Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeted drug-loading microbubbles with focused ultrasound induced blood-brain barrier disruption for glioma treatment

Focused ultrasound (FUS) with the presence of microbubbles (MBs) has been demonstrated its capability of temporally and locally open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that can be utilized to enhance chemotherapeutic drug delivery into the brain parenchyma for glioma treatment. However, the current administered chemotherapeutic agents that provide tumor-killing effect also induce systemic toxicity that significantly limits the dosage. Our previous results have already demonstrated the success of concurrently applying drug (BCNU)-loaded MBs with FUS exposures to open the BBB, which provided benefits in local drug delivery and reduced systemic toxicity. To further enhance the drug targeting and releasing capability of the drug-loaded MBs, we demonstrated here a novel VEGF-targeting, drug-loaded microbubble design for the use of FUS-BBB opening and brain drug delivery. This study may provide useful implications toward future MB design which aims to perform the targeted brain tumor therapy or extend the application of microbubbles on theragnostic purpose.
Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is defined as the presence of ectopic endometrium with evidence of both cellular activity and progression, with formation of adhesions, or interference with normal reproductive processes. ] Endometriosis is often associated with infertility, chronic pelvic pain and/or presence of adnexal masses, but typical lesions have also been found in asymptomatic women. * The diagnosis of endometriosis requires direct visualization of the lesions by laparoscopy or laparotomy. For this reason, data on the prevalence of endometriosis in the general population published so far are not conclusive. In fact, only few prospective have been undertaken, which report a prevalence range of 20-40% in infertile women, 4-65% in patients with chronic pelvic pain, and 1-22% in women submitted to gynecological surgery for other indications.2 Considering the high prevalence of the disease Friedman et ~ l . ~ have evaluated the reliability of a less invasive diagnostic method, ultrasonography, in all forms of pelvic endometriosis, and demonstrated a possible role only when endometriotic cysts are present. Other authors6. ’ have also analyzed the spectrum of ultrasonographic transabdominal or transvaginal findings of surgically proved endometriomas, but they did not analyze the specificity of these techniques. Both medical and surgical treatment of endometriosis has greatly improved over the last 20 years,$ and operative laparoscopy, alone or in combination with medical treatment, has emerged as an indispensable component of modern management of the disease. ’ Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of pelvic endornetriosis in premenopausal women submitted to laparoscopy and/or laparotomy for benign gynecological disease. In addition, the same subjects were submitted to transvaginal ultrasonography within one week before surgery to evaluate the accuracy of this less invasive technique in differentiating endometriomas from other ovarian cysts. Finally, the role of operative laparoscopy in the management of endometriosis was evaluated in those patients who underwent laparoscopy for benign ovarian cysts or chronic pelvic pain.
Vom EuGH-Urteil zur Richtlinie: Wie die EU-Mitgliedstaaten über die Kodifizierung europäischer Rechtsprechung entscheiden

Das Arbeitspapier nimmt die Rechtsprechung des Europaischen Gerichtshofs mit seiner starken Integrationswirkung (Weiler 1981; Scharpf 1999; Kelemen & Schmidt 2012) als Ausgangspunkt und stellt die Frage, in welcher Weise dieses Richterrecht in nachfolgender EU-Gesetzgebung aufgegriffen wird. In zwei Fallstudien zum Umgang der Dienstleistungsrichtlinie mit der Kostenerstattung fur Gesundheitsleistungen und zur Verankerung von Sozialhilfeanspruchen erwerbsloser Unionsburger in der Unionsburgerrichtlinie zeigt sich, dass die Befolgung vorangegangener EuGH-Rechtsprechung durch nationale Verwaltungen und Gerichte die Bereitschaft der Mitgliedstaaten zur Kodifizierung in einem europaischen Gesetz beeinflusst (vgl. auch Conant 2002; Alter 2009). In beiden Fallen kam es jedoch zu Entscheidungen von Regierungen und Kommission, die der Compliance mit der Rechtsprechung und den daraus zu erwartenden Positionen nicht entsprachen. Die dafur verantwortlichen Handlungszwange liegen einerseits in der unterschiedlichen Offentlichkeitswirkung von Richterrecht und Gesetzgebung begrundet, andererseits in Wechselwirkungen zwischen einzelnen Policyaspekten und der Notwendigkeit zur Prioritatensetzung. Abschliesend wird festgestellt, dass es nicht nur zu diesen Aspekten weiterer Forschung bedarf, sondern auch zur Compliance mit europaischem Richterrecht und zu ihrer Auswirkung auf europaische Verhandlungspositionen (vgl. Blauberger 2012; Schreinermacher 2014: 240-244).
High‐affinity fragment complementation of a fibronectin type III domain and its application to stability enhancement

