Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enterococcus faecium SF 68 Enhances the Immune Response to Giardia intestinalis in Mice 1

We studied the ability of the probiotic organism Enterococcus faecium SF68 to antagonize Giardia intestinalis infection in mice. Oral feeding of E. faecium strain SF68 starting 7 d before inoculation with Giardia trophozoites significantly increased the production of specific anti-Giardia intestinal IgA and blood IgG. This humoral response was mirrored at the cellular level by an increased percentage of CD4 T cells in the Peyer’s patches and in the spleens of SF68-fed mice. The improvement of specific immune responses in probiotic-fed mice was associated with a diminution in the number of active trophozoites in the small intestine as well as decreased shedding of fecal Giardia antigens (GSA65 protein). The ability of SF68 to stimulate the immune system at both mucosal and systemic levels highlights mechanisms by which this probiotic might antagonize pathogens in vivo. Taken together, the data demonstrate the strong potential of strain SF68 to prevent protozoa from causing intestinal infections. J. Nutr. 135: 1171–1176, 2005.
Acute exercise does not cause sustained elevations in AMPK signaling or expression.

PURPOSE No study has examined the response of skeletal muscle AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling beyond the first 3 h after an acute exercise bout in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess AMPK signaling in human skeletal muscle immediately after a single bout of moderate-intensity endurance exercise and 3 and 24 h after the exercise bout. METHODS We examined AMPK signaling, and protein expression of AMPK alpha, ACC-beta, and nNOS mu in untrained individuals (four females and four males) during the 24-h period after a 60-min bout of moderate-intensity (63 +/- 1% VO2peak) cycling endurance exercise. RESULTS AMPK alpha2 activity, AMPK alpha2 Thr172 phosphorylation, and ACC-beta Ser222 phosphorylation were increased immediately after exercise. These increases had all returned to basal levels at 3 and 24 h after exercise. Furthermore, an acute bout of exercise did not alter AMPK alpha1, AMPK alpha2, ACC-beta, or nNOS mu protein expression during the 24-h period after exercise. CONCLUSION Although an acute bout of exercise elicits increases in AMPK signaling, this alone is not sufficient to induce sustained increases in either AMPK signaling or protein expression during the postexercise period.
Oromandibular Reconstruction Using a Keel‐shaped Modification of the Radial Forearm Osteocutaneous Flap

The keel-shaped modification for harvest of the radial forearm osteocutaneous flap has been used to reconstruct 19 oromandibular defects in 18 patients. Fourteen men and 4 women ranging in age from 22 to 72 years have undergone composite mandibular reconstruction, with follow-up ranging from 3 to 36 months. Sixteen patients (17 reconstructions) had resection of advanced malignancies, and 2 patients sustained shotgun wounds. Twelve symphyseal and 7 lateral or posterior defects were reconstructed with donor radius bone ranging in length from 5 to 13.5 cm. Double osteotomies were performed in 7 patients. Two skin paddles were used in 4 patients to provide simultaneous intraoral lining and external skin coverage. The radial forearm osteocutaneous flap is still an excellent choice for oromandibular reconstruction. Anterior and lateral composite mandibular defects were satisfactorily reconstructed both aesthetically and functionally using the keel-shaped modification of the radial forearm flap. Donor-site problems were uncommon and minor, and long-term forearm function was minimally affected. Radius fracture occurred in only 1 patient.
Osteomalacia associated with aluminum intoxication in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Renal osteodystrophy and continual bone pain developed after excision of hyperplastic parathyroid glands in a 51-year-old woman with chronic renal failure. She was found to have osteomalacia associated with aluminum, which was identified at the boundary between mineralized bone and osteoid on biopsy of the iliac crest. Potential use of bone biopsy in such cases is discussed.
Bovine lentivirus induces early transient B-cell proliferation in experimentally inoculated cattle and appears to be pantropic

Bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (BIV) was first isolated in 1972 (M. J. VanDerMaaten et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 49:1649-1657, 1972). Much work has been done on the molecular characterization of BIV in studies using the original BIV R29 isolate; however, R29 is believed to be attenuated since it no longer causes either mononuclear cell number increases or detectable enlargement of lymphatic nodules in experimentally infected cattle. The host cell tropism and changes in host peripheral blood lymphocyte populations following infection with BIV are unknown. Recently, we isolated and characterized a field isolate of BIV, FL112 (D. L. Suarez et al., J. Virol. 67:5051-5055, 1993) that causes a transient, mononuclear cell lymphocytosis in experimentally infected cattle. In the present study, cattle were inoculated with BIV FL112, and data from flow cytometry showed that BIV causes a B-cell lymphocytosis with no consistent, significant changes in other mononuclear cell populations, including CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells. Cell sorting and PCR amplification were used to show that BIV may be pantropic. Proviral DNA was present in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and B-cells, monocytes, and WC1 cells (gamma/delta T cells, null cells) by 3 to 6 days postinoculation and also at 2.5 years postinoculation.
Mandibular bone loss in ewe induced by hypothalamic-pituitary disconnection.

PURPOSE It is supposed that the demographic change will lead to an increase in patients with impaired alveolar bone conditions. Large animal models are of particular interest in this context as they are suitable for developing and testing new dental implants. Recently, we demonstrated that surgical hypothalamo-pituitary disconnection (HPD) causes a pronounced low-turnover situation leading to cortical and trabecular bone loss in sheep. In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence of the HPD procedure on the alveolar bone. METHODS Ten adult Merino ewes were randomly assigned to two groups: Control and HPD. After 6 months, we analysed the cortical and trabecular bone of all mandibles by histomorphometry and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). RESULTS HPD ewes showed a significant decrease in cortical thickness by ~20%, a significant increase in cortical porosity by ~20% and a significant decrease in bone volume by ~30% in comparison with Control ewes. CONCLUSION Our results underline the importance of central regulatory mechanisms of bone turnover. However, further studies are needed to understand these central regulatory elements of bone turnover in detail and to judge the value of the HPD sheep for dental research.
A study of the effects of attenuation correction on tumor detection in SPECT oncology

The effects of attenuation correction (AC) on tumor detection in SPECT oncology have not been studied as intensively as in PET oncology. The different attenuation mechanism in SPECT compared to PET imaging may lead to different effects of AC on tumor detection for the two modalities. Using the theory of filtered-backprojection reconstruction algorithm, we analyzed how the reconstructed images may appear when AC is not performed (non-AC) so that we can reveal the effects of AC on tumor detection. We then designed and performed a series of simulation studies to evaluate the results of the theoretical analysis. Finally, we analyzed the effects of Chang's post-reconstruction AC technique on tumor detection. Our results show that (1) for lung tumors, when the tumor-to-lung uptake ratio is above a threshold, tumors are visible in both AC and non-AC images; around this threshold, tumors "disappear" in non-AC images, and below this threshold, tumors appear photophenic in non-AC images. These effects are similar to those in PET oncology. (2) In mediastinum and abdomen areas, non-AC images have lower tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) than the true uptake ratio. This effect is opposite to that in PET oncology. (3) Chang's post-reconstruction AC technique does not improve TBR as compared with non-AC. As a conclusion, accurate AC can improve TBR as compared with non-AC, and thus can potentially improve tumor detectability. Chang's AC technique does not improve TBR as compared to non-AC, and is thus not likely to improve tumor detection in SPECT oncology
FeW: A Lightweight Block Cipher

In this paper, we propose a new lightweight block cipher \textit{FeW} which encrypts plaintext in the blocks of 64-bit using 80/128 bits key to produce 64-bit ciphertext. We also propose a new structure namely \emph{Feistel-M structure} by admixture of Feistel and 4-branch generalised Feistel structures. This new structure significantly contributes to enhance the security margins of our design against the basic cryptanalytic attacks like differential, linear and impossible differential attacks. Security analysis signifies that \emph{FeW} has enough security margins against these cryptanalytic attacks and it can resist any key recovery attack beyond 17 rounds with the complexity better than $ 2^{64} $.
The cell-bound fructosyltransferase of Streptococcus salivarius: the carboxyl terminus specifies attachment in a Streptococcus gordonii model system

