Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduction of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase via Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Prevents the Oxidative Retinal Damage in Diabetic Hypertensive Rats

Purpose: To investigate if nitric oxide (NO) system contributes to the beneficial effect of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) blocker losartan in the retina of diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods: Diabetic SHR were randomized to receive oral treatment with losartan (DM-SHRLos). After 20 days, the rats were euthanized and the retinas collected. Results: Diabetic SHR rats exhibited a significant increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and decrease in occludin, markers of early diabetic retinopathy (DR). The oxidative status, evaluated by NO end-products (NOx−) levels along with the antioxidative system superoxide dismutase, revealed an accentuated imbalance in favor to oxidants in DM-SHR leading to a higher tyrosine nitration and DNA damage. The inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was also elevated in DM-SHR rats. The treatment with losartan ameliorated all of the above alterations. Conclusions: Oral treatment with losartan reduces iNOS expression and reestablishes the redox status, thus ameliorating the early markers of DR in a model of diabetes and hypertension.
Stratified aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index accurately predicts survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing curative liver resection

The aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index has been reported to predict prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. This study examined the prognostic potential of stratified aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index for hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing curative liver resection. A total of 661 hepatocellular carcinoma patients were retrieved and the associations between aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index and clinicopathological variables and survivals (overall survival and disease-free survival) were analyzed. Higher aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index quartiles were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (p = 0.002) and disease-free survival (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index to be an independent risk factor for overall survival (p = 0.018) and disease-free survival (p = 0.01). Patients in the highest aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index quartile were at 44% greater risk of death than patients in the first quartile (hazard ratio = 1.445, 95% confidence interval = 1.081 – 1.931, p = 0.013), as well as 49% greater risk of recurrence (hazard ratio = 1.49, 95% confidence interval = 1.112–1.998, p = 0.008). Subgroup analysis also showed aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index to be an independent predictor of poor overall survival and disease-free survival in patients positive for hepatitis B surface antigen or with cirrhosis (both p < 0.05). Similar results were obtained when aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index was analyzed as a dichotomous variable with cutoff values of 0.25 and 0.62. Elevated preoperative aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index may be independently associated with poor overall survival and disease-free survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients following curative resection.
Quantum-sized gold nanoclusters: bridging the gap between organometallics and nanocrystals.

This Concept article provides an elementary discussion of a special class of large-sized gold compounds, so-called Au nanoclusters, which lies in between traditional organogold compounds (e.g., few-atom complexes, <1 nm) and face-centered cubic (fcc) crystalline Au nanoparticles (typically >2 nm). The discussion is focused on the relationship between them, including the evolution from the Au⋅⋅⋅Au aurophilic interaction in Au(I) complexes to the direct Au-Au bond in clusters, and the structural transformation from the fcc structure in nanocrystals to non-fcc structures in nanoclusters. Thiolate-protected Au(n)(SR)(m) nanoclusters are used as a paradigm system. Research on such nanoclusters has achieved considerable advances in recent years and is expected to flourish in the near future, which will bring about exciting progress in both fundamental scientific research and technological applications of nanoclusters of gold and other metals.
AREAL LINGUISTICS AND MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA

AbstractMainland Southeast Asia provides a dramatic demonstration of the areal phenomenon in linguistics: When languages are spoken historically in the same location they often show significant parallels in the organization of a wide range of structural domains, whether the languages descend from the same historical source. The effects of areal diffusion raise fundamental questions for the traditional essentialist vision of languages as entities with offspring that diverge, with shared innovations marking divergent branches and internal processes of evolution accounting for diversity among modern languages. Recent theoretical and empirical research on linguistic diversity, language change, and social diffusion of innovation argues for a unit-based approach to language change and relatedness, where the units of analysis are individual speakers and individual linguistic items. This review begins with discussion of the language situation in Mainland Southeast Asia, where the language “genealogies” have been .
Neuronal specific βPix‐b stimulates actin‐dependent processes via the interaction between its PRD and WH1 domain of N‐WASP

βPix, a Pak‐interacting nucleotide exchange factor (Cool‐1/p85SPR), is a Cdc42/Rac1‐specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) involved in various actin‐related processes. Many previous studies have focused on ubiquitously expressed βPix‐a, while the role of the neuronal‐specific isoform βPix‐b is still unknown, especially whether its role is distinct from or similar to βPix‐a. Here we show that unlike βPix‐a, overexpression of βPix‐b stimulates actin‐dependent comet formation in BHK21 cells. This effect is attributed to the interaction between its proline‐rich domain (PRD) and the WH1 domain of N‐WASP. In addition, we show that overexpression of βPix‐b stimulates actin‐dependent dendritic spine formation in rat hippocampal neurons in culture, a formation that is blocked by co‐expression of the WH1 domain of N‐WASP or the PRD of βPix‐b. Knocking‐down endogenous expression of βPix‐b by shRNA reduced the number of dendritic spines, which were rescued only by PRD‐containing βPix‐b mutants. GEF activity of βPix‐b is also required for these effects. The results show that neuronal‐specific βPix‐b stimulates actin‐dependent processes in cells via the interaction between its PRD and the WH1 domain of N‐WASP. Our results identify N‐WASP as the first protein shown to interact with the PRD of βPix‐b, raising the possibility that, as an N‐WASP WH1‐binding protein, βPix‐b may regulate N‐WASP's activity in cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 1476–1484, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
El papel de los bisfosfonatos en Periodoncia

