Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrastructural changes in hypertrophied myocardium of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

In seven arbitrarily selected groups of 3-, 5-, 9-, 11-, 15-, and 21-week and one-year-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) (F25-26), qualitative as well as quantitative light and electron microscope studies were conducted on the myocardium in the left ventricular papillary muscle and lateral wall. Age-and body-weight-matched groups of normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats were employed as controls. In the strain of SHR used in this study blood pressure was significantly higher than in the controls in the 7th week of age, reached sustained levels (approximately 180 mmHg) in the 15th week of age and remained higher thereafter. The heart weight/body weight ratio gradually increased in SHR after the 15th week of age. In 3-week-old SHR, there was no significant difference in fine structure of the myocardium in comparison with control animals. The cardiocytes were small in size and rapidly growing. Myofibrillogenesis seemed to occur in association with juvenile forms of intercalated discs, subsarcolemmal dense mats, occasional Z band expansions and unorganized filamentous structures in the periphery of preexisting myofibrils. In 5- and 9-week-old SHR, the muscle fiber diameters in the papillary muscle were significantly larger than those in control animals of the same age. Subcellular structures of many cardiocytes were, however, apparently equal in both papillary muscle and lateral wall of the left ventricle in SHR and control animals. In 11-week-old SHR, the cardiocytes were moderately hypertrophied in both papillary muscle and lateral wall. The myofibrils were significantly increased in mass in association with altered intercalated discs, extended subsarcolemmal dense mats and unorganized filamentous structures in the periphery of preexisting myofibrils. Focal interstitial fibroses occurred in in the myocardium, and tunnel capillaries appeared in some hypertrophied cardiocytes. In 15-week-old SHR, the cardiocytes had markedly hypertrophied in accordance with the establishment of sustained hypertension. The intracellular volume ratios of myofibrils and T system had increased significantly whereas the mitochondrial volume had markedly decreased resulting in a significant increase in the myofibril/mitochondria volume ratio. There were marked changes in the intercalated discs associated with numerous immature sarcomers, and frequent abnormal Z band expansions. Interstitial fibroses had markedly increased in number and extent. In 21-week-old SHR, in addition to findings similar to those in 15-week-old SHR, heterogeneous changes of the contractile material, mitochondria and sarcoplasmic matrix were more prominent, suggesting heterogeneous malfunctions in later stages of cardiac hypertrophy. In one-year-old SHR, subcellular changes in many cardiocytes qualitatively resembled those in 21-week-old SHR. Interstitial fibroses and tunnel capillaries were also increased in extent and number.
Triple function IVUS: Diagnostic imaging, radiation force, and therapeutic for microbubble-based drug delivery

A prototype triple function intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter, providing three operating frequencies, was designed, fabricated, and tested. The prototype was characterized by collecting one way acoustic output and beam profiles. The elongated acoustic radiation force (ARF) element has a center frequency of 3.6 MHz and a -6 dB fractional bandwidth of 38%. The therapeutic and imaging element (TIE) has a center frequency of 9 MHz and -6 dB fractional bandwidth of 47% with a width mode resonance of 1.9 MHz. The maximum recorded peak negative pressure at 1.5 MHz was 600kPa for the TIE. The displacement of microbubbles due to the ARF element was optically measured and compared to a 1-D microbubble displacement model. Average microbubble velocities of up to 0.6 m/s were measured using a single 280 kPa 20 cycle 3 MHz Gaussian ramped sinusoidal pulse. A wire target was imaged with the IVUS prototype in a wall-less flow phantom.
Causes of stillbirth in a community survey in Gombe State

