Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microdebrider for reduction of inferior turbinate: evaluation of effectiveness by computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE The microdebrider has been widely used in rhinologic surgery in the last few years, and there are reports on its use for inferior turbinate reduction. Computed tomography (CT) is commonly employed to show the reduction in the inferior turbinate after surgery; however, measurements on the scans are rarely made. DESIGN A prospective study. SETTING A tertiary research and training hospital. METHODS We investigated the effectiveness of microdebrider reduction in inferior turbinate hypertrophy in 12 turbinates of 9 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mean bone thicknesses were measured in CT in the anterior and middle portions of the inferior turbinates as an objective parameter. Preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale scores for symptoms and endoscopic grading of the inferior turbinates were also used. RESULTS In the postoperative period, visual analogue scale scores for nasal obstruction decreased significantly. Endoscopic grading revealed that the inferior turbinates were significantly smaller in the postoperative period. Postoperative mean bone thicknesses measured in CT in the anterior and the middle portions of the inferior turbinates were significantly smaller than the preoperative ones; however, there was no significant difference between the measurements of the medial and lateral soft tissue thicknesses. CONCLUSIONS We suggest microdebrider turbinate surgery as a reliable alternative method for inferior turbinate reduction, especially in case of hypertrophy of the turbinate bone. Measurement of the inferior turbinate size in paranasal CT is a useful objective method for evaluation of the inferior turbinate hypertrophy and the assessment of the surgical outcomes.
HEMORRHAGIC SHOCK RESUSCITATION AFFECTS EARLY AND SELECTIVE MESENTERIC ARTERY ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION THROUGH A FREE RADICAL-DEPENDENT MECHANISM

Mesenteric ischemia/reperfusion occurring during hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (H/R) induces a systemic inflammatory response and damages endothelial cells. Our aim was to investigate whether H/R affects selectively mesenteric vascular reactivity and the roles of free radicals and inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) in these changes. Rats subjected to H (30 min)/R (60 min) in the presence or absence of the free radical scavenger N-2 mercaptopropionyl glycine (MPG), or the specific inhibitor of iNOS [(3) N-(3-aminomethyl)benzyl) acetaminide; 1400W] were studied. Saline requirements to maintain systemic blood pressure during R (53.4 ± 5.2 mL/kg/h) were reduced by MPG (26.2 ± 3.1) and 1400W (37.5 ± 4.1). H/R reduced maximal mesenteric arteries relaxation to acetylcholine (sham: 70% ± 5%, H/R: 21% ± 3%) and this impairment was prevented by MPG (66% ± 10%) and reduced by 1400W (49% ± 9%). H/R did not affect the endothelium-independent relaxations. Maximal responses to phenylephrine were reduced in mesenteric arteries by H/R (3.6 ± 0.5 mN/mm vs. sham 6.5 ± 0.5), this impairment was prevented by 1400W and MPG. No impaired response to acetylcholine was detected in skeletal muscle arteries. H/R was associated with an increased production of TNF-α (169 ± 8.5 ng/mL vs. sham 38 ± 5 ng/mL), and this was reduced to 75 ± 8 ng/mL in MPG-treated rats. Total intestinal content of iNOS mRNA was also increased by H/R and this increase was partly reduced by treatment with MPG. H/R induces an early and selective mesenteric endothelial cell dysfunction through a mechanism that involves oxygen-derived free radicals and NO produced by iNOS. H/R is associated with a mesenteric hyporeactivity through an induction of NOS and may be prevented by scavenging free radicals. This early impairment in endothelial function is associated with a local inflammatory response.
Impact of cyclosporine‐based immunosuppressive therapy on liver histology of hepatitis C virus–infected renal transplant patients

