Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonal Metabolic Acclimatization in Mountain Chickadees and Juniper Titmice

Mountain chickadees and juniper titmice from northern Utah were examined to determine metabolic and body‐composition characteristics associated with seasonal acclimatization. These species use behavioral adaptations and nocturnal hypothermia, which reduce energetic costs. These adjustments could reduce the need for extensive metabolic adjustments typically found in small passerines that overwinter in cold regions. In addition, these species live at higher altitudes, which may also decrease metabolic acclimatization found in birds. Winter birds tolerated colder test temperatures than summer birds. This improved cold tolerance was associated with an increase in maximal thermogenic capacity or summit metabolism (Msum). Winter Msum exceeded summer Msum by 26.1% in chickadees and 16.2% in titmice. Basal metabolic rates (BMR) were also significantly higher in winter birds compared with summer birds. Pectoralis wet muscle mass increased 33.3% in chickadees and 24.1% in titmice in winter and paralleled the increased Msum and BMR. Dry mass of contour plumage increased in winter for both species and was associated with decreased thermal conductance in winter chickadees compared to summer chickadees. Chickadees and titmice show metabolic acclimatization similar to other temperate species.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism Local Cerebral Glucose Utilization in the Rat

The applicability of the [14C]deoxyglucose method for measuring local cerebral glucose utilization (ICMRglc) has been extended for use in hypoglycemia by determination of the values of the lumped constant to be used in rats with plasma glucose concentrations ranging from approximately 2 to 6 mM. Lumped constant values were higher in hypoglycemia and declined from a value of 1.2 at the lowest arterial plasma glucose level (1. 9 mM) to about 0.48 in normoglycemia. The distribution of glucose, and therefore also of the lumped constant, was found to remain relatively uniform throughout the brain at the low­ est plasma glucose levels studied. lCMRglc in moderate, insulin-induced hypoglycemia (mean arterial plasma glu­ cose concentration ± SD of 2.4 ± 0.3 mM) was deter­ mined with the appropriate lumped constant correspond­ ing to the animal's plasma glucose concentration and compared with the results obtained in six normoglycemic Normal brain function is dependent on a contin­ uous supply of glucose by the cerebral circulation. When the arterial glucose concentration falls below a critical level, electroencephalographic abnormal­ ities and mental symptoms that range from mild, subjective feelings to confusion or coma appear. Cerebral energy metabolism is altered. Not only does cerebral glucose utilization fall, but cerebral oxygen consumption declines more or less in pro-499 rats. The weighted average rate of glucose utilization for the brain as a whole was significantly depressed by 14% in the hypoglycemic animals, i.e., 61 j.LmoU1OO g/min in hypoglycemia compared to 71 j.LmolilOO g/min in the nor­ moglycemic controls (p < 0.05). ICMRglc was lower in 47 of 49 structures examined but statistically significantly below the rate in normoglycemic rats in only six struc­ tures (p < 0.05) by multiple comparison statistics. Re­ gions within the brains tern were most prominently af­ fected. The greatest reductions, statistically significant or not, occurred in structures in which glucose utilization is normally high, suggesting that glucose delivery :lnd trans­ port to the tissue became rate-Iimltmg hrst m those struc­ tures with the greatest metabolIc demands for glucose. portion to the depression in the level of conscious­ ness (Kety et al., 1948). The diversity of the signs and symptoms and their progressive augmentation with increasing severity of the hypoglycemia sug­ gest that in moderate hypoglycemia (i.e., without seizures, burst suppression, or isoelectric EEG pat­ terns), the effects of glucose lack may not be gen­ eralized throughout the brain but restricted to the most vulnerable …
Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Regulates Mitotic Cell Cycle Progression during Preimplantation Embryo Development

