Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gastroprotective and anti-secretory effect of Pep-Up Tablet on pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcer model in rats -

Objective: To investigate Gastroprotective and anti-secretory effect of Pep-Up Tablet on pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcer model in rats. Materials and Methods: Pep-Up Tablet is an Ayurvedic proprietary formulation which is manufactured and marketed by Vasu Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Vadodara. The selected animals were divided into two groups and each group consisted of six animals. Group-I was considered as disease control and Group-II was as test drug (Pep-Up Tablet) treated group. Pep-Up Tablet (200 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was administered for 7 days by oral route in Group-II. Pep-Up Tablet was studied for its effect on ulcer index, gastric wall secretory parameters and mucin activity. Results and discussion: Pretreatment of Pep-Up Tablet showed significant reduction in ulcer index, gastric acid secretion and pepsin activity. Pep-Up Tablet significantly increased mucin activity (TC:TP ratio) as well which was due to significant increase in the total carbohydrate content. Conclusion: From the available data of present study, it can be concluded that Pep-Up Tablet plays important role mainly on inhibition of acid secretion and in increase of mucin secretion which in turn enhances the stability of gastric mucosal barrier. Pep-Up Tablet provided significant gastric cytoprotection against pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulceration in rats.
Document Examiner: delivery interface for hypertext documents

This paper describes the user interface strategy of Document Examiner, a delivery interface for commercial hypertext documents. Unlike many hypertext interfaces, Document Examiner does not adopt the directed graph as its fundamental user-visible navigation model. Instead it offers context evaluation and content-based searching capabilities that are based on consideration of the strategies that people use in interacting with paper documents.
Comparison of the Instrumented Falling Weight Impact Response of Polypropylene Composites Reinforced by Continuous and Discontinuous Fiber Mats

The temperature dependent instrumented falling weight impact (IFWI) behavior of glass mat reinforced thermoplastic polypropylene (GMT-PP) composites with continuous (GM-C) and discontinuous (GM-D) fiber mats were studied at three different temperatures: −40°C, room temperature (RT) and +90°C. Apart from the mat type the matrix viscosity and the fiber/matrix adhesion were also varied in the GMT-PP samples. It was established that the mat type is that parameter which controls the fracture and failure behavior. The high perforation impact resistance of GM-C compared to GM-D is due to an efficient stress redistribution via the continuous fibers and rovings within the mat. Effects of the matrix and interface variations could not be detected during IFWI. The testing temperatures also affected the IFWI characteristics marginally, especially in case of GM-C reinforced PP.
Evaluation of Factors Influencing strength of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mix

Over recycling of asphalt pavements involves mixing of existing pavement material with stabilizing agent such as foamed bitumen, bitumen emulsion, cement or lime and placed on the milled pavement and compacted. The strength of foamed bitumen stabilized mix is influenced by factors such as cement content, moisture level and curing time. It was found that the strength in terms of resilient modulus, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) values, increased with curing time and percentage of active filler. It was also found that the maximum strength in terms of resilient modulus, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) was not at Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) and the strength decreased as the RAP proportion increased
Socialization Instances Linked to Cannabis Experimentation Among French Teenagers

France presents one of the highest prevalence of teenagers aged 15-year-olds who report they already have experienced cannabis in Europe. Data from the French 2010 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HSBC) survey and environmental parameters typifying schools ‘neighborhoods were used to study cannabis experimentation. We conducted a two-level logistic regression (clusters being schools) on 4,175 French 8th–10th graders from 156 schools. Several individual parameters were linked to cannabis experimentation. Living in a non-intact family, feeling insufficiently monitored, having poor communication with mother and being from a family with a high socio-economic status (SES) were all associated with increased risk of cannabis experimentation. At environmental level, only being in a priority education area was linked to this behavior, without explaining differences among schools.
Effects of ocean warming and acidification on survival, growth and skeletal development in the early benthic juvenile sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma)

