Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bisphosphonates in breast cancer: teaching an old dog new tricks

Purpose of review Bisphosphonates are potent inhibitors of bone resorption that reduce the risk of skeletal complications and prevent treatment-induced bone loss. However, recent data suggest that bisphosphonate use in breast cancer may provide more than just supportive care and modify the course of the disease by disrupting the metastatic process. Recent findings Research in the metastatic setting is focused on refining treatment, using bone markers to identify high-risk patients and define optimal schedules, potentially leading to personalized therapy. In the prevention of cancer treatment-induced bone loss (CTIBL), a large number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of oral and intravenous bisphosphonates and recent guidelines have defined management strategies for CTIBL. Preclinical studies have reported direct antitumour effects of bisphosphonates, particularly in combination with chemotherapy. In the clinical setting the antitumour effect is less clear, but recent data suggest that zoledronic acid may modify the course of the disease and reduce disease recurrence. Summary Bisphosphonates are comprehensively established in the treatment of metastatic bone disease and significantly reduce skeletal morbidity. Their role in the prevention of cancer treatment-induced bone disease is also defined. The potential antitumour and disease-modifying role of adjuvant bisphosphonates holds promise but results from ongoing studies must be awaited before this becomes standard practice.
Matrix metalloproteinases in renal development and disease.

Remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important physiologic feature of normal growth and development. Many diseases have been associated with an imbalance of ECM synthesis and degradation, which may result in an accumulation of ECM molecules (1). In the kidney, these processes can lead to interstitial fibrosis, which has been reviewed elsewhere (2‐ 4), and glomerulosclerosis (5). Progressive glomerulosclerosis leading to end-stage renal failure is a complication of a variety of diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, glomerulonephritis, focal sclerosis, chronic transplant rejection, or obstruction (6 ‐11). Although many studies have tried to elucidate the pathogenesis, the exact underlying mechanisms are still not completely understood. While increased synthesis of ECM certainly plays an important role, recent studies have focused on the role of degradative systems. The major physiologic regulators of ECM degradation in the glomerulus are matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) (12). Both glomerular disease and normal renal development are characterized by a high rate of ECM turnover. Since the underlying mechanisms may follow similar patterns, we will discuss the role of MMP in chronic glomerular disease and normal renal development, and we will highlight implications of experimental findings for human renal disease.
Modulation of ASIC channels in rat cerebellar purkinje neurons by ischaemia‐related signals

Acid‐sensing ion channels (ASICs), activated by a decrease of extracellular pH, are found in neurons throughout the nervous system. They have an amino acid sequence similar to that of ion channels activated by membrane stretch, and have been implicated in touch sensation. Here we characterize the pH‐dependent activation of ASICs in cerebellar Purkinje cells and investigate how they are modulated by factors released in ischaemia. Lowering the external pH from 7.4 activated an inward current at −66 mV, carried largely by Na+ ions, which was half‐maximal for a step to pH 6.4 and was blocked by amiloride and gadolinium. The H+‐gated current desensitized within a few seconds, but approximately 30% of cells showed a sustained inward current (11% of the peak current) in response to the maintained presence of pH 6 solution. The peak H+‐evoked current was potentiated by membrane stretch (which occurs in ischaemia when [K+]o rises) and by arachidonic acid (which is released when [Ca2+]i rises in ischaemia). Arachidonic acid increased to 77% the fraction of cells showing a sustained current evoked by acid pH. The ASIC currents were also potentiated by lactate (which is released when metabolism becomes anaerobic in ischaemia) and by FMRFamide (which may mimic the action of related mammalian RFamide transmitters). These data reinforce suggestions of a mechanosensory aspect to ASIC channel function, and show that the activation of ASICs reflects the integration of multiple signals which are present during ischaemia.
Small Grain Residue Management Effects on Soil Organic Carbon: A Literature Review

Impact of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw removal from fields on soil organic C (SOC) is a concern. Increased animal populations and potential development of cellulosic ethanol production could increase the removal of straw from fields. This paper focuses on the effects of wheat and barley straw removal on SOC in irrigated production systems, and related the results to estimates of the minimum straw C inputs required to maintain SOC (MSC) from rain-fed systems. Six studies compared SOC changes with time in irrigated systems in which wheat straw was removed or retained. These studies indicated that SOC did not decline when residues were removed. Apparently belowground biomass is supplying C to irrigated soils at a rate sufficient to maintain SOC with time. However, under rain-fed systems, returning residue to the soil was required to maintain SOC. Estimates of MSC were obtained from nine rain-fed wheat system studies. Averaged across all rain-fed MSC values, 4.14 Mg more straw per ha was required to maintain SOC in rain-fed than in irrigated systems. Presently, the rain-fed based MSC values are the best information available to evaluating residue removal effects but caution should be used in applying these in irrigated systems. The results from this limited number of irrigated studies suggest that rain-fed estimates of MSC will overestimate the MSC in irrigated systems and underestimate the available irrigated straw resources. There is need to evaluate the effect of residue removal on SOC for diverse irrigated systems.
Dexmedetomidine-Induced Decreases in Accumbal Dopamine in the Rat Are Partly Mediated via the Locus Coeruleus

