Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Hydroalcoholic and Buthanolic Extract of Cucumis sativus Seeds on Blood Glucose Level of Normal and Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Objective(s) Seed of Cucumis sativus Linn. is one of the herbal remedies has been traditionally used for diabetes mellitus treatment. We studied the effect of hydroalcoholic and buthanolic extract obtained from C. sativus seeds in a model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic (type I) rats. Materials and Methods Normal and diabetic male Wistar rats (STZ, 60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) were treated daily with vehicle (5 ml/kg), hydroalcoholic (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g/kg) and buthanolic extract (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g/kg) and glibenclamide (1 & 3 mg/kg) separately and treatment was continued for 9 days. Blood samples were taken at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 hr of the first day and the day 9 (216 hr) of treatments for measuring the blood glucose levels. Results Our findings indicated that C. sativus seeds extracts were not effective on reducing blood glucose levels (BGL) in normal and diabetic rats for initial phase of treatments. However, both hydroalcoholic (22.5-33.8 %) and buthanolic (26.6- 45.0 %) extracts were effective on diminishing BGL and controling the loss of body weight in diabetic rats compared to controls after 9 days of continued daily therapy. Glibenclamide on the other hand, had hypoglycemic action in normal (27.8-31.0 %) and diabetic rats (36.0-50.0 %) after acute and prolonged treatments. Conclusion It is concluded that C. sativus seeds extracts (hydroalcoholic and buthanolic) had a role in diabetes control probably through a mechanism similar to euglycemic agents. Further studies are warranted to clarify the mechanisms and the exact role of this herbal medicine in control of metabolic disorders.
Revealing Botnet Membership Using DNSBL Counter-Intelligence

Botnets--networks of (typically compromised) machines--are often used for nefarious activities (e.g., spam, click fraud, denial-of-service attacks, etc.). Identifying members of botnets could help stem these attacks, but passively detecting botnet membership (i.e., without disrupting the operation of the botnet) proves to be difficult. This paper studies the effectiveness of monitoring lookups to a DNS-based blackhole list (DNSBL) to expose botnet membership. We perform counter-intelligence based on the insight that botmasters themselves perform DNSBL lookups to determine whether their spamming bots are blacklisted. Using heuristics to identify which DNSBL lookups are perpetrated by a botmaster performing such reconnaissance, we are able to compile a list of likely bots. This paper studies the prevalence of DNSBL reconnaissance observed at a mirror of a well-known blacklist for a 45- day period, identifies the means by which botmasters are performing reconnaissance, and suggests the possibility of using counter-intelligence to discover likely bots. We find that bots are performing reconnaissance on behalf of other bots. Based on this finding, we suggest counterintelligence techniques that may be useful for early bot detection.
Emission Inventory for PFOS in China: Review of Past Methodologies and Suggestions

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemical that has the potential for long-range transport in the environment. Its use in a wide variety of consumer products and industrial processes makes a detailed characterization of its emissions sources very challenging. These varied emissions sources all contribute to PFOS' existence within nearly all environmental media. Currently, China is the only country documented to still be producing PFOS, though there is no China PFOS emission inventory available. This study reviews the inventory methodologies for PFOS in other countries to suggest a China-specific methodology framework for a PFOS emission inventory. The suggested framework combines unknowns for PFOS-containing product penetration into the Chinese market with product lifecycle assumptions, centralizing these diverse sources into municipal sewage treatment plants. Releases from industrial sources can be quantified separately using another set of emission factors. Industrial sources likely to be relevant to the Chinese environment are identified.
Bowen’s disease, solar keratoses and superficial basal cell carcinomas treated by photodynamic therapy using a large‐field incoherent light source

Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has not yet been demonstrated to be superior to conventional treatment in the treatment of superficial skin cancers and premalignant skin conditions. A limitation for PDT is the absence to date of a light source suitable for the treatment of larger lesions or ‘field changes’ where several lesions are present on one anatomical site.
Cerebral arteriovenous malformations and associated aneurysms: analysis of 305 cases from a series of 662 patients.

