Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of a homologue of the fushi tarazu (ftz) gene in a cirripede crustacean

SUMMARY In Metazoa, Hox genes control the identity of the body parts along the anteroposterior axis. In addition to this homeotic function, these genes are characterized by two conserved features: They are clustered in the genome, and they contain a particular sequence, the homeobox, encoding a DNA‐binding domain. Analysis of Hox homeobox sequences suggests that the Hox cluster emerged early in Metazoa and then underwent gene duplication events. In arthropods, the Hox cluster contains eight genes with a homeotic function and two other Hox‐like genes, zerknullt (zen)/Hox3 and fushi tarazu (ftz). In insects, these two genes have lost their homeotic function but have acquired new functions in embryogenesis. In contrast, in chelicerates, these genes are expressed in a Hox‐like pattern, which suggests that they have conserved their ancestral homeotic function.
Brain-Machine Interface for Reaching: Accounting for Target Size, Multiple Motor Plans, and Bimanual Coordination

Brain-Machine Interface for Reaching: Accounting for Target Size, Multiple Motor Plans, and Bimanual Coordination by Peter J. Ifft Department of Biomedical Engineering Duke University Date: _______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Miguel A. L. Nicolelis, Supervisor ___________________________ Craig Henriquez ___________________________ Marc Sommer ___________________________ Michael Platt ___________________________ Richard Bedlack An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 Copyright by Peter J. Ifft 2014
High risk for nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Danish veterinary practitioners.

OBJECTIVES Due to their multiple antibiotic resistance properties, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a major public health problem. After the recently described emergence of MRSA in animals, the authors investigated the risk of nasal MRSA carriage among people with professional contact with animals. METHODS Nasal swabs and information on animal exposure and known MRSA risk factors were obtained from participants (N=702) at five conferences organized by national veterinary and farmer associations and students at a business school in Denmark. All of the participants were screened by standard microbiological techniques for MRSA detection and characterization. RESULTS MRSA carriage was significantly (P<0.02) higher among the veterinary practitioners (3.9%) than among the participants not professionally exposed to animals (0.7%). Six of the nine MRSA strains isolated from veterinary practitioners belonged to clonal complexes (CC) previously associated with horses (CC8), small animals (CC22), and pigs (CC398). Although four of the nine positive veterinarians carried the CC associated with pigs, exposure to small animals, cattle, or horses, but not to pigs, was found to be a significant risk factor. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that veterinarians are at risk of MRSA carriage. Veterinary professionals should be informed about this emerging occupational health risk and educated about preventive measures. Collaboration between national medical and veterinary institutions is urgently needed to control the spread of these unwanted bacteria in the community.
Impairment in cognitive functions after multiple detoxifications in alcoholic inpatients.

BACKGROUND Repeated experience of withdrawal from alcohol results in a kindling-like process leading to increased likelihood and severity of convulsions during detoxification. The aim of this study was to determine whether repeated withdrawals affect cognitive function. METHODS We investigated alcoholic patients undergoing detoxification in an inpatient setting, using tasks sensitive to dysfunction of prefrontal areas. The tasks applied were two maze tasks from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, the color Stroop task, and the vigilance task for adults and the delay task from the Gordon Diagnostic System. Forty-two abstinent alcoholic patients who were no longer receiving pharmacotherapy for detoxification participated. RESULTS Compared to a group of forty-three social drinkers matched for age, sex, and verbal IQ, the alcoholic patients took more time to complete maze 1 and made more errors in both mazes. Alcoholics made more commission errors and gave fewer correct answers in the vigilance task. No differences were found in the color Stroop task between alcoholic patients and social drinkers. Patients with 2 or more detoxifications were more impaired in the maze 1, in the vigilance task and in the delay task than patients with a single, or no previous detoxification. When patients were reclassified on the basis of the total number of attempts at withdrawing from alcohol (including the medically supervised) only the deficit in the vigilance task was associated with the number of withdrawal attempts. The effects of medically supervised detoxifications on maze 1 and vigilance task were confounded with other factors related to the history of alcoholism, alcohol use, age of starting heavy drinking and years of problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS Repeated experience of withdrawal from alcohol is thus associated with impaired cognitive function although it appears that for some of these effects, other factors associated with the history of alcoholism might also be involved.
Calcium is a key signaling molecule in beta-lapachone-mediated cell death.

