fungal pathogen in immunosuppressed patients

Two cases of disseminated fungal infection due to Fusarium species, that occurred during a 4‐month period, are reported. Both patients had a myeloproliferative disorder for which they had received intensive cytotoxic and immunosuppressive therapy, and both died despite treatment with amphotericin B. This report and review of the recent literature suggest that Fusarium is emerging as a newly recognized fungal pathogen in immunosuppressed patients.
Multiple‐echo diffusion tensor acquisition technique (MEDITATE) on a 3T clinical scanner

This article describes the concepts and implementation of an MRI method, the multiple‐echo diffusion tensor acquisition technique (MEDITATE), which is capable of acquiring apparent diffusion tensor maps in two scans on a 3T clinical scanner. In each MEDITATE scan, a set of RF pulses generates multiple echoes, the amplitudes of which are diffusion weighted in both magnitude and direction by a pattern of diffusion gradients. As a result, two scans acquired with different diffusion weighting strengths suffice for accurate estimation of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters. The MEDITATE variation presented here expands previous MEDITATE approaches to adapt to the clinical scanner platform, such as exploiting longitudinal magnetization storage to reduce T2 weighting. Fully segmented multi‐shot Cartesian encoding is used for image encoding. MEDITATE was tested on isotropic (agar gel), anisotropic diffusion phantoms (asparagus) and in vivo skeletal muscle in healthy volunteers with cardiac gating. Comparisons of accuracy were performed with standard twice‐refocused spin echo (TRSE) DTI in each case and good quantitative agreement was found between diffusion eigenvalues, mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy derived from TRSE DTI and from the MEDITATE sequence. Orientation patterns were correctly reproduced in both isotropic and anisotropic phantoms, and approximately for in vivo imaging. This illustrates that the MEDITATE method of compressed diffusion encoding is feasible on the clinical scanner platform. With future development and employment of appropriate view‐sharing image encoding, this technique may be used in clinical applications requiring time‐sensitive acquisition of DTI parameters such as dynamical DTI in muscle. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bid Induces the Oligomerization and Insertion of Bax into the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane

ABSTRACT In many types of apoptosis, the proapoptotic protein Bax undergoes a change in conformation at the level of the mitochondria. This event always precedes the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, which, in the cytosol, activates caspases through binding to Apaf-1. The mechanisms by which Bax triggers cytochrome c release are unknown. Here we show that following binding to the BH3-domain-only proapoptotic protein Bid, Bax oligomerizes and then integrates in the outer mitochondrial membrane, where it triggers cytochromec release. Bax mitochondrial membrane insertion triggered by Bid may represent a key step in pathways leading to apoptosis.
Smartphone-Based Escalator Recognition for the Visually Impaired

It is difficult for visually impaired individuals to recognize escalators in everyday environments. If the individuals ride on escalators in the wrong direction, they will stumble on the steps. This paper proposes a novel method to assist visually impaired individuals in finding available escalators by the use of smartphone cameras. Escalators are recognized by analyzing optical flows in video frames captured by the cameras, and auditory feedback is provided to the individuals. The proposed method was implemented on an Android smartphone and applied to actual escalator scenes. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is promising for helping visually impaired individuals use escalators.
Comparison of remifentanil with alfentanil or suxamethonium following propofol anaesthesia for tracheal intubation

Sixty ASA physical status I and II, premedicated patients were administered propofol 2 mg.kg−1 and remifentanil 2 μg. kg−1 (group R), alfentanil 50 μg. kg−1 (group A) or suxamethonium 1 mg.kg−1 (group S) as a rapid bolus. One minute after study drug administration, tracheal intubation was performed. Intubation conditions were then scored. Excellent or good conditions were observed in only 35% in group R compared with groups S and A (100% and 85%, respectively; p < 0.001). The haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation was blunted in groups R and A compared with group S (p < 0.001). The mean heart rate in groups R and A was significantly lower than group S (p < 0.001). We conclude that remifentanil 2 μg. kg−1 given as a rapid bolus will not produce intubating conditions as good as those obtained with alfentanil 50 μg. kg−1 or suxamethonium 1 mg.kg−1 if administered after propofol 2 mg.kg−1.
Polarized distribution of α5 integrin in dendrites of hippocampal and cortical neurons

