Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The clinical impact of 1:1 conversion from Neoral to a generic cyclosporine (Gengraf) in renal transplant recipients with stable graft function

Abstract: The introduction of cyclosporine (CYA) to the immunosuppressive armamentarium has had a significant effect on graft survival. An improvement in the formulation from the oil‐based to a microemulsion‐based form has resulted in better absorption and more predictable CYA bioavailability. Since the introduction of the first microemulsion form (Neoral), several bioequivalent formulations are now available and are switched in a 1:1 fashion at pharmacies to curtail costs. The purpose of our study was to study the effect of a 1:1 switch from Neoral to Gengraf on CYA trough levels and serum creatinine (SRC) in renal transplant recipients with stable graft function. Eighty‐two renal transplant recipients with stable graft function were enrolled in the study, and of these, 73 were switched to Gengraf, whereas nine remained on Neoral. The 13 patients switched to Gengraf required a dosage change after the mean CYA trough levels changed from 234±96 ng/mL at baseline to 289±102 ng/mL (p<0.05) at 2 wk. With the adjustments in dosage, the levels approached the baseline trough concentrations (239±151 ng/dL). The nine patients who remained on Neoral had no change in the CYA levels or SCR. Nearly 20% of patients who switched to a bioequivalent CYA preparation required a dose adjustment to return to pre‐conversion CYA trough levels. Our study raises serious concerns regarding the switchability of generic CYA for Neoral without careful follow‐up therapeutic drug monitoring.
Xylazine promotes axonal regeneration in the crushed optic nerve of adult rats

Xylazine, an &agr;-2 adrenergic agonist, activates the endogenous trophic factors and neuronal survival signaling. Here, we tested the regenerative effect of xylazine on damaged optic nerve axons in adult rats. After optic nerve crush, xylazine was intraperitoneally injected into three groups of rats: a single administration immediately after the crush, intermittent administration, and daily administration. On day 14, the regenerated axons were quantitatively evaluated by anterograde labeling. Everyday administration but neither single nor intermittent administration markedly increased the number of labeled axons beyond the crush site, with upregulation of growth-associated protein-43 in the ganglion cell layer and the regenerated axons. It was concluded that xylazine promotes axonal regeneration in damaged optic nerves of adult rats.
Tumor-targeted costimulation by using bi-specific aptamers

Aptamers are chemically synthesized oligonucleotides that can be easily engineered for cancer immunotherapy use. So far, most of the therapeutic aptamers described are antagonistic and block the function of a receptor or its soluble ligand. Recently, aptamers have been modified to act as agonists by multimerization, with a direct application in cancer immunotherapy. Several agonistic aptamers against costimulatory receptors have been described. However, systemic costimulation, though potentially a very potent antitumor immune strategy, is not devoid of auto-inflammatory side effects. In a quest to reduce toxicity and improve efficacy – reducing the therapeutic index – the first bi-specific aptamers to target the costimulatory ligand to the tumor have been described, showing very promising results in different preclinical tumor models.
Synchronous Presentation of Cavernous Sinus Metastasis and Cervical Cancer: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Uterine cervical cancers customarily spread by local extension to the adjacent viscera or through lymphatic embolization to the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Distant hematogenous spread particularly to the brain is an uncommon and late event which heralds a poor prognosis. We report a case of uterine squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix with unusual simultaneous presentation of cavernous sinus metastasis and multiple brain metastases while reviewing the current literature on this clinical entity.
Filial Responsibility and Informal Support among Family Caregivers of the Elderly in Jerusalem: A Path Analysis

Informal family caregivers from a sample of 110 hospitalized elderly Jewish Jerusalemites were queried regarding their perceptions of filial responsibility and the supports they provide their parent(s). A path model was examined in which the outcome variable was a measure of the caregivers' expectations of future support. Background variables considered included sociodemographic variables and religiosity of the caregivers, family problems, proximity to the dependent parent, ADL, and length of dependency of the elderly care recipient. The analysis found future expectations of support to be explained principally by perceptions of filial responsibility, that were in turn explained by religiosity of the caregiver. Current support provided was influenced by proximity to the care recipient, ADL, length of dependency, and perceptions of filial responsibility. The implications of these findings for promotion of informal care are discussed.
Poly-Si TFT fabricated at 150/spl deg/C using ICP-CVD and excimer laser annealing for plastic substrates