We have demonstrated previously that the systemic administration of the selective α2-adrenoceptor agonist dexmedetomidine (Dex) decreases extracellular dopamine (DA) levels in the rat nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Because the locus ceruleus (LC) is a noradrenergic center linked to several of the pharmacological effects of Dex, we investigated the role of the LC in Dex-induced modulation of accumbal DA. Microdialysis probes were implanted in the NAcc and LC of Sprague-Dawley rats, and Dex 5 mM (Dex-High, n = 6), Dex 0.5 mM (Dex-Mid, n = 5), Dex 5 &mgr;M (Dex-Low, n = 6), or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (control, n = 5) was administered in the LC via retrograde microdialysis for 45 min. Extracellular DA levels were continuously measured in the NAcc dialysates using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection. Dex produced significant decreases in extracellular DA in the NAcc. Accumbal DA decreased maximally to 68.9% ± 8.8%, 75.1% ± 6.5%, and 77.04% ± 12.8% of baseline in the Dex-High, Dex-Mid, and Dex-Low groups, respectively. No significant decrease in extracellular DA was observed in the control group. The coadministration of the highly selective α2-adrenoceptor antagonist (n = 6) RS 79948 20 mM prevented the Dex-induced decrease in accumbal DA. These data suggest that the LC plays a role in Dex-induced modulation of mesolimbic DA and support the hypothesis that noradrenergic systems can regulate remote dopaminergic sites in the central nervous system.
Effects of Short Term Hypoxia-Preconditioning on Glial Phenotype Induction of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Development of successful clinical treatments for peripheral nerve injury is limited due to the complications behind neural physiology. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have the ability to directly promote tissue repair and protect cells at the injury site. Studies have shown that hMSCs can be transplanted to improve nerve regeneration. Hypoxic culture condition has been proven to maintain the stemness of hMSCs for later differentiation. In this study, we investigated the effects of low oxygen (O 2 ) (2% and 5% O 2 ) pre-treatment and initial seeding density (500, 1000, and 2000 cells/cm 2 ) on glial protein expression during glial differentiation of hMSCs. Results showed that the secretion of glial proteins was tunable by modifying the seeding density. Moreover, glial induction of hMSCs, characterized by the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S100β expressing phenotype, were enhanced by short-term hypoxia pretreatment. The significantly increased gene expression, including GFAP (10 folds in 2% O 2 , 25 folds in 5% O 2 ), 2’,3’-Cyclic Nucleotide 3’ Phosphodiesterase (CNP) (600 folds in 2% O 2 , 800 folds in 5% O 2 ), and neural growth factor receptor (NGFR) (4 folds in 5% O 2 ), indicated that low oxygen, especially 5% O 2 pretreated hMSCs had an improved potential for peripheral nerve regeneration.
Recognition of faces: an approach to the study of autism.

SUMMARY Two age groups of normal, autistic and subnormal children were tested for their ability to recognize the faces of peers from isolated facial features and inverted photographs. The normal and subnormal subjects found the upper regions of the face most helpful for identification, whereas the younger autistic children found the lower features more helpful. The older autistic children showed no specific reliance on any one area, but were found to have error scores as low as those of the younger autistic children on the recognition of lower parts and error scores as low as the; controls on recognizing upper portions. The results are discussed and are found to favour a hypothesis in which the autistic child's familiarity with the mouth and/or eye areas is related to a cognitive deficit which affects the processing of both verbal and non-verbal interpersonal communication.
Influence of macronutrients on adiposity development: a follow up study of nutrition and growth from 10 months to 8 years of age.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between early nutrient intake and adiposity development. DESIGN A follow up study of nutrition and growth carried out in a sample of 112 French children from 10 months to 8 years of age. MEASUREMENTS Nutritional intakes at the age of 2 years and anthropometric measurements: Body Mass Index (BMI), subscapular and triceps skinfolds at the age of 8 years, and age at adiposity rebound assessed on the basis of BMI development. RESULTS The BMI at the age of 8 years is positively correlated with energy intake at the age of 2 years, but this correlation becomes non significant after adjustment for BMI at 2 years. Protein (% of energy) intake at the age of 2 years is positively correlated with BMI and subscapular skinfold at 8 years after adjustment for energy intake at 2 years and parental BMI. The percentage of protein at 2 years is negatively associated with age at adiposity rebound, i.e. the higher the protein intake at 2 years, the earlier the adiposity rebound and the higher the subsequent BMI level. CONCLUSION Protein at the age of 2 years is the only nutrient intake associated with fatness development pattern. A high protein intake increases body fatness at 8 years of age, via an early adiposity rebound. The association between protein intake and obesity is consistent with the increased stature and accelerated growth of obese children. A high fat low protein diet (such as human milk) is adapted to high energy demand for growth in early childhood. Our results suggest that high protein diet early in life could increase the risk of obesity and other pathologies later in life.
The health of the aging Malaysian: policy implications.

