Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tissue engineering strategies for in vivo neovascularisation

Neovascularisation is a promising alternative therapeutic approach to re-establish blood flow in ischaemic tissues of patients suffering from coronary artery or peripheral artery disease. Often, these patients are not suitable candidates for current revascularisation procedures such as coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery. Several strategies are presently under investigation to induce vascularisation by stimulating the body’s natural processes of vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. These strategies involve transplantation of various cell types into the ischaemic site and the delivery of recombinant angiogenic agents through direct protein administration or gene transfer. We will examine the basic approaches for these neovacularisation strategies and their therapeutic potential as demonstrated in animal models and human trials to date.
MicroRNA Expression and Regulation in Mouse Uterus during Embryo Implantation*

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 21-24-nucleotide non-coding RNAs found in diverse organisms. Although hundreds of miRNAs have been cloned or predicted, only very few miRNAs have been functionally characterized. Embryo implantation is a crucial step in mammalian reproduction. Many genes have been shown to be significantly changed in mouse uterus during embryo implantation. However, miRNA expression profiles in the mouse uterus between implantation sites and inter-implantation sites are still unknown. In this study, miRNA microarray was used to examine differential expression of miRNAs in the mouse uterus between implantation sites and inter-implantation sites. Compared with inter-implantation sites, there were 8 up-regulated miR-NAs at implantation sites, which were confirmed by both Northern blot and in situ hybridization. miR-21 was highly expressed in the subluminal stromal cells at implantation sites on day 5 of pregnancy. Because miR-21 was not detected in mouse uterus during pseudopregnancy and under delayed implantation, miR-21 expression at implantation sites was regulated by active blastocysts. Furthermore, we showed that Reck was the target gene of miR-21. Our data suggest that miR-21 may play a key role during embryo implantation.
Frequent and Strong Antibody-Mediated Natural Killer Cell Activation in Response to HIV-1 Env in Individuals with Chronic HIV-1 Infection

ABSTRACT Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in the control of HIV-1 infection, and NK cells that respond to HIV-1 peptides have been recently described. However, the mechanisms by which NK cells recognize HIV-1 antigens are not fully understood. We investigated NK cell activation in response to HIV-1 peptides during early and chronic HIV-1 clade B infection using a whole-blood assay and multiparameter flow cytometry. Antibody-mediated NK cell activation in response to HIV-1 peptides was not detected in HIV-1-uninfected individuals. In contrast, 79% of individuals with chronic infection and 22% of individuals with early infection had detectable gamma interferon (IFN-γ) NK cell responses to HIV-1 antigens (P < 0.00001). IFN-γ- and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-producing NK cells most frequently targeted Env gp120 (median of 4% and range of 0 to 31% of all NK cells). NK cells rarely targeted other HIV-1 proteins such as Gag, Pol, and Nef. Antibody-mediated NK cell responses to peptides mapped predominantly to Env protein, required the presence of plasma or plasma IgG, and resulted in lower CD16 expression on NK cells, suggesting an antibody-mediated activation of NK cells. Further studies are needed to assess the consequences of these antibody-mediated NK cell responses for HIV-1 disease progression and vaccine-induced protection from infection.
Acute Toxicity And Bioaccumulation Of Tributyltin In Tissues Of Urolophus jamaicensis (Yellow Stingray)