Background: Perinatal mortality rate is very high in North Eastern Nigeria mainly due to a large number of still births. The causes and factors related need to be identified so as to proffer solutions with a view to improving obstetric practice and perinatal survival. Objectives : To identify the causes and factors related to stillbirths in Dukku Local Government Area of Gombe state. Methodology : A prospective study that was both hospital and community based, in which parturients were recruited in their last trimester and followed up till delivery. The fetal outcome was recorded and still birth rate calculated. Results : Five hundred and two parturient mothers were recruited. They delivered a total of 520 babies, amongst whom were eighteen sets of twins; five hundred of these were live births. There were 20 still births, giving a stillbirth rate of 38.5/1000. Causes of stillbirth include unbooked and early pregnanacies as well as deliveries unattended to by trained health personnel. Conclusion: Lack of antenatal Care, home delivery and teenage pregnancy were important factors contributing to high still birth rate in Dukku LGA of Gombe State. Key Words : Stillbirth, Perinatal, Mortality,
MR diagnosis of tears of anterior cruciate ligament of the knee: importance of ancillary findings.

OBJECTIVE Detection of tears of the anterior cruciate ligament with MR is usually based on the appearance of the ligament. However, other MR findings may be useful to establish the diagnosis. We assessed the utility of these ancillary MR findings for detecting tears and for differentiating partial from complete tears of the anterior cruciate ligament. MATERIALS AND METHODS MR images of 68 patients who had arthroscopic correlation were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists who did not know the arthroscopic findings. The reviewers noted the presence and location of bone bruises (nonlinear low signal in the bone marrow on T1-weighted images), assessed posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus, and measured the posterior cruciate ligament angle. At arthroscopy, 39 patients had tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (24 complete, 15 partial) and 29 had intact anterior cruciate ligaments. RESULTS The presence of bone bruising in the posterolateral tibial plateau had sensitivities of 50% and 46%, with corresponding specificities of 97% and 97% for the two reviewers. Posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus had a sensitivity of 56% for both reviewers, with 100% and 97% specificities. An angle of the posterior cruciate ligament less than 105 degrees had sensitivities of 72% and 74%, with corresponding specificities of 79% and 86%. The prevalence of these findings was similar in patients with partial tears and those with complete tears. CONCLUSION Ancillary MR imaging findings may be helpful for diagnosing tears of the anterior cruciate ligament when diagnosis based on the MR appearance of the ligament is equivocal. Ancillary findings cannot be used to differentiate patients with partial tears from those with complete tears. The presence of bone bruising in the posterior aspect of the tibial plateau and posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus are highly specific for a torn anterior cruciate ligament; therefore, the presence of either of these findings should be considered strong evidence of a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament.
Model reference adaptive control of a quadruple tank process with actuator faults

PID controllers are still the most popular controllers used in process industry. Most of plants in industry contain multiple PID loops where interaction between control channels is highly possible. System instability and catastrophic consequences are inevitable for safety critical plants in the case of actuator and sensor faults/failures. In such case, a fault tolerant control (FTC) system may be a solution. Adaptive control method includes a class of methods which is appropriate for active FTC since they have the ability of adaptation to variations in the system parameters. In this study we utilize a prototype that mimics complex, industrial processes. Our aim is to develop a model reference adaptive control system for chosen plant. A model that covers all possible actuator faults is proposed and integrated to the plant simulation. Results are compared with PI-controlled system.
SOCIAL FACTORS THAT MAKE SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN VULNERABLE TO HIV INFECTION

The degree to which women are able to control various aspects of their sexual lives is clearly a critical question for health promotion and the prevention of AIDS. It is evident that social factors such as the high rate of rape, the unfavourable economic position of women, and the inability to insist on condom usage make South African women unable to negotiate the timing of sex and the conditions under which it occurs. They are thus rendered powerless to protect themselves against HIV infection. Prevention campaigns often do not take into account the reality of the daily lives of South African women and the difficulties they face gaining control over their own sexual lives. The rampant spread of this disease can only be stemmed if the subordinate position of women is acknowledged and addressed.
DNA supercoiling and the anaerobic and growth phase regulation of tonB gene expression

