Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of multidetector CT imaging to assess vascular stents in children with congenital heart disease: An in vivo and in vitro study

Objective: To evaluate varying CT settings to visualize pediatric vascular stents in comparison to digital angiography (DA). Background: There is a great clinical interest in substituting noninvasive methods to follow up children with congenital heart disease after interventional treatment. Materials and Methods: CT studies in small children with transcatheter placed stents were reviewed, retrospectively. Furthermore, eight stents were implanted in tubes and partially obstructed. CT exams were performed on varying scanners (4 up to 64 slices) with corresponding tube settings. The effects of dose on image quality were evaluated regarding stent size, strut thickness, and in‐stent stenoses in comparison to DA. Results: Fourteen children with 28 implanted stents were identified. Significant differences between higher and lower radiation settings were not found, corresponding with the phantom, where moderate tube setting showed the best results. In vitro, there was an improvement with increasing number of detector rows, which resulted in a decrease of stent strut overestimation (295% down to 201%; P < 0.0001) and a better agreement with DA measurements for mild (78% up to 91%; P = 0.003) and moderate in‐stent stenoses (80% up to 99%; P = 0.0001). Conclusion: Higher radiation exposure settings did not improve image quality, suggesting that the exams could be performed at a lower radiation dose. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of the Granulation Step on Pellets Prepared by Extrusion/Spheronization

Pellets were prepared by granulation/extrusion/spheronization. Four different procedures applying different amounts of shear were used for granulation : planetary mixer, high-shear mixer and twin-screw extruder with two different screw assemblies. Extrusion was performed on a rotary ring die press. Pellet properties were rated by size, shape, release behaviour and different mechanical characteristics like crushing strength or porosity. The study revealed that different granulation methods affected pellet properties by the application of different shear forces. The application of higher shear forces during granulation resulted in a higher water content necessary for successful pelletization. This finding is in contrast to conventional granulation and was explained by the crystal-lite-gel-model. The difference in water content of the extrudate influenced the extent of shrinking during drying, which was responsible for the different mechanical characteristics of the pellets. The release rate for paracetamol was higher for pellets with lower porosity. This is explained by the presence of drug crystals on the surface of these pellets due to the higher extent of shrinking during drying.
Modern Greek Tense in main and να-subordinated clauses: an LFG/XLE treatment

In the framework of a Modern Greek LFG/XLE grammar development project at ILSP/”Athena” RC, we implemented a novel multilevel analysis of tense in main and na subordinated clauses. Existing analyses of tense and the subjunctive mood in Modern Greek do not cover the entirety of tenses available in this language, do not provide a unified analysis of the tense system and the subjunctive mood and do not encode facts of sequence of tenses in subordinated clauses with verbs in the subjunctive mood. Our proposal draws on Reichenbach’s ideas and provides a unified analysis of a wide range of tense and subjunctive data. We rely on corpus data retrieved from the HNC (http://hnc.ilsp.gr/).
Fatal Meningitis following Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection Reflects Delayed‐Type Hypersensitivity Rather than Cytotoxicity

Fatal meningitis following intracerebral inoculation of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) reflects an immunopathological lesion believed to be mediated by cytotoxic T cells. The results presented here demonstrate that pretreatment with cyclophosphamide (Cy; 150mg/kg body weight) 2 days before intracerebral infection significantly reduced the lethality of the infection. However, this treatment did not impair the antiviral cytotoxic response as measured in the spleen. On the other hand, virus‐specific delayed‐type hyper‐sensitivity (DTH) was significantly reduced. This reduction seems to be the result of a Cy‐induced lack of non‐committed ancillary cells since: (1) virus‐primed spleen cells from Cy‐pretreated donors conferred normal LCMV‐specific DTH to naive recipients; (2) transfer of virus‐primed spleen cells from untreated donors did not increase the suppressed DTH response of the Cy‐pretreated mice: and (3) inoculation of irrelevant antigen and antigen‐primed spleen cells into the footpads of Cy‐pretreated, infected mice resulted in a significantly reduced footpad swelling as compared with untreated, infected controls. Taken together, these results indicate that LCMV‐induced meningitis does not solely represent T‐cell‐mediated cytotoxicity in vivo but that a fatal outcome of the infection critically involves not only effector T cells but also ancillary cells.
A Polymorphism in the APE1 Gene Promoter is Associated with Lung Cancer Risk