beta-Lapachone (beta-Lap) triggers apoptosis in a number of human breast and prostate cancer cell lines through a unique apoptotic pathway that is dependent upon NQO1, a two-electron reductase. Downstream signaling pathway(s) that initiate apoptosis following treatment with beta-Lap have not been elucidated. Since calpain activation was suspected in beta-Lap-mediated apoptosis, we examined alterations in Ca(2+) homeostasis using NQO1-expressing MCF-7 cells. beta-Lap-exposed MCF-7 cells exhibited an early increase in intracellular cytosolic Ca(2+), from endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) stores, comparable to thapsigargin exposures. 1,2-Bis-(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethyl ester, an intracellular Ca(2+) chelator, blocked early increases in Ca(2+) levels and inhibited beta-Lap-mediated mitochondrial membrane depolarization, intracellular ATP depletion, specific and unique substrate proteolysis, and apoptosis. The extracellular Ca(2+) chelator, EGTA, inhibited later apoptotic end points (observed >8 h, e.g. substrate proteolysis and DNA fragmentation), suggesting that later execution events were triggered by Ca(2+) influxes from the extracellular milieu. Collectively, these data suggest a critical, but not sole, role for Ca(2+) in the NQO1-dependent cell death pathway initiated by beta-Lap. Use of beta-Lap to trigger an apparently novel, calpain-like-mediated apoptotic cell death could be useful for breast and prostate cancer therapy.
Radiotherapy and Immunity – A Mini Review

Slavin et al. in [1976], were the first to found that rejection of skin and heart allograft was greatly delayed in rodents treated with Total Lymphoid Irradiation (TLI). Since 1980, the immunosupression of TLI has been applied in transplants and autoimmune diseases. However, the development of immunosuppressive drugs decreased the use of radiotherapy for immunosuppressive finality except for the use of total body irradiation (TBI) or TLI as myeloablative treatment before bone marrow transplantation The mechanism by which TLI-treated patients have a graft prolongation is not entirely understood. During many years of its use many changes has been observed specially in lymphocytes counts. The majority of the studies, however, were done without modern techniques to characterize the fate of different subtypes of lymphocytes and is difficult to compare the results. The majority of the studies has been done in vitro and in regimes using TBI and bone marrow transplants. There is some evidence that suppressor T-cells might be involved in the long term maintenance of allografts in these patients [Gray et al, 1989]. TLI provokes a more pronounced impairment of T-dependent immunological functions, as measured with phytohemaglutinin(PHA), concanavalin A(Con A), and pokeveedinduced (PWM) blastogenesis than does conventional immunosuppression. The more profound changes in the balance between T helper and T suppressor cells after TLI are also associated with a more pronounced suppressor cell activity, as measured with different functional suppressor cell assays. [Fergunson et al, 1981; Waer et al, 1987]. The TLI seems to produce an “amnesic state” and the autoantigens cannot be recognized by the host anymore. In the past, radiation therapy had traditionally been viewed as immunosuppressive (Cole, 1986; James et al., 1989; Wasserman et al., 1989). Lymphocyte radiosensitivity is well established and remains the dominant explanation for this effect. However, substantial evidence suggests more varied effects of radiation on the immune system, prompting the recharacterization of radiation as ‘immunomodulatory’ rather than immunosuppressive (McBride et al., 2004). Ionising radiation induces diverse effects on cell survival, apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation depending on the dosage and target cell (Jonathan et al. 1999). High dose of radiation often results in massive DNA damage that involves double-strand breaks and subsequent cell death. Low dose of irradiation induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activation of specific intracellular signaling pathways and transcription factors leading to proliferation and differentiation of target cells (Kasid et al. 1996, Lander et al. 1997, Finkel 1998). Therefore, irradiation can modulate immune response via its variable effects on immune cell survival and differentiation (Shankar et al. 1999, Rho et al. 2004, Liu 2007, Shan et al.2007).
Inverse problems in electromagnetics

Two inverse problems in eletromagnetics are investigated in this thesis. The first is the retrieval of the effective constitutive parameters of metamaterials from the measurement of the reflection and the transmission coefficients. A robust method is proposed for the retrieval of metamaterials as isotropic media, and four improvements over the existing methods make the retrieval results more stable. Next, a new scheme is presented for the retrieval of a specific bianisotropic metamaterial that consists of split-ring resonators, which signifies that the cross polarization terms of the metamaterial are quantitatively investigated for the first time. Finally, an optimization approach is designed to achieve the retrieval of general bianisotropic media with 72 unknown parameters. The hybrid algorithm combining the differential evolution (DE) algorithm and the simplex method steadily converges to the exact solution. The second inverse problem deals with the detection and the classification of buried metallic objects using electromagnetic induction (EMI). Both the exciting and the induced magnetic fields are expanded as a linear combination of basic modes in the spheroidal coordinate system. Due to the orthogonality and the completeness of the spheroidal basic modes, the scattering coefficients are uniquely determined and are characteristics of the object. The scattering coefficients are retrieved from the knowledge of the induced fields, where both synthetic and measurement data are used. The ill-conditioning issue is dealt with by mode truncation and Tikhonov regularization technique. Stored in a library, the scattering coefficients can produce fast forward models for use in pattern matching. In addition, they can be used to train support vector machine (SVM) to sort objects into generic classes. Thesis Supervisor: Jin Au Kong Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Thesis Co-Supervisor: Tomasz M. Grzegorczyk Title: Research Scientist
Synthesis and review: Tackling the nitrogen management challenge: from global to local scales