Tributyltin oxide (TBTO) is the main constituent of tin-based antifouling marine paint used on the hulls of ships to prevent the growth of fouling organisms. TBTO was shown to be hazardous to nontarget organisms. The stingray, Urolophus jamaicensis, may represent the ideal study organism for the adverse effects of TBTO to elasmobranches. This study investigated the toxicity and accumulation of tin in the gill tissue of the stingray U. jamaicensis after acute exposure to TBTO. This work demonstrates the alterations in the morphological architecture of the gill using electron and light microscopy, the induction of stress proteins, and peroxidative damage in response to tributyltin (TBT) exposure. A captured population of U. jamaicencis was housed in isolated, static tank systems. After a minimum 30-d acclimation period, the animals were exposed to one of 5 experimental doses of TBTO (4 μg/L, 2 μg/L, 1 μg/L, 0.5 μg/L, or 0.05 μg/L). A sixth group served as a control population. At 3h following treatment, animals were sacrificed and gill tissue was extracted, processed, and stored for analysis. Results indicate that U. jamaicensis is hypersensitive to TBT exposure. The elasmobranch gill showed a distorted, swollen epithelium with exfoliation following acute exposure to as little as 0.05 μg/L TBTO for 3 h. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) results indicate that tissues of treated animals contained a significantly increased tin concentration as compared to controls. Western blot analysis demonstrated the induction of the stress proteins Hsp 70 and HO1. 4‐Hydroxynonenol (4HNE) adduct formation determined by Western blot analysis provides further evidence that observed membrane degradation is a result of lipid peroxidation.
Obesity and risk for death due to motor vehicle crashes.

OBJECTIVES We examined the role of body mass index (BMI) and other factors in driver deaths within 30 days after motor vehicle crashes. METHODS We collected data for 22 107 drivers aged 16 years and older who were involved in motor vehicle crashes from the Crashworthiness Data System of the National Automotive Sampling System (1997-2001). We used logistic regression and adjusted for confounding factors to analyze associations between BMI and driver fatality and the associations between BMI and gender, age, seatbelt use, type of collision, airbag deployment, and change in velocity during a crash. RESULTS The fatality rate was 0.87% (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.50, 1.24) among men and 0.43% (95% CI=0.31, 0.56) among women involved as drivers in motor vehicle crashes. Risk for death increased significantly at both ends of the BMI continuum among men but not among women (P<.05). The association between BMI and male fatality increased significantly with a change in velocity and was modified by the type of collision, but it did not differ by age, seatbelt use, or airbag deployment. CONCLUSIONS The increased risk for death due to motor vehicle crashes among obese men may have important implications for traffic safety and motor vehicle design.
Functional Analysis of MmeI from Methanol Utilizer Methylophilus methylotrophus, a Subtype IIC Restriction-Modification Enzyme Related to Type I Enzymes

ABSTRACT MmeI from Methylophilus methylotrophus belongs to the type II restriction-modification enzymes. It recognizes an asymmetric DNA sequence, 5′-TCCRAC-3′ (R indicates G or A), and cuts both strands at fixed positions downstream of the specific site. This particular feature has been exploited in transcript profiling of complex genomes (using serial analysis of gene expression technology). We have shown previously that the endonucleolytic activity of MmeI is strongly dependent on the presence of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (J. Nakonieczna, J. W. Zmijewski, B. Banecki, and A. J. Podhajska, Mol. Biotechnol. 37:127-135, 2007), which puts MmeI in subtype IIG. The same cofactor is used by MmeI as a methyl group donor for modification of an adenine in the upper strand of the recognition site to N6-methyladenine. Both enzymatic activities reside in a single polypeptide (919 amino acids [aa]), which puts MmeI also in subtype IIC of the restriction-modification systems. Based on a molecular model, generated with the use of bioinformatic tools and validated by site-directed mutagenesis, we were able to localize three functional domains in the structure of the MmeI enzyme: (i) the N-terminal portion containing the endonucleolytic domain with the catalytic Mg2+-binding motif D70-X9-EXK82, characteristic for the PD-(D/E)XK superfamily of nucleases; (ii) a central portion (aa 310 to 610) containing nine sequence motifs conserved among N6-adenine γ-class DNA methyltransferases; (iii) the C-terminal portion (aa 610 to 919) containing a putative target recognition domain. Interestingly, all three domains showed highest similarity to the corresponding elements of type I enzymes rather than to classical type II enzymes. We have found that MmeI variants deficient in restriction activity (D70A, E80A, and K82A) can bind and methylate specific nucleotide sequence. This suggests that domains of MmeI responsible for DNA restriction and modification can act independently. Moreover, we have shown that a single amino acid residue substitution within the putative target recognition domain (S807A) resulted in a MmeI variant with a higher endonucleolytic activity than the wild-type enzyme.
AUTHORS CONSENT TO INCLUDE THIS CONTRIBUTION IN THE O REPOSITORY OF IC0902: YES NAME OF AUTHOR GIVING CONSENT: Abdulkarim Oloyede and David Grace

The Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHNs) represent an existing paradigm in wireless communications. According to [1], CRAHNs need in addition to the communication stack further important components. These are the Channel Allocator, Mobility Manager, and Admission Control Manager. With this paper, we address the first component – the Channel Allocator and specifically the establishing of a so called common control channel (CCC) during the bootstrapping phase of the network deployment. This enables neighboring Cognitive Radios (CRs) to cooperate by exchanging spectrum-sensing and cross-layer control information. With our solution, we seek to support a fast network deployment with efficient establishment of a CCC, untethered mobility, and self-organized network management.
QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE MIXED LYMPHOCYTE INTERACTION IN RATS

Some of the conditions and parameters of the proliferative response in the mixed lymphocyte interaction have been studied with the use of culture inocula consisting of lymphoid cells from various immunogenetically diverse, isogenic strains of rats. Procedures are described by which consistent culture responses can be obtained which are measurable in terms of incorporation of radioactive thymidine into a trichloroacetic acid precipitable cell fraction. Results of experiments with this "mixed lymphocyte interaction" show that (a) Incorporation of thymidine into the mixed cultures is detectable only during and after the 4th day of incubation. Use of culture inocula derived from the thoracic duct or partially purified suspensions of lymphocytes from the peripheral blood provides further evidence that it is the small lymphocyte which synthesizes DNA in these cultures. The addition of peritoneal exudate cells, presumably containing some macrophages, to the mixed lymphocyte cultures does not alter the kinetics of the response. (b) Proliferative responses occur in mixed cultures of cells only when the donors differ by alleles at the important Ag-B histocompatibility locus. (c) Proliferative reactivity in mixed cultures of lymphocytes from parental and hybrid donors is unidirectional. With the use of chromosomally marked cells from donors of different sexes, it was established that only parental lymphocytes are dividing in mixed cultures of parental and hybrid cells. The results of these experiments strongly support the premise that the proliferative response in mixed cultures of lymphocytes represents a de novo immunologic reaction on the cellular level against histocompatibility antigens.
Dosimetric comparison between proton beam therapy and photon radiation therapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of proton beam therapy for the patients with locally advanced non-small lung cancer. METHODS The dosimetry was analyzed retrospectively to calculate the doses to organs at risk, such as the lung, heart, esophagus and spinal cord. A dosimetric comparison between proton beam therapy and dummy photon radiotherapy (three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy) plans was performed. Dummy intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans were also generated for the patients for whom curative three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy plans could not be generated. RESULTS Overall, 33 patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer were treated with proton beam therapy between December 2011 and August 2014. The median age of the eligible patients was 67 years (range: 44-87 years). All the patients were treated with chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin/vinorelbine or carboplatin. The median prescribed dose was 60 GyE (range: 60-66 GyE). The mean normal lung V20 GyE was 23.6% (range: 14.9-32%), and the mean normal lung dose was 11.9 GyE (range: 6.0-19 GyE). The mean esophageal V50 GyE was 25.5% (range: 0.01-63.6%), the mean heart V40 GyE was 13.4% (range: 1.4-29.3%) and the mean maximum spinal cord dose was 40.7 GyE (range: 22.9-48 GyE). Based on dummy three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning, 12 patients were regarded as not being suitable for radical thoracic three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy. All the dose parameters of proton beam therapy, except for the esophageal dose, were lower than those for the dummy three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy plans. In comparison to the intensity-modulated radiotherapy plan, proton beam therapy also achieved dose reduction in the normal lung. None of the patients experienced grade 4 or worse non-hematological toxicities. CONCLUSIONS Proton beam therapy for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer was feasible and was superior to three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for several dosimetric parameters.
Spread of Staphylococcus aureus in Hospitals: Causes and Prevention

