Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive characterization of chondrocyte cultures in plasma and whole blood biomatrices for cartilage tissue engineering

Many synthetic polymers and biomaterials have been used as matrices for 3D chondrocyte seeding and transplantation in the field of cartilage tissue engineering. To develop a fully autologous carrier for chondrocyte cultivation, we examined the feasibility of allogeneic plasma and whole blood‐based matrices and compared them to agarose constructs. Primary articular chondrocytes isolated from 12‐month‐old pigs were embedded into agarose, plasma and whole blood matrices and cultivated under static‐free swelling conditions for up to four weeks. To evaluate the quality of the synthesized extracellular matrix (ECM), constructs were subjected to weekly examinations using histological staining, spectrophotometry, immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis. In addition, gene expression of cartilage‐specific markers such as aggrecan, Sox9 and collagen types I, II and X was determined by RT‐PCR. Chondrocyte morphology was assessed via scanning electron microscopy and viability staining, including proliferation and apoptosis assays. Finally, 13 C NMR spectroscopy provided further evidence of synthesis of ECM components. It was shown that chondrocyte cultivation in allogeneic plasma and whole‐blood matrices promoted sufficient chondrocyte viability and differentiation behaviour, resulting in neo‐formation of a hyaline‐like cartilage matrix. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anemia and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy With Renal Function Decline and Cardiovascular Events in Chronic Kidney Disease

Background:Anemia is a common complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which may initiate or accelerate left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). This study is designed to assess whether the coexistence of anemia and LVH is independently associated with the rate of renal function decline and increased cardiovascular events in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5. Methods:This longitudinal study enrolled 415 patients, who were classified into 4 groups according to sex-specific median values of hemoglobin and with/without LVH. The change in renal function was measured by estimated glomerular filtration rate slope. Cardiovascular events were defined as cardiovascular death, hospitalization for unstable angina, nonfatal myocardial infarction, sustained ventricular arrhythmia, hospitalization for congestive heart failure, transient ischemia attack, and stroke. The relative risk of cardiovascular events was analyzed by Cox’s regression method. Results:The estimated glomerular filtration rate slope was significantly lower in the group with lower hemoglobin and LVH than in the other groups (P ⩽ 0.031). In addition, patients with lower hemoglobin and LVH were independently associated with increased cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 4.269; 95% confidence interval, 1.402–13.000; P = 0.011). Conclusions:Our findings showed that the coexistence of anemia and LVH was independently associated with faster renal function decline and poor cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CKD. Assessments of serum hemoglobin level and LVH by echocardiography may help identify a high-risk group of poor renal and cardiovascular prognosis in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5.
Electrical Characteristics of AlGaAs/GaAs Heterostructures With a Pair of 2-D Electron and Hole Channels

To make power devices with lower losses and higher power capabilities, superjunctions (SJs), based on GaN, GaAs, and related materials, are attractive. It is because they have higher breakdown fields than Si and allow the use of heterostructures, where highly conductive layers of 2-D electrons and holes can be formed. As a step toward such SJ devices, we have fabricated AlGaAs/GaAs four-terminal devices in which a pair of electron/hole channels is embedded. Transport properties of electrons and holes are studied by operating the devices as FETs in which the conductance of one channel is controlled by using the other as a gate. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics between the two channels are evaluated by operating the devices as p-n diodes. Measured characteristics are examined by comparing them with device simulations with a focus on the carrier depletion process in each channel.
A Novel Microfluidic Approach for Monodispersed Chitosan Microspheres with Controllable Structures

A novel and simple approach to prepare monodispersed chitosan microspheres with relative small size and controlled structures was developed by combining the solidification methods of solvent extraction and chemical crosslinking in a capillary-embedded microfluidic decive. The microspheres with different structures are used in the field of protein drug controlled release and immobilization lipases and they show different release profiles and good stability, respectively.
Taxonomy of some staphylococci and micrococci isolated from bovine teat canals and foremilks.