function as additional coreceptors for hepatitis C virus. J Virol 2007;81: 12465-12471. 6. Meertens L, Bertaux C, Cukierman L, Cormier E, Lavillette D, Cosset FL, et al. The tight junction proteins claudin-1, -6 and -9 are entry cofactors for the Hepatitis C virus. J Virol 2008;82:3555-3560. 7. Kovalenko OV, Yang XH, Hemler ME. A novel cysteine cross-linking method reveals a direct association between claudin-1 and tetraspanin CD9. Mol Cell Proteomics 2007;6:1855-1867. 8. Hemler ME. Tetraspanin functions and associated microdomains. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2005;6:801-811. 9. Berditchevski F, Odintsova E. Tetraspanins as regulators of protein trafficking. Traffic 2007;8:89-96. 10. Yáñez-Mó M, Tejedor R, Rousselle P, Sánchez-Madrid F. Tetraspanins in intercellular adhesion of polarized epithelial cells: spatial and functional relationship to integrins and cadherins. J Cell Sci 2001;114(Pt 3):577-587. 11. Shoham T, Rajapaksa R, Kuo CC, Haimovich J, Levy S. Building of the tetraspanin web: distinct structural domains of CD81 function in different cellular compartments. Mol Cell Biol 2006;26:1373-1385.
English proficiency and language preference: testing the equivalence of two measures.

OBJECTIVES We examined the association of language proficiency vs language preference with self-rated health among Asian American immigrants. We also examined whether modeling preference or proficiency as continuous or categorical variables changed our inferences. METHODS Data came from the 2002-2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (n = 1639). We focused on participants' proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English and on their language preference when thinking or speaking with family or friends. We examined the relation between language measures and self-rated health with ordered and binary logistic regression. RESULTS All English proficiency measures were associated with self-rated health across all models. By contrast, associations between language preference and self-rated health varied by the model considered. CONCLUSIONS Although many studies create composite scores aggregated across measures of English proficiency and language preference, this practice may not always be conceptually or empirically warranted.
Appearance based process for visual navigation

Describes the use of appearance based vision for defining visual processes for navigation. A visual processes which transform images to commands and events. A family of visual processes are defined by associating the appearance of a scene from a given viewpoint with the simple trajectories. Appearance is captured as a set of low-resolution images. Energy normalised cross correlation is used to maintain heading, to estimate confidence and to servo control a robot vehicle while following a path. Experimental results are presented which compare results with a single camera, a pair of parallel cameras and a pair of divergent cameras. The most accurate (and robust) navigation is found with a pair of cameras which are slightly divergent.
The Role of Alginate in P . aeruginosa PAO 1 Biofilm Structural Resistance to Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin

The formation of a biofilm by many opportunistic bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been shown to provide the bacteria with a form of protection from various environmental fluctuations. Biofilm formation through the excretion of an exopolysaccharide matrix has become particularly important in hospital settings where many Pseudomonas infections are resistant to commonly used antibiotics. This study investigated the role of alginate in biofilm structure as a protection mechanism in the ability to resist antibiotic killing by gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. Early and established biofilms were treated and incubated with gentamicin or ciprofloxacin alone and in combination with alginate lyase for four hours. After incubation, all biofilms were physically disrupted and used to carry out an antibiotic resistant plate assay. It was found that after one day of growth, the percent survival of P. aeruginosa after gentamicin treatment was 9%, which decreased to 5% when gentamicin treatment was combined with alginate lyase. After five days of growth, the percent survival was 31% after gentamicin treatment and 0% after treatment with gentamicin and alginate lyase. Correspondingly, after one day of growth, the percent survival of P. aeruginosa after treatment with ciprofloxacin was 100%, but decreased to 3% with the addition of alginate lyase. After five days of growth, P. aeruginosa had a 100% survival rate after ciprofloxacin treatment, but decreased to 0% after treatment in combination with alginate lyase. In conclusion, these results indicate that alginate plays a central role in biofilm resistance to antibiotic killing and it was found that alginate lyase increased bacterial death when used in combination with gentamicin and ciprofloxacin, and a more pronounced effect was seen with ciprofloxacin.
Periodontal diseases among Quebec adults aged 35 to 44 years.

