Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stories from the road of recovery – How adult, female survivors of childhood trauma experience ways to positive change

The aim of this study was to explore how female survivors of childhood trauma who have sought treatment experience ways to positive change. Little knowledge exists regarding the first-person perspective of the recovery process following childhood trauma, and getting access to this perspective might contribute to better understanding of these processes, hence offering opportunities for health promotion. All clients (31, including 3 who dropped out) from six stabilization groups for women exposed to human-inflicted traumas were invited to participate in the study. Experiences of the recovery process were not restricted to the period of receiving treatment, and all clients who volunteered were included in the study. Qualitative, in-depth interviews with 13 consenting clients were carried out shortly after completion of the group treatment. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and a hermeneutical–phenomenological approach to analysis was applied. The analysis resulted in five interrelated, but distinct main themes: finding new ways to understand one's emotions and actions, moving from numbness toward vital contact, becoming an advocate of one's own needs, experiencing increased sense of agency, and staying with difficult feelings and choices. The themes support, yet supplement trauma theory, by underlining the relationship between emotional contact and meaning-making, while downplaying the necessity of symptom elimination in the experience of recovery. The findings also underline that the active role trauma survivors play in their processes of recovery.
Working Together May Be Better: Activation of Reward Centers during a Cooperative Maze Task

Humans use theory of mind when predicting the thoughts and feelings and actions of others. There is accumulating evidence that cooperation with a computerized game correlates with a unique pattern of brain activation. To investigate the neural correlates of cooperation in real-time we conducted an fMRI hyperscanning study. We hypothesized that real-time cooperation to complete a maze task, using a blind-driving paradigm, would activate substrates implicated in theory of mind. We also hypothesized that cooperation would activate neural reward centers more than when participants completed the maze themselves. Of interest and in support of our hypothesis we found left caudate and putamen activation when participants worked together to complete the maze. This suggests that cooperation during task completion is inherently rewarding. This finding represents one of the first discoveries of a proximate neural mechanism for group based interactions in real-time, which indirectly supports the social brain hypothesis.
AST-120 for the management of progression of chronic kidney disease

Uremic toxins such as indoxyl sulfate contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by promoting glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis with loss of nephrons and vascular damage. AST-120, an orally administered intestinal sorbent, adsorbs indole, a precursor of indoxyl sulfate, thereby reducing serum and urinary concentrations of indoxyl sulfate. AST-120 has been available in Japan since 1991, and subsequently Korea (2005), and the Philippines (2010) as an agent to prolong the time to initiation of hemodialysis and for improvement of uremic symptoms in patients with CKD. A Medline search was performed to identify data supporting clinical experience with AST-120 for managing CKD. Prospective open-label and double-blind trials as well as retrospective analyses were included. In prospective trials and retrospective analyses, AST-120 has been shown to prolong the time to initiation of hemodialysis, and slow decline in glomerular filtration rate and the increase serum creatinine. In an initial randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the United States, AST-120 was associated with a significant dose-dependent reduction in serum indoxyl sulfate levels and a decrease in uremia-related malaise. The Evaluating Prevention of Progression in CKD (EPPIC) trials, two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials undertaken in North America/Latin America and Europe, are evaluating the efficacy of AST-120 for preventing the progression of CKD. The results of the EPPIC trials will further define the role of AST-120 in this debilitating condition.
Involvement of a Protein Tyrosine Kinase in Production of the Polymeric Bioemulsifier Emulsan from the Oil-Degrading Strain Acinetobacter lwoffii RAG-1

