Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skeletal muscle adaptations to interval training in patients with advanced COPD.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To investigate the response to interval exercise (IE) training by looking at changes in morphologic and biochemical characteristics of the vastus lateralis muscle, and to compare these changes to those incurred after constant-load exercise (CLE) training. DESIGN Randomized, controlled, parallel, two-group study (IE vs CLE training). SETTING Multidisciplinary, outpatient, hospital-based, pulmonary rehabilitation program. PATIENTS Nineteen patients with stable advanced COPD (mean +/- SEM FEV1, 40 +/- 4% predicted). INTERVENTIONS Patients (n = 10) assigned to IE training exercised at a mean intensity of 124 +/- 15% of baseline peak exercise capacity (peak work rate [Wpeak]) with 30-s work periods interspersed with 30-s rest periods for 45 min/d. Patients (n = 9) allocated to CLE training exercised at a mean intensity of 75 +/- 5% Wpeak for 30 min/d. Patients exercised 3 d/wk for 10 weeks. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Needle biopsies of the right vastus lateralis muscle were performed before and after rehabilitation. After IE training, the cross-sectional areas of type I and IIa fibers were significantly increased (type I before, 3,972 +/- 455 microm2; after, 4,934 +/- 467 microm2 [p = 0.004]; type IIa before, 3,695 +/- 372 microm2; after, 4,486 +/- 346 microm2 [p = 0.008]), whereas the capillary-to-fiber ratio was significantly enlarged (from 1.13 +/- 0.08 to 1.24 +/- 0.07 [p = 0.013]). Citrate synthase activity increased (from 14.3 +/- 1.4 to 20.5 +/- 4.2 micromol/min/g), albeit not significantly (p = 0.097). There was also a significant improvement in Wpeak (by 19 +/- 5%; p = 0.04) and in lactate threshold (by 17 +/- 5%; p = 0.02). The magnitude of changes in all the above variables was not significantly different compared to that incurred after CLE training. During training sessions, however, ratings of dyspnea and leg discomfort, expressed as fraction of values achieved at baseline Wpeak, were significantly lower (p < 0.05) for IE training (73 +/- 9% and 60 +/- 8%, respectively) compared to CLE training (83 +/- 10% and 87 +/- 13%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS High-intensity IE training is equally effective to moderately intense CLE training in inducing peripheral muscle adaptations; however, IE is associated with fewer training symptoms.
Gene Transfer Therapy by Either Type 1 or Type 2 Adeno-Associated Virus Expressing Human Prostaglandin I2 Synthase Gene is Effective for Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) plays an important role in the clinical treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the administration of PGI2 involves continuous intravenous infusion using an indwelling catheter, which limits the patient’s quality of life and increases the risk of infection. We therefore investigated whether human PGI2 synthase (hPGIS) gene transfer using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector is still effective in a mouse model of PAH and tested for differences in the therapeutic efficacy of PAH among AAV serotypes. The PAH was induced by subjecting mice to hypoxia (10% O2). Type 1 AAV expressing hPGIS (AAV1-hPGIS) or type 2 AAV expressing hPGIS (AAV2-hPGIS) was injected into the thigh muscle of mice. Both vectors expressing hPGIS produced strong hPGIS protein expression in the mouse thigh skeletal muscles after 8 weeks of hypoxia. The administration of AAV1-hPGIS or AAV2-hPGIS also significantly inhibited the hypoxia-induced increase in right ventricular systolic pressure, the ratio of right ventricular weight to body weight (RV/BW), and the ratio of RV weight to left ventricular plus septal weight (RV/LV + S), and significantly attenuated the hypoxia-induced increase in medial wall thickness of peripheral pulmonary arteries. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the degree of amelioration in RV systolic pressure, RV/BW, RV/LV + S, and percentage of wall thickness of peripheral pulmonary arteries between AAV1-hPGIS and AAV2-hPGIS administrations. In conclusion, we revealed that type 1 and type 2 AAV are equally effective for the treatment of PAH in a hypoxia-induced mouse model. Gene-transfer therapy using AAV expressing hPGIS is, therefore, a potential therapeutic breakthrough for PAH.
Ni carne ni pescado (consumo de recursos vegetales en la Prehistoria): Análisis de la variabilidad de los conjuntos fitolitológicos en contextos cazadores-recolectores

