Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clonorchiasis: an update

Abstract Clonorchis sinensis, the Chinese or oriental liver fluke, is an important human parasite and is widely distributed in southern Korea, China (including Taiwan), Japan, northern Vietnam and the far eastern part of Russia. Clonorchiasis occurs in all parts of the world where there are Asian immigrants from endemic areas. The human and animal reservoir hosts (dogs, pigs, cats and rats) acquire the infection from the ingestion of raw fish containing infectious metacercariae. The first intermediate snail hosts are mainly species of Parafossarulus and Bithynia. Numerous species of freshwater fish serve as the second intermediate hosts of C. sinensis. Extensive studies of clonorchiasis during several decades in Japan, Korea, China and other countries have shown much progress in proving its morphological features including ultrastructure, biology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical manifestations and chemotherapy. The present review deals with mainly current results obtained on the epidemiological, pathological and clinical aspects, as well as control measures in endemic areas. As for the complications of clonorchiasis, formation of calculi in the intrahepatic biliary passages is one of the most characteristic pathological features. It is sometimes accompanied by suppurative cholangitis, cholecystitis, cholangiohepatitis and ultimately can cause cholangiocarcinoma. Experimental results on the relationship to the occurrence of cholangiocarcinoma are presented. Clinical diagnosis by radiological findings including cholangiography, sonography and computerized tomography as well as magnetic resonance imaging for biliary or pancreatic ducts are outlined. Current studies on immunology and molecular biology of C. sinensis were introduced. Praziquantel is the drug of choice for clonorchiasis. The most effective regimen is 25 mg kg−1 three times daily (total dose, 75 mg kg−1) administered orally at 5- to 6-h intervals over a single day. Prevention and control measures are also discussed.
A Homogeneous Fluorescent Cell-Based Assay for Detection of Heterologously Expressed Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity

Arhodamine-derived, membrane-permeable fluorophore (DAR-4MAM) sensitive to nitric oxide production has been developed recently. The authors evaluated this reagent in both 96 and 384-well formats using heterologously expressed neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). nNOS transfected into HEK-293T cellswas stimulated by the addition of ionomycin. The calcium mobilization resulting from ionomycin treatment of nNOS-expressing 293T cells induced a robust increase in emission intensity, as measured using a standard rhodamine filter set. The effect was time dependent, and a 3 to 4-fold stimulation could be achieved in a 2-h time period. Ionomycin-dependent nitric oxide (NO) production was completely inhibited by several arginine analogs at micromolar concentrations (e.g., L-NAME IC 50= 3.0 µ M). Several arginine analog inhibitors of nNOS were revealed to be differentially reversible over increasing substrate concentrations. The assay is a facile method for characterizing inhibitors of nNOS in a relatively unperturbed cell environment.
Analysis of the vacuum infusion molding process

The vacuum infusion molding process is becoming increasingly popular for the production of large composite parts. A comprehensive model of the process has not been proposed yet, making its optimization difficult. The flexible nature of the vacuum bag coupled to the varying pressure inside the mold cavity results in a variation of the cavity thickness during the impregnation. A complete simulation model must incorporate this phenomenon. In this paper, a complete analysis of the vacuum infusion molding process is presented. The analysis is not restricted to the theoretical aspects but also reviews the effect of the main processing parameters. The parameters investigated in this paper are thought to be those of most interest for the process, i.e. the compaction of the reinforcement, the permeability, the infusion strategy and the presence of flow enhancement layers. Following the characterization experiments, a 1-D model for the vacuum infusion molding process is presented. This model is derived assuming that an elastic equlibrium holds in the mold cavity during mold filling. Even though good agreement was found between simulation results and experiments, it is concluded that additional work is needed on the numerical model to integrate interesting findings from the experimental part.
Multiwavelength cosmological simulations of elliptical galaxies

