Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Exenatide Plus Rosiglitazone on β-Cell Function and Insulin Sensitivity in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes on Metformin

OBJECTIVE Study the effects of exenatide (EXE) plus rosiglitazone (ROSI) on β-cell function and insulin sensitivity using hyperglycemic and euglycemic insulin clamp techniques in participants with type 2 diabetes on metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this 20-week, randomized, open-label, multicenter study, participants (mean age, 56 ± 10 years; weight, 93 ± 16 kg; A1C, 7.8 ± 0.7%) continued their metformin regimen and received either EXE 10 μg b.i. d. (n = 45), ROSI 4 mg b.i. d. (n = 45), or EXE 10 μg b.i. d. + ROSI 4 mg b.i. d. (n = 47). Seventy-three participants underwent clamp procedures to quantitate insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. RESULTS A1C declined in all groups (P < 0.05), but decreased most with EXE+ROSI (EXE+ROSI, −1.3 ± 0.1%; ROSI, −1.0 ± 0.1%, EXE, −0.9 ± 0.1%; EXE+ROSI vs. EXE or ROSI, P < 0.05). ROSI resulted in weight gain, while EXE and EXE+ROSI resulted in weight loss (EXE, −2.8 ± 0.5 kg; EXE+ROSI, −1.2 ± 0.5 kg; ROSI, + 1.5 ± 0.5 kg; P < 0.05 between and within all groups). At week 20, 1st and 2nd phase insulin secretion was significantly higher in EXE and EXE+ROSI versus ROSI (both P < 0.05). Insulin sensitivity (M value) was significantly higher in EXE+ROSI versus EXE (P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS Therapy with EXE+ROSI offset the weight gain observed with ROSI and elicited an additive effect on glycemic control with significant improvements in β-cell function and insulin sensitivity.
Manual Physical Therapy for Non-Surgical Treatment of Adhesion-Related Small Bowel Obstructions: Two Case Reports

Background: Adhesion formation is a widely acknowledged risk following abdominal or pelvic surgery. Adhesions in the abdomen or pelvis can cause or contribute to partial or total small bowel obstruction (SBO). These adhesions deter or prevent the passage of nutrients through the digestive tract, and may bind the bowel to the peritoneum, or other organs. Small bowel obstructions can quickly become life-threatening, requiring immediate surgery to resect the bowel, or lyse any adhesions the surgeon can safely access. Bowel repair is an invasive surgery, with risks including bowel rupture, infection, and peritonitis. An additional risk includes the formation of new adhesions during the healing process, creating the potential for subsequent adhesiolysis or SBO surgeries. Objective: Report the use of manual soft tissue physical therapy for the reversal of adhesion-related partial SBOs, and create an initial inquiry into the possibility of nonsurgical lysis of adhesions. Case Reports: Two patients presenting with SBO symptoms due to abdominal adhesions secondary to abdominal and pelvic surgery were treated with manual soft tissue physical therapy focused on decreasing adhesions. Conclusions: Successful treatment with resolution of symptom presentation of partial SBO and sustained results were observed in both patients treated.
Chronic lipopolysaccharide exposure induces cognitive dysfunction without affecting BDNF expression in the rat hippocampus

Previous studies have shown that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has the potential to cause cognitive dysfunction. However, the underlying pathogenesis has yet to be fully elucidated. Increasing attention is being focused on infection in the central nervous system. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the behavioral performance of rats receiving intraperitoneal injections of LPS and to determine the expression levels of amyloid-β (Aβ), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus. In total, 30 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (each n=10): Control and 3 and 7 day LPS administration groups. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with saline or LPS for 3 or 7 days. Following this, rats performed the Morris water maze test, in which the latency to the platform and proportion of time spent in the target quadrant were recorded. Rats were then sacrificed and the hippocampi were harvested for determination of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Aβ and BDNF expression levels. LPS administration for 3 and 7 days significantly increased the latency to the platform and decreased the proportion of time spent in the target quadrant compared with those in the control group, (P<0.05). Administration of LPS for 3 and 7 days induced statistically significant increases in the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the hippocampus, compared with those in the control group (P<0.05). Additionally, the administration of LPS for 7 days induced a statistically significant increase in the expression level of Aβ in the hippocampus, compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). However, the administration of LPS did not elicit a statistically significant change in the expression level of BDNF in the hippocampus, compared with that in the control group (P>0.05). The results indicate that LPS induces cognitive dysfunction, which is associated with increased expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and Aβ, but does not affect the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus.
Monitoring biotransformations in polyesters

