Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Busy tone contention protocol: a new high‐throughput and energy‐efficient wireless local area network medium access control protocol using busy tone

Design of an efficient wireless medium access control (MAC) protocol is a challenging task due to the time‐varying characteristics of wireless communication channel and different delay requirements in diverse applications. To support variable number of active stations and varying network load conditions, random access MAC protocols are employed. Existing wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol (IEEE 802.11) is found to be inefficient at high data rates because of the overhead associated with the contention resolution mechanism employed. The new amendments of IEEE 802.11 that support multimedia traffic (IEEE 802.11e) are at the expense of reduced data traffic network efficiency. In this paper, we propose a random access MAC protocol called busy tone contention protocol (BTCP) that uses out‐of‐band signals for contention resolution in WLANs. A few variants of this protocol are also proposed to meet the challenges in WLAN environments and application requirements. The proposed BTCP isolate multimedia traffics from background data transmissions and gives high throughput irrespective of the number of contending stations in the network. As a result, in BTCP, admission control of multimedia flows becomes simple and well defined. Studies of the protocol, both analytically and through simulations under various network conditions, have shown to give better performance in comparison with the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Clinical biomarkers for detection of ovarian cancer

Between all of the gynecological cancers, ovarian cancer (OvCa) shows high clinical challenge because it is difficult to be detected in early stage and it has the highest mortality proportional to the other gynecologic malignancies. Despite medical advances and the development of diagnostic tools such as biomarkers and detection techniques, OvCa remains a fatal cancer with high progression. There are different types of OvCa based on histological classification; Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) is the most common, whereas, stromal and germ cell tumors are of lower abundance. EOC is identified in over 80% of women at late-stage with complications include the spread of tumor implants throughout the peritoneal cavity. Early diagnosis of OvCa is helpful in the treatment and promotion of survival rate. Such diagnostic medical methods and biomarkers include vaginal and pelvic examination, diagnostic imaging, serum CA125, and screening tests or a combination used in medical centers, however, it is necessary to find new biomarkers with long-term stability and high specificity and sensitivity to detect OvCa in early stages of disease. This review presents novel and robust biomarkers and methods for detecting OvCa.
MicroRNAs in Cardiovascular Disease: Perspectives and Reality

Since the discovery of the first noncoding RNA decades ago, the transcriptomics evolution has made a great leap reaching to the detection and recognition of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the early 1990s. Thereafter, numerous miRNAs were reported in different species, with a great body of literature focusing on their role in human health and in pathophysiological processes. miRNAs play a significant role in the cardiovascular system, not only in physiology and normal development but also in disease processes and evolution. Further studies on miRNAs have highlighted their participation in several expressions of cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis, acute and chronic syndromes of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias. To date, the challenge remains to understand the underlying mechanisms of miRNAs that drive their expression profile so as to use them as innovative diagnostic tools or therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease.
Genomic Instability Induced by Ionizing Radiation in Human Hepatocytes

The aim of this study was to characterize genomic instability induced by ionizing radiation (IR) in human hepatocytes as reflected by alterations in cloning efficiency, micronucleus (MN) frequency, and apoptosis. The human normal liver 7702 cell line (HL7702) was subjected to initial irradiation of 60Co-γ ray at doses of 0 (control group), 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 Gy in each group. Progeny of surviving cells from a second irradiation at dose of 2 Gy were cultured for 15 passages until they were transferred. The cloning efficiency, MN frequency, and apoptotic rate were measured after the initial irradiation, and repeated at passage 15 before and after the second irradiation. The initial irradiation resulted in a dose-dependent decline in cloning efficiency and an increase in MN frequency and apoptotic rate. At passage 15 in progeny of initially irradiated cells, cloning efficiency, MN frequency returned to control levels while apoptotic rate rose. After the second irradiation, cloning efficiency fell while a rise in MN frequency and apoptosis occurred. Our results show that the second irradiation may further enhance cell progeny injury induced by initial irradiation, such that genomic instability that may be difficult to detect after one irradiation is more apparent with subsequent irradiation.
Brain dopamine and reward.