The distribution of immunoreactivity for the α5 subunit of the fibronectin receptor was evaluated in adult rat brain with particular interest in the cellular localization of immunostaining in the hippocampal formation and neocortex. Beyond localization to neuronal perikarya and short dendritic fragments within most brain areas, α5 immunoreactivity (‐ir) was particularly dense within primary apical dendrites of pyramidal cells in both hippocampus and neocortex and within the dendritic arbors of cerebellar Purkinje cells. In hippocampal and cortical pyramidal cells, immunostaining was clearly polarized: α5‐ir was not detectable in basal dendrites in hippocampal neurons and was limited to proximal arbors or absent from basal dendrites in pyramidal cells in superficial and deep layers of neocortex. Beyond this, α5‐ir was distributed within the dendritic ramifications of the dentate gyrus granule cells and within perikarya and dendrites of occasional nonpyramidal neurons. Developmental studies demonstrated that, in both hippocampus and neocortex, α5‐ir appears first within perikarya and is distributed to dendrites during the second postnatal week. These results are in accord with the broad hypothesis that integrins contribute to apical‐basal differences in dendrites and that the integrin fibronectin (α5β1) receptor, in particular, contributes to some late developing features of dendritic structure or function. J. Comp. Neurol. 435:184–193, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effects of abdominal irradiation for seminoma of the testis on gastrointestinal function

Abstract To evaluate the long‐term effects of abdominal irradiation for the treatment of seminoma of the testis on gastrointestinal function, 15 randomly selected patients who had been treated for stage I seminoma of the testis 2‐10 years previously had the following parameters of gastrointestinal function evaluated: gastrointestinal symptoms; absorption of bile acid; vitamin B12; lactose and fat; gastric emptying; small intestinal and total gut transit; and intestinal permeability. Results were compared to those obtained in 18 normal volunteers.
Power-saving mechanisms for mobile devices in wireless communications

In wireless communications, a sleep mode is commonly used to save power for mobile stations (MS). When there is no traffic to transmit, an MS periodically switches to sleep mode. Obviously, the performance of a power-saving mechanism depends on its sleep mode scheduling algorithm and the traffic characteristics of the user. In real systems, the power-saving mechanism of IEEE802.11 WLAN uses a constant sleep interval, and the IEEE802.16e WMAN adopts one with truncated exponentially extending sleep intervals denoted by PS-16, which contains constant sleep intervals as special cases. The two mechanisms are compared, resulting in the, finding that in the case of Poisson traffic, they have the same performance; whereas in the case of non-Poisson traffic PS-16 has better performance. For non-Poisson traffic, the performance of PS-16 lacks a closed form expression, which makes its design challenging. The authors propose to approximate the idle durations of an MS by hyper-exponentials, based on which an online sleep mode scheduling algorithm is developed. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Multiband NFC for High-Throughput Wireless Computer Vision Sensor Network

Vision sensors lie in the heart of computer vision. In many computer vision applications, such as AR/VR, non-contacting near-field communication (NFC) with high throughput is required to transfer information to algorithms. In this work, we proposed a novel NFC system which utilizes multiple frequency bands to achieve high throughput.
Model for Optimization of the UV‐A/Riboflavin Strengthening (cross‐linking) of the Cornea: Percolation Threshold

To achieve the maximum level of collagen strengthening within the shortest treatment time possible, we have developed a mathematical model which is used to optimize the process of corneal cross‐linking. This model is able to predict the temporal and spatial distribution of generated cross‐links within the corneal stroma and hence the increase in the elasticity modulus. Theory predicts corneal strengthening at low radiation intensities and the absence of the strengthening effect at radiation intensities above the threshold level, which agrees with the experimental results. The model takes account of the initial riboflavin concentration and bleaching, light intensity and time of illumination.
Footwear discrimination using dynamic tactile information