ABSTRACT The genes associated with the biosynthesis of the polymeric bioemulsifier emulsan, produced by the oil-degrading Acinetobacter lwoffii RAG-1 are clustered within a 27-kbp region termed the wee cluster. This report demonstrates the involvement of two genes of the wee cluster of RAG-1, wzb and wzc, in emulsan biosynthesis. The two gene products, Wzc and Wzb were overexpressed and purified. Wzc exhibited ATP-dependent autophosphorylating protein tyrosine kinase activity. Wzb was found to be a protein tyrosine phosphatase capable of dephosphorylating the phosphorylated Wzc. Using the synthetic substrate p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP) Wzb exhibited a Vmax of 12 μmol of PNPP min−1 mg−1 and a Km of 8 mM PNPP at 30°C. The emulsifying activity of mutants lacking either wzb or wzc was 16 and 15% of RAG-1 activity, respectively, suggesting a role for the two enzymes in emulsan production. Phosphorylation of Wzc was found to occur within a cluster of five tyrosine residues at the C terminus. Colonies from a mutant in which these five tyrosine residues were replaced by five phenylalanine residues along with those of a second mutant, which also lacked Wzb, exhibited a highly viscous colony consistency. Emulsan activity of these mutants was 25 and 24% of that of RAG-1, respectively. Neither of these mutants contained cell-associated emulsan. However, they did produce an extracellular high-molecular-mass galactosamine-containing polysaccharide. A model is proposed in which subunit polymerization, translocation and release of emulsan are all associated and coregulated by tyrosine phosphorylation.
Relationship Between Serum Interleukin-17F Level and Severity of Atopic Dermatitis in Children.

Background: Recent discovery of the Th17 pathway is providing new opportunities for understanding chronic immune-mediated diseases. The Th17 pathway has been historically associated with chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Among Th17 cytokines, pathogenic roles of IL-17A and IL-17F in asthma have been well described. Recently, the number of peripheral blood Th17 cells was found to correlate with disease severity in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). This study aimed to investigate serum IL-17F levels in children with AD and to correlate this with severity of the disease. Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure IL-17F levels in the sera of 228 patients with AD and 62 control children. The SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) tool was used to determine the severity of disease. Results: The mean serum level of IL-17F in children with AD was significantly higher than that in the control group (p<0.05) Serum IL-17F levels were also higher in patients with severe AD than in those with mild AD (p<0.001), and IL-17F levels and SCORAD scores were positively correlated (p<0.05). Conclusions: Serum IL-17F level might be a useful marker in children with AD.
Differential adipogenic and inflammatory properties of small adipocytes in Zucker Obese and Lean rats

We recently reported that a preponderance of small adipose cells, decreased expression of cell differentiation markers, and enhanced inflammatory activity in human subcutaneous whole adipose tissue were associated with insulin resistance. To test the hypothesis that small adipocytes exhibited these differential properties, we characterised small adipocytes from epididymal adipose tissue of Zucker Obese (ZO) and Lean (ZL) rats. Rat epididymal fat pads were removed and adipocytes isolated by collagenase digestion. Small adipocytes were separated by sequential filtration through nylon meshes. Adipocytes were fixed in osmium tetroxide for cell size distribution analysis via Beckman Coulter Multisizer. Quantitative real-time PCR for cell differentiation and inflammatory genes was performed. Small adipocytes represented a markedly greater percentage of the total adipocyte population in ZO than ZL rats (58±4% vs. 12±3%, p<0.001). In ZO rats, small as compared with total adipocytes had 4-fold decreased adiponectin, and 4-fold increased visfatin and IL-6 levels. Comparison of small adipocytes in ZO versus ZL rats revealed 3-fold decreased adiponectin and PPARγ levels, and 2.5-fold increased IL-6. In conclusion, ZO rat adipose tissue harbours a large proportion of small adipocytes that manifest impaired cell differentiation and pro-inflammatory activity, two mechanisms by which small adipocytes may contribute to insulin resistance.
Myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in adults with a neuromyelitis optica phenotype

