Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histopathological and cytological examination of autopsy cases with multiple organ dysfunction syndromes

To evaluate the role of small scavenger receptor A (SRA)‐positive (SRA+) cells and large SRA+ cells in the peripheral blood (PB) in the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS), 24 autopsy cases with MODS were examined. In addition to histopathological and immunohistochemical examination, cytokine levels of cardiac blood, the SRA index (number of small SRA+ cells in 10 high power fields, upper limit <30), and appearance of large SRA+ cells in PB were examined. The SRA index exceeded 30 in all cases. Large SRA+ cells and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α+ cells were detected in PB in all cases. Macrophage colony stimulating factor (M‐CSF), interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐8 levels exceeded the normal level in all cases, and 18 and 15 cases had TNF‐α and IL‐1β levels above the normal threshold, respectively. Lung injury and necrosis of cardiac myocyte were observed in all cases. Neutrophils and platelets accumulated in the capillaries of injured organs and endothelial cells were extensively injured. From these results, large SRA+ cells differentiated from monocytes in PB were considered to play an important role in the development of MODS, and necrosis of cardiac myocytes together with lung injury might be the leading cause of death in MODS patients.
Joint modeling of two longitudinal outcomes and competing risk data

Aortic gradient and aortic regurgitation are echocardiographic markers of aortic valve function. Both are biomarkers repeatedly measured in patients with valve abnormalities, and thus, it is expected that they are biologically interrelated. Loss of follow‐up could be caused by multiple reasons, including valve progression related, such as an intervention or even the death of the patient. In that case, it would be of interest and appropriate to analyze these outcomes jointly. Joint models have recently received much attention because they cover a wide range of clinical applications and have promising results. We propose a joint model consisting of two longitudinal outcomes, one continuous (aortic gradient) and one ordinal (aortic regurgitation), and two time‐to‐events (death and reoperation). Moreover, we allow for more flexibility for the average evolution and the subject‐specific profiles of the continuous repeated outcome by using B‐splines. A disadvantage, however, is that when adopting a non‐linear structure for the model, we may have difficulties when interpreting the results. To overcome this problem, we propose a graphical approach. In this paper, we apply the proposed joint models under the Bayesian framework, using a data set including serial echocardiographic measurements of aortic gradient and aortic regurgitation and measurements of the occurrence of death and reoperation in patients who received a human tissue valve in the aortic position. The interpretation of the results will be discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Study confirms passive smoking increases coronary heart disease

A combined meta-analysis of 18 studies dealing with the possible dangers of passive smoking has concluded that smoke from another person's cigarette can increase a non-smoker's risk of heart disease by 25 The increase is “small,” authors of the analysis said, but they warned that, because of the widespread use of cigarettes, “the public health consequences of passive smoking with regard to coronary heart …
Histoplasma capsulatum Yeasts Are Phagocytosed Via Very Late Antigen-5, Killed, and Processed for Antigen Presentation by Human Dendritic Cells1

Histoplasma capsulatum (Hc) is a facultative, intracellular parasite of world-wide importance. As the induction of cell-mediated immunity to Hc is of critical importance in host defense, we sought to determine whether dendritic cells (DC) could function as a primary APC for this pathogenic fungus. DC obtained by culture of human monocytes in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4 phagocytosed Hc yeasts in a time-dependent manner. Upon ingestion, the intracellular growth of yeasts within DC was completely inhibited compared with rapid growth within human macrophages. Electron microscopy of DC with ingested Hc revealed that many of the yeasts were degraded as early as 2 h postingestion. In contrast to macrophages, human DC recognized Hc yeasts via the fibronectin receptor, very late Ag-5, and not via CD18 receptors. DC stimulated Hc-specific lymphocyte proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner after phagocytosis of viable and heat-killed Hc yeasts, but greater proliferation was achieved after ingestion of viable yeasts. These data demonstrate that human DC can phagocytose and degrade a fungal pathogen and subsequently process the appropriate Ags for stimulation of lymphocyte proliferation. In vivo, such interactions between DC and Hc may facilitate the induction of cell-mediated immunity.
Quality of life outcomes in pregnancy and postpartum complicated by hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth

Health problems can develop during a pregnancy, turning it into a high risk. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth as risk factors for health-related quality of life (HRQL) and depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and postpartum. A prospective, longitudinal study was performed with three assessments. Ninety women were recruited in the study including 29 controls. HRQL was measured using the WHO-QOL-BREF questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA and the chi-square test to explore HRQL and depressive symptoms between three pregnancy risk groups and controls. Women of the preterm group had statistically significant higher depression scores and lower HRQL scores on the physical domain during pregnancy than those without complications. Women with hypertensive disorders showed the second most depressive symptoms. Physical and global HRQL improved and depressive symptoms decreased significantly from late pregnancy and early postpartum period to late postpartum. Pregnant specific health problems, especially the risk for preterm delivery is associated with more depressive symptoms and decreased HRQL in pregnancy. Guidance and communication for these women is important. The counseling should be multi professional to reduce childbirth burdens.
Deflazacort in Duchenne dystrophy: Study of long‐term effect

