Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bradykinin and Nerve Growth Factor Play Pivotal Roles in Muscular Mechanical Hyperalgesia after Exercise (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness)

Unaccustomed strenuous exercise that includes lengthening contraction (LC) often causes delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a kind of muscular mechanical hyperalgesia. The substances that induce this phenomenon are largely unknown. Peculiarly, DOMS is not perceived during and shortly after exercise, but rather is first perceived after ∼1 d. Using B2 bradykinin receptor antagonist HOE 140, we show here that bradykinin released during exercise plays a pivotal role in triggering the process that leads to muscular mechanical hyperalgesia. HOE 140 completely suppressed the development of muscular mechanical hyperalgesia when injected before LC, but when injected 2 d after LC failed to reverse mechanical hyperalgesia that had already developed. B1 antagonist was ineffective, regardless of the timing of its injection. Upregulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) mRNA and protein occurred in exercised muscle over a comparable time course (12 h to 2 d after LC) for muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. Antibodies to NGF injected intramuscularly 2 d after exercise reversed muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. HOE 140 inhibited the upregulation of NGF. In contrast, shortening contraction or stretching induced neither mechanical hyperalgesia nor NGF upregulation. Bradykinin together with shortening contraction, but not bradykinin alone, reproduced lasting mechanical hyperalgesia. We also showed that rat NGF sensitized thin-fiber afferents to mechanical stimulation in the periphery after 10–20 min. Thus, NGF upregulation through activation of B2 bradykinin receptors is essential (though not satisfactory) to mechanical hyperalgesia after exercise. The present observations explain why DOMS occurs with a delay, and why lengthening contraction but not shortening contraction induces DOMS.
Miswak as an alternative to the modern toothbrush in preventing oral diseases

2 Summary The history and use of miswak (tooth stick) as an oral tool as well as biological effects of Salvadora persica extracts are reviewed. An adult Sudanese population using miswak or a modern toothbrush regularly was examined by using clinical and microbial parameters. Use of Freeze-dried extract of miswak was analyzed for antimicrobial components. The results presented in this report showed lower caries experience in the miswak users than in subjects who used a modern toothbrush. There were no significant differences in the periodontal variables of the two groups except for less calculus in the posterior sextants of miswak users. The results also indicate that regular use of miswak has a significant inhibitory effet on the levels of some salivary and subgingival plaque bacteria. Miswak extracts contained antimicrobial components including Cl-, SO 4 2-, SCN-, NO 3-. These findings partially supported the hypothesis that adult Sudanese regular miswak users have better oral health and lower levels of oral pathogens than have adult Sudanese who use a modern toothbrush regularly. (Introduction) Miswak Miswak (siwak and several other synonyms are being used) is an Arabic word meaning tooth cleaning stick [1, 2]. In English, miswak has been mentioned as the " natural toothbrush ". The use of miswak can be traced back at least to pre-Islamic times [3]. Presently, many of the world populations including India, Pakistan, several African countries, the Arab countries and most of the Muslim world still use miswak [4]. In geographical regions in which the Arak (Araak) shrub or tree (botanical name Salvadora persica L) grows, miswak is interpreted as tooth sticks prepared from this plant. Where S. persica is not growing, miswak is prepared from other suitable plants. Miswak is a pencil-sized stick 15-20 cm long and with diameter 1-1.5 cm that is prepared from the root, stem, twigs or bark. The stick is chewed or tapered at one end until it becomes frayed into a brush. 3 Cleansing efficacy of miswak Various explanations for the cleansing efficacy of miswak have been offered including: (i) the mechanical effects of its fibers, (ii) its release of beneficial chemicals or (iii) a combination of (i) and (ii) [5]. Also, when the mouth cleaning procedure that includes brushing of teeth, gums and tongue is completed, miswak is removed from or may be left in the mouth for some additional time. Left in the mouth, it will stimulate salivation and …
Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles of Schistosoma japonicum Derived from Less-Susceptible Host Water Buffalo and Susceptible Host Goat