OBJECTIVE Spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage is the primary danger for patients with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Associated aneurysms are considered weak points that increase the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Aneurysms are classified as proximal aneurysms (PROXs) or intranidal aneurysms (INs). METHODS The present study was based on a series of 662 patients who presented with AVMs between 1985 and 1995. Its purpose was to evaluate prestated hypotheses using prospectively collected data. In 305 of these 662 patients, 372 INs and 313 PROXs were observed and analyzed with respect to their shapes, locations, and sizes. Partial targeted endovascular treatment with n-butylcyanoacrylate was performed for 450 of the 662 patients (68%) in this series, using a standard protocol. Of 450 treated patients, 181 (40%) had at least one IN and 138 (30.7%) had at least one PROX. Analysis of changes in the sizes of PROXs was based on the follow-up data for 83 treated patients, with a total of 149 PROXs. Changes in the sizes of PROXs in treated patients were analyzed with respect to PROX shapes, PROX locations, and treated AVM occlusion rates. Univariate and multivariate event data analyses were used to study factors influencing aneurysm shrinkage. False aneurysms were excluded from the series. RESULTS Presentation with intracranial hemorrhage was not correlated with any type of aneurysm. However, INs demonstrated a higher rebleeding rate (P < 0.002) before treatment. Among 181 patients, 92.2% of INs were occluded, together with the related portions of the AVM nidi. In cases of PROXs, embolization of the cerebral AVM compartment fed by the artery with the aneurysm was a priority. During follow-up monitoring of 83 treated patients with 149 PROXs, 100% shrinkage was observed for 12 PROXs and more than 50% shrinkage was observed for 33 PROXs. The median time required for more than 50% shrinkage was 3.5 years. The shrinkage of PROXs was influenced by the degree of AVM occlusion (P = 0.027) and occurred faster for PROXs on midline structures, such as the anterior cerebral artery and the circle of Willis, compared with arteries distal to the circle of Willis (P = 0.004). No rupture of untreated PROXs was observed after partial targeted treatment of AVMs. CONCLUSION PROXs are not primary treatment targets, compared with AVMs themselves. INs should be primary targets of endovascular therapy, because of their increased risk of rebleeding.
Effect of Amoxicillin Use on Oral Microbiota in Young Children

ABSTRACT Dental plaque samples from 40 children were screened for the presence of bacteria resistant to amoxicillin. Fifteen children had used amoxicillin and 25 had not used any antibiotic in the 3 months prior to sample collection. All (100%) of the children harbored amoxicillin-resistant oral bacteria. The median percentage of the total cultivable oral microbiota resistant to amoxicillin was 2.4% (range, 0.1 to 14.3%) in children without amoxicillin use and 10.9% (range, 0.8 to 97.3%) in children with amoxicillin use, with the latter value being significantly higher (P < 0.01). A total of 224 amoxicillin-resistant bacteria were isolated and comprised three main genera: Haemophilus spp. , Streptococcus spp. , and Veillonella spp. The biodiversity of the amoxicillin-resistant microbiota was similar among the isolates from children with and without previous antibiotic use. The amoxicillin MIC at which 90% of the isolates were inhibited for isolates from children who had used amoxicillin in the previous 3 months was higher (64 mg liter−1) than that obtained for the isolates from subjects who had not used antibiotics (16 mg liter−1). The majority of the amoxicillin-resistant isolates (65%) were also resistant to at least one of the three antibiotics tested (penicillin, erythromycin, and tetracycline), with resistance to penicillin (51% of isolates) being the most frequently encountered. However, significantly more (P < 0.05) of the amoxicillin-resistant isolates from subjects with previous amoxicillin use were also resistant to erythromycin. This study has demonstrated that a diverse collection of amoxicillin-resistant bacteria is present in the oral cavity and that the number, proportions, MICs, and resistance to erythromycin can significantly increase with amoxicillin use.
Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals a Highly Diverse CD8 T Cell Response to Murine Cytomegalovirus1