Este articulo puede ser consultado en version completa en http://www.medigraphic. com/periodontologia Con el inicio del siglo XXI, el incremento de osteonecrosis mandibular relacionada a bisfosfonatos (ONMRB) ha causado enorme interes en el periodoncista para su adecuado manejo y tratamiento. Es por esto, que recordaremos lo esencial en el banco de preguntas que a continuacion se describen y donde se requiere que usted elija la respuesta de entre las cuatro opciones propuestas. Es importante recordar que unicamente se puede elegir una respuesta.
Digital Mapping of Differential Oxidation Arising from Fingerprint Sweat Deposits on α-Phase Brass

Copyright: © 2011 John W. Bond and Trudy Loe. Copyright for this article is retained by the authors, with publication rights granted to the Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction, provided the original work is properly cited and not changed in any way.
Diagnostic tests for bacterial infections

Editor—Fowlie and Schmidt reviewed numerous publications on haematological parameters and C reactive protein for the diagnosis of bacterial infections and tried to select these publications according to well chosen criteria.1 However, they omitted to examine the publications for two criteria that substantially influence the study results. Eight studies on band counts or immature to total neutrophil ratios were reviewed. But only the authors of two studies2 3actually defined how an immature neutrophil was differentiated from a segmented neutrophil—that is, …
[Predictors of one year mortality among immunocompetent adults hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia].

BACKGROUND Mortality increases in adults, especially in older adults, after recovery from an episode of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). AIM To analyze survival and predictors of death at one year follow up of a cohort of adult patients hospitalized with CAP. MATERIAL AND METHODS Immunocompetent patients admitted to a clinical hospital for an episode of CAP were included in the study and were assessed according to a standardized protocol. One year mortality after admission was assessed using death records of the National Identification Service. Clinical and laboratory variables measured at hospital admission associated with risk of death at one year follow up were subjected to univariate and multivariate analysis by a logistic regression model. RESULTS We evaluated 659 patients aged 68 ± 19 years, 52% were male, 77% had underlying conditions (especially cardiovascular, neurological and respiratory diseases). Mean hospital length of stay was 9 days, 7.1% died during hospital stay and 15.8% did so during the year of follow-up. A causal agent was identified in one third of cases. The main pathogens isolated were Streptococcus pneumoniae (12.9%), Haemophilus influenzae (4.1%), respiratory viruses (6.5%) and Gram-negative bacilli (6.5%). In multivariate analysis, the clinical variables associated with increased risk of dying during the year of follow-up were older age, chronic neurological disease, malignancies, lack of fever at admission and prolonged hospital length of stay. CONCLUSIONS Age, specific co-morbidities such as chronic neurological disease and cancer, absence of fever at hospital admission and prolonged hospital length of stay were associated with increased risk of dying during the year after admission among adult patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.
The Leeuwenhoek Lecture, 1965 Some controversial aspects of bacterial sexuality

'I must say to you, as I’ve oft-times said already, that ’tis not my intention to stick stubbornly to my opinions, but as soon as people urge against them any reasonable objections, whereof I can form a just idea, I’ll give mine up, and go over to the other side. ’ (A. van Leeuwenhoek: see Letter 81, 19 March 1694.) As these words of his testify, Antony van Leeuwenhoek had a very forthright and truly scientific attitude to controversy. Born 333 years ago this year, in the same year as John Locke, Christopher Wren and Jan Vermeer, there can have been few men, if indeed any in the history of science, whose observations and ideas were more in advance of the general knowledge of their times. In his hundreds of letters, over a period of fifty years to this Society, of which he was a Fellow, he unfolded the existence of a new and undreamt-of world of living creatures which ranged in size as far below the limit of unaided vision as the largest mammals extended above it. In fact, by his own computation, a thousand million of the smallest of his little creatures, the bacteria, were no bigger than a coarse grain of sand (Letter 33, to R. Hooke, 12 November 1680). Not only was he the first man to see bacteria, with lenses and microscopes made with his own hands, but he described virtually all the morphological varieties of bacteria that we recognize today. However, Leeuwenhoek’s lasting contributions to knowledge go far beyond his discovery of protozoa and bacteria. He carried out researches on red blood cells, which he accurately measured and often used as a standard of size; not only this, but he also observed their movement through the capillaries, thus completing the story of the circulation of the blood, established earlier by his contemporary, William Harvey. His comparative observations on his own spermatozoa and those of animals and his understanding of their role in procreation led him to speculate imaginatively, if somewhat wildly and erroneously, on the mechanism of fertilization and inheritance.
Melatonin protects from the long‐term consequences of a neonatal hypoxic‐ischemic brain injury in rats