We study the chemodynamical evolution of elliptical galaxies and their X-ray and optical properties using high-resolution cosmological simulations. Our tree N-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code includes a self-consistent treatment of radiative cooling, star formation, supernovae feedback and chemical enrichment. We present a series of A cold dark matter (ACDM) cosmological simulations which trace the spatial and temporal evolution of abundances of heavy elements in both the stellar and gas components of galaxies. A giant elliptical galaxy formed in the simulations is quantitatively compared with the observational data in both the X-ray and optical regimes. X-ray spectra of the hot gas are constructed via the use of the VMEKAL plasma model, and analysed using xsPEC with the XMM European Photon Imaging Camera pn-CCD (EPN) response function. Optical properties are derived by the population synthesis for the stellar component. We find that radiative cooling is important to interpret the observed X-ray luminosity, temperature and metallicity of the hot gas of elliptical galaxies. However, this cooled gas also leads to excessive star formation at low redshift, and therefore results in underlying galactic stellar populations which are too blue with respect to observations. Time variation and radial dependence of X-ray properties and abundance ratios, such as [O/Fe] and [Si/Fe], of the X-ray-emitting hot gas are also discussed.
Fiber fly generation of 100% cotton yarns during warp preparation

The study of fiber fly generation during yarn preparation for either knitting or weaving operations has attracted the attention of many researchers for decades, due to either production inefficiencies or health reasons. Among all fiber properties, the fiber length and spinning types have the greatest effects on the amount of fiber fly generated during these processes. Additionally, unwinding speed, yarn tension and package conicity also have a significant effect on fiber fly generation during the warp beam preparation process. It was found that the vortex yarn was generating the minimum amount of fiber fly during warp preparation while the carded ring yarns were giving the maximum amount of fiber fly during these processes.
Attitudes of Critical Care Nurses Toward Organ Donation

In October, 1987, federal legislation requiring hospitals to develop protocols to encourage organ and tissue donation went into effect. Despite required request legislation, a lack of donors still exists. The attitudes of the critical care nurses caring for potential organ donors may have an effect on the actual donation of organs. This author describes how knowledge level and experience with organ donors and recipients affected the attitudes of two groups of critical care nurses towards organ donation.
Mutational and biochemical analysis of the DNA-entry nuclease EndA from Streptococcus pneumoniae

EndA is a membrane-attached surface-exposed DNA-entry nuclease previously known to be required for genetic transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae. More recent studies have shown that the enzyme also plays an important role during the establishment of invasive infections by degrading extracellular chromatin in the form of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), enabling streptococci to overcome the innate immune system in mammals. As a virulence factor, EndA has become an interesting target for future drug design. Here we present the first mutational and biochemical analysis of recombinant forms of EndA produced either in a cell-free expression system or in Escherichia coli. We identify His160 and Asn191 to be essential for catalysis and Asn182 to be required for stability of EndA. The role of His160 as the putative general base in the catalytic mechanism is supported by chemical rescue of the H160A variant of EndA with imidazole added in excess. Our study paves the way for the identification and development of protein or low-molecular-weight inhibitors for EndA in future high-throughput screening assays.
Tag-Trigger-Consolidation: A Model of Early and Late Long-Term-Potentiation and Depression

Changes in synaptic efficacies need to be long-lasting in order to serve as a substrate for memory. Experimentally, synaptic plasticity exhibits phases covering the induction of long-term potentiation and depression (LTP/LTD) during the early phase of synaptic plasticity, the setting of synaptic tags, a trigger process for protein synthesis, and a slow transition leading to synaptic consolidation during the late phase of synaptic plasticity. We present a mathematical model that describes these different phases of synaptic plasticity. The model explains a large body of experimental data on synaptic tagging and capture, cross-tagging, and the late phases of LTP and LTD. Moreover, the model accounts for the dependence of LTP and LTD induction on voltage and presynaptic stimulation frequency. The stabilization of potentiated synapses during the transition from early to late LTP occurs by protein synthesis dynamics that are shared by groups of synapses. The functional consequence of this shared process is that previously stabilized patterns of strong or weak synapses onto the same postsynaptic neuron are well protected against later changes induced by LTP/LTD protocols at individual synapses.
The Effects of Choline on Hepatic Lipid Metabolism, Mitochondrial Function and Antioxidative Status in Human Hepatic C3A Cells Exposed to Excessive Energy Substrates

