Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TLR4 Mediates Early Graft Failure After Intraportal Islet Transplantation

We have previously shown that islet emboli in the portal vein block blood flow and induce local inflammatory reaction, resulting in functional loss of islet grafts following intraportal transplantation. This study was designed to test whether Toll‐like receptor (TLR) activation mediates early islet graft failure. Syngeneic islet grafts were transplanted into chemically induced diabetic mice, and TLR deficient mice were used as donors and/or recipients of islet grafts. Islet viability, proinflammatory cytokines, high‐mobility group box‐1 (HMGB1) and NF‐κB activation were analyzed by bioluminesce imaging (BLI), quantitative RT‐PCR (qRT‐PCR) and histology. Early islet graft failure was observed in mice with intraportal islet engrafts with increased proinflammatory cytokines, HMGB1 expression, NF‐κB activation, caspase‐3 and TUNEL positive cells. Deficiency of TLR4 in donor, but not in recipient, inhibited NF‐κB activation, reduced proinflammatory cytokines and improved viability of islet grafts. Blockade of HMGB1 with anti‐HMGB1 monoclonal antibody (mAb, 2g7) inhibited inflammatory reactions, as evidenced by reduced TNFα and IL‐1ß production, and improved islet viability. We conclude that TLR4 activation mediates early graft failure following intraportal islet transplantation. Inhibition of TLR4 activation represents a novel strategy to attenuate early graft failure following intraportal islet transplantation.
In vivo comparison of avirulent Vwa- and Pgm- or Pstr phenotypes of yersiniae

The abilities of Yersinia pestis to undergo restriction in Ca2+-deficient medium with concomitant production of V and W antigens (Vwa+) and to absorb exogenous pigments (Pgm+) are established virulence factors. Mutation of Y. pestis to Pgm- is known to promote resistance to pesticin (Pstr) and reduced lethality by peripheral routes of injection. Vwa+ Pgm- isolates of Y. pestis were shown in this study to retain virulence in mice when injected intravenously. Although Pgm- in appearance, wild-type cells of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica may also be sensitive to pesticin. Pstr mutants of Vwa+ strains of these species were similarly of reduced virulence, especially by peripheral routes of injection. The consequences of mutation to Vwa- and Pgm- or Pstr on growth and persistence in vivo were determined. After intravenous injection, Vwa+ yersiniae of all species exhibited sustained growth in mouse spleen, liver, and lung and accumulated in blood. Septicemia was not observed after similar injection of Vwa- mutants which were unable to maintain comparable rates of net increase in tissues. Mutation to Pgm- or Pstr did not influence proliferation but resulted in enhanced clearance from organs. It is known that reticuloendothelial cells serve as favored sites of replication for all wild-type yersiniae. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the Vwa+ phenotype favors growth within macrophages and that the Pgm+ and pesticin-sensitive phenotypes permit long-term, probably extracellular, retention within organs. Virulence in standard animal models (mice, rats, and guinea pigs) was not correlated with resistance to the bactericidal action of serum.
Surface Topography, Cobb Angles, and Cosmetic Change in Scoliosis

Study Design Preliminary analysis of the clinical value of surface topography in a spinal deformity clinic. Objectives The Cobb angle is the gold standard for the monitoring of scoliosis. This study was designed to determine whether surface topography would reflect Cobb angle status with sufficient reliability to permit its safe use as an alternative means of documentation in some circumstances. Summary of Background Data Surface topography offers the possibility of describing spinal deformity more fully than radiographic measures alone. To be useful, it must ignore changes due to varying posture and reliably detect differences that are clinically significant, while broadening the ability to assess deformity. Methods Surface topography using Quantec (Quantec Image Processing, Warrington, Cheshire, UK) was obtained routinely in all patients attending a spinal deformity unit. Intrasubject variation was reduced by taking the mean for each parameter of four repositioned scans, which gives a smallest detectable change on all measures of approximately 10 U. Fifty-nine patients with two sets of radiographs and topography scans were studied to determine the ability of the different measurements to detect significant change. Results There was a significant correlation between Cobb angle and Quantec spinal angle. A significant change in Cobb angle could be identified by associated change in at least one topographic measure in a significant proportion of cases. Conclusions It is unlikely that topography will supplant radiography for the ascertainment of Cobb angles, because the error margins of both are wide, and the two are not measuring the same aspect of the deformity. The Quantec system is useful in patient monitoring as an alternative to radiography, without diminishing the standard of care.
Le tarif d'Abydos (vers 492)