We have fabricated poly-Si TFTs employing ICP-CVD (inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition) and ELA at a very low temperature of 150/spl deg/C. Poly-Si film with large grains exceeding 3000 /spl Aring/ and silicon dioxide film with the interface trap density in the order of 10/sup 11//cm/sup 2/ are deposited by ICP-CVD at 150/spl deg/C. A high mobility exceeding 100 cm/sup 2//Vs with a low sub-threshold swing of 0.7 V/dec was obtained without any post-annealing.
Primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a distinct syndrome?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been recognised to have both a relapsing-remitting and progressive course. More recently patients with progressive disease have been further sub-divided into those with a progressive course from onset (primary progressive MS) and those with progressive decline following an initially relapsing-remitting period (secondary progressive MS). Diversity in MS may not however be restricted to clinical course. There is growing evidence that the subgroups of MS also differ with respect to clinical features, epidemiology, pathogenesis, genetics and neuroimaging appearances. In this review we outline the criteria variously applied in the classification of MS patients, addressing the need for a dear nomenclature. We evaluate the proposition that primary progressive MS has a prof ile distinct from other MS categories, contrasting the separate differential diagnoses and examining the implications for future therapeutic trials.
Convergence in Trace Norm of LQ-Optimal Actuator Locations ∗

Many systems of interest are modelled by partial differential equations. Examples include control of interior noise, particularly in automobiles and in aircraft; and control of structural vibrations and heating processes. In most situations, there is freedom on where to place the actuators. Performance depends strongly on actuator location; see for instance [14]. Actuators should be located at positions that optimize performance. The actuator location problem has been considered by many researchers; see for instance [7, 12, 13]. Here we are interested in linear-quadratic regulators. Letting Π indicate the optimal solution to the regulation problem, and x0 the initial condition, the most natural measures of performance are
Diazoxide attenuates ROS generation and exerts cytoprotection under conditions of ROS overproduction in rat uterus cells

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction may severely affect cell functions and even provoke cell death. Diazoxide, an opener of ATP-sensitive potassium channels, induces pharmacological preconditioning in different types of cells. However, the target of action of diazoxide is not clear enough because this substance can activate ATP-sensitive potassium channels localized in mitochondria (mitoKATP) as well as in plasma membranes (KATP channels). It has not yet been established if diazoxide activates mitoKATP in uterus cells. Our objective was to examine the influence of diazoxide on ROS production and on the viability of rat uterus cells under oxidative stress conditions. Using an ROS-sensitive fluorescent probe, we found that diazoxide enhances ROS production under normal conditions, but attenuates this process under conditions of ROS overproduction. Cells pretreated with diazoxide demonstrated lower levels of ROS production and of cell death under oxidative stress, in comparison with conditions where diazoxide was not present. The effects of diazoxide were eliminated by 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), a blocker of mitoKATP. The principal conclusion of the present study is that decreased ROS production and increased cell survival in the presence of diazoxide under oxidative stress conditions are mediated by the activation of mitoKATP in rat uterus cells.
Spectral-spatial subspace clustering for hyperspectral images VIA modulated low-rank representation

In this paper, a novel spectral-spatial low-rank subspace clustering (SS-LRSC) algorithm is presented for clustering of hyperspectral images (HSI). Generally, employing the traditional LRSC framework directly cannot fully exploit the sample correlations in original spatial domain. Therefore, the proposed method utilizes a novel modulation strategy to modify the low rank representation matrix, which largely exploits the structure correlations. Specifically, a spectral and representation similarity weighted matrix is first applied to modulate the representation matrix; another local spatial bilateral filtering based modulation is further incorporated. Finally, the modulation method is integrated into the LRSC framework. Benefitting from the ability of the modulation method, SS-LRSC can capture both the structure correlations and inherent feature information of the data, which provides a competitive subspace clustering for HSI. Several experiments were conducted to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Portal stenting for hepatocellular carcinoma extending into the portal vein in cirrhotic patients

Macroscopic portal vein invasion complicating hepatocellular carcinoma in the setting of cirrhosis is associated with a very low survival. To prevent the malignant progression from a portal branch to the main portal trunk, we have placed noncovered metallic stents extending from the portal trunk to the contralateral tumor free portal pedicle.
Ridge preservation with or without an osteoinductive allograft: a clinical, radiographic, micro-computed tomography, and histologic study evaluating dimensional changes and new bone formation of the alveolar ridge.