The ftf gene, coding for the cell-bound beta-D-fructosyltransferase (FTF) of Streptococcus salivarius ATCC 25975, has been analyzed, and its deduced amino acid sequence has been compared with that of the secreted FTF of Streptococcus mutans and the levansucrases (SacBs) of Bacillus species. A unique proline-rich region detected at the C terminus of the FTF of S. salivarius preceded a hydrophobic terminal domain. This proline-rich region was shown to possess strong homology to the product of the prgC gene from pCF10 in Enterococcus faecalis, which encodes a pheromone-responsive protein of unknown function, as well as homology to the human proline-rich salivary protein PRP-4. A series of 3'-OH deletions of the S. salivarius ftf gene expressed in Streptococcus gordonii Challis LGR2 showed that the C terminus was required for cell surface attachment in this heterologous organism, as only the complete gene product was cell bound. This cell-bound activity was released in the presence of sucrose, suggesting that the mode of attachment and release of the S. salivarius FTF in S. gordonii was similar to that in its native host.
Structural changes in the progression of atrial fibrillation: potential role of glycogen and fibrosis as perpetuating factors.

BACKGROUND Previous studies of the goat heart subjected to prolonged atrial pacing induced sustained atrial fibrillation (AF). Structural changes included marked accumulation of glycogen in atrial myocytes. AIMS In the present study, we hypothesized that glycogen deposition in canine atrial myocytes promotes paroxysmal forms of AF and is involved in fibrosis development in the later stages of AF. MATERIAL & METHODS In dogs under pentobarbital anesthesia, tissues were obtained from the right and left atrial appendages (LAA/RAA). Periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Masson's trichrome staining of the LAA/RAA from normal dogs, and those subjected to atrial pacing induced AF for 48 h or 8 weeks determined glycogen and collagen concentrations, respectively, using morphometric analysis. RESULTS At baseline, there was a significant greater concentration of glycogen in the LAA than the RAA (P ≤ 0.05). Compared to the RAA, the LAA glycogen, was dense and locked against the intercalated discs. After pacing induced AF for 48 hours and 8 weeks there was a marked increase in glycogen deposition, significantly greater than in the baseline state (P ≤ 0.05). There was a similar and progressive increase in collagen concentrations in each group (P ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The differential in glycogen concentration, in conjunction with other factors, neural and electrophysiological, provide a basis for the greater propensity of the left atrium for paroxysmal AF, at baseline and 48 hours of pacing induced AF. The marked increase in collagen at 8 weeks of pacing provides a substrate for sustained AF. Evidence is presented linking glycogen accumulation and fibrosis as factors in the persistent forms of AF.
Brain Embolism Caused by a Mobile Aortic Thrombus with Iron Deficiency Anemia

a Cerebrovascular and b Cardiovascular Divisions, Department of Medicine, and c Department of Radiology, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka , Japan netic resonance imaging (CMRI) revealed a club-shaped fl oating mass ( fi g. 1 c), which was attached to the wall of the ascending aorta, but there were no abnormalities on the internal surface of the aorta, including the attachment of the mass. Extensive examinations were made to search for a cause of the IDA, but no abnormality was detected except for internal hemorrhoids. Her IDA improved with blood transfusion, and heparin administration was started. On day 19, the mass was no longer detected on TEE and CMRI. The plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin III complex and D-dimer normalized. The patient’s hospital course was uneventful. She became used to walk with a cane. She was discharged from hospital on warfarin therapy. One year after the stroke, warfarin sodium was switched to aspirin. Reexamination of her PSA showed it improved to the normal range (76%). During 2 years of follow-up, the patient had no recurrence of stroke, thrombophilia or IDA. Patient 2. A 41-year-old housewife was admitted because of sudden onset of dysarthria and right-sided hemiplegia. Her medical history included epimenorrhagia since the age of 20 years. The patient had no established risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases except for smoking. Her uncle had an ischemic stroke. On physical examination, her body mass index was 24, the pulse was regular (64/min), and the blood pressure was 128/64 mm Hg. Her palpebral conjunctiva was pale, suggesting anemia. She had mild Atherosclerotic lesions at the aortic arch are recognized as potential sources of embolic stroke [1] . There were some reports of embolic stroke caused by a mobile thrombus located at the aortic arch (MTAA) [2–5] . Although almost all these patients had marked atherosclerotic changes, a few reports demonstrated that an MTAA was not accompanied by atherosclerotic changes and had no defi nite etiology [4, 5] . Furthermore, previous studies suggested an association between thrombogenesis and anemia [6, 7] . We report 2 female patients with iron defi ciency anemia (IDA) who developed brain embolisms caused by an MTAA without having atherosclerotic changes in the aortic arch.
Antiarrhythmics. VI. Ajmaline and serpentine in experimental cardiac arrhythmias.