Objectives: To report an association of myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies with aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody–seronegative neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in adults. Methods: We describe the clinical and serologic features of 4 adult patients with an NMO/NMOSD phenotype who had antibodies to MOG. Results: Twenty-seven adult AQP4-seronegative NMO/NMOSD patients were tested for MOG antibodies. Four patients (3 male, 1 female) with severe optic neuritis and/or longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis were positive. All 4 made good recoveries with steroids or plasma exchange. Two patients experienced recurrence of symptoms when corticosteroids were withdrawn quickly but none have experienced further relapses over a mean follow-up of 12 months, although 3 patients remain on treatment. Imaging abnormalities resolved fully following clinical recovery and MOG antibody titers fell in all 4 patients. MOG antibodies were not found in 44 AQP4 antibody–positive NMO/NMOSD patients, 75 adult patients with multiple sclerosis, or 47 healthy individuals. Conclusions: MOG antibody–associated NMO/NMOSD could account for some cases thought previously to be AQP4-seronegative NMO/NMOSD. Our 4 patients appear to have more favorable clinical outcomes than those with typical AQP4 antibody–mediated disease. However, further studies of NMO/NMOSD and other demyelinating conditions are required to help clarify the diagnostic and prognostic relevance of MOG antibodies.
Psychological aspects of oral contraceptives.

THE OLDEST medical prescriptions for the prevention of conception still extant in writing are found in the Egyptian Papyri. The Petri Papyrus, found at Kahun in April 1889, and dating from the reign of Amenemhat III of the 12th Dynasty (c 1850BC), is a medical papyrus consisting of gynecological instructions and prescriptions. Himes1presents a fascinating discussion of the extent to which the suggested contraceptive methods (crocodile dung, honey, oil, and a large variety of sticky and gummy substances) were exclusively magical or whether their use, empirically determined initially, was not also based upon some appreciation of their physiological properties. Himes' detailed review of the history of contraception suggests that immense human energy and ingenuity has been utilized in the service of preventing the meeting of the sperm and ovum. Men and women have always longed for both fertility and sterility, each at
Relationship between endothelial dysfunction, intima media thickness and cardiovascular risk factors in asymptomatic subjects.

AIM The aim of the study was to evaluate endothelial function and intima media thickness (IMT) in relation to cardiovascular risk factors (RF). METHODS We enrolled 113 patients, mean age 62 +/- 12 years; patients underwent: anamnesis, physical examination, measurement of body weight and height and blood pressure. Biochemistry variables were also measured: total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C and LDL-C), triglycerides and glycemia. Vascular echography was performed to analyze flow mediated vasodilatation (FMD) at the brachial artery and IMT of the carotid and femoral arteries. RESULTS Compared with patients without RF, patients with cardiovascular RF showed an impaired FMD (p < 0.05) and higher values of mean carotid IMT (p = 0.03). Age (p < 0.005) and diabetes (p < 0.05) were directly correlated with carotid IMT, while femoral IMT is correlated with age (p < 0.005) and male gender (p < 0.02). Regarding the relationship between endothelial function cardiovascular RF, we showed an inverse linear correlation between systolic blood pressure (p < 0.005), smoking (p < 0.05) and FMD, and concerning biochemical parameters, we founded that total cholesterol (p < 0.05) and LDL-C plasma levels (p < 0.005) were inversely correlated with FMD. Finally, we showed a lower FMD in patients with carotid and femoral IMT in comparison with patients without peripheral atherosclerosis (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The present data indicate that cardiovascular RF are associated with impaired endothelial function and increased IMT, and that the presence of carotid and femoral IMT is significantly correlated with endothelial dysfunction.
Impact at Age 11 Years of Major Neonatal Morbidities in Children Born Extremely Preterm