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is an essential enzyme in the base excision repair pathway, which is the primary mechanism for the repair of DNA damage caused by oxidation and alkylation. We hypothesized that polymorphisms of APE1 are associated with risk for lung cancer. In the hospital-based matched case-control study, a total of 730 lung cancer cases and 730 cancer-free controls were genotyped for four APE1 haplotype-tagging polymorphisms (that is, -656T>G, 400A>G, 630T>C, and 1350T>G). Among them, the single-nucleotide polymorphism -656T>G located in the promoter region of APE1 was significantly associated with risk for lung cancer. We found that, compared with -656 TT homozygotes, the variant genotypes were associated with a significantly decreased risk [adjusted odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.33-0.79 for -656 TG; adjusted odds ratio, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.76 for -656 GG, respectively]. Furthermore, we found a statistically significant reduced risk of -656T>G variants among heavy smokers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.30-0.93 for -656 TG; adjusted odds ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13-0.57 for -656 GG, respectively), with a significant gene-smoking interaction (P = 0.013). A similar gene-smoking interaction in the context of APE1 haplotypes was also observed. The in vitro promoter assay revealed that the -656 G allele had a significantly higher transcriptional activity than that of the -656 T allele. Together, our results suggest that polymorphisms of the APE1 gene possibly interact with smoking and may contribute to the development of lung cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(1):223–9)
Protective effect of tea polyphenols against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice is significantly correlated with cytochrome P450 suppression.

AIM To investigate the hepatoprotective activity of tea polyphenols (TP) and its relation with cytochrome P450 (CYP450) expression in mice. METHODS Hepatic CYP450 and CYPb(5) levels were measured by UV-spectrophotometry in mice 2 d after intraperitoneal TP (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg per day). Then the mice were intragastricly pre-treated with TP (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg per day) for six days before paracetamol (1000 mg/kg) was given. Their acute mortality was compared with that of control mice. The mice were pre-treated with TP (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg per day) for five days before paracetamol (500 mg/kg) was given. Hepatic CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 protein and mRNA expression levels were evaluated by Western blotting, immunohistochemical staining and transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS The hepatic CYP450 and CYPb(5) levels in mice of TP-treated groups (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg per day) were decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared with those in the negative control mice. TP significantly attenuated the paracetamol-induced hepatic injury and dramatically reduced the mortality of paracetamol-treated mice. Furthermore, TP reduced CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 expression at both protein and mRNA levels in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION TP possess potential hepatoprotective properties and can suppress CYP450 expression.
A 1.2-V 250-MS/s 8-bit pipelined ADC in 0.13-µm CMOS

This paper describes the implementation and experimental results of a 250 MS/s 8-bit pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in a 0.13-µm CMOS process. The ADC uses a dedicated sample-and-hold amplifier (SHA) to achieve excellent linearity performances with high SFDR and very flat SNDR. Stage scaling in the pipeline chain is adopted to lower the power consumption. The ADC measures a SFDR of over 60 dB and 7.45 ENOB at 250 Ms/s with an input frequency of 19 MHz. SNDR only drops 1.7dB with input frequency increasing from dc to over 70MHz. Including all analog and digital blocks, the total power dissipation of the ADC is 60mW from a 1.2V power supply. The active area is 800 µm×700 µm.
Long-Lived C. elegans daf-2 Mutants Are Resistant to Bacterial Pathogens