In Malaysia, the elderly are still a relatively neglected group of people in that little priority is given to the important health issues associated with an aging population. This paper examines some of the relevant findings obtained during a survey which was carried out in 1984/1985. These findings have serious policy implications concerning family support, work, income, retirement, community involvement, socialnetwork, transport, and housing as pertaining to the elderly. There is an urgent need, as the population ages and social changes occur in society, for health planners, politicians and policy-makers to scrutinise the existing policies and develop new policies so as to retain those traditional practices that support, improve and maintain the psychological and social well-being of the elderly; and to develop new policies and programmes thus promoting a better lease of life for this small but important group to whom we owe so much.
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACTS OF SEED ORIGIN ON GRASSLAND RESTORATION SUCCESS

When landscapes are heavily impacted by biological invasion, local populations of native plant species may no longer be adapted to altered environmental conditions. In these cases, it is useful to investigate alternative sources of germplasm, such as cultivated varieties, for planting at restoration sites. This study compared cultivated and wild (local) varieties of the native perennial bunchgrass, Poa secunda J. Presl (Sandberg bluegrass), grown with and without Bromus tectorum L. While cultivated varieties emerged and grew more rapidly than wild seed sources, this advantage declined in the presence of B. tectorum and cultivated germplasm did not outperform wild accessions in the presence of an invasive species. Given the novel genetic background of cultivars and the potential for cultivated varieties to alter patterns of dominance in native plant communities, we recommend the use of local or regional wild seed sources when possible to conserve regional patterns of genetic diversity and adaptation. In cases where sites are heavily impacted by exotic, invasive species, use of multiple wild or cultivated seed sources may improve the potential for capturing vigorous genotypes that, in conjunction with other control measures, may improve establishment of native species in grassland restoration programs.
Self-reported distress after cognitive testing in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND The prevalence and degree of self-reported distress that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience after cognitive testing remain unknown. It is also unknown whether this level of distress is at all related to specific patient factors, test performance, or awareness of test performance. METHODS In 154 mild-to-moderate AD patients and 62 cognitively intact patients, we measured self-reported distress, on a five-point Likert scale, after 45 minutes of cognitive testing. Using multivariate logistic regression, we then examined whether demographic factors, level of education, depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, perceived test difficulty, and perceived test performance compared to 10 years ago were predictive of self-reported distress. RESULTS The prevalence of any self-reported distress in patients with AD was 70% compared to 47% in patients without AD (p <.001). Of persons with AD, bivariate analyses revealed that those who reported more difficulty with testing (relative risk [RR] 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-1.37) and felt that they performed worse than 10 years ago (RR 1.21; 95% CI, 1.07-1.30) were at increased risk for reporting more distress. Paradoxically, cognitive performance was a weak predictor of distress, with only language performance demonstrating an association (RR 0.95; 95% CI, 0.89-0.99). Adjustments for demographic factors, education, dementia severity, or depressive symptoms in the multivariable analyses did not alter these relationships. CONCLUSION Cognitive tasks provoke more distress in patients with mild-to-moderate AD compared with persons who do not have dementia. Predictors of distress are more closely related to patient awareness about test difficulty and performance, rather than actual test performance.
Estimating the Largest Eigenvalue by the Power and Lanczos Algorithms with a Random Start

This paper addresses the problem of computing an approximation to the largest eigenvalue of an $n \times n$ large symmetric positive definite matrix with relative error at most $\varepsilon $. Only algorithms that use Krylov information $[b,Ab, \cdots ,A^k b]$ consisting of k matrix-vector multiplications for some unit vector b are considered. If the vector b is chosen deterministically, then the problem cannot be solved no matter how many matrix-vector multiplications are performed and what algorithm is used. If, however, the vector b is chosen randomly with respect to the uniform distribution over the unit sphere, then the problem can be solved on the average and probabilistically. More precisely, for a randomly chosen vector b, the power and Lanczos algorithms are studied. For the power algorithm (method), sharp bounds on the average relative error and on the probabilistic relative failure are proven. For the Lanczos algorithm only upper bounds are presented. In particular, $\ln ( n )/( n ) k $ charact.
Use of Pallidal Deep Brain Stimulation in Postinfarct Hemidystonia