We show that several interacting environmental factors influence the topology of intracellular DNA. Negative supercoiling of DNA in vivo is increased by anaerobic growth and is also influenced by growth phase. The tonB promoter of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium was found to be highly sensitive to changes in DNA supercoiling. Expression was increased by novobiocin, an inhibitor of DNA gyrase, and was decreased by factors which increase DNA superhelicity. Expression of the plasmid-encoded tonB gene was enhanced by gamma delta insertions in cis in a distance- and orientation-independent fashion. Both the res site and the TnpR protein of gamma delta, which is known to function as a type I topoisomerase, were required for this activation. tonB expression increased during the growth cycle and was reduced by anaerobiosis. There was excellent correlation between tonB expression from a plasmid and the level of supercoiling of that plasmid under a wide range of conditions. The chromosomal tonB gene was regulated in a manner identical to that of the plasmid-encoded gene. Thus, the physiological regulation of tonB expression in response to anaerobiosis and growth phase appears to be mediated by environmentally induced changes in DNA superhelicity.
Linking integrative medicine with interprofessional education and care initiatives: Challenges and opportunities for interprofessional collaboration

Although the fields of interprofessional education and collaboration (IPE/IPC) and integrative medicine (IM) are both recognised and clearly advancing as of late, a curious paradox exists: IPE/IPC and IM are both concerned with communicating about and attempting to resolve differences between healthcare professions with the fundamental goal of improving patient outcomes, yet they have remained quite distinct fields of research. This disconnect could be due to the fact that one field deals with integration within the general paradigm of biomedicine (IPE/IPC), while the other addresses integration across paradigms (IM). It is an opportune time for a critical comparison between the two. First, the main themes of IM are summarised as they are reflected in the IM literature. Second, a comparative analysis is presented focusing on the significant similarities and differences between IPE/IPC and IM. The final section addresses the question: What key learning areas from IM could benefit and enhance IPE/IPC?
Therapy Effects of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells on Ischemic Stroke

Stroke is the second most common cause of death and major cause of disability worldwide. Recently, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) have been shown to improve functional outcome after stroke. In this review, we will focus on the protective effects of BMSCs on ischemic brain and the relative molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of BMSCs on stroke.
Use of Microdilution Panels with and without β-Lactamase Inhibitors as a Phenotypic Test for β-Lactamase Production among Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp.,Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter freundii, andSerratia marcescens

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, a number of new β-lactamases have appeared in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceaethat, unlike their predecessors, do not confer β-lactam resistance that is readily detected in routine antibiotic susceptibility tests. Because optimal methodologies are needed to detect these important new β-lactamases, a study was designed to evaluate the ability of a panel of various β-lactam antibiotics tested alone and in combination with β-lactamase inhibitors to discriminate between the production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases, AmpC β-lactamases, high levels of K1 β-lactamase, and other β-lactamases in 141 isolates of Escherichia coli,Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca,Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter aerogenes,Citrobacter freundii, and Serratia marcescens possessing well-characterized β-lactamases. The microdilution panels studied contained aztreonam, cefpodoxime, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone, with and without 1, 2, and 4 μg of clavulanate per ml or 8 μg of sulbactam per ml and cefoxitin and cefotetan with and without 8 μg of sulbactam per ml. The results indicated that a minimum panel of five tests would provide maximum separation of extended-spectrum β-lactamase high AmpC, high K1, and other β-lactamase production in Enterobacteriaceae. These included cefpodoxime, cefpodoxime plus 4 μg of clavulanate per ml, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, and ceftriaxone plus 8 μg of sulbactam per ml. Ceftriaxone plus 2 μg of clavulanate per ml could be substituted for cefpodoxime plus 4 μg of clavulanate per ml without altering the accuracy of the tests. This study indicated that tests with key β-lactam drugs, alone and in combination with β-lactamase inhibitors, could provide a convenient approach to the detection of a variety of β-lactamases in members of the family Enterobacteriaceae.
Topic Models to Infer Socio-Economic Maps