This paper describes two methods to monitor esterase hydrolysis at the surface of polyester fibres (PET-Polyethylene terephthalate). The hydroxyl groups were determined on the fibre surface by alkaline reaction with a reactive dye (CI Reactive Black 5) and colour intensity was determined using a reflectance spectrophotometer. The terephthalic acid solution formed was also quantified after reaction with peroxide by fluorimetric determination of the resulting hydroxyterephthalic acid. Detailed descriptions of those methods are given in this paper.
Ion dynamics during seizures

Changes in membrane voltage brought about by ion fluxes through voltage and transmitter-gated channels represent the basis of neural activity. As such, electrochemical gradients across the membrane determine the direction and driving force for the flow of ions and are therefore crucial in setting the properties of synaptic transmission and signal propagation. Ion concentration gradients are established by a variety of mechanisms, including specialized transporter proteins. However, transmembrane gradients can be affected by ionic fluxes through channels during periods of elevated neural activity, which in turn are predicted to influence the properties of on-going synaptic transmission. Such activity-induced changes to ion concentration gradients are a feature of both physiological and pathological neural processes. An epileptic seizure is an example of severely perturbed neural activity, which is accompanied by pronounced changes in intracellular and extracellular ion concentrations. Appreciating the factors that contribute to these ion dynamics is critical if we are to understand how a seizure event evolves and is sustained and terminated by neural tissue. Indeed, this issue is of significant clinical importance as status epilepticus—a type of seizure that does not stop of its own accord—is a life-threatening medical emergency. In this review we explore how the transmembrane concentration gradient of the six major ions (K+, Na+, Cl−, Ca2+, H+and HCO3−) is altered during an epileptic seizure. We will first examine each ion individually, before describing how multiple interacting mechanisms between ions might contribute to concentration changes and whether these act to prolong or terminate epileptic activity. In doing so, we will consider how the availability of experimental techniques has both advanced and restricted our ability to study these phenomena.
Identification of woolliness response genes in peach fruit after post-harvest treatments

Woolliness is a physiological disorder of peaches and nectarines that becomes apparent when fruit are ripened after prolonged periods of cold storage. This disorder is of commercial importance since shipping of peaches to distant markets and storage before selling require low temperature. However, knowledge about the molecular basis of peach woolliness is still incomplete. To address this issue, a nylon macroarray containing 847 non-redundant expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a ripe peach fruit cDNA library was developed and used. Gene expression changes of peach fruit (Prunus persica cv. O'Henry) ripened for 7 d at 21 °C (juicy fruit) were compared with those of fruit stored for 15 d at 4 °C and then ripened for 7 d at 21 °C (woolly fruit). A total of 106 genes were found to be differentially expressed between juicy and woolly fruit. Data analysis indicated that the activity of most of these genes (>90%) was repressed in the woolly fruit. In cold-stored peaches (cv. O'Henry), the expression level of selected genes (cobra, endopolygalacturonase, cinnamoyl-CoA-reductase, and rab11) was lower than in the juicy fruit, and it remained low in woolly peaches after ripening, a pattern that was conserved in woolly fruit from two other commercial cultivars (cv. Flamekist and cv. Elegant Lady). In addition, the results of this study indicate that molecular changes during fruit woolliness involve changes in the expression of genes associated with cell wall metabolism and endomembrane trafficking. Overall, the results reported here provide an initial characterization of the transcriptome activity of peach fruit under different post-harvest treatments.
Oxidative Stress Regulates Left Ventricular PDE5 Expression in the Failing Heart

