Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sirolimus and FK778: a comparison of two anti‐proliferative immunosuppressants for prevention of experimental obliterative airway disease

This study examined the efficacies of sirolimus and the novel immunosuppressive agent FK778 to prevent obliterative airway disease (OAD). Tracheae from Brown–Norway donors were heterotopically transplanted in the greater omentum of Lewis rats. Recipients were treated for 28 days with sirolimus (0.5 or 2 mg/kg), FK778 (5 or 20 mg/kg), or combination regimens (0.5 + 5 mg/kg, 2 + 20 mg/kg). Tracheal segments were evaluated for degree of luminal obliteration, percentage of luminal epithelial cell coverage, and peritracheal infiltration. In vitro smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and migration assays were performed to assess direct nonimmune‐related effects of the drugs. Sirolimus 2 mg/kg and FK778 20 mg/kg effectively reduced graft infiltration and prevented airway obliteration, whereas FK778 5 mg/kg was insufficient. Sirolimus 0.5 mg/kg at least showed moderate inhibitory effects on luminal obliteration and graft infiltration. Combination regimens revealed no significant beneficial effects. Both sirolimus and FK778 barely showed preserved epithelial coverage. Within the range of relevant concentrations, FK778 showed more potent anti‐proliferative and anti‐migratory effects on SMC in vitro than sirolimus. Both agents proved effective to prevent OAD development without preserving relevant amounts of epithelium. The anti‐proliferative potency on SMCs seems to be an especially important mechanism for FK778. De novo combination regimens revealed no beneficial interaction and thus remain doubtful.
Severe aortic stenosis without left ventricular hypertrophy: prevalence, predictors, and short-term follow up after aortic valve replacement.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study in patients with severe aortic stenosis was to assess the prevalence of absent left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (determined according to mass criteria), to identify predictors of absent LVH, and to assess short-term left ventricular adaptation and prognosis after aortic valve replacement. METHODS: Left ventricular mass (LVM) was determined by echocardiography in 109 men and 101 women with severe aortic stenosis (mean pressure gradient < or = 50 mm Hg). LVH was defined as LVM > or = 109 g/m2 in women and LVM > or = 134 g/m2 in men. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty nine patients showed LVH (group 1) (90%; mean (SD) age 65 (14) years), and 21 showed no LVH (group 2) (10%, age 57 (21) years P = 0.02 for difference in age). Twelve (6%) of those without LVH had increased relative wall thickness (that is, > or = 0.45 with LV concentric remodelling) and nine (4%) showed no macroscopically detectable hypertrophic adaptation. The following variables were associated with the absence of LVH: low body surface area, low body mass index, and increased cardiac index. 76/210 patients were followed up a mean of six months after aortic valve replacement. The frequency of adequate ventricular adaptation to the decreased afterload after aortic valve replacement was higher in patients with LVH than in those without. Mortality six months after aortic valve replacement was lower, but not significantly, in patients with LVH (7.6%) than in those without LVH (12.5%, P = 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: A tenth of patients with severe aortic stenosis did not develop LVH according to mass criteria; 4% of the patients did not have any macroscopic signs of myocardial adaptation to the pressure overload despite longstanding disease. Small body size was independently associated with lack of LVH according to mass criteria. Six months after aortic valve replacement, ventricular adaptation was more often adequate in patients with LVH than in those without.
Accurate characterization of embedded Structure from Motion

Trajectory estimation and 3d scene reconstruction from single camera, e.g. Structure from Motion, is going to have a central role in the future of automotive industry. Typical appliance fields will be: collisions avoidance with any kind of object (people included), parking assisted maneuvers and many more. Indeed various countries are becoming more and more concerned about road traffic safety and therefore through its “Advanced Program”, EuroNCAP rewards vehicle manufacturers who employ Advanced Safety Technologies that assists the driver. This paper had mainly two different goals: (1) to describe the implementation of a state of art Structure from Motion pipeline able to run in real time with embedded fish-eye camera, which includes nonlinear optimization (i.e. local bundle adjustment); (2) to demonstrate quantitatively its performances on a synthetic test space specifically designed for its characterization in term of accuracy.
Accurate analysis and design of dual-feed circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna based on multiport network model

Multiport network model (MNM) is considered as one of the best models to analyze and design of microstrip patch antennas (MPAs). This model includes several circuit networks, each representing one characteristic of the MPA. In this paper, a circularly polarized MPA is designed using the MNM. For producing the circular polarization, two probe feeds are used in the antenna E-plane and H-plane, respectively. These probes have currents with equal amplitudes and 90 degree phase difference. In order to increase the accuracy of design, mutual coupling between the patch edges is considered. The validity and accuracy of design, is affirmed with attention to the different curves of the antenna parameters. With analysis of the achieved results, new and deep insight for the MPAs' operation is accrued.
Comparative Effects of Different Balance-Training-Progression Styles on Postural Control and Ankle Force Production: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