Human CMV establishes a lifelong latent infection in the majority of people worldwide. Although most infections are asymptomatic, immunocompetent hosts devote an extraordinary amount of immune resources to virus control. To increase our understanding of CMV immunobiology in an animal model, we used a genomic approach to comprehensively map the C57BL/6 CD8 T cell response to murine CMV (MCMV). Responses to 27 viral proteins were detectable directly ex vivo, the most diverse CD8 T cell response yet described within an individual animal. Twenty-four peptide epitopes were mapped from 18 Ags, which together account for most of the MCMV-specific response. Most Ags were from genes expressed at early times, after viral genes that interfere with Ag presentation are expressed, consistent with the hypothesis that the CD8 T cell response to MCMV is largely driven by cross-presented Ag. Titration of peptide epitopes in a direct ex vivo intracellular cytokine staining assay revealed a wide range of functional avidities, with no obvious correlation between functional avidity and the strength of the response. The immunodominance hierarchy varied only slightly between mice and between experiments. However, H-2b-expressing mice with different genetic backgrounds responded preferentially to different epitopes, indicating that non-MHC-encoded factors contribute to immunodominance in the CD8 T cell response to MCMV.
Real‐time passive volume responses of astrocytes to acute osmotic and ischemic stress in cortical slices and in vivo revealed by two‐photon microscopy

The brain swells over the several minutes that follow stroke onset or acute hypo‐osmotic stress because cells take up water. Measuring the volume responses of single neurons and glia has necessarily been confined to isolated or cultured cells. Two‐photon laser scanning microscopy enables real‐time visualization of cells functioning deep within living neocortex in vivo or in brain slices under physiologically relevant osmotic and ischemic stress. Astrocytes and their processes expressing green fluorescent protein in murine cortical slices swelled in response to 20 min of overhydration (−40 mOsm) and shrank during dehydration (+40 or +80 mOsm) at 32–34°C. Minute‐by‐minute monitoring revealed no detectable volume regulation during these osmotic challenges, particularly during the first 5 min. Astrocytes also rapidly swelled in response to elevated [K+]o for 3 min or oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) for 10 min. Post‐OGD, astroglial volume recovered quickly when slices were re‐supplied with oxygen and glucose, while neurons remained swollen with beaded dendrites. In vivo, rapid astroglial swelling was confirmed within 6 min following intraperitoneal water injection or during the 6–12 min following cardiac arrest. While the astrocytic processes were clearly swollen, the extent of the astroglial arbor remained unchanged. Thus, in contrast to osmo‐resistant pyramidal neurons (Andrew et al., 2007 ) that lack known aquaporins, astrocytes passively respond to acute osmotic stress, reflecting functional aquaporins in their plasma membrane. Unlike neurons, astrocytes better recover from brief ischemic insult in cortical slices, probably because their aquaporins facilitate water efflux. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A review of clinical efficacy, safety, new developments and adherence to allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis caused by allergy to ragweed pollen (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

Allergic rhinitis is a common health problem in both children and adults. The number of patients allergic to ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is on the rise throughout Europe, having a significant negative impact on the patients’ and their family’s quality of life. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) has disease-modifying effects and can induce immune tolerance to allergens. Both subcutaneous immunotherapy and sublingual immunotherapy with ragweed extracts/preparations have clear positive clinical efficacy, especially over pharmacological treatment, even years after the treatment has ended. AIT also has very good safety profiles with extremely rare side effects, and the extracts/preparations used in AIT are commonly well tolerated by patients. However, patient adherence to treatment with AIT seems to be quite low, mostly due to the fact that treatment with AIT is relatively time-demanding and, moreover, due to patients not receiving adequate information and education about the treatment before it starts. AIT is undergoing innovations and improvements in clinical efficacy, safety and patient adherence, especially with new approaches using new adjuvants, recombinant or modified allergens, synthetic peptides, novel routes of administration (epidermal or intralymphatic), and new protocols, which might make AIT more acceptable for a wider range of patients and novel indications. Patient education and support (eg, recall systems) is one of the most important goals for AIT in the future, to further enhance treatment success.
Maternal cigarette smoking and oxygen diffusion across the placenta.