The tenth fibronectin type III (FN3) domain of human fibronectin (FNfn10), a prototype of the ubiquitous FN3 domain, is a small, monomeric β‐sandwich protein. In this study, we have bisected FNfn10 in each loop to generate a total of six fragment pairs. We found that fragment pairs bisected at multiple loops of FNfn10 show complementation in vivo as tested with a yeast two‐hybrid system. The dissociation constant of these fragment pairs determined in vitro were as low as 3 nM, resulting in one of the tightest fragment complementation systems reported so far. Furthermore, we show that the affinity of fragment complementation is correlated with the stability of the uncut parent protein. Exploring this correlation, we screened a yeast two‐hybrid library of one fragment and identified mutations that suppress the effect of a destabilizing mutation in the other fragment. One of the identified mutations significantly increased the stability of the uncut wild‐type protein, proving that fragment complementation can be used as a novel strategy for the selection of proteins with enhanced stability.
Functional Expression of Drosophila para Sodium Channels Modulation by the Membrane Protein TipE and Toxin Pharmacology

The Drosophila para sodium channel α subunit was expressed in Xenopus oocytes alone and in combination with tipE , a putative Drosophila sodium channel accessory subunit. Coexpression of tipE with para results in elevated levels of sodium currents and accelerated current decay. Para/TipE sodium channels have biophysical and pharmacological properties similar to those of native channels. However, the pharmacology of these channels differs from that of vertebrate sodium channels: ( a ) toxin II from Anemonia sulcata , which slows inactivation, binds to Para and some mammalian sodium channels with similar affinity ( K d ≅ 10 nM), but this toxin causes a 100-fold greater decrease in the rate of inactivation of Para/TipE than of mammalian channels; ( b ) Para sodium channels are >10-fold more sensitive to block by tetrodotoxin; and ( c ) modification by the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin is >100-fold more potent for Para than for rat brain type IIA sodium channels. Our results suggest that the selective toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides is due at least in part to the greater affinity of pyrethroids for insect sodium channels than for mammalian sodium channels.
Implantation of everolimus‐eluting bioresorbable scaffolds in a diabetic all‐comers population

Diabetes is associated with aggressive atherosclerosis, leading to an increased risk of in‐stent restenosis and stent thrombosis. Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) are a new technology for the treatment of coronary lesions that might be beneficial due to their dissolving character, especially in diabetic patients.
POLN, a Nuclear PolA Family DNA Polymerase Homologous to the DNA Cross-link Sensitivity Protein Mus308*

The Drosophila Mus308 gene is unusual in encoding both a family A DNA polymerase domain and a DNA/RNA helicase domain. A mus308 mutation was shown to result in increased sensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents, leading to the hypothesis that Mus308 functions in the repair of DNA interstrand cross-links. Recently a mammalian ortholog of Mus308, POLQ, has been identified. We report here the identification, cloning, and characterization of POLN and its gene product, a new mammalian DNA polymerase also related to Mus308. The human cDNA encodes a protein of 900 amino acid residues. The region starting from residue 419 shares 33% identity (48% similarity) with the equivalent region of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. POLN is expressed in human cell lines with numerous alternatively spliced transcripts, and a full-length human coding region that comprises 24 exons within 160 kilobases of genomic DNA. Expression analysis by northern blotting and in situ hybridization showed highest expression of full-length POLN in human and mouse testis. POLN localized to the nucleus when expressed as a enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged protein in human fibroblasts. GFP-tagged recombinant POLN had DNA polymerase activity on activated calf thymus DNA and on a singly primed template.
Electron-transport chains of Escherichia coli. Reconstitution of respiration in a 5-aminolaevulinic acid-requiring mutant.

