Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small fiber neuropathy and neurovascular disturbances in diabetes mellitus.

Functional and organic abnormalities in small unmyelinated C fibers are the hallmark of type 2 diabetes. These may be silent clinically or present with burning feet, neurovascular abnormalities, wherein warm, cold, and heat pain thresholds are disturbed in association with impairment in skin blood flow and loss of PGP 9.5 immunostaining nerves in the skin. There is a dysfunctional phase preceding organic structural damage to the neurovascular unit. It coexists with elements of the metabolic syndrome, particularly insulin resistance (IR), elevated systolic blood pressure, and diabetic dyslipidemia i.e. dysfunction of the neurovascular unit may contribute to IR due to compromised blood flow with decreased delivery of fuels to their target tissues. If this proves to be the case, it will become important to re-focus energies on the defective neuropeptidergic regulation of blood flow as an approach to ameliorating diabetes. Because there is a functional phase that precedes structural damage, reversibility of the defect is achievable.
Genetic Risk of Progression to Type 2 Diabetes and Response to Intensive Lifestyle or Metformin in Prediabetic Women With and Without a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) trial investigated rates of progression to diabetes among adults with prediabetes randomized to treatment with placebo, metformin, or intensive lifestyle intervention. Among women in the DPP, diabetes risk reduction with metformin was greater in women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared with women without GDM but with one or more previous live births. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We asked if genetic variability could account for these differences by comparing β-cell function and genetic risk scores (GRS), calculated from 34 diabetes-associated loci, between women with and without histories of GDM. RESULTS β-Cell function was reduced in women with GDM. The GRS was positively associated with a history of GDM; however, the GRS did not predict progression to diabetes or modulate response to intervention. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that a diabetes-associated GRS is associated with development of GDM and may characterize women at risk for development of diabetes due to β-cell dysfunction.
Temporal Properties of Apparent Motion in Subjective Figures

In ‘Kanizsa’ figures, vivid subjective shapes are seen in the absence of explicit contours to define them. When two or more such figures are presented sequentially, so that the subjective shape occupies different positions, good apparent motion of the shape is usually reported. This motion percept must be mediated by a high-level process, in which form extraction precedes motion detection. Some spatial and temporal properties of this motion process are investigated. A major finding is that motion is only perceived when the time interval between successive frames falls below about 500 ms, and the duration of each frame exceeds about 80 ms.
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Source and Storage

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT), has been accepted as a feasible treatment option that prolongs survival in hematological malignancies. Stem cell choice during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can differ according to the experience of physicians, mostly treated hematological diseases in the centers or ongoing clinical trials. In this chapter we will discuss the advantages and disadvan‐ tages of three stem cell sources peripheral blood, bone marrow and umbilical cord
Clutter height variation and its effect on frequency dependence of radio path loss

Propagation of radio signals from a base above variable height clutter, such as buildings and trees, to a mobile immersed in clutter is treated theoretically. It is found that the frequency-dependent scattering loss at the upper boundary of the clutter re-produces the frequency dependence reported in empirical models. Closed form expressions are derived for path gain in both urban and heavily foliated environments. The resulting predictions are in close agreement with widely accepted models and empirical results, including both range and frequency dependence. It is found that describing path loss dependence on frequency as a power law has limitations as the exponent varies both with frequency and base height above clutter. Compact expressions obtained here may be used instead.
Maintenance of Vascular Integrity in the Embryo Requires Signaling through the Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor*

Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 is important for vessel formation and/or maintenance of vascular integrity in the embryo. FGF signaling may be mediated through transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptors or directly through intracellular pathways that do not involve receptor activation. To determine the role of receptor-mediated signaling in endothelial cells, an adenovirus encoding truncated FGF receptor (FGFR)-1, under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter, was expressed in endothelial cells. FGF signaling was impaired, as indicated by inhibition of MAPK phosphorylation. Functional consequences included inhibition of endothelial cell migration and induction of apoptosis. To address the role of endothelial FGFR signaling in vascular development, recombinant adenovirus encoding a dominant-negative FGFR was injected into the sinus venosus of embryonic day 9.0 cultured mouse embryos. Previous studies demonstrated that transgenes delivered via adenovirus, under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter, are expressed selectively in the developing vasculature. Embryos expressing a control adenovirus developed normally, whereas those expressing the FGFR-1 mutant exhibited abnormal embryonic and extra-embryonic vascular development. These data demonstrate that FGF, by signaling through the FGFR, plays a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of a mature vascular network in the embryo.
Biofilm Formation on Intrauterine Device and Associated Infections

Lago et al., in 2003 (4) found that the prevalence of cervico-vaginal infections was 29.1% and that bacterial vaginosis was frequently found 19.7% among IUDs users 6 months after insertion. Bacteria in most environment are exist predominantly in multicellular surface, wellorganized, cooperating communities of microorganisms called biofilms adherent to surface like plastic, glasses, metal, minerals and biotic surface (5-7) . This biofilm is enclosed in a
Retrospective evaluation of urological admissions to emergency service of a training and research hospital.