La Arqueologia de cazadores-recolectores se caracteriza aun hoy dia por la preeminencia de la denominada “hipotesis del hombre cazador”. Esta ha configurado un modelo de investigacion caracterizado por una jerarquizacion a priori (no necesariamente verificada) de la potencialidad informativa de los diferentes materiales bajo estudio. En esta jerarquizacion, en la que la industria litica presenta un rol prioritario, el analisis arqueobotanico se configura como algo accesorio. Paralelamente, el consumo de recursos vegetales resulta secundario en la interpretacion historica de los periodos Paleolitico y Mesolitico. Ademas, los procesos de trabajo sobre vegetales han sido asociados tradicionalmente y de forma acritica al trabajo femenino, por lo que se cree que este paradigma de investigacion puede ser explicado claramente en terminos del androcentrismo imperante en las ciencias sociales y humanas. Mas alla de los prejuicios de tipo ideologico, se han esgrimido reiteradamente los problemas de preservacion como la causa por la que la inversion de investigacion arqueobotanica ha sido siempre relativamente menor en cazadores-recolectores. En este trabajo, planteado teoricamente desde una perspectiva feminista, se presenta el analisis de fitolitos como una via que permite solventar este problema. La aplicacion de este tipo de analisis, se encuentra en pleno desarrollo en nuestra disciplina. En este trabajo se analiza la variabilidad de los conjuntos fitolitologicos mediante la identificacion de la existencia de tendencias asociadas a determinados tipos de muestras/contextos (marcadores antropicos), mediante el desarrollo metodologico de dos areas de analisis; • la estrategia y representatividad del conteo (analisis microscopico) • la estrategia de muestreo (etapa necesaria y especificamente dirigida por la encuesta arqueologica) Ambas cuestiones son exploradas mediante el analisis de muestras procedentes de varios yacimientos; • yacimientos paleoliticos (El Miron, Cantabria; Dzerava Skala, Eslovaquia; Dolni Vestonice - the Brickyard y Bohunice, Chequia) • yacimiento mesolitico (La Bauma del Serrat del Pont, Catalunya) • yacimientos de cazadores-recolectores subactuales (Tunel VII, Argentina)
Assessment of ultrasound and Doppler parameters in the third trimester of pregnancy as predictors of adverse perinatal outcome in unselected pregnancies.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to investigate ultrasound and Doppler parameters in the third trimester of pregnancy as possible predictors of adverse perinatal outcome in unselected pregnancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study including unselected pregnant women be-tween 27 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation. The following ultrasound and Doppler parameters were assessed: estimated fetal weight (EFW) [g], EFW percentile, placental maturity grade (Grannum classification), single vertical deepest pocket (SVDP) of amniotic fluid [cm], amniotic fluid index (AFI) [cm], mean uterine artery (UtA) pulsatility index (PI), umbilical artery (UA) PI, middle cerebral artery (MCA) PI, MCA peak systolic velocity (PSV) [cm/s], and cerebroplacental ratio (CPR). Adverse perinatal outcome was defined as Apgar score of < 7 at 1 min, birth weight of < 2500 g at delivery, and gestational age of < 37 weeks at delivery. The unpaired t test was used to compare the groups. RESULTS AFI (p = 0.01), mean UtA PI (p = 0.04) and mean UA PI (p = 0.03) were significantly different with regard to the Apgar score at 1 min. EFW, EFW percentile, SVDP of amniotic fluid, AFI, mean UtA PI, UA PI, and MCA PI were significantly different (p < 0.001) in terms of birth weight. Placental maturity grade (p = 0.02), SVDP of the amniotic fluid (p < 0.001), AFI (p < 0.001), mean UtA PI (p < 0.001), UA PI (p = 0.001), and MCA PI (p < 0.001) were significantly different as far as gestational age at delivery is concerned. CONCLUSION Ultrasound and Doppler parameters may predict adverse perinatal outcomes in unselected pregnancies in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Hemodynamic Determinants of Myocardial B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Release: Relative Contributions of Systolic and Diastolic Wall Stress

