Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prolonged treatment of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes with insulin-like growth factor-I stimulates proteoglycan synthesis but not proteoglycan matrix accumulation in alginate cultures.

OBJECTIVE To determine the level of anabolic response when chondrocytes isolated from human osteoarthritic cartilage are stimulated with 2 doses of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) for extended culture periods. METHODS Human chondrocytes were isolated from knee cartilage removed at the time of joint replacement surgery for osteoarthritis (OA). The cells were cultured in alginate beads under serum-free conditions and treated with 100 ng/ml or 1000 ng/ml of human recombinant IGF-I. Response was measured during culture periods of 1 to 28 days by determining the level of radiolabeled sulfate incorporated into alcian blue precipitable material and by measuring the level of total proteoglycan accumulation using the dimethylmethylene blue (DMB) assay. For the latter assay, cultures treated with osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) were used for comparison to IGF-I. Results were normalized to cell numbers using DNA measurements. RESULTS The level of IGF-I stimulated sulfate incorporation relative to untreated controls increased with time in culture, with a peak response occurring between days 7 and 14 of culture. There was no significant difference between the 2 IGF-I doses. Despite the stimulation of sulfate incorporation, the DMB assay did not reveal a significant accumulation of proteoglycans in the cell-associated and further-removed matrix with either dose of IGF-I in cultures carried out to 21 days. In contrast, compared to controls, OP-1 at 100 ng/ml stimulated a 3-fold increase in matrix proteoglycan at day 21 of culture. CONCLUSION Prolonged IGF-I treatment of human OA chondrocytes in serum-free alginate cultures stimulated sulfate incorporation without significant accumulation of a proteoglycan matrix in longterm cultures. However, significant proteoglycan accumulation was seen in cultures treated with OP-1, suggesting it is a better stimulator of proteoglycan production by OA chondrocytes.
Surgical Treatment of Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy With or Without Flexor Hallucis Longus Tendon Transfer

Background: Chronic insertional Achilles tendinopathy is a common pathology that can be difficult to manage. Some experts have advocated augmentation with the flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon in patients over age 50 and those with more severe tendon disease. We hypothesized that FHL augmentation would be associated with superior clinical outcome scores and greater ankle plantar flexion strength compared with Achilles debridement alone. Methods: Consecutive patients older than 50 years who had failed nonoperative treatment for chronic insertional Achilles tendinopathy were randomly assigned to Achilles decompression and debridement alone (control group) or Achilles decompression and debridement augmented with FHL transfer (FHL group). Outcome measures included American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle/hindfoot score, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, ankle and hallux plantar flexion strength, and a patient satisfaction survey. A total of 39 enrolled patients had a minimum 1-year follow-up, 18 in the control group and 21 in the FHL transfer group. The average patient age was 60.5 years. Results: AOFAS and VAS scores improved in both groups at 6 months and 1 year with no difference between groups. There was greater ankle plantar flexion strength in the FHL group at 6 months and at 1 year compared with the control group (P < .05). There was no difference between the 2 groups in hallux plantar flexion strength preoperatively and at 1 year after surgery. Some 87% of patients were satisfied with the outcome of their procedure. There was no significant increase in wound complications in the FHL group (P < .05). Conclusion: We found no differences in pain, functional outcome (as measured by the AOFAS ankle/hindfoot scale), and patient satisfaction when comparing patients treated with Achilles debridement alone versus FHL augmentation for chronic Achilles tendinopathy. Ankle plantar flexion strength appeared to be improved with FHL transfer, with no loss of hallux plantar flexion strength. Although FHL transfer was a safe adjunct to tendon debridement and partial ostectomy for insertional Achilles tendinopathy in older patients with little compromise in function, it may not be necessary for primary cases. Level of Evidence: Level 1, prospective randomized trial.
Experimento de um classificador de padrões baseado na Regra Naive de Bayes

Este artigo apresenta um metodo estatistico de classificacao de padroes comumente utilizado e baseado na Regra de Bayes. A apresentacao de um exemplo de solucao de problema de classificacao/predicao comprova a simplicidade e eficiencia do metodo.
Power transferring of magnetic-geared permanent magnet machines