BACKGROUND Very little information is available on periodontal diseases in Canadian adults. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of periodontal problems in Quebec adults aged 35 to 44. METHODS A total of 2,110 randomly selected Quebec adults were examined between September 1994 and July 1995. The participation rate was 77% for the questionnaire and 44.5% for the oral examination. Measurements for gingival bleeding, calculus, epithelial attachment and periodontal pocket depths were taken for each tooth. RESULTS More than 80% of examined persons presented with gingival bleeding on at least one tooth, and 75% presented with calculus on at least one tooth. The CPITN indicated that only 5.2% of individuals had no treatment needs, and that one out of 5 necessitated complex treatment. People with low family income, men and persons living in metropolitan areas are at higher risk of having at least one tooth with a pocket >6 mm. Dental health behaviours (regular dental visits, brushing and flossing frequency) were not significantly associated with the presence of periodontal pockets. Finally, individuals were relatively unaware of their periodontal problems. CONCLUSION Increasing the population s awareness of periodontal diseases will be a major task for public health workers. The dental profession and the dental industry need to develop awareness campaigns to improve prevention, management and control of periodontal problems. It is especially important to target people at risk, in particular men and low-income groups. As well, dental schools and continuing education courses should focus on this problem with the aim of modifying dental practices.
Activation of TBK1 and IKKε Kinases by Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Infection and the Role of Viral Ribonucleoprotein in the Development of Interferon Antiviral Immunity

ABSTRACT Mounting an immune response to a viral pathogen involves the initial recognition of viral antigens through Toll-like receptor-dependent and -independent pathways and the subsequent triggering of signal transduction cascades. Among the many cellular kinases stimulated in response to virus infection, the noncanonical IKK-related kinases TBK1 and IKKε have been shown to phosphorylate and activate interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) and IRF-7, leading to the production of alpha/beta interferons and the development of a cellular antiviral state. In the present study, we examine the activation of TBK1 and IKKε kinases by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection in human lung epithelial A549 cells. We demonstrate that replication-competent VSV is required to induce activation of the IKK-related kinases and provide evidence that ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex of VSV generated intracellularly during virus replication can activate TBK1 and IKKε activity. In TBK1-deficient cells, IRF-3 and IRF-7 activation is significantly reduced, although transcriptional upregulation of IKKε following treatment with VSV, double-stranded RNA, or RNP partially compensates for the loss of TBK1. Biochemical analyses with purified TBK1 and IKKε kinases in vitro demonstrate that the two kinases exhibit similar specificities with respect to IRF-3 and IRF-7 substrates and both kinases target serine residues that are important for full transcriptional activation of IRF-3 and IRF-7. These data suggest that intracellular RNP formation contributes to the early recognition of VSV infection, activates the catalytic activity of TBK1, and induces transcriptional upregulation of IKKε in epithelial cells. Induction of IKKε potentially functions as a component of the amplification mechanism involved in the establishment of the antiviral state.
Modifications of allergenicity linked to food technologies.

The prevalence of food allergies (FA) has increased over the past fifteen years. The reasons suggested are changes in dietary behaviour and the evolution of food technologies. New cases of FA have been described with chayote, rambutan, arguta, pumpkin seeds, custard apple, and with mycoproteins from Fusarium. Additives using food proteins are at high risk: caseinates, lysozyme, cochineal red, papaïn, alpha-amylase, lactase etc. Heating can reduce allergenicity or create neo-allergens, as well as storage, inducing the synthesis of allergenic stress or PR proteins. Aeroallergens (miles, moulds) contaminate foods and can induce allergic reactions. Involuntary contamination by peanut proteins on production lines is a problem which is not yet solved. Genetically modified plants are at risk of allergenicity, requiring methodological steps of investigations: the comparison of the amino-acid sequence of the transferred protein with the sequence of known allergens, the evaluation of thermo degradability and of the denaturation by pepsin and trypsin are required, as well as the study with sera from patients allergic to the plant producing the gene. The combination of enzymatic hydrolysis, heating, or the development of genetically modified plants may offer new alternatives towards hypoallergenic foods (57 references).
Generierung einer BPEL4Chor-Beschreibung aus BPEL-Prozessen

