Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote Ischemic Postconditioning: Does It Protect against Ischemic Damage in Percutaneous Coronary Revascularization? Justification and Design of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: Myocardial damage that is associated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) partially affects the results of the procedure, and is related to medium-term cardiovascular death. Remote postischemic conditioning might reduce the myocardial lesions that are associated with PCI, but perhaps less so in diabetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of remote postischemic conditioning in patients undergoing elective PCI for stable angina or non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome with troponin <1 ng/ml at the time of randomization. Methods: This randomized single-blinded single-center clinical trial involved 320 patients undergoing elective PCI who were randomized to either receive three 5-min cycles of ischemia by inflation of a cuff on the non-dominant arm to 200 mm Hg (remote postischemic conditioning) or to placebo (uninflated cuff). The primary outcome variable was the maximum increase in troponin in the first 24 h. The secondary outcome variable was readmission due to heart failure or cardiovascular mortality after 1 year of follow-up. In addition, a diabetic population was studied. Conclusions: This clinical trial evaluated the possible reduction in intervention-related myocardial damage that was attributable to remote postischemic conditioning.
A Bioinformatic Strategy for the Detection, Classification and Analysis of Bacterial Autotransporters

Autotransporters are secreted proteins that are assembled into the outer membrane of bacterial cells. The passenger domains of autotransporters are crucial for bacterial pathogenesis, with some remaining attached to the bacterial surface while others are released by proteolysis. An enigma remains as to whether autotransporters should be considered a class of secretion system, or simply a class of substrate with peculiar requirements for their secretion. We sought to establish a sensitive search protocol that could identify and characterize diverse autotransporters from bacterial genome sequence data. The new sequence analysis pipeline identified more than 1500 autotransporter sequences from diverse bacteria, including numerous species of Chlamydiales and Fusobacteria as well as all classes of Proteobacteria. Interrogation of the proteins revealed that there are numerous classes of passenger domains beyond the known proteases, adhesins and esterases. In addition the barrel-domain-a characteristic feature of autotransporters-was found to be composed from seven conserved sequence segments that can be arranged in multiple ways in the tertiary structure of the assembled autotransporter. One of these conserved motifs overlays the targeting information required for autotransporters to reach the outer membrane. Another conserved and diagnostic motif maps to the linker region between the passenger domain and barrel-domain, indicating it as an important feature in the assembly of autotransporters.
ANG II provokes acute trafficking of distal tubule Na+-Cl(-) cotransporter to apical membrane.

The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) Na+-Cl(-) cotransporter (NCC), the target of thiazide diuretics, is responsible for the reabsorption of 5-10% of filtered NaCl. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that acute infusion of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor captopril (at 12 microg/min) for 20 min provokes trafficking of NCC from apical plasma membranes (APM) to subapical cytoplasmic vesicles (SCV), which is reversed by acute ANG II infusion (ANG II at 20 ng.kg(-1). min(-1) along with 12 microg/min captopril) for 20 min in male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-350 g). By immuno-electron microscopy using an anti-NCC (D. Ellison) 71.5 +/- SD 4.9% of the NCC gold labeling was associated with the APM in control, sham operated, and infused rats, while captopril infusion reduced NCC in APM to 54.9 +/- 6.9% (P < 0.001) and markedly increased immunogold labeling of SCV. Subsequent infusion of ANG II with captopril restored NCC immunogold labeling of APM to 72.4 +/- 4.2%, that is, 20% of the total NCC trafficked between APM and SCV. Likewise, on density gradients of cortex, captopril provoked redistribution of 27.3% of total NCC from low-density APM-enriched membranes to higher-density membranes and ANG II+captopril restored 20.3% of the NCC to APM-enriched fractions. Redistribution occurred independent of a change in NCC total abundance. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that ACE inhibition provokes acute trafficking of NCC out of the plasma membrane, which likely decreases DCT Na+ reabsorption, while ANG II provokes rapid trafficking of NCC from stores in subapical vesicles to the plasma membrane, which likely increases DCT Na+ reabsorption.
Efficacy of micafungin against deep-seated candidiasis in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice.

