Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inflammatory changes in optic nerve after closed-head repeated traumatic brain injury: Preliminary study

Abstract Background: Closed-head, repeated, mild traumatic brain injury (r-mTBI) leads to inflammatory and degenerative changes in the optic nerve of young wild type mice. This work has investigated whether similar changes may be present when the same model is applied to htau mice, a transgenic mouse in which the non-mutated human tau gene is expressed on a null murine tau background. Methods: This study investigated neuropathological changes in the optic nerve in both young (15 weeks) and old (65–70 weeks) htau mice at 24 hours after r-mTBI or anaesthesia only (r-sham). Change in the level of cellularity, myelin content and astroglial reactivity were evaluated in optic nerve samples. Results: Increased cellularity and areas of demyelination were clearly detectable in the intracranial portion of the optic nerve in both young (10–15 weeks) and old (65–75) htau r-mTBI mice at 24 hours post-injury, in contrast to r-sham. Increased astroglial reactivity was also observed, together with increased tau phosphorylation. Conclusions: Localized inflammatory and degenerative response of the intracranial part of the optic nerve was detected in htau mice after r-mTBI. Further studies to clarify the cause and consequences of this phenomenon are warranted.
Comparative 13-Week Inhalation Study of Cigarette Smoke from Cigarettes Containing Cast Sheet Tobacco

A subchronic, nose-only inhalation study was conducted to compare the effects of mainstream smoke from a reference cigarette containing conventional reconstituted tobacco sheet at 30% of the finished blend to mainstream smoke from cigarettes containing 10% or 15% cast sheet (a specific type of reconstituted tobacco sheet) substituted for part of the conventional reconstituted tobacco. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 1 h/day, 5 d/wk, for 13 wk to mainstream smoke at 0, 0.06, 0.20, or 0.80 mg wet total particulate matter per liter of air. Clinical signs, body and organ weights, clinical chemistry, hematology, carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), serum nicotine, plethysmography, gross pathology, and histopathology were determined. Exposure to cigarette smoke induced a number of changes in respiratory physiology, histopathology, and serum nicotine and COHb levels when compared to sham animals. When corresponding dose groups of reference and cast sheet mainstream smokes were compared, no biological differences were noted. At the end of the exposure period, subsets of rats from each group were maintained without smoke exposures for an additional 13 wk (recovery period). At the end of the recovery period, there were no statistically significant differences in histopathological findings observed between the reference and either cast sheet cigarette. Substitution of 10% or 15% cast sheet tobacco for conventional reconstituted tobacco sheet does not alter the inhalation toxicology of the mainstream smoke when compared to mainstream smoke from a reference cigarette containing conventional reconstituted tobacco sheet.
Some more unequal than others: alternative financing for museums, libraries and archives in England

This article explores whether and how organizational infrastructure and attitudes at museums, libraries and archives in England affect their propensity to diversify financing sources. After more than 50 years of policies and programmes to support funding diversification in the UK cultural sector, research suggests the sector remains dependent on public funding and relatively reluctant to explore new ways of exploiting their assets. Policies directed at addressing these issues concentrate on correcting perceived disparities in terms of cultural form and location (i.e., the London Effect). Empirical research suggests, however, that successful private fundraising is not significantly associated with the region where the organization operates. Instead, successful funding diversification may be closely related to factors such as organizational infrastructure and attitudes towards innovation and risk. This article expands on initial descriptive analysis undertaken from responses to a questionnaire on financial sustainability at museums, libraries and archives in England commissioned by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in 2008. Guided by a conceptual framework, the article focuses on developing typologies of characteristics related to an organization's infrastructure, attitudes and beliefs, and their level of funding diversification. This line of research has implications for policy, training and organizational development of cultural enterprises. The ongoing fiscal retrenchment and growing outcomes agenda have provided the setting for more entrepreneurial activities in the sector, without major changes to its organizational infrastructure. The article aims to provide insights into the sustainability of these activities as both economic activity and fiscal constraints increase.
Interplay between Synchronization of Multivesicular Release and Recruitment of Additional Release Sites Support Short-Term Facilitation at Hippocampal Mossy Fiber to CA3 Pyramidal Cells Synapses