BACKGROUND The aim of this randomized, controlled clinical trial is to determine whether ridge preservation using an osteoinductive allograft (test) would prevent ridge resorption and promote bone maturation compared to extraction alone (control). METHODS Seventeen patients (20 total sites), in need of a non-molar extraction and delayed implant placement were randomly selected to receive either ridge preservation or extraction alone. A cone-beam computed tomography was completed with a radiographic stent in place before extraction and 10 to 12 weeks postoperatively for dimensional and buccal plate analyses. Bone cores were taken for micro-computed tomography (microCT) and histologic analyses. RESULTS Resorption of the alveolar ridge occurred at all sites with no statistically significant differences found between test and control sites. A significant correlation was found between the initial buccal plate thickness and the loss of vertical ridge height. microCT and histologic analyses found a mean new bone volume of 44.9% with microCT and 37.4% with histology in test sites and 39% and 35.5%, respectively, in control sites. The residual graft volume was 2.4% with microCT and 4.5% with histology. CONCLUSIONS Test and control sites lost similar amounts of alveolar ridge, with the loss of buccolingual width occurring predominantly at the expense of the buccal bone. A thicker buccal plate was associated with less ridge loss in the vertical dimension. The percentage of new bone was not statistically significant between either the test or control sites, using either microCT or histologic analyses.
SESAM – a new framework integrating macroecological and species distribution models for predicting spatio‐temporal patterns of species assemblages

Two different approaches currently prevail for predicting spatial patterns of species assemblages. The first approach (macroecological modelling, MEM) focuses directly on realized properties of species assemblages, whereas the second approach (stacked species distribution modelling, S‐SDM) starts with constituent species to approximate the properties of assemblages. Here, we propose to unify the two approaches in a single ‘spatially explicit species assemblage modelling’ (SESAM) framework. This framework uses relevant designations of initial species source pools for modelling, macroecological variables, and ecological assembly rules to constrain predictions of the richness and composition of species assemblages obtained by stacking predictions of individual species distributions. We believe that such a framework could prove useful in many theoretical and applied disciplines of ecology and evolution, both for improving our basic understanding of species assembly across spatio‐temporal scales and for anticipating expected consequences of local, regional or global environmental changes. In this paper, we propose such a framework and call for further developments and testing across a broad range of community types in a variety of environments.
Lipid remodeling leads to the introduction and exchange of defined ceramides on GPI proteins in the ER and Golgi of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Previous experiments with Saccharomyces cerevisiae had suggested that diacylglycerol‐containing glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) are added to newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and that ceramides subsequently are incorporated into GPI proteins by lipid remodeling. Here we prove this hypothesis by labeling yeast cells with [3H]dihydrosphingosine ([3H]DHS) and showing that this tracer is incorporated into many GPI proteins even when protein synthesis and, hence, anchor addition, is blocked by cycloheximide. [3H]DHS incorporation is greatly enhanced if endogenous synthesis of DHS is inhibited by myriocin. Labeled GPI anchors contain three types of ceramides which, based on previous and present results, are identified as DHS‐C26:0, phytosphingosine‐C26:0 and phytosphingosine‐C26:0‐OH, the latter being found only on proteins which have reached the Golgi. Lipid remodeling can occur both in the ER and in a later secretory compartment. In addition, ceramide is incorporated into GPI proteins a long time after their initial synthesis by a process in which one ceramide gets replaced by another ceramide. Remodeling outside the ER requires vesicular flow from the ER to the Golgi, possibly to supply the remodeling enzymes with ceramides.
Insulin Resistance and NAFLD: A Dangerous Liaison beyond the Genetics

Over the last decade, the understanding of the association between insulin resistance (IR) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has dramatically evolved. There is clear understanding that carriers of some common genetic variants, i.e., the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 (PNPLA3) or the transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) are at risk of developing severe forms of NAFLD even in the presence of reduced or absent IR. In contrast, there are obese patients with “metabolic” (non-genetically driven) NAFLD who present severe IR. Owing to the epidemic obesity and the high prevalence of these genetic variants in the general population, the number of pediatric cases with combination of genetic and metabolic NAFLD is expected to be very high. Gut dysbiosis, excessive dietary intake of saturated fats/fructose-enriched foods and exposure to some chemicals contribute all to both IR and NAFLD, adding further complexity to the understanding of their relationship. Once NAFLD is established, IR can accelerate the progression to the more severe form of liver derangement that is the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Fibre and water binding