Our laboratories have studied the mechanisms of aging ( [1][1], [2][2] ) and immune function ( [3][3] ) in Caenorhabditis elegans . Herein we show that the mechanisms that govern these two processes may be interrelated. The human Gram-negative bacterial pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and
High-Resolution MR Venography at 3.0 Tesla

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the visualization of small venous vessels in the normal human brain at a field strength of 3 Tesla. Methods T2*-weighted, three-dimensional gradient-echo images were acquired by exploiting the magnetic susceptibility difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the vasculature and microvasculature. The spatial resolution was 0.5 × 0.5 × 1 mm3, and sequence parameters were varied to obtain good vessel delineation. Improved visibility of venous vessels was obtained by creating phase mask images from the magnetic resonance phase images and multiplying these by the magnitude images. Venograms were created by performing a minimum intensity projection over targeted volumes. Results Highly detailed visualization of venous structures deep in the brain and in the superficial cortical areas were obtained without administration of an exogenous contrast agent; compared with similar studies performed at 1.5 T, the echo time could be reduced from typically 40–50 ms to 17–28 ms. Conclusion Imaging at high-field strength offers the possibility of improved resolution and the delineation of smaller vessels compared with lower field strengths.
Group based training for self-management strategies in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND It has been recognised that adoption of self-management skills by the person with diabetes is necessary in order to manage their diabetes. However, the most effective method for delivering education and teaching self-management skills is unclear. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of group-based, patient-centred training on clinical, lifestyle and psychosocial outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes. SEARCH STRATEGY Studies were obtained from computerised searches of multiple electronic bibliographic databases, supplemented by hand searches of reference lists of articles, conference proceedings and consultation with experts in the field. Date of last search was February 2003. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled and controlled clinical trials which evaluated group-based education programmes for adults with type 2 diabetes compared with routine treatment, waiting list control or no intervention. Studies were only included if the length of follow-up was six months or more and the intervention was at least one session with the minimum of six participants. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. A meta-analysis was performed if there were enough homogeneous studies reporting an outcome at either four to six months, 12-14 months, or two years, otherwise the studies were summarised in a descriptive manner. MAIN RESULTS Fourteen publications describing 11 studies were included involving 1532 participants. The results of the meta-analyses in favour of group-based diabetes education programmes were reduced glycated haemoglobin at four to six months (1.4%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8 to 1.9; P < 0.00001), at 12-14 months (0.8%; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.0; P < 0.00001) and two years (1.0%; 95% CI 0.5 to 1.4; P < 0.00001); reduced fasting blood glucose levels at 12 months (1.2 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.6; P < 0.00001); reduced body weight at 12-14 months (1.6 Kg; 95% CI 0.3 to 3.0; P = 0.02); improved diabetes knowledge at 12-14 months (SMD 1.0; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.2; P < 0.00001) and reduced systolic blood pressure at four to six months (5 mmHg: 95% CI 1 to 10; P = 0.01). There was also a reduced need for diabetes medication (odds ratio 11.8, 95% CI 5.2 to 26.9; P < 0.00001; RD = 0.2; NNT = 5). Therefore, for every five patients attending a group-based education programme we could expect one patient to reduce diabetes medication. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Group-based training for self-management strategies in people with type 2 diabetes is effective by improving fasting blood glucose levels, glycated haemoglobin and diabetes knowledge and reducing systolic blood pressure levels, body weight and the requirement for diabetes medication.
Adaptive immune function in critical illness

