Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and Evaluation of an Experimental Model of Cutaneous Columnaris Disease in Koi Cyprinus Carpio

A reproducible, experimental model of columnaris disease was developed to study the pathogenesis of cutaneous disease associated with Flavobacterium columnare infection in koi (Cyprinus carpio). In experimental infections, lesions were usually restricted to skin and fins; gill necrosis was not a consistent finding. Cytologic and histopathologic examinations provided a presumptive diagnosis of columnaris disease. Specific detection of F. columnare was done using the polymerase chain reaction and DNA in situ hybridization (ISH). Polymerase chain reaction allowed the detection of F. columnare in fresh biological material and in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. The DNA ISH technique allowed the identification and localization of F. columnare in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. Using these molecular techniques, F. columnare was readily detected in skin specimens from infected fish; however, the bacterium was infrequently detected in specimens of liver, kidney, and spleen. These observations suggest that columnaris disease generally presents as a cutaneous disease that is unassociated with systemic infection in koi. Hematologic studies indicated that most infected koi developed microcytic, normochromic, nonregenerative anemia and leukopenia characterized by lymphopenia, mild neutrophilia, and monocytosis. Biochemical changes in diseased fish included significant hyperglycemia, hyponatremia, and hypochloridemia.
Do Mobile Phone Applications Improve Glycemic Control (HbA1c) in the Self-management of Diabetes? A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and GRADE of 14 Randomized Trials

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of mobile phone applications (apps) on glycemic control (HbA1c) in the self-management of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Relevant studies that were published between 1 January 1996 and 1 June 2015 were searched from five databases: Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated diabetes apps were included. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) of the evidence. RESULTS Participants from 14 studies (n = 1,360) were included and quality assessed. Although there may have been clinical diversity, all type 2 diabetes studies reported a reduction in HbA1c. The mean reduction in participants using an app compared with control was 0.49% (95% Cl 0.30, 0.68; I2 = 10%), with a moderate GRADE of evidence. Subgroup analyses indicated that younger patients were more likely to benefit from the use of diabetes apps, and the effect size was enhanced with health care professional feedback. There was inadequate data to describe the effectiveness of apps for type 1 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Apps may be an effective component to help control HbA1c and could be considered as an adjuvant intervention to the standard self-management for patients with type 2 diabetes. Given the reported clinical effect, access, and nominal cost of this technology, it is likely to be effective at the population level. The functionality and use of this technology need to be standardized, but policy and guidance are anticipated to improve diabetes self-management care.
Mechanisms underlying the basal forebrain enhancement of top‐down and bottom‐up attention

Both attentional signals from frontal cortex and neuromodulatory signals from basal forebrain (BF) have been shown to influence information processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). These two systems exert complementary effects on their targets, including increasing firing rates and decreasing interneuronal correlations. Interestingly, experimental research suggests that the cholinergic system is important for increasing V1's sensitivity to both sensory and attentional information. To see how the BF and top‐down attention act together to modulate sensory input, we developed a spiking neural network model of V1 and thalamus that incorporated cholinergic neuromodulation and top‐down attention. In our model, activation of the BF had a broad effect that decreases the efficacy of top‐down projections and increased the reliance of bottom‐up sensory input. In contrast, we demonstrated how local release of acetylcholine in the visual cortex, which was triggered through top‐down gluatmatergic projections, could enhance top‐down attention with high spatial specificity. Our model matched experimental data showing that the BF and top‐down attention decrease interneuronal correlations and increase between‐trial reliability. We found that decreases in correlations were primarily between excitatory–inhibitory pairs rather than excitatory–excitatory pairs and suggest that excitatory–inhibitory decorrelation is necessary for maintaining low levels of excitatory–excitatory correlations. Increased inhibitory drive via release of acetylcholine in V1 may then act as a buffer, absorbing increases in excitatory–excitatory correlations that occur with attention and BF stimulation. These findings will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms underyling the BF's interactions with attention signals and influences on correlations.
Ultrasound Experience Substantially Impacts on Diagnostic Performance and Confidence when Adnexal Masses Are Classified Using Pattern Recognition