Co‐occurring ocean warming, acidification and reduced carbonate mineral saturation have significant impacts on marine biota, especially calcifying organisms. The effects of these stressors on development and calcification in newly metamorphosed juveniles (ca. 0.5 mm test diameter) of the intertidal sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma, an ecologically important species in temperate Australia, were investigated in context with present and projected future conditions. Habitat temperature and pH/pCO2 were documented to place experiments in a biologically and ecologically relevant context. These parameters fluctuated diurnally up to 10 °C and 0.45 pH units. The juveniles were exposed to three temperature (21, 23 and 25 °C) and four pH (8.1, 7.8, 7.6 and 7.4) treatments in all combinations, representing ambient sea surface conditions (21 °C, pH 8.1; pCO2 397; ΩCa 4.7; ΩAr 3.1), near‐future projected change (+2–4 °C, −0.3–0.5 pH units; pCO2 400–1820; ΩCa 5.0–1.6; ΩAr 3.3–1.1), and extreme conditions experienced at low tide (+4 °C, −0.3–0.7 pH units; pCO2 2850–2967; ΩCa 1.1–1.0; ΩAr 0.7–0.6). The lowest pH treatment (pH 7.4) was used to assess tolerance levels. Juvenile survival and test growth were resilient to current and near‐future warming and acidification. Spine development, however, was negatively affected by near‐future increased temperature (+2–4 °C) and extreme acidification (pH 7.4), with a complex interaction between stressors. Near‐future warming was the more significant stressor. Spine tips were dissolved in the pH 7.4 treatments. Adaptation to fluctuating temperature‐pH conditions in the intertidal may convey resilience to juvenile H. erythrogramma to changing ocean conditions, however, ocean warming and acidification may shift baseline intertidal temperature and pH/pCO2 to levels that exceed tolerance limits.
Cytokine Production by the Murine Macrophage Cell Line J774.1 after Exposure to Lactobacilli

Eleven strains of lactobacilli were tested for their ability to induce the murine macrophage-like cell line J774.1 to secrete cytokines. Some of the bacteria tested induce the production of interleukin(IL) 6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) by J774.1 cells. Seven strains also induced the production of IL-10. However, no IL-1β was produced. Lactobacillus acidophilus TMC 0356 significantly induced the production of more IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-α than the other bacteria tested (p<0.0001; ANOVA). These results suggest that lactobacilli can activate macrophages to secrete both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Selected strains might be used to bring about pro or antiinflammatory immune reactions.
Comparison of CD63 Upregulation Induced by NSAIDs on Basophils and Monocytes in Patients with NSAID Hypersensitivity

Background. An in vitro basophil activation test, based on the detection of CD63 upregulation induced by NSAIDs, has been described. Its clinical significance remains controversial. Objectives. In patients with a history of nonallergic NSAID hypersensitivity, stratified according to the severity of the symptoms, to assess with NSAIDs the predictive value of basophil (BAT) and monocyte (MAT) activation tests. Patients/Methods. Sixty patients who had NSAIDs-induced or exacerbated urticaria/angiooedema and 20 controls was included. After incubation with NSAIDs or acetaminophen, leukocytes were analysed for CD63 upregulation. Results. With aspirin, the sensitivity (37%) and specificity (90%) of BAT agree with already published results. In contrast, when patients had had cutaneous and visceral reactions, the frequency of positive BAT 14/22 (64%, P < 0.001) or MAT 10/22 (46%, P < 0.01) were increased. Conclusions. Positive tests were more frequent among patients having a severe hypersensitivity contrasting with the other patients who had results similar to controls.
Relationship between interleukin‐6 and ammonia in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy due to liver cirrhosis

Aim: Previous studies have shown significantly elevated levels of interleukin (IL)‐6 in cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE), but the relationship between circulating levels of IL‐6 and ammonia is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between both variables in cirrhotic patients with MHE.
A variationally based weighted re-initialization method for geometric active contours