1 The properties of a 5-aminolaevulinic acid synthetase-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli K12Ymel grown aerobically or anaerobically in the presence or absence of 5-aminolaevulinic acid are described. In the absence of 5-aminolaevulinic acid no detectable cytochromes are produced, respiration rates are lowered, and the concentration of menaquinone in the cell is increased. The absence of 5-aminolaevulinic acid from the growth medium has no apparent effect on the Mg2+ dependent ATPase activity or on the concentrations of ubiquinone and flavoprotein(s) in the cell. 2 Two methods for the reconstitution of respiration by cells grown aerobically or anaerobically in the absence of 5-aminolaevulinic acid are described. With intact cells, reconstitution is achieved in 3 h at 37 °C and is dependent on the presence of 5-aminolaevulinic acid and a fermentable carbon source. With cell-free extracts, respiration can be reconstituted by the addition of haematin in 15–20 min at 37 °C provided that ATP is also present. 3 It is concluded that the reconstitution of respiration by both methods is achieved in the absence of protein synthesis, indicating that the apoproteins of cytochromes, involved in electron transport with oxygen as terminal electron acceptor, are synthesized and incorporated into the membrane in the absence of haem synthesis. 4 From an examination of the cytochromes produced during the reconstitution experiments, it is suggested that two membrane-bound electron transport systems using oxygen as terminal electron acceptor can co-exist in E. coli. The first involving cytochrome b556 with cytochrome o as terminal oxidase is the system normally present under aerobic growth conditions, and the second is induced under conditions when the concentrations of NADH and ADP in the cell are likely to be high and involves cytochrome b558 with cytochrome a2 as the terminal oxidase.
A Divide-and-Conquer Articulated-Body Algorithm for Parallel O(log(n)) Calculation of Rigid-Body Dynamics. Part 2: Trees, Loops, and Accuracy

This paper is the second in a two part series describing a recursive, divide and conquer algorithm for calculating the forward dynamics of a robot mechanism, or a general rigid body system, on a parallel computer. This paper presents the general version of the algorithm. The derivation begins with an algorithm for kinematic trees, which is then extended to closed loop systems. The general algorithm achieves O(log(n)) time complexity on O(n) processors for all kinematic trees and a large subset of closed loop systems. This paper also presents a more accurate version of the algorithm and the results of some numerical accuracy tests that compare both versions with the standard articulated body algorithm. The tests use rigid body systems containing up to 1024 bodies, and they show that the divide and conquer algorithm is substantially less accurate than the best serial algorithm but still accurate enough to be useful.
Work Ability in Ageing Workers Suffering From Chronic Diseases

The aim of this study was to investigate the work ability in ageing workers suffering from osteoarthritis (OA),coronary heart disease (CHD) or hypertension (H). One hundred and sixty-six OA and 355 CHD/H outpatientswere evaluated. The Work Ability Index (WAI) served for work ability assessment. Patients ‘ results werecompared with the results of a control group of 225 healthy young workers. Statistical analysis was performedwith ANOVA tests. WAI in female and male CHD/H patients was higher than in OA patients (p < .01), betterwork ability was related to better education (p < .01), white-collar work (p < .01) and better recreation(p < .01); subjective work ability was determined mostly by the objective health status. The promotion of workability among workers suffering from advanced age-related diseases should be closely related to the promotionof health. It is indicative to improve occupational education and skills, already at an early stage of a disease.
Complications associated with use of bone-morphogenetic proteins in spinal fusion procedures.