BACKGROUND: Uncertainty continues regarding the extent to which neonatal morbidities predict poor long-term outcome and functional abilities in extremely preterm infants. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the impact of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), ultrasonographic signs of brain injury, and severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) on 11-year outcomes in infants born at <26 weeks' gestation. METHODS: A total of 247 infants were born alive before 26 completed weeks of gestation from 1990 through 1992 in all of Sweden, and 98 (40%) survived to a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks. Main outcome measures were (1) poor outcome, defined as combined end point of death after 36 weeks' postmenstrual age or survival with at least 1 major disability at 11 years, and (2) consequences of chronic conditions in the survivors according to a validated instrument administered to parents. RESULTS: Brain injury and severe ROP but not BPD correlated independently with poor outcome at 11 years of age. Among children who were free from BPD, brain injury, and severe ROP, 10% had a poor outcome. Corresponding rates with any 1, any 2, and all 3 neonatal morbidities were 19%, 58%, and 80%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that brain injury and severe ROP were associated with high rates of consequences of chronic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: In infants born extremely preterm who survive to a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks, severe ROP and brain injury separately predict the risk of death or major disability at 11 years of age. Thus, continued research to determine how to prevent these complications of prematurity is critical.
Comparative Levels of O6-Methylguanine, Pyridyloxobutyl-, and Pyridylhydroxybutyl-DNA Adducts in Lung and Liver of Rats Treated Chronically with the Tobacco-Specific Carcinogen 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone

The tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a lung carcinogen in rats and may be a cause of lung cancer in smokers. NNK is metabolized by cytochromes P450 to intermediates that react with DNA forming methyl, pyridyloxobutyl (POB), and pyridylhydroxybutyl (PHB) adducts, which are critical in carcinogenesis. The methyl adduct O6-methylguanine (O6-methyl-G) has miscoding properties, but there are no reports on levels of this adduct in rats treated chronically with NNK in the drinking water, nor has its levels been compared with those of POB- and PHB-DNA adducts. We used liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry-selected reaction monitoring to quantify O6-methyl-G in lung and liver DNA of rats treated with a carcinogenic dose of 10 ppm of NNK in the drinking water and sacrificed after 1, 2, 5, 10, 16, and 20 weeks. The maximal level of O6-methyl-G in lung DNA, 2550 ± 263 fmol/mg DNA, was reached at 5 weeks and was significantly greater (P < 0.05) at that point than all other adducts (measured previously) except O2-[4-(3-pyridyl)-4-oxobut-1-yl]thymidine. Overall levels of O6-methyl-G in lung were intermediate between those of total POB- and PHB-DNA adducts. In liver, the wave of O6-methyl-G peaked at 2 weeks while that of total POB-DNA adducts peaked at 10 weeks, and levels of total PHB-DNA adducts were low throughout. The results of this study demonstrate that substantial amounts of O6-methyl-G are formed at various time points in lung and liver DNA of rats treated chronically with NNK, supporting its role in carcinogenesis.
Characterization and purification of T lymphocyte aminopeptidase B : A putative marker of T cell activation

We have previously described that human T lymphocytes express membrane‐associated peptidase activities (Mari et al., EMBO J., 1992,11:3875). We show in this report that intact Jurkat T cells readily cleaved H‐Arg‐paranitroanilide, an aminopeptidase B (AP‐B) substrate. The identification of the hydrolyzing activity as AP‐B was confirmed by its sensitivity to both arphamenine B and bestatin in the nanomolar range. Significant AP‐B activity was released in the supernatant upon incubation of intact T lymphocytes at 37°C. However, AP‐B activity was found mainly in the cytosolic fraction of Jurkat T cells. Cytosolic T cell AP‐B was purified to homogeneity and exhibited a molecular mass of 72 kDa. Purified AP‐B cleaved N‐terminal basic amino acid‐containing peptides such as thymopentin (H‐Arg‐Lys‐Asp‐Val‐Tyr‐OH), indicating that it might play a role in the regulation of the concentration of important soluble mediators of T cell activation. A rabbit polyclonal antibody was shown to recognize AP‐B as assessed by both immunoprecipitation and Western blot experiments. Finally, we found that AP‐B was up‐regulated during activation of normal and leukemic T lymphocytes.
Effects of membrane voltage on receptive field properties of lateral geniculate neurons in the cat: contributions of the low-threshold Ca2+ conductance.