Synaptic short-term plasticity is a key regulator of neuronal communication and is controlled via various mechanisms. A well established property of mossy fiber to CA3 pyramidal cell synapses is the extensive short-term facilitation during high-frequency bursts. We investigated the mechanisms governing facilitation using a combination of whole-cell electrophysiological recordings, electrical minimal stimulation, and random-access two-photon microscopy in acute mouse hippocampal slices. Two distinct presynaptic mechanisms were involved in short-term facilitation, with their relative contribution dependent on extracellular calcium concentration. The synchronization of multivesicular release was observed during trains of facilitating EPSCs recorded in 1.2 mm external Ca2+ ([Ca2+]e). Indeed, covariance analysis revealed a gradual augmentation in quantal size during trains of EPSCs, and application of the low-affinity glutamate receptor antagonist γ-d-glutamylglycine showed an increase in cleft glutamate concentration during paired-pulse stimulation. Whereas synchronization of multivesicular release contributed to the facilitation in 1.2 mm [Ca2+]e, variance-mean analysis showed that recruitment of more release sites (N) was likely to account for the larger facilitation observed in 2.5 mm [Ca2+]e. Furthermore, this increase in N could be promoted by calcium microdomains of heterogeneous amplitudes observed in single mossy fiber boutons. Our findings suggest that the combination of multivesicular release and the recruitment of additional release sites act together to increase glutamate release during burst activity. This is supported by the compartmentalized spatial profile of calcium elevations in boutons and helps to expand the dynamic range of mossy fibers information transfer.
Effects of Hypertension and Its Reversal on Canine Arterial Wall Properties

Segments of carotid, femoral, saphenous, and left circumflex coronary arteries were obtained from control, renal hypertensive, and nephrectomized hypertensive dogs for in vitro study of mechanical properties. Hypertension was produced in two-kidney dogs by unilateral renal artery constriction. After 3 months, the compromised kidney was removed in half of the dogs. Mean arterial pressure was significantly elevated in the hypertensive dogs after 3 months (127 ± 2 vs 94 ± 1 mm Hg for controls) and partially returned toward normal 3 months after nephrectomy (105 ± 2 mm Hg). Pressure-diameter relations were determined under conditions of rmnrimnm active and passive smooth muscle activation. Contiguous segments were used for the determination of water and connective tissue content. Hypertension was associated with increased passive arterial wall stiffness at most sites, with a partial return toward normal after nephrectomy. Maximum responses to smooth muscle activation (active stress and constriction response) were augmented in arteries from hypertensive dogs and partially returned toward normal in the nephrectomized hypertensive group. The elastin content of these arteries was unchanged, while collagen content was nonuniformly decreased in renal hypertensive dogs. Small decreases were found in the radius-wall thickness ratio of some arteries. No significant mechanical changes occurred in the saphenous artery. The largest hypertension-related changes were found in the coronary arteries, which also exhibited the smallest recovery toward normal properties after nephrectomy. Considerable regional variability of changes in arterial wall in renal hypertensive and nephrectomized hypertensive dogs was found. Incomplete resolution of the hypertension and arterial wall changes by nephrectomy was found in this animal model.
he effect of aging on dopamine release and metabolism during sevoflurane nesthesia in rat striatum : An in vivo microdialysis study

We have previously reported that halothane anesthesia increases extracellular concentrations of dopamine (DA) metabolites in rat striatum using in vivo microdialysis techniques. Aging induces many changes in the brain, including neurotransmission. However, the relationship between aging and changes in neurotransmitter release during inhalational anesthesia has not been fully investigated. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effect of sevoflurane on methamphetamine (MAPT)-induced DA release and metabolism in young and middle-aged rats. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were implanted with a microdialysis probe into the right striatum. The probe was perfused with a modified Ringer’s solution and 40 l of dialysate was directly injected to an HPLC every 20 min. Rats were administered saline, the same volume of 2 mg kg−1 MAPT intraperitoneally, or 5 M MAPT locally perfused. After treatments, the ethamphetamine rats were anesthetized with 1% or 3% sevoflurane for 1 h. Sevoflurane anesthesia significantly increased the extracellular concentration of DA only in middle-aged rats (52-weeks-old). In young rats (8-weeksold), sevoflurane significantly enhanced MAPT-induced DA when administered both intraperitoneally and perfused locally, whereas no significant additive interaction was found in middle-aged rats. These results suggest that aging changes DA release and metabolism in rat brains primarily by decreasing the DA transporter.
Cost Sharing in a Volunteer's Dilemma

Many interesting situations of public good provision such as a bystander's decision to help a victim, a committee member's decision to veto, or a company's decision to develop innovative products can be described by the volunteer's dilemma (VOD). The authors analyze a variant of the VOD in which the costs of producing a public good are shared equally among the volunteers rather than paid in full by each of the volunteers. The game theoretic solution predicts that the probability of volunteering is larger under the condition of sharing than when each volunteer pays the full cost. It is predicted that, even when cost sharing, the individual probability to volunteer decreases with group size, and larger groups still underproduce the public good. Predictions are tested using data collected via a mailed questionnaire to students of Berne University. The quantitative predictions of the game-theoretic models do not describe the data well, even when the models are extended with risk preferences. However, the less informative qualitative prediction that cost sharing increases the individual probability to volunteer is supported by the data.
A further prospective evaluation of an equation to predict daily lithium dose.