OBJECTIVE Many patients consult emergency services with urological complaints. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology, clinical presentation and treatments of urological emergency cases in a training and research hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated urological emergency patients referred to the emergency unit between July 2012 and July 2013 according to age, gender, affected organ, radiological imaging techniques and treatment. RESULTS Among 141.844 emergency cases, 3.113 (2.19%) were urological emergencies and 53.2% of the patients were male (mean age: 49.1), and 46.8% of them were female (median age: 42.8). The most frequent illness was genitourinary infection constituting 41.2% of the cases followed by renal colic (36.9%). Among the urological emergencies 483 (15.5%) patients were hospitalized and 152 surgical operations were performed. The mostly performed procedure was the placement of a suprapubic catheter in 34 patients constituting (22.3%) of the cases. Totally eight patients were referred to another experienced health center due to different reasons. CONCLUSION Most of the urological emergency patients do not require emergency surgical interventions however, timely identification and management of urological emergencies with in-depth clinical evaluation are important to prevent late complications. Therefore the doctors working in emergency services must be heedful of urological emergencies.
Role of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis in development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis colonization of the very low birth weight infant and the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). METHODS Endotracheal and/or nasopharyngeal aspirates and clinical data were obtained prospectively from 108 infants with a birth weight of < 1501 g and analyzed for U. urealyticum and C. trachomatis by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS U. urealyticum was detected by culture in 40 (37%) infants and by PCR in 49 (45%) infants on at least one occasion. BPD was present at 28 days in 26 of 40 (65%) U. urealyticum culture-positive infants and 39 of 68 (57%) culture-negative infants (relative risk (RR) 1.13, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 1.54; P = 0.538). BPD was present at 28 days in 34 of 49 (69%) U. urealyticum PCR-positive infants and in 31 of 59 (53%) PCR-negative infants (RR 1.32, 95% confidence interval 0.97 to 1.79; P = 0.135). At 36 weeks postconceptional age culture-positive or PCR-positive infants were at no greater risk of BPD than infants with negative results (RR = 1.02, P = 0.92 and RR = 1.2, P = 0.523, respectively). In addition the presence of U. urealyticum was not associated with any significant difference in the length of hospital stay, days of ventilation, days of oxygen supplementation, birth weight or gestational age. C. trachomatis was detected in only 2 infants. CONCLUSION C. trachomatis was found infrequently in the airways of premature very low birth weight infants. U. urealyticum was frequently detected but its presence was not significant with regard to development of BPD, duration of ventilatory support, oxygen dependency and length of hospital stay.
A study of the pigments of the sea-urchins, Echinus esculentus L. and Paracentrotus lividus Lamarck.

was removed by ifitration and the solvent evaporated. The diacetate of 1:2-dihydroxy-1:2:3:4-tetrahydrophenanthrene (VII) crystallized in colourless needles from ethanol, m.p. 1120 (Found: C, 72-0; H, 6-5. C18H1804 requires C, 72-4; H, 6-1 %). The compound is optically active, [X] 20 - 105° (c, 0-6 % in ethanol). Steric configuration. The result of the potassium triacetyl osmate colour reaction of Criegee et al. (1942) on the 1:2-dihydroxy-1:2-dihydrophenanthrene was negative, which would indicate that the hydroxyl groups in the compound have the trans configuration.
Generating Optimal Walking Cycles Using spline-Based State-Parameterization

Optimal gait cycles are generated for a seven-link biped using a parametric optimization method. A sagittal walking pattern, including a double-support phase divided into two sub-phases, is considered. Generalized joint coordinates are approximated by three-time differentiable spline-functions. These are the concatenation of 4-order polynomials linked together up to their third derivatives at connecting points — or knots — distributed along the motion time of each phase. Optimization parameters are the values of joint coordinates at the knots, plus the joint velocities, and possibly the joint accelerations, at transitions between successive phases. An integral amount of driving torques is minimized throughout the walking cycle. During the double support, constraint forces in the kinematically closed locomotion system are dealt with as additional actuating forces. For this reason, these are also minimized. Using the above optimization parameters, this basic optimal control problem is transformed into an optimization problem of mathematical programming. The latter is efficiently solved using a Sequential Quadratic Programming algorithm. The only kinematic data required for generating a gait cycle is the walking speed. Postural configurations between successive phases, step length, and relative length of single and double supports are optimized with respect to a given walking speed.
El modelo credit scoring como alternativa de evaluación crediticia en Agrobanco