Although B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is widely used as a biomarker for heart failure, the in vivo mechanical stimulus for its cardiac release remains poorly defined. We aimed to characterize the hemodynamic determinants of the transcardiac BNP gradient as a measure of myocardial BNP release by performing a detailed hemodynamic assessment in subjects with a broad spectrum of systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction. Forty-two subjects underwent a detailed transthoracic echocardiographic study, right heart catheterization, and simultaneous BNP measurement in arterial and coronary sinus plasma. The transcardiac BNP gradient was lowest in subjects with normal left ventricular ejection fraction/high peak early diastolic annular velocity (n=11), intermediate in those with normal left ventricular ejection fraction/low peak early diastolic annular velocity (n=13), and highest in those with low left ventricular ejection fraction/low peak early diastolic annular velocity (n=18; 29 ng/L (range: 15 to 78 ng/L) versus 88 ng/L (range: 34 to 172 ng/L) versus 1566 ng/L (range: 624 to 2349 ng/L; P<0.001). Across the range of patients, left ventricular end-systolic wall stress (r2=0.51) and peak systolic mitral annular velocity (r2=0.47) showed the strongest correlation with higher transcardiac BNP gradient. In contrast, the transcardiac BNP gradient was weakly related to indices of diastolic load, including pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (r2=0.27) and left ventricular end-diastolic wall stress (r2=0.21). Across this spectrum of pathophysiology, left ventricular end-systolic wall stress appears to be the key mechanical stimulus influencing cardiac BNP release.
Cadena de producción del cultivo del mejillón en el año 2011 en la provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Argentina

En este trabajo se describe el sector mitilicultor de Puerto Almanza, Argentina, identificando y analizando los distintos componentes de la cadena productiva en el ano 2011. La mitilicultura es una actividad productiva complementaria para el desarrollo socioeconomico en Puerto Almanza, la cual se encuentra en una etapa de desarrollo tanto en lo que respecta al sector artesanal como al sector industrial. Se han observado posibilidades para el crecimiento y desarrollo endogeno de la actividad, aunque se han detectado problemas en su cadena productiva. En el necesario proceso de consolidacion hacia la sostenibilidad de la miticultura en la zona deben intervenir los principales actores de la actividad, destacando el rol fundamental reservado al Estado. La recomendacion para el largo plazo es asegurar el manejo apropiado de esta zona de produccion de moluscos en un marco de desarrollo sostenible y participativo.
Hydrogen Bonding in a Model Bacteriochlorophyll-binding Site Drives Assembly of Light Harvesting Complex*

In this study, the contribution of intramembrane hydrogen bonding at the interface between polypeptide and cofactor is explored in the native lipid environment by use of model bacteriochlorophyll proteins. In the peripheral antenna complex, LH2, large portions of the transmembrane helices, which make up the dimeric bacteriochlorophyll-binding site, are replaced by simplified, alternating alanine-leucine stretches. Replacement of either one of the two helices with the helices containing the model sequence at a time results in the assembly of complexes with nearly native light harvesting properties. In contrast, replacement of both helices results in the loss of antenna complexes from the membrane. The assembly of such doubly modified complexes is restored by a single intramembrane serine residue at position -4 relative to the liganding histidine of the α-subunit. In situ analysis of the spectral properties in a series of site-directed mutants reveals a critical dependence of the model complex assembly on the side chain of the residue at this position in the helix. A hydrogen bond between the hydroxy group of the serine and the 131 keto group of one of the central bacteriochlorophylls of the complexes is identified by Raman spectroscopy in the model antenna complex containing one of the alanine-leucine helices. The additional OH group of the serine residue, which participates in hydrogen bonding, increases the thermal stability of the model complexes in the native membrane. Intramembrane hydrogen bonding is thus shown to be a key factor for the binding of bacteriochlorophyll and assembly of this model cofactor-polypeptide site.
Tuberculin sensitivity of tuberculous patients.