The aim of this study was to test whether or not adaptations in partial, total and specific oxygen diffusive conductances occur in the placentae of women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy and help to compensate for intrauterine fetal hypoxic stress. Tissue sections were randomly sampled from human term placentae divided into two groups (non-smokers and smokers) according to maternal smoking status. In smokers, status was expressed as either declared smoking rate or level of plasma cotinine (the major metabolite of nicotine). Sections were analysed stereologically to estimate key structural quantities (vascular volumes, exchange surface areas, tissue diffusion distances). These were combined with previously-published physicochemical quantities (oxygen-haemoglobin reaction rates and tissue oxygen diffusion coefficients) in order to estimate the partial conductances of six tissue compartments of the oxygen pathway: maternal erythrocytes and plasma, villous trophoblast, villous stroma (including fetal capillary wall), fetal plasma and erythrocytes. From partial conductances and birthweights, total and specific conductances were calculated for each placenta. Results were assessed statistically by analyses of variance and t -tests. Despite apparent improvements in the partial conductances of the maternal erythrocytes and plasma, total and specific conductances did not alter significantly in smoking groups. However, the relative biases affecting these estimates may be different in smokers and non-smokers. We conclude that total conductance does not increase in placentae associated with maternal smoking. However, given that the fetus suffers chronic hypoxic stress as a consequence of smoking (evidenced here by elevated haematocrits), even a constant diffusive conductance implies a reduced transplacental partial pressure gradient. This could be a contributory factor to the reduced birthweight.
Morbidity Risks of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders among First-Degree Relatives of Patients with Schizoaffective Disorders

Of 510 patients consecutively admitted and diagnosed as schizophrenic, 310 who failed to meet research criteria for schizophrenia were labelled as having ‘atypical psychosis'. This heterogeneous group of patients was then subtyped into more homogeneous subgroupings according to their clinical characteristics, independent of their family data. One subgroup resembled schizophrenia, one resembled affective disorders and a third (n = 57), which did not resemble either schizophrenia or affective disorder, was defined as ‘schizoaffective’. Comparing the morbidity risks for schizophrenic and affective disorders in the relatives of this schizoaffective group with those of the relatives of ‘typical’ groups of schizophrenia and affective disorder, showed that this group was different from those with schizophrenic and affective disorders.
BrainAGE in Mild Cognitive Impaired Patients: Predicting the Conversion to Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, shares many aspects of abnormal brain aging. We present a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based biomarker that predicts the individual progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD on the basis of pathological brain aging patterns. By employing kernel regression methods, the expression of normal brain-aging patterns forms the basis to estimate the brain age of a given new subject. If the estimated age is higher than the chronological age, a positive brain age gap estimation (BrainAGE) score indicates accelerated atrophy and is considered a risk factor for conversion to AD. Here, the BrainAGE framework was applied to predict the individual brain ages of 195 subjects with MCI at baseline, of which a total of 133 developed AD during 36 months of follow-up (corresponding to a pre-test probability of 68%). The ability of the BrainAGE framework to correctly identify MCI-converters was compared with the performance of commonly used cognitive scales, hippocampus volume, and state-of-the-art biomarkers derived from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). With accuracy rates of up to 81%, BrainAGE outperformed all cognitive scales and CSF biomarkers in predicting conversion of MCI to AD within 3 years of follow-up. Each additional year in the BrainAGE score was associated with a 10% greater risk of developing AD (hazard rate: 1.10 [CI: 1.07–1.13]). Furthermore, the post-test probability was increased to 90% when using baseline BrainAGE scores to predict conversion to AD. The presented framework allows an accurate prediction even with multicenter data. Its fast and fully automated nature facilitates the integration into the clinical workflow. It can be exploited as a tool for screening as well as for monitoring treatment options.
Acetylcholinesterase and Its Inhibition in Alzheimer Disease