Aim: To determine how accurately and confidently examiners with different levels of ultrasound experience can classify adnexal masses as benign or malignant and suggest a specific histological diagnosis when evaluating ultrasound images using pattern recognition. Methods: Ultrasound images of selected adnexal masses were evaluated by 3 expert sonologists, 2 senior and 4 junior trainees. They were instructed to classify the masses using pattern recognition as benign or malignant, to state the level of confidence with which this classification was made and to suggest a specific histological diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR–) with regard to malignancy were calculated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of pattern recognition was calculated by using six levels of diagnostic confidence. Results: 166 masses were examined, of which 42% were malignant. Sensitivity with regard to malignancy ranged from 80 to 86% for the experts, was 70 and 84% for the 2 senior trainees and ranged from 70 to 86% for the junior trainees. The specificity of the experts ranged from 79 to 91%, was 77 and 89% for the senior trainees and ranged from 59 to 83% for the junior trainees. The experts were uncertain about their diagnosis in 4–13% of the cases, the senior trainees in 15–20% and the junior trainees in 67–100% of the cases. The AUCs ranged from 0.861 to 0.922 for the experts, were 0.842 and 0.855 for the senior trainees, and ranged from 0.726 to 0.795 for the junior trainees. The experts suggested a correct specific histological diagnosis in 69–77% of the cases. All 6 trainees did so significantly less often (22–42% of the cases). Conclusion: Expert sonologists can accurately classify adnexal masses as benign or malignant and can successfully predict the specific histological diagnosis in many cases. Whilst less experienced operators perform reasonably well when predicting the benign or malignant nature of the mass, they do so with a very low level of diagnostic confidence and are unable to state the likely histology of a mass in most cases.
Untraceable Anonymous Service Consumption in SaaS

Several cloud computing providers are emerging to provide web services that encapsulate common business logic in the cloud. However, these Software as a Service (SaaS) offers are currently based in trust relationships between cloud consumers and providers. Consumer must trust the provider not to disclose sensitive data exchanged during service provision, as such leak can compromise consumer’s privacy and threaten its business. In this paper, we propose a privacy enhancing framework to protect consumer information privacy against excessive exposure to cloud computing providers. Our design is essentially based on anonymity technology, as conventional encryption and authentication security mechanisms do not supply enough protection to consumer’s privacy; particularly, when the provider itself is considered a threat. The design consists in a multi-layered framework, where different anonymity techniques are employed together to protect the privacy of different types of consumer information, during both administrative (e.g., legal contracting and financial transactions) and technical (e.g., message exchanges) interactions. We also describe a complete connection anonymity SaaS service consumption scheme based on e-cash as the main tool for generating and managing anonymous credentials in the cloud.
A comparison of heterogeneity variance estimators in combining results of studies

For random effects meta‐analysis, seven different estimators of the heterogeneity variance are compared and assessed using a simulation study. The seven estimators are the variance component type estimator (VC), the method of moments estimator (MM), the maximum likelihood estimator (ML), the restricted maximum likelihood estimator (REML), the empirical Bayes estimator (EB), the model error variance type estimator (MV), and a variation of the MV estimator (MVvc). The performance of the estimators is compared in terms of both bias and mean squared error, using Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that the REML and especially the ML and MM estimators are not accurate, having large biases unless the true heterogeneity variance is small. The VC estimator tends to overestimate the heterogeneity variance in general, but is quite accurate when the number of studies is large. The MV estimator is not a good estimator when the heterogeneity variance is small to moderate, but it is reasonably accurate when the heterogeneity variance is large. The MVvc estimator is an improved estimator compared to the MV estimator, especially for small to moderate values of the heterogeneity variance. The two estimators MVvc and EB are found to be the most accurate in general, particularly when the heterogeneity variance is moderate to large. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Phase II Trial of B7-1 (CD-86) Transduced, Cultured Autologous Tumor Cell Vaccine Plus Subcutaneous Interleukin-2 for Treatment of Stage IV Renal Cell Carcinoma