1. Melander O, Newton-Cheh C, Almgren P, et al. Novel and conventional biomarkers for prediction of incident cardiovascular events in the community. JAMA. 2009;302(1):49-57. 2. Wang TJ, Gona P, Larson MG, et al. Multiple biomarkers for the prediction of first major cardiovascular events and death. N Engl J Med. 2006;355(25):26312639. 3. Koenig W. Cardiovascular biomarkers: added value with an integrated approach? Circulation. 2007;116(1):3-5. 4. Ardigo D, Assimes TL, Fortmann SP, et al; ADVANCE Investigators. Circulating chemokines accurately identify individuals with clinically significant atherosclerotic heart disease. Physiol Genomics. 2007;31(3):402-409.
Borrelia chilensis, a new member of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex that extends the range of this genospecies in the Southern Hemisphere.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), transmitted by Ixodes spp. ticks, is the causative agent of Lyme disease. Although Ixodes spp. ticks are distributed in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres, evidence for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in South America apart from Uruguay is lacking. We now report the presence of culturable spirochetes with flat-wave morphology and borrelial DNA in endemic Ixodes stilesi ticks collected in Chile from environmental vegetation and long-tailed rice rats (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus). Cultured spirochetes and borrelial DNA in ticks were characterized by multilocus sequence typing and by sequencing five other loci (16S and 23S ribosomal genes, 5S-23S intergenic spacer, flaB, ospC). Phylogenetic analysis placed this spirochete as a new genospecies within the Lyme borreliosis group. Its plasmid profile determined by polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis differed from that of B. burgdorferi B31A3. We propose naming this new South American member of the Lyme borreliosis group B. chilensis VA1 in honor of its country of origin.
Measurement practices in financial software industry

Measurement is practiced in a large number of software organisations. Measurement may have many purposes, e.g. it can have a business goal orientation and software improvement orientation. It is an essential part of the processes in a software company. One of its benefits is that it can be used for customer satisfaction and trust building to show the value creation that quality work has for the customer. Measurement alone will not improve the software process, but it is a necessary step to collect information on the state of affairs and to evaluate the effort in software improvement activities. In this article, we will describe a measurement program in effective use in a medium-size Finnish software company, which combines in its measurement procedures business goal orientation and a dimension of software process improvement from the perspective of engineering processes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The paraoxonases: role in human diseases and methodological difficulties in measurement

Research into the paraoxonase (PON) gene family has flourished over the past few years. In the 1970s and 1980s, only PON1 was known, and the investigations were conducted, essentially, by toxicologists focusing on protection against organophosphate poisoning. Since then, two new members of the family, PON2 and PON3, have been identified, both being shown to play antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles. Evidence exists indicating that the PON family is central to a wide variety of human illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and several mental disorders. However, research is hampered considerably by the methods currently available to measure the activity of these enzymes. In this review, we summarize the state of knowledge on PON biochemistry and function, the influence of genetic variations, and the involvement of PON in several diseases. The problems associated with PON measurement, such as sample acquisition, lack of reference methods, and variety of substrates, will be presented. Also, we cover some of the present lines of research and propose some others for future progress in this field.
Filimonas endophytica sp. nov., isolated from surface-sterilized root of Cosmos bipinnatus.

A Gram-stain-negative, yellow, motile by gliding, filamentous bacterium, designated SR 2-06T, was isolated from surface-sterilized root of garden cosmos. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that SR 2-06T was related most closely to Filimonas lacunae YT21T of the family Chitinophagaceae at a sequence similarity of 96.90 %, while levels of similarity to other related taxa were less than 93.08 %. Strain SR 2-06T exhibited similar features to F. lacunae in that it contained MK-7 as the major respiratory quinone, and iso-C15 : 1 G, iso-C15 : 0 and a summed feature consisting of C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c as the major fatty acids. However, strain SR 2-06T was distinguished from F. lacunae using a combination of physiological and biochemical properties. The cellular polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown aminophospholipids, unknown aminolipids, an unknown phospholipid and unidentified polar lipids. The DNA G+C content was 46.0 mol%. The phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence clearly indicates that strain SR 2-06T represents a novel species of the genus Filimonas, for which the name Filimonas endophytica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SR 2-06T ( = KCTC 42060T = JCM 19844T).
Prognostic significance of p16 and its relationship with human papillomavirus in pharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