Abstract: Among the main factors responsible for perinatal brain injury, inflammation, hypoxia‐ischemia and formation of free radicals (FR) appear to play key roles. Melatonin, an endogenously produced indoleamine formed in higher amounts in adults than in neonates, is a potent FR scavenger as well as an indirect antioxidant. Herein, we examined whether melatonin provides significant protection against brain damage and its long‐term consequences in a neonatal model of hypoxia‐ischemia (HI). Seven day‐old rats were subjected to permanent legation of the right common carotid artery followed to 2.5 hrs hypoxia 3 hrs later (HI). The neuroprotective effect of melatonin was evaluated 7 days after HI, or when rats reached adulthood, using behavioral and histological analyses. A beneficial effect was observed with 5 mg/kg melatonin administered before HI. The same dose repeated three times reduced further injury. A significant protective effect was found when 15 mg/kg melatonin was given 30 min before HI or when the same dose was given after HI and administration repeated after 24 and 48 hrs. The latter schedule of administration was used to assess the long‐term protective effects. Melatonin did not affect growth rate and behavior at adulthood, but significantly improved the behavioral asymmetry and learning deficits induced by HI. Consistently, brain injury was significantly attenuated in the melatonin‐treated ischemic group. The present study demonstrates that melatonin administration before or after HI in immature rats has an excellent and long‐lasting benefit on ischemic outcomes suggesting that the drug could represent a potentially safe approach to perinatal brain damage in humans.
Rituximab: novel B-cell depletion therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Significant numbers of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer from disease that is refractory to both conventional therapy and newer biological agents such as TNF-α inhibitors. These patients may respond insufficiently, lose an effective response, develop toxicity or carry contraindications to such agents. Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody against CD20 that effectively depletes B cells in peripheral blood, has been licensed for the treatment of certain haematological malignancies for almost 10 years. B cells are now known to have multiple key roles in the pathogenesis of RA. Data is now available that indicates efficacy and safety of B-cell depletion with rituximab in the treatment of RA in a variety of patient groups. The clinical outcomes from these studies, together with its safety profile, have led to rituximab being licensed for the treatment of patients with RA who have failed to obtain benefit from anti-TNF-α agents.
Prevalence and characteristics of Sjögren's syndrome or Sicca syndrome in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence and clinical and laboratory characteristics of sicca syndrome and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS Forty-five consecutive HCV infected patients referred for liver biopsy were enrolled in a prospective study. Subjective and objective criteria of xerophthalmia or xerostomia were systematically investigated and the patients classified according to 3 sets of criteria (European, Manthorpe, and Fox criteria) for the diagnosis of SS. RESULTS Sicca syndrome was present in 28 (62%) patients; all had oral dryness and 14 had both oral and ocular dryness. Twenty-four (53%) patients had SS by the European criteria, 25 (56%) by Manthorpe criteria, and 4 (8%) by Fox criteria. Salivary gland biopsy was positive for SS (grade III or IV by Chishom classification) in 21 samples (47%); 9 samples (21%) were classified grade 0, and 15 (32%) grade I or II. No patient had anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibodies. The presence of SS or sicca syndrome was associated with older age and liver disease activity according to the METAVIR scoring system, but not with the presence of other extrahepatic manifestations or with HCV genotype. A high METAVIR activity score was only statistically associated with primary SS. CONCLUSION HCV infection appears to account for a subgroup of patients with sicca syndrome in which half the cases meet the definition for SS according to European and Manthorpe criteria. This subgroup is characterized by the constant finding of xerostomia, the absence of classical systemic manifestations observed in primary SS, and the absence of anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibodies. Such characteristics delineate a distinctive, virus associated entity that differs from primary SS.
A pilot study of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus-associated glomerulonephritis.