Background— Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibition has been shown to exert profound beneficial effects in the failing heart, suggesting a significant role for PDE5 in the development of congestive heart failure (CHF). The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that oxidative stress causes increased PDE5 expression in cardiac myocytes and that increased PDE5 contributes to the development of CHF. Methods and Results— Myocardial PDE5 expression and cellular distribution were determined in left ventricular samples from patients with end-stage CHF and normal donors and from mice after transverse aortic constriction (TAC)–induced CHF. Compared with donor human hearts, myocardial PDE5 protein was increased ≈4.5-fold in CHF samples, and the increase of myocardial PDE5 expression was significantly correlated with myocardial oxidative stress markers 3′-nitrotyrosine or 4-hydroxynonenal expression (P<0.05). Histological examination demonstrated that PDE5 was mainly expressed in vascular smooth muscle in normal donor hearts, but its expression was increased in both cardiac myocytes and vascular smooth muscle of CHF hearts. Myocardial PDE5 protein content and activity also increased in mice after TAC-induced CHF (P<0.05). When the superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic M40401 was administered to attenuate oxidative stress, the increased PDE5 protein and activity caused by TAC was blunted, and the hearts were protected against left ventricular hypertrophy and CHF. Conversely, increased myocardial oxidative stress in superoxide dismutase 3 knockout mice caused a greater increase of PDE5 expression and CHF after TAC. In addition, administration of sildenafil to inhibit PDE5 attenuated TAC-induced myocardial oxidative stress, PDE5 expression, and CHF. Conclusions— Myocardial oxidative stress increases PDE5 expression in the failing heart. Reducing oxidative stress by treatment with M40401 attenuated cardiomyocyte PDE5 expression. This and selective inhibition of PDE5 protected the heart against pressure overload-induced left ventricular hypertrophy and CHF.
Peripheral White Blood Cell Subsets in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Cetuximab: The Potential Clinical Relevance

It was demonstrated that cetuximab-induced tumor regression is based on the effects exerted by immune cells included mainly in the innate immune response. Therefore, the focus of this study was to explore the alterations in the percentages of CD16+, and/or CD56+ lymphocytes, which are comprised of NK cells, and minority of CD56+CD3+ cells, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer before or 2 months after the treatment with cetuximab-based regimens associated with the response to therapy. The changes in the percentages of lymphocytes and granulocytes in these patients were evaluated as well. We enrolled 50 patients with wild-type KRAS metastatic colorectal cancer. Disease progression was observed in 11/50 patients (non-responders), while other patients achieved partial response or stable disease (responders). Control groups included up to 72 healthy individuals. A significant decrease in the percentages of CD56+ and CD16+CD56+ lymphocytes together with a significant decrease in the percentage of lymphocytes and an increase in the ratio of granulocyte to lymphocyte percentages were observed in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer before therapy, compared with those in the healthy individuals. In contrast to those in the responders, the percentage of CD16+ lymphocytes in the overall white blood cell pool was shown to be significantly decreased in the non-responders, together with a significantly decreased percentage of lymphocytes, a significantly increased percentage of granulocytes, and an increased ratio of granulocyte to lymphocyte percentages before treatment compared with those in the healthy controls. Two months after the initiation of the treatment, significantly decreased percentages of CD16+, CD56+, and CD16+CD56+ lymphocytes were observed in patients, compared with those determined in the healthy controls. The same changes in the amounts of circulating immune cells were also observed in the responder subgroup, but the percentages of CD16+, CD56+, and CD16+CD56+ lymphocytes 2 months after treatment in the non-responder group did not differ significantly in comparison with healthy individuals. Considerable alterations of immune cell percentages observed in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with disease progression indicate that the assessment of peripheral white blood cell architecture before treatment initiation may be clinically relevant.
Modeling of missing data prediction: Computational intelligence and optimization algorithms