Errors in chromosome segregation or distribution may result in aneuploid embryo formation, which causes implantation failure, spontaneous abortion, genetic diseases, or embryo death. Embryonic aneuploidy occurs when chromosome aberrations are present in gametes or early embryos. To date, it is still unclear whether the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is required for the regulation of mitotic cell cycle progression to ensure mitotic fidelity during preimplantation development. In this study, using overexpression and RNA interference (RNAi) approaches, we analyzed the role of SAC components (Bub3, BubR1 and Mad2) in mouse preimplantation embryos. Our data showed that overexpressed SAC components inhibited metaphase-anaphase transition by preventing sister chromatid segregation. Deletion of SAC components by RNAi accelerated the metaphase-anaphase transition during the first cleavage and caused micronuclei formation, chromosome misalignment and aneuploidy, which caused decreased implantation and delayed development. Furthermore, in the presence of the spindle-depolymerizing drug nocodazole, SAC depleted embryos failed to arrest at metaphase. Our results suggest that SAC is essential for the regulation of mitotic cell cycle progression in cleavage stage mouse embryos.
Granulovacuolar Degenerations Appear in Relation to Hippocampal Phosphorylated Tau Accumulation in Various Neurodegenerative Disorders

Background Granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it is defined as electron-dense granules within double membrane-bound cytoplasmic vacuoles. Several lines of evidence have suggested that GVDs appear within hippocampal pyramidal neurons in AD when phosphorylated tau begins to aggregate into early-stage neurofibrillary tangles. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of GVDs with phosphorylated tau pathology to determine whether GVDs and phosphorylated tau coexist among different non-AD neurodegenerative disorders. Methods An autopsied series of 28 patients with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders and 9 control patients were evaluated. Standard histological stains along with immunohistochemistry using protein markers for GVD and confocal microscopy were utilized. Results The number of neurons with GVDs significantly increased with the level of phosphorylated tau accumulation in the hippocampal regions in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders. At the cellular level, diffuse staining for phosphorylated tau was detected in neurons with GVDs. Conclusions Our data suggest that GVDs appear in relation to hippocampal phosphorylated tau accumulation in various neurodegenerative disorders, while the presence of phosphorylated tau in GVD-harbouring neurons in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders was indistinguishable from age-related accumulation of phosphorylated tau. Although GVDs in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders have not been studied thoroughly, our results suggest that they are not incidental findings, but rather they appear in relation to phosphorylated tau accumulation, further highlighting the role of GVD in the process of phosphorylated tau accumulation.
Stretch overload-induced satellite cell activation in slow tonic muscle from adult and aged Japanese quail.

Stretch overload-induced activation of satellite cells in the anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle was examined in full-grown adult (12 wk old) and aged (90 wk old) Japanese quail. 5'-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) constant-release pellets (0.22 mg BrdU.g body wt-1.day-1) were implanted subcutaneously before weighting the left wing of each bird. Nuclei that incorporated BrdU were localized by immunohistochemistry after 1 or 2 wk of stretch overload. Total fiber number was quantified by counting all fibers in a histological cross section from the midbelly of the ALD. Aging reduced increases in ALD mass and fiber number during 2 wk of stretch overload. Fiber proliferation in the ALD of aged birds also demonstrated an altered time course. The percentage of BrdU-positive nuclei associated with muscle fibers and the percentage of fibers associated with BrdU-positive nuclei did not differ between age groups. The altered time course of new fiber formation in the ALD of aged birds during 2 wk of stretch overload does not appear to be related to the capability to activate satellite cells.
Infection through structured polymicrobial Gardnerella biofilms (StPM-GB).

BACKGROUND We analysed data on bacterial vaginosis (BV) contradicting the paradigm of mono-infection. METHODOLOGY Tissues and epithelial cells of vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes and perianal region were investigated using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in women with BV and controls. RESULTS Healthy vagina was free of biofilms. Prolific structured polymicrobial (StPM) Gardnerella-dominated biofilm characterised BV. The intact StPM-Gardnerella-biofilm enveloped desquamated vaginal/prepuce epithelial cells and was secreted with urine and sperma. The disease involved both genders and occurred in pairs. Children born to women with BV were negative. Monotherapy with metronidazole, moxifloxacin or local antiseptics suppressed but often did not eradicate StPM-Gardnerella-biofilms. There was no BV without Gardnerella, but Gardnerella was not BV. Outside of StPM-biofilm, Gardnerella was also found in a subset of children and healthy adults, but was dispersed, temporal and did not transform into StPM-Gardnerella-biofilm. CONCLUSIONS StPM-Gardnerella-biofilm is an infectious subject. The assembly of single players to StPM-Gardnerella-biofilm is a not trivial every day process, but probably an evolutionary event with a long history of growth, propagation and selection for viability and ability to reshape the environment. The evolutionary memory is cemented in the structural differentiation of StPM-Gardnerella-biofilms and imparts them to resist previous and emerging challenges.
Constraint on the eclogite age of the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks in central Shikoku, Japan