Purpose of review This review is being published to update the literature on the function of the adaptive immune system in critical illness, specifically sepsis and acute lung injury. We have focused on the role of T cells in these syndromes. Recent findings The adaptive immune response becomes dysfunctional during sepsis and acute lung injury in very similar ways. Many of the abnormalities contribute to morbidity and mortality. Immunoparalysis captures the breadth of the dysfunction in that T-cell functions are broadly suppressed after the early proinflammatory stages of illness. Lymphocyte apoptosis, decreased antigen responsiveness, decreased and altered cytokine expression, upregulation of inhibitory molecules, and expansion of the suppressive regulatory T-cell population are mechanisms involved. Each of these abnormalities can be reversed with improvement in experimental outcomes. Summary Immunoparalysis of the adaptive immune system occurs in sepsis and acute lung injury, and is critical to the outcome. Blocking the inhibited pathways and immunostimulant cytokines improved lymphocyte function and outcome. Many such blocking agents are already effective for other diseases and could be used for immunoparalysis. Unfortunately, there is no diagnostic marker yet. In order to provide the right therapy at the right time, advancements in immunomonitoring are necessary.
Evaluation of atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance: is age important?

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to assess the effect of age on the incidence of significant pathologic findings in patients with atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance. STUDY DESIGN This retrospective study evaluated nonreferred patients with Papanicolaou smears showing atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance over a 5-year period. RESULTS Two hundred eighty-one women (91%) with Papanicolaou smears showing atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance were available for follow-up. Significant abnormality was found in 90 subjects (32%), including 31 women (11%) with cancer. Older patients (> or =50 years old) have lower odds of high-grade cervical dysplasia (odds ratio = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.32-0.40) and higher odds of uterine cancer (odds ratio = 12.88; 95% CI: 1.78-567.60) compared with younger patients. CONCLUSIONS Women with Papanicolaou smears showing atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance have a 1 in 3 chance of having significant abnormality. Evaluation includes colposcopy, endocervical curettage, and appropriate cervical biopsies. Patients >45 years require endometrial biopsies.
Estimação de Qualidade de Enlace e Alocação Dinâmica de Canais em Redes de Sensores sem Fio Industriais

O uso de Redes de Sensores sem Fio Industriais (RSSFIs) para implementar aplicacoes de monitoramento ou controle apresenta vantagens em comparacao ao uso de redes cabeadas, como a maior flexibilidade e o menor custo de implantacao. No entanto, e necessario lidar com problemas tipicos das redes sem fio, como interferencia e o alto nivel de atenuacao em pequena e larga escala. Alem disso, as caracteristicas do canal sem fio variam com o tempo e uma RSSFI deve ser capaz de se adaptar a essas variacoes para manter boa qualidade de servico durante sua operacao. Estrategias adaptativas, como a alocacao dinâmica de canais, permitem lidar com os problemas mencionados. Para isso, o primeiro passo e estimar a qualidade dos enlaces, de modo que os nos da rede possam decidir se uma mudanca de canal e necessaria. Esta tese apresenta como contribuicao um novo estimador de qualidade de enlace (LQE) e um novo tipo de no, o no LQE, que estima a qualidade dos enlaces em tempo real, usando informacoes obtidas a partir do transceptor, e informacoes extraidas de pacotes de dados recebidos. O estimador proposto considera problemas causados pelo perfil de multipercurso do ambiente na qualidade do canal,interferencia e assimetria. Um prototipo foi desenvolvido e a solucao foi validada por meio de experimentos em um ambiente industrial real. Diferente de outros LQEs encontrados na literatura, a solucao proposta nao gera trafego extra na rede e nao causa sobrecarga nos nos finais. Com base no LQE proposto, um novo protocolo de acesso ao meio foi desenvolvido. O protocolo usa adaptacao de canal para a transmissao de pacotes de dados e salto em frequencia para a transmissao de pacotes em broadcast. A taxa de recepcao de pacote media na camada de aplicacao permaneceu perto do pico para todos os cenarios avaliados com o protocolo proposto, mesmo considerando as variacoes na qualidade dos canais ao longo do tempo. Os resultados indicam que o protocolo proposto apresenta desempenho superior aos protocolos de acesso ao meio definidos pelos padroes para RSSFI, em termos de confiabilidade e determinismo. Varios resultados experimentais obtidos em ambientes industriais tambem sao descritos e e proposto um novo modelo para simulacao de protocolos multicanais. O modelo e capaz de capturar os efeitos de atenuacao por multipercurso, sombreamento, assimetria, as caracteristicas nao estacionarias do canal sem fio e a descorrelacao entre diferentes canais.
Watching proteins fold one molecule at a time

