Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Experimental detection of the paraspecific effects of purified and inactivated poxviruses].

The paraspecific effect of pox viruses i.e. stimulation of the nonspecific part of the complex immune system, was demonstrated in vitro and in vivo for 3 different types of virus (vaccinia virus, avipox virus, parapox virus). By means of purification, concentration and inactivation, it was possible to prove that the paraspecific effect is brought about by the pox virus particle per se. The effect is induced by certain epitopes in the complex structure of the virus and is independent of virus multiplication. Both purified pox viruses and inactivated, purified pox viruses stimulate NK cell activity, the CSA and the formation of interferon, and reach higher efficacy indices in a challenge test with baby mice using stomatitis vesicularis virus than non-purified and non-inactivated cell culture material. The degree of purity of the pox virus preparations was established using the electron microscope and monoclonal antibodies. The purified and concentrated pox virus preparations proved to be pyrogen-free; they were not toxic to baby mice in vivo. An endotoxin-induced effect could be ruled out. The broad paraspecific effect of pox viruses and their structural components lends itself to use as paramunity inducers in prophylaxis and therapy.
Antibacterial Activity of 7-Epiclusianone and Its Novel Copper Metal Complex on Streptococcus spp. Isolated from Bovine Mastitis and Their Cytotoxicity in MAC-T Cells

Mastitis is an inflammation of mammary gland parenchyma that adversely affects bovine health and dairy production worldwide despite significant efforts to eradicate it. The aim of this work was to characterize the antimicrobial activity of 7-epiclusianone (7-epi), a compound extracted from the Rheedia brasiliensis fruit, its complex with copper against Streptococcus spp. isolated from bovine mastitis, and to assess their cytotoxicity to bovine mammary alveolar cells (MAC-T). The complex 7-epiclusianone-Cu (7-epi-Cu) was an amorphous green solid with optical activity. Its vibrational spectrum in the infrared region showed absorption bands in the high-frequency region, as well as bands that can be attributed to the unconjugated and conjugated stretching of the free ligand. The complex was anhydrous. One of the tested bacterial strains was not sensitive to the compounds, while the other three had MIC values of 7.8 µg mL−1 and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values between 15.6 and 31.3 µg mL−1. These two compounds are bacteriostatic, did not cause damage to the cell wall and, at sub-inhibitory concentrations, did not induce bacterial adhesion. The compounds were not cytotoxic. Based on these results, 7-epi and 7-epi-Cu exhibited desirable antimicrobial properties and could potentially be used in bovine mastitis treatment.
Nondemented Parkinson Disease Patients: Is Cognitive Performance Associated With Depressive Difficulties?

BackgroundPoorer cognitive performance in depressed versus nondepressed nondemented Parkinson disease (PD) patients has been suggested. ObjectiveInvestigate the relationship between level of depression assessed on a depression-measuring scale and cognitive performance in nondemented PD patients. MethodsNondemented idiopathic PD patients (n=110) were evaluated for the level of depression [cognitive-affective items of the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI)] and performance in a set of tests evaluating cognitive domains typically affected in PD (memory, visuospatial, and executive functions). ResultsMultiple regression analysis of BDI scores demonstrated independent association of poorer cognitive performance, more severe parkinsonism, and poorer education with higher BDI scores. The association between poorer cognition and higher BDI scores was conditional on education, that is, was apparent only in less educated patients (<12 y of formal education). ConclusionsPoorer cognitive performance in nondemented idiopathic PD patients is associated with more severe depressive difficulties. Poorer education is also associated with more severe depression. Education modifies the cognition-depression relationship.
Clinical Features of Bipolar Disorder with and without Comorbid Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: Several papers have reported higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 in patients suffering from bipolar disorder (BD). The possible links between these 2 disorders include treatment, lifestyle, alterations in signal transduction, and possibly, a genetic link. To study this relation more closely, we investigated whether there are any differences in the clinical characteristics of BD patients with and without DM. Method: We compared the clinical data of 26 diabetic and 196 nondiabetic subjects from The Maritime Bipolar Registry. Subjects were aged 15 to 82 years, with psychiatric diagnoses of BD I (n = 151), BD II (n = 65), and BD not otherwise specified (n = 6). The registry included basic demographic data and details on the clinical course of bipolar illness, its treatment, and physical comorbidity. In a subsequent analysis using logistic regression, we examined the variables showing differences between groups, with diabetes as an outcome variable. Results: The prevalence of DM in our sample was 11.7% (n = 26). Diabetic patients were significantly older than nondiabetic patients (P < 0.001), had higher rates of rapid cycling (P = 0.02) and chronic course of BD (P = 0.006), scored lower on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (P = 0.01), were more often on disability for BD (P < 0.001), and had higher body mass index (P < 0.001) and increased frequency of hypertension (P = 0.003). Lifetime history of treatment with antipsychotics was not significantly associated with an elevated risk of diabetes (P = 0.16); however, the data showed a trend toward more frequent use of antipsychotic medication among diabetic subjects. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the diagnosis of DM in BD patients is relevant for their prognosis and outcome.
Heterogeneity in the Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems in Flanders

