Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytoöstrogenbehandlung als Therapieoption für das fortgeschrittene Prostatakarzinom

Zusammenfassung Der Einsatz von Phytotherapeutika, insbesondere phytoöstrogenhaltige Pflanzenprodukte, spielt seit langem eine wichtige Rolle in der Behandlung von Prostataerkrankungen. Aufgrund der vielfältigen antiinflammatorischen und antiproliferativen Wirkungen wird ihr Einsatz auch in der Behandlung des Prostatakarzinoms untersucht. Während In-vitro-Daten wie auch tierexperimentelle Befunde den Einsatz in der Krebsprävention und Karzinombehandlung nahe legen, ist die klinische Wirkung beim Menschen erst ansatzweise nachgewiesen. Vieles spricht für eine Kombination mit konventionellen Prostatakarzinommedikamenten im Sinne einer Optimierung: so scheint gerade eine Kombination von Phytoöstrogenen und synthetischem Östrogen besonders wirksam in der Behandlung des hormonrefraktären Prostatakarzinoms zu sein. Die retrospektive Auswertung von 49 Fällen zeigt, dass das Präparat Sitosterol comp. in etwa 60 % eine PSA-Reduktion von mehr als 50 % innerhalb von 3 Monaten erwirkt, verbunden mit einem klinischen Ansprechen. Die mittlere erzielte Behandlungszeit liegt bei über 12 Monaten. Durch ein intensives Patientenmonitoring lassen sich die anfangs gefürchteten Nebenwirkungen synthetischer Östrogene weitgehend vermeiden. Die Behandlungsform stellt zudem eine kostengünstige Alternative dar.
Loading of MHC Class I and II Presentation Pathways by Exogenous Antigens: A Quantitative In Vivo Comparison

The MHC class I pathway is usually fueled by endogenous Ags, while exogenous Ags reach the MHC class II pathway. Although exogenous epitopes may also enter the MHC class I pathway, quantification of the efficiency of the process has remained a difficult task. In an attempt of such a quantification, we directly compared the amount of exogenous virus-like particles required for induction of cytotoxic T cell responses by cross-priming with the amount of virus-like particles required for induction of Th cell responses by the conventional route of MHC class II loading as an internal standard. Surprisingly, we found that cross-presentation of peptides derived from exogenous Ags on MHC class I molecules is of only marginally lower efficiency (∼1- to 10-fold) than the classical MHC class II pathway in vitro and in vivo. Thus, Ag quantities required for cross-presentation and cross-priming are similar to those required for fueling the MHC class II pathway.
Electronic Notifications about Drug Substitutes Can Change Physician Prescription Habits

Background: A health maintenance organization (HMO) provides physicians with electronic notifications regarding HMO-recommended drug substitutes. Objective: Investigating factors affecting physicians’ compliance and evaluating associated cost savings. Design: A cross-sectional observational study of all physicians in the HMO’s clinics from June 2005 to February 2006. Setting: Recording physician ID, initial drug choice, final drug choice, elapsed time between initial and final choices, and pharmacological details. Participants: Out of 2120 physicians, 647 physicians met the inclusion criteria. They prescribed 1.21 million prescriptions. Intervention: Transparently recording physicians’ response to HMO-recommended drug substitutes within a drug-prescription sub-system of an electronic medical record. Measurements: Compliance pattern, factors affecting compliance, and cost savings associated with compliance. Results: Thirty percent of prescriptions did not comply with substitute recommendations. Compliance was most strongly affected by the substitute type, whether generic or therapeutic. Physician workload and age were found second and third in effect magnitude. Compliance was found to be non-automatic, selective and deliberate, suggesting that maintaining quality of care guides physicians in the prescription process. At least 4% of costs for prescribed drugs were saved as a result of compliance with substitute recommendations. Conclusions: Physicians selectively complied with electronic recommendations to substitute less costly for more costly drugs. Compliance was neither automatic nor thoughtless and entailed cost containment with possibly marginal compromise on quality of care or none at all, as compliance mostly involved substituting generic for patent drugs. We strongly feel that the results can be generalized to other HMOs as well.
EXPOSURE OF THE SWISS POPULATION BY RADIODIAGNOSTICS: 2003 REVIEW