Four optimization algorithms (genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, particle swarm optimization and random forest) were applied with an MLP based auto associative neural network on two classification datasets and one prediction dataset. This work was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of using auto associative neural networks and optimization algorithms in missing data prediction and classification tasks. If performed appropriately, computational intelligence and optimization algorithm systems could lead to consistent, accurate and trustworthy predictions and classifications resulting in more adequate decisions. The results reveal GA, SA and PSO to be more efficient when compared to RF in terms of predicting the forest area to be affected by fire. GA, SA, and PSO had the same accuracy of 93.3%, while RF showed 92.99% accuracy. For the classification problems, RF showed 93.66% and 92.11% accuracy on the German credit and Heart disease datasets respectively, outperforming GA, SA and PSO.
Type 1 Diabetes and Intestinal Microbiota: How Geographic Differences Between Human Cohorts Can Influence Interpretation of Associations

Evidence is growing for a role of the intestinal microbiome in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in humans. The composition of the microbiota is heavily influenced by environmental and developmental factors, making the identification of disease-specific microbial signatures difficult. This review summarizes the impact of geographic location, a major confounder of the intestinal microbiota, on the discovery and validation of T1D-microbiota associations as reported in published case-control studies. Few common taxonomic associations were observed across studies and geographic locations, possibly due to the large effect of environmental confounders. In the future, a focus on single geographic regions and integration of multi-omic data will help in identifying disease signatures and potential functional biomarkers of T1D.
Immunohistochemical evaluation of p63 and cyclin D1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and leukoplakia

Objectives There are only a limited number of studies on cyclin D1 and p63 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and leukoplakia. This study compared cyclin D1 and p63 expression in leukoplakia and OSCC to investigate the possible correlation of both markers with grade of dysplasia and histological grade of OSCC. Materials and Methods The study included a total of 60 cases, of which 30 were diagnosed with OSCC and 30 with leukoplakia, that were evaluated immunohistochemically for p63 and cyclin D1 expression. Protein expression was correlated based on grades of dysplasia and OSCC. Results Out of 30 cases of OSCC, 23 cases (76.7%) were cyclin D1 positive and 30 cases (100%) were p63 positive. Out of 30 cases of leukoplakia, 21 cases (70.0%) were cyclin D1 positive and 30 (100%) were p63 positive (P<0.05). Conclusion The overall expression of cyclin D1 and p63 correlated with tumor differentiation, and increases were correlated with poor histological grades, from well-differentiated to poorly-differentiated SCC. Increased cyclin D1 and p63 expression was associated with the severity of leukoplakia. Based on these results cyclin D1 and p63 products can be a useful tool for improved leukoplakia prognosis.
ZORE: A Syntax-based System for Chinese Open Relation Extraction

Open Relation Extraction (ORE) overcomes the limitations of traditional IE techniques, which train individual extractors for every single relation type. Systems such as ReVerb, PATTY, OLLIE, and Exemplar have attracted much attention on English ORE. However, few studies have been reported on ORE for languages beyond English. This paper presents a syntax-based Chinese (Zh) ORE system, ZORE, for extracting relations and semantic patterns from Chinese text. ZORE identifies relation candidates from automatically parsed dependency trees, and then extracts relations with their semantic patterns iteratively through a novel double propagation algorithm. Empirical results on two data sets show the effectiveness of the proposed system.
Effect of somatic nerve stimulation on the kidney in intact, vagotomized and carotid sinus‐denervated rats.