Recent theoretical work suggests that protein folding involves an ensemble of pathways on a rugged energy landscape. We provide direct evidence for heterogeneous folding pathways from single-molecule studies, facilitated by a recently developed immobilization technique. Individual fluorophore-labeled molecules of the protein adenylate kinase were trapped within surface-tethered lipid vesicles, thereby allowing spatial restriction without inducing any spurious interactions with the environment, which often occur when using direct surface-linking techniques. The conformational fluctuations of these protein molecules, prepared at the thermodynamic midtransition point, were studied by using fluorescence resonance energy transfer between two specifically attached labels. Folding and unfolding transitions appeared in experimental time traces as correlated steps in donor and acceptor fluorescence intensity. The size of the steps, in fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiency units, shows a very broad distribution. This distribution peaks at a relatively low value, indicating a preference for small-step motion on the energy landscape. The time scale of the transitions is also distributed, and although many transitions are too fast to be time-resolved here, the slowest ones may take >1 sec to complete. These extremely slow changes during the folding of single molecules highlight the possible importance of correlated, non-Markovian conformational dynamics.
Is aspirin safe in heart failure? More data

The advent of two new classes of drugs, the thrombin inhibitors and the IIB/IIIa platelet receptor blockers, may lead to major changes in anticoagulation practice the coming decade. We review the currently available data from clinical studies and speculate on how these classes of drugs may come to be used in clinical practice, bearing in mind that the benefits of these classes of drugs have not yet been determined precisely.
Photoprotection: a 21st century perspective

As we enter the new century, some things remain constant. The sun provides energy for all living things on earth. Yet, along with these beneficial effects, there are significant negative events that can still result from excessive sun exposure. As many persons experience at least one painful sunburn during their lifetime, the importance of photoprotection is usually behaviourally reinforced early in life. In terms of the integument, it is the ultraviolet (UV) band of the irradiance spectrum that appears to provide the greatest degree of damage. Photoprotection is therefore focused on protecting the skin from the damage that occurs as a result of UV exposure and the approach to photoprotection focuses on a reduction in the overall exposure to sunlight, not to just a single component of it. In this supplement of the British Journal of Dermatology, a comprehensive review of a number of issues particularly related to the need for regular photoprotection in terms of skin cancer and photoaging has been presented. To put the importance of photoprotection into perspective and to better understand the key associated issues, one needs to appreciate: why recent changes have made this issue even more important; current available agents and approaches; how effective these approaches are and can be; what can be done in the future to improve photoprotection effectiveness; and what clinical recommendations can be made to our patients to lower their future risks for photoaging and skin cancer.
The influence of extracellular hydrogen on the metabolism of Bacteroides ruminicola, Anaerovibrio lipolytica and Selenomonas ruminantium.

Strains of three anaerobic rumen bacteria, Bacteroides ruminicola, Anaerovibrio lipolytica and Selenomonas ruminantium, were able to use extracellular H2 to reduce fumarate to succinate. Each bacterium possessed membrane-bound hydrogenase and fumarate reductase activity. Membrane-bound cytochrome b was reducible by H2 and oxidizable by fumarate in each bacterium. The apparent Km values for hydrogen of the hydrogenases were 4 . 5 x 10(-6) M, 1 . 4 x 10(-5) M and 4 . 4 x 10(-5) M for B. ruminicola, A. lipolytica and S. ruminantium, respectively. The apparent Km values for fumarate of the fumarate reductases were approximately 1 . 0 x 10(-4) M for each bacterium.
Intensive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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