Choline plays a lipotropic role in lipid metabolism as an essential nutrient. In this study, we investigated the effects of choline (5, 35 and 70 μM) on DNA methylation modifications, mRNA expression of the critical genes and their enzyme activities involved in hepatic lipid metabolism, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in C3A cells exposed to excessive energy substrates (lactate, 10 mM; octanoate, 2 mM and pyruvate, 1 mM; lactate, octanoate and pyruvate-supplemented medium (LOP)). Thirty five micromole or 70 μM choline alone, instead of a low dose (5 μM), reduced hepatocellular triglyceride (TG) accumulation, protected Δψm from decrement and increased GSH-Px activity in C3A cells. The increment of TG accumulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and Δψm disruption were observed under LOP treatment in C3A cells after 72 h of culture, which were counteracted by concomitant treatment of choline (35 μM or 70 μM) partially via reversing the methylation status of the peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) gene promoter, upregulating PPARα, carnitine palmitoyl transferase-I (CPT-I) and downregulating fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene expression, as well as decreasing FAS activity and increasing CPT-I and GSH-Px activities. These findings provided a novel insight into the lipotropic role of choline as a vital methyl-donor in the intervention of chronic metabolic diseases.
Effects of 20 days of bed rest on the viscoelastic properties of tendon structures in lower limb muscles

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 20 days’ bed rest on the viscoelastic properties of human tendon structures in knee extensor and plantar flexor muscles in vivo. Methods: Eight healthy men (age: 24±4 years, height: 172±9 m, body mass: 69±13 kg) carried out a 6° head-down bed rest for 20 days. Before and after bed rest, elongation (L) of the tendon and aponeurosis of vastus lateralis (VL) and medial gastrocnemius muscles (MG) during isometric knee extension and plantar flexion, respectively, were determined using real-time ultrasonic apparatus, while the subjects performed ramp isometric contraction up to the voluntary maximum, followed by ramp relaxation. The relationship between estimated muscle force (Fm) and tendon elongation (L) was fitted to a linear regression, the slope of which was defined as stiffness. The hysteresis was calculated as the ratio of the area within the Fm-L loop to the area beneath the load portion of the curve. Results: L values above 100 N were significantly greater after bed rest for VL, while there were no significant differences in L values between before and after for MG. The stiffness decreased after bed rest for VL (70.3±27.4 v 50.1±24.8 N/mm, before and after bed rest, respectively; p = 0.003) and MG (29.4±7.5 v 25.6±7.8 N/mm, before and after bed rest, respectively; p = 0.054). In addition, hysteresis increased after bed rest for VL (16.5±7.1% v 28.2±12.9%, before and after bed rest, respectively; p = 0.017), but not for MG (17.4±4.4% v 17.7±6.1%, before and after bed rest, respectively; p = 0.925). Conclusions: These results suggested that bed rest decreased the stiffness of human tendon structures and increased their hysteresis, and that these changes were found in knee extensors, but not the plantar flexors.
Central and peripheral airway/alveolar sites of exhaled nitric oxide in acute asthma

Introduction Central airway nitric oxide flux (J'awNO) and peripheral airway/alveolar nitric oxide concentration (CANO) during asthma exacerbation has not been investigated after correction for axial NO back-diffusion. Methods After measuring exhaled NO (fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO); ppb) at 50, 100, 150 and 200 ml/s, J'awNO (nl/s) and CANO (ppb) were calculated using the two-compartment model and corrected for axial NO back-diffusion. Fifteen (8 males), non-smoking, patients with moderate-to-severe treated (inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and inhaled long-acting β2-agonist (LABA)) asthma, age 57±13 years (mean±SD), were studied at baseline, during exacerbation prior to oral corticosteroid, and during recovery after an 8 day tapering prednisone course. Based on earlier asthma studies without correction, it was hypothesised that with correction for NO axial back-diffusion, the incidence of abnormal J'awNO and CANO at baseline and after exacerbation would be ≥30% in 15 patients with asthma with 80% power. Results At baseline when clinically stable, after 180 μg of albuterol, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1; litres) was 78±26% predicted (p=0.009) with increased FENO at 50 ml/s (p=0.01) and J'awNO (p=0.02), but CANO was normal compared with the controls. During exacerbation FEV1 (litres) was 57±20% predicted (p=0.02), with increased FENO at 50 ml/s (p=0.01) and J'awNO (p=0.004), but CANO was normal. Recovery results were similar to baseline. Two of 15 patients with asthma always had normal exhaled NO gas exchange. Conclusions The central airways were the major site of abnormal NO flux in 13 of 15 patients with moderate–severe asthma when stable and during exacerbation and could be easily detected with abnormal FENO at 50 ml/s. CANO was normal. Clinical trial number NCT00576069.
Quantitative evaluation of transverse cracks in carbon fiber reinforced plastic quasi-isotropic laminates with embedded small-diameter fiber Bragg grating sensors