Due to the high torque density and sharing similar operating principles with vernier machines, the magnetic-geared permanent magnet machines have been gaining more attention recently. This paper focuses on power transferring feature of a magnetic geared machine among the stator, modulation layer and rotor by analytical methods. Analytical equations of the back electromotive force, torque and power are derived. It is found that the power expression is a function of gear ratio between modulation layer and rotor. In addition, the influence of the parameters on the back EMF and torque are also discussed. Finally, the analytical results are verified by the finite-element analysis (FEA), and the good agreements have been achieved.
Surface properties of Streptococcus sanguis FW213 mutants nonadherent to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite

Seventeen mutants of Streptococcus sanguis FW213 nonadherent to saliva-coated spheroidal hydroxyapatite were isolated after mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulfonate, nitrosoguanidine, nitrous acid, hydroxylamine, or 2-aminopurine. Enrichment for nonadherent mutants was accomplished by successive adsorptions of the adherent strains to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite. After enrichment, variant colonial morphology on tryptic agar was used as a screening technique for selection of nonadherent mutants, with loss of colonial opacity frequently associated with loss of adherence ability. These mutants were further characterized for additional surface properties, including twitching motility, saliva-induced aggregation, coaggregation with Actinomyces species, surface hydrophobicity, and presence of fimbriae. Results from these assays indicated that the nonadherent mutants fell into six phenotypic groups. A correlation between the loss of adherence ability, a decrease in cell fimbriation, and a decrease in surface hydrophobicity is apparent.
Correlation between recent thymic emigrants and CD31+ (PECAM‐1) CD4+ T cells in normal individuals during aging and in lymphopenic children

CD31+CD45RA+RO– lymphocytes contain high numbers of T cell receptor circle (TREC)‐bearing T cells; however, the correlation between CD31+CD4+ lymphocytes and TREC during aging and under lymphopenic conditions has not yet been sufficiently investigated. We analyzed TREC, telomere length and telomerase activity within sorted CD31+ and CD31– CD4+ lymphocytes in healthy individuals from birth to old age. Sorted CD31+CD45RA+RO– naive CD4+ lymphocytes contained high TREC numbers, whereas CD31+CD45RA–RO+ cells (comprising ⩽5% of CD4+ cells during aging) did not contain TREC. CD31+ overall CD4+ cells remained TREC rich despite an age‐related tenfold reduction from neonatal (100 : 1000) to old age (10 : 1000). Besides a high TREC content, CD31+CD45RA+RO–CD4+ cells exhibited significantly longer telomeres and higher telomerase activity than CD31–CD45RA+RO–CD4+ cells, suggesting that CD31+CD45RA+RO–CD4+ cells represent a distinct population of naive T cells with particularly low replicative history. To analyze the value of CD31 in lymphopenic conditions, we investigated six children after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Reemerging overall CD4+ as well as naive CD45RA+RO–CD4+ cells predominantly expressed CD31 and correlated well with the recurrence of TREC 5–12 months after HSCT. Irrespective of limitations in the elderly, CD31 is an appropriate marker to monitor TREC‐rich lymphocytes essentially in lymphopenic children after HSCT.
Topography of Cone Dark Adaptation Deficits in Age-Related Maculopathy