ABSTRACT To constrain the timing from the accretion to the subduction-related metamorphism of the protolith in the Sanbagawa eclogites, we performed zircon U–Pb datings and REE composition analyses on pelitic schist of the Seba eclogite-facies region in the Besshi area in central Shikoku, Japan. The detrital igneous cores of the zircons show ages from ca. 2000 to 100 Ma, and the metamorphic rims show ca. 90 Ma. These results show that the protolith was accreted at ca. 100–90 Ma, which is significantly younger than the previously reported accretion age of ca. 130 Ma of other eclogite-facies regions in this area. And, the metamorphic rim domains show HREE decrease without Eu anomalies, suggesting that they were formed at ca. 90 Ma eclogite-facies metamorphism. Our results combined with previous reports for the tectonics of the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks suggest that there are at least two eclogite-facies units with different accretion ages in the Besshi area; ca. 130 Ma unit (Besshi unit) and ca. 100–90 Ma unit (Asemi-gawa unit), which structurally contact with each other. It is likely that the older unit was subducted into a depth of over 50 km and stagnated until the younger unit was subducted to the same depth. Probably, both units were juxtaposed at a mantle depth and began to exhume to the surface at the same timing after ca. 90 Ma. The juxtaposition and exhumation process might have relation to multi-factors such as tectonic erosion along the subduction zone, shallowing subduction angle of the hotter slab, backflow in the mantle and fluid infiltration along exhumation route.
Association of human herpesvirus-6 and multiple sclerosis: here we go again?

For over 50 years, viruses have been implicated in the eitology of multiple sclerosis (MS) (Johnson, 1994). This is based on a number of epidemiological, genetic and virological studies. The epidemiology of MS supports a geographic association with evidence of MS clustering (Martin and Gale, 1997). There is an increased incidence of MS in temperate climates (less in the tropics) and migration to and from high prevalence areas of the disease influences the likelihood of developing MS. An increased risk of MS has also been suggested in children exposed to infectious agents while in adults, MS disease exacerbations increase with viral infection (Johnson, 1994). A variety of animal models have been developed in which viruses can cause diseases with long incubation periods, a relapsing remitting course, and demyelination (Johnson, 1994; Dalgleish, 1997).
Fish diversity at Cileumeuh River in District of Majenang, Cilacap Regency, Central Java [Diversitas ikan di Sungai Cileumeuh Kecamatan Majenang, Kabupaten Cilacap, Jawa Tengah]

Cileumeuh River is one of the large rivers in Western Cilacap Regency, Central Java. This river, from its upper reaches to its mouth runs through forest, farming, and housing areas. This condition leads to the prediction that the Cileumeuh River has altered its physic-chemical characteristics which led to be its being inhabited by diverse fish species. This study aims to collect data about fish species that inhabit Cileumeuh River. The survey method used was to cluster random sampling according to upper, middle, and lower parts of the river. The observed variables were number of species and abundance. During the survey a total number of 288 fish individuals were collected. Identification placed the samples into 22 species and 10 families. The obtained families were Clariidae, Loricariidae, Bagridae, Cichlidae, Synbranch-idae, Channidae, Belontiidae, Anabantidae, Cyprinidae, and Poeciliidae. Among ten families, Cyprinidae had the highest number of species (ten species) and followed by Bagridae with five species. The other eight families each have one species. High number of species and families has confirms that the Cileumeuh River has high fish diversity. Abstrak Sungai Cileumeuh merupakan salah satu sungai yang cukup besar di Kabupaten Cilacap bagian Barat. Sungai tersebut mengalir melalui areal hutan, pertanian, dan perumahan. Kondisi tersebut diduga menyebabkan perubahan fisik-kimiawi perairan yang berdampak pada beragamnya ikan yang hidup di Sungai Cileumeuh. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengoleksi data mengenai spesies ikan penghuni Sungai Cileumeuh. Penelitian dilakukan menggunakan metode survei dengan teknik pengambilan sampel secara acak kelompok. Sungai dibagi menjadi tiga daerah yaitu hulu, tengah dan hilir. Variabel yang diamati adalah jumlah spesies dan jumlah individu tiap spesies. Sebanyak 288 individu ikan berhasil dikoleksi selama penelitian. Hasil identifikasi menempatkan sampel ke dalam 22 spesies dan 10 famili. Di antara kesepuluh famili yang didapatkan, famili Cyprinidae merupakan kelompok dengan jumlah spesies terbanyak yaitu 10 spesies dan diikuti oleh famili Bagridae dengan lima spesies, sedangkan delapan famili sisanya hanya memiliki satu spesies. Tingginya jumlah spesies dan famili yang diperoleh mengindikasikan bahwa Sungai Cileumeuh memiliki keragaman ikan yang tinggi.
Apolipoprotein E ε4 is associated with disease-specific effects on brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