A randomized double‐blind controlled trial of deflazacort was conducted in 28 Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients either treated with deflazacort 2.0 mg/kg alternate‐day therapy or placebo. The deflazacort group showed significant improvement in climbing stairs (P < 0.01), in rising from a chair, Gower's maneuver, and walking (P < 0.0025) after 6 months of treatment. After 1 year, all the above changes remained significantly improved and the MRC index was significantly better (P < 0.05) in the treated croup. After 2 years, a significant change was found in the MRC index: higher scores in walking, chair rising (P < 0.02), and grade and time of Gower's maneuver (P < 0.05) were found. The mean time for loss of ambulation for the treated group after we started the trial was 20.5 ± 11 months; for the placebo group it was 33.2 ± 9 months (placebo vs. deflazacort group, P < 0.05). Our treated patients lost their ambulation at a median age of 11.8 years vs. 10.5 years in the placebo group. Side effects were mild, consisting of moderate weight gain and slight behavioral changes. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Antigens recognized on a melanoma cell line by autologous cytolytic T lymphocytes are also expressed on freshly collected tumor cells

Peripheral blood lymphocytes of a melanoma patient were stimulated in vitro with a permanent cell line derived from the autologous tumor. Stable cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones were obtained that lysed the melanoma cell line and did not lyse autologous Epstein‐Barr virus‐transformed B lymphocytes or K‐562 cells. These CTL clones were directed against two distinct antigens on the melanoma line. In view of the possibility that these antigens could be culture artefacts, we tested the stimulatory ability of tumor cells that had been freshly collected from metastatic relapses on the CTL clones. A considerable CTL proliferation was observed and it appeared to be specific. We conclude that the antigens recognized by the autologous CTL clones on the permanent melanoma cell line were expressed by the tumor cells in the patient.
Constraining the dark energy dynamics with the cosmic microwave background bispectrum

We consider the influence of the dark energy dynamics at the onset of cosmic acceleration on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) bispectrum, through the weak lensing effect induced by structure formation. We study the line of sight behavior of the contribution to the bispectrum signal at a given angular multipole $l$: we show that it is non-zero in a narrow interval centered at a redshift $z$ satisfying the relation $l/r(z)\simeq k_{NL}(z)$, where the wavenumber corresponds to the scale entering the non-linear phase, and $r$ is the cosmological comoving distance. The relevant redshift interval is in the range $0.1\lsim z\lsim 2$ for multipoles $1000\gsim\ell\gsim 100$; the signal amplitude, reflecting the perturbation dynamics, is a function of the cosmological expansion rate at those epochs, probing the dark energy equation of state redshift dependence independently on its present value. We provide a worked example by considering tracking inverse power law and SUGRA Quintessence scenarios, having sensibly different redshift dynamics and respecting all the present observational constraints. For scenarios having the same present equation of state, we find that the effect described above induces a projection feature which makes the bispectra shifted by several tens of multipoles, about 10 times more than the corresponding effect on the ordinary CMB angular power spectrum.
Millimeter-wave antenna measurement

A novel approach is presented to accurately measure the scattering parameters as well as the radiation pattern of planar antennas that operate in the millimeter-wave frequency band. To avoid interconnection problems, RF probes have been used to connect to the antenna. These RF probes are normally used for the characterisation of devices on a semiconductor wafer. Here, they are used to characterise antennas that can be realised in any planar manufacturing technology. A completely planar transition is designed to transform the coplanar waveguide transmission line that is required by the RF probe to a microstrip line. It is shown that this transition can be de-embedded from the measurements. Moreover, a measurement setup has been built for the measurement of the far-field radiation pattern of millimeter-wave antennas and antenna arrays. This setup allows to connect the antenna under test with an RF probe and can measure the radiation pattern in the whole upper hemisphere.
In vivo models for Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐associated B cell lymphoproliferative disease (BLPD)

EBV infects B lymphocytes in vivo and establishes a life‐long persistent infection in the host. The latent infection is controlled by EBV‐specific MHC class 1‐restricted CTL. Immunosuppression reduces CTL activity, and this facilitates outgrowth of EBV+ve B cell lymphoproliferative disease (BLPD). BLPD are aggressive lesions with high mortality.
Development of symbolic play through the use of virtual reality tools in children with autistic spectrum disorders

Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being possible to show these imaginary transformations explicitly. This article reports two case studies of children with autism (aged 8:6 and 15:7, both male), examining the effectiveness of using a VR tool specifically designed to work on teaching understanding of pretend play. The results, confirmed by independent observers, showed a significant advance in pretend play abilities after the intervention period in both participants, and a high degree of generalization of the acquired teaching in one of them.
Antimicrobial Activity of Brown Alga Eisenia bicyclis against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract We screened for antibacterial substances against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Methanolic extract of Eise-nia bicyclis exhibited anti-MRSA activity according to a disk diffusion assay. To identify the active compound(s), the methanolic extract was further fractionated using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and n -butanol. The ethyl acetate-soluble fraction showed both the greatest anti-MRSA activity and the highest polyphenol content. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the ethyl acetate fraction ranged from 32 to 64 μg per mL against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and MRSA strains. High-perfor-mance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that both the methanolic extract and the ethyl acetate soluble fraction contained sizeable quantities of dieckol, which is a known anti-MRSA compound. Thus, these data strongly suggest that the anti-MRSA activity of E. bicyclis may be mediated by phlorotannins such as dieckol. Key words: Anti-MRSA activity,
Effects of artificial substrates on growth, spatial distribution and non-specific immunity factors of Litopenaeus vannamei in the intensive culture condition.

In order to investigate the effects of artificial substrates on shrimp growth, spatial distribution and non-specific immunity factors, such as phenoloxidase (PO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), antibacterial activity (Ua), lysozyme (Ul) and hemolysin activity, 30-day old Litopenaeus vannamei post-larvae (PL30) were reared intensively for 60 days at a density of 500 shrimp m -2 of water surface area in each of 8 PVC aquaria (1.0×1.0×1.5m, water surface area 1 m -2 , water volume 1000 L). Two aquaria containing no artificial substrate were a control group, and 1, 2 and 3 artificial substrates were present in other 6 aquaria. Shrimp growth (gain in weight), survival and yield increased significantly (P<0.05) when more artificial substrates were added. The percentage of shrimp on artificial substrates increased with increasing number of artificial substrates and rearing time. As for non-specific immunity factors, the activities of PO, Ua, Ul, POD, SOD and hemolysin of groups with artificial substrates were lower than those of control group significantly (P<0.05). With an increasing number of artificial substrates, the activities of PO, Ua, Ul, POD and hemolysin reduced, but SOD activity increased. It was suggested that artificial substrates could alleviate the negative effect of the high stocking density by providing well living environment for shrimp.
Temporal Pattern of (Re)tweets Reveal Cascade Migration

Twitter has recently become one of the most popular online social networking websites where users can share news and ideas through messages in the form of tweets. As a tweet gets retweeted from user to user, large cascades of information diffusion are formed over the Twitter follower network. Existing works on cascades have mainly focused on predicting their popularity in terms of size. In this paper, we leverage on the temporal pattern of retweets to model the diffusion dynamics of a cascade. Notably, retweet cascades provide two complementary information: (a) inter-retweet time intervals of retweets, and (b) diffusion of cascade over the underlying follower network. Using datasets from Twitter, we identify two types of cascades based on presence or absence of early peaks in their sequence of inter-retweet intervals. We identify multiple diffusion localities associated with a cascade as it propagates over the network. Our studies reveal the transition of a cascade to a new locality facilitated by pivotal users that are highly cascade dependent following saturation of current locality. We propose an analytical model to show co-occurrence of first peaks and cascade migration to a new locality as well as predict locality saturation from interretweet intervals. Finally, we validate these claims from empirical data showing co-occurrence of first peaks and migration with good accuracy; we obtain even better accuracy for successfully classifying saturated and non-saturated diffusion localities from inter-retweet intervals.
Genetic heterogeneity of autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia

Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH) is characterized by isolated elevation of plasmatic low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol associated with high risk of premature cardiovascular complications. More than 1000 mutations in the LDLR gene and 9 in the APOB gene have been implicated. We have shown further heterogeneity with the discovery of missense mutations in the PCSK9 gene resulting in ADH. Different studies have tried to evaluate the respective contribution of mutations in each gene to the disease, but results were not always in agreement. After a brief overview of mutations reported for each gene, strategies and results of these different studies are reviewed and analyzed. Altogether, numerous reports give evidence for the existence of a greater level of genetic heterogeneity in ADH and the involvement of still unknown genes.
Production , Manufacturing and Logistics A deterministic EOQ model with delays in payments and price-discount offers