Socio-economic maps contain important information regarding the population of a country. Computing these maps is critical given that policy makers often times make important decisions based upon such information. However, the compilation of socio-economic maps requires extensive resources and becomes highly expensive. On the other hand, the ubiquitous presence of cell phones, is generating large amounts of spatiotemporal data that can reveal human behavioral traits related to specific socio-economic characteristics. Traditional inference approaches have taken advantage of these datasets to infer regional socio-economic characteristics. In this paper, we propose a novel approach whereby topic models are used to infer socio-economic levels from large-scale spatio-temporal data. Instead of using a pre-determined set of features, we use latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to extract latent recurring patterns of co-occurring behaviors across regions, which are then used in the prediction of socio-economic levels. We show that our approach improves state of the art prediction results by 9%.
Impact of hotel service quality on the loyalty of customers

Abstract The hotel business is rapidly developing due to growing demand for such services as well as the growing opportunities for travel. As a result, hotels face demanding customers, since the requirements for quality grow with an increased use of hotels’ services, in order to increase the competitive ability of a hotel, the issue of customer loyalty is also important. The aim of this article is to assess the impact of the quality of hotel services on the loyalty of customers. In the article the original created methodology SERQUALOYL is presented, where two methodologies were adapted: SERQUAL methodology used in the research of service quality, and the methodology for the determination of customer’s loyalty level stage, applied in loyalty research. The results of research have revealed that the conformity of expected quality with the quality experienced has a significant influence on the customer’s loyalty. The hotels, in order to increase the competitive ability and to obtain a higher number of loyal customers, should firstly make the expectations of customers coincide with the offered service quality.
Sleep architecture and the risk of incident dementia in the community

Objective: Sleep disturbance is common in dementia, although it is unclear whether differences in sleep architecture precede dementia onset. We examined the associations between sleep architecture and the prospective risk of incident dementia in the community-based Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Methods: Our sample comprised a subset of 321 FHS Offspring participants who participated in the Sleep Heart Health Study between 1995 and 1998 and who were aged over 60 years at the time of sleep assessment (mean age 67 ± 5 years, 50% male). Stages of sleep were quantified using home-based polysomnography. Participants were followed for a maximum of 19 years for incident dementia (mean follow-up 12 ± 5 years). Results: We observed 32 cases of incident dementia; 24 were consistent with Alzheimer disease dementia. After adjustments for age and sex, lower REM sleep percentage and longer REM sleep latency were both associated with a higher risk of incident dementia. Each percentage reduction in REM sleep was associated with approximately a 9% increase in the risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio 0.91; 95% confidence interval 0.86, 0.97). The magnitude of association between REM sleep percentage and dementia was similar following adjustments for multiple covariates including vascular risk factors, depressive symptoms, and medication use, following exclusions for persons with mild cognitive impairment at baseline and following exclusions for early converters to dementia. Stages of non-REM sleep were not associated with dementia risk. Conclusions: Despite contemporary interest in slow-wave sleep and dementia pathology, our findings implicate REM sleep mechanisms as predictors of clinical dementia.
SmallConnection: designing of tangible communication media over networks

The concept of "SmallConnection (abbr. SC)" is creating easy to operate tangible media for communication over networks. Focusing on the scenario where two intimate people live in distant places, we developed communication media that can be handled like tools, and can convey faint information such as light, wind and touch through the use of a robot technology. The goal of this project is to propose and prototype new media design for communication between two people. Through working 3 products derived from SC, we hope to widely propose a? future communication design using multimedia.
Ambient Activity Recognition in Smart Environments for Cognitive Assistance