A nationwide investigation was conducted in Switzerland to establish the exposure of the population by medical x rays and update the results of the 1998 survey. Both the frequency and the dose variations were studied in order to determine the change in the collective dose. The frequency study addressed 206 general practitioners (GPs), 30 hospitals, and 10 private radiology institutes. Except for the latter, the response rate was very satisfactory. The dose study relied on the assessment of the speed class of the screen-film combinations used by the GPs as well as the results of two separate studies dedicated to fluoroscopy and CT. The investigation showed that the total number of all medical x-ray examinations performed by GPs registered a 1% decrease between 1998 and 2003, and that the sensitivities of the film-screen combinations registered a shift towards higher values, leading to a reduction of the dose delivered by a GP of the order of 20%. The study indicated also that the total number of all x-ray examinations performed in hospitals increased by 4%, with a slight increase of radiographies by 1% but significant decrease of examinations involving fluoroscopy (39%), and a 70% increase for CT examinations. Concerning the doses, the investigation of a selection of examinations involving fluoroscopy showed a significant increase of the kerma-area product (KAP) per procedure. For CT the study showed an increase of the dose-length product (DLP) per procedure for skull and abdomen examinations, and a decrease for chest examination. Both changes in the frequency and the effective dose per examination led to a 20% increase in the total collective dose.
ZNF74, a gene deleted in DiGeorge syndrome, is expressed in human neural crest-derived tissues and foregut endoderm epithelia.

DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) is a developmental disorder associated with large hemizygous deletions on chromosome 22q11.2. ZNF74 zinc finger gene is a candidate from the commonly deleted region. To address the potential involvement of ZNF74 in DGS, its human developmental expression pattern has been assessed. In situ hybridization on Carnegie Stage 18 embryos revealed that ZNF74 expression is limited to specific neural crest-derived tissues and neuroepithelium of the spinal cord as well as to foregut endoderm epithelia (esophagus and respiratory tract). Interestingly, ZNF74 expression was detected in the wall of the pulmonary artery and aorta and in the aortic valve, which are populated by neural crest-derived cells. This finding is significant, considering that DGS is believed to result from defective neural crest contributions and that outflow tract and aorticopulmonary septation defects are typical features of the DGS phenotype. Thus, the restricted expression of ZNF74 in structures affected in DGS suggests a role for this putative regulator of gene expression in aspects of the DGS phenotype.
Cloning and Functional Characterization of a Novel ATP-sensitive Potassium Channel Ubiquitously Expressed in Rat Tissues, including Pancreatic Islets, Pituitary, Skeletal Muscle, and Heart (*)

ATP-sensitive K (K) channels play a crucial role in coupling metabolic energy to the membrane potential of cells. We have isolated a cDNA encoding a novel member (uK-1) of the inward rectifier K channel family from a rat pancreatic islet cDNA library. Rat uK-1 is a 424-amino acid residue protein (Mr = 47,960). Electrophysiological studies of uK-1 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes show that uK-1 is a weak rectifier and is blocked with Ba ions. Single-channel patch clamp study of clonal human kidney epithelial cells (HEK293) transfected with uK-1 cDNA reveals that uK-1 closes in response to 1 mM ATP and has a single channel conductance of 70 ± 2 picosiemens (n = 6), indicating that uK-1 is an ATP-sensitive inward rectifier K channel. In addition, uK-1 is activated by the K channel opener, diazoxide. RNA blot analysis shows that uK-1 mRNA is expressed ubiquitously in rat tissues, including pancreatic islets, pituitary, skeletal muscle, and heart, suggesting that uK-1 may play a physiological role as a link between the metabolic state and membrane K permeability of cells in almost every normal tissue. Since uK-1 shares only 43-46% amino acid identity with members of previously reported inward rectifier K channel subfamilies, including ROMK1, IRK1, GIRK1, and cK-1, uK-1 is not an isoform of these subfamilies and, therefore, represents a new subfamily of the inward rectifier K channel family having two transmembrane segments.
Palace 6000 at Megiddo in Context: Iron Age Central Hall Tetra-Partite Residencies and the "Bīt-Ḫilāni" Building Tradition in the Levant

Megiddo's Palace 6000, traditionally attributed to the building activities of King Solomon, has long served as a hallmark of 10th-century B.C.E. monumental architecture. Following its initial discovery and excavation, Y. Yadin and others identified this building as one of several early southern Levantine examples of an Iron Age bīt ḫilāni. This term, appearing in Assyrian documents, has been interpreted by most scholars to refer to Iron Age royal residencies known from excavated sites in northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia. This paper presents a detailed stratigraphic and architectural analysis of Palace 6000 and examines the evidence regarding its identification as a bīt ḫilāni. We propose that Palace 6000 belongs to a group of southern Levantine Iron Age II public structures with a multipurpose "central hall tetra-partite" plan that could function as a residency, palace, citadel, and/or tower. In our opinion, the origin of this distinctive tetra-partite plan is local and should be understood as developing out of the ubiquitous Iron Age four-room house tradition. In contrast, the bīt ḫilāni building tradition was confined to northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia. These two different architectural traditions, with their clearly defined geographical distribution, illustrate the regional character of Levantine societies and cultures during the early centuries of the first millennium B.C.E.
Microwave Power Beaming for Long Range Energy Transfer

