Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Granulomas Induced by Living Agents

G diseases can be defined as morbid states characterized by the histologic structure of a granuloma. Clinically, they are usually represented by asymptomatic plaques and nodules which, ulcerated or not, frequently leave a scar after healing. Virchow introduced the term granuloma in 1864 to describe a focal inflammatory reaction, of diverse etiology, u'ith the same anatomic configuration. A granulomatous reaction contains basically histiocytes and can be defined as a localized collection of mononuclear phagocytic cells with or without other inflammatory cell types. '-^ A granuloma is a cellular reaction to a living agent (immunogen or antigen) which can be a bacterium, a fungus, a protozoon, a helmitic egg, or an inert substance such as a metal, oily suspension, plastic material, suture material, or beryllium. ^ The development of these responses is controlled by the mononuclear phagocytic system," fundamentally, tissue monocytes or macrophages originated from circulating monocytes, which evolve from precursor bone marrow blast cells and promonocytes. Macrophages can become activated and evolve to epithelioid cells and/or Langhans foreign body type giant cells, or lymphoid cells, which almost constantly accompany macrophages. The study of the immunologic components in granulomatous inflammation leads to the conclusion that they originate from cell mediated or delayed hypersensitivity mechanisms controlled by thymus-dependent lymphocytes (T-lymphocytes).
Cancer, Stress, and Ironies of Cancer Understanding in South Korea

ABSTRACT Cancer incidence has been rising in South Korea, coincident with industrialization and with increased longevity. This has opened the way to a presentation of cancer as a symptom of prosperity and social advancement. Cancer care for older South Koreans is marketed widely as a way of giving back to the older generation, and is often portrayed as an opportunity to mobilize technological achievement alongside family care work to honor aging parents. Because breast cancer tends to affect a younger cohort, however, breast cancer patients seek more specific explanations for their illness in order to prevent recurrence. Many breast cancer patients identify ‘stress’ as the cause of their cancer, reflecting endemic stress in the lives of ordinary South Korean women. While this implies a critique of society and, specifically, of gender constructs, the emphasis on interpersonal ‘stress’ situates cancer causality in family relationships rather than in social, political, or environmental contexts. Cancer management and stress explanations together mute inquiry into causality.
The sbcC and sbcD genes of Escherichia coli encode a nuclease involved in palindrome inviability and genetic recombination

Background: Long DNA palindromes have the potential to adopt hairpin or cruciform secondary structures that inhibit DNA replication. In Escherichia coli, this palindrome‐mediated inviability results from the activity of the sbcC and sbcD genes, and genetic observations have suggested that they may encode a nuclease. Mutations in these genes also restore the defect in genetic recombination associated with recBC sbcB mutants.
A study of CD117 expression in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and cellular dermatofibroma

Background: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a relatively uncommon spindle cell tumor of the skin. It is locally aggressive and can be a therapeutic challenge. There are case reports of partial response of DFSP to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (Imatinib), despite the reported negativity of the tumor cells for CD117. At least one publication reported focal CD117 positivity of DFSP cells, and we would like to clarify the issue. Cellular dermatofibroma (CDF) can mimic DFSP, but typical cases are easily differentiated from DFSP by their staining pattern for CD34 and factor 13a. We also report our experience with CD117 staining of typical CDFs.
Network-Based Empirical Bayes Methods for Linear Models with Applications to Genomic Data

Empirical Bayes methods are widely used in the analysis of microarray gene expression data in order to identify the differentially expressed genes or genes that are associated with other general phenotypes. Available methods often assume that genes are independent. However, genes are expected to function interactively and to form molecular modules to affect the phenotypes. In order to account for regulatory dependency among genes, we propose in this paper a network-based empirical Bayes method for analyzing genomic data in the framework of linear models, where the dependency of genes is modeled by a discrete Markov random field defined on a predefined biological network. This method provides a statistical framework for integrating the known biological network information into the analysis of genomic data. We present an iterated conditional mode algorithm for parameter estimation and for estimating the posterior probabilities using Gibbs sampling. We demonstrate the application of the proposed methods using simulations and analysis of a human brain aging microarray gene expression data set.
Height, Societal Threat, and the Victory Margin in Presidential Elections (1824–1992)

Based on the idea that height serves as a heuristic for judgments about status, dominance, and leadership potential, two hypotheses were tested: (1) Heights of U.S. presidential election winners are positively correlated with estimates of social, economic, and political threat in election years. (2) Height and victory margin are positively correlated regardless of the magnitude of estimates of social, economic, and political threat in election years. Both hypotheses were supported for the 43 elections from 1824 to 1992.
Sequence Analysis of the Florfenicol Resistance Gene Encoded in the Transferable R‐Plasmid of a Fish Pathogen, Pasteurella piscicida

