Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histometrical studies on the kidneys in diabetes mellitus.

Though the histological glomerular lesions in diabetes mellitus appear in two distinct types, the diffuse and nodular, the former lacks pathognomonic features, and its differentiation from mild chronic glomerulonephritis has been practically impossible. A histometrical method was introduced into the present study to establish a diagnostic basis of slight diabetic nephropathy. The relative reduc-tion of mesangial nuclei per unit area of mesangial tissue was characteristic of diabetic glomerular lesions and was useful for separating diabetic from mild chronic glomerulonephritic lesions. This was due to hyaline thickening of the mesangial tissue in diabetics without nuclear proliferation. Diabetic glomerular lesions were further quantitatively evaluated and correlated to a number of clinical symptoms. Positive correlation was confirmed between the grade of glomerular lesions and serum lipid levels. The correlation was regarded as of pathogenetic significance in the diffuse glomerular lesion. The development of coarse nodular glomerular lesions was ascribed to mesangiolytic changes with subsequent plasmal infiltration into the mesangial tissue and capillary thrombosis. Locally accentuated hyaline deposits in the mesangial tissue occasionally simulated small nodular lesions, but they did not grow to typical large nodules without preceding mesangiolytic changes.
Soluble endoglin and other circulating antiangiogenic factors in preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND Alterations in circulating soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), an antiangiogenic protein, and placental growth factor (PlGF), a proangiogenic protein, appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Since soluble endoglin, another antiangiogenic protein, acts together with sFlt1 to induce a severe preeclampsia-like syndrome in pregnant rats, we examined whether it is associated with preeclampsia in women. METHODS We performed a nested case-control study of healthy nulliparous women within the Calcium for Preeclampsia Prevention trial. The study included all 72 women who had preterm preeclampsia (<37 weeks), as well as 480 randomly selected women--120 women with preeclampsia at term (at > or =37 weeks), 120 women with gestational hypertension, 120 normotensive women who delivered infants who were small for gestational age, and 120 normotensive controls who delivered infants who were not small for gestational age. RESULTS Circulating soluble endoglin levels increased markedly beginning 2 to 3 months before the onset of preeclampsia. After the onset of clinical disease, the mean serum level in women with preterm preeclampsia was 46.4 ng per milliliter, as compared with 9.8 ng per milliliter in controls (P<0.001). The mean serum level in women with preeclampsia at term was 31.0 ng per milliliter, as compared with 13.3 ng per milliliter in controls (P<0.001). Beginning at 17 weeks through 20 weeks of gestation, soluble endoglin levels were significantly higher in women in whom preterm preeclampsia later developed than in controls (10.2 ng per milliliter vs. 5.8 ng per milliliter, P<0.001), and at 25 through 28 weeks of gestation, the levels were significantly higher in women in whom term preeclampsia developed than in controls (8.5 ng per milliliter vs. 5.9 ng per milliliter, P<0.001). An increased level of soluble endoglin was usually accompanied by an increased ratio of sFlt1:PlGF. The risk of preeclampsia was greatest among women in the highest quartile of the control distributions for both biomarkers but not for either biomarker alone. CONCLUSIONS Rising circulating levels of soluble endoglin and ratios of sFlt1:PlGF herald the onset of preeclampsia.
It Pays to Have a Spring in Your Step

In humans, a large portion of the mechanical work required for walking comes from muscle-tendons crossing the ankle joint. Elastic energy storage and return in the Achilles tendon during each step enhance the efficiency of ankle muscle-tendon mechanical work far beyond what is possible for work performed by knee and hip joint muscle-tendons.
Microscopic derivation of rate equations for quantum transport.