While the evidence is strong that dopamine plays some fundamental and special role in the rewarding effects of brain stimulation, psychomotor stimulants, opiates, and food, the exact nature of that role is not clear. One thing is clear: Dopamine is not the only reward transmitter, and dopaminergic neurons are not the final common path for all rewards. Dopamine antagonists and lesions of the dopamine systems appear to spare the rewarding effects of nucleus accumbens and frontal cortex brain stimulation (Simon et al 1979) and certainly spare the rewarding effects of apomorphine (Roberts & Vickers 1988). It is clear that reward circuitry is multisynaptic, and since dopamine cells do not send axons to each other or receive axons from each other, dopamine can at best serve as but a single link in this circuitry. If dopamine is not a final common path for all rewards, could it be an intermediate common path for most rewards? Some workers have argued against such a view, but at present they must do so on incomplete evidence. For example, Phillips (1984) has argued that there must be multiple reward systems, functionally independent and organized in parallel with one another. His primary evidence, however, is the fact that brain stimulation is rewarding at different levels of the nervous system. As we have seen in the case of midline mesencephalic stimulation, the location of the electrode tip in relation to the dopamine cells and fibers tells us little about the role of dopamine in brain stimulation reward. It seems clear that the ventral tegmental dopamine system plays a critical role in midline mesencephalic reward, despite the distance from the electrode tip to the dopamine cells where morphine causes its dopamine-dependent facilitory effects or to the dopamine terminals where low-dose neuroleptics presumably cause theirs. Until pharmacological challenge has been extended to the cases discussed by Phillips, we can only speculate as to the role of dopamine in each of those cases. In the cases where pharmacological challenge has been examined, only nucleus accumbens and frontal cortex have been found to have dopamine-independent reward sites. It is not consistent with the dopamine hypothesis that dopamine-independent reward sites should exist in these areas, since any reward signals carried to nucleus accumbens or frontal cortex by dopamine fibers would-unless we are to believe that reward "happens" at these sites-have to be carried to the next stage of the circuit by nondopaminergic fibers (there are no dopaminergic cell bodies in any of the dopamine terminal areas). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
New human retroviruses discovered: evidence that cross-species leap not a rare event.

trastuzumab in this trial were similar to those seen in the NSABP and NCCTG trials. All patients in the HERA trial will continue to be followed up for longterm safety and patients in the observation-only arm will be offered trastuzumab. Results regarding optimal trastuzumab duration (2 years vs 1 year) should be available in 2008. Sledge reiterated the importance of investigating trastuzumab’s cardiotoxicity, including whether the adverse effects are completely or partially reversible. “We know virtually nothing about the long-term effects of [trastuzumab] on the heart,” he stressed. Nonetheless, he added, with NSABP/NCCTG and HERA results clearly indicating that adjuvant trastuzumab improves diseasefree survival for women with HER2positive breast cancer, the drug’s benefits far outweigh its risks. “There’s no question in my mind about this— biology has spoken, and we should listen,” he said. “But the price [of potential cardiotoxicity] is real and has to be discussed with patients. ” MORE TO BE DONE The promising data from these monoclonal antibody trials have created a buzz among oncologists and cancer researchers, but they also caution that for most of the women participating in the studies, the new drugs provide a prolongation of survival, not a cure. Combining targeted therapies—a strategy similar to that used for treating patients with HIV—may someday prove to be the way to go, but life-saving drug cocktails for cancer have not yet been discovered.
Rerupture and Deep Infection Following Treatment of Total Achilles Tendon Rupture

Background: The incidence of total Achilles tendon rupture has increased, but we are not aware of any reports on the incidence of reruptures or deep infections following treatment. The outcome after successful treatment is good, but that after complications has not been well documented.Methods: A group of 409 patients with a complete Achilles tendon rupture was treated at a university hospital orthopaedic unit between 1979 and 2000. Twenty-three reruptures (prevalence, 5.6%) and nine deep infections (prevalence, 2.2%) occurred in twenty-nine patients. We retrospectively reviewed the records of these patients to determine the overall incidence of ruptures, reruptures, and deep infections and to record the known risk factors for these major complications. We analyzed the final clinical outcome for twelve patients with a rerupture and seven patients with a deep infection at a mean of 4.1 years after the initial treatment.Results: The annual incidence of reruptures (per 100,000 inhabitants) increased from 0.25 in 1979-1990 to 1.0 in 1991-2000, and that of deep infections increased from 0 in the 1980s to 0.63 in the 1990s. The ratio of complications to primary ruptures did not change. The patients with deep infections were significantly older, received corticosteroid medication more often, had sustained the tendon injury during everyday activities more often, and had a longer delay before treatment than the patients with simple reruptures. At 4.1 years after the primary treatment, eight of twelve patients in the rerupture group had a satisfactory clinical outcome and the overall average isokinetic plantar flexion strength deficit in that group was only 10%. In contrast, two of the patients in the infection group had a fair clinical outcome and five had a poor outcome, and the average isokinetic plantar flexion strength deficit in that group was 35%. Conclusions: The incidence of Achilles tendon reruptures and deep infections has increased. The outcome is satisfactory after a simple rerupture without infection, but the results after a deep infection are often devastating.
A randomized trial comparing the effect of casein with that of soy protein containing varying amounts of isoflavones on plasma concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins.