Ajmaline and serpentine have been found to be more active than quinidine in the following tests: (1) refractory period of isolated rabbit atria, (2) auricular fibrillation evoked in dogs by (a) acetylcholine and (b) aconitine, (3) auricular flutter produced in dogs by the injury-stimulation procedure and (4) hydrocarbon -epinephrine- induced ventricular arrhythmias in anesthetized dogs. When the effects of these drugs were compared on the electrocardiograms of cats, ajmaline and serpentine were found to cause greater prolongation of refractory period and conduction time than quinidine.
Diminished binding of mutated collagen VI to the extracellular matrix surrounding myocytes

In Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy, due to heterozygous mutations in COL6 genes, collagen VI is preserved in the interstitium but lost in the sarcolemma. We found that the binding ability of mutated collagen VI to extracellular matrix was markedly reduced compared to control. This indicates that heterozygous mutations in COL6 genes diminish the anchorage of collagen VI microfibrils to the extracellular matrix surrounding myocytes. This is the cause for sarcolemma‐specific collagen VI deficiency. Muscle Nerve, 2008
The cost of biopharmaceutical R&D: is biotech different?

The costs of developing the types of new drugs that have been pursued by traditional pharmaceutical firms have been estimated in a number of studies. However, similar analyses have not been published on the costs of developing the types of molecules on which biotech firms have focused. This study represents a first attempt to get a sense for the magnitude of the RDmAbsr). We utilize drug-specific data on cash outlays, development times, and success in obtaining regulatory marketing approval to estimate the average pre-tax R&D resource cost for biopharmaceuticals up to the point of initial US marketing approval (in year 2005 dollars). We found average out-of-pocket (cash outlay) cost estimates per approved biopharmaceutical of $198 million, $361 million, and $559 million for the preclinical period, the clinical period, and in total, respectively. Including the time costs associated with biopharmaceutical R&D, we found average capitalized cost estimates per approved biopharmaceutical of $615 million, $626 million, and $1241 million for the preclinical period, the clinical period, and in total, respectively. Adjusting previously published estimates of R&D costs for traditional pharmaceutical firms by using past growth rates for pharmaceutical company costs to correspond to the more recent period to which our biopharmaceutical data apply, we found that total out-of-pocket cost per approved biopharmaceutical was somewhat lower than for the pharmaceutical company data ($559 million vs $672 million). However, estimated total capitalized cost per approved new molecule was nearly the same for biopharmaceuticals as for the adjusted pharmaceutical company data ($1241 million versus $1318 million). The results should be viewed with some caution for now given a limited number of biopharmaceutical molecules with data on cash outlays, different therapeutic class distributions for biopharmaceuticals and for pharmaceutical company drugs, and uncertainty about whether recent growth rates in pharmaceutical company costs are different from immediate past growth rates. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A low profile microstrip patch antenna for body-centric communications at 2.45GHz band

In this paper a low profile antenna for wireless body centric communication is presented. The antenna was designed to operate in the industrial, scientific and medical band 2.45GHz. A new design based on a circular slot inserted inside a semi-circular patch is introduced to tune the antenna to the required frequency. The performance of the antenna including the radiation pattern, reflection coefficient, and efficiency were investigated both in free space and on-body.
Ten-Year obesity and overweight prevalence in Greek children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 2001–2010 data