1. Thalamic relay cells, including those of the lateral geniculate nucleus, display a low-threshold spike (LT spike), which is a large depolarization due to an increased Ca2+ conductance. Typically riding the crest of each LT spike is a burst of from two to seven action potentials, which we refer to as the LT burst. The LT spike is voltage dependent, because if the cell's resting membrane potential is more depolarized than roughly -60 mV, the LT spike is inactivated, but if more hyperpolarized, the spike is deinactivated and can be activated by a depolarization, such as from an afferent excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP). Thalamic relay cells thus display two response modes: a relay or tonic mode, when the cell is depolarized and LT spikes are inactivated, leading to tonic firing of action potentials; and a burst mode, when the cell is hyperpolarized and tends to respond with LT spikes and their associated bursts of action potentials. 2. We were interested in the contribution of the LT spike on the transmission of visually evoked signals through geniculate relay cells to visual cortex. We recorded intracellularly from geniculate cells in an anesthetized, paralyzed, in vivo cat preparation to study the effects of membrane voltage, and thus the presence or absence of LT spikes, on responses to drifting sine-wave gratings. We monitored the visually evoked responses of 14 geniculate neurons (6 X, 7 Y, and 1 unclassified) at different membrane potentials at which LT spikes were inactivated or deinactivated. 3. Changing membrane voltage during visual stimulation switched the response mode of every cell between the relay and burst modes. In the burst mode, LT spikes occurred in phase with the visual stimulus and not at rhythmic intervals uncorrelated to visual stimuli. To any given stimulus cycle, the cell responded usually with an LT burst or a tonic response, and rarely was more than one LT burst evoked by a stimulus cycle. Occasionally a single cycle evoked both an LT burst and tonic response, but always the LT burst occurred first. 4. The spatial tuning characteristics of the cells did not differ dramatically as a function of membrane potential, because the tuning of the LT bursts was quite similar to that of the tonic response component. Although we did not obtain complete temporal tuning properties, we did note that hyperpolarized cells responded reliably with LT bursts at several temporal frequencies. 5. A consistent difference was seen between the LT burst and tonic response components in terms of response linearity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Web-based Interface in Public Cluster

A web-based interface dedicated for cluster computer which is publicly accessible for free is introduced. The interface plays an important role to enable secure public access, while providing user-friendly computational environment for end-users and easy maintainance for administrators as well. The whole architecture which integrates both aspects of hardware and software is briefly explained. It is argued that the public cluster is globally a unique approach, and could be a new kind of e-learning system especially for parallel programming communities.
Efficacy of Tissue Culture in Virus Elimination from Caprifig and Female Fig Varieties (Ficus carica L.)

Fig mosaic disease (FMD) is a viral disease that spreads in all Tunisian fig (Ficus carica L.) orchards. RT-PCR technique was applied to leaf samples of 29 fig accessions of 15 fig varieties from the fig germplasm collection of High Agronomic Institute (I.S.A) of Chatt-Mariem, to detect viruses associated to FMD. Analysis results show that 65.5% of the accessions (19/29) and 80.0% (12/15) of the fig varieties are infected by FMD-associated viruses. From all fig accessions, 41.4% of them are with single infection (one virus) and 24.1% are with multi-infections (2 virus and more). Viruses infecting fig leaf samples are Fig mosaic virus (FMV) (20.7%), Fig milde-mottle-associated virus (FMMaV) (17.25%), Fig fleck associated virus (FFkaV) (3.45%), and Fig cryptic virus (FCV) (55.17%). A reliable protocol for FCV and FMMaV elimination from 4 local fig varieties Zidi (ZDI), Soltani (SNI), Bither Abiadh (BA), and Assafri (ASF) via in vitro culture of 3 meristem sizes was established and optimized. With this protocol, global sanitation rates of 79.46%, 65.55%, 68.75%, and 70.83% respectively for ZDI, SNI, BA, and ASF are achieved. For all sanitized varieties, the effectiveness of meristem culture for the elimination of FCV and FMMaV viruses was related to meristem size. Meristem size 0.5 mm provides the highest sanitation rates ranging from 70% to 90%.