The florfenicol resistance gene (pp‐flo) derived from a transferable R‐plasmid of Pasteurella piscicida consisted of 1,122 nucleotides, and the predicted amino acid sequence showed 47.4% identity to that of a non‐enzymatic chloramphenicol resistance gene (cmlA). The pp‐flo gene was located in the downstream region of the sulfonamide resistance gene of the transferable R‐plasmid.
Periprocedural Anticoagulant Management

Abstract Approximately 6 million Americans are treated with chronic anticoagulation. Of these, 10% of patients will require temporary anticoagulation interruption for an invasive procedure each year. Anticoagulation management during this period requires a formal strategy in order to limit both bleeding and thromboembolic complications. This article will give health care providers a stepwise approach to this process. The first step is to determine whether warfarin discontinuation is necessary for the planned procedure. For procedures requiring warfarin discontinuation, the second step is to determine the appropriate timing. The third step is to identify the patient-specific thromboembolic risk in order to determine which patients require bridging therapy with parenteral anticoagulants. The fourth step is both the most complicated and most critical step in this management strategy. This decision-making step involves choosing the appropriate anticoagulant regimen, dose, and timing of reinitiation that is best tailored to a specific patient, as well as determining procedural variables, in order to limit bleeding and thrombotic complications.
The validity and reliability of Kogan’s attitude towards old people scale in the Turkish society

This study was conducted methodologically in order to determine the validity and reliability of Kogan’s Attitude towards Old People Scale after being adapted to the Turkish Society. 145 female students, attending the 4th and 5th year of the faculty of Medical Sciences at Ataturk University, and 118 nurses, working at Ataturk University Aziziye-Yakutiye Research Hospitals, were in-cluded in the study. The sample group was chosen from the population using a non-probability convenience sampling method. A form containing demographic characteristics of nurses and nursing students, and the Turkish version of Kogan’s Attitude towards Old People Scale were used to gather the required data. Data was analysed using the t-test, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, correlation, and factor analyses. In the study, Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficient for Kogan’s Attitude towards Old People Scale was 0.81, and the scale comprised of one factor. The attitude of working nurses towards old people was more positive in comparison to the attitude of student nurses. After analysis, the scale was deemed highly valid and reliable, and suitable to be used for Turkish society. The scale may be used in studies to evaluative attitude toward old people and quality of the care offered to older people.
io lo gy E-cadherin germline missense mutations in diffuse gastric cancer

Abstract Introduction Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer is an autosomal inherited syndrome associated with the E-cadherin germline mutations. Different types of CDH1 germline mutations have been reported; the missense alterations are rarely identified when compared with truncating mutations. The identification of missense mutation represents a clinical burden, since its pathogenicity is still under genetic and clinical studies. The aim of this critical review was to discuss E-cadherin germline missense mutations in diffuse gastric cancer. Materials and methods In this paper, we reviewed the literature data about the CDH1 germline missense mutations identified in early-onset and hereditary diffuse gastric tumours. The roles of clinical surveillance and prophylactic gastrectomy were discussed. Mutations reported in breast lobular cancer were excluded. Results We identified a total of 31 CDH1 germline missense mutations with different pathogenic impact on E-cadherin function (pathogenic vs. neutral). The majority of these alterations were localized at the extracellular domain of the CDH1 gene. These mutations affected indifferently hereditary and sporadic diffuse gastric carcinomas. Conclusion In this critical review, we reported all missense mutations identified to date and discussed about the E-cadherin missense mutation function, clinical management for asymptomatic mutation carriers and the roles of prophylactic total gastrectomy and endoscopic surveillance.
Antiproliferative activity of selected medicinal plants of Jordan against a breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF7)

76 ethanolic extracts of medicinal herbs from the Jordanian flora, belonging to 67 species and 34 families, were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity on a breast cancer cell line (MCF7). The cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium and incubated with the extracts for 72 hours. Sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assay was used to test cytotoxicity. From the tested crude extracts, Inula graveolens, Salvia dominica, Conyza canadiensis and Achillea santolina showed potent antiproliferative activity and the activity resided in the chloroform/ethanolic extracts. The most active plant was I. graveolens with an IC50 of 3.83 μg/ml. Phytochemical screening indicated the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolics in all active extracts. These results indicate the possible potential use of medicinal plants from the Jordanian flora as antineoplastic agents.
Observations of cosmic gamma-ray bursts with IMP-7: evidence for a single spectrum