OBJECTIVES We investigated the effects of fluconazole and micafungin for the therapy of deep-seated candidiasis in a cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mouse model. METHODS We used the experimental model of intraperitoneal fungal abscess caused by Candida albicans, as described previously. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Micafungin efficacy was equal to that of fluconazole in one-tenth dosage even in peritonitis. We also assessed the short-term (24 h) and long-term (8 days) therapeutic effects after the end of therapy. Although the therapeutic effect of fluconazole was similar to that of micafungin at 24 h after the end of therapy, the effect of micafungin was superior to that of fluconazole at 8 days after the end of therapy.
Threshold Effects and Asymmetric Price Adjustments in the Ghanaian Plantain Market

This study investigates if there is an asymmetric relationship between Ghanaian retail and wholesale plantain prices. Using the Consistent Threshold Autoregressive Model(C-TAR), this study finds that the retail and wholesale plantain prices are threshold co integrated. The study also finds that the retail and wholesale plantain prices adjust asymmetrically for deviation from the long run equilibrium. The findings of this study further indicate that 63.2% of the positive deviations and 24.9% of the negative deviations persist to the next period. These results suggest that any price movement that squeezes the margins is transmitted more rapidly than an equivalent that stretches the margin.
Structure and importance of the dimerization domain in elongation factor Ts from Thermus thermophilus.

Elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts) functions as a nucleotide-exchange factor by binding elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and accelerating the GDP dissociation from EF-Tu; thus EF-Ts promotes the transition of EF-Tu from the inactive GDP form to the active GTP form. Thermus thermophilus EF-Ts exists as a stable dimer in solution which binds two molecules of EF-Tu to form a (EF-Tu.EF-Ts)2 heterotetramer. Here we report the crystal structure of the dimerization domain of EF-Ts from T. thermophilus refined to 1.7 A resolution. A three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet from each subunit interacts to form a beta-sandwich that serves as an extensive dimer interface tethered by a disulfide bond. This interface is distinctly different from the predominantly alpha-helical one that stabilizes the EF-Ts dimer from Escherichia coli [Kawashima, T. , et al. (1996) Nature 379, 511-518]. To test whether the homodimeric form of T. thermophilus EF-Ts is necessary for catalyzing nucleotide exchange, the present structure was used to design mutational changes within the dimer interface that disrupt the T. thermophilus EF-Ts dimer but not the tertiary structure of the subunits. Surprisingly, EF-Ts monomers created in this manner failed to catalyze nucleotide exchange in EF-Tu, indicating that, in vitro. T. thermophilus EF-Ts functions only as a homodimer.
Impact of ecological and social factors on ranging in western gorillas

We examined the influence of ecological (diet, swamp use, and rainfall) and social (intergroup interaction rate) factors on ranging behavior in one group of western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) during a 16‐month study. Relative to mountain gorillas, western gorillas live in habitats with reduced herb densities, more readily available fruit (from seasonal and rare fruit trees), and, at some sites, localized large open clearings (swamps and “bais”). Ranging behavior reflects these ecological differences. The daily path length (DPL) of western gorillas was longer (mean=2,014 m) than that of mountain gorillas, and was largely related to fruit acquisition. Swamp use occurred frequently (27% of days) and incurred a 50% increase in DPL, and 77% of the variation in monthly frequency of swamp use was explained by ripe fruit availability within the swamp, and not by the absence of resources outside the swamp. The annual home‐range size was 15.4 km2. The western gorilla group foraged in larger areas each month, and reused them more frequently and consistently through time compared to mountain gorillas. In contrast to mountain gorillas, intergroup encounters occurred at least four times more frequently, were usually calm rather than aggressive, and had no consistent effect on DPL or monthly range size for one group of western gorillas. High genetic relatedness among at least some neighboring males [Bradley et al., Current Biology, in press] may help to explain these results, and raises intriguing questions about western gorilla social relationships. Am J Primatol 64:207–222, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cooperated TDMA uplink based on hierarchically modulated Alamouti code