En los ultimos anos el Peru atraviesa un fuerte crecimiento en el sector financiero, principalmente enfocado en el sector de los creditos, los cuales han permitido dinamizar la economia, lo cual no sucede para los creditos orientados al sector agropecuario por su nivel de riesgo, motivo por el cual el Estado peruano crea Agrobanco como una entidad enfocada al sector agropecuario por medio de la colocacion de creditos agropecuarios. El objetivo de la investigacion es desarrollar un modelo Credit Scoring que permita apoyar la evaluacion inmediata del credito agropecuario, debido a la deficiente y lenta de la misma por parte de Agrobanco. Asimismo la metodologia utilizada se fundamenta en un modelo de Credit Scoring de caracter predictivo, que plantea un metodo de efectos marginales y la evaluacion de toda la cartera de la entidad del periodo 2009 al 2015. Los resultados obtenidos en la investigacion determinan que las variables independientes: tasa, periodo, garantia, edad, soltero, calificacion normal y antiguedad, son significativamente estadisticas en la morosidad de los creditos otorgados, sin embargo las variables, monto, mujer y hectarea no son representativas. Las conclusiones de la investigacion son que se cumple como determinantes socio economicas, estadisticamente, las variables: tasa, periodo, garantia, edad, soltero, califica normal y antiguedad.
Neuropeptide Y expression in mouse hippocampus and its role in neuronal excitotoxicity

AbstractAim:To investigate neuropeptide Y (NPY) expression in mouse hippocampus within early stages of kainic acid (KA) treatment and to understand its role in neuronal excitotoxicity.Methods:NPY expression in the hippocampus within early stages of KA intraperitoneal (ip) treatment was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) methods. The role of NPY and Y5, Y2 receptors in excitotoxicity was analyzed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated UTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay.Results:Using IHC assay, in granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus (DG), NPY positive signals appeared 4 h after KA injection, reached the peak at 8 h and leveled off at 16 and 24 h. In CA3, no positive signal was found within the first 4 h after KA injection, but strong signal appeared at 16 and 24 h. No noticeable signal was detected in CA1 at all time points after KA injection. Using the ISH method, positive signals were detected at 4, 8, and 16 h in CA3, CA1, and hilus. In DG, much stronger ISH signals were detected at 4 h, but leveled off at 8 and 16 h. TUNEL analysis showed that intracerebroventricularly (icv) infusion of NPY and Y5, Y2 receptor agonists within 8 h after KA insult with proper dose could remarkably rescue pyramidal neurons in CA3 and CA1 from apoptosis.Conclusion:NPY is an important anti-epileptic agent. The preceding elevated expression of NPY in granule cell layer of DG after KA injection might partially explain its different excitotoxicity-induced apoptotic responses in comparison with the pyramidal neurons from CA3 and CA1 regions. NPY can not only reduce neuronal excitability but also prevent excitotoxicity-induced neuronal apoptosis in a time- and doserelated way by activation of Y5 and Y2 receptors.
Extraction of Graphene-Titanium Contact Resistances using Transfer Length Measurement and a Curve-Fit Method

Graphene-metal contact resistance limits the performance of graphene-based electrical devices. In this work, we have fabricated both graphene field-effect transistors (GFET) and transfer length measurement (TLM) test devices with titanium contacts. The purpose of this work is to compare the contact resistances that can be numerically extracted from the GFETs and measured from the TLM structures. We also provide a brief review of the work done in the field to solve the contact resistance problem. Keywords—Contact resistance, graphene, TLM
PERCEPTION DU RAPPORT DU COMMISSAIRE AUX COMPTES COMME SOURCE D'INFORMATION : CAS DES ANALYSES FINANCIERS FRANÇAIS

Menee dans le contexte francais, cette etude s’interesse a la perception des analystes financiers de l’opinion exprimee par le commissaire aux comptes dans son rapport d’audit. Le renforcement de la position des analystes financiers et l’accroissement de leurs besoins informationnels ont rendu necessaire le recours a des nouvelles sources d’information plus credibles. Le rapport d’audit en tant qu’aboutissement de la mission d’audit legal, constitue une source potentielle d’information. Ce document bien qu’il soit consulte systematiquement par tous les utilisateurs demeure peu attractif et ne constitue pas un support majeur d’information. Differents facteurs interagissent dans cette situation. L’etude empirique realisee dans le cadre de ce papier revele que des facteurs lies a la fois au rapport d’audit, a son emetteur et ses utilisateurs se cachent derriere la faible utilisation qui lui est reservee par les analystes financiers francais.
Enhanced contractile responses of arteries from streptozotocin diabetic rats to sodium fluoride