Purpose. Despite widespread agreement that dark adaptation is abnormal in age-related maculopathy (ARM), the optimal retinal location for detection of this deficit is unclear. We quantified the diagnostic potential of cone dark adaptation as a function of retinal eccentricity and compared this with the diagnostic potential of the time to the rod-cone-break (RCB). Methods. Cone dark adaptation was monitored after an 80% cone photopigment bleach in 10 subjects with ARM and 10 age-matched controls, using four achromatic annuli (0.5, 2, 7, and 12° radius) centered on the fovea. Threshold recovery data were modeled and the time constant of cone recovery (&tgr;), final cone threshold, and time to RCB were determined. Diagnostic potential was evaluated by constructing receiver operating characteristic curves for these parameters. Results. Cone &tgr; was significantly longer for the ARM group at 2, 7, and 12°. The greatest difference between groups was observed at 12° from fixation. At this location, the mean &tgr; was 3.49 (±2.02) min and 0.64 (±0.38) min for ARM and control subjects, respectively (p = 0.002), and time to RCB was 17.68 (±5.37) min and 9.05 (±2.11) min for ARM and control subjects, respectively (p = 0.001). Correspondingly, receiver operating characteristic curves showed that the diagnostic potential of dark adaptometry is greatest for stimuli presented 12° from fixation; for cone &tgr;, the area under the curve = 0.99 ± 0.02 and for time to RCB, area under the curve = 0.96 ± 0.04. Conclusions. This study has shown cone-mediated dark adaptation to be significantly impaired in ARM. Our results provide compelling evidence in support of the diagnostic potential of cone dark adaptation and the use of annular stimuli at 12°. The observation that cone &tgr; is highly diagnostic at this eccentricity is significant clinically because this parameter may be quantified within a few minutes.
A divergent testis-specific alpha-tubulin isotype that does not contain a coded C-terminal tyrosine

On the basis of analysis of cDNA clones of alpha-tubulin RNAs expressed during spermiogenesis in chickens, we report the identification of a novel alpha-tubulin which is expressed exclusively in chicken testes. Comparison of its sequence with those previously determined not only demonstrates that the encoded polypeptide is significantly divergent from other alpha-tubulins but also supports the hypothesis that alpha-tubulin isotypes are distinguished by a carboxy-terminal variable region sequence and, to a lesser extent, by a domain near the amino terminus. Since essentially all previously known alpha-tubulins undergo a unique cycle of removal and posttranslational readdition of a tyrosine residue at the extreme carboxy terminus, the presence in this testes alpha-tubulin of a very divergent carboxy terminus that does not contain an encoded tyrosine raises the possibility that this polypeptide does not participate in the usual cycle of tyrosination/detyrosination.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy diagnosed by amplification of JC virus‐specific DNA from cerebrospinal fluid

ObjectiveTo study the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the non-invasive diagnosis of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in HIV-1-infected individuals. DesignRetrospective analysis of stored cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples by PCR of HIV-1-infected patients. MethodsResults of the PCR analysis of the CSF of three AIDS patients with autopsy-proven PML were compared with the results in 15 neurologically asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients and with 15 AIDS patients with other opportunistic infections of the central nervous system (CNS). A polyclonal antiserum to simian virus 40 (SV40) cross-reacting with JC virus (JCV) late antigens was used for immunocytochemical confirmation of the diagnosis. Two different primer pairs, one taken from the VP1/large T gene and the other from the large T gene, were used to amplify JCV-specific DNA sequences from CSF. ResultsFive CSF samples were analysed and JCV-specific DNA found in three patients with autopsy-proven PML. No JCV-specific DNA was detected in 47 CSF samples, including serial samples from 14 of the 30 non-PML patients. The diagnosis of PML was confirmed in all three cases by immunocytochemistry. Conclusion: PML can be diagnosed by PCR analysis of CSF. The sensitivity and specificity of the method depends on the sensitivity of the primers used for amplification. Using a primer pair from the large T gene, JCV-specific DNA was amplified in three cases with PML as early as the day of presentation with the first neurological symptom of PML.
Proposición de un método basado en cadenas de Markov para el pronóstico de fibrilaciones auriculares paroxísticas

