Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Catecholamine and Cortisol Responses to Lower Extremity Revascularization

BackgroundSurgical trauma elicits diffuse changes in hormonal secretion and autonomic nervous system activity. Despite studies demonstrating modulation of the stress response by different anesthetic/analgesic regimens, little is known regarding the determinants of catecholamine and cortisol responses to surgery. MethodsPlasma catecholamines and cortisol secretion data were obtained from 60 patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization. Patients were randomized to receive either general anesthesia combined with patient-controlled intravenous morphine (GA) or epidural anesthesia combined with epidural fentanyl analgesia (RA). All aspects of intra-and postoperative clinical care were defined by written protocol. Plasma catecholamines were measured before Induction, intraoperatively, and for the first 18 h postoperatively (by HPLC). Urine cortisol was measured intra-and postoperatively using RIA. Data were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate demographic and perioperative variables as determinants of stress hormone secretion. ResultsPlasma catecholamines Increased during skin closure in the GA group, and remained higher relative to the RA group in the postoperative period. Multivariate analysis indicated that age and anesthetic regimen predicted increases in catecholamines during skin closure (P < 0.005), although duration of surgery, blood loss, and body temperature were not correlated. Early postoperative norepinephrine concentrations were correlated with pain score and duration of surgery (P < 0.004), but not with anesthetic management, blood loss, or body temperature. All postoperative norepinephrine levels were highly correlated (r = 0.7) with norepinephrine levels during skin closure. Cortisol excretion was higher postoperatively than intraoperatively. No patient or perioperative variable predicted cortisol excretion, and cortisol excretion was not correlated with catecholamine levels at any time. ConclusionsThese data Indicate that patient factors, such as age and Inherent sympathetic responsivity, are important determinants of the catecholamine response to surgery. Modulation of the norepinephrine response by regional anesthesia/analgesia appears to be related, in part, to superior analgesia. The lack of correlation between catecholamine and cortisol secretion indicates that the stress response may consist of discrete systems responding to different stimuli.
Control of electric field in CdZnTe radiation detectors by above-bandgap light

We have studied the possibility of above bandgap light induced depolarization of CdZnTe planar radiation detector operating under high flux of X-rays by Pockels effect measurements. In this contribution, we show a similar influence of X-rays at 80 kVp and LED with a wavelength of 910 nm irradiating the cathode on polarization of the detector due to an accumulation of a positive space charge of trapped photo-generated holes. We have observed the depolarization of the detector under simultaneous cathode-site illumination with excitation LED at 910 nm and depolarization above bandgap LED at 640 nm caused by trapping of drifting photo-generated electrons. Although the detector current is quite high during this depolarization, we have observed that it decreases relatively fast to its initial value after switching off the depolarizing light. In order to get detailed information about physical processes present during polarization and depolarization and, moreover, about associated deep levels, we have performed .
Susceptibility of mice to rotavirus infection: effects of age and administration of corticosteroids

We examined susceptibility to the murine rotavirus, epizootic diarrhea of infant mice virus (EDIM), in normal suckling and weaned mice and in suckling mice treated with glucocorticoids. Normal mice 1 to 40 days old were inoculated by gastrin intubation with high doses of EDIM and subsequently evaluated for rotavirus infection by solid-phase radioimmunoassay, by electron microscopy of intestinal tissue sections or by both. Radioimmunoassay and electron microscopy showed a concordance of 89.5% in the detection of rotavirus infection. After a period of low susceptibility to EDIM infection during the first 3 days after birth (23%), susceptibility was high for the next 11 days (95%), but decreased abruptly as mice approached weaning (41% on days 15 through 17). Mice 34 days or older did not develop EDIM infection after inoculation, but rotavirus antigen was detected in 12% of uninoculated mothers nursing inoculated litters. Administration of cortisone acetate to 8-day-old mice induced partial intestinal maturation prematurely. At 3 to 6 days after cortisone acetate treatment, susceptibility to EDIM infection decreased to 60% compared with 94% in age-matched controls. Our data suggest (i) that susceptibility of mice to EDIM infection is age dependent, decreasing in concert with intestinal maturation, and (ii) that glucocorticoids, which induce premature partial intestinal maturation, modulate susceptibility of mice to EDIM.
Common and distinct mechanisms of different redox‐active carcinogens involved in the transformation of mouse JB6P+ cells