We report a single center phase II trial of sequential vaccination followed with vaccine plus interleukin-2 (IL-2). Vaccination consisted of autologous cells cultured from primary tumor or resected metastasis, transduced to express B7.1 surface molecule and then irradiated. The vaccine would hypothetically costimulate tumor-reactive T cells before IL-2 exposure. Treatment plan was 3 subcutaneous vaccine injections at 4-week intervals and subcutaneous IL-2 treatment for 6 weeks starting at week 7. Sixty-six patients enrolled, of whom 39 received at least 1 vaccine; most observed toxicity was attributable to IL-2 not vaccine; best responses were 3% pathologic complete response, 5% partial response, 64% stable disease, and 28% disease progression. Median survival was 21.8 months (95% confidence interval 17.8 to 29.6). Significant postvaccination increases in IFN-γ responses to autologous tumor were observed in 2/26 cases. Eighty-one percent of posttreatment subdermal delayed-type hypersensitivity tests (using nontransduced, irradiated autologous tumor cells) had biopsies demonstrating injection site lymphocytic infiltration. Post hoc comparison of the median survival of subjects whose biopsies had lymphocytic infiltration appears longer than in the 19% noninfiltrated (28.4 vs. 17.8 mo, P=0.045, two-sided log-rank test). The single arm design precludes conclusive comparison of objective response rates (not different here) or median survival (longer here) versus those of historical series using similar IL-2 schedules alone. Better outcomes could be logically associated to vaccine response (detectable lymphocytic infiltrates) or to random events that a single arm study design cannot address. This vaccine approach may merit further clinical development.
Effects of resistance training under hypoxic conditions on muscle hypertrophy and strength

It has been reported that exercise under hypoxic conditions elevates acute growth hormone secretion after exercise compared with that under normoxic conditions. This study examined the influence of resistance training under moderate hypoxic conditions on muscle thickness, strength and hormonal responses. Thirteen healthy men were assigned into two groups matched for physical fitness level and then randomized into two groups that performed exercise under normoxic (FiO2 = 20·9%) or hypoxic (FiO2 = 12·7%) conditions. Three sets of elbow extensions with unilateral arm were performed to exhaustion at a workload of a 10 repetition maximum with 1‐minute intervals for 3 days per week for 8 weeks. The thickness of the biceps and triceps brachii was determined using B‐mode ultrasound before and after training. Blood sampling was carried out before and after exercise, as well as during the first and last training sessions. Increase in the thickness of the triceps brachii in trained arm was significantly greater in the hypoxic group than in the normoxic group. The 10 repetition maximum was significantly increased not only in the trained arm but also in the untrained arm in both groups. Serum growth hormone concentrations after exercise were significantly higher in the hypoxic group than in the normoxic group on both the first and last training sessions. These findings suggest that hypoxic resistance training elicits more muscle hypertrophy associated with a higher growth hormone secretion, but that the greater muscle hypertrophy did not necessarily contribute a greater gain of muscle strength.
The testicular and epididymal luminal amino acid microenvironment in the rat.