In this paper, the authors investigate the challenging key issues that emerge from research in the field of ambient intelligence in smart environments, under the context of activity recognition. The authors clearly describe the specific functional needs inherent in cognitive assistance for effective activity recognition, and then the authors present the fundamental research that addresses this problem in such a context. This paper is more of a survey and an analysis of existing works that have been studied for potential integration into our laboratories, rather than a focused evaluation report. The authors’ objective is to identify gaps in the capabilities of current techniques and to suggest the most productive lines of research to address this complex issue. As such, the contribution is of both theoretical and practical significance. Ambient Activity Recognition in Smart Environments for Cognitive Assistance
Genetic Dissection of Trabecular Bone Structure with Mouse Intersubspecific Consomic Strains

Trabecular bone structure has an important influence on bone strength, but little is known about its genetic regulation. To elucidate the genetic factor(s) regulating trabecular bone structure, we compared the trabecular bone structures of two genetically remote mouse strains, C57BL/6J and Japanese wild mouse-derived MSM/Ms. Phenotyping by X-ray micro-CT revealed that MSM/Ms has structurally more fragile trabecular bone than C57BL/6J. Toward identification of genetic determinants for the difference in fragility of trabecular bone between the two mouse strains, we employed phenotype screening of consomic mouse strains in which each C57BL/6J chromosome is substituted by its counterpart from MSM/Ms. The results showed that many chromosomes affect trabecular bone structure, and that the consomic strain B6-Chr15MSM, carrying MSM/Ms-derived chromosome 15 (Chr15), has the lowest values for the parameters BV/TV, Tb.N, and Conn.D, and the highest values for the parameters Tb.Sp and SMI. Subsequent phenotyping of subconsomic strains for Chr15 mapped four novel trabecular bone structure-related QTL (Tbsq1-4) on mouse Chr15. These results collectively indicate that genetic regulation of trabecular bone structure is highly complex, and that even in the single Chr15, the combined action of the four Tbsqs controls the fragility of trabecular bone. Given that Tbsq4 is syntenic to human Chr 12q12-13.3, where several bone-related SNPs are assigned, further study of Tbsq4 should facilitate our understanding of the genetic regulation of bone formation in humans.
Inhibition des protéines anti-apoptotiques de la famille Bcl-2 par l'ABT-737 : intérêt pour le traitement des cancers des voies aérodigestives supérieures

Les cancers des voies aero-digestives superieures (VADS) sont des cancers de mauvais pronostic avec 50% de rechute des patients dans les deux ans qui suivent leur traitement. La surexpression des proteines anti-apoptotiques de la famille Bcl-2 est un des marqueurs correles avec la resistance aux divers traitements. L’objectif de ce travail a ete d’evaluer l’efficacite d’une approche therapeutique associant l’irradiation a un inhibiteur des proteines anti-apoptotiques Bcl-2 et Bcl-XL, l’ABT-737 (Laboratoires Abbott), ceci a la fois sur des lignees issues de cancers de VADS, mais egalement sur une sous-population de cellules souches cancereuses (CSC). La premiere partie de ce travail a demontre que cette association therapeutique provoque une radio-sensibilisation des lignees cellulaires etudiees in vitro, avec augmentation de la mort cellulaire par apoptose. Cet effet synergique fait intervenir la mitochondrie, module le metabolisme des ceramides et modifie l’expression de certaines proteines de la famille Bcl-2 dont l’equilibre est determinant dans la destinee de la cellule cancereuse. De plus, le traitement par l’ABT-737 permet de ralentir tres sensiblement la croissance tumorale apres irradiation sur un modele in vivo.La deuxieme partie de ce travail a permis de reveler une efficacite cytotoxique encore plus importante de l’ABT-737 sur une sous-population de CSC, resistante a l’apoptose, proliferante et tumorigene, dont le role dans la resistance aux divers traitements fait l’objet de nombreux travaux. A cette efficacite cytotoxique s’ajoute une diminution de la migration et de l’invasion des CSC, effet tres prometteur dans la lutte contre la recidive locale et la dissemination metastatique, caracteristiques des cancers de VADS de haut grade