Background Water buffalo and goats are natural hosts for S. japonicum in endemic areas of China. The susceptibility of these two hosts to schistosome infection is different, as water buffalo are less conducive to S. japonicum growth and development. To identify genes that may affect schistosome development and survival, we compared gene expression profiles of schistosomes derived from these two natural hosts using high-throughput microarray technology. Results The worm recovery rate was lower and the length and width of worms from water buffalo were smaller compared to those from goats following S. japonicum infection for 7 weeks. Besides obvious morphological difference between the schistosomes derived from the two hosts, differences were also observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Microarray analysis showed differentially expressed gene patterns for parasites from the two hosts, which revealed that genes related to lipid and nucleotide metabolism, as well as protein folding, sorting, and degradation were upregulated, while others associated with signal transduction, endocrine function, development, immune function, endocytosis, and amino acid/carbohydrate/glycan metabolism were downregulated in schistosomes from water buffalo. KEGG pathway analysis deduced that the differentially expressed genes mainly involved lipid metabolism, the MAPK and ErbB signaling pathways, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, dorso-ventral axis formation, reproduction, and endocytosis, etc. Conclusion The microarray gene analysis in schistosomes derived from water buffalo and goats provide a useful platform to disclose differences determining S. japonicum host compatibility to better understand the interplay between natural hosts and parasites, and identify schistosome target genes associated with susceptibility to screen vaccine candidates.
Inhibition of GTP hydrolysis by Sar1p causes accumulation of vesicles that are a functional intermediate of the ER-to-Golgi transport in yeast

The SAR1 gene product (Sar1p), a 21-kD GTPase, is a key component of the ER-to-Golgi transport in the budding yeast. We previously reported that the in vitro reconstitution of protein transport from the ER to the Golgi was dependent on Sar1p and Sec12p (Oka, T., S. Nishikawa, and A. Nakano. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 114:671-679). Sec12p is an integral membrane protein in the ER and is essential for the Sar1 function. In this paper, we show that Sar1p can remedy the temperature-sensitive defect of the sec12 mutant membranes, which is in the formation of ER- to-Golgi transport vesicles. The addition of Sar1p promotes vesicle formation from the ER irrespective of the GTP- or GTP gamma S-bound form, indicating that the active form of Sar1p but not the hydrolysis of GTP is required for this process. The inhibition of GTP hydrolysis blocks transport of vesicles to the Golgi and thus causes their accumulation. The accumulating vesicles, which carry Sar1p on them, can be separated from other membranes, and, after an appropriate wash that removes Sar1p, are capable of delivering the content to the Golgi when added back to fresh membranes. Thus we have established a new method for isolation of functional intermediate vesicles in the ER-to-Golgi transport. The sec23 mutant is defective in activation of Sar1 GTPase (Yoshihisa, T., C. Barlowe, and R. Schekman. 1993. Science (Wash. DC). 259:1466-1468). The membranes and cytosol from the sec23 mutant show only a partial defect in vesicle formation and this defect is also suppressed by the increase of Sar1p. Again GTP hydrolysis is not needed for the suppression of the defect in vesicle formation. Based on these results, we propose a model in which Sar1p in the GTP-bound form is required for the formation of transport vesicles from the ER and the GTP hydrolysis by Sar1p is essential for entering the next step of vesicular transport to the Golgi apparatus.
Points of Transition: Understanding the Constructed Identities Of L2 Learners/Users Across Time and Space

Using sociocultural and poststructuralist theoretical lenses, this study examines the narrative construction of language-learner identity across time and space. We applied cross-narrative methodologies to analyze language-learning autobiographies and interview data from three English users who had recently transitioned to a U.S. context for graduate studies. We found that learners' narratives and identity constructions are shaped in unique ways by the narrators' present and distant interactions, which can be understood by identifying points of transition (PsoT) in their stories. PsoT revealed how learners made sense of their ever-changing identities across time and space, viewed inconsistencies and conflict, and linked these conflicting identities with imagined futures. Our study contributes to research about learner identity and agency as we offer a narrative exploration of how L2 users construct identities and give meanings to these constructed identities by linking the influences of time and space in their language learning narratives.
Labor Supply of Fishermen: An Empirical Analysis

When income effects are small, standard life-cycle models of labor supply predict a positive response in hours worked to increases in remuneration. However, several re- cent studies have found negative wage elasticities, casting doubt on the standard labor supply model. This paper aims to resolve some of this controversy by examining the responsiveness of the daily labor supply of fishermen to transitory variations in the wage using rich data from the Florida spiny lobster fishery. The data include complete records of all fishing trips made by Florida lobster fishermen over a twenty-year period and include two measures of effort - hours at sea and, when relevant, number of traps pulled - which makes it possible to look at the intensive labor supply margin in addition to the extensive margin. Results suggest that the wage elasticity of labor supply (par- ticipation) is positive and statistically different from zero, with a range of 1.05 to 1.31 for commercial trappers and 0.76 to 1.82 for commercial divers. Results also suggest that the wage elasticity of hours worked is positive and statistically different from zero, although quite small for trappers. Specifically, the elasticity ranges from 0.06 to 0.09 for trappers and 0.82 to 0.94 for divers. Although I do not specifically test a model of reference dependent preferences, these results support the standard neoclassical model of intertemporal substitution.
The safety and efficacy of alefacept in the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis

Alefacept is the first biological agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. It is a full human fusion protein binding to CD2 on T cells. With its dual mechanism of action, alefacept blocks the interaction between the leukocyte-function-associated antigen (LFA)-3 and CD2 and thereby impedes the activation and proliferation of T cells. In addition, alefacept induces apoptosis of activated memory T cells. This paper presents an overview about the clinical studies on alefacept, its mechanism of action, and the results of the clinical trials focused on efficacy and safety of alefacept in different populations. Further on, data available on the use of alefacept in combination with other therapeutic agents are discussed.
An integrated model for designing supply chain network under demand and supply uncertainty

This paper presents an integrated network design model for a supply chain in which supplier and distribution centers are unreliable. When there is an unreliable supplier, the amount of yield which is received at each distribution center may be different from the original orders. Similarly, because of imperfect performances of distribution centers, the quantity of products which is transformed from each DC to each customer may be less than what was originally planned. In such a system, customers have random demands and there is flexibility in determining which customers must be served. The proposed model of this study is formulated as a nonlinear integer programming to minimize the expected total cost which includes the costs of location, inventory, transportation and lost sales. The model simultaneously determines the optimal location of distribution centers, the subset of customers to serve, the assignment of customers to distribution centers and the cycle order quantities at distribution centers. In order to solve the resulted mathematical model, an efficient solution methodology based on Lagrangian relaxation approach and genetic algorithm is developed. Finally, computational results for several instances of the problem are presented to imply the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Multiplicity among Young Brown Dwarfs and Very Low Mass Stars

We report on a near-infrared adaptive optics imaging survey of 31 young brown dwarfs and very low mass (VLM) stars, 28 of which are in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region, using the ESO Very Large Telescope. We resolve the suspected 0.16'' (~26 AU) binary Cha Hα 2 and present two new binaries, Hn 13 and CHXR 15, with separations of 0.13'' (~20 AU) and 0.30'' (~50 AU), respectively; the latter is one of the widest VLM systems known. We find a binary frequency of 11−6+9% , thus confirming the trend for a lower binary frequency with decreasing mass. By combining our work with previous surveys, we arrive at the largest sample of young VLM objects (72) with high angular resolution imaging to date. Its multiplicity fraction is in statistical agreement with that for VLM objects in the field. Furthermore, we note that many field stellar binaries with lower binding energies and/or wider cross sections have survived dynamical evolution and that statistical models suggest tidal disruption by passing stars is unlikely to affect the binary properties of our systems. Thus, we argue that there is no significant evolution of multiplicity with age among brown dwarfs and VLM stars in OB and T associations between a few megayears to several gigayears. Instead, the observations so far suggest that VLM objects are either less likely to be born in fragile multiple systems than solar-mass stars or such systems are disrupted very early.
'Real-World' Mortgages, Consumption Volatility and the Low Inflation Environment

This paper considers the interaction between the microeconomic decisions facing households and the macroeconomic environment in a setting where households have `real-world' mortgage contracts. In particular, we consider the possible consequences of the important changes in the framework for setting monetary policy in the United Kingdom in recent decades that have coincided with a more stable and low inflation environment. We set a model of households with 'real-world' mortgages in a partial equilibrium overlapping generations framework calibrated to UK data. We find that the welfare gains of the change of regime would have been considerable. However, the baseline calibration of the model implies that the volatility of aggregate consumption growth would actually be higher in the steady state in the more stable environment of the 1990s regime. This is due to greater synchrony in the response of households to shocks, offsetting the smaller magnitude of macroeconomic shocks. This effect is amplified by higher levels of debt in the 1990s. The result that aggregate consumption volatility could be higher in the current regime suggests that the observed fall in aggregate consumption volatility cannot necessarily be attributed to the more stable macroeconomic environment and the role of mortgage debt. If this result applies, this would suggest that the observed fall in volatility may be due either to other factors or may be a transitional phenomenon rather than a feature of the new steady state.
Experimental comparison of MT evaluation methods: RED vs.BLEU