Depuis un siecle, l'inscription connue sous le nom de tarif d'Abydos excite la curiosite a cause des indications precises qu'elle nous livre sur le montant des taxes percues au passage de 1' Hellespont ; cependant comme seule est conservee la fin du texte on ignore leur nature et en particulier la categorie des bateaux qui devaient les acquitter. La mise en œuvre des sources epigraphiques, numismatiques, papyrologiques et legislatives revele que ce reglement exempte les naviculaires, commandant les bateaux charges de denrees annonaires, de toutes les taxes sauf deux, celles qui remunerent les agents charges de controler la qualite des produits et de verifier qu'aucun capitaine ne cherche a introduire en fraude des armes ou des personnes interdites de sejour dans la capitale. Le montant des taxes, identique pour tous les bateaux charges d'une meme denree, permet en outre de determiner la valeur du follis par rapport au sou et, ce faisant, la date du tarif.
Fibroblast growth factors 2 and 4 stimulate migration of mouse embryonic limb myogenic cells

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are believed to be vital for limb outgrowth and patterning during embryonic development. Although the effect of FGFs on the formation of the skeletal elements has been studied in detail, their effect on the development of the limb musculature is still uncertain. In this study, we used Blindwell chemotactic chambers to examine the effect of FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 on the motility of myogenic cells obtained from the proximal region of day 11.5 mouse forelimbs. The limb myogenic cells were found to be chemotactically attracted to FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 at 1–50 ng/ml. Both FGFs increased myogenic cell migration in a dose‐dependent manner, with maximal responses attained at 10–50 ng/ml for FGF‐2 and at 10 ng/ml for FGF‐4; however, FGF‐2 was found to be a more potent chemoattractant than FGF‐4. It was possible to inhibit the myogenic cells' response to FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 by the addition of the appropriate neutralizing antibody. The effects of FGF‐2 on cell migration were further investigated by loading this cytokine into Affi‐Gel blue beads and transplanting them into day 11.5 forelimb buds. The results showed that FGF‐2 attracted DiI‐labelled proximal cells to migrate toward the implanted beads and that the migration was more extensive than that observed in the absence of FGF‐2. A checkerboard assay was performed in which various concentrations of FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 were introduced to both the upper and lower wells of the Blindwell chambers. The results indicated that both FGF isoforms can stimulate chemokinesis as well as chemotaxis in myogenic cells. In addition, the effect of FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 on other aspects of skeletal muscle development was investigated. FGF‐2 at 0.1–10 ng/ml stimulated a significant increase in the number of myocytes expressing sarcomeric myosin on examination after 48 hr in culture, but the effect of FGF‐4 was negligible at all concentrations analyzed; however, both FGF‐2 and FGF‐4 inhibited myocyte fusion compared with the spontaneous fusion observed in control cultures. Finally, we used in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical techniques to determine the distribution of myogenic cells and FGF‐2 protein in the day 11.5 mouse forelimbs. Dev. Dyn. 209:206–216, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
The Relationship Between Pain and Depression