It is shown that under certain conditions the resonant transport in mesoscopic systems can be described by modified (quantum) rate equations, which resemble the optical Bloch equations with some additional terms. Detailed microscopic derivation from the many-body Schr\"odinger equation is presented. Special attention is paid to the Coulomb blockade and quantum coherence effects in coupled quantum dot systems. The distinction between classical and quantum descriptions of resonant transport is clearly manifested in the modified rate equations. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Reliability and exactness of MRI‐based volumetry: A phantom study

This study investigated the influence of slice thickness. section orientation, contrast, shape, and sequence type on the exactness of MRI‐based volumetry. Ni‐doped agarose gel phantoms (4 to 46 ml) were scanned with a T1‐weighted three‐dimensional Fourier transform (FT) fast low‐angle shot (FLASH) and a multiecho two‐dimensional FT‐Turbo spin‐echo (SE) sequence. After segmentation with a three‐dimensional region‐growing algorithm, the geometric volume was measured considering the partial volume effect. The variability coefficient (Pearson) was . 7%. The volumetric error increased with slice thickness, depending on the size and form of the object. Cross sections resulted in smaller error than longitudinal sections (finger‐shaped phantoms, nonisotropic image data). Three‐dimensional FT was superior to two‐dimensional FT imaging. Results of slice thickness and section orientation experiments can be explained by the partial volume effect. Higher errors in two‐dimensional FT imaging were caused by object movements between two interleaved acquisitions. The study shows a considerable influence of the imaging parameters on the exactness, which depends on size and form of the structure of interest.
Experimental Analysis of MIMO-OFDM Eigenmode Transmission with MMSE Interference Canceller

As the wireless channel is constantly changing, MIMO-OFDM eigenmode transmission is extremely vulnerable to the presence of feedback delay which is unavoidable in a practical system. Under such imperfect conditions, the inter-eigenmode interference can be removed through the use of the MMSE interference canceller. However, to the best of our knowledge, the performance of MIMO-OFDM eigenmode with MMSE interference canceller has not been proven by experimental results. In this paper, we present experimental results for the bit error rate (BER) performance of MIMO-OFDM eigenmode transmission with and without MMSE interference canceller. In the experiment, a time-varying channel is synthetically generated in a static environment by exploiting the inherent spatial correlation in a static environment. Our experimental results proved the robustness of MIMO-OFDM eigenmode with MMSE interference canceller in the presence of feedback delay
Evaluation of large volume-difficult matrix introduction-gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LV-DMI-GC-TOF-MS) for the determination of pesticides in fruit-based baby foods

The European Union Baby Food Directive (1999/39/EC), which came into force on 1 July 2002, set legal maximum residue levels at 0.01 mg kg−1 for all pesticides in baby foods. The combination of large volume-difficult matrix introduction (LV-DMI) with gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), described herein, provides the analyst with a simple but rapid alternative GC-MS technique for the multiresidue analysis of pesticides in fruit-based baby foods. Samples were extracted with ethyl acetate in the presence of Na2SO4 and NaHCO3 and the crude extracts were analysed directly using LV-DMI-GC-TOF-MS. The best overall results (98 pesticides quantified satisfactorily at a spiking level of 0.01 mg kg−1) were obtained by analysis of concentrated extracts (2.5 g crop ml−1) using a 30-m column, with a chromatographic run time of 25 min. A good signal-to-noise ratio was obtained at the lowest calibrated level (0.0125 μg ml−1), with excellent linearity achieved over the range 0.0125–0.25 μg ml−1 (equivalent to 0.005–0.1 mg kg−1). Average recoveries for the analysis of five replicate determinations at a spiking level of 0.01 mg kg−1 were between 79 and 114% with relative standard derivations generally less than 20%.
Effects of acute and chronic nicotine on impulsive choice in rats