The range of interactions between fibre and water and the consequential properties of the bound water are modelled and examined. Dietary fibre may interact with water by means of polar and hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding and enclosure. The results of these interactions vary with the flexibility of the fibre surface. When the fibre is insoluble or junction zones are formed, this may result in profound changes in the surrounding water. Such interactions are capable of affecting the structuring and solvation properties of water well away from the immediate surfaces involved. In particular, the specific properties of water enclosed by dietary fibre are examined, an area of investigation previously receiving scant attention. The way this enclosure may affect the properties of water is exemplified by modelling the colon to show how fibre may exert a beneficial action by the preferential partitioning of hydrophobic carcinogens. Unfermented dietary fibre has a tendency to form low-density expanded water that acts as a preferential solvent for hydrophobic molecules when compared with the less-structured denser water within the much more hydrophilic mucus layer.
Compact and Closely Spaced Metamaterial MIMO Antenna With High Isolation for Wireless Applications

This letter presents a design of a two-element multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) metamaterial-based antenna. The two antenna elements operate at 5.8 GHz for wireless applications. The two antenna elements are designed employing only one left-handed unit cell. The reduction of mutual coupling between the two antenna elements is achieved by using a simple defected ground structure between them to limit the surface waves between them. The distance between the two antenna elements is only 1.8 mm (0.034 λ0). The designed antenna elements have better than -45 dB coupling isolation between the two inputs. Moreover, the proposed MIMO antenna has the advantage of compactness (its size is only 2.36 × 2.6 cm2). The design represents size reduction of more than 50% compared to conventional patch antennas operating at the same frequency. The proposed MIMO system has -55 dB correlation coefficient between its two elements.
In strains of Escherichia coli O167 a single plasmid encodes for the coli surface antigens CS5 and CS6 of putative colonization factor PCF8775, heat-stable enterotoxin, and colicin Ia

Twenty Escherichia coli strains of serogroup O167 were examined. They all produced the two surface antigens CS5 and CS6 of the putative colonization factor PCF8775, together with heat-stable enterotoxin and colicin Ia. A plasmid coding for CS5, CS6, heat-stable enterotoxin, and colicin Ia was demonstrated in each strain.
A Delta-based Data Aggregation Scheme using EWMA in Wireless Sensor Network

In a wireless sensor network, a middleware used to support efficient processing and fast delivering of sensing data should handle the data loss problem at an intermediate sensor node caused by unexpected sudden data burst. In this paper, we proposed data aggregation method based on EWMA for enhancing the efficiency of data aggregation and accuracy where the sensed data should be delivered only with the limited computing power and energy resource. With the proposed method, unnecessary data transfer of the duplicate data is eliminated and data correctness is enhanced by using the proposed averaging and data differentiating scheme when an instantaneous data burst is occurred. Finally, with the TOSSTM simulation results on TinyDB, we verify that the correctness of the transferred data is enhanced.
Design of frequency tunable CPW-Fed UWB antenna using varactor diodes for cognitive radio and future software defined radio

In this paper, a novel compact coplanar waveguide (CPW) ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna with an electronically reconfigurable band is developed for interweave cognitive radio (CR) system and future software defined radio (SDR). The center frequency of the tunable band can be electronically altered by adjusting the electrical length of the microstrip resonator at the bottom layer, which is accomplished by incorporating two varactor diodes at the resonator edges. Simulation results show that the proposed design is capable of tuning over a continuous wide operating band of 1.15 GHz covering a wide band for interweave CR communication from 4.54 to 5.69 GHz. Furthermore, the radiation patterns are steady over the interesting frequency bands. The proposed antenna is fabricated and measured at a fixed capacitance for verification purposes. Good agreement is found between the simulated and the measured results.
Adaptation and The Origin of Species

As reflected in the title of his masterwork On the Origin of Species, Darwin proposed that adaptation is the primary mechanism of speciation. On this, Darwin was criticized for his neglect of reproductive isolation, his lack of appreciation for the role of geographic barriers, his failure to distinguish varieties from species, and his typological species concept. Two developments since Darwin, the biological species concept of Ernst Mayr and the methods of Coyne and Orr for estimating the contribution of different barriers to the total reproductive isolation, provide a framework for reconciling Darwin’s view on the primacy of adaptation in speciation with later proposals that emphasize reproductive isolation. A review of the few studies that have estimated the contributions of multiple isolating barriers suggests that habitat isolation and other barriers that operate before hybrid formation are much stronger than intrinsic postzygotic isolation. In light of these data, I suggest that Darwin’s focus on adaptation in the origin of species was essentially correct, a conclusion that calls for future studies that explore the links between adaptation and speciation, in particular, ecogeographic isolating barriers that result from adaptive divergence in habitat use. The recent revival in thinking about ecological factors and adaptive divergence in the origin of species echoes Darwin’s much‐criticized “principle of divergence” and suggests that the emerging views from today’s naturalists are not so different from those espoused by Darwin some 150 years ago.