1. The influence of cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreceptors on the renal nerve‐dependent functional responses of the kidney to electrical stimulation of somatic afferent nerves was studied in pentobarbitone‐anaesthetized rats. 2. Electrical stimulation of the left brachial nerve plexus at 3 Hz, 0.2 ms and 15 V in the intact animals increased blood pressure by 22%, and while renal perfusion pressure was maintained at pre‐stimulus levels, renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate decreased by 14 and 22% respectively. At the same time urine flow rate and absolute and fractional sodium excretion decreased by 36, 42 and 27% respectively. In animals subjected to acute renal nerve section these renal functional responses could not be elicited. 3. Following bilateral vagotomy the systemic and renal haemodynamic responses to brachial nerve stimulation were similar to the intact group. However, urine flow rate and absolute and fractional sodium excretions decreased by 50, 59 and 47% respectively, responses which were significantly greater than in the intact group. 4. In a group of rats in which the carotid sinus nerves had been sectioned, stimulation of the brachial plexus caused reductions of renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate of the same magnitude as in the intact group; however, urine flow rate and absolute and fractional sodium excretion fell by 51, 60 and 48%, respectively, which were significantly larger than in the intact group. 5. These results demonstrate that the afferent nerve information arising from muscle joints and skin and carried via the brachial plexus caused reflex renal nerve‐dependent reductions in renal haemodynamics and an antidiuresis and antinatriuresis. The cardiopulmonary and carotid sinus baroreceptors exert a tonic inhibitory action on these reflex renal responses insofar as they appeared to attenuate the antidiuretic and antinatriuretic responses to somatic afferent nerve stimulation.
Finding your way out of the forest without a trail of bread crumbs: development and evaluation of two novel displays of forest plots

Research has shown that forest plots are a gold standard in the visualization of meta‐analytic results. However, research on the general interpretation of forest plots and the role of researchers' meta‐analysis experience and field of study is still unavailable. Additionally, the traditional display of effect sizes, confidence intervals, and weights have repeatedly been criticized. The current work presents an online statistical cognition experiment in which a total of 279 researchers with experience in meta‐analysis from 36 countries evaluated conventional forest plots and two novel versions of forest plots, namely, thick forest plots and rainforest plots. The results indicate certain biases in the interpretation of forest plots, especially with regard to heterogeneity, the distribution of weights, and the theoretical concept of confidence intervals. Although the two novel displays (thick forest plots and rainforest plots) are associated with slightly longer viewing times, they are at least as well‐suited and esthetically and perceptively pleasing as the conventional displays while facilitating the correct and exhaustive interpretation of the meta‐analytic information. Furthermore, it is advisable to combine conventional forest plots with distribution information of the individual effects, make confidence lines more visually striking, and to display a background grid in the graph. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dog ownership, dog behaviour and transmission of Echinococcus spp. in the Alay Valley, southern Kyrgyzstan

SUMMARY Echinococcosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease in Kyrgyzstan, and the incidence of human infection has increased substantially since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Domestic dogs are hosts of Echinococcus spp. and play an important role in the transmission of these parasites. The demography, ecology and behaviour of dogs are therefore relevant in studying Echinococcus spp. transmission. Dog demographics, roles of dogs, dog movements and faecal environmental contamination were assessed in four rural communities in the Alay Valley, southern Kyrgyzstan. Arecoline purge data revealed for the first time that E. granulosus, E. canadensis and E. multilocularis were present in domestic dogs in the Alay Valley. Surveys revealed that many households had dogs and that dogs played various roles in the communities, as pets, guard dogs or sheep dogs. Almost all dogs were free to roam, and GPS data revealed that many moved outside their communities, thus being able to scavenge offal and consume rodents. Faecal environmental contamination was high, presenting a significant infection risk to the local communities.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDE IN ARMED FORCES

The Indian Armed Forces with a closely knit community, life of their own provides a unique opportunity to study the adaptive and maladaptive characteristics of his actions. In this study thirty two percent of attempted suicide in the Armed Forces achieved discharge from service is a testament to the urgency and intensity of the need to get out of the service. Twently-two percent of control psychiathc in-patient who sought environmental change also achieved premature discharge from service, further highlights the intensity of the need of these patients to change their environment. The intensity of these patients need to change their environment is coupled with a marked sense of isolation. They find themselves not only friendless but also incapable of making friends.