Impulsive choice, or preference for small immediate reinforcers over large delayed reinforcers, has been associated with cigarette smoking. The direct effects of nicotine on impulsive choice in laboratory animals are unknown. We examined the effects of acute and chronic nicotine injections, and the termination of injections, on impulsive choice in rats. Five rats made choices between a one- and a three-pellet reinforcer in a discrete trials procedure. The delay to the smaller reinforcer was always 1 s. A computer adjusted the delay to the larger reinforcer until the pattern of choices reflected indifference between the two alternatives. We assessed the effects of acute and chronic nicotine (vehicle, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg nicotine). The latency to make the first response of the session increased under the acute 1.0 mg/kg dose. There were no consistent differences in the effects of acute and chronic nicotine on response latency and lever pressing during the delays between choices. Acute injections of nicotine dose-dependently increased impulsive responding. After chronic injections, impulsive responding was increased equivalently regardless of dose, and it was increased even in the absence of nicotine. After drug injections were terminated, behavior remained impulsive for about 30 drug-free sessions, and then responding gradually returned to baseline levels. The results suggest that increases in impulsive choice were not due to anorectic effects, response biases or changes in conditioned reinforcement. Nicotine may have decreased the value of delayed reinforcers. Chronic nicotine exposure produced long-lasting but reversible increases in impulsive choice.
Epidemiological significance of repeated infections with homologous and heterologous strains and species of Plasmodium.

During many years of experience with the use of induced malaria for the therapy of neurosyphilis, it has been possible to observe the course of malarial infections in patients with known previous history of infection by the same and different strains and species of Plasmodium. This report presents the effect of prior infection on subsequent infection in regard to immune response of the host, clinical symptoms, parasitaemia, transmissibility and chemotherapeutic measures. These studies have shown that in no case was it impossible to induce additional infections in patients. However, in all homologous-species reinoculations, there were significant modifications of the infections, which were enhanced if both exposures were to the same strain. Variable results (ranging from no apparent effect to a fairly substantial modification) were seen after reinoculation of patients with a heterologous species of Plasmodium.The use of immunofluorescent methods may provide a clearer understanding of the mechanism of partial immunity as it affects reinfection. The relationship of this partial immunity to the epidemiology and chemotherapy of the disease in endemic areas is of importance, in that these infections in semi-immune persons provide a continuing and unapparent source of reinfection of the community.
GAIP and RGS4 are GTPase-activating proteins for the Gi subfamily of G protein alpha subunits.

A novel class of regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins has been identified recently. Genetic evidence suggests that RGS proteins inhibit G protein-mediated signaling at the level of the receptor-G protein interaction or the G protein alpha subunit itself. We have found that two RGS family members, GAIP and RGS4, are GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), accelerating the rate of GTP hydrolysis by Gi alpha 1 at least 40-fold. All Gi subfamily members assayed were substrates for these GAPs; Gs alpha was not. RGS4 activates the GTPase activity of certain Gi alpha 1 mutants (e.g., R178C), but not others (e.g., Q204L). The GAP activity of RGS proteins is consistent with their proposed role as negative regulators of G protein-mediated signaling.
Abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance in obese men.

We examined the independent relationships among various visceral and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) depots, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity in 89 obese men. Measurements included an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), glucose disposal by euglycemic clamp, and abdominal and nonabdominal (e.g., peripheral) AT by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). OGTT glucose and glucose disposal rates were related (P < 0.05) to visceral AT (r = 0.50 and -0.41, respectively). These observations remained significant (P < 0.05) after control for nonabdominal and abdominal subcutaneous AT, and maximal O(2) consumption (VO(2 max)). Abdominal subcutaneous AT was not a significant correlate (P > 0.05) of any metabolic variable after control for nonabdominal and visceral AT and VO(2 max). Division of abdominal subcutaneous AT into deep and superficial depots and visceral AT into intra- and extraperitoneal AT depots did not alter the observed relationships. Further analysis matched two groups of men for abdominal subcutaneous AT but also for low and high visceral AT. Men with high visceral AT had higher OGTT glucose values and lower glucose disposal rates compared with those with low visceral AT values (P < 0.05). A similar analysis performed on two groups of men matched for visceral AT but also for high and low abdominal subcutaneous AT revealed no statistically different values for any metabolic variable (P > 0.10). In conclusion, visceral AT alone is a strong correlate of insulin resistance independent of nonabdominal and abdominal subcutaneous AT and cardiovascular fitness. Subdivision of visceral and abdominal subcutaneous AT by MRI did not provide additional insight into the relationship between abdominal obesity and metabolic risk in obese men.
Brief Communication