We transformed JB6P+ cells with prolonged intermittent low‐dose UVB radiation or prolonged exposure to low‐dose H2O2 or CdCl2. Stable transformation was confirmed by an anchorage‐independence assay. The JB6P+ transformants formed more colonies (∼six folds) in soft agar as compared to their JB6P+ parent cells and were associated with increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Activating protein‐1 (AP‐1) is a family of transcription factors that are rapidly activated by elevated intracellular ROS levels, and their composition is important in the process of cellular transformation and/or tumor progression. To investigate if carcinogenesis induced by distinct carcinogens was via similar molecular mechanisms in these transformants, gel mobility shift and immunoblot analyses were utilized to determine the distinct AP‐1 compositions. Compared to parent JB6P+ cells, the gain of JunB and Fra‐1 in AP‐1 DNA binding complexes was markedly increased in all transformed cells, which might contribute to a more proliferative phenotype, while loss of Fra‐2 occurred in JB6P+/H2O2 and JB6P+/Cd cells. Differential AP‐1 components in the transformants suggested that their transformations might be mediated by distinct transcription signalings with distinct AP‐1 dimer compositions. However, all three transformants exhibited increased activation of pathways involved in cell proliferation (ERK/Fra‐1/AP‐1 and JNK/c‐jun/AP‐1) and anti‐apoptosis (Bcl‐xl). The development of the JB6P+ transformants (JB6P+/UVB; JB6P+/H2O2; JB6P+/Cd) provides a unique tool to study the mechanisms that contribute to different redox‐active carcinogens in a single model. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reproducibility of perfusion parameters in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of lung and liver tumors: effect on estimates of patient sample size in clinical trials and on individual patient responses.

OBJECTIVE Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) is a potentially useful noninvasive technique for assessing tissue perfusion, particularly in the context of solid tumors and targeted antiangiogenic and antivascular therapies. Our aim was to determine the reproducibility of perfusion parameters derived at DCE-MRI of tumors of the lung and liver, the most common sites of metastasis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Patients with lung and liver tumors underwent two sequential DCE-MRI examinations 2-7 days apart without any intervening therapy. The volume transfer constant between blood plasma and the extravascular extracellular space (K(trans)) and blood-normalized initial area under the signal intensity-time curve (initial AUC(BN)) were computed with a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Differences in parameters were assessed with within-patient coefficients of variation. RESULTS Twenty-three patients had evaluable tumors (12 lung, 11 liver). The within-patient coefficients of variation for K(trans) and initial AUC(BN) for liver lesions were 8.9% and 9.9% and for lung lesions were 17.9% and 18.2%. Sample sizes for reductions in these parameters from 10% to 50% were estimated to range from two to 102 subjects. Estimates of confidence that changes observed in a given patient were due to intervening therapy rather than variability of the technique were calculated to range from 71% to 87% if a 20% reduction in a parameter was observed. CONCLUSION The rate of reproducibility of DCE-MRI parameters is in the range of 10%-20% and is influenced by lesion location, parameters being significantly more reproducible in the liver than in the lung. These findings provide the foundation for interpretation of results and design of clinical trials in which DCE-MRI studies are used to assess objective responses.
Estimating the health benefit of reducing indoor air pollution in a randomized environmental intervention

Recent intervention studies targeted at reducing indoor air pollution have demonstrated both the ability to improve respiratory health outcomes and to reduce particulate matter (PM) levels in the home. However, these studies generally do not address whether it is the reduction in PM levels specifically that improves respiratory health. We apply the method of principal stratification to data from a randomized air cleaner intervention designed to reduce indoor PM in homes of children with asthma. We estimate the health benefit of the intervention among study subjects who would experience a substantial reduction in PM in response to the intervention. For those subjects we find an increase in symptom‐free days that is almost three times as large as the overall intention‐to‐treat effect. We also explore the presence of treatment effects among those subjects whose PM levels would not respond to the air cleaner. This analysis demonstrates the usefulness of principal stratification for environmental intervention trials and its potential for much broader application in this area.
Evidence for the Presence of Three Distinct Binding Sites for the Thioflavin T Class of Alzheimer's Disease PET Imaging Agents on β-Amyloid Peptide Fibrils*

Imaging the progression of Alzheimer's disease would greatly facilitate the discovery of therapeutics, and a wide range of ligands are currently under development for the detection of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ)-containing plaques by using positron emission tomography. Here we report an in-depth characterization of the binding of seven previously described ligands to in vitro generated Aβ-(1–40) polymers. All of the compounds were derived from the benzothiazole compound thioflavin T and include 2-[4′-(methylamino)phenyl]benzothiazole and 2-(4′-dimethylamino-)phenyl-imidazo[1,2-a]-pyridine derivatives, 2-[4′-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole and 2-[4′-(4″-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, and a benzofuran compound (5-bromo-2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)benzofuran). By using a range of fluorescent and radioligand binding assays, we find that these compounds display a more complex binding pattern than described previously and are consistent with three classes of binding sites on the Aβ fibrils. All of the compounds bound with very high affinity (low nm Kd) to a low capacity site (BS3) (1 ligand-binding site per ∼300 Aβ-(1–40) monomers) consistent with the previously recognized binding site for these compounds on the fibrils. However, the compounds also bound with high affinity (Kd ∼100 nm) to either one of two additional binding sites on the Aβ-(1–40) polymer. The properties of these sites, BS1 and BS2, suggest they are adjacent or partially overlapping and have a higher capacity than BS3, occurring every ∼35 or every ∼4 monomers of Aβ-(1–40)-peptide, respectively. Compounds appear to display selectivity for BS2 based on the presence of a halogen substitution (2-[4′-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, 2-[4′-(4″-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, and 5-bromo-2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)benzofuran) on their aromatic ring system. The presence of additional ligand-binding sites presents potential new targets for ligand development and may allow a more complete modeling of the current positron emission tomography data.
Discrimination and Puerto Rican children's and adolescents' mental health.