We study the determinants of PV adoption in the region of Flanders (Belgium), where PV adoption reached high levels during 2006–2012, because of active government intervention. Based on a unique dataset at a very detailed spatial level, we estimate a Poisson model to explain the heterogeneity in adoption rates. We obtain the following findings. First, local policies have a robust and significant impact on PV adoption. Second, there is a strong unconditional income effect, implying a Matthew effect in the subsidization of PVs. Our third finding is however that this income effect is largely driven by the fact that wealthier households are more likely to adopt because they tend to be higher users, are more frequent house owners, or own houses that are better suited for PV. In several extensions, we consider the determinants of the average size of installed PVs, and the differential impact of certain variables over time.
Sub-terahertz slow-wave circuits for coherent radiation sources

In this letter, we propose sub-terahertz (sub-THz) slow-wave circuits for coherent radiation sources through beam-wave interaction mechanism. The circuits are prepared using microfabrication in advanced silicon (Si) technologies. Our approach is to split the circuit into multi levels allowing a low aspect ratio configuration and alleviating the loading effect of deep-reactive-ion etching on silicon wafers. This makes it easier to achieve flat-etched bottom and smooth sidewall profiles in nanoscale accuracy for high frequency operation. The dispersion relation retrieved from the measurement, therefore, corresponds well to the theoretical estimation. In particular, the sub-THz radiation is successfully measured in pulsed operation through the vacuum-sealed integration of the slow-wave circuit with a 15-kV, 90-mA thermionic electron gun. This observation offers a promising opportunity for the development of terahertz radiation sources based on silicon micro- and nanofabrication technologies.
Monocytes from Sjögren's syndrome patients display increased vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor 2 expression and impaired apoptotic cell phagocytosis

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by salivary and lacrimal gland dysfunction. Clinical observations and results from animal models of SS support the role of aberrant epithelial cell apoptosis and immune homeostasis loss in the glands as triggering factors for the autoimmune response. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) promotes potent anti‐inflammatory effects in several inflammatory and autoimmune disease models, including the non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of SS. With the knowledge that VIP modulates monocyte function through vasoactive intestinal peptide receptors (VPAC) and that immune homeostasis maintenance depends strongly upon a rapid and immunosuppressant apoptotic cell clearance by monocytes/macrophages, in this study we explored VPAC expression on monocytes from primary SS (pSS) patients and the ability of VIP to modulate apoptotic cell phagocytic function and cytokine profile. Monocytes isolated from individual pSS patients showed an increased expression of VPAC2 subtype of VIP receptors, absent in monocytes from control subjects, with no changes in VPAC1 expression. VPAC2 receptor expression could be induced further with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in pSS monocytes and VIP inhibited the effect. Moreover, monocytes from pSS patients showed an impaired phagocytosis of apoptotic epithelial cells, as evidenced by reduced engulfment ability and the failure to promote an immunosuppressant cytokine profile. However, VIP neither modulated monocyte/macrophage phagocytic function nor did it reverse their inflammatory profile. We conclude that monocytes from pSS patients express high levels of VPAC2 and display a deficient clearance of apoptotic cells that is not modulated by VIP.
IN PRODUCT MARKETS

WHILE THE OVERALL IMPORTANCE of drawing a distinction between information concerning characteristics of goods which are directly observable and information concerning characteristics of goods which cannot be observed without actual "consumption" in some appropriate sense has just begun to be realized, labor economists have implicitly been making use of the distinction for some time. For example, researchers studying labor mobility in the early fifties such as Reynolds [9] emphasized that high job turnover by young workers could be explained in part as a kind of job-shopping. More recently, Pencavel [7] has used the notion that all characteristics of jobs cannot be observed by simply sampling firms as the basis for an equilibrium model of job quits, and Wilde [10] has explored optimal search strategies when jobs are characterized by multiple characteristics, some of which are directly observable and others of which cannot be observed without actually taking the job. Besides these applications to the quit-rate, the distinction between different kinds of information can be used to analyze a number of economic phenomenon, both in the labor market and in other markets characterized by imperfect and costly information. Stiglitz [8] has applied it to the economic theory of screening and education, and Nelson [6] has used it in a unique approach to consumer behavior in product markets. Nelson partitions goods into two classes: search goods and experience goods. The distinction between the two classes is drawn in terms of the consumer's preferred mode of evaluating the potential stream of utility yielded by purchasing a good. For search goods the evaluation occurs prior to purchase; that is, a decision to purchase the good is based only on price (and other directly observable characteristics), not on any unobservable qualitative features of the product. Experience goods are those for which the primary information process used to evaluate the potential utility of a purchase is actual consumption of the good. This paper is motivated in part by Nelson's work but, unlike it, the focus is directly on individual characteristics as opposed to total packages of characteristics. That is, two classes of characteristics are defined. Search characteristics are those which can be observed without actually consuming the good, and experience characteristics are those which cannot be observed without consumption. Investment in information about search characteristics will be called inspection, as suggested by Hirshleifer [1], and investment in information about experience characteristics will be called evaluation. To see the difference between this approach and Nelson's, suppose a good is described by a vector of characteristics (x1, x2, . .,xn). Nelson implicitly assumes
Serotonin storage and chromogranins: an experimental study in rat gastric endocrine cells.