WS-BPEL 2.0 bietet die Moglichkeit zur Orchestrierung von Web Services. Eine Orchestrierung beschreibt die Geschaftsprozesslogik aus der Sicht eines teilnehmenden Prozesses. Dies beinhaltet sowohl den Nachrichtenaustausch mit anderen Prozessen, als auch interne Aktionen oder Dienste. BPEL bietet nicht die notigen Sprachkonstrukte, um eine Choreografie zu erstellen. Ziel einer Choreografie ist es, das Zusammenwirken von Web Services aus einer globalen Sicht zu beschreiben. Dazu gehoren etwa der Datenfluss, der Kontrollfluss, Nachrichtenkorrelationen und Transaktionsbedingungen, nicht aber interne Aktionen, deren Auswirkungen von ausen nicht erkennbar sind. Ein neuer Ansatz zur Beschreibung von Choreografien, der auch in dieser Arbeit verwendet wird, ist BPEL4Chor. BPEL4Chor verwendet BPEL als Grundlage, und erweitert dieses um eine weitere Schicht, um damit eine Sprache zur Beschreibung von Choreografien zu erhalten. Obwohl BPEL-Prozesse Orchestrierungen beschreiben, konnen sie choreographisch zusammenarbeiten. Dies ist der Fall, wenn beispielsweise ein Partnerservice eines BPEL-Prozesses auch in BPEL realisiert ist. BPEL selbst bietet keine Moglichkeit, diese implizit definierte Choreographie explizit zu beschreiben. Das Ziel dieser Studienarbeit ist es, eine Moglichkeit aufzuzeigen, wie aus zusammenarbeitenden BPEL-Prozessen eine in BPEL4Chor beschriebene Choreographie abgeleitet werden kann.
Anti-ischemic activity and endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant effect of hydrolysable tannins from the leaves of Rhus coriaria (Sumac) in isolated rabbit heart and thoracic aorta.

The aim of this work was to investigate the cardioprotective activity of hydrolysable gallotannins from Rhus coriaria L. leaves extract (RCLE) in isolated rabbit heart preparations, submitted to low-flow ischemia/reperfusion damage. RCLE induces a dose-dependent normalization of coronary perfusion pressure (CPP), reducing left ventricular contracture during ischemia, and improving left ventricular developed pressure and the maximum rate of rise and fall of left ventricular pressure at reperfusion. Creatinine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) outflow were significantly reduced during reperfusion. In parallel there was a rise in the release of the cytoprotective 6-ketoprostaglandin F (1alpha) (6-keto-PGF (1alpha)) and a decrease of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), both significant only at the highest RCLE concentrations (150-500 microg/mL). The vasorelaxant activity of RCLE was studied in isolated rabbit aorta rings precontracted with norepinephrine (NE) with and without endothelium. The vasorelaxation induced by RCLE was predominantly endothelium-dependent as demonstrated by the loss of RCLE vasorelaxant ability in i) de-endothelized rings and ii) in intact aortic rings after pretreatment with NG-monomethyl- L-arginine (L-NMMA) and 1 H-[1.2. 4]oxadiazolo[4.3- A]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ). The inhibition of vasorelaxation in intact rings by indomethacin (INDO) demonstrates the ability of RCLE to modulate the coronary endothelium cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway. The K-ATP channel antagonist glibenclamide (GLIB) was ineffective. The antioxidant activity of RCLE, investigated in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) model and in living cell systems (rat erythrocytes), was stronger than that of gallic acid, ascorbic acid and trolox. The structure of its main bioactive constituents, profiled by HPLC-ESI-HR-S, comprised a mixture of polygalloylated D-glucopyranose with different degrees of galloylation and 3- O-methylgallic acid. The cardiovascular protective effect of RCLE seems to be due to an interplay of different factors: COX pathway activation, TNF-alpha inhibition, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation, and free radical and ROS scavenging.
An integrated low-power asynchronous epileptic seizure detector