P53 aberrant protein expression and mutation is a component of many human tumors but less information is available regarding involvement in relevant animal models. We have examined invasive mammary epithelial neoplasms for p53 aberrant protein expression from Sprague-Dawley rats induced by two intrajugular injections of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU, 50 mg/kg), 7 days apart, beginning at 44-49 days of age. Positive nuclear staining was observed in 8/10 mammary tumor frozen sections using PAb 421, a mouse monoclonal antibody, compared to a mixed mouse IgG negative control antibody. Paraffin sections from two additional sets of similarly induced rat mammary tumors also showed positive nuclear staining (22/37 tumors) with CM-5, a rabbit polyclonal antibody. Our results indicate that elevated cellular content of p53 is a common event in invasive palpable mammary tumors induced by NMU in this dual-injection model system.
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Activates Porcine Thecal Cell Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase-Akt/PKB and Ras-Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase-1/2 Kinase Signaling Pathways via the Platelet-Derived Growth Factor-β Receptor.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a potent mitogenic factor for ovarian thecal cells cultured in vitro. PDGF binds to and induces homo- or heterodimerization of PDGF receptor-α or -β (PDGF-Rα or PDGF-Rβ). Despite this, little information is available about which PDGF receptors are expressed in the ovary, what signaling cascades are activated by PDGF, and the effects of PDGF on thecal cell steroidogenesis. The present study demonstrates the expression of immunoreactive PDGF-Rβ, but not PDGF-Rα, in the thecal and stromal compartments of intact porcine ovaries as well as in cultured porcine thecal cells. Treatment of porcine thecal cells in vitro with PDGF resulted in rapid and sustained tyrosine phosphorylation of PDGF-Rβ, activation of Src tyrosine kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3-kinase), and serine 473 phosphorylation of Akt/protein kinase B. In addition, PDGF stimulated an increase in GTP-Ras (activated Ras) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation. Both forms .
Multi-Sensory Data Analysis and On-Line Evaluation for Advanced Process Control and Yield Optimization in Polymer Film Industry

The current procedures for achieving industrial process surveillance, waste reduction, and prognosis of critical process states are still insufficient in some parts of the manufacturing industry. Increasing competitive pressure, falling margins, increasing cost, just-in-time production, environmental protection requirements, and guidelines concerning energy savings pose new challenges to manufacturing companies, from the semiconductor to the pharmaceutical industry. New, more intelligent technologies adapted to the current technical standards provide companies with improved options to tackle these situations. Here, knowledge-based approaches open up pathways that have not yet been exploited to their full extent. The Knowledge-Discovery-Process for knowledge generation describes such a concept. Based on an understanding of the problems arising during production, it derives conclusions from real data, processes these data, transfers them into evaluated models and, by this open-loop approach, reiteratively reflects the results in order to resolve the production problems. Here, the generation of data through control units, their transfer via field bus for storage in database systems, their formatting, and the immediate querying of these data, their analysis and their subsequent presentation with its ensuing benefits play a decisive role. The aims of this work result from the lack of systematic approaches to the abovementioned issues, such as process visualization, the generation of recommendations, the prediction of unknown sensor und production states, and statements on energy cost. Both science and commerce offer mature statistical tools for data preprocessing, analysis and modeling, and for the final reporting step. Since their creation, the insurance business, the world of banking, market analysis, and marketing have been the application fields of these software types; they are now expanding to the production environment. Appropriate modeling can be achieved via specific machine learning procedures, which have been established in various industrial areas, e.g., in process surveillance by optical control systems. Here, State-of-the-art classification methods are used, with multiple applications comprising sensor technology, process areas, and production site data. Manufacturing companies now intend to establish a more holistic surveillance of process data, such as, e.g., sensor failures or process deviations, to identify dependencies. The causes of quality problems must be recognized and selected in real time from about 500 attributes of a highly complex production machine. Based on these identified causes,
Optimal Parameters and regularizers for image reconstruction problems - one dimensional setting