Spectral observations of nine recent cosmic gamma-ray bursts are reported. The average photon number spectra of all nine events are each consistent with a 150-keV exponential from 100 keV to about 400 keV, and a power law of index -2.5 from 400 keV to 1100 keV. The observations also indicate an event rate of 16 in 1972 and 1973, or 8 plus or minus 2 per year, higher than the 5 plus or minus 1 per year initially reported. This corresponds to an approximately 40 percent lower effective intensity threshold, attained by using more sensitive detectors in multiple-satellite coincidence.
Maternal factors in the origin of isolated anorectal malformations – a population-based case–control study

Abstract Objective: In most patients affected by isolated anorectal malformation (IARM), the etiology is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the possible role of maternal risk factors in the origin of IARM. Methods: The study samples included 231 cases with IARM, 361 matched and 38 151 population controls without any defect in the population-based large dataset of the Hungarian Case–Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, 1980–1996. Cases with IARM were evaluated in the function of maternal diseases and related drug use. Results: The findings of this case–control study suggested that cases with IARM have an obvious male excess. The mothers of cases with IARM had a lower incidence of severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and a higher incidence of acute infectious diseases in the urinary tract. Conclusions: Lack of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and the higher incidence of urinary tract infections may have a role in the development of IARM.
Dynamic Server Allocation for Queueing Networks with Flexible Servers

This paper is concerned with the design of dynamic server assignment policies that maximize the capacity of queueing networks with flexible servers. Flexibility here means that each server may be capable of performing service at several different classes in the network. We assume that the interarrival times and the service times are independent and identically distributed, and that routing is probabilistic. We also allow for server switching times, which we assume to be independent and identically distributed. We deduce the value of a tight upper bound on the achievable capacity by equating the capacity of the queueing network model with that of a limiting deterministic fluid model. The maximal capacity of the deterministic model is given by the solution to a linear programming problem that also provides optimal allocations of servers to classes. We construct particular server assignment policies, called generalized round-robin policies, that guarantee that the capacity of the queueing network will be arbitrarily close to the computed upper bound. The performance of such policies is studied using numerical examples.
Mechanistic basis of differential conduction in skeletal muscle arteries

The goal of this investigation was to probe intercellular conduction in skeletal muscle feed arteries and to address why smooth muscle‐initiated responses fail to robustly spread like their endothelial counterpart. Using computational and experimental approaches, two interrelated rationales were developed to explain this apparent discrepancy in cell‐to‐cell communication. The first rationale stressed that smooth muscle electrical responses, if initiated, will be actively dissipated as they spread from cell‐to‐cell along the arterial wall. Charge dissipation is promoted within arteries by the structural and connectivity properties of vascular cells. The second rationale centred on the idea that when agents other than KCl stimulate a limited number of smooth muscle cells, they fail to generate the currents required to elicit a localized membrane potential (VM) response. This insufficiency results in part from charge loss, via gap junctions, to neighbouring unstimulated cells. Experiments confirmed the latter rationale by showing that focal phenylephrine application: (1) elicited a localized constriction insensitive to L‐type Ca2+ channel blockade; and (2) failed to substantially depolarize vascular smooth muscle cells. Further investigation revealed that while focal phenylephrine‐induced constriction was VM independent, it was reliant on internal Ca2+ mobilization and the activation of inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (IP3) receptors. The preceding findings illustrate that by using computational modelling and experimentation in a complementary manner, one can isolate key cellular properties and rationally examine their role in limiting the conduction of smooth muscle‐initiated responses. Functionally, these observations enable investigators to assign the concept of ‘local and global’ blood flow control to the electrical and/or non‐electrical behaviour of specific cell types.
Mutagenic hazards of complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures in contaminated soil

The objective of the present study was to evaluate hazard/risk assessment methods for complex environmental mixtures that involve a targeted, priority chemical approach based on the cumulative hazard/risk of known mixture components or analyses of sufficiently similar mixtures. Ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)–contaminated soils were separated into nonpolar and semipolar fractions, and both fractions elicited positive responses on the Salmonella reverse mutation assay. Targeted and nontargeted methods of hazard prediction routinely overestimated mutagenic activities for the nonpolar soil fractions, suggesting nonadditive interactions of PAHs in complex mixtures. This suggests that current risk assessment methods for complex mixtures may provide conservative estimates regarding soils contaminated with priority PAHs alone. Significant underestimations of total risk, however, will be obtained if the soils also contain unidentified PAHs as well as polycyclic aromatic compounds and related compounds that contribute to the total mutagenic activity. Furthermore, estimates of excess lifetime cancer risk associated with the nondietary ingestion of the PAH‐contaminated soils studied here indicate that a traditional risk assessment model based on identified priority PAHs and an assumption of additivity generally underestimates the risk associated with the nonpolar soil fractions (in comparison to bioassay‐derived risk estimates). Additional cancer risk may be associated with the more polar compounds that also are found at these contaminated sites and that rarely are included in the standard risk assessment methodology.
Comparison of therapeutic effects between radiofrequency ablation and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for small hepatocellular carcinomas