Empirical results from epidemiological studies on pain–depression comorbidity in primary care and population samples have shown that: (a) pain is as strongly associated with anxiety as with depressive disorders; (b) characteristics that most strongly predict depression are diffuseness of pain and the extent to which pain interferes with activities; (c) certain psychological symptoms (low energy, disturbed sleep, worry) are prominent among pain patients, while others (guilt, loneliness) are not; (d) depression and pain dysfunction are evident early in the natural history of pain, but dysfunction and distress are often transient; and (e) among initially dysfunctional pain patients whose dysfunction is chronic, depression levels do not improve but neither do they increase over time with chronicity alone. These results seem consistent with these mechanisms of pain–depression comorbidity; (1) a trait of susceptibility to both dysphoric physical symptoms (including pain) and psychological symptoms (including depression), and a state of somatosensory amplification in which psychological distress amplifies dysphoric physical sensations (including pain); (2) psychological illness and behavioural dysfunction being interrelated features of a maladaptive response to pain evident early in the natural history of the condition, and often resolving during an early recovery phase; (3) pain constituting a significant physical and psychological stressor that may induce or exacerbate psychological distress. Thus, pain and psychological illness should be viewed as having reciprocal psychological and behavioural effects involving both processes of illness expression and adaption, as well as pain having specific effects on emotional state and behavioural function.
The mediating role of self-efficacy expectations and fear of movement and (re)injury beliefs in two samples of acute pain

Purpose. The overall aim of this study was to estimate the possible mediating role of self-efficacy, catastrophic thinking and fear of movement and (re)injury between pain intensity and pain-related disability in two samples of acute pain patients, i.e. patients with musculoskeletal injuries and patients with whiplash injury. Method. A cross sectional design with data-collection after an acute injury was used. Subjects were recruited at an emergency department. Sixty-four patients with acute whiplash associated disorders (WAD) and 74 patients with musculoskeletal injury completed the questionnaires. Results. Self-efficacy was found to be a mediator between pain intensity and pain-related disability in the WAD group, whereas fear of movement and (re)injury appeared as mediator in the musculoskeletal-injury group. The strength of association between variables was weaker in the musculoskeletal-injury group compared to the WAD group. Conclusions. It is important to assess fear of movement beliefs in patients with musculoskeletal injuries. Similarly, patients with acute WAD expressing low self-efficacy beliefs should be identified. An early detection of these beliefs may improve management at the acute phase and possibly reduce risks for slow improvements.
Malware Detection Approach for Android systems Using System Call Logs

Static detection technologies based on signature-based approaches that are widely used in Android platform to detect malicious applications. It can accurately detect malware by extracting signatures from test data and then comparing the test data with the signature samples of virus and benign samples. However, this method is generally unable to detect unknown malware applications. This is because, sometimes, the machine code can be converted into assembly code, which can be easily read and understood by humans. Furthuremore, the attacker can then make sense of the assembly instructions and understand the functioning of the program from the same. Therefore we focus on observing the behaviour of the malicious software while it is actually running on a host system. The dynamic behaviours of an application are conducted by the system call sequences at the end. Hence, we observe the system call log of each application, use the same for the construction of our dataset, and finally use this dataset to classify an unknown application as malicious or benign.
An Unusual Pulmonary Cavitating Lesion