The present paper gives information about one important feature of tuberculosis--the intensity of tuberculin allergy of persons hospitalized for the disease in four countries: Denmark Egypt India and the United States of America. The unique feature of the study is that a uniform procedure was used for testing all patients. The most important finding is that almost all patients suffering from tuberculosis reacted to a weak dose of tuberculin and that the intensity of their tuberculin allergy was strikingly alike in each of the four countries. The results suggest that regardless of race place of residence and the multitude of other factors which make one group of patients differ from another the allergic response of people who have clinical tuberculosis may be very much the same everywhere. (excerpt)
Airway epithelial cell signaling in response to bacterial pathogens

The airway epithelium represents a primary site for the introduction and deposition of potentially pathogenic microorganisms into the body, through inspired air. The epithelial mucosa is an important component of the innate immune system that recognizes conserved structures in microorganisms and initiates appropriate signaling to recruit and activate phagocytic cells to the airways. This review focuses on how airway epithelial cells sense and respond to the presence of bacterial pathogens. The major signaling cascades initiated by epithelial receptors that lead to phagocyte recruitment to the airways as well as the ability of the epithelium to regulate inflammation are discussed. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:11–19. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
L'endettement des entreprises dans le secteur canadien de la fabrication: consequences pour l'emploi et les inventaires

Le present document porte sur le lien entre la structure financiere et la croissance de l'emploi et des stocks des fabricants canadiens constitues en societe au cours de la periode allant de 1988 a 1997. On observe que les entreprises financierement vulnerables - c'est-a-dire celles de petite taille ou avec un niveau d'endettement eleve - reduisent davantage leur effectif (10 % de plus) que les entreprises prosperes lorsque survient une baisse donnee de la demande de produits. Cette incidence etait plus marquee durant la recession de 1990 a 1992, ce qui est l'indication qu'une plus grande vulnerabilite financiere, se traduisant par un haut niveau d'endettement, peut avoir contribue a aggraver cette recession. Les effets sont plus importants dans les branches d'activite ou on note des fluctuations cycliques plus marquees. En general, les entreprises plus endettees tendent a reduire davantage leurs stocks (dans une proportion de 5 %) lorsque survient un choc de la demande.
A revised estimate of twin concordance in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Based on a small clinical series and previously published case reports, concordance for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among monozygous (MZ) twins has been reported to be as high as 69%. Using a larger and less biased sample, we provide another estimate of this percentage. METHODS We established a registry of twins with SLE, based upon self-reports and information provided by the patients' physicians. We used DNA fingerprinting to validate the reported zygosity in a sample of these twins. RESULTS Of 107 twin pairs meeting the American College of Rheumatology 1982 revised criteria for the diagnosis of SLE, 24% of 45 MZ pairs and 2% of 62 dizygous (DZ) pairs were concordant. The frequency distributions of diagnostic criteria and disease symptoms in the SLE patients were similar to those in other published reports of SLE patients. Zygosity was confirmed by DNA fingerprinting in a subsample of 15 self-described MZ twins and 7 self-described DZ twins. All individuals had correctly predicted their zygosity. CONCLUSION MZ concordance for SLE is similar to that for other autoimmune diseases and is much lower than previously believed.
NNodeTree: A Scalable Peer-to-Peer Live Streaming Overlay Architecture for Next-Generation-Networks

The rapid evolution of the telecommunication domain increases the performance of different access networks continuously. New services, especially in the domain multimedia content distribution, require higher and higher bandwidth at the user’s and service provider’s side. Multimedia services like Video on Demand, IPTV and live streaming were introduced in the past and are still improved in quality and quantity. Multimedia streams and Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing dominates the worldwide Internet traffic nowadays and will continue further [1]. The user acceptance of enjoying multimedia content over the Internet will grow steadily together with the increasing quality of the available multimedia content. Network operators and service providers have to face the growths, by either increasing their service platform with higher performance and bandwidth or introducing a scalable solution. We present the design and implementation of a scalable Peer-to-Peer live streaming overlay architecture for Next-Generation-Networks (NGN) in this paper that addresses this challenge.
Probabilistic Fuzzy Bayesian Network