Background: Although thermal ablation therapies have gained fairly wide acceptance as an effective treatment for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there have been only a few clinical studies comparing the response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT). We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy and safety of these two procedures for the treatment of small HCC measuring ≤ 2 cm in diameter.
Watch-sized four-port dual-band MIMO antennas

In this paper, a compact four-port dual-band antenna system which operates at 2.10GHz and 4.45GHz is described. The four antenna elements are located on the edges of a square ground plane with a side length of 30mm, which corresponds to 0. 21λo at 2.10GHz. The proposed antenna volume resembles an iPod shuffle in size, which is suitable for smart watch applications.
Virulence of Burkholderia cepacia complex strains in gp91phox−/− mice

In cystic fibrosis (CF), infection with Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) strains may cause long‐term asymptomatic airway colonization, or severe lung infection leading to rapid pulmonary decline. To assess the virulence of Bcc strains, we established a lung infection model in mice with a null allele of the gene involved in X‐linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). CGD mice, challenged intratracheally with 103 cells of the epidemic Burkholderia cenocepacia strain J2315, died within 3 days from sepsis after bacteria had multiplied to 3.3 × 108 cells. Infected mice developed neutrophil‐dominated lung abscesses. Other B. cenocepacia strains and a B. cepacia strain were less virulent and one B. multivorans and one B. vietnamensis CF isolate were both avirulent. Bcc mutants, defective in exopolysaccharide synthesis or quorum sensing revealed diminished or no abscess formation and mortality. Immunofluorescence staining of Bcc‐infected murine and CF lung tissues revealed colocalization of Bcc and neutrophils, suggesting Bcc persistence within neutrophils in CGD and CF. In vitro, Bcc cells were rapidly killed during aerobic neutrophil phagocytosis; however, the pathogens survived in neutrophils with blocked nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity and under anaerobic conditions. We conclude that the Bcc infection model in CGD mice is well suited for the assessment of Bcc virulence.
Risk factors for renal‐cell cancer in Shanghai, China

A population‐based case‐control study of 154 histologically verified renal‐cell cancer patients and 157 controls was per formed in Shanghai, China, an area with low rates for this tumor. Elevated risks were observed for cigarette smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1 to 4.9), and for increasing categories of body weight and meat consumption, while reduced risks were seen for increasing categories of fruit and vegetable intake. An increased risk was also observed for regular use of phenacetin‐containing analgesics (OR = 2.3; 95% CI:0.7 to 7.0). These findings are consistent with earlier studies in Western countries, and indicate that many of the same etiologic factors for renal‐cell cancer operate in low‐and high‐risk societies. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Statistical study of SiON short MOSFET under Channel Hot Carrier stress

In this work we study the threshold voltage variation (ΔVth) under a Channel Hot Carrier stress using a statistical approach. Therefore we measure the transistor threshold voltage on 60 different dies with stress up to 1000s. The devices have either 70-nm or 40-nm gate length. Based on this approach we extract the average and the dispersion of the ΔVth and link this variation to the defect caused by the degradation. An analysis using a power law model of the defect generation demonstrates that the CHC stress we are using results of larger oxide trap for shorter devices. Further we discuss the dispersion variation with the stress. Finally a study of the performance based on a model of the mobility degradation suggests that the different type of defects affect in the same the performance degradation.
Object Detection Using Machine Learning for Autonomous Larvaceans Tracking

This paper discusses an object detection algorithm that outputs the bounding box containing the target object, larvacea, given a raw submarine image. The location of the bounding box is determined by performing true/false classification on sliding windows of varied sizes on the image. Cropped images of larvaceans and non-larvaceans are labeled as positive and negative samples, mapped into SIFT and HOG feature space, as the dataset. Two class SVM and Exemplar SVM classifier, trained on SIFT features and HOG features respectively, are evaluated by performance. Two class SVM model trained on 200 clustered SIFT descriptor feature vectors has demonstrated to be the best performing model (up to 91.5% test accuracy) and is therefore used as the classifier for the object detection algorithm. Hard negative mining was also performed to improve object detection performance. Although slow, this algorithm is generally successful in outputting the correct location of the target.