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major nosocomial pathogen in many hospitals worldwide. Even more alarming, MRSA strains that are vancomycin intermediate-susceptible are isolated with increasing frequency, making therapy for staphylococcal infections even more difficult and prevention more important than ever. Spread of S. aureus in hospitals and infection control measures are reviewed. The major sources of S. aureus in hospitals are septic lesions and carriage sites of patients and personnel. Carriage often precedes infection. The anterior nares are the most consistent carriage site, followed by the perineal area. Skin contamination and aerial dissemination vary markedly between carriers and are most pronounced for combined nasal and perineal carriers. The principal mode of transmission is via transiently contaminated hands of hospital personnel. Airborne transmission seems important in the acquisition of nasal carriage. Infection control strategies include screening and isolation of newly admitted patients suspected of carrying MRSA or S. aureus with intermediate resistance to vancomycin, implementation of an infection control program to prevent transmission of resistant strains between patients and hospital personnel, and institution of a proper antibiotic policy to minimize antibiotic resistance development. MRSA carriers should be treated with intranasal antibiotics, e.g. mupirocin, and skin disinfectants to eliminate carriage. Education of hospital personnel is essential. Improved knowledge about the best ways to ensure favourable infection control practices is needed. Active intervention against the spread of MRSA is important.
A hybrid nonlinear autoregressive neural network for permanent-magnet linear synchronous motor identification

The modeling of permanent-magnet linear synchronous motor is very important to the control and the static and dynamic characters analysis of the system. In this paper, the model of permanent-magnet linear synchronous motor is presented by using neural networks of the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous inputs. Based on the same cost function, residual signal analysis is mixed into the networks, and then the networks can identify motor's ranks automatically. First, the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous inputs model is expanded into the polynomial function, then the condition which true ranks satisfy is presented by using residual signal analysis. Some shortages of BP (back-propagation algorithm) are considered, so NDEKF (node-decoupled extend Kalman filter) is applied to train networks. The experiment results show that the hybrid neural networks of the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous inputs can identify object's (a vertical transport system driven by permanent-magnet linear synchronous motor) ranks precisely, and the output of networks is very close to the experimental result. In the experiments, the performance of NDEKF is often superior to that of BP, while requiring significantly fewer presentations of training data than BP and less over training time than that of BP.
Technical aspect of ThinPrep.

AIM OF STUDY To analyze the common technical problems encountered in ThinPrep preparations. METHOD A prospective and retrospective study of eight hundred and fifty (n = 850) conventional cervical smears with its corresponding paired ThinPrep specimens from July 1998 to December 1998. RESULTS 139 ThinPreps were found to be technically suboptimal. Of these, 81 showed "patchy cells lost"; 18 showed "thick preparations"; 24 demonstrated "halo effect'" where the cellular material collected at the periphery of the cell circle, and 16 had "obscuring blood and amorphous debris", rendering the preparations "satisfactory for evaluation but limited" by the presence of the above artifacts. CONCLUSION Despite its many advantages in providing standardization of specimen preparation, superb cellular presentation, reduction in the number of unsatisfactory reports and increased lesion detection rate, ThinPrep has its own limitations in terms of technical problems, ease of operation and cost effectiveness.
E-marketing and digital communications: Implementing an effective knowledge based targeted e-marketing campaign

Advancement in the internet and information technologies provides several opportunities and different channels for businesses to market their products and services. Deploying an effective targeted e-marketing campaign is an important strategic decision for businesses to stay competitive and to increase profitability. Digital communications provide an important platform for accessing the business information either via wired or wireless networks, such as: Mobile Phones, PCs and Notebooks. In this paper, we analyse problems faced by a typical small company when planning to deploy emarketing activities and propose three e-services marketing strategies for achieving effective knowledge based targeted e-marketing campaign. The three e-business marketing strategies are: e-commerce website development, integrated e-marketing campaign software and web services. We analyse options available for implementing these services, one of which is Open Source Software for developing and implementing the e-commerce website, e-marketing and web services using underlying web technologies including Extensible Markup Language (XML), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Web Services Description Language (WSDL) and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) specifications using NuSOAP - Web Services Toolkit for PHP, HTML, MySQL, HTTP etc. We evaluate the effectiveness of the web technologies used and recommend further functionalities that can improve speed, performance and security.
Significance of Divergent Expression of Prostaglandin EP4 and EP3 Receptors in Human Prostate Cancer