SUMMARY The taxonomy of 2404 cultures of Gram positive, catalase positive, nonmotile cocci was determined using Baird-Parker's (1963) classification. The bacteria were isolated from bovine teat canals and milk samples during 2 lactations of an experimental herd of cattle and their taxonomic positions were assessed on the basis of 8 reactions. Most were clearly assigned to typical subgroups, although some arabinose positive staphylococci and VP positive and phosphatase positive micrococci were atypical. Cultures representative of these and typical subgroups were examined in more detail using 25 reactions. Most cultures were again classified as being typical but it was shown that the atypical cultures were genuinely different from bacteria examined by Baird-Parker. A marked difference was found in the results of the phosphatase reaction on Baird-Parker's phosphatase medium and on that prepared with a different base used in this work. The atypical micrococci gave a negative result when tested on Baird-Parker's medium but their carbohydrate reactions still differentiated them from other subgroups. Carbohydrate oxidation tests varied in intensity depending on whether the medium was prepared as slopes or plates. The slopes gave a more intense reaction which persisted once a positive reaction occurred. The methods used provide additional means for epidemiological studies of Micrococcaceae in dairy herds.
Farnesoid X Receptor Activates Transcription of the Phospholipid Pump MDR3*

The human multidrug resistance gene MDR3 encodes a P-glycoprotein that belongs to the ATP-binding cassette transporter family (ABCB4). MDR3 is a critical trans-locator for phospholipids across canalicular membranes of hepatocytes, evidenced by the fact that human MDR3 deficiencies result in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type III. It has been reported previously that MDR3 expression is modulated by hormones, cellular stress, and xenobiotics. Here we show that the MDR3 gene is trans-activated by the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) via a direct binding of FXR/retinoid X receptor α heterodimers to a highly conserved inverted repeat element (a FXR response element) at the distal promoter (-1970 to -1958). In FXR trans-activation assays, both the endogenous FXR agonist chenodeoxycholate and the synthetic agonist GW4064 activated the MDR3 promoter. Deletion or mutation of this inverted repeat element abolished FXR-mediated MDR3 promoter activation. Consistent with these data, MDR3 mRNA was significantly induced by both chenodeoxycholate and GW4064 in primary human hepatocytes in time- and dose-dependent fashions. In conclusion, we demonstrate that MDR3 expression is directly up-regulated by FXR. These results, together with the previous report that the bile salt export pump is a direct FXR target, suggest that FXR coordinately controls secretion of bile salts and phospholipids. Results of this study further support the notion that FXR is a master regulator of lipid metabolism.
Food: a new form of personalised (gut microbiome) medicine for chronic diseases?

Filling in the knowledge gaps between what we eat and the diseases we develop may lie in our guts, literally. The human large intestine houses the largest reservoir of microorganisms in or on the human body. With a 100-fold greater gene count than humans, the gut microbiome has huge potential to place a large metabolic burden (or advantage) on its host. The number of diverse gut microbial species is diminished in nearly all modern chronic conditions studied. The ‘Western diet’, rich in animal protein, fats and artificial additives, and lacking in fibre, beneficial microbes, plant phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, is thought to drive these conditions by encouraging gut dysbiosis. Evidence from recent dietary intervention studies suggest adopting a plant-based, minimally processed high-fibre diet may rapidly reverse the effects of meat-based diets on the gut microbiome. However, recent work has shown that individual diet responses may be complicated by host genetics and the wide variation in the gut microbiome. Now that we measure genes and microbes more accurately, we are embarking on an exciting era of using both food and microbes as potential therapies.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Dually Diagnosed Anglo and Ethnic Minority Women Receiving Chemical Dependency Treatment

ABSTRACT This article examines racial/ethnic differences in a sample of 51 dually diagnosed women who received chemical dependency treatment. Comparisons are made between Anglo and racial/ethnic minority women at admission to the inpatient treatment program and at follow-up where data are available. Findings from a repeated measures design showed significant decreases in several problem domains for the overall sample. Significant racial/ethnic differences were found only for the other drugs domain. Anglo women reported greater decreases than racial/ethnic minority women in the majority of the domains. Findings suggest continued investigations to inform culturally competent treatment for all dually diagnosed women.
Towards the Formal Verification of a C0 Compiler: Code Generation and Implementation Correctnes

In the spirit of the famous CLI stack project the Verisoft project aims at the pervasive verification of entire computer systems including hardware, system software, compiler, and communicating applications, with a special focus on industrial applications. The main programming language used in the Verisoft project is C0 (a subset of C which is similar to MISRA C). This paper reports on (i) an operational small steps semantics for C0 which is formalized in Isabelle/HOL, (ii) the formal specification of a compiler from C0 to the DLX machine language in Isabelle/HOL, (iii) a paper and pencil correctness proof for this compiler and the status of the formal verification effort for this proof, and (iv) the implementation of the compiler in C0 and a formal proof in Isabelle/HOL that the implementation produces the same code as the specification.
Skeletal Retention of Bisphosphonate (Pamidronate) and Its Relation to the Rate of Bone Resorption in Patients With Breast Cancer and Bone Metastases