CONTEXT Isolated soy protein reduces plasma concentrations of total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. OBJECTIVE To identify the agent(s) responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect of soy in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers: isoflavones isolated together with soy protein or soy protein itself. DESIGN Double-blind randomized parallel trial. SETTING Single-center study. PARTICIPANTS A total of 156 healthy men and women with LDL cholesterol levels between 3.62 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) and 5.17 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) after instruction in a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet and recruited by advertisement from the community. INTERVENTION One of 5 daily diets (25 g of casein [for isoflavone-free comparison] or 25 g of isolated soy protein containing 3, 27, 37, or 62 mg of isoflavones). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Change and percent change from baseline in plasma concentrations of triglycerides and total, LDL, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol after 9 weeks. RESULTS Compared with casein, isolated soy protein with 62 mg of isoflavones lowered total and LDL cholesterol levels by 4% (P = .04) and 6% (P = .01), respectively. In patients with LDL cholesterol levels in the top half of the population studied (>4.24 mmol/L [>164 mg/dL]), comparable reductions were 9% (P<.001) and 10% (P = 001), respectively; in this group, isolated soy protein with 37 mg of isoflavones reduced total (P = .007) and LDL (P = .02) cholesterol levels by 8%, and there was a dose-response effect of increasing amounts of isoflavones on total and LDL cholesterol levels. Plasma concentrations of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were unaffected. Ethanol-extracted isolated soy protein containing 3 mg of isoflavones did not significantly reduce plasma concentrations of total or LDL cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS Naturally occurring isoflavones isolated with soy protein reduce the plasma concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol without affecting concentrations of triglycerides or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers consuming a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet. Ethanol-extracted isolated soy protein did not significantly reduce plasma concentrations of total or LDL cholesterol.
Placental Transforming Growth Factor-β Is a Downstream Mediator of the Growth Arrest and Apoptotic Response of Tumor Cells to DNA Damage and p53 Overexpression*

The p53 tumor suppressor gene and members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily play central roles in signaling cell cycle arrest and apoptosis (programmed cell death) in normal development and differentiation, as well as in carcinogenesis. Here we describe a distantly related member of the TGF-β superfamily, designated placental TGF-β (PTGF-β), that is up-regulated in response to both p53-dependent and -independent apoptotic signaling events arising from DNA damage in human breast cancer cells. PTGF-β is normally expressed in placenta and at lower levels in kidney, lung, pancreas, and muscle but could not be detected in any tumor cell line studied. The PTGF-β promoter is activated by p53 and contains two p53 binding site motifs. Functional studies demonstrated that one of these p53 binding sites is essential for p53-mediated PTGF-β promoter induction and specifically binds recombinant p53 in gel mobility shift assays. PTGF-β overexpression from a recombinant adenoviral vector (AdPTGF-β) led to an 80% reduction in MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell viability and a 50–60% reduction in other human breast cancer cell lines studied, including MCF-7 cells, which are resistant to growth inhibition by recombinant wild-type p53. Like p53, PTGF-β overexpression was seen to induce both G1cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in breast tumor cells. These results provide the first evidence for a direct functional link between p53 and the TGF-β superfamily and implicate PTGF-β as an important intercellular mediator of p53 function and the cytostatic effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic cancer agents.
Investigation of the early killing of Staphylococcus aureus by daptomycin by using an in vitro pharmacodynamic model

The purpose of this study was to develop a pharmacodynamic model to describe the dependency of the rate of Staphylococcus aureus killing upon the concentration of daptomycin. A range of free (unbound) daptomycin concentrations ranging from 0.12 to 27 times the MIC were simulated in the peripheral compartment of a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Log-linear regression of free daptomycin concentrations versus growth or kill rate constants showed a significant correlation (r = -0.90; P less than 0.001). A Lineweaver-Burk plot of the reciprocal transformation of these data yielded a poor fit (r = -0.38; P greater than 0.05). When a Lineweaver-Burk-type regression analysis was performed on the reciprocal of the change in the rate constant rather than the rate constant itself, the result demonstrated good correlation (r = 0.90; P less than 0.0001). The observations were also well described by a sigmoidal maximum plateau pharmacologic effect model, in which the pharmacologic effect of daptomycin is a reduction in the bacterial exponential growth rate constant from the baseline in the absence of antibiotic to a lower (positive) growth or (negative) death rate constant observed in the presence of antibiotic. These data confirm that daptomycin exhibits concentration-dependent killing over a wide range of free daptomycin concentrations relative to the MIC and suggest that this is a saturable process similar to the Michaelis-Menten pharmacokinetic elimination of certain drugs.
Relationship between BMI and Periodontal Diseases