A new fractional order seminorm, $ICTV^r$, $r\in \mathbb R$, $r\geq 1$, is proposed in the one-dimensional setting, as a generalization of the standard $ICTV^k$-seminorms, $k\in\mathbb{N}$. The fractional $ICTV^r$-seminorms are shown to be intermediate between the standard $ICTV^k$-seminorms of integer order. A bilevel learning scheme is proposed, where under a box constraint a simultaneous optimization with respect to the parameter $\alpha$ and the order $r$ is performed. A numerical implementation of the learning scheme is provided, as well as an example where the optimal reconstruction is achieved for non-integer values of the order of derivation $r$.
Relationship between crystallographic texture and cavitation resistance of as-cast X8CrNi25-21 and X6CrAl13 steels

R. Jasionowski – Institute of Basic Technical Sciences, Maritime University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland W. Polkowski, D. Zasada – Faculty of Advanced Technology and Chemistry, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland In this paper, results of the cavitation resistance evaluation of as-cast X8CrNi25-21 austenitic steel and X6CrAl13 ferritic steel having a various grain orientations, are shown. It was found that the austenitic steel with a preferred < 110 >// ND orientation (where ND is a normal direction to the surface that was exposed to the cavitation process) exhibits a superior cavitation resistance over other examinated materials.
The Ontogeny of Growth Hormone Sensitivity

For many years it was believed that the growth hormone (GH) axis does not play a role in growth before birth or during the first year after birth. More recently, however, studies of genetic disorders of growth have led to developments in our understanding of the onset of GH sensitivity and the relationships between the maternal and fetal GH axes. Many children whose GH deficiency (GHD) is diagnosed in late childhood have a good rate of growth in their first year of life. This can be explained when one considers the differences between pituitary and hypothalamic GHD. Many children in whom GHD is diagnosed later in childhood have hypothalamic GHD, which may be masked in the first year of life by a relative lack of somatostatin secretion. Genetic defects in the GH axis lead to a slight degree of growth retardation at birth, consistent with growth impairment in the third trimester only. Conversely, a boy with a deletion in the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene showed severe growth retardation at birth, indicating a role for IGF-I during the second and third trimesters. From these results, there are two possible models for the relationship between IGF-I production and other components of the maternal–fetal GH axis: independence of the IGF-I axis from somatotropic influences during the second trimester or, alternatively, redundancy of somatotropic hormones and their receptors. From reports of individuals with naturally occurring mutations that eliminate contributors to the GH axis, redundancy does indeed appear to be a feature of the maternal–fetal GH axis, with GH sensitivity arising around mid-gestation.
Vascular complications in relation to ethnicity in non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ethnicity on the development of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy as markers for microvascular complications and of angina pectoris as a marker for macrovascular complications. We evaluated data from 1124 patients with non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) of Caucasian, Mongoloid, Asian, Armenian, Northern African and Negroid origin who were referred between January 1993 and December 1994. Logistic regression analyses showed that the occurrence of microvascular complications was significantly associated with duration of NIDDM. In addition, retinopathy was significantly associated with glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and nephropathy with triglycerides (P < 0.05 and P << 0.001 respectively). Northern African origin was associated with retinopathy (P < 0.05) and Asian origin with nephropathy (P < 0.005). Macrovascular complication was associated with age and triglyceride level (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 respectively). Northern African and Negroid ethnicity exclusively did not show a gradual increase in the risk for angina pectoris with increasing age. Moreover, a negative association between Northern African as well as Negroid ethnicity and macrovascular complication was observed (P = 0.05 and P < 0.05 respectively). In support of these observations, we found a favourable lipid profile in both mentioned groups. In summary, we have shown that, in patients with NIDDM, ethnicity is associated with macrovascular complications and duration of the disease with microvascular complications.