Most real world problems involve some kind of uncertainty, like randomness, vagueness or ignorance. In the computational intelligence area there are a number of techniques capable of dealing with each kind of uncertainty. However, it is possible that a problem involves more than one kind of uncertainty at the same time, and in this case, hybrid solutions must be sought. Bayesian networks are probabilistic graphical models capable of modeling statistical uncertainty and are widely applied in many practical problems. Despite Bayesian networks being able to deal with randomness, they are unable to model linguistic vagueness. Fuzzy systems, on the other hand, are a well known technique capable of dealing with linguistic vagueness by representing knowledge with simple and interpretable rules and membership functions. As classical fuzzy systems are unable to model statistical uncertainty, Probabilistic Fuzzy Systems were developed in order to account for both kind of uncertainties. In this work we propose the Probabilistic Fuzzy Bayesian Network as a combination of both probabilistic fuzzy systems and bayesian networks, also capable of simultaneously modeling both kinds of uncertainty using the concepts of bayesian inference and probabilistic fuzzy systems. The proposed model is firstly applied in a very simple classification problem in order to show its potential and advantage over traditional naive bayes classifiers. For validation of the proposed model, experiments are done using benchmark classification data sets from the UCI machine learning repository and the results are then compared with other machine learning techniques.
Finafloxacin for the treatment of urinary tract infections

Introduction: In the past decade, the indiscriminate use of fluoroquinolones in the prophylaxis and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) has led to an increase of antibiotic resistance patterns. Finafloxacin is a new generation fluoroquinolone with interesting preclinical characteristics and pH-related efficacy. Areas covered: This review summarizes finafloxacin’s safety profile and prospectively evaluates its specific use in the treatment of UTIs. This article was based on a Medline English literature search. Expert opinion: In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that finafloxacin expresses its full antibacterial activity in acidic environments and is able to exert significant bactericidal effects in difficult-to-treat infections. Finafloxacin has a broad antibacterial spectrum and efficient pharmacokinetic absorption. Moreover, it undergoes extensive tissue distribution, resulting in good antibacterial activity for daily dosages from 400 to 800 mg. This novel compound has also been successfully tested on biofilm-related Escherichia coli. Finafloxacin has demonstrated a good safety and tolerability profile in humans when administered orally or intravenously and is thus an interesting compound for the treatment of UTIs. However, further prospective randomized clinical trials will be necessary to confirm these preliminary results before definitive conclusions can be made.
Lusitanian toadfish song reflects male quality

SUMMARY Lusitanian toadfish males that provide parental care rely on acoustic signals (the boatwhistle) to attract females to their nest. We test the hypothesis that male quality, namely male size and condition that are relevant for parental success, is reflected in vocal activity and boatwhistle characteristics and thus advertised to females. We recorded 22 males over a week during the peak of the breeding season. Calling rate and calling effort (percentage of time spent calling) strongly reflected male condition (lipid content of somatic muscles) and to a smaller extent sonic muscle hypertrophy and larger gonads. Males in better condition (increased body lipid and relative higher liver mass) also contracted the sonic muscles at faster rate as shown by the shorter boatwhistle pulse periods. Amplitude modulation reflected the degree of sonic muscle hypertrophy. None of the measured male quality parameters were good predictors of boatwhistle duration and dominant frequency. Altogether this study strongly suggests that Lusitanian toadfish males advertise their quality to females primarily with boatwhistle calling rate and calling effort, which mainly reflect male condition. Because pulse period had low variability, consistent with the existence of a vocal central pattern generator, we suggest that males that sustain sonic muscles contraction at a very fast rate close to their physiological limit may be honestly advertising their quality (condition). Similarly, males that produce boatwhistles with higher amplitude modulation, a feature that seems dependent on sonic muscle hypertrophy, could be more attractive to females.
Proactive Task Execution Using Data Sharing and Event Transition among Personal Devices

This paper proposes an intelligent technique for data sharing and event transition among personal devices including smart phones, laptops, and desktops. We implemented the PES (Personal Event Service) system that proactively executes appropriate tasks across multiple devices without explicit user requests by sharing the data used by the user and recognizing user intention based on the observed actions of the user for specific devices. The client module of PES installed on each device monitors the user actions and recognizes the intention of the user. The server provides data sharing and maintenance for clients. The connection between client and server is established by Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation). A series of experiments were performed to evaluate user satisfaction and system accuracy, and the results showed that the PES system can proactively provide appropriate, personalized services with a high degree of satisfaction to the user in an effective and efficient manner.