Chromogranins (Cg) and secretogranins (Sg) are acidic proteins localized in the secretory granules of a large variety of endocrine cells collectively named APUD cells (amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation). To examine the possible function of Cg/Sg as amine storage proteins, enteroendocrine cells of the rat gastric antral mucosa, i.e., serotonin-containing enterochromaffin (EC)-cells, gastrin (G)-, and somatostatin (D)-cells, were investigated immunohistochemically in serial semi-thin sections of controls and after intervention in serotonin synthesis. CgA and CgB immunoreactivity was determined semiquantitatively by optical density measurements. Experiments included inhibition of serotonin synthesis by p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA), exogenous application of the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), and a combination of both treatments. The cellular distribution of Cg and the density of its immunoreactivity were closely related to the primary content of serotonin and the ability to store serotonin after 5-HTP application. Thus, Cg may act as amine-binding proteins in enteroendocrine cells, binding most probably being due to ionic interactions between Cg and the biogenic amines. EC- and G-cells, however, differed in their amine-handling properties and in the response of their Cg immunoreactivity after intervention in serotonin synthesis. We conclude, therefore, that the physiological function of Cg as amine storage proteins is restricted to endocrine cells with an endogenous content of amines. In other endocrine cells, exhibiting only a potential amine production, APUD may be considered as a kind of supravital staining without physiological significance.
A dual‐specific anti‐IGF‐1/IGF‐2 human monoclonal antibody alone and in combination with temsirolimus for therapy of neuroblastoma

The insulin‐like growth factors (IGFs), IGF‐1 and IGF‐2, have been implicated in the growth, survival and metastasis of a broad range of malignancies including pediatric tumors. They bind to the IGF receptor type 1 (IGF‐1R) and the insulin receptor (IR) which are overexpressed in many types of solid malignancies. Activation of the IR by IGF‐2 results in increased survival of tumor cells. We have previously identified a novel human monoclonal antibody, m708.5, which binds with high (pM) affinity to both human IGF‐1 and IGF‐2, and potently inhibits phosphorylation of the IGF‐1R and the IR in tumor cells. m708.5 exhibited strong antitumor activity as a single agent against most cell lines derived from neuroblastoma, Ewing family of tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma. When tested in neuroblastoma cell lines, it showed strong synergy with temsirolimus and synergy with chemotherapeutic agents in vitro. In xenograft models, the combination of m708.5 and temsirolimus significantly inhibited neuroblastoma growth and prolonged mouse survival. Taken together, these results support the clinical development of m708.5 for pediatric solid tumors with potential for synergy with chemotherapy and mTOR inhibitors.
Delayed contrast enhancement of ascitic fluid on CT: frequency and significance.