IMPORTANCE The prognostic significance of p16 in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the hypopharynx (HP) and nasopharynx (NP) and relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) and p16 is unclear. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the prognostic significance of p16 in pharyngeal subsites (oropharynx [OP], HP, and NP) and assess the relationship between HPV and p16 in the HP and NP. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective medical record review of 172 patients with SCC of the pharynx treated with definitive radiation therapy from 2002 to 2013 at a university tertiary referral center, with tissue available for immunohistochemical analysis. The median follow-up was 30.1 months. INTERVENTIONS A total of 118 patients were treated with chemoradiation, and 54 patients were treated with radiation alone. Immunohistochemical analysis for p16 was performed for all tumors. Hypopharynx and NP tumors were tested for HPV using in situ hybridization, and NP tumors were tested for Epstein-Barr virus. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Overall survival, locoregional control, and disease-free survival were analyzed according to p16, HPV, and Epstein-Barr virus status. RESULTS Thirty-two patients had HP SCC, 127 had OP SCC, and 13 had NP SCC. p16 Was positive in the HP (34%), OP (66%), and NP (46%). Prevalence of HPV was 14% in the HP and 50% in the NP. As a test for HPV, p16 had a positive predictive value of 38% (HP) and 67% (NP) and a negative predictive value of 100% in HP and NP tumors. p16 Status was a significant predictor of all clinical outcomes for patients with OP SCC (P<.001), but not for patients with HP or NP SCC. Patients with Epstein-Barr virus- or HPV-associated NP SCC had improved clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE p16 Was not associated with improved outcomes in patients with HP or NP SCC. The positive predictive value of p16 as a test for HPV is too low for p16 testing alone in the HP and NP. However, p16 negativity is sufficient to rule out HPV. As a research approach, we recommend p16 immunohistochemistry as a screening test for HPV in NP SCC and HP SCC followed by confirmatory HPV in situ hybridization when p16 positive.
Gutsy-Avatar: Computational Assimilation for Advanced Communication and Collaboration

We developed Gutsy-Avatar, which enables computational assimilation between real and virtual users for advanced communication and collaboration. Although our system supports video meeting through the Internet, local users can wear remote users through an electronic device, which allows remote users to share views and experiences with the local user. The remote user can also give physical feedback to the local user by changing the display direction, which enables the remote user to communicate the next action, with both intuitive and verbal reactions, to the local user. Our system provides unique communication and collaboration both for indoor and outdoor activities, which changes the paradigm of e-learning.
Unusual longevity in a patient with factor X Friuli coagulation disorder

Longevity is rare in congenital bleeding disorders. In the past, brain hemorrhages were the main cause of death, while AIDS and liver failure related to post-transfusion, hepatitis B or C have now become the major causes of death. Most data on causes of death refer to hemophiliacs and to von Willebrand disease (1-5). Information on rare coagulation disorders is scarce. This report was prompted by the opportunity to follow a group of patients with FX Friuli disorders for approximately 35 years, and the observation that one of these patients is alive and well at the age of 102.
Carbon nanotube-based synthetic gecko tapes

We have developed a synthetic gecko tape by transferring micropatterned carbon nanotube arrays onto flexible polymer tape based on the hierarchical structure found on the foot of a gecko lizard. The gecko tape can support a shear stress (36 N/cm2) nearly four times higher than the gecko foot and sticks to a variety of surfaces, including Teflon. Both the micrometer-size setae (replicated by nanotube bundles) and nanometer-size spatulas (individual nanotubes) are necessary to achieve macroscopic shear adhesion and to translate the weak van der Waals interactions into high shear forces. We have demonstrated for the first time a macroscopic flexible patch that can be used repeatedly with peeling and adhesive properties better than the natural gecko foot. The carbon nanotube-based tape offers an excellent synthetic option as a dry conductive reversible adhesive in microelectronics, robotics, and space applications.
GPU-based out-of-core MDL clustering algorithm

The time complexity of Minimum Description Length based greedy agglomerative clustering algorithm is poor for a large data set. In this paper, we propose three different versions of GPU-based parallel algorithms, namely, time-efficient, memory-efficient and out-of-core algorithms to improve the running time of algorithm. We conduct extensive set of experiments which prove that the parallel out-of-core version that we propose in this paper, is the most useful version for practical purposes.