Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lead toxicity and the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.

Environmental exposure to toxic levels of lead occurs in a number of industries with potential adverse effects on the reproductive capacity of exposed men. Clinical and animal studies indicate that abnormalities of spermatogenesis result from toxic lead exposure, but the pathogenetic mechanisms involved have not been identified. In order to ascertain what reproductive abnormalities occur in experimental animals when exposed to low levels of lead, 52-day-old animals were treated with water containing 0.0% (control), 0.1%, or 0.3% lead acetate for 30 days prior to killing. Whole blood serum lead levels were below detection (less than 7 micrograms/dl) in the control animals, 34 +/- 3 micrograms/dl in the 0.1% group, and 60 +/- 4 micrograms/dl in the 0.3% group (P less than 0.001). Significant negative correlations between whole blood lead levels and serum and intratesticular testosterone values were found (r = 0.64, P less than 0.001 and r = 0.6, P less than 0.001, respectively). As the level of lead exposure increased, intratesticular sperm counts significantly decreased (r = 0.81, P less than 0.001). No significant changes in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) values were found, but sperm follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) values were significantly suppressed (P less than 0.05) after lead treatment. There was a significant decrease in ventral prostate weight (P less than 0.05), but no differences in testicular or seminal vesicle weights. Our data indicate that dietary exposure to lead resulting in whole blood serum lead values considered acceptable in the workplace (less than or equal to 40 micrograms/dl) causes inhibition of testicular function. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Role for XRCC4 in Age at Diagnosis and Breast Cancer Risk

Genetic variants in DNA repair genes influence the ability to repair damaged DNA. Unrepaired or improperly repaired DNA may lead to genetic instability and carcinogenesis. We evaluated the role of four tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNP) in the DNA repair gene, XRCC4, and its association with breast cancer risk and age at diagnosis of breast cancer in 464 cases and 576 controls selected to be BRCA1/2 mutation negative from high-risk Utah pedigrees. We observed a significant association for two 4-locus tSNP haplotypes and age at diagnosis. Carriage of one haplotype was associated with later diagnosis (haplotype frequency, 0.039; mean age at diagnosis, 67.17 years; P = 0.001), and carriage of the other was associated with earlier diagnosis (haplotype frequency, 0.214; mean age at diagnosis, 54.04 years; P = 0.0085). For breast cancer risk, two 2-locus tSNP haplotypes explained the observed association as well as extended four-locus haplotypes. The two 2-locus haplotypes were nominally associated with breast cancer risk, one for reduced risk (odds ratio, 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.90; P = 0.014) and one for increased risk (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.67; P = 0.033). Moreover, one of the tSNPs is in strong linkage disequilibrium (D′ = 1.00) with an XRCC4 SNP found to be significantly associated with breast cancer risk in Taiwan, hence, confirming their findings. Our results suggest that XRCC4 may play a role in the age at diagnosis and risk of breast cancer in non-BRCA1/2, heritable breast cancer cases. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(7):1306–10)
The effect of resin toughness and modulus on compressive failure modes of quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy laminates

Abstract : Compressive failure mechanisms in quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy laminates were characterized for both unnotched and notched specimens and also following damage by impact. Two types of fibers (Thornel 300 and 700) and four resin systems (Narmco 5208, American Cyanamid BP907, and Union Carbide 4901/MDA and 4901/mPDA) were studied. The widely used T300/5208 served as the baseline composite system. For all material combinations, failure of unnotched specimens was initiated by kinking of fibers in the 0-degree plies. A major difference was observed, however, in the mode of failure propagation after the 0-degree ply failure. In laminates made with Narmco 3208 resin, the 0-degree ply failure was immediately followed by delamination and catastrophic failure of the specimen. In BP907 resin the fiber kinking was well contained without delamination, and still allowed further increase in load. The remaining two resins lay between BP907 and Narmco 5208 in their resistance to delamination. The strength of quasi-isotropic laminates in general increased with increasing resin tensile modulus. The laminates made with Thornel 700 fibers exhibited slightly lower compressive strengths than did the laminates made with Thornel 300 fibers. The notch sensitivity as measured by the hole strength was lowest for the BP907 resin and highest for the 5208 resin. For the materials studied, however, the type or fiber had no effect on the notch sensitivity. The area of impact damage was smallest for the BP907 resin. The 4901 resins were comparable to the 5208 resin in their impact resistance. Of the two fiber types, the T700 fiber consistently gave smaller damage area. The strength reduction after impact could be explained from the impact damage area and the unnotched strength. (MM)
Delay-Optimal Opportunistic Scheduling and Approximations: The Log Rule