Apolipoprotein ε4 (apoE4) has been strongly linked with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and contributes to several other neurological disorders. We investigated the influence of ε4 allele carrier status on the pattern of gray matter atrophy and disease severity in 51 patients with probable AD and 31 patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), compared with 56 healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry was performed by using statistical parametric mapping. The ε4 allele frequency was higher in the AD group (P < 0.001) than the controls but not in the bvFTD group. No differences in demographic or cognitive profiles were observed between ε4 allele carriers and noncarriers within any of the diagnostic groups. However, ε4 carrier status was associated with more severe brain atrophy in disease-specific regions compared with noncarriers in both AD and bvFTD. AD ε4 carriers showed greater atrophy in the bilateral parietal cortex and right hippocampus, and bvFTD ε4 carriers demonstrated greater atrophy in the bilateral medial, dorsolateral, and orbital frontal cortex, anterior insula, and cingulate cortex with right predominance. This regional ε4 effect is consistent with the hypothesis that apoE may affect the morphologic expression uniquely in different neurodegenerative diseases. The atrophy patterns in ε4 carriers may indicate that they are at greater risk for clinical progression.
A heuristic model of enactive compassion

Purpose of reviewThis article is an investigation of the possibility that compassion is not a discrete feature but an emergent and contingent process that is at its base enactive. Compassion must be primed through the cultivation of various factors. This article endeavors to identify interdependent components of compassion. This is particularly relevant for those in the end-of-life care professions, wherein compassion is an essential factor in the care of those suffering from a catastrophic illness or injury. The Halifax Model of Compassion is presented here as a new vision of compassion with particular relevance for the training of compassion in clinicians. Recent findingsCompassion is generally valued as a prosocial mental quality. The factors that foster compassion are not well understood, and the essential components of compassion have not been sufficiently delineated. Neuroscience research on compassion has only recently begun, and there is little clinical research on the role of compassion in end-of-life care. SummaryCompassion is in general seen as having two main components: the affective feeling of caring for one who is suffering and the motivation to relieve suffering. This definition of compassion might impose limitations and will, therefore, have consequences on how one trains compassion in clinicians and others. It is the author's premise that compassion is dispositionally enactive (the interactions between living organisms and their environments, i.e., the propensity toward perception-action in relation to one's surrounds), and it is a process that is contingent and emergent.
Periodontitis in psoriasis patients. A blinded, case-controlled study

Abstract Objective. Destructive periodontitis is one of the most frequent and widespread bacterial infections in humans. Psoriasis is a common condition in the general population. Since both psoriasis and periodontal diseases are characterized by an exaggerated response of the immune system to the epithelial surface microbiota, there may possibly be an association between these two conditions. The aim of the present pilot study was to investigate the prevalence of periodontal disease in psoriasis patients compared to healthy controls. Material and methods. Dental bite-wing X-rays were obtained from 155 psoriasis patients aged 45–60 years, as well as from 155 age- and gender-matched controls. All X-rays were examined by the same investigator for accumulated destructive periodontitis using bone level and loss of teeth as endpoints. Results. A significantly lower radiographic bone level (p < 0.001) and a significantly higher number of missing teeth (p < 0.001) were observed in the psoriasis cases compared to the controls. Conclusion. Our study indicates that psoriasis patients experience more bone loss than age- and gender-matched controls.
Opioid Neurotoxicity: Fentanyl Dose-Response Effects in Rats