La fibrilacion auricular ha sido una de las arritmias cardiacas mas estudiadas debido a su elevada tasa de recurrencia. Debido a la importancia de esta patologia, en la literatura se pueden encontrar diversos trabajos basados en la deteccion de latidos ectopicos e intervalos RR entre otros. El presente trabajo aborda esta problematica mediante la proposicion de un metodo basado en cadenas de Markov para la deteccion de fibrilaciones auriculares paroxisticas. El metodo propuesto identifica estados a partir de dos series de tiempo correspondientes a los intervalos RR y PR. Los resultados obtenidos se validaron usando un set de control dado para el concurso internacional de pronosticos de fibrilaciones auriculares paroxisticas, para el que se obtuvo una sensibilidad de 82,14% (23/28 episodios en el estudio) y un factor predictivo de 79,31%. La validacion de los resultados fue complementada con otros casos pertenecientes a la base de datos de fibrilacion auricular MIT-BIH, obteniendo una sensibilidad de 81,15% (112/138 episodios en el estudio). La evidencia computacional muestra que el metodo propuesto supera los resultados de pronostico obtenidos por otros metodos encontrados en la literatura.
Non-invasive assessment of Alzheimer's disease neurofibrillary pathology using 18F-THK5105 PET.

Non-invasive imaging of tau pathology in the living brain would be useful for accurately diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, tracking disease progression, and evaluating the treatment efficacy of disease-specific therapeutics. In this study, we evaluated the clinical usefulness of a novel tau-imaging positron emission tomography tracer 18F-THK5105 in 16 human subjects including eight patients with Alzheimer's disease (three male and five females, 66-82 years) and eight healthy elderly controls (three male and five females, 63-76 years). All participants underwent neuropsychological examination and 3D magnetic resonance imaging, as well as both 18F-THK5105 and 11C-Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography scans. Standard uptake value ratios at 90-100 min and 40-70 min post-injection were calculated for 18F-THK5105 and 11C-Pittsburgh compound B, respectively, using the cerebellar cortex as the reference region. As a result, significantly higher 18F-THK5105 retention was observed in the temporal, parietal, posterior cingulate, frontal and mesial temporal cortices of patients with Alzheimer's disease compared with healthy control subjects. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the inferior temporal cortex, which is an area known to contain high densities of neurofibrillary tangles in the Alzheimer's disease brain, showed prominent 18F-THK5105 retention. Compared with high frequency (100%) of 18F-THK5105 retention in the temporal cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontal 18F-THK5105 retention was less frequent (37.5%) and was only observed in cases with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, 11C-Pittsburgh compound B retention was highest in the posterior cingulate cortex, followed by the ventrolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and superior temporal cortices, and did not correlate with 18F-THK5105 retention in the neocortex. In healthy control subjects, 18F-THK5105 retention was ∼10% higher in the mesial temporal cortex than in the neocortex. Notably, unlike 11C-Pittsburgh compound B, 18F-THK5105 retention was significantly correlated with cognitive parameters, hippocampal and whole brain grey matter volumes, which was consistent with findings from previous post-mortem studies showing significant correlations of neurofibrillary tangle density with dementia severity or neuronal loss. From these results, 18F-THK5105 positron emission tomography is considered to be useful for the non-invasive assessment of tau pathology in the living brain. This technique would be applicable to the longitudinal evaluation of tau deposition and allow a better understanding of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease.
A phase II randomized multicenter trial of gefitinib plus FOLFIRI and FOLFIRI alone in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Gefitinib inhibits the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase and preclinical studies indicate that it may enhance CPT-11 cytotoxicity. This randomized phase II trial investigates the feasibility and efficacy of gefitinib and 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid, irinotecan (FOLFIRI) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were randomized to FOLFIRI +/- gefitinib 250 mg daily p.o. Patients randomized to FOLFIRI + gefitinib without disease progression after 6 months continued to receive gefitinib alone until disease progression. RESULTS From October 2002 to September 2004, 100 patients were enrolled. Twenty-three patients (47.9%) in the FOLFIRI arm and 23 (45.1%) in the FOLFIRI + gefitinib arm experienced an objective response. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 8.3 and 18.6 months in the FOLFIRI arm, and 8.3 and 17.1 months in the FOLFIRI + gefitinib arm, respectively. In the combination arm, grades 3-4 adverse events were experienced by 35 (67.3%) patients versus 25 patients (52.1%) in the FOLFIRI arm; 12 patients (23.1%) withdrew for an adverse event in the FOLFIRI + gefitinib arm and 5 (10.4%) in the FOLFIRI arm. CONCLUSIONS These data show that adding gefitinib to FOLFIRI does not improve the efficacy of FOLFIRI regimen. These disappointing results could be related to the high toxicity observed that led to significant dose reductions and delays.
Testicular Cancer and Hormonally Active Agents