This paper shows that it is possible to differentiate among various type of footwear solely by using highly dimensional pressure information provided by a sensorised insole. In order to achieve this, a person equipped with two sensorised insoles streaming real-time tactile data to a computer performs normal walking patterns. The sampled data is further transformed and reduced to sets of time series which are used for the classification of footwear. The pressure sensor is formed as a footwear inlay and is based on piezoresistive rubber having 1024 tactile cells providing normal pressure information in the form of a tactile image. The data is transmitted in realtime wirelessly at 30 fps from two such sensors. The online classification is using the dynamic time warping distances for different extracted features to assess the most similar type of footwear based on time series similarities. The paper shows that various footwear types yield distinct tactile patterns which can be assessed by the proposed algorithm.
Transcription Factor IRF4 Regulates Germinal Center Cell Formation through a B Cell–Intrinsic Mechanism

In response to antigenic stimulation, mature B cells interact with follicular helper T cells in specialized structures called germinal centers (GCs), which leads to the development of memory B cells and Ab-secreting plasma cells. The transcription factor IFN regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is essential for the formation of follicular helper T cells and thus GCs, although whether IRF4 plays a distinct role in GC B cells remains contentious. RNAseq analysis on ex vivo-derived mouse B cell populations showed that Irf4 was lowly expressed in naive B cells, highly expressed in plasma cells, but absent from GC B cells. In this study, we used conditional deletion of Irf4 in mature B cells as well as wild-type and Irf4-deficient mixed bone marrow chimeric mice to investigate how and where IRF4 plays its essential role in GC formation. Strikingly, GC formation was severely impaired in mice in which Irf4 was conditionally deleted in mature B cells, after immunization with protein Ags or infection with Leishmania major. This effect was evident as early as day 5 following immunization, before the development of GCs, indicating that Irf4 was required for the development of early GC B cells. This defect was B cell intrinsic because Irf4-deficient B cells in chimeric mice failed to participate in the GC in response to L. major or influenza virus infection. Taken together, these data demonstrate a B cell–intrinsic requirement for IRF4 for not only the development of Ab secreting plasma cells but also for GC formation.
Identification of a mismatch-specific endonuclease in hyperthermophilic Archaea

The common mismatch repair system processed by MutS and MutL and their homologs was identified in Bacteria and Eukarya. However, no evidence of a functional MutS/L homolog has been reported for archaeal organisms, and it is not known whether the mismatch repair system is conserved in Archaea. Here, we describe an endonuclease that cleaves double-stranded DNA containing a mismatched base pair, from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. The corresponding gene revealed that the activity originates from PF0012, and we named this enzyme Endonuclease MS (EndoMS) as the mismatch-specific Endonuclease. The sequence similarity suggested that EndoMS is the ortholog of NucS isolated from Pyrococcus abyssi, published previously. Biochemical characterizations of the EndoMS homolog from Thermococcus kodakarensis clearly showed that EndoMS specifically cleaves both strands of double-stranded DNA into 5′-protruding forms, with the mismatched base pair in the central position. EndoMS cleaves G/T, G/G, T/T, T/C and A/G mismatches, with a more preference for G/T, G/G and T/T, but has very little or no effect on C/C, A/C and A/A mismatches. The discovery of this endonuclease suggests the existence of a novel mismatch repair process, initiated by the double-strand break generated by the EndoMS endonuclease, in Archaea and some Bacteria.
Effects of predator behavior and proximity on risk assessment by Columbian black-tailed deer

In predator-prey encounters, many factors influence risk perception by prey and their decision to flee. Previous studies indicate that prey take flight at longer distances when they detect predators at longer distances and when the predator's behavior indicates the increased likelihood of attack. We examined the flight decisions of Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) using an approaching human whose speed, directness of approach, directness of gaze, and simulated gun carrying varied. Deer fled at greater distances when approached more quickly and directly, and there was a concave-down quadratic trend in the relationship between the distances at which the predator began its approach and at which the deer became alert (alert distance [AD]), indicating that deer have a zone of awareness beyond which there is a delay in detecting an approaching predator. Time spent assessing the approacher (assessment time) was shorter during faster approaches and was positively related with AD. Deer fled at longer distances and had shorter assessment times when they were already alert to the predator at the initiation of approach. Males fled at shorter distances than females when approached during the gun-holding condition, and males had shorter assessment times than females when the approacher averted his gaze. Such sex differences in risk assessment might reflect male motivation during the mating season as well as exposure to human hunting. We suggest that risk assessment is affected the by the predator's behavior, the state of awareness of the prey, and the distance at which they detect the predator. Copyright 2006.