Bisphosphonate pharmacokinetics may affect individual responses. Skeletal retention of pamidronate infused monthly to patients with bone metastases was highly variable (12‐98%) and did not diminish with time, showing the capacity of the skeleton to retain large amounts of bisphosphonate. Relationships between skeletal retention of pamidronate and rate of bone resorption are complex and depend on previous treatment and the total amount of retained bisphosphonate.
Propofol and questionable lack of sedation

Sir, A 53-year old woman (55kg) with a mouth floor carcinoma presented for decortication of the mandibula. Other than having suspected alcohol abuse, she was healthy Because of technical failure a BIS module was not available. We decided nonetheless to proceed with a total intravenous anaesthesia. The induction was performed with 250 micrograms of fentanyl, 180mg of propofol and 30mg of atracurium. The initial propofol maintenance rate was 500mgh 1 and changed to 380mgh 1 after 5min. Because of a slowly increasing blood pressure after 40min, the patient received a bolus of 40mg of propofol and 1mg of alfentanil. Concomitantly, the propofol-drip was increased to 450mgh 1 and left unchanged until the surgery was abruptly terminated 40min later and the drapes were taken down. To our great surprise the patient was fully awake and responding to verbal commands. We were able to confirm a correctly running iv and administration of the anaesthetic (475mg usedover 65min). Extubated, the woman said she was pain free and had slept very well. Suspecting awareness we followed up on the patient after 4 and 24h. Each time she said that she was completely satisfied and could not remember anything about the procedure. No such case has been reported up to now in the literature. We now wonder if anybody has had a similar experience? W. Ruppen S. Ruesch G. Schüpfer P. Christen
An mRNA Surveillance Mechanism That Eliminates Transcripts Lacking Termination Codons

Translation is an important mechanism to monitor the quality of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), as exemplified by the translation-dependent recognition and degradation of transcripts harboring premature termination codons (PTCs) by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway. We demonstrate in yeast that mRNAs lacking all termination codons are as labile as nonsense transcripts. Decay of “nonstop” transcripts in yeast requires translation but is mechanistically distinguished from NMD and the major mRNA turnover pathway that requires deadenylation, decapping, and 5′-to-3′ exonucleolytic decay. These data suggest that nonstop decay is initiated when the ribosome reaches the 3′ terminus of the message. We demonstrate multiple physiologic sources of nonstop transcripts and conservation of their accelerated decay in mammalian cells. This process regulates the stability and expression of mRNAs that fail to signal translational termination.
Signature Generation using Shadow Honeypot

A novel behavioral detection framework is proposed to detect zero day buffer overflow vulnerabilities (based on network behavioral signatures) using zero-day exploits, ins tead of the signature-based or anomaly-based detection solution s currently available for IDPS techniques. At first we present the detection model that uses shadow honeypot. Our system is used for the online processing of network attacks and generating a beha vior detection profile. The detection profile represents the datas et of 112 types of metrics describing the exact behavior of malware in the network. In this paper we present the examples of generating be havioral signatures for two attacks – a buffer overflow expl oit on FTP server and well known Conficker worm. We demonstrated the visualization of important aspects by showing the differences bet we n valid behavior and the attacks. Based on these metrics we can detect attacks with a very high probability of success, th e process of detection is however very expensive. Keywords—behavioral signatures, metrics, network, security
6‐Sulphatoxymelatonin secretion in different locomotor activity types of the blind mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi

Abstract: 6‐Sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6S) excretion was examined in the urine of rhythmic and arrhythmic blind subterranean mole rats (Spalax ehrenbergi) to test the correlation between melatonin secretion (as represented by aMT6S) and variability in circadian locomotor activity. Activity pattern was tested in four males, first for a week under short photoperiod [light: dark (LD) 10: 14], followed by 10 days in constant darkness (DD). After several months the experiment was repeated under long photoperiod (LD 14: 10), followed by DD conditions. Under LD conditions all animals exhibited aMT6S excretion during the dark phase, with a decline just before the onset of light. No correlation was found between activity pattern and melatonin secretion. The animal with the highest melatonin secretion both under LD and DD had an arrhythmic locomotor pattern. The results suggest that in mole rats melatonin secretion and circadian locomotor activity are controlled by two different mechanisms. There were large differences in the aMT6S levels among individuals, suggesting the importance of duration of melatonin secretion over amplitude for gonadal development and thermoregulatory changes. During summer, i.e., before the breeding season, the animals keep a more stable aMT6S secretion than in winter, and the amplitude of secretion is higher under DD vs. LD conditions.
Nutrients in Water and Sediments of King Talal Dam-Jordan.