BACKGROUND Recently, one prospective study confirmed the safety and accuracy of a lithium-dose prediction equation created by Zetin et al., but no definitive conclusion on the reliability of the equation has been established as yet. METHOD The authors applied the Zetin et al. equation to 18 chronic male schizophrenic inpatients. Predicted doses to reach the serum lithium concentration of 0.4 mmol/L were calculated and prescribed in the form of lithium capsules. At Weeks 1 and 3 after treatment initiation, morning blood samples were collected about 12 hours after the last lithium dose for the measurement of serum lithium concentrations. RESULTS None of the 18 patients achieved the desired concentration (0.4 mmol/L) exactly. The mean +/- SD of serum lithium concentrations at Week 1 was 1.01 +/- 0.29 mmol/L (range, 0.2-1.5) and at Week 3 was 0.94 +/- 0.35 mmol/L (range, 0.2-1.8). Lithium concentrations were lower than 0.4 mmol/L in only 1 patient and were higher than 0.4 mmol/L in the other 17 patients. The deviations from the unexpected value were significantly correlated with the renal function (blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels) but not with the neuroleptic doses administered to the patients. Moreover, our patients were relatively older and weighed relatively less than the patients described in the previous prospective study. CONCLUSION The Zetin et al. equation cannot always accurately predict a required lithium dose. Renal function data, even when they range within normal values, may be useful to improve the accuracy of the equation, particularly in patients who are older or weigh less than the norm.
Color‐specific filtering of rival binocular inputs induced by priming1

: In a situation where the two eyes separately receive two dissimilar images such as a blue square and a red square, the brain is forced to resolve competitive interpretations of the visual inputs. Earlier studies have indicated that adaptation to one of two rival images can control the following competitive perception. Consistent with those studies, the present experiments revealed that immediately after a brief presentation of a color (priming stimulation) to the two eyes, subjects dominantly perceived the other color out of the chromatic rivalry. This effect showed an interocular transfer even if indirect monocular priming was employed, but the filtering out of a primed color did not occur when an unprimed rival image was removed from the other eye. These facts suggest that binocular feature-detection processes in the human visual system might be responsible for the priming effect on rival images.
Assessing credit quality from the equity market: can a structural approach forecast credit ratings?

We investigate the empirical performance of default probability prediction based on Merton's (1974) structural credit risk model. More specifically, we study if distance-to-default is a sufficient statistic for the equity market information concerning the credit quality of the debt-issuing firm. We show that a simple reduced form model outperforms the Merton (1974) model for both in-sample fitting and out-of-sample predictability for credit ratings, and that both can be greatly improved by including the firm's equity value as an additional variable. Moreover, the empirical performance of this hybrid model is very similar to that of the simple reduced form model. As a result, we conclude that distant-to-default alone does not adequately capture the firm's credit quality information from the equity market. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dans cet article, nous evaluons la performance empirique de la prediction de probabilite de non-remboursement a partir du modele de risque de credit structurel de Merton (1974). Plus particulierement, nous cherchons a examiner dans quelle mesure la “distance par rapport a la defaillance” (distance-to-default) est une statistique suffisante pour l'information du marche d'actions concernant la qualite du credit de la compagnie emettrice. Nous demontrons qu'un modele simple de formule reduite donne de meilleurs resultats a la fois pour l'agencement echantillonne et pour la predictibilite hors-echantillon que le modele de Merton (1974), et que ces deux resultats peuvent etre encore plus precis si la valeur comptable de la firme est prise en compte comme variable supplementaire. Par ailleurs, la performance empirique de ce modele hybride est tres semblable a celle du modele simple de forme reduite. Aussi concluons-nous que la distance par rapport a la defaillance ne rend pas fidelement compte de l'information concernant la qualite du credit provenant du marche d'actions. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Color face-tuned salient detection for image quality assessment

PSNRHVS and PSNRHVSM are two new emerging image quality assessment methods but they fail when assessing the quality of some distorted images called as “extreme” images. In this paper an algorithm is proposed to enhance their performance on extreme images while keeping their good performance on “normal” images unchanged. First, extreme images derived from PSNRHVS are labeled with an iterative algorithm. Then an SVM classifier is used to decide if current images are extreme images or not. Next, region saliency information is computed only for this kind of images. Then region saliency information is used instead of point saliency information in image quality assessment. We use color, intensity and orientation to compute the saliency of regions. We use also a face descriptor as faces play an important role in visual perception. The algorithm that we propose has been tested on the TID2008 database. The results that we have obtained show that the performance on extreme images is greatly enhanced compared with the original PSNRHVS.
Ethyl pyruvate administration inhibits hepatic tumor growth