pruritus, weight loss (B symptoms), malaise or haemoptysis. A CT scan of the chest revealed a cavitary lesion in the lateral basal segment of the LLL with a thick and irregular wall ( fi g. 2 ). Following admission numerous noninvasive examinations were performed including sputum cytology, sputum culture for tuberculosis and common bacteria, antibodies against fungus, toxoplasma and hydatidosis, and intradermal Mantoux. All were negative while WBC and ESR were within the normal range. Flexible bronchoscopy with brushing and washing were negative so a CT-guided fi ne needle aspiration (FNA) was performed, but did not indicate any disease. In view of the above fi ndings, what is your diagnosis? What is your next diagnostic step? A 42-year-old farmer was admitted to our hospital following the discovery of a cavitary lesion in the left lower lobe (LLL). His past medical history was positive for Hodgkin’s disease (HD), which had been discovered 3 years previously and treated. At that time HD was located in the cervical, supraclavicular and mediastinal lymph nodes (stage II A). Treatment was medical including 12 cycles of chemotherapy (Adriblastina, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine), followed by 12 sessions of radiotherapy. Follow-up consisted of CT and chest X-ray which showed no evidence of disease. Subsequent follow-ups over 3 years were all negative until the most recent chest X-ray ( fi g. 1 ) revealed a solitary cavitary lesion in the LLL. The patient did not have fever, Received: May 3, 2004 Accepted after revision: October 13, 2004 Published online: July 21, 2005
High expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in human melanoma cells and its role in tumor cell growth and angiogenesis.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is known to function as a cytokine, hormone, and glucocorticoid-induced immunoregulator. In this study, we reported for the first time that human melanocytes and melanoma cells express MIF mRNA and produce MIF protein. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that MIF was mostly localized in the cytoplasm of melanocytes and G361 cells, a widely available human melanoma cell line. In particular, strong positive staining was observed at the dendrites of these cells. Expression of MIF mRNA and production of MIF protein were much higher in human melanoma cells such as G361, A375, and L32 than in normal cultured melanocytes. To assess the role of MIF overexpression in melanoma cells, G361 cells were transfected with an antisense human MIF plasmid. The results demonstrated that the cell growth rate of the transfected cells was markedly suppressed, suggesting that MIF participates in the mechanism of proliferation of melanoma cells. To further evaluate the function of MIF, we employed the Boyden chamber method to examine the effect on tumor cell migration and found that MIF enhanced the migration of G361 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we administered anti-MIF antibody into tumor (G361 cells in a Millipore chamber)-bearing mice to assess the effect on tumor-associated angiogenesis. The anti-MIF antibody significantly suppressed tumor-induced angiogenesis. Taken together, these results indicated that it is likely that MIF may function as a novel growth factor that stimulates incessant growth and invasion of melanoma concomitant with neovascularization.
Sivelestat Improves Outcome of Crush Injury by Inhibiting High-Mobility Group Box 1 in Rats

ABSTRACT Severe crush injury is associated with high mortality because of resulting hyperkalemia in early phase and multiorgan dysfunction in later phase. In this study, we investigated the effects of sivelestat administration 1 h before reperfusion on the outcome of crush injury. Crush injury was induced by 6 h of direct compression to both hindlimbs of anesthetized rats with blocks weighing 3.5 kg each side, followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Rats were randomly assigned to three groups. In the control group, rats were infused with normal saline at 1 mL/kg per hour throughout the experiment without compression. Rats in the positive control group were compressed for 6 h, followed by fluid resuscitation initiated 1 h before release with normal saline. The infusion rate was increased from 1 to 10 mL/kg per hour and continued for 4 h. Rats in the treated group underwent the same procedures as in the positive control group, but sivelestat was added to normal saline (concentration was adjusted to infuse 10 mg/kg per hour) during fluid resuscitation (for 4 h). Treatment with sivelestat significantly improved survival rate with P = 0.032. This was accompanied by lower serum high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) levels after 3-h reperfusion, attenuated lung injury (assessed using hematoxylin-eosin stain), and suppression of HMGB1 expression in the lung and the liver. These results suggest that treatment with sivelestat improves the outcome of crush injury, likely by inhibiting HMGB1 in rats.
The effect of Pilates exercise on body composition in sedentary overweight and obese women.