Two studies of Puerto Rican youths' development on the U.S. mainland examined the consequences of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination on mental health. In Study I, children were found to have a low likelihood of perceiving discrimination, whereas in Study 2, nearly half of the adolescent sample reported perceiving racial/ethnic discrimination. Although both groups scored high on multiple indicators of mental health, perceiving discrimination and worrying about discrimination were negatively associated with some dimensions of self-esteem and positively associated with depression and stress. Adolescents were aware of negative stereotypes about Puerto Ricans, and nearly half of them related discriminatory instances. Results suggest that both perceiving discrimination and anxiety regarding discrimination can serve as risk factors for the mental health of this population.
Oral vaccination with recombinant Listeria monocytogenes expressing human papillomavirus type 16 E7 can cause tumor growth in mice to regress

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram‐positive, facultative intracellular bacterium with the ability to present secreted proteins to the major histocompatibility complex class I pathway to stimulate cell‐mediated immune response. In our study, we constructed the recombinant L. monocytogenes encoding human papillomavirus type 16 E7 gene (rLM‐E7). When orally administered to syngeneic mice, rLM‐E7 could induce a cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte (CTL) response. Furthermore, in vitro flow cytometric assay and in vivo immune deficiency assays showed that rLM‐E7 could prevent and eradicate tumor growth via CD8+‐dependent CTLs. Hence, the potency of rLM‐E7 as a therapeutic vaccine for cervical cancer is the result of the induction E7‐specific cell‐mediated immunity by L. monocytogenes. In addition to potency, this vaccine also offers ease of administration and reduced cost of production compared with other vaccines formulated for injection. Thus, L. monocytogenes encoding HPV‐16 E7 may be a useful oral vaccine for cervical cancer treatment. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dilute-coat-color locus of mice: nucleotide sequence analysis of the d+2J and d+Ha revertant alleles

The unstable dilute-coat-color mutation (d) of DBA/2J mice has been shown to be the result of integration of an ecotropic murine leukemia virus within the mouse genome. Molecular cloning and restriction enzyme analysis of the dilute allele and the viral preintegration site (+ allele), as well as two independent dilute revertants (d+2J and d+Ha), suggested that reversion is due to virus excision occurring by homologous recombination involving the viral long terminal repeats. The DNA sequence has now been determined for the cell-virus junctions of the provirus associated with the d mutation, for the viral preintegration site, and for the two revertant sites. These data (i) indicate that the d mutation was caused by a normal virus integration, (ii) confirm that virus excision occurs by precise homologous recombination, as exactly one long terminal repeat is present in each revertant site, and (iii) suggest that the virus induced the d mutation by integration into a noncoding sequence.
Seasonal variability of endotoxin in ambient fine particulate matter.

Endotoxin is a toxic, pro-inflammatory compound that has been detected in indoor air and dust in homes and occupational settings, and also in outdoor air. Data on the outdoor sampling of endotoxin are limited. Currently, little is known about the seasonal variation and influence of temperature on outdoor endotoxin levels. In the present study, we report endotoxin levels in fine fraction particulate matter with a 50% aerodynamic cutoff diameter of 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and describe the seasonal variation of endotoxin in Munich, Germany. In 1999-2000, PM2.5 was collected at forty outdoor monitoring sites across Munich. Approximately four samples were collected at each site for a total of 158 samples. Endotoxin concentrations in the PM2.5 samples were determined using the kinetic chromogenic Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay. The geometric mean endotoxin concentration was 1.07 EU mg PM2.5(-1) (95% C.I.: 0.915-1.251) or 0.015 EU m(-3) of sampled air (95% C.I.: 0.013-0.018). Munich endotoxin levels were significantly related to ambient temperature (p < 0.0001) and percent relative humidity (p < 0.0001). Sampling periods with higher average temperatures yielded higher levels of endotoxin in PM2.5 (r = 0.641), whereas decreases in percent relative humidity were associated with increased endotoxin levels in PM2.5 (r = -0.388). Endotoxin levels were significantly higher during the warmer seasons of spring [means ratio (MR): 2.5-2.7] and summer (MR: 2.1-3.0) than during winter. Although temperature and relative humidity do not explain all of the variability in endotoxin levels, their effects were significant in our data set. Temperature effects and seasonal variation of endotoxin should be considered in future studies of outdoor endotoxin.
Kinetics of accelerated solid-state fermentation of organic-rich municipal solid waste.