In geometric active contour algorithms, a re-initialization step must be performed by the level set function to remain close to a signed distance function, in order to avoid numerical instabilities. We propose a new re-initialization method that may be employed as a standalone method to recover the signed distance condition, or may be embedded directly into a variational framework as an additional term for the energy functional. Its purpose is to make the pixels near the propagating contour be less affected by the re-initialization. Experimental results show that whereas previous approaches change the position of the zero level set, our method keeps it virtually unchanged.
Evolutionary Models for Very Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs with Dusty Atmospheres

We present evolutionary calculations for very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs based on synthetic spectra and nongray atmosphere models which include dust formation and opacity, i.e., objects with Teff ≲ 2800 K. The interior of the most massive brown dwarfs is shown to develop a conductive core after ~2 Gyr which slows down their cooling. Comparison is made in optical and infrared color-magnitude diagrams with recent late-M and L dwarf observations. The saturation in optical colors and the very red near-infrared colors of these objects are well explained by the onset of dust formation in the atmosphere. Comparison of the faintest presently observed L dwarfs with these dusty evolutionary models suggests that dynamical processes such as turbulent diffusion and gravitational settling are taking place near the photosphere. As the effective temperature decreases below Teff ≈ 1300-1400 K, the colors of these objects move to very blue near-infrared colors, a consequence of the ongoing methane absorption in the infrared. We suggest the possibility of a brown dwarf dearth in J, H, and K color-magnitude diagrams around this temperature.
Involvement of the hemostatic system in the insulin resistance syndrome. A study of 1500 patients with angina pectoris. The ECAT Angina Pectoris Study Group.

Hyperinsulinemia, a major indicator of insulin resistance, may exert its influence on the risk of coronary artery disease partially through disturbances of the hemostatic system. The relations of fasting insulin concentrations with the degree of coronary atherosclerosis, other coronary risk factors (including some markers of the insulin resistance syndrome such as body mass index and triglyceride), markers of inflammation, and hemostatic factors were investigated in 1484 patients with angina pectoris. Mean insulin levels were higher in patients with one or more coronary vessel stenoses than in those without (9.9 microU/mL compared with 9.0 microU/mL, P < .0001). However, the association the presence of vessel stenoses was stronger in patients with a previous myocardial infarction than in those without. Insulin increased markedly (P < .0001) and independently of other risk factors with age body mass index, triglyceride concentration, and markers of inflammation, such as white blood cell count and C-reactive protein. The strongest relations between insulin and hemostatic factors were observed with fibrinolytic variables, particularly plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels (r = .44, P < .0001). This relation decreased somewhat (r = .29) after simultaneous adjustment for markers of the insulin resistance syndrome, mainly body mass index and triglycerides, but not after adjustment for markers of inflammation. Therefore, we propose that increased PAI-1 levels, which are essentially related to the classic metabolic aspect of the insulin resistance syndrome, have to be included in this syndrome. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Next‐generation sequencing to inventory taxonomic diversity in eukaryotic communities: a test for freshwater diatoms

The recent emergence of barcoding approaches coupled to those of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has raised new perspectives for studying environmental communities. In this framework, we tested the possibility to derive accurate inventories of diatom communities from pyrosequencing outputs with an available DNA reference library. We used three molecular markers targeting the nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes (SSU rDNA, rbcL and cox1) and three samples of a mock community composed of 30 known diatom strains belonging to 21 species. In the goal to detect methodological biases, one sample was constituted directly from pooled cultures, whereas the others consisted of pooled PCR products. The NGS reads obtained by pyrosequencing (Roche 454) were compared first to a DNA reference library including the sequences of all the species used to constitute the mock community, and second to a complete DNA reference library with a larger taxonomic coverage. A stringent taxonomic assignation gave inventories that were compared to the real one. We detected biases due to DNA extraction and PCR amplification that resulted in false‐negative detection. Conversely, pyrosequencing errors appeared to generate false positives, especially in case of closely allied species. The taxonomic coverage of DNA reference libraries appears to be the most crucial factor, together with marker polymorphism which is essential to identify taxa at the species level. RbcL offers a high resolving power together with a large DNA reference library. Although needing further optimization, pyrosequencing is suitable for identifying diatom assemblages and may find applications in the field of freshwater biomonitoring.
Signal integration by the CYP1A1 promoter — a quantitative study