This paper proposes a user cooperation method for the TDMA uplink, which organizes cooperation among three "nearby" mobile terminals to achieve user cooperation diversity. The key technique in the proposal is the hierarchically modulated Alamouti code. Through emulating the Alamouti structure, the proposed method achieves some degrees of transmit diversity, while the hierarchical modulation enables an efficient data exchanging among the cooperating mobile terminals. We support our proposal with computer simulations under several typical cellular scenarios, which show that the proposed method can effectively combat with both macroscopic and microscopic fading, modelled as log-normal and Rayleigh, respectively.
Bayesian statistical analysis of bacterial diversity

Bacteria play an important role in many ecological systems. The molecular characterization of bacteria using either cultivation-dependent or cultivation-independent methods reveals the large scale of bacterial diversity in natural communities, and the vastness of populations within a species or genus. Understanding how bacterial diversity varies across different environments and also within populations should provide insights into many important questions of bacterial evolution and population dynamics. This thesis presents novel statistical methods for analyzing bacterial diversity using widely employed molecular fingerprinting techniques. The first objective of this thesis was to develop Bayesian clustering models to identify bacterial population structures. Bacterial isolates were identified using multilous sequence typing (MLST), and Bayesian clustering models were used to explore the evolutionary relationships among isolates. Our method involves the inference of genetic population structures via an unsupervised clustering framework where the dependence between loci is represented using graphical models. The population dynamics that generate such a population stratification were investigated using a stochastic model, in which homologous recombination between populations can be quantified within a gene flow network. The second part of the thesis focuses on cluster analysis of community compositional data produced by two different cultivation-independent analyses: terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. The cluster analysis aims to group bacterial communities that are similar in composition, which is an important step for understanding the overall influences of environmental and ecological perturbations on bacterial diversity. A common feature of T-RFLP and FAME data is zero-inflation, which indicates that the observation of a zero value is much more frequent than would be expected, for example, from a Poisson distribution in the discrete case, or a Gaussian distribution in the continuous case. We provided two strategies for modeling zero-inflation in the clustering framework, which were validated by both synthetic and empirical complex data sets. We show in the thesis that our model that takes into account dependencies between loci in MLST data can produce better clustering results than those methods which assume independent loci. Furthermore, computer algorithms that are efficient in analyzing large scale data were adopted for meeting the increasing computational need. Our method that detects homologous recombination in populations may provide a theoretical criterion for defining bacterial species. The clustering of bacterial community data include T-RFLP and FAME provides an initial effort for discovering the evolutionary dynamics that structure and maintain bacterial diversity in the natural environment.
Phase Noise Analysis of Clock Recovery Based on an Optoelectronic Phase-Locked Loop

A detailed theoretical analysis of a clock-recovery (CR) scheme based on an optoelectronic phase-locked loop is presented. The analysis emphasizes the phase noise performance, taking into account the noise of the input data signal, the local voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and the laser employed in the loop. The effects of loop time delay and the laser transfer function are included in the stochastic differential equations describing the system, and a detailed timing jitter analysis of this type of optoelectronic CR for high-speed optical-time-division-multiplexing systems is performed. It is shown that a large loop length results in a higher timing jitter of the recovered clock signal. The impact of the loop length on the clock signal jitter can be reduced by using a low-noise VCO and a low loop filter bandwidth. Using the model, the timing jitter of the recovered optical and electrical clock signal can be evaluated. We numerically investigate the timing jitter requirements for combined electrical/optical local oscillators, in order for the recovered clock signal to have less jitter than that of the input signal. The timing jitter requirements for the free-running laser and the VCO are more relaxed for the extracted optical clock (lasers's output) signal
Welfare Analysis of the Vehicle Quota System in China