This paper experimentally compares two automatic evaluators, RED and BLEU, to determine how close the evaluation results of each automatic evaluator are to average evaluation results by human evaluators, following the ATR standard of MT evaluation. This paper gives several cautionary remarks intended to prevent MT developers from drawing misleading conclusions when using the automatic evaluators. In addition, this paper reports a way of using the automatic evaluators so that their results agree with those of human evaluators.
Not All Neural Embeddings are Born Equal

Neural language models learn word representations that capture rich linguistic and conceptual information. Here we investigate the embeddings learned by neural machine translation models. We show that translation-based embeddings outperform those learned by cutting-edge monolingual models at single-language tasks requiring knowledge of conceptual similarity and/or syntactic role. The findings suggest that, while monolingual models learn information about how concepts are related, neural-translation models better capture their true ontological status.
The Common P446L Polymorphism in GCKR Inversely Modulates Fasting Glucose and Triglyceride Levels and Reduces Type 2 Diabetes Risk in the DESIR Prospective General French Population

OBJECTIVE— Hepatic glucokinase (GCK) is a key regulator of glucose storage and disposal in the liver, where its activity is competitively modulated, with respect to glucose, by binding to glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) in the presence of fructose 6-phosphate. Genome-wide association studies for type 2 diabetes identified GCKR as a potential locus for modulating triglyceride levels. We evaluated, in a general French population, the contribution of the GCKR rs1260326-P446L polymorphism to quantitative metabolic parameters and to dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia risk. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— Genotype effects of rs1260326 were studied in 4,833 participants from the prospective DESIR (Data from an Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance syndrome) cohort both at inclusion and using the measurements at follow-up. RESULTS— The minor T-allele of rs1260326 was strongly associated with lower fasting glucose (−1.43% per T-allele; P = 8 × 10−13) and fasting insulin levels (−4.23%; P = 3 × 10−7), lower homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (−5.69%; P = 1 × 10−8), and, conversely, higher triglyceride levels (3.41%; P = 1 × 10−4) during the 9-year study. These effects relate to a lower risk of hyperglycemia (odds ratio [OR] 0.79 [95% CI 0.70–0.88]; P = 4 × 10−5) and of incident cases during the study (hazard ratio [HR] 0.83 [0.74–0.95]; P = 0.005). Moreover, an additive effect of GCKR rs1260326(T) and GCK (−30G) alleles conferred lower fasting glycemia (P = 1 × 10−13), insulinemia (P = 5 × 10−6), and hyperglycemia risk (P = 1 × 10−6). CONCLUSIONS— GCKR-L446 carriers are protected against type 2 diabetes despite higher triglyceride levels and risk of dyslipidemia, which suggests a potential molecular mechanism by which these two components of the metabolic syndrome can be dissociated.
In vivo investigation of female reproductive functions and parameters in nonpregnant mice models and mass spectrometric analysis of the methanol leaf extract of Emilia Coccinea (Sims) G Dons

In Southern Nigeria, the leaves of Emilia coccinea (Sims) G Dons are used traditionally for birth control. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating the activities of the methanolic leaf extract of Emilia coccinea (EM) on parameters that affect reproduction as well as the acute toxic effects of the plant using nonpregnant female mice models. Leaves of EM were extracted by maceration with 99.8% methanol. Oral acute toxicity profiles were examined. The effects of EM on female reproductive cycle were determined after oral treatment with EM at 1000 and 100 mg/kg/day daily for 6 days using stilbesterol (1 mg/kg/day) and normal saline as controls. The activities of EM (1000 mg/kg/day and 100 mg/kg/day p.o) on reproductive hormones and organs were also studied using estradiol valerat (100 mg/kg/day p.o), progesterone (10 mg/kg/day s.c.), and normal saline as controls. The extract did not induce any observable toxic effect after 24 h. At 1000 mg/kg, the extract significantly shortened the estrus cycle (P < 0.05) while prolonging the estrus phase which were comparable to that observed with stilbesterol. The extract also increased uterine weight and altered the histology of uterine and ovarian tissues. The female reproductive hormones were additionally altered at 1000 mg/kg and the effects were comparable to that of estradiol valerat such as to indicate possible antifertility effects. LC‐HRFTMS analysis showed 9 putatively identified compounds with pyrrolizidine alkaloid occurring at the highest intensity among the identified compounds. In conclusion, the leaf extracts of EM has been shown in this study to exhibit antiovulatory and estrogenic activities which would support the traditional use of the plant in Nigeria.