One of the ‘grand challenges’ of this age is the anthropogenic impact exerted on the nitrogen cycle. Issues of concern range from an excess of fixed nitrogen resulting in environmental pressures for some regions, while for other regions insufficient fixed nitrogen affects food security and may lead to health risks. To address these issues, nitrogen needs to be managed in an integrated fashion, at a variety of scales (from global to local). Such management has to be based on a thorough understanding of the sources of reactive nitrogen released into the environment, its deposition and effects. This requires a comprehensive assessment of the key drivers of changes in the nitrogen cycle both spatially, at the field, regional and global scale and over time. In this focus issue, we address the challenges of managing reactive nitrogen in the context of food production and its impacts on human and ecosystem health. In addition, we discuss the scope for and design of management approaches in regions with too much and too little nitrogen. This focus issue includes several contributions from authors who participated at the N2013 conference in Kampala in November 2013, where delegates compiled and agreed upon the ‘Kampala Statement-for-Action on Reactive Nitrogen in Africa and Globally’. These contributions further underline scientifically the claims of the ‘Kampala Statement’, that simultaneously reducing pollution and increasing nitrogen available in the food system, by improved nitrogen management offers win-wins for environment, health and food security in both developing and developed economies. The specific messages conveyed in the Kampala Statement focus on improving nitrogen management (I), including the reduction of nitrogen losses from agriculture, industry, transport and energy sectors, as well as improving waste treatment and informing individuals and institutions (II). Highlighting the need for innovation and increased awareness among stakeholders (III) and the identification of policy and technology solutions to tackle global nitrogen management issues (IV), this will enable countries to fulfil their regional and global commitments.
The Clinical Effect of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Purpose. This study aims to determine the clinical efficacy of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Methods. A systematic literature search was conducted in five databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Wanfang, and CNKI to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of acupuncture therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. Meta-analysis was conducted using the RevMan version 5.3 software. Results. Six RCTs involving 362 subjects were included in our study. Compared with control groups, manual acupuncture (MA) was more effective in the improvement of apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), apnea index, hypopnea index, and mean SaO2. Electroacupuncture (EA) was better in improving the AHI and apnea index when compared with control treatment, but no statistically significant differences in hypopnea index and mean SaO2 were found. In the comparison of MA and nasal continuous positive airway pressure, the results favored MA in the improvement of AHI; there was no statistical difference in the improvement in mean SaO2. No adverse events associated with acupuncture therapy were documented. Conclusion. Compared to control groups, both MA and EA were more effective in improving AHI and mean SaO2. In addition, MA could further improve apnea index and hypopnea index compared to control.
Cadmium in organs and tissues of horses slaughtered in Italy

The cadmium content of muscle, liver, kidney and blood samples from 62 horses slaughtered in Italy was investigated. Cadmium was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after wet digestion of the samples. The mean and median contents of all samples were (on a fresh weight basis) 75 and 41 μgkg-1 for muscle, 2.46 and 2.10 mgkg-1 for liver, 20.0 and 13.5 mgkg-1 for kidney. The cadmium level in blood samples was always below 6 μgl-1. The cadmium concentrations in muscle, liver and kidney were found to be related to the life span of the specimens and increased with age. Females exhibited higher levels than males, but this difference was significant only in the case of muscle tissue. The geographical origin was recognized as the main factor influencing the cadmium content of the equine specimens analysed. The differences between horses coming from the three main breeding countries considered in this study (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary) were marked and statistically significant. The average intake of cadmium from equine meat was estimated for the general population and for population groups resident in areas with high consumption of this food item. While the cadmium intake from equine meat for the average consumer accounts for about 1% of the total cadmium intake estimated for Italy, in the latter case the enhanced consumption of equine muscle is often accompanied with the consumption of substantial quantities of equine liver and this may lead to high cadmium intakes.
PHENOLIC ACID AND FLAVONOL CONTENTS OF GEMMO-MODIFIED AND NATIVE EXTRACTS OF SOME INDIGENOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS

In the present study the amount of three important flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin) and five phenolic acids (gallic acid, ferulic acid, cinnamic acid, vanillic acid and caffeic acid) were determined from four medicinally important indigenous plants like Euphorbia tirucalli, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Cyperus rotundus and Rheum emodi. Methanolic extracts of native parts and gemmo-modified extracts from fresh germinating parts of medicinal plants were prepared and investigated by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC). The total flavonols contents varied significantly among medicinal plants. Rheum emodi exhibited the highest amount of total flavonols (881.5±1.3 mg kg -1 ) but among gemmo-modified extracts, higher flavonols were detected in gemmo-modified extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum as compared to its seed extracts. However the other gemmo-modified extract of Cyperus rotundus showed relatively less total flavonol than rhizome extract. Gallic and ferulic acid were the most abundant phenolic acids identified in all plants. The chlorogenic acid, p- coumaric acid and ferulic acids are main phenolic acids present in these plants. Caffeic acid was only detected in gemmo-modified extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum. The significant amount of a variety of flavonol and phenolic acids that may impart their medicinal potential for alleviation of any disorder were available in the investigated plants.
From Volume Medical Images to Quadratic Surface Patches

In this paper, we show how to extract reliable information about the shape of 3D objects obtained from volume medical images. We present an optimal region-growing algorithm, that makes use of the differential characteristics of the object surface and achieves a stable segmentation into a set of patches of quadratic surfaces. We show how this segmentation can be used to recognize and locate a target substructure on a global anatomic structure.
Broadband Printed Dipole Array Antenna for WLAN Access Point

A broadband dipole array antenna has been demonstrated in this paper. The printed dipole array antenna consists of one dipole array arranged back to back and can be easily framed by printing on both sides of a dielectric substrate and is suitable for integration with monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) module. The proposed antenna, including of a 50 Omega microstrip feed line with a match circuit, can be applied to wireless network and operated in WLAN access point application. The gain for 2.45GHz band is about 4.8 dB and the bandwidth is about 1230MHz.
LB100, a small molecule inhibitor of PP2A with potent chemo- and radio-sensitizing potential

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a serine/threonine phosphatase that plays a significant role in mitotic progression and cellular responses to DNA damage. While traditionally viewed as a tumor suppressor, inhibition of PP2A has recently come to attention as a novel therapeutic means of driving senescent cancer cells into mitosis and promoting cell death via mitotic catastrophe. These findings have been corroborated in numerous studies utilizing naturally produced compounds that selectively inhibit PP2A. To overcome the known human toxicities associated with these compounds, a water-soluble small molecule inhibitor, LB100, was recently developed to competitively inhibit the PP2A protein. This review summarizes the pre-clinical studies to date that have demonstrated the anti-cancer activity of LB100 via its chemo- and radio-sensitizing properties. These studies demonstrate the tremendous therapeutic potential of LB100 in a variety of cancer types. The results of an ongoing phase 1 trial are eagerly anticipated.
Review Article Fifty Years' Experience of Reduced-Tar Cigarettes: What Do We Know About Their Health Effects?

Since the 1950s, cigarettes sold in the United States have undergone a progressive modification, including the addition of filters and a reduction in the average machine-measured tar and nicotine yield per cigarette by over 60%. These, and other, temporal changes in manufactured cigarettes, coupled with the complexity of smoking behavior, make it difficult to assess the impact of the newer cigarettes on health. Recently, some researchers have suggested that the newer products, marketed as being less harmful, may in fact provide no benefit compared to the older, higher tar cigarettes. The primary purpose of this review is to critically evaluate the available epidemiologic evidence on the health effects of low-tar cigarettes. This body of data provides the only means of assessing the effects of long-term exposure to these products, as they are actually used. After identifying important methodological problems confronting research in this area, studies of lung cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and total mortality are examined in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and their results. Thirty-five studies of lung cancer are suggestive that smokers of low tar cigarettes have a lower risk (by 20-30%) compared to smokers of higher tar cigarettes. Only a minority of studies of heart disease provide evidence of a reduction in risk, on the order of 10%. Studies concerning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are inconsistent, but the majority suggest decreased risk in smokers of lower tar cigarettes. Finally, studies that included total mortality indicate with a high degree of consistency that the total death rate is reduced in smokers of lower tar cigarettes, on the order of 10-20%. Because of the multiplicity of factors involved in smoking behavior, including compensation for reduced nicotine, and the modest magnitude of the apparent reduction in risk, the relative benefits of low tar cigarettes remain uncertain. Additional analyses of existing data sets could further clarify the impact of low-tar cigarettes.