This article presents a welfare analysis of the vehicle quota system of Shanghai, China. The empirical findings suggest that the quota system leads to both welfare loss as a result of reduction in vehicle transactions and welfare gain because of less externality of auto consumption. The net effect depends on the shadow price of the marginal externality, the assumption of vehicle lifetime, and market conditions such as consumers' intrinsic preference for vehicles. Compared to a progressive tax system, the quota system is less effective in vehicle control but more efficient in improving social welfare.
Oxidative stress‐induced metabolic alterations in rat brain astrocytes studied by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy

Oxidative stress in cultured astrocytes exerted by 30‐min treatment with 50–200 μM H2O2 caused time‐ and concentration‐ dependent effects on cellular metabolism. These changes were accompanied by alterations in cellular morphology. Using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the data demonstrate that the energy status of the cells was greatly affected directly after the stress, as indicated by the loss of high energy phosphates, i.e., phosphocreatine (PCr) and nucleoside triphosphates (NTP). Oxidative stress also involves a dysregulation of the osmotic control in astrocytes, which is accompanied by a dramatic loss of myo‐inositol, taurine, and hypotaurine, as monitored by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. While the energy state of the cells was essentially restored during a 7‐hr recovery period, the changes in osmolyte concentrations lasted longer and went on throughout the recovery period. Even after 24‐hr recovery, organic osmolyte concentrations were still below the control levels. 13C NMR spectra of astrocyte cell extracts also demonstrated an enhanced glucose metabolism via the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and a reduced glycolysis. Additionally, the appearance of 13C glutamate points to a distortion of glutamine synthetase (GS), leading to the accumulation of glutamate. Glycolysis as well as GS activity were back to control levels after 7 hr recovery. Thus, in contrast to the energy metabolism, osmoregulatory processes and complex glucose metabolism was impaired not only directly after oxidative stress, but occurred with a later onset during a 2‐hr recovery period, and cells only slowly recovered during the next 24 hr. J. Neurosci. Res. 58: 576–585, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
PET in patients with clear-cut multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)

Summary Aim: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a controversially discussed symptom complex. Patients afflicted by MCS react to very low and generally nontoxic concentrations of environmental chemicals. It has been suggested that MCS leads to neurotoxic damage or neuroimmunological alteration in the brain detectable by positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT). These methods are often applied to MCS patients for diagnosis, although they never proved appropriate. Method: We scanned 12 MCS patients with PET, hypothesizing that it would reveal abnormal findings. Results: Mild glucose hypometabolism was present in one patient. In comparison with normal controls, the patient group showed no significant functional brain changes. Conclusion: This first systematic PET study in MCS patients revealed no hint of neurotoxic or neuroimmuno-logical brain changes of functional significance.
ECG scaling properties of cardiac arrhythmias using detrended fluctuation analysis

We applied detrended fluctuation analysis to characterize at very short time scales during episodes of cardiac arrhythmias the raw electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform, aiming to get a global insight into its dynamical behaviour in patients who experienced sudden death. We found that in 15 recordings involving different types of arrhythmias (taken from PhysioNet's Sudden Cardiac Death Holter Database), the ECG waveform, besides showing a less-random dynamics, becomes more regular during bigeminy, ventricular tachycardia or even atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation. The ECG waveform scaling properties thus suggest that reduced complexity dominates the underlying mechanisms of arrhythmias. Among other explanations, this may result from shorted or restricted (i.e. less diverse) pathways of conduction of the electrical activity within ventricles.
Treatment of Aggressive Pelvic Fibromatosis With Interferon