Abstract * صخلملا Samples of water and sediments were collected from three sites along the main body of King Talal Dam (KTD) in the period between Spring 2007 and Winter 2008. The sites represent the middle point of KTD (site A), its deepest area (site B) and its outlet or intake point (site C). Samples were collected from surface and near-bottom water during four seasons within the study period, while the sediment samples were collected during dry (summer) and wet (winter) seasons within the same study period. In addition to temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH, water samples were analyzed for nitrate (NO3 - ), nitrite (NO2 - ), ammonia (NH3), dissolved inorganic phosphate-phosphorus; DIP (PO 4 - ), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) contents. Sediments samples were analyzed for grain size distribution, organic matter, total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN). Nutrients in water fluctuated in space, depth and time. Nitrogen species concentrations were highest during spring, while higher phosphorus species concentrations were recorded during winter. However, nutrients showed significant differences between seasons and insignificant differences between sites and between depths. The concentrations of nutrients in the water were generally less than their concentrations in the sediments. Nutrients in sediments showed more or less similar general trend of spatial distribution, where maximum values occurred in site A and site B during winter, and most of the pollutants decreased towards the far end of the dam at its outlet or intake point (site C). The concentrations of nutrients were higher in the clay-silt size fraction (<63μm), which has higher organic matter contents compared to the larger size fractions. The results of the present study agree with and confirm the results of many previous studies which indicated that water and sediments of KTD are polluted due to many anthropogenic and natural sources. The results and its relationships with these sources are discussed in details.
A self‐adaptive load‐dispatching control framework for device data accessing in IoT‐based systems

The Internet of things (IoT) information system plays important roles in disposing of huge volumes of real‐time service requests from heterogeneous devices, targeting for different complex application requirements. Load‐dispatching control (LDC) is a key problem to be solved for devices accessing concurrently in cluster systems. Self‐adaptive LDC optimizes the resource allocation to ensure no overloading node, thus, improving the performance of IoT systems. This paper focuses on adaptive dispatching control problem in IoT information system. First, a device data access platform is proposed for reducing the load imbalance and improving the efficiency of data processing. Then, we propose a processing capability prediction model to evaluate the system performance. On the basis of the model, we present a practical self‐adaptive LDC framework with a self‐adaptive control strategy and a load dispatching method. Finally, a case study is given to verify the framework and the control strategy. Experimental results show that the proposed strategy can meet the requirements of dynamic load balancing with the ability to avoid the load imbalance problem, and the LDC‐based device access platform can process data accessing effectively and ubiquitously.
Blunted Neural Response to Rewards as a Prospective Predictor of the Development of Depression in Adolescent Girls.

OBJECTIVE A blunted neural response to rewards has recently emerged as a potential mechanistic biomarker of adolescent depression. The reward positivity, an event-related potential elicited by feedback indicating monetary gain relative to loss, has been associated with risk for depression. The authors examined whether the reward positivity prospectively predicted the development of depression 18 months later in a large community sample of adolescent girls. METHOD The sample included 444 girls 13.5-15.5 years old with no lifetime history of a depressive disorder, along with a biological parent for each girl. At baseline, the adolescents' reward positivity was measured using a monetary guessing task, their current depressive symptoms were assessed using a self-report questionnaire, and the adolescents' and parents' lifetime psychiatric histories were evaluated with diagnostic interviews. The same interview and questionnaire were administered to the adolescents again approximately 18 months later. RESULTS A blunted reward positivity at baseline predicted first-onset depressive disorder and greater depressive symptom scores 18 months later. The reward positivity was also a significant predictor independent of other prominent risk factors, including baseline depressive symptoms and adolescent and parental lifetime psychiatric history. The combination of a blunted reward positivity and greater depressive symptom scores at baseline provided the greatest positive predictive value for first-onset depressive disorder. CONCLUSIONS This study provides strong converging evidence that a blunted neural response to rewards precedes adolescent-onset depression and symptom emergence. Blunted neural response may therefore constitute an important target for screening and prevention.
Global Climate Variations Over the Past 250 Years: Relationships with the Middle East

We analyze recent global temperature reconstructions over several centuries in time based on calibrations of tempera- ture patterns against global networks of long instrumental and "proxy" data (natural archives such as ice cores, corals, and tree rings), focusing on long-term climatic variations in the Middle East. The pattern of global warming of the past century does not show a strong influence in this region. Instead, patterns of natural low-frequency variability appear to dominate the region. One of these patterns is associated with the well-known "North Atlantic Oscillation" and leads to changes on interannual and decadal timescales. Another distinct pattern appears to relate to influences of low-frequency variability in the North Atlantic ocean circulation and overlying atmosphere circulation, and describes changes that are predominantly multidecadal in timescale. This latter pattern is especially important in predicting possible climate change scenarios in future decades in this region.