CONTEXT Despite the effectiveness of balance training, the exact parameters needed to maximize the benefits of such programs remain unknown. One such factor is how individuals should progress to higher levels of task difficulty within a balance-training program. Yet no investigators have directly compared different balance-training-progression styles. OBJECTIVE To compare an error-based progression (ie, advance when proficient at a task) with a repetition-based progression (ie, advance after a set amount of repetitions) style during a balance-training program in healthy individuals. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Research laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 28 (16 women, 12 men) physically healthy young adults (age = 21.57 ± 3.95 years, height = 171.60 ± 11.03 cm, weight = 72.96 ± 16.18 kg, body mass index = 24.53 ± 3.7). INTERVENTION(S) All participants completed 12 supervised balance-training sessions over 4 weeks. Each session consisted of a combination of dynamic unstable-surface tasks that incorporated a BOSU ball and lasted about 30 minutes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Static balance from an instrumented force plate, dynamic balance as measured via the Star Excursion Balance Test, and ankle force production in all 4 cardinal planes of motion as measured with a handheld dynamometer before and after the intervention. RESULTS Selected static postural-control outcomes, dynamic postural control, and ankle force production in all planes of motion improved (P < .05). However, no differences between the progression styles were observed (P > .05) for any of the outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS A 4-week balance-training program consisting of dynamic unstable-surface exercises on a BOSU ball improved dynamic postural control and ankle force production in healthy young adults. These results suggest that an error-based balance-training program is comparable with but not superior to a repetition-based balance-training program in improving postural control and ankle force production in healthy young adults.
Declining liver graft quality threatens the future of liver transplantation in the United States

National liver transplantation (LT) volume has declined since 2006, in part because of worsening donor organ quality. Trends that degrade organ quality are expected to continue over the next 2 decades. We used the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database to inform a 20‐year discrete event simulation estimating LT volume from 2010 to 2030. Data to inform the model were obtained from deceased organ donors between 2000 and 2009. If donor liver utilization practices remain constant, utilization will fall from 78% to 44% by 2030, resulting in 2230 fewer LTs. If transplant centers increase their risk tolerance for marginal grafts, utilization would decrease to 48%. The institution of “opt‐out” organ donation policies to increase the donor pool would still result in 1380 to 1866 fewer transplants. Ex vivo perfusion techniques that increase the use of marginal donor livers may stabilize LT volume. Otherwise, the number of LTs in the United States will decrease substantially over the next 15 years. In conclusion, the transplant community will need to accept inferior grafts and potentially worse posttransplant outcomes and/or develop new strategies for increasing organ donation and utilization in order to maintain the number of LTs at the current level. Liver Transpl 21:1040‐1050, 2015. © 2015 AASLD.
Invitation to cervical cancer screening does increase participation in Germany: Results from the MARZY study

The effect of different invitation models on participation in cervical cancer screening (CCS) was investigated in a randomized population‐based cohort study in Germany. Participants were randomly selected via population registries and randomized into intervention Arm A (invitation letter) and Arm B (invitation letter and information brochure) or control Arm C (no invitation). The intervention and control arms were compared with regard to 3‐year participation and the two invitation models were compared between intervention arms. Of the 7,758 eligible women aged 30–65 years, living in the city of Mainz and in the rural region of Mainz‐Bingen, 5,265 were included in the analysis. Differences in proportions of women attending CCS were investigated and logistic regression was performed to analyze various factors influencing participation. In the intervention group, 91.8% participated in CCS compared to 85.3% in the control group (p < 0.0001), with a 6.6 percentage point increase in participation [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6–8.6] and an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.69 (95% CI 2.15–3.37). Effect estimators increased to 21.9 percentage points (95% CI 16.7–27.1) and an OR of 3.64 (95% CI 2.74–4.82), respectively, when women who participated in screening annually were excluded from the analysis. The invitation letter was particularly effective among women with lower school education, migrant women and older women. No difference in participation was found between the intervention Arm A and Arm B. An accompanying information brochure did not motivate more women to undergo CCS. However, a written invitation statistically significantly increased participation in CCS in Germany.
Analog Circuit Blocks for 80-GHz Bandwidth Frequency-Interleaved, Linear, Large-Swing Front-Ends

Critical analog electronic circuits for a possible 80-GHz bandwidth, frequency-interleaved, PAM-4 or discrete-multitone (DMT) linear fiber-optic front-end are implemented in a 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. These include a novel vertically coupled, 40-100-GHz bandpass filter, an 80-GHz bandwidth distributed optical modulator driver with a measured output compression point of 13 dBm per side, corresponding to 7 Vpp output differential swing, and a 125-GHz bandwidth PIN-diode SPST switch with a OP1-dB of 23 dBm, and over 22 dB of isolation up to 160 GHz. The linear modulator driver can also be used as a high linearity (IP1-dB = 5 dBm per side) receiver amplifier in next-generation instrumentation systems.
The pathophysiology of McArdle's disease: clues to regulation in exercise and fatigue.