OBJECTIVE To determine the safety and tolerability, as well as the clinical and immunologic effects, of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (2-CdA) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus-associated glomerulonephritis. METHODS In a phase I study, 12 patients with proliferative lupus nephritis received 2-CdA either in weekly escalating intravenous treatments (0.15 mg/kg/week x 4, 0.1875 mg/kg/week x 4, 0.225 mg/kg/week x 4; n = 5) or in a continuous 7-day infusion (0.05 mg/kg/day; n = 7). Safety, renal improvement, and immunologic effects were evaluated for 12 months. RESULTS Patients treated with 2-CdA showed peripheral lymphocyte depletion without a significant reduction in neutrophil, monocyte, or platelet numbers or hematocrit levels. Naive and memory T cells were decreased, as were lymphocytes with markers of early and late activation. Peripheral B cell depletion was not associated with significant decreases in serum immunoglobulin levels. Continuous infusion induced better clinical responses than weekly infusions, as evidenced by 1) the percentage of patients showing complete response (43% versus 0%), 2) the percentage with at least 50% reduction in proteinuria (43% versus 20%), 3) the percentage with at least a 50% reduction in urinary dysmorphic red cells (57% versus 0%), and 4) the percentage in whom cellular casts disappeared (43% versus 0%). Several infections occurred; these responded to standard antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSION In this pilot study, 2-CdA was safely administered to 12 patients with lupus nephritis. It induced prolonged reductions in lymphocyte populations and may be efficacious in selected patients with lupus nephritis when administered as a continuous infusion.
iLight: Device-Free Passive Tracking Using Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we study indoor passive tracking problem using wireless sensor networks, in which we assume that a target being tracked is clean, i.e., there is no any equipment carried by the target, hence, the tracking procedure is considered to be passive. We first show that received signal strength indicator and link quality indicator are not as effective as expected for passive detection (tracking) through our extensive testbed studies, and further propose to utilize light to track targets using WSNs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work, which studies the passive tracking problem in WSNs using light sensors and general light sources. We present a number of probability-based algorithms to study the moving patterns (properties) of targets being tracked. We design and implement our tracking system named as iLight consisting of 40 wireless sensor nodes and one base station. Through extensive experimental results, we show that iLight can track both single target and multiple targets efficiently.
POSTURAL DRAINAGE OF RESPIRATORY TRACT FLUID IN PHOSGENE‐INDUCED PULMONARY OEDEMA

Cats and dogs were given phosgene by inhalation at a dose in the range of the LD50. During the hour or two before death, the volume output of respiratory tract fluid increased some 30‐fold in half the animals and its lipid and sodium chloride contents were similar to those of blood plasma. Postural pulmonary drainage did not augment the volume output of respiratory tract fluid nor consistently affect chemical or histological measurements upon the lungs and chemical measurements upon respiratory tract fluid and blood. Postural pulmonary drainage did not increase the survival rate of intact rats exposed to phosgene. The ability of the animals to excrete such large volumes of respiratory tract fluid appeared to be due to a marked reserve capacity of the ciliary drainage mechanism which was evidently not affected by the dose of phosgene given to these animals.
Parametric Data Association Prior for Multi-target Tracking based on Rao-Blackwellized Monte Carlo Data Association

Association of observations to underlying targets is a crucial task in probabilistic tracking of multiple targets. The Rao-Blackwellized Monte Carlo Data Association (RBMCDA) framework circumvents the combinatorial explosion by approximating the joint distribution of targets and association variables by Monte Carlo samples in the space of association variables. We present a parametric data association prior distribution required by RBMCDA, which models the formation of observations. To sample from this distribution an efficient algorithm is developed. The Interacting Multiple Models (IMM) filter is integrated into the RBMCDA framework to model the changing dynamics of targets aiming at tracking small particles in microscopy images. The proposed method is evaluated in a proof of concept and evaluated using synthetic data.
Y Chromosome Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Typing by SNaPshot MINISEQUENCING

Y Chromosome Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Typing by SNaPshot MINISEQUENCING Analysis of Y chromosome haplogroups, defined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), is now a standard approach for study of the origin of human populations and measurement of the variability among them. It is also a new forensic tool, because it may allow determination of the origin of any male sample of interest. We have used a strategy for rapid, simple and inexpensive Y chromosome SNP typing of 343 male DNA samples, of which 211 were Macedonians, 111 Albanians and 21 Roma, Serbs or Turks. Using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) and a SNaPshot multiplex kit for single nucleotide extension reaction, 28 markers were grouped into five multiplexes. Twenty different Y haplogroups were found in these samples. The most common Y haplogroups in Macedonians were I2a-P37b (27.5%), E1b1b1a-M78 (15.6%), R1a1-SRY1532 (14.2%) and R1b1-P25 (11.4%). In the Albanians E1b1b1a-M78 accounted for 28.8%, R1b1-P25 for 18.0%, J2b2-M241 for 13.5% and R1a1-SRY1532 for 12.6%. We conclude that five haplogroups (E1b1b1a-M78, I2a-P37b, J2b2-M241, R1a1-SRY1532 and R1b1-P25) comprised 72.6% of the Y chromosomes, this being characteristic of the typical European Y chromosome gene pool.