Current studies by NASA have identified space solar power as a potential long term viable candidate for efficient energy transfer at orbital ranges using a microwave beam. This paper will describe some of the power-aperture relationships leading to a potential feasible design of a power beaming system. The topics include a discussion of the system constraints, the transmitter and spaceborne array configuration, and the error budget levied by microwave system requirements.
[HPV detection and FHIT expression in esophageal squamous carcinoma from high incidence area in Cixian County].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Cixian County is one of the high incidence areas of esophageal carcinoma in China. Up to now, no work has been conducted on the possible etiological role of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection on esophageal carcinoma in this local area. The aim of this study was to explore the putative roles of HPV infection on the esophageal carcinogenesis of the patients in Cixian and to elucidate the possible relationship between HPV existence and fragile histidine triad gene (FHIT gene, a putative tumor suppressor gene), expression in squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus. METHODS The existence of HPV DNA and the expression of FHIT gene at protein level in esophageal carcinoma tissues were determined with PCR and immunohistochemical staining, respectively, in 128 archival paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of esophageal squamous carcinoma from the high incidence area of Cixian and 24 tissue blocks from the non-high incidence area. RESULTS PCR results showed that the positive detection rate of HPV in esophageal carcinoma tissues from the high incidence area was 20.3%, which was slightly higher than that from the non-high incidence area (8.3%)(P >0.05). Immunohistochemically, aberrant expression of FHIT gene in esophageal carcinoma tissue was found in 75.6% cases from the high incidence area and only 54.2% from the non-high incidence area, which was significantly lower than that of the former (P< 0.05). No correlation was found between the abnormal expression of FHIT and existence of HPV DNA in esophageal squamous carcinoma tissues. CONCLUSION HPV DNA could be detected in partial esophageal carcinoma cases from the high incidence area of esophageal carcinoma in Cixian. The aberrant expression rate of FHIT protein in the cases from the high incidence area of esophageal carcinoma in Cixian is higher than that from the non-high incidence area.
ARE WE STALLED PART WAY THROUGH A MAJOR EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITION FROM INDIVIDUAL TO GROUP?

This commentary poses an evolutionary hypothesis about the nature of the human condition: that we are stalled part way through a major evolutionary transition from individuals to groups, a transition that may never be completed but that has already shaped our history, politics, psychology, and social life. The conditions causing the transition to stall include the decreasing congruence of group boundaries with kinship boundaries, growth in group size, increasing interdependence of groups, membership of individuals in several types of groups, divided loyalties of individuals among groups, and the emergence of institutions as novel entities uncoupled from the individuals who temporarily belong to them. Those conditions combine to decrease the ability of cultural group selection to effect genetic change in group-oriented traits. The theory supporting this hypothesis deals with major transitions (e.g., Maynard Smith and Szathmary 1995), hierarchical selection (e.g., Price 1970, 1972; Frank 1995, 2003; Rice 2004), conflicts and conflict resolution (e.g., Burt and Trivers 2006), and gene-culture coevolution (e.g., Boyd and Richerson 2005; Richerson and Boyd 2005). The evidence is diverse. It comes from biological anthropology (e.g., Hill and Hurtado 1995), behavioral economics (e.g., Hammerstein 2003; Bowles 2004; Henrich et al. 2004), evolutionary psychology (e.g., Barkow et al. 1992), and history. The research programs it suggests are at least in anthropology, history, and political science.
System description as a tool for teaching programming

The paper shows by an example how system description can be used as a starting-point for teaching programming to beginners. The system description techniques used are based upon the philosophy developed within the DELTA project. In each phase of the teaching process a different language tool is used. In the first phase we use a very informal system description tool. In the second phase we use a more formalized system description tool, while still allowing a certain amount of informal language. Finally in the third phase a totally formalized system description tool--in this case the programming language SIMULA--is used.
Physiological Responses of Embryonic Heermann's Gulls to Temperature

Oxygen consumption, heart rate, and thermal tolerance were measured in week-old embryos of Heermann's gull (Larus heermanni). Heart rate and oxygen consumption are temperature independent between 30 and 40 C and average 120 beats/min and 1.87 cm³ O₂/(egg·h). Below 30 C, these rate processes become strongly temperature dependent, and the heart stops beating when cooled to 7-13 C. The beat recovers when the embryo is rewarmed, even after 1 h at 6 C. The heart beat stops when the embryo is heated above 40.0-41.6 C but recovers with cooling. However, the beat does not recover after the embryo has been heated to 43 C for 1 h. The thermal independence of embryonic function over the 30-40 C range minimizes disruptions associated with variation of temperature during incubation. Unattended eggs at night may chill to temperatures which cause cessation of heart beat, but such exposure is not lethal if the eggs are rewarmed. Exposure to radiant heat during the day can rapidly raise egg temperature to levels which kill the embryo. Thus, an important aspect of incubation by adult Heermann's gulls is shading of the eggs and prevention of overheating.
An energy-efficient adaptive clustering routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks

An energy-efficient adaptive clustering routing algorithm (EEACRA) for wireless sensor networks was proposed, in order to overcome the drawbacks with the cluster heads in LEACH, such as over-accumulated energy consumption, irrational distribution, none-optimal proportion, etc. EEACRA made several improvements. First, the node with more energy had more chances to become a cluster head by introducing the energy-weighted factor and energy decision condition in cluster head electing threshold. Second, the energy-weighted delay strategy involved in cluster head broadcasting phase optimized the cluster heads distribution and decreased the collision probability. Third, the introduced mechanism of minimum energy cost multi-hop routing reduced the energy consumption of cluster heads. The simulation results show that the EEACRA can not only effectively balance the whole network energy consumption, but also prolong the network lifecycle.
Different food sources elicit fast changes to bacterial virulence

Environmentally transmitted, opportunistic bacterial pathogens have a life cycle that alternates between hosts and environmental reservoirs. Resources are often scarce and fluctuating in the outside-host environment, whereas overcoming the host immune system could allow pathogens to establish a new, resource abundant and stable niche within the host. We tested if short-term exposure to different outside-host resource types and concentrations affect Serratia marcescens—(bacterium)'s virulence in Galleria mellonella (moth). As expected, virulence was mostly dictated by the bacterial dose, but we also found a clear increase in virulence when the bacterium had inhabited a low (versus high) resource concentration, or animal-based (versus plant-based) resources for 48 h prior to injection. The results suggest that temporal changes in pathogen's resource environment can induce very rapid changes in virulence and affect infection severity. Such changes could also play an important role in shifts from environmental lifestyle to pathogenicity or switches in host range and have implications for the management of opportunistic pathogens and disease outbreaks.
Intra-operative application of confocal endomicroscopy using a rigid endoscope

Abstract Objective: To introduce the application of confocal endomicroscopy during microlaryngoscopy, to enable intra-operative evaluation of human laryngeal epithelium. Methods: A rigid endoscope was connected to the scanner head of a Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II confocal laser scanning system via an adapter. The endoscope was gently placed on the surface of a vocal fold through a laryngoscope during microlaryngoscopy. Results: The application of confocal endomicroscopy using a rigid endoscope enabled technical improvements (i.e. improved image quality, automatic volume scan, and reduced tissue pressure due to the presence of a perforation plate with central hole at the end of the endoscope) which permitted greater sensitivity and improved handling. Confocal endomicroscopy provided good quality, in vivo, en-face images and enabled an assessment of laryngeal epithelium volume. Conclusion: This method enables the surgeon to monitor epithelial changes in pre-malignant lesions. The combination of confocal endomicroscopy together with optical coherence tomography (as a complementary technique that provides optical cross-sections) should be further explored in a formal clinicopathological study.
The interactive animated e-book as a word learning device for kindergartners

ABSTRACT Electronic picture storybooks often include motion pictures, sounds, and background music instead of static pictures, and hotspots that label/define words when clicked on. The current study was designed to examine whether these additional elements aid word learning and story comprehension and whether effects accumulate making the animated e-book that also includes hotspots the most promising device. A sample group of 136 4- and 5-year-old kindergarten children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: static e-books, animated e-books, interactive animated e-books, and a control group. In experimental conditions, four on-screen stories were each presented four times during a 4-week intervention period. Children in the control condition played nonliteracy related computer games during the same time. In all conditions, children worked independently with the computer programs. Strong treatment effects were found on target vocabulary originating from the story. Pupils gained most in vocabulary after reading interactive animated e-books, followed by (noninteractive) animated e-books and then static e-books. E-books including animations and interactivity were neither beneficial nor detrimental for story comprehension. Findings suggest that electronic storybooks are valuable additions in support of the classroom curriculum with interactive animated e-books being the best alternative.
Spin‐labeling angiography of the carotids by presaturation and simplified adiabatic inversion

A new adiabatic inversion pulse is tested for a spin‐labeling subtraction angiography method. Adiabatic nature of the pulse is achieved by ramping the gradient during the RF pulse. In addition, with cardiac triggering, any irregularity of the heartbeat would decrease cancelation of the static tissue after subtraction. A 90° presaturation pulse applied to prevent this suppresses the background intensity from the static tissue by a factor greater than 2. Slice angiograms of carotid arteries are presented. © 1990 Academic Press, Inc.