Until recently, the only established function of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was the termination of cholinergic neurotransmission. Therefore, the use of AChE inhibitors to treat symptoms caused by cholinergic imbalances in Alzheimer disease (AD) represented a rational approach. However, it is now clear that AChE and the cholinergic system may have broader effects in AD. Of particular interest may be signal transduction pathways mediated through cholinergic receptors that promote nonamyloidogenic amyloid precursor protein processing and decrease tau phosphorylation, and the role of AChE in the aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide. In addition, the neuronal and nonneuronal cholinergic systems have important roles in the modulation of regional cerebral blood flow. These findings may modify the overly simplistic cholinergic hypothesis in AD that is limited to symptomatic treatment and ignores the potential of cholinergic therapies as disease-modifying agents. Chronic increases in AChE activity may exacerbate neurodegenerative processes, make clinically relevant levels of AChE inhibition more difficult to achieve, and cause the therapeutic value of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChE-Is) to be limited and temporary. Rapidly reversible ChE-Is appear to increase AChE activity over the longer term whereas, remarkably, irreversible or very slowly reversible ChE-Is do not seem to have this effect. If such differences between ChE-Is are shown to have clinical correlates, this may prompt reconsideration of the rationale and expectations of some agents in the long-term management of AD.
Bone Changes and Aortic Calcification in Aging Inhabitants of Mountain Versus Seacoast Communities in the Kii Peninsula

Bone changes and aortic calcification were compared radiographically for different age groups of the inhabitants of two communities on the Kii Peninsula at the central southern tip of the Japanese mainland, one a mountainous Shichikawa village with a traditionally restricted nutritional intake and the other a seacoast village on Oshima Island with an abundant nutritional supply. Changes in the physical properties of the bone were also assessed by resonance measurement. In the mountainous village, bone loss appeared to occur more rapidly than in the seacoast village, as indicated by a signficantly higher frequency of thoracic vertebral deformity and more pronounced age‐bound decrease of ulnar resonant frequency. Aortic calcification was also more frequent in Shichikawa than on Oshima Island. Such differences were more evident in women than in men. The poorer nutritional intake (especially of calcium and vitamin D) of persons living in the mountainous village (which receives less sunshine) might be responsible for the accelerated age‐bound degenerative changes observed in their skeletal and vascular systems.
Permanent sacral nerve stimulation for fecal incontinence.

OBJECTIVE To characterize the longer-term therapeutic response of permanent sacral nerve stimulation for fecal incontinence and to delineate suitable indications and the mode of action. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA A single report of permanent sacral nerve stimulation in three patients followed up for 6 months showed marked improvement in fecal continence. Acute evaluation has shown that the effect may be mediated by altered rectal and anal smooth muscle activity, and facilitation of external sphincter contraction. METHODS Five women (age 41-68 years) with fecal incontinence for solid or liquid stool at least once per week were followed up for a median of 16 months after permanent implantation. All had passive incontinence, and three had urge incontinence. The cause was scleroderma in two, primary internal sphincter degeneration in one, diffuse weakness of both sphincters in one, and disruption of both sphincters in one. RESULTS All patients had marked improvement. Urgency resolved in all three patients with this symptom. Passive soiling resolved completely in three and was reduced to minor episodes in two. Continence scores (scale 0-20) improved from a median of 16 before surgery to 2 after surgery. There were no early complications, and there have been no side effects. One patient required wound exploration at 6 months for local pain, and a lead replacement at 12 months for electrode displacement. The quality of life assessment improved in all patients. The resting pressure increased in four patients, but there was no consistent measured physiologic change that could account for the symptomatic improvement. CONCLUSIONS In patients with sphincter degeneration and weakness, and possibly in those with sphincter disruption, sacral nerve stimulation markedly improves fecal incontinence.