1 . Previous studies from this laboratory have demonstrated that α1‐adrenoceptor‐mediated increases in tension and phosphoinositide metabolism are enhanced in the aorta and mesenteric arteries from diabetic rats. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether contractile responses to sodium fluoride (NaF), which directly stimulates GTP‐binding proteins (G‐proteins), are also enhanced in diabetic arteries. 2 . NaF (1–20 mM) in the presence of 10 μm aluminium chloride produced slowly developing, concentration‐dependent contractions in mesenteric arteries from three month streptozotocin‐diabetic (60 mg kg−1, i.v.) male Wistar rats and age‐matched control rats. The maximum contractile response but not the sensitivity to NaF was significantly greater in mesenteric arteries from diabetic than from control rats, as was the response to noradrenaline (NA). Maximum contractile responses of aorta and caudal artery from diabetic rats to NaF were also significantly enhanced. 3 . Removal of the endothelium and denervation with 6‐hydroxydopamine did not significantly alter the maximum contractile response of mesenteric arteries from either control or diabetic rats to NaF. Similarly, NaF had no effect on cyclic AMP levels in aorta, and no difference in cyclic AMP levels, either basally or in the presence of NaF, was detected between control and diabetic rat aorta. 4 . Contractile responses of mesenteric arteries from both control and diabetic rats to NaF were diminished in calcium‐free Krebs solution, but the NaF response remained significantly elevated in mesenteric arteries from diabetic rats compared to control. 5 . Ryanodine (30 μm) which depletes intracellular calcium stores, nifedipine (3 μm) which blocks dihydropyridine‐sensitive calcium channels and calphostin C (0.5 μm) which selectively inhibits protein kinase C, all significantly inhibited maximum contractile responses of mesenteric arteries from control and diabetic rats to NaF. There were no significant differences between control and diabetic arteries in the relative magnitude of the inhibition produced by the three antagonists. 6 . These data suggest that there may be increased activation of the same signalling processes that mediate NA‐stimulated vasoconstriction, perhaps contraction‐associated G‐proteins or the effectors coupled to these G‐proteins, in response to NaF in mesenteric arteries from diabetic rats. This may also be responsible for the enhanced contractile responses of these arteries to α1‐adrenoceptor stimulation.
Chromosomal sex determines gonadal sex, but it is not enough for male phenotype: Novel mutation in androgen receptor gene

The aetiology of MMD is unknown. The goal of treatment is to increase blood flow in the brain (King et al. 2010). Surgical reconstruction of brain vessels is the most effective way to improve haemodynamic status and blood flow in the ischaemic cortex, and to reduce the probability of secondary stroke (Mesiwala et al. 2008). Drug therapy mainly includes the use of drugs that prevent platelet aggregation and thrombosis. Our patient received antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and blood transfusion to increase the haematocrit. However, even after drug intervention, 65% of adult MMD patients with unilateral abnormal vascular networks still suffer from acute cerebral vascular events within 5 years, and this frequency increases to 82% in adult MMD patients with bilateral lesions and ischaemic symptoms (Hallemeier et al. 2006). To effectively prevent ischaemic stroke, reconstructive surgery may be considered for the patient.
Fetal Cardiac Bypass Analysis by Means of Correlation Dimensions

During in vivo experiments of fetal cardiac surgery performed in sheep, physiological signals were recorded, and subsequently analyzed. In order to characterize their complexity, the fractal dimension was calculated. The adopted model of dimension estimation allowed for a possible multifractal nature of the signals, by considering two distinct fractal dimensions ν1, ν2 at different length scales. A comparison was also carried out with an alternative measure of system complexity, Approximate Entropy (ApEn). The results of the analysis suggest that fractal dimension may be a useful indicator of the cardiac stress and, ultimately, of the quality of the support delivered during the operation.
Bacterial Community Profiling of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica): Comparison of Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Outcomes

ABSTRACT Tissue-associated bacterial community profiles generated using a nested polymerase chain reaction—denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach and culture-dependent and culture-independent isolation techniques were compared. Oyster samples were collected from 2 harvest areas along the coast of Maine, in the United States. Profiles from both isolation strategies were evaluated using Sorensen's index of similarity and cluster analysis of gel banding patterns. Culture-independent profiles were further evaluated using the Shannon diversity index. In general, the culture-dependent strategy resulted in a greater number of bands within a profile. Bacterial DGGE profiles were found to be highly similar within an isolation strategy, with a higher degree of unrelatedness between culture-dependent and -independent techniques. Cluster analysis identified bands present in the culture-dependent strategy and not the total DNA technique, and vice versa. Significant differences in community profiles between oyster-associated and seawater were observed, indicating a diverse group of specialist bacterial species inhabit and are able to proliferate within the oyster.