Genes involved in detoxification of foreign compounds exhibit complex spatiotemporal expression patterns in liver. Cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), for example, is restricted to the pericentral region of liver lobules in response to the interplay between aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. However, the mechanisms by which the two pathways orchestrate gene expression are still poorly understood. With the help of 29 mutant constructs of the human CYP1A1 promoter and a mathematical model that combines Wnt/β-catenin and AhR signaling with the statistical mechanics of the promoter, we systematically quantified the regulatory influence of different transcription factor binding sites on gene induction within the promoter. The model unveils how different binding sites cooperate and how they establish the promoter logic; it quantitatively predicts two-dimensional stimulus-response curves. Furthermore, it shows that crosstalk between Wnt/β-catenin and AhR signaling is crucial to understand the complex zonated expression patterns found in liver lobules. This study exemplifies how statistical mechanical modeling together with combinatorial reporter assays has the capacity to disentangle the promoter logic that establishes physiological gene expression patterns.
VEGF-A regulated by progesterone governs uterine angiogenesis and vascular remodelling during pregnancy

The features and regulation of uterine angiogenesis and vascular remodelling during pregnancy are poorly defined. Here we show that dynamic and variable decidual angiogenesis (sprouting, intussusception and networking), and active vigorous vascular remodelling such as enlargement and elongation of ‘vascular sinus folding’ (VSF) and mural cell drop‐out occur distinctly in a spatiotemporal manner in the rapidly growing mouse uterus during early pregnancy — just after implantation but before placentation. Decidual angiogenesis is mainly regulated through VEGF‐A secreted from the progesterone receptor (PR)‐expressing decidual stromal cells which are largely distributed in the anti‐mesometrial region (AMR). In comparison, P4‐PR‐regulated VEGF‐A‐VEGFR2 signalling, ligand‐independent VEGFR3 signalling and uterine natural killer (uNK) cells positively and coordinately regulate enlargement and elongation of VSF. During the postpartum period, Tie2 signalling could be involved in vascular maturation at the endometrium in a ligand‐independent manner, with marked reduction of VEGF‐A, VEGFR2 and PR expressions. Overall, we show that two key vascular growth factor receptors — VEGFR2 and Tie2 — strikingly but differentially regulate decidual angiogenesis and vascular remodelling in rapidly growing and regressing uteri in an organotypic manner.
EFFICACY OF ENDOSCOPIC THIRD VENTRICULOSTOMY IN FOURTH VENTRICULAR OUTLET OBSTRUCTION