The authors have applied newly developed small-diameter fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, whose cladding is 40 µm in diameter, for the detection of transverse cracks in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates. In previous research, the small-diameter FBG sensors were embedded in CFRP cross-ply laminates. When transverse cracks occurred, reflection spectra from the FBG sensors broadened with an increase in the crack density. Thus, the authors showed that small-diameter FBG sensors had the potential to detect the occurrence of cracks. In the present research, this technique is applied to the detection of the transverse crack evolution in CFRP quasi-isotropic laminates, whose laminate configuration is more suitable for practical use. Through the experiment and the theoretical calculation, it was found that the small-diameter FBG sensor could also detect transverse cracks in quasi-isotropic laminates quantitatively.
Na+/Ca2+ exchanger modulates kainate‐triggered Ca2+ signaling in Bergmann glial cells in situ

The role of sodium‐calcium exchanger in calcium homeostasis in Bergmann glial cells in situ was investigated by monitoring cytoplasmic calcium ([Ca2+]i) and sodium ([Na+]i) concentrations. The [Ca2+]i and [Na+]i transients were measured either separately by using fluorescent indicators fura‐2 and SBFI, respectively, or simultaneously using the indicators fluo‐3 and SBFI. Since the removal of extracellular Na+ induced a relatively small (~50 nM) elevation of [Ca2+]i, the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger seems to play a minor role in regulation of resting [Ca2+]i. In contrast, kainate‐triggered [Ca2+]i increase was significantly suppressed by lowering of the extracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]o). In addition, manipulations with [Na+]o dramatically affected the recovery of the kainate‐induced [Ca2+]i transients. Simultaneous recordings of [Ca2+]i and [Na+]i revealed that kainate‐evoked [Ca2+]i transients were accompanied with an increase in [Na+]i. Moreover, kainate induced significantly larger [Ca2+]i and smaller [Na+]i transients under current‐clamp conditions as compared to those recorded when the membrane voltage was clamped at –70 mV. The above results demonstrate that the Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger is operative in Bergmann glial cells in situ and is able to modulate dynamically the amplitude and kinetics of [Ca2+]i signals associated with an activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. —Kirischuk, S. , Kettenmann, H. , Verkhratsky, A. Na+/Ca2+ exchanger modulates kainate‐triggered Ca2+ signaling in Bergmann glial cells in situ. FASEB J. 11, 566–572 (1997)
Neonatal pulmonary hypertension prevents reorganisation of the pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cytoskeleton after birth

The pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC) cytoskeleton was studied in tissue from 36 piglets aged from within 5 min of birth to 21 d of age, and in 8 adults. An additional 16 piglets were made pulmonary hypertensive by exposure to hypobaric hypoxia (50.8 kPa) for 3 d. In conduit intrapulmonary elastic arteries α, β and γ actin, the 204, 200 and 196 kDa myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and vinculin were localised by immunohistochemistry. The total actin content, the proportion of monomeric to filamentous α and γ actin and changes in the proportions of the MHC isoforms were determined biochemically. Dividing SMCs were localised and quantified using Ki‐67. We found a transient reduction in immunohistochemical expression of γ actin, 204 kDa MHC isoform and vinculin at 3 and 6 d in the inner media, associated with a transient increase in Ki‐67 labelling. The actin content also decreased at 3 and 6 d (P < 0.05), but there was a postnatal, permanent increase in monomeric actin, first the α then the γ isoform. The relative proportions of the MHC isoforms did not change between birth and adulthood in elastic pulmonary arteries but in muscular arteries the 200 kDa isoform increased between 14 d and adulthood. Pulmonary hypertension prevented both the immunohistochemical changes and the postnatal burst of SMC replication and prevented the transient postnatal reduction in actin content. These findings suggest that rapid remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton is an essential prerequisite of a normal postnatal fall in pulmonary vascular resistance.
Cyclic load experiment study on the laminated composite RC walls with different concrete ages