PGE2 has been implicated in prostate cancer tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that abnormal prostaglandin receptor (EPR) expression may contribute to prostate cancer growth. Twenty-six archived radical prostatectomy specimens were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blotting for the expression of EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4. As a corollary, EPR expression in one normal (PZ-HPV7) and four prostate cancer cell lines (CA-HPV10, LNCaP, PC3, and Du145) were assessed by Western blotting. Prostate cancer and normal cell growth were compared in vitro after EPR blockade, siRNA EPR knockdown, or overexpression. EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4 receptors were detected by IHC in all areas of benign tissue within the clinical prostate cancer specimens. In areas of prostate cancer, EP4 and EP2 were overexpressed in 85% (22 of 26) and 75% (18 of 24) and EP3 expression was reduced in all (26 of 26, 100%) specimens (P < 0.05 vs. benign tissue). EP1 showed no specific differential expression pattern. Increased EP4 and reduced EP3 was confirmed by Western blotting in fresh clinical specimens and in prostate cancer cell lines (CA-HPV10, LNCaP, PC3, and Du145) compared with the normal prostate cell line (PZ-HPV7). EP2 and EP4 siRNA knockdown resulted in reduced in vitro growth and metastasis-related gene expression (MMP9 and Runx2) of prostate cancer lines, and in vitro migration was inhibited by EP4 antagonists. As a corollary, EP3-overexpressing PC3 cells displayed impaired growth in vitro. Human prostate cancer is associated with EP4 and EP2 overexpression and reduced EP3 expression. These data suggest that targeting specific EPR may represent a novel therapeutic approach for prostate cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 11(4); 427–39. ©2013 AACR.
Incidencia del régimen de patentes de la industria farmacéutica sobre la economía colombiana

La legislacion colombiana sobre patentabilidad de medicamentos se rige por la Decision 344 de la Comunidad Andina de Naciones, vigente desde 1994. Por su parte, la legislacion internacional para los paises miembros de la Organizacion Mundial del Comercio (OMC) se rige por el Acuerdo sobre los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual Relacionados con el Comercio (ADPIC), del cual hace parte tambien Colombia y que esta vigente desde 1995. El Acuerdo ADPIC exige a los paises miembros del Acuerdo adaptar su legislacion nacional a las normas internacionales a partir del ano 2000. La Decision 344 basicamente coincide con el ADPIC (aunque lo excede en algunos puntos especificos, como en el caso del regimen de licencias obligatorias), ya que su redaccion se llevo a cabo en el momento en el que el Acuerdo ADPIC se conocia dentro de las negociaciones de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT. No obstante lo anterior, algunos paises de la Comunidad Andina han sido objeto de presiones para modificar la Decision 344 por un sistema mas exigente que el ADPIC. En el caso de Colombia no se han efectuado analisis sistematicos sobre los efectos de un regimen de patentes sobre la economia colombiana. Este es un elemento de juicio fundamental para evaluar si el pais deberia adoptar o no una normatividad mas exigente que la actual. En este contexto se adelanta este estudio de Fedesarrollo, dirigido especificamente a la industria farmaceutica, del cual se presenta este informe de avance. El contenido del documento es el siguiente. En el primer capitulo se presentan las caracteristicas del regimen de patentes de la industria farmaceutica colombiana dentro de un contexto internacional. En el segundo capitulo se muestran las principales caracteristicas de la industria farmaceutica a nivel internacional, asi como las de la industria farmaceutica nacional. En el tercer capitulo se presenta la estimacion de los efectos de introducir un regimen de patentes sobre el mercado farmaceutico colombiano: efectos sobre el precio al consumidor, el efecto fiscal, una estimacion de las transferencias de las empresas multinacionales a la casa matriz y los efectos sobre el costo de la salud publica.