Testicular cancer (TC) is a rare form of cancer, accounting for 1% of all new cancer cases in Canadian males. TC is the most common malignancy among young men, aged 25–34 yr old. Over previous decades, the incidence of TC has increased in many Western countries. Countries with a sufficiently long period of cancer registration, such as Denmark, document this trend back to the first half of the 20th century. The etiology of TC remains poorly understood. Most of the established risk factors are likely related to in utero events, including some factors that are purported to be surrogate measures for exposure to endogenous estrogens. The correlation of TC with other testicular abnormalities and with pregnancy factors led to the proposal that these conditions are a constellation of sequelae of impairment of testicular development called testis dysgenesis syndrome. There is some limited evidence suggesting that exposure to pharmacological estrogens may contribute to some cases of TC. There is currently no compelling evidence that exposure to environmental estrogenic or other hormonally active substances is contributing to the rise in TC incidence observed in Western nations over the last several decades; however, this question has not been extensively studied. The (1) rarity of this condition in the population, (2) long lag time between the presumed sensitive period during fetal development and clinical appearance of the condition, and (3) lack of a good animal model to study the progression of the disease have greatly hindered the understanding of environmental influences on TC risk.
Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Nutritious Porridge Prepared Using Combinations of Soy and Sorghum Grits

A study was conducted to determine the acceptability of porridge developed from various proportions of soy and sorghum. Partially defatted soydhal was soaked in four salt solutions namely, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium chloride. Soaked dhal was dried and made into grits. Soy and sorghum grits were mixed in three proportions i.e. 10:90, 20:80 and 30:70 to develop nutritious porridge. Porridge prepared from wheat grits served as a control. The sensory evaluation of the developed porridge was done using a 9-point hedonic scale. Porridge prepared using sodium carbonate soaked soydhal was found to fall in the ‘like slightly’ category whereas other three types of porridges as well as control porridge were ‘liked moderately’ by the panellists. Nutritional evaluation of the developed porridge demonstrated that protein, fat, crude fibre and ash contents increased significantly (P < 0.05) as the level of soy was increased from 10 to 20 and 30 per cent.
Histomorphological differentiation of non‐erosive reflux disease and functional heartburn in patients with PPI‐refractory heartburn

Proton pump inhibitor (PPI)‐refractory heartburn may be due to persistent gastro‐oesophageal reflux, oesophageal hypersensitivity or functional heartburn (FH). The differentiation between non‐erosive reflux disease (NERD) and FH may be very difficult. However, this differentiation is important for appropriate therapeutic management. Dilated intercellular spaces (DIS), papillary elongation (PE) and basal cell hyperplasia (BCH) can be all assessed by light microscopy. Whether these mucosal abnormalities allow the differentiation of NERD from FH in PPI‐refractory patients is uncertain.
Centromere Repositioning in Cattle (Bos taurus) Chromosome 17

Eukaryotic organisms have developed a structure, called centromere, able to preserve the integrity of the genome during cell division. A young bull from the Marchigiana breed, with a normal external phenotype, underwent routine cytogenetic analysis to enter the reproduction center. All metaphases analyzed showed an unusual biarmed chromosome of medium size despite a diploid set of chromosomes (2n = 60,XY). FISH analysis excluded a pericentric inversion or a reciprocal translocation, but highlighted a repositioning of the centromere in BTA17. The satellite DNA was still in an acrocentric position. The telomeres were normally present. The primary constriction on the abnormal chromosome was C-band negative. Finally, the absence of a large genomic deletion in the BTA17 pericentromeric region was demonstrated by both array-CGH analysis and SNP array. To our knowledge, this is the first case of centromere repositioning reported in cattle.