12 typical laminated composite reinforced concrete (RC) walls with different concrete ages and 3 cast-in-place RC walls subjected to low frequency cyclic load were carried out in this study. The failure mode, force-deformation response and energy dissipation capacity of these specimens were investigated. Differences of structural behaviours between composite RC walls and common cast-in-place RC walls were emphasized in the analysis. The compatibility of the composite specimens with different concrete ages was discussed based on the experiment. Test results indicated that the differences between the lateral bearing capacity and the displacement ductility of the composite walls and the common walls were not so obvious. Some of the composite specimen even has higher bearing capacity under the experiment loading situation. Besides, the two parts of the laminated composite specimens demonstrates incompatibility at the later loading sequence on failure mode and strain response when it is in tension. Finally, this laminated composite shear walls are suggested to be applied in rapid reconstruction structures which is not very high.
Generation of a Retinoblastoma (Rb)1-inducible dominant-negative (DN) mouse model

Retinoblastoma 1 (Rb1) is an essential gene regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, and homeostasis. To exert these functions, Rb1 is recruited and physically interacts with a growing variety of signaling pathways. While Rb1 does not appear to be ubiquitously expressed, its expression has been confirmed in a variety of hematopoietic and neuronal-derived cells, including the inner ear hair cells (HCs). Studies in transgenic mice demonstrate that complete germline or conditional Rb1 deletion leads to abnormal cell proliferation, followed by massive apoptosis; making it difficult to fully address Rb1’s biochemical activities. To overcome these limitations, we developed a tetracycline-inducible TetO-CB-myc6-Rb1 (CBRb) mouse model to achieve transient and inducible dominant-negative (DN) inhibition of the endogenous RB1 protein. Our strategy involved fusing the Rb1 gene to the lysosomal protease pre-procathepsin B (CB), thus allowing for further routing of the DN-CBRb fusion protein and its interacting complexes for proteolytic degradation. Moreover, reversibility of the system is achieved upon suppression of doxycycline (Dox) administration. Preliminary characterization of DN-CBRb mice bred to a ubiquitous rtTA mouse line demonstrated a significant inhibition of the endogenous RB1 protein in the inner ear and in a number of other organs where RB1 is expressed. Examination of the postnatal (P) DN-CBRb mice inner ear at P10 and P28 showed the presence of supernumerary inner HCs (IHCs) in the lower turns of the cochleae, which corresponds to the described expression domain of the endogenous Rb1 gene. Selective and reversible suppression of gene expression is both an experimental tool for defining function and a potential means to medical therapy. Given the limitations associated with Rb1-null mice lethality, this model provides a valuable resource for understanding RB1 activity, relative contribution to HC regeneration and its potential therapeutic application.
Paleoclimate forcing by the solar De Vries/Suess cycle

Abstract. A large number of investigations of paleoclimate have noted the influence of a ~ 200 year oscillation which has been related to the De Vries/Suess cycle of solar activity. As such studies were concerned mostly with local climate, we have used extensive northern hemispheric proxy data sets of Buntgen and of Christiansen/Ljungqvist together with a southern hemispheric tree-ring set, all with 1 year time resolution, to analyze the climate influence of the solar cycle. As there is increasing interest in temperature rise rates, as opposed to present absolute temperatures, we have analyzed temperature differences over 100 years to shed light on climate dynamics of at least the last 2500 years. Fourier- and Wavelet transforms as well as nonlinear optimization to sine functions show the dominance of the ∼ 200 year cycle. The sine wave character of the climate oscillations permits an approximate prediction of the near future climate.