Background/Aims: Reports of outcomes in treating dystonia secondary to stroke with deep brain stimulation (DBS) are limited. We report our experience with 3 patients, all with infarcts involving the striatum, who developed hemidystonia and were treated with unilateral globus pallidus interna DBS. Methods: Case series describing characteristics and outcomes based on the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) scores before and after DBS at 3, 6 and at least 12 months. Results: All patients reported subjective improvements after surgery. At 1 year or more after surgery, none of the 3 patients displayed a measureable improvement in the BFMDRS movement score. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with previous reports of limited benefits from pallidal DBS in secondary dystonia. Future work should focus on predictive factors for DBS outcomes and the development of more sensitive assessment tools specifically for secondary dystonias as well as the exploration of alternative brain targets for stimulation.
Construction and application research of Active Distribution Network Situation Awareness System

Due to lack of the “Source-network-load” global perception and multiple time-scale situation awareness, the current distribution network cannot meet the requirements of the active distribution network (ADN) such as active control and active management. An ADN situation awareness system based on distributed monitoring and multi-source information fusion is proposed in this paper. By constructing a multi-level distributed monitoring system based on Internet of Things (IOT) technology, monitoring objects of distribution network are expanded to achieve global awareness in spatial scale. In the light of the randomness and volatility risk of distribution network operation, it is necessary to enhance observability of situation awareness in time scale. Thus, the situation awareness technology of distribution network based on multi-source information fusion is provided, which is constituted of the multi-source information fusion, source-load forecasting, fast simulation analysis, risk assessment and warning and visualization modules. Finally, the operation cockpit visualization technology enables operators to efficiently capture accurate distribution network security situation trend. The ADN Situation Awareness System Demonstration Project is currently being carried out by State Grid Jiangsu Power Company, the actual operation indicates that it can effectively enhance the operation situation awareness and risk early-warning capability.
A Review of the Uses of Poultry Eggshells and Shell Membranes

This study was conducted to find out the multiple uses of eggshells in nutrition and medicine. Eggshells can be utilized for various purposes that minimize their effect on environmental pollution. Eggshells present healthy, balanced calcium due to its trace amounts of other minerals and is probably the best natural source of calcium. One whole medium sized eggshell makes about one teaspoon of powder, which yields about 750-800 mgs of elemental calcium plus other micro elements. Eggshell powder has been reported to increase bone mineral density in people and animals with osteoporosis. In laying hens in the late production phase, eggshell powder has been found to increase egg production and improve the quality of shells. Discarded eggshells are often used as a plant fertilizer and are effective liming sources. This is because eggshells contain calcium that raises, or neutralizes, the pH level of overly acidic soil. Chicken eggshells can be used as an alternative soil stabilizer like lime since they have the same chemical composition. Such stabilized soil can be used as subgrade materials in road construction works. Eggshell membrane consists of collagen as a component. Collagen is a type of protein, fibrous in nature that connects and supports other bodily tissues, such as skin, bone, tendons, muscles and cartilage. Collagen has been isolated mainly from bovine and swine skins and bones Collagen used in medicine, biochemical, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. After the outbreaks of bovine spongioform encephalopathy, foot and mouth disease, autoimmune and allergic reactions, restrictions on collagen uses from these sources were enforced. Eggshell membrane collagen is very low in autoimmune and allergic reactions as well as high in bio-safety and is of similar characteristics to other mammalian collagen. Eggshells/shell membranes have multiple uses in nutrition, medicine, construction and art works.
Specification of a MIB XML for systems management

This work presents an XML application for systems management. The main purpose is showing how to map the information from a MIB to a XML document. It introduces the system management architecture based on SNMP and XML agents. According to the MIB proposed a DTD file, containing the available information structure, is specified to represent the management information. The mapping from MIB to XML document follows some rules: identifiers are defined to mapping the management information representation; the script file is created to associate the information from the DTD file to an identifier; The collect file is created to represent the MIB with the information collected automatically from the system management; the XML file is created from the DTD file using the script (contents) and collect (information) files. A Web application is also presented to show the use of XML document as a MIB and its results.
Recognition of Music Performances through Audio Matching

This paper reports a methodology for the identification of different music performances of the same music score. A statistical model of the possible performances of a given score is built from the recording of a single performance. To this end, the audio recording undergoes a segmentation process, followed by the extraction of the most relevant features of each segment. The model is built associating a state for each event and by modeling its emissions according to the computed features. The approach has been tested with a collection of orchestral music.