BACKGROUND: Fibromatosis is a rare, noninvasive but aggressive tumor. The tumor displaces tissue by “pushing” the normal structures aside. Optimal treatment should be individualized. CASE: A 35-year-old woman presented with a recurrent fibromatosis, which filled the vagina and extended into the pelvis. The classical surgical removal would have had a high morbidity. Therefore, it was decided, after shared decision-making, to opt for treatment with interferon. The side effects of the therapy were tolerable, and a complete regression of the fibromatosis was achieved. At present, 13 years after the diagnosis and 7 years after discontinuation of the therapy, the patient is well with no signs of disease. CONCLUSION: Interferon may be considered as primary treatment for extensive pelvic fibromatosis.
Planifier et organiser la diversification économique en Afrique centrale

En concentrant leurs efforts sur l’exportation des produits de base dont la valeur represente une faible « elasticite » des prix et des revenus par rapport a la demande, les pays d’Afrique centrale mettent leurs economies en etat de desequilibre reel. Ce phenomene de distorsion reelle entre l’offre et la demande des produits primaires accroit la vulnerabilite aux chocs internes et externes. Pour surmonter les defaillances structurelles de leurs economies, ces pays devraient operer des choix rationnels en organisant et en planifiant la diversification de leurs economies. L’objectif de l’etude est donc de proposer des pistes d’action capables de transformer structurellement les economies d’Afrique pour une meilleure insertion internationale, source de croissance durable et d’appropriation du processus de developpement.
Rapid Detection of Classical Swine Fever Virus by a Portable Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase PCR Assay

ABSTRACT A fluorogenic-probe hydrolysis (TaqMan)-reverse transcriptase PCR assay for classical swine fever virus (CSFV) was developed and evaluated in experimentally infected swine. The assay detected CSFV, representing different phylogenetic groupings, but did not amplify viral RNA from related pestiviruses. The assay met or exceeded the sensitivity (1 to 100 50% tissue culture infective doses per ml) of viral cultures of samples from experimentally infected animals. Viral RNA was detected in nasal and tonsil scraping samples 2 to 4 days prior to the onset of clinical disease. The assay can be performed in 2 h or less, thus providing a rapid method for the diagnosis of classical swine fever.
An experiment on MIMO system having three orthogonal polarization diversity branches in multipath-rich environment

This paper proposes a novel MIMO system consisting of three orthogonal polarization diversity branches. We developed a patch antenna having three orthogonally polarized antenna ports for MIMO systems. Each port of the new antenna works independently in a multipath-rich environment and is equivalent to a 3/spl times/3 MIMO system but using only one antenna element in both transmitter and receiver sides. This method is expected to make the antenna portion of MIMO systems smarter and more compact. And having polarization diversity adds a new dimension to the MIMO system for further study.
Introduction of the Lung Allocation Score in Germany

The aim of this study was to assess performance of the new lung allocation system in Germany based on lung allocation score (LAS). Retrospective analysis of waitlist (WL) outflow, lung transplantation (LTx) activity and 3‐month outcomes comparing 1‐year pre‐ and post‐LAS introduction on December 10, 2011 was performed. Following LAS introduction, WL registrations remained constant, while WL mortality fell by 23% (p = 0.04). Reductions in WL mortality occurred in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF; −52%), emphysema (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]; −49%) and pulmonary hypertension (PH; −67%), but not idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF; +48%). LTx activity increased by 9% (p = 0.146). Compared to pre‐LAS, more patients with IPF (32% vs. 29%) and CF (20% vs. 18%) underwent transplantation and comparatively fewer with COPD (30% vs. 39%). Median LAS among transplant recipients was highest in PH (53) and IPF (49) and lowest in COPD (34). Transplantation under invasive respiratory support increased to 13% (in CF 28%, +85%, p = 0.017). Three‐month survival remained unchanged (pre: 96.1% and post: 94.9%, p = 0.94). Following LAS implementation in Germany, reductions in waiting list size and WL mortality were observed. Composition of transplant recipients changed, with fewer COPD and more IPF recipients. Transplantation under invasive respiratory support increased. Reductions in WL mortality were most pronounced among CF and PH patients.