OBJECTIVE Enhancing peritoneal fluid has been described as an uncommon finding resulting from active extravasation of contrast material from the bowel, urinary tract, or blood vessels. We have noted that enhancing peritoneal fluid occurs in other clinical settings. The CT number of ascites frequently increases between initial images obtained during bolus injection of IV contrast material and delayed images obtained after completion of the routine study. The objective of this study was to define the frequency and clinical significance of this phenomenon. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Fifty patients (32 with malignant disease and 18 with benign disease) with free intraperitoneal fluid were examined with abdominal CT with IV contrast material. Active intraperitoneal bleeding or perforation of the bowel or bladder was not clinically suspected in any patient studied. When intraperitoneal fluid was detected on review of initial dynamic scans, a limited number of delayed scans were obtained also. Significant enhancement was determined by comparing the CT numbers of fluid on dynamic and delayed images. RESULTS Significant delayed enhancement of intraperitoneal fluid was seen in 54% of patients, with increases averaging 25 H (range, 7-54 H). Parametric analysis indicated enhancement was inversely proportional to the amount of intraperitoneal fluid but independent of the type of IV contrast material (ionic vs nonionic), time delay (range, 10-104 min), clinical history, and serum creatinine and serum albumin levels. Enhancement occurred in both malignant and benign diseases and was more likely when small amounts of ascites were present. CONCLUSION Enhancement of intraperitoneal fluid is a common and often striking finding on delayed CT scans after administration of IV contrast material. The phenomenon is nonspecific, occurring in a wide spectrum of clinical conditions. Caution should be used in interpreting the significance of high-attenuation intraperitoneal fluid on delayed images to avoid an erroneous diagnosis of active intraperitoneal bleeding or contrast extravasation.
BLOOD TRANSFUSION IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN NIGERIA.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use of whole blood and blood products in our ICU to determine patterns and outcome after transfusion. DESIGN A retrospective, case-control study. SETTING The Intensive care unit (ICU) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, a seven-bed open unit for the management of surgical, medical and paediatric patients. SUBJECTS Patients who received blood transfusion in the ICU. Every patient who received blood transfusion was matched for a similar case without blood transfusion. Patients' socio-demographic characteristics, number of units of blood transfused, length of stay and outcomes were determined. RESULT Approximately 30% of all patients admitted during the study period were transfused with blood. Majority of these patients (83.2%) had one to three units of blood. Obstetrics and neuro-surgical patients had more blood transfused than others. Whole blood constituted > 85% of blood transfused while packed cells and fresh frozen plasma constituted 11.8% and 2.8% respectively. Blood transfusion did not have any significant impact on patients' length of stay and mortality. The number of units of blood transfused appears to be associated with poor outcome (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION Obstetric and neuro-surgical patients utilised blood and blood products in the ICU more than any other patients. The number of units of blood transfused was more predictive of mortality than the blood transfusion per se. A judicious use of blood and blood products, giving patients what they need and the development of transfusion guideline in the ICU is expedient.
A Critical Review of Complementary Therapies for Cancer-Related Fatigue

Purpose: To review the available literature on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments for cancer-related fatigue with an aim to develop directions for future research. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus were searched for relevant studies. Original clinical trials reporting on the use of CAM treatments for cancer-related fatigue were abstracted and critically reviewed. Results: CAM interventions tested for cancer-related fatigue include acupuncture, aromatherapy, adenosine triphosphate infusions, energy conservation and activity management, healing touch, hypnosis, lectinstandardized mistletoe extract, levocarnitine, massage, mindfulness-based stress reduction, polarity therapy, relaxation, sleep promotion, support group, and Tibetan yoga. Several of these interventions seem promising in initial studies. Conclusion: Currently, insufficient data exist to recommend any specific CAM modality for cancer-related fatigue. Therefore, potentially effective CAM interventions ready for further study in large, randomized clinical trials (eg, acupuncture, massage, levocarnitine, and the use of mistletoe) should be pursued. Other interventions should be tested in well-designed feasibility and phase II trials.
MicroRNA-122 Inhibits Tumorigenic Properties of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells and Sensitizes These Cells to Sorafenib*

MicroRNAs are negative regulators of protein coding genes. The liver-specific microRNA-122 (miR-122) is frequently suppressed in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). In situ hybridization demonstrated that miR-122 is abundantly expressed in hepatocytes but barely detectable in primary human HCCs. Ectopic expression of miR-122 in nonexpressing HepG2, Hep3B, and SK-Hep-1 cells reversed their tumorigenic properties such as growth, replication potential, clonogenic survival, anchorage-independent growth, migration, invasion, and tumor formation in nude mice. Further, miR-122-expressing HCC cells retained an epithelial phenotype that correlated with reduced Vimentin expression. ADAM10 (a distintegrin and metalloprotease family 10), serum response factor (SRF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (Igf1R) that promote tumorigenesis were validated as targets of miR-122 and were repressed by the microRNA. Conversely, depletion of the endogenous miR-122 in Huh-7 cells facilitated their tumorigenic properties with concomitant up-regulation of these targets. Expression of SRF or Igf1R partially reversed tumor suppressor function of miR-122. Further, miR-122 impeded angiogenic properties of endothelial cells in vitro. Notably, ADAM10, SRF, and Igf1R were up-regulated in primary human HCCs compared with the matching liver tissue. Co-labeling studies demonstrated exclusive localization of miR-122 in the benign livers, whereas SRF predominantly expressed in HCC. More importantly, growth and clonogenic survival of miR-122-expressing HCC cells were significantly reduced upon treatment with sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor clinically effective against HCC. Collectively, these results suggest that the loss of multifunctional miR-122 contributes to the malignant phenotype of HCC cells, and miR-122 mimetic alone or in combination with anticancer drugs can be a promising therapeutic regimen against liver cancer.