Muscle phosphorylase deficiency (McArdle's disease) has conventionally been considered a disorder of glycogenolysis, and the associated impairment in oxidative metabolism has been largely overlooked. Muscle glycogen normally is the primary oxidative fuel at exercise work loads requiring more than 75-80% of maximal O2 uptake (VO2max). Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that a limited flux through the Embden-Myerhof pathway in McArdle's disease reduces the capacity to generate NADH required to support a normal VO2max. The extent of the oxidative defect is substrate dependent; i.e., it can be partially corrected by increasing the availability of alternative oxidative substrates (e.g., glucose, free fatty acids) to working muscle. Experiments employing modification of substrate availability closely link the hyperkinetic circulatory response to exercise (i.e., an abnormally large increase in O2 transport to skeletal muscle) and the premature muscle fatigue and cramping of McArdle patients with their oxidative impairment and suggest that a metabolic common denominator in these abnormal responses may be a pronounced decline in the muscle phosphorylation potential ([ATP]/[ADP][Pi]). The hyperkinetic circulation likely is mediated by the local effects on metabolically sensitive skeletal muscle afferents and vascular smooth muscle of K+, Pi, or adenosine or a combination of these substances released excessively from working skeletal muscle. The premature muscle fatigue and cramping of McArdle patients does not appear to be due to depletion of ATP but is associated with an increased accumulation of Pi and probably ADP in skeletal muscle. Accumulations of Pi and ADP are known to inhibit the myofibrillar, Ca2+, and Na+-K+-ATPase reactions.
Global Genome Transcription Profiling of Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010 under In Vitro Conditions and Identification of Reference Genes for Quantitative Real-Time PCR

ABSTRACT Bifidobacteria have attracted significant scientific attention due to their perceived role as health-promoting microorganisms, although the genetics of the bacterial group is still underexplored. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome of Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010 during in vitro growth by microarray technology. When B. bifidum PRL2010 was grown in liquid broth, 425 of the 1,644 PRL2010 genes represented on the array were expressed in at least one of the three investigated growth phases, i.e., the lag, exponential, and stationary phases. These transcriptional analyses identified a core in vitro transcriptome encompassing 150 genes that are expressed in all phases. A proportion of these genes were further investigated as potential reference genes by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. Their expression stability was evaluated under different growth conditions, which included cultivation on different carbon sources, exposure to environmental stresses (thermal, acidic, and osmotic), and growth phases. Our analyses validated six reference genes suitable for normalizing mRNA expression levels in qRT-PCR experiments applied to bifidobacteria.
Linking Two Worlds? Entrepreneurial Orientation in Public Enterprises: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Contemporary public enterprises differ from their forebears. Today, they are more similar to private enterprises, receiving far more attention than previously, when privatization processes all over the world were in the spotlight. Furthermore, the broad research stream of entrepreneurship has so far neglected the consideration of public enterprises. To set a future research agenda, the author examines the dispersed literature using an integrative and organizing framework to identify major topics and research findings. This paper reviews articles that investigate the entrepreneurship in contemporary public enterprises. Despite the growing scholarly interest globally, this systematic literature review indicates there is no more than a loose connection between the literature streams of public entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. Specifically, the review shows that the multidimensional concept of entrepreneurial orientation has thus far been ignored, although autonomy plays a significant role in the literature review, namely in the context of the interference of the public owner. It also reveals other essential research gaps, such as the development of a modern theory of public enterprises. The linked research stream of public‐sector corporate entrepreneurship offers a broad area of scholarly research and should encourage further investigation.
Cloning and characterization of a Prevotella melaninogenica hemolysin

Hemolysins have been proven to be important virulence factors in many medically relevant pathogenic organisms. Their production has also been implicated in the etiology of periodontal disease. Hemolytic strain 361B of Prevotella melaninogenica, a putative etiologic agent of periodontal disease, was used in this study. The cloning, sequencing, and characterization of phyA, the structural gene for a P. melaninogenica hemolysin, is described. No extensive sequence homology could be identified between phyA and any reported sequence at either the nucleotide or amino acid level. As predicted from sequence analysis, this gene produces a 39-kDa protein which has hemolytic activity as measured by zymogram analysis. Unlike many Ca2+-dependent bacterial hemolysins, both the cloned and native PhyA proteins were enhanced by the presence of EDTA in a dose-dependent fashion with 40 mM EDTA allowing maximum activity. Ca2+ and Mg2+ were found to be inhibitory. The hemolytic activity also was found to have a dose-dependent endpoint. Through recovery of hemolytic activity from a spent reaction, this endpoint was shown to be the result of end product inhibition. This is the first report describing the cloning and sequencing of a gene from P. melaninogenica.
Age-related differences in body composition by hydrodensitometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