EP is a potent inhibitor of HMGB1 release that has significant anti–inflammatory activities and exerts a protective effect in animal models of inflammation. As inflammation is linked to cancer growth, we hypothesized that EP would have anti–tumor activity and explored its effects in a liver tumor model. Mice injected intraportally with MC38 colorectal cancer cells led to the growth of visible hepatic tumors within 2 weeks. Pretreatment with EP 30 min prior to infusion of tumor cells and continuing daily for 9 days inhibited tumor growth significantly in a dose–dependent manner, with 80 mg/kg EP achieving >70% reduction in the number of tumor nodules when compared with untreated animals. Delayed treatment with EP also suppressed tumor growth significantly, although to a lesser extent. Tumors had early, marked leukocytic infiltrates, and EP administration decreased innate (NK cells, monocytes) and adaptive (T and B cell lymphocytic) immune cell infiltrates acutely and significantly in the liver. Serum IL–6 and HMGB1 levels, which were elevated following tumor injection, were decreased significantly in EP–treated animals. Tumors showed an increase in apoptosis in EP–treated mice, and tumor cells treated in vitro with EP had marked increases in LC3–II and cleaved PARP, consistent with enhanced autophagic flux and apoptosis. Thus, EP inhibition of tumor growth in the liver was mediated by tumor (induction of apoptosis) and host (decreased inflammation) effects. EP administration may have a therapeutic role in the treatment of cancer in conjunction with other therapeutic agents.
Large-activation-energy theory for premixed combustion under the influence of enthalpy fluctuations

This paper presents a mathematical theory for premixed combustion under the influence of enthalpy fluctuations in the oncoming fresh mixture. On the basis of the assumptions of large activation energy and small Mach number, an analysis of the thermal, hydrodynamic and acoustic regions of a flame is performed to derive an interactive system that describes, on the first-principles basis, the intricate coupling between the flame and its spontaneously emitted acoustic waves. The system, in its general form, is strongly nonlinear and requires a numerical attack. In this paper, it is employed to analyse several fundamental physical processes in relatively simple cases in order to provide useful insights into the role of enthalpy fluctuations in combustion. First, the linear response of the flame to two- or three-dimensional small-amplitude enthalpy fluctuations is considered, and they are found to generate hydrodynamic motion. Secondly, enthalpy fluctuations are shown to radiate sound waves through their interaction with the flame. Thirdly, enthalpy fluctuations and the sound waves emitted by them modify the flame stability, and the analysis shows that a moderate level of enthalpy fluctuation may cause a strong subharmonic parametric instability. Finally, in the small-heat-release limit, an extended Michelson–Sivashinsky equation is derived to describe the nonlinear evolution of the flame under the influence of both the imposed enthalpy fluctuations and the induced acoustic waves. Numerical solutions suggest that the flame evolves into a time-periodic state and acquires a curved profile, which primarily vibrates in the longitudinal direction, while its overall shape remains almost unaltered.
Effect of oral glutathione on hepatic glutathione levels in rats and mice

Administration of oral glutathione (GSH) increases hepatic GSH levels in fasted rats, in mice treated with GSH depletors such as diethyl maleate and in mice treated with high doses of paracetamol. An increase in hepatic GSH levels after administration of oral GSH does not occur in animals treated with buthionine sulphoximine, an inhibitor of GSH synthesis. Administration of oral GSH leads to an increase in the concentration of l-cysteine, a precursor of GSH, in portal blood plasma. Oral administration of l-methionine produced a significant decrease of hepatic ATP in fasted rats, but not in fed rats. Administration of N−acetylcysteine or GSH did not affect the hepatic ATP levels. The results show that the oral intake of GSH is a safe and efficient form of administration of its constituent amino acids in cases when GSH synthesis is required to replete hepatic GSH levels.
Inaccuracy of routine creatinine measurement in canine urine.

BACKGROUND Urine creatinine concentration often is used in ratios such as urine protein:creatinine to compensate for dilution or concentration of spot urine samples. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of different techniques of urine creatinine measurement currently available for veterinary practitioners. METHODS In 104 samples of canine urine diluted 1:20 with distilled water, creatinine concentration was measured using a kinetic Jaffé reaction assay, and an enzymatic technique on an automatic analyzer (Elimat) and 3 benchtop analyzers (Reflovet, Scil; Vitros DT2, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics; Vettest 8008, IDEXX) used in veterinary practice. RESULTS The Jaffé and enzymatic techniques on the Elimat were not significantly different, and their inaccuracy tested with human control urines was <5%. The benchtop analyzers underestimated creatinine concentration, especially at concentrations >2000 mg/L. Inaccuracy was higher with multilayer slide technology systems (Vitros and Vettest) than with the Reflovet system. Results were approximately 25% and 2% lower, respectively, than with the Elimat at urine creatinine concentrations about 2000 mg/L. CONCLUSION Inaccuracy in urine creatinine measurements using benchtop analyzers should be taken into account when defining decision thresholds, which should be corrected according to the method used to avoid misinterpretations.