OBJECTIVE: While the US today has the highest rates worldwide of obesity, Europe, and particularly southern Europe, is catching up fast. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of obesity in Greek children, aged 1–12 years. DESIGN: A systematic review—including all studies published in English and Greek from January 2001 until December 2010 regarding childhood obesity, using the IOTF criteria — was performed. Twenty-five out of 134 published studies were finally selected, including 219,996 boys and 210,772 girls. RESULTS: Meta-analysis revealed that 10.2% (CI 95%: 9.8–10.7%) of Greek children (1–12 years) are obese, 23.7% (CI 95%: 22.7–24.8%) are overweight and the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity is 34% (CI 95%: 32.7–35.3%). subgroup analysis by gender showed that 11% of the boys and 9.7% of the girls were obese, while 24.1% of the boys and 23.2% of the girls were overweight. The combined prevalence of excess in body weight predominated in boys (35%), while in girls the above prevalence was 32.7%. cumulative analysis revealed an upward trend of the phenomenon (2001–2003), followed by a stabilization (2003–2010). CONCLUSIONS: During the decade 2001–2010, 1/10 Greek children was obese and 3/10 were overweight. The implementation of policies to reverse childhood obesity is of the utmost urgency.
Stream data analysis of body sensors for sleep posture monitoring: An automatic labelling approach

Sleeping is one of the most important activities in our daily lives. However, very few people really understand their sleeping habits, which affect sleep-related diseases such as sleep apnea, back problems or even snoring. Most current techniques that monitor, predict and quantify sleep postures are limited to use in hospitals and/or need the intervention of caregivers. In this paper, we describe a system to automatically monitor, predict and quantify sleep postures that may be self-applied by the general public even in a non-hospital environment such as at a persons home. A Random Forest approach is adopted during training to predict and quantify sleep postures. After going through training procedures, a person needs only one sensor placed on the wrist to recognize the persons sleep postures. Our preliminary experiments using a set of testing data show about 90 percent accuracy, indicating that this design has a promising future to accurately analyze, predict and quantify human sleep postures.
A systematic design approach for phased-array receivers

Phased-array receivers are popular electronic systems due to the advantages of signal to noise ratio (SNR) improvement and interference cancellation. However, they are mostly discussed on circuit level, and it is hardly seen any systematic design approach for phased-array receivers in general. The scope of this paper is to analyze the difference between phased-array and single-chain receivers from noise and linearity perspectives, and provide a systematic design approach to minimize the overall power consumption.
Developing and Financing a Palliative Care Program

Although hospice care to assist the dying is widely available, palliative care, which focuses on living with chronic and life threatening illness and preparing the living for dying, is poorly understood. Only recently, palliative care has been mandated by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a necessary intervention for facilities. Defining a palliative care model for the community hospital emphasizes total care for the patient beyond the traditional medical model. No specific Medicare reimbursement exists for palliative care in hospitals, and hospital administrators are generally not supportive of programs where no reimbursement exists. Developing a model palliative care program using a cost aversion financial model to quantify benefits of a palliative care programs is one strategy to address the reimbursement shortcomings.
Expression of human plasma protein genes in ageing transgenic mice

Introduction of human plasma protein genes into the mouse genome to produce transgenic mice furnishes an in vivo model for correlating chromosomal DNA sequences with developmental and tissue‐specific expression. The liver produces an array of plasma proteins that circulate throughout the body contributing to homeostasis. Non‐hepatic tissue sites of synthesis have been identified where a local provision of plasma proteins in needed. Analysis of expression of human plasma protein genes in ageing transgenic mice appears especialy promising in identifying DNA sequences that respond to environmental adversities such as inflammatory factors, hormonal changes and metal toxicity. The results indicate that human genes encoding and controlling liver plasma proteins serve as useful models for studying genetic regulation in the background of development and ageing.