To determine whether percent body fat (%BF) is overestimated in older people by hydrodensitometry (HD) because of an age-related decrease in bone mineral content (BMC), body composition of 113 women and 72 men (21-81 yr) was assessed by HD and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). DEXA provides an estimate of %BF adjusted for differences in BMC. HD %BF and DEXA %BF were not different in young people [21-39 yr; 17.6 +/- 6.4 (SD) vs. 17.6 +/- 7.2%, NS], were slightly, but significantly, different in middle-aged people (40-59 yr; 25.5 +/- 6.4 vs. 24.1 +/- 6.7%, P < 0.05), and showed the largest disparity in older people (> or = 60 yr; 34.9 +/- 7.9 vs. 30.8 +/- 8.7%, P < 0.05). The discrepancy in older people was apparently not due to mineral loss, however, inasmuch as correction of HD %BF for variance in BMC as a fraction of fat-free mass resulted in only small adjustments (approximately 1%) of %BF. Assessment of DEXA %BF was further evaluated in nine subjects with packets of lard (2-3 kg) overlying either the thigh or the trunk region. Only 55% of the exogenous fat was identified as fat when it was in the trunk region compared with 96% when it was positioned over the legs. These data suggest that the age-related increase in upper body adipose tissue is underestimated by DEXA.
Re‐transplants compared to primary kidney transplants recipients: a mate kidney paired analysis of the OPTN/UNOS database

Outcomes of kidney re‐transplant recipients (RTR) were compared to primary recipients (FTR) from paired donor kidneys. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) database was used to identify deceased donors (n = 6266) who donated one kidney to an RTR and the mate kidney to an FTR between January 2000 to December 2010. As compared to FTR, RTR were younger (45 vs. 52 yr, p < 0.001) and had higher proportion of plasma reactive antibody >80 (25% vs 7%, p < 0.001). There were higher 0 mismatches in RTR (19% vs. 16%, p < 0.001). There were more pre‐emptive transplants in RTR (24% vs. 21%, p = 0.002). Delayed graft function (28% vs. 25%, p = 0.007) was higher in RTR. Patient survival was similar in FTR and RTR groups at one, three, and five yr (95.7%, 90.2%, and 82.5% vs. 95.2%, 89.8% and 82.7%). Allograft survival rates were higher in FTR group compared to RTR group at one, three, and five yr (91.1%, 82.4%, and 70.9% vs. 87.8%, 77.4%, and 66.1% p < 0.001). Death‐censored allograft survival rates were higher in FTR group at one, three, and five yr (91.3%, 82.7% and 71.4% vs. 88%, 77.7% and 66.5% p < 0.001). In today's era of modern immunosuppression, graft survival in RTR has improved but remains inferior to FTR when controlling for donor factors.
Glucose Utilization Rates and Insulin Sensitivity In Vivo in Tissues of Virgin and Pregnant Rats

In vivo studies have shown that insulin resistance in late pregnancy results from a decreased sensitivity of liver and peripheral tissues. In the present study, measurements of the rates of glucose utilization by skeletal muscles (soleus, extensor digitorum longus, epitrochlearis, and diaphragm), white adipose tissue, and brain of virgin and 19-day pregnant rats were performed in the basal condition and during a euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic (400 μU/ml) clamp to quantify the partition of glucose utilization and to identify the tissues other than liver responsible for insulin resistance. Fetal and placental glucose utilization rates were also measured in pregnant rats. The fetal glucose utilization rate (22 mg/min/kg) was very high and was not stimulated by physiologic maternal hyperinsulinemia. By contrast, the placental glucose utilization rate (29 mg/ min/kg) was increased by 30% during hyperinsulinemia. The glucose utilization rate of the conceptus represented 23% of the maternal glucose utilization rate in the basal state. Glucose utilization rates in the basal condition were not statistically altered by pregnancy in brain, skeletal muscles, and white adipose tissue. During hyperinsulinemia (400 μU/ml), glucose utilization rates in extensor digitorum longus, epitrochlearis, and white adipose tissue were 30–70% lower in pregnant than in virgin rats. Insulin sensitivity of glucose metabolism in all the tissues tested other than brain was 50% lower in pregnant than in virgin rats. We conclude that skeletal muscles and, to a smaller extent, adipose tissue are involved in the insulin resistance of late pregnancy.