OBJECTIVEFourth ventricular outlet obstruction (FVOO), an uncommon cause of obstructive hydrocephalus, is most commonly associated with prior intraventricular hemorrhage or intraventricular infection in children. There have been few reports of FVOO in an adult population. METHODSTwenty-two patients with FVOO treated with endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTSOf the 22 patients, 10 were younger than 2 years, 6 were between 2 and 18 years, and 6 were older than 18 years of age. Predisposing factors included tubercular meningitis (1 patient), ventriculitis (2 patients), and intraventricular hemorrhage (3 patients). Twelve patients (mostly >2 years of age) had no prior significant history. The third ventricular floor and the adhesions in the basal cisterns were individually graded (I–IV). An inflamed floor was encountered in 3 patients. ETV was successfully performed in 20 patients. Fourth ventricular exploration was carried out in 5 patients, with outlet membrane fenestration in 2 patients. The follow-up period was 1 to 8 years (mean, 4.2 years). The ETV failed in 7 patients, requiring shunt insertion. The overall success rate was 65%; 91% success was achieved in patients who were more than 2 years of age, whereas the procedure failed in all patients younger than 6 months of age. The cerebrospinal fluid yielded a positive bacterial culture (1 patient), antitubercular antibody (1 patient), anticysticercal antibody (1 patient), and cryptococcosis (1 patient). With a successful procedure, lateral ventricular size was reduced in all patients, whereas fourth ventricular size decreased in 12 patients. The extent of adhesions in the basal cisterns directly correlated with failure. None of the patients demonstrated isolated fourth ventricle on follow-up magnetic resonance imaging. In 4 of the 7 patients with failure, endoscopic exploration was performed, and a patent stoma was observed in all of these patients. CONCLUSIONETV is a viable option for treatment of patients with FVOO. The high failure rate in infants younger than 6 months of age suggests that ventriculoperitoneal shunting is a favorable option in this age group, rather than ETV. Isolated fourth ventricle is uncommon after ETV in hydrocephalus attributable to FVOO.
Automatic Synchronization of Multi-user Photo Galleries

In this paper we address the issue of photo galleries synchronization, where pictures related to the same event are collected by different users. Existing solutions to address the problem are usually based on unrealistic assumptions, like time consistency across photo galleries, and often heavily rely on heuristics, therefore limiting the applicability to real-world scenarios. We propose a solution that achieves better generalization performance for the synchronization task compared to the available literature. The method is characterized by three stages: at first, deep convolutional neural network features are used to assess the visual similarity among the photos; then, pairs of similar photos are detected across different galleries and used to construct a graph; eventually, a probabilistic graphical model is used to estimate the temporal offset of each pair of galleries, by traversing the minimum spanning tree extracted from this graph. The experimental evaluation is conducted on four publicly available datasets covering different types of events, demonstrating the strength of our proposed method. A thorough discussion of the obtained results is provided for a critical assessment of the quality in synchronization.
The Attentional Blink Modulates Activity in the Early Visual Cortex

The attentional blink (AB) documents a particularly strong case of visual attentional competition, in which subjects' ability to identify a second target (T2) is significantly impaired when it is presented with a short SOA after a first target (T1). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the impact of the AB on visual activity in individually defined retinotopic representations of the target stimuli. Our results show reduction of neural response in V3 and marginally in V2 and V1, paralleling the behavioral AB effect. Reduction of visual activity was accompanied by reduced neural response in the inferior parietal cortex. This indicates that attentional competition modulates activity in higher-order parietal regions and the early visual cortex, providing a plausible neural basis of the behavioral AB effect.
Detection of FLT3 Oncogene Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Using Conformation Sensitive Gel Electrophoresis

FLT3 (fms-related tyrosine kinase 3) is a receptor tyrosine kinase class III that is expressed on by early hematopoietic progenitor cells and plays an important role in hematopoietic stem cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. FLT3 is also expressed on leukemia blasts in most cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In order to determine the frequency of FLT3 oncogene mutations, we analyzed genomic DNA of adult de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) were used for FLT3 exons 11, 14, and 15, followed by direct DNA sequencing. Two different types of functionally important FLT 3 mutations have been identified. Those mutations were unique to patients with inv(16), t(15:17) or t(8;21) and comprised fifteen cases with internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation in the juxtamembrane domain and eleven cases with point mutation (exon 20, Asp835Tyr). The high frequency of the flt3 proto-oncogene mutations in acute myeloid leukemia AML suggests a key role for the receptor function. The association of FLT3 mutations with chromosomal abnormalities invites speculation as to the link between these two changes in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemiaAML. Furthermore, CSGE method has shown to be a rapid and sensitive screening method for detection of nucleotide alteration in FLT3 gene. Finally, this study reports, for the first time in Saudi Arabia, mutations in the human FLT3 gene in acute myeloid leukemia AML patients.