In this paper, we present a new asynchronous seizure detector that is part of an implantable integrated device intended to identify onset seizure and trigger focal treatment to block seizure progression. The proposed system eliminates the unnecessary clock gating during normal neural activity monitoring mode and reduces the total power consumption. The proposed detector includes analog and digital building blocks with a variable time frame and four concurrent variable voltage window detectors to extract seizure onset information. The algorithm is validated in Matlab and the system is implemented in standard 0.13 μm CMOS process. Based on post-layout simulation results, the input referred noise of bioamplifier and the total power consumption of system are 4.4 μVrms and 7.1 μW, respectively. An accurate detection is achieved and no false alarms are recorded during analyzing the iEEG signals of two patients. The average detection delay of 9.5 sec is obtained after seizure onset.
Specific antibodies reveal ordered and cell-cycle-related use of histone-H4 acetylation sites in mammalian cells.

Antibodies specific for the acetylated forms of histone H4 (H4) were produced in rabbits with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the 18 N-terminal residues of tetra-acetylated H4 (i.e. with acetyllysine at positions 5, 8, 12 and 16). Specificity was determined by inhibition assays using four additional peptides, each acetylated at only a single site. Using an antiserum (R6) specific for the acetylation site at Lys-5 we have estimated the proportion of Lys-5 sites acetylated in the mono-, di- and tri-acetylated forms of H4 from randomly growing human HL-60 cells. The values obtained (7%, 29% and 61% respectively) differ from those expected if acetylation were random (i.e. 25%, 50% and 75%) or if site usage followed a set order for all H4 molecules (i.e. a jump from 0% to 100%). Antibodies from a second animal (R5) bound preferentially to peptides acetylated at Lys-12 and also bound to mono-acetylated H4 relatively weakly in several cell types. In contrast, mono-acetylated H4 from metaphase HeLa cells labelled more strongly with both antisera, indicating significant acetylation at Lys-5 and Lys-12. We conclude that (1) the sites at Lys-5 and Lys-12 are under-used in mono-acetylated H4 from a variety of mammalian cell types and Lys-8 and/or Lys-16 are therefore the first to be acetylated, (2) more than one order of site usage is possible and (3) there is a metaphase-specific shift in site usage. These results suggest that H4 acetylation plays a role in the modulation of chromatin structure in mammalian cells.
Formulation approaches in enhancement of patient compliance to oral drug therapy

Introduction: Disease management of outdoor patients is mainly affected by patient compliance to the drug therapy, which in turn is governed by patient convenience. Failure to follow through with a treatment decision is one of the biggest causes of unsuccessful medical care. At present, different formulation options are available for various drugs, and hence, the decision is based on the most convenient dosage form for the patient, along with optimum therapeutic benefits. Areas covered: This paper reviews various available formulation approaches, in the hope of improving patient convenience, compliance and the overall outcome of oral drug therapy. Expert opinion: While parenterals are valued for their speed and efficiency of delivery, these systems generally score low on patient satisfaction surveys. The oral route is the preferred route for drug delivery, although it renders multiple obstacles to formulate a patient-convenient platform, such as unfavorable taste and swallowing difficulties. Transdermal drug delivery also provides high patient satisfaction, but is effective only for the delivery of smaller, lipophilic molecules. The increasing development of biopharmaceutical therapies renders an increasing number of challenges for formulation scientists to develop a more patient-convenient means of drug delivery.