Concentrations of amino acids were measured in arterial and testicular venous blood, and in fluids from the seminiferous tubule, rete testis, and the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymidis. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of any amino acids between arterial and testicular venous blood, whereas there were significant differences between arterial/venous blood and testicular interstitial fluid. The predominant amino acids measured within seminiferous tubule fluid (STF) and rete testis fluid (RTF) were glycine, alanine, glutamate, and glutamine. RTF contained approximately equal concentrations of basic and total amino acids, but 17 times higher acidic amino acids and 1.2 and 1.3 times lower uncharged polar and nonpolar amino acids, respectively, compared to STF. The concentration of total amino acids within caput fluid reached over 50 nmol/L, but then declined to approximately 50% and 0.1% of caput for corpus and cauda, respectively. The predominant amino acids measured within epididymal luminal fluids were glutamate and taurine; glutamate contributed to approximately 90% of the total amino acids measured in caput fluid. The presence of glutamate and taurine within the epididymal lumen is due primarily to a direct contribution from the epididymal epithelium, as measured using the split-drop stopped-flow microperfusion technique. Several other amino acids within the lumen also originate from the epididymal epithelium. Amino acids contribute approximately 20%, 9%, and 2% of the total osmolality of caput, corpus, and cauda fluid, respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Culture and Food Habits in Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract The paper is based on a study which used primary and secondary sources to examine the influence of culture on food habits in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The study revealed that culture impacted on food habits, through food production, distribution, and consumption. The other factor considered was the HIV/AIDS. As community knowledge-holders die of AIDS, they take with them their local knowledge and experiences. In times of severe labour shortages owing to AIDS, people plant fewer crop varieties to save time and money. There should also be a realizationthat while some cultural practices have negative effects on nutrition, especially among women and children, many provide valuable opportunities for improving community-based food-security and nutrition It is recommended that policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders should incorporate culture and food habits in community-based food security, nutrition and educational programmes.
THE EFFECT OF COCHLEAR IMPLANT USE IN POSTLINGUALLY DEAF ADULTS

Objective: To assess the effect of the use of cochlear implants (CI) on the health status of postlingually deaf adults. Methods: Participants comprised 45 postlingually deaf adult multichannel CI users and 46 deaf candidates on the waiting list for a CI. The latter group acted as control subjects to corroborate the validity of retrospective completion of the questionnaires by the CI recipients. Three HRQOL instruments were used: a) a specially developed CI questionnaire (NCIQ); b) a generic HRQOL questionnaire (SF-36); and c) a health-state classification system (HUI-2) suited to estimate single preference scores. Results: Retrospectively estimated pre-implant scores in the CI user group corresponded very well with the scores in the control group. Postimplant scores in the CI users were substantially higher in all six domains (p < .001) of the NCIQ than the scores in the control group. Effects due to a CI were also observed with the SF-36 in five of the seven domains (p < .01). Statistically significant differences between the two groups (p = .001) were observed in two of the six domains of the HUI-2. Conclusions: All three questionnaires detected improvements in HRQOL due to CI use. To make a detailed assessment of the effect of a CI on functional outcomes and well-being, a special purpose HRQOL instrument is far more adequate than a general HRQOL instrument. This study also showed that a CI affects several other health domains besides auditory performance. The effect of CI use on general functioning and well-being proved to be considerable.
The metabolism of 1-phenylethanol and acetophenone by Nocardia T5 and an Arthrobacter species.

The Arthrobacter sp. is able to grow with (+)-, (−)-1-phenylethanol or the racemic mixture as sole source of carbon. Growth is most rapid with the (−)-isomer, doubling time 12 h. Enzymes of the already established pathway for acetophenone oxidation are also induced by growth with 1-phenylethanol and in addition an induced 1-phenylethanol dehydrogenase that requires NAD as electron acceptor is formed. The 1-phenylethanol dehydrogenase is active with both 1-phenylethanol isomers but shows a marked preference for the (−)-isomer. Relative activity towards the two isomers is mirrored in the rates of growth with the two isomers and the oxidative capabilities of induced cells. The metabolism of the isomers of 1-phenylethanol by the Arthrobacter sp. is integrated into the established pathway for acetophenone oxidation. The pathway of acetophenone metabolism by Nocardia T5 shows no significant differences from that already established for metabolism of the compound by the Arthrobacter sp. The same spectrum of induced enzymes is formed and the evidence suggests that catechol oxidation again proceeds by ‘ortho’ fission and the β-oxoadipate pathway, the formation of even transient amounts of cis, cis-hydroxy muconic semialdehyde has never been observed. In contrast the metabolism of the isomers of 1-phenylethanol by Nocardia T5 is achieved by a quite different pathway. The side chain is retained without modification during hydroxylation to yield 3-(1′-hydroxyethyl)catechol. Ring cleavage, by ‘meta fission’ yields 2,7-dihydroxy-6-oxoocta-2,4-dienoate the further fragmentation of which yields lactate and equimolar amounts of pyruvate and acetaldehyde. Growth rates are identical, irrespective of which isomer of 1-phenylethanol is used as carbon source and the enzymes that convert 1-phenylethanol to vinyl pyruvate and lactate appear to display no specificity for that chiral centre.
Hierarchical mesh routing implementation for indoor data collection