BACKGROUND Pilates is a popular exercise approach among women. Still there is poor empirical quantitative evidence indicating a positive effect of Pilates exercises on body composition. The aim of our study is to determine the effects of Pilates exercises on body composition in sedentary overweight and obese women. METHODS Thirty-seven women, aged between 30 to 50 (43.79±4.88) years, included the study. Subjects are randomly divided into Pilates group (N.=19) and control group (N.=18). Pilates exercises was given for 90 minutes, 3 times/week, for 8 week with a gradual strength increase of 11-17 in the Rating of Perceived Exercise. Control group did not participate in any physical activity program. Bioelectric Impedance Analysis was used for determine the body composition of participants. Weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat mass, lean body mass, waist, abdomen and hip circumference were measured at pre- and post-training period. RESULTS In Pilates group, weight, BMI, fat percentage, waist, abdomen and hip circumference decreased significantly after training (P<0.05) while no significant difference was observed in lean body mass (P>0.05). In control group, abdomen and hip circumference increased significantly (P<0.05) as the other parameters showed the tendency for an increase, but no significant difference (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that 8 weeks Pilates exercises have positive effects on body composition in sedentary overweight and obese women. Pilates exercises can be applied for improving body composition.
Detection of liver metastases from adenocarcinoma of the colon and pancreas: comparison of mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced liver MRI and whole-body FDG PET.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to assess the relative performance of mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced liver MRI and whole-body FDG PET for the detection of liver metastases from adenocarcinoma of the colon and pancreas. MATERIALS AND METHODS Imaging data of 34 patients (23 men, 11 women; age range, 44-78 years) with adenocarcinoma of the colon (n = 27) or adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (n = 7) who had undergone mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced liver MRI and whole-body FDG PET were retrospectively reviewed for the presence and number of liver metastases. Histopathology (n = 25) or follow-up imaging (n = 9) served as the standard of reference. Breath-hold T1-weighted gradient-recalled echo, respiratory-triggered T2-weighted fast spin-echo, and mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced axial fat-saturated high-spatial-resolution (256 x 512) T1-weighted gradient-recalled echo images were obtained on a 1.5-T scanner. FDG PET was performed after the injection of 15-20 mCi (555-740 MBq) of FDG. The sensitivity, positive predictive value, and accuracy were calculated for each technique. The performances of the two techniques were compared using the Fisher's exact test. RESULTS Thirty patients had hepatic metastases and four had no hepatic metastases according to the standard of reference. The total number of metastases was 79, including 33 that measured less than 1 cm. Based on a per-patient analysis, MRI and FDG PET showed sensitivities of 96.6% and 93.3%, positive predictive values of 100% and 90.3%, and accuracies of 97.1% and 85.3%, respectively. According to a per-lesion analysis, MRI and FDG PET showed sensitivities of 81.4% and 67.0%, positive predictive values of 89.8% and 81.3%, and accuracies of 75.5% and 64.1%, respectively. MRI detected more hepatic metastases than FDG PET (p = 0.016). Of the 33 subcentimeter lesions confirmed on the standard of reference, all were identified on MRI, whereas only 12 were detected on FDG PET (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION In patients with colon and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, high-spatial-resolution mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced liver MRI and whole-body FDG PET were comparable in the detection of patients with liver metastases. FDG PET provided additional information about extrahepatic disease and was useful in initial staging. However, significantly more and smaller liver metastases were detected on MRI than on FDG PET.
Signal initiation in T‐cell receptor microclusters

Summary: Although dynamic imaging technologies have provided important insights into the underlying processes responsible for T‐cell activation, the processes that link antigen recognition to downstream signaling remain poorly defined. Converging lines of inquiry indicate that T‐cell receptor (TCR) microclusters are the minimal structures capable of directing effective TCR signaling. Furthermore, imaging studies have determined that these structures trigger the assembly of oligomeric signaling scaffolds that contain the adapters and effectors required for T‐cell activation. Existing models of T‐cell activation accurately explain the sensitivity and selectivity of antigen recognition. However, these models do not account for important properties of microclusters, including their peripheral formation, size, and movement on the actin cytoskeleton. Here we examine how lipid rafts, galectin lattices, and protein scaffolds contribute to the assembly, function, and fate of TCR microclusters within immune synapses. Finally, we propose a ‘mechanical segregation’ model of signal initiation in which cytoskeletal forces contribute to the lateral segregation of molecules and cytoskeletal scaffolds provide a template for microcluster assembly.