Background: Periodontal disease is a slowly progressing condition that affects the supporting structures of a tooth results in tooth loss. Epidemiological studies estimate that over 4 million Americans over 45 years of age suffer from this disease. Obesity consider dangerous for stable conditions of people health. Recent studies have reported a relationship between obesity and periodontitis, but no study has performed among Saudi population. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relatio ship of periodontal diseases with body mass index (BMI) among the patients. Subjects: Twenty (20) overweight /obese [obisty (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg/ m2] participants and 20 healthy (BMI <25.0 kg/m2) cases as controls. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional (case-control) study has been conducted by the Division of Periodontics, Department of Preventive Dental Science (PDS), College of Dentistry, KKU, (KSA). Patients attending the OPC of College of Dentistry, KKU, Abha, KSA was the source of data. Participant’s clinical periodontalcomprehensive examination. Duration: The duration of this project was 2 months while started. Conclusion: This study was found significant relation between high body mass index (BMI) and periodontal diseases.
Probiotics supplementation in prophylaxis and treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders - a review of current research.

In recent years increased interest in the connection of intestinal microflora and the state of human health resulted in a great deal of research on the influence of intestinal microflora in particular on mental health, including works on affective functions of the central nervous system (CNS). Previous studies on animals have revealed the existence of a bi-directional communication system between the gastrointestinal microbiota and the central nervous system, the so-called . gut-brain axis' which modulates functioning of CNS through immunological, endocrine and neuronal mechanisms. Clinical studies have shown a connection between supplementation of probiotics containing specific species and strains of bacteria and the regulation of the body's response to stress and with the exacerbation of depressive and anxiety symptoms in humans. Studies have also demonstrated differences in the composition of the intestinal microflora of patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder in comparison with the healthy population. The aim of this article is to present the current state of knowledge on the relationship between composition of intestinal microflora and affective functions of CNS and on effects of supplementation of probiotics on depressive and anxiety symptoms in humans. Previous studies on the use of probiotics in the prophylaxis and treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders included too small groups of persons, especially in groups of patients diagnosed with depression, to be able to clearly determine the effectiveness of probiotics in prevention and, in particular, treatment of these disorders in humans.
A perspective on the fundamental quality of GPS radio occultation data

Radio occultation (RO) is a promising source of observation for weather and climate applications. However, the uncertainties arising from imperfect retrieval algorithms may weaken the overall confidence in the data and discourage their use. As an alternative approach of assessing the quality of RO data while avoiding the nuisance of retrieval errors, this study proposes to use minimally processed data (measurement) instead of derived RO data. This study compares measured phase paths with their model counterparts, simulated with an effective ray tracer for which the refractive indices along the complete ray path linking the transmitter and the receiver are realistically specified. The comparison of phase measurements with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data made in the observation space shows that the RO measurements are of sufficient accuracy to uncover regional-scale systematic errors in ECMWF’s operational analysis and the 45-year reanalysis (ERA40), and to clearly depict the error growth of short-term ERA40 forecasts. In the southern hemispheric stratosphere, in particular, the RO measurements served as a robust reference against which both of the two analyses were significantly biased in opposite directions even though they were produced by the same center using virtually the same set of data. The measurement and ECMWF analyses showed a close agreement in the standard deviation except for the regions and heights that the quality of the ECMWF data is controversial. This confirms the high precision of RO measurements and also indicates that the main problem of the ECMWF analyses lies in their systematic error.
When complex neuronal structures may not matter

Much work has explored animal-to-animal variability and compensation in ion channel expression. Yet, little is known regarding the physiological consequences of morphological variability. We quantify animal-to-animal variability in cable lengths (CV = 0.4) and branching patterns in the Gastric Mill (GM) neuron, an identified neuron type with highly-conserved physiological properties in the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of Cancer borealis. We examined passive GM electrotonic structure by measuring the amplitudes and apparent reversal potentials (Erevs) of inhibitory responses evoked with focal glutamate photo-uncaging in the presence of TTX. Apparent Erevs were relatively invariant across sites (mean CV ± SD = 0.04 ± 0.01; 7–20 sites in each of 10 neurons), which ranged between 100–800 µm from the somatic recording site. Thus, GM neurons are remarkably electrotonically compact (estimated λ > 1.5 mm). Electrotonically compact structures, in consort with graded transmission, provide an elegant solution to observed morphological variability in the STG. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.23508. 001