We have implemented a hierarchical mesh (HM) based routing protocol for data collection in an indoor environment. Devices are autonomously organized into a hierarchy based on a metric used to evaluate links between two devices, and end-to-end paths. The HM-based routing is implemented at the link layer over the MAC layer in a working WPAN (IEEE 802.15.4) and uses MAC addresses. A mesh root initiates the construction of the HM and acts as the data collector of the network. Data collection can begin as soon as the HM topology is established and does not require additional route establishment signaling. Devices select a next hop from a neighbor table and do not need to have knowledge of the entire path. We observe efficient routing with limited link layer retransmissions through our experiments. Additionally, the use of data concatenation reduces the number of transmissions in the network as well as the probability of collisions, providing a promising solution in high density and high traffic applications.
Bioelectrical Potentials of Philodendron Cordatum: A New Method for Investigation of Behavior in Plants

We explored the prospect of using the bioelectrical potentials of Philodendron cordatum as a new method for studying the behavior of plants. The bioelectrical potentials were recorded from equipment typically associated with EEG recordings. Plants were exposed to a 6-hr. training period of light only, dark only, or alternating 1-min. periods of light/dark. Following training, all plants were exposed to a 10-min. testing period in darkness during which bioelectrical potentials were recorded. Power of the bioelectric potentials was compared between groups of plants for frequencies between 0.1 and 10.0 Hz. Significant main effects of group and frequency were found, raising questions about the possibility of “learning” in P. cordatum.
Characterization of Acidic Vesicles in Multidrug-resistant and Sensitive Cancer Cells by Acridine Orange Staining and Confocal Microspectrofluorometry

To study the pH gradient status through membranes of acidic vesicles, either in sensitive or in multidrug-resistant living cancer cells, we monitored the fluorescence-emission spectra of acridine orange. Successive stainings with a pH-sensitive dye and AO showed that low-pH organelles were stained red by AO. In these compartments, high AO concentrations are driven by the pH gradient through membrane vesicles. The resulting rise in the dye's oligomeric/monomeric ratio induced an increase in the red/green (655-nm/530-nm) emission intensity ratio. Therefore, the accumulation of AO in acidic organelles was appraised by determination of the contribution of the red emission intensity (R%) in each emission spectrum, using laser scanning confocal microspectrofluorometry. In vesicles of multidrug-resistant K562-R cells, R% is significantly higher (72 ± 10%) than the value (48 ± 8%) from K562-sensitive cells (p<0.001). This result is interpreted as a more important accumulation of AO in acidic cytoplasmic structures of resistant cells, which induces a shift from AO monomers (green emission) to self-associated structures (red emission). Equilibration of the pH gradient through acidic organelles was performed by addition of weak bases and carboxylic ionophores. Ammonium chloride (0.1 mM), methylamine (0.1 mM), monensine (10 μM), or nigericine (0.3 μM) all suppressed the initial difference of local AO accumulation between both cell lines. These agents decreased the red emission intensity for the resistant cell line but not for the sensitive one. The same effects were induced by 50 μM verapamil, a pleiotropic drug-resistance modulator. Our data allow the hypothesis of a higher pH gradient through membranes of acidic organelles, which would be a potential mechanism of multidrug resistance via the sequestration of weak bases inside these organelles.