It is the purpose of this paper to model the retailer’s profit-maximizing strategy when confronted with supplier’s trade offer of credit and price-discount on the purchase of merchandise. Generally, retailers have to face many types of demands for different kinds of goods. In real situation, retailers have to correlate between the selling price and supplier’s trade offer, keeping in mind profit-maximization strategy. In the proposed model, all increasing deterministic demands are discussed analytically, numerically and graphically in the environment of permissible delay in payment and discount offer to the retailer. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene Polymorphisms and Vitreous Proteome Changes in Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract Ischemic retinal diseases, particularly diabetic retinopathy, continue to significantly impact vision and remain a leading cause of vision loss in working-aged adults. Identifying specific genetic risk factors for ischemic-driven pathways that increase susceptibility to developing diabetic retinopathy is a priority to allow development of accurate risk assessment algorithms, employ earlier intervention, and design novel treatment strategies to reduce the associated visual complications. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VEGF gene have been shown to influence the expression of the VEGF protein. Several studies suggest that SNPs in the VEGF gene mediate genetic predisposition to diabetic retinopathy. In addition, alterations in the vitreous proteome, including carbonic anhydrase mediated vascular permeability, have been found to be associated with sight-threatening proliferative diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Inhibition of these factors could provide new therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
Monitoring of brown stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) population dynamics in corn to predict its abundance using weather data

The brown stink bug (BSB), Euschistus servus (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a serious economic pest of corn production in the southeastern United States. The BSB population dynamics was monitored for 17 weeks from tasseling to preharvest of corn plants (i.e., late May to mid‐September) using pheromone traps in three corn fields from 2005 to 2009. The trap data showed two peaks in early June and mid‐August, respectively. The relationship between trap catch and pregrowing season weather data was examined using correlation and stepwise multiple factor regression analyses. Weather indices used for the analyses were accumulated growing degree day (AGDD), number of days with minimum temperature below 0 °C (Subz), accumulated daily maximum (AMaxT) and minimum temperatures (AMinT) and rainfall (ARain). The weather indices were calculated with lower (10 °C) and upper (35 °C) as biological thresholds. The parameters used in regression analysis were seasonal abundance (or overall mean of BSB adult catch) (BSBm), number of BSB adults caught at a peak (PeakBSB), and peak week (Peakwk). The BSBm was negatively related to high temperature (AmaxT or AGDD) consistently, whereas 1stPeakBSB was positively correlated to both ARain and Subz, irrespective of weather data durations (the first 4, 4.5, and 5 months). In contrast, the 7‐month weather data (AGDD7) were negatively correlated to the BSBm only, but not correlated to the second PeakBSB. The 5‐year monitoring study demonstrated that weather data can be used to predict the BSB abundance at its first peak in tasseling corn fields in the southeastern U.S. states.
Detection of platelet-associated immunoglobulins by flow cytometry for the diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenia: a prospective study and critical review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Flow cytometry (FC) to identify platelet-associated (PA) immunoglobulin (Ig) is a potentially useful diagnostic test for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). However, the restricted application of PAIg measurement to thrombocytopenic populations primarily comprised of ITP patients will artificially enhance the test's diagnostic specificity. For this reason, we performed a prospective study in which the results of a sensitive technique for detecting PAIg, as is FC, were correlated to the cause of the thrombocytopenia. DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 118 patients with platelet counts <100 x 10(9)/L and 30 normal donors with a platelet count >200 x 10(9)/L were studied for PAIg employing a flow cytometer. Forty-two children and 20 adults were diagnosed as having immune thrombocytopenia and 27 children and 29 adults had nonimmune thrombocytopenia of different etiology. RESULTS Raised levels of PAIg were found in 56/62 patients with immune thrombocytopenia and in 34/56 patients with non-immune thrombocytopenia. Diagnostic values of PAIg for the detection of immune thrombocytopenia were: sensitivity 90.3% and specificity 39. 3%. An enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA) for the detection of autoantibodies to platelet glycoprotein (GP) complexes was used in adults, 9 with immune-related thrombocytopenia and 16 with non-immune thrombocytopenia, in order to determine the true non-specific nature of the positive PAIg test. By ELISA, 8/9 patients with immune thrombocytopenia and 7/16 with non-immune thrombocytopenic disorders showed autoantibodies to platelet GP complexes. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS PAIg detection by FC constitutes a sensitive but non-specific assay thus making it unnecessary and inappropriate for establishing the diagnosis of ITP.
Raised levels of serum IgE in human helminthiases.

Abstract The concentration of serum IgE in four human helminthiases was determined by an indirect single radial immunodiffusion method. Whereas in most normal adults serum levels of IgE were below 300 units/ml, raised levels of IgE were found in patients infected with helminths. Mean values were 1,210 units/ml in 60 cases of schistosomiasis japonica, 3,400 units/ml in 5 cases of paragonimiasis, 2,960 units/ml in 4 cases of fascioliasis hepatica, and 570 units/ml in 10 cases of hookworm infection. The results clearly indicate that an increase of serum IgE concentration occurs in various helminthic infections, although the significance of this is still obscure.