Opioids, when administered in large doses, produce brain damage, primarily in the limbic system and association areas in rats.This investigation examined the relationship between opioid dose and severity and frequency of brain damage in rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with halothane/N2 O and underwent tracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, arterial/venous cannulation, and insertion of a rectal temperature probe and biparietal electroencephalogram electrodes. After surgery, halothane was discontinued and O2/N2 O 30%/70% was administered for 1 h. Rats were then randomly assigned to one of eight groups. The control group received a loading dose (LD) of 4 mL/kg of 0.9% normal saline solution (NSS) and a maintenance dose (MD) of 4 mL [centered dot] kg-1 [centered dot] h-1 NSS. The other groups were given fentanyl lypophilized and reconstituted in NSS with the LD ranging from 50 to 3200 micro g/kg and the MD from 2 to 128 micro g [centered dot] kg-1 [centered dot] min-1. After 2 h of fentanyl or NSS infusion, all rats received 100% O2 and, when alert, their tracheas were extubated; after 7 days the rats underwent cerebral perfusion fixation, followed by light microscopic evaluation. Histopathologic lesions (primarily eosinophilic neuron degeneration) were subjectively graded by a pathologist unaware of the experimental treatment; the grades were based on the percentage of dead neurons. There were no lesions observed in the brain areas in any of the control or 200-8 (LD, micro g/kg; MD, micro g [centered dot] kg-1 [centered dot] min-1) groups. Eleven of 20 rats in the 400-16, 800-32, 1600-64, and 3200-18 groups showed evidence of brain damage primarily in limbic system structures and association areas (P < 0.05). Our data confirm that fentanyl produces limbic system brain damage in rats, and that the damage occurs over a broad range of doses. (Anesth Analg 1996;83:1298-306)
Dynamically-induced spatial dispersion of repolarization and the development of VF in an animal model of sudden death

Spatial dispersion of refractoriness and discordant action potential duration (APD) alternans, resulting in local conduction block, have been shown to cause wavebreak that can lead to ventricular fibrillation (VF). Previously, we developed a theory, based on action potential restitution functions, that predicts when the requisite conduction block can be created through a series of premature beats. The theory was applied successfully to normal beagle dogs; however, restitution functions in these animals were similar, both between right and left ventricles in a given animal and across animals. Consequently, for the present study we tested the theory on a population of German shepherds that, due to inherited cardiac abnormalities, presented with a wide variation of APD restitution functions. We found that the theory, when applied to restitution functions determined individually for each animal, reliably generated premature stimulation predictions that frequently resulted in the induction of VF in in vivo experiments.
Molecular phylogenetic evidence for ancient divergence of lizard taxa on either side of Wallace's Line

Wallace's Line, separating the terrestrial faunas of South East Asia from the Australia-New Guinea region, is the most prominent and well-studied biogeographical division in the world. Phylogenetically distinct subgroups of major animal and plant groups have been documented on either side of Wallace's Line since it was first proposed in 1859. Despite its importance, the temporal history of fragmentation across this line is virtually unknown and the geological foundation has rarely been discussed. Using molecular phylogenetics and dating techniques, we show that the split between taxa in the South East Asian and the Australian-New Guinean geological regions occurred during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous in two independent lizard clades. This estimate is compatible with the hypothesis of rifting Gondwanan continental fragments during the Mesozoic and strongly rejects the hypothetical origin of various members of the Australian-New Guinean herpetofauna as relatively recent invasions from South East Asia. Our finding suggests an ancient fragmentation of lizard taxa on either side of Wallace's Line and provides further evidence that the composition of modern global communities has been significantly affected by rifting and accretion of Gondwanan continental plates during the Middle to Late Mesozoic.