Biotransformation of landfill solid wastes is a slow process requiring decades for completion. Accelerated anaerobic fermentation in modulated landfill environments may alleviate or eliminate pollution of land, water and air. This research was undertaken to demonstrate the application of biphasic fermentation to a simulated laboratory-scale landfill to effect rapid biomethanation of biodegradable solids. The biphasic process consisted of solid-state, acidogenic fermentation of the organic fraction of MSW followed by biomethanation of acidic hydrolysates in a separate methane fermenter. Solid-state fermentation of the MSW with effluent recirculation resulted in rapid hydrolysis, acidification and denitrification, with soluble COD and VFA concentrations accumulating to inhibitory levels of 60,000 mg/l and 13,000 mg/l, respectively, at a pH of 4.5. The landfill gas methane concentration reached a maximum of 55 mol. %. By comparison, the methanogenic reactor produced high methane-content (70-85 mol.%) gases. The biphasic process effected carbohydrate, lipid, and protein conversion efficiencies of 90%, 49%, and 37%, respectively. Development of a Monod-type product-formation model was undertaken to predict methane formation and to determine kinetic parameters for the methanogenic processes in the simulated landfill and separate methane reactors. A first-order solids hydrolysis rate constant of 0.017 day-1 was evaluated to show that landfill solids hydrolysis was slower than the inhibited methanogenesis rate.
Low-cost inkjet antennas for RFID applications

We present paper-based inkjet antennas that are fabricated by using silver-based cartridges in standard printers. In addition to their low costs, the produced antennas are flexible, environmentally friendly, and suitable for radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications. Among alternative choices, hybrid structures involving loop and parasitic meander parts are preferred and successfully combined with passive RFID chips. We also discuss main challenges in the design and fabrication of low-cost inkjet antennas and the related RFID tags.
Spectral algorithm to compute and synthesize reduced order passive models for arbitrary RC multiports

In this article, we present a time domain method to compute synthesized reduced-order approximation of arbitrary linear RC multiports. If the given multiport is passive, then the computed approximation, with all its nodes accessible, is also proved to be passive. This ensures that the reduced order multiport is well behaved during circuit simulations when embedded back in the parent nonlinear circuit. The reduced-order multiport is synthesized as a passive RC circuit which can be analyzed directly with standard circuit simulators treating the latter as black boxes. The method is based on computing tests from the partial fraction expansion of the port admittance matrix. The computations are performed by writing state equations implicitly, wherein the Lanczos algorithm is used to compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The residue matrices are also computed implicitly. The notion of 'relevance' of an eigenvalue for reduced order model is emphasized. The method does not impose any topological constraints (such as prohibition of capacitor cutsets) on the multiport. All computations are performed implicitly through DC analyses of appropriately constructed networks. An efficient DC analysis algorithm is used for this. The implicit computation ideas presented in this paper could also be used for efficient spectral investigation of linear RC/RLC circuits.
A passive multiple trailer system for indoor service robots

It is shown how a passive multiple trailer system is designed and controlled for practical applications. The main focus is reducing the trajectory tracking error and the scope of the paper is limited to the passive systems due to the cost and simplicity of the trailer mechanism. Three kinds of passive trailers are introduced, and then the analysis of path tracking performance is carried out, in order to show that the proposed off-hooked trailer is advantageous in a practical sense. Stability, issues are discussed with constant reference velocity. Numerical simulation results and experimental results are presented.
Pharmacokinetics and Diffusion into Sputum of Oseltamivir and Oseltamivir Carboxylate in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT Oseltamivir is a prodrug of oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), a neuraminidase inhibitor used for treatment and prevention of influenza. The pharmacokinetics of these 2 compounds were investigated after a single 75-mg oseltamivir dose in 6 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Means ± standard deviations of the area under the curve from time zero to infinity (AUC) were 173 ± 58 μg · h/liter for oseltamivir and 2,256 ± 394 μg · h/liter for OC. The concentrations of OC in sputum 4 to 6 h and 22 to 26 h after the intake ranged from 4.1 to 62.2 μg/liter. The AUC of OC was approximately 30% lower than and significantly different from published values for volunteers. On the basis of the present results and because the anti-A/H1N1 influenza virus efficacy of OC is related to its AUC/50% effective concentration (EC50) ratio, an increase in the oseltamivir unitary dose could be considered for the treatment of influenza in CF patients. This should nevertheless be confirmed by a controlled pharmacokinetic study performed on a larger number of patients.