This paper considers the design of multiuser opportunistic packet schedulers for users sharing a time-varying wireless channel from performance and robustness points of view. For a simplified model falling in the classical Markov decision process framework, we numerically compute and characterize mean-delay-optimal scheduling policies. The computed policies exhibit radial sum-rate monotonicity: As users' queues grow linearly, the scheduler allocates service in a manner that deemphasizes the balancing of unequal queues in favor of maximizing current system throughput (being opportunistic). This is in sharp contrast to previously proposed throughput-optimal policies, e.g., Exp rule and MaxWeight (with any positive exponent of queue length). In order to meet performance and robustness objectives, we propose a new class of policies, called the Log rule, that are radial sum-rate monotone (RSM) and provably throughput-optimal. In fact, it can also be shown that an RSM policy minimizes the asymptotic probability of sum-queue overflow. We use extensive simulations to explore various possible design objectives for opportunistic schedulers. When users see heterogenous channels, we find that emphasizing queue balancing, e.g., Exp rule and MaxWeight, may excessively compromise the overall delay. Finally, we discuss approaches to implement the proposed policies for scheduling and resource allocation in OFDMA-based multichannel systems.
Collision Tumor of the Stomach: A Case Report of Mixed Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor and Adenocarcinoma

Collision tumors of the stomach are uncommon. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of gastric collision tumor composed of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) intermixed with primary adenocarcinoma in the English literature. The adenocarcinoma was determined to be the primary tumor based on histologic features. The tumor cells of the GIST were diffusely and strongly positive for CD34 and CD117, weakly positive for smooth muscle actin (5% of cells), and negative for desmin, S-100 protein, synaptophysin, and cytokeratin. There was no transition between the different components. We hypothesized that the stomach was influenced by the same unknown carcinogen, resulting in a simultaneous proliferation of different cell lines (epithelial and stromal cell). This case represents an example of two independent tumors in a unique one-on-another pattern, namely growth of adenocarcinoma on GIST.
Software architecture design assistants need controlled efficiency experiments: lessons learned from a survey

Software architects use so-called software architecture design assistants to get tool-based, (semi-)automated support in engineering software systems. Compared to manual engineering, the main promise of such a support is that architects can create high-quality architectural designs more efficiently. Yet, current practice in evaluating whether this promise is kept is based on case studies conducted by the original authors of respective design assistants. The downside of such evaluations is that they are neither generalizable to thirdparty software architects nor can be used for quantitative efficiency comparisons between competing design assistants. To tackle this problem, we investigate how researchers can apply controlled experiments for evaluating the impact of software architecture design assistants on the efficiency of architects. For our investigation, we survey related controlled experiments. Based on this survey, we derive lessons learned in terms of best practices and challenges for such experiments.
Interaction between Burkholderia pseudomallei and Acanthamoeba Species Results in Coiling Phagocytosis, Endamebic Bacterial Survival, and Escape

ABSTRACT Burkholderia pseudomallei causes melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease whose clinical outcomes include rapid-onset septicemia and relapsing and delayed-onset infections. Like other facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens, B. pseudomallei is capable of survival in human phagocytic cells, but unlike mycobacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, andSalmonella serovar Typhimurium, the species has not been reported to survive as an endosymbiont in free-living amebae. We investigated the consequences of exposing Acanthamoeba astronyxis, A. castellani, and A. polyphaga to B. pseudomallei NCTC 10276 in a series of coculture experiments. Bacterial endocytosis was observed in all three Acanthamoeba species. A more extensive range of cellular interactions including bacterial adhesion, incorporation into amebic vacuoles, and separation was observed with A. astronyxis in timed coculture experiments. Amebic trophozoites containing motile intravacuolar bacilli were found throughout 72 h of coculture. Confocal microscopy was used to confirm the intracellular location of endamebic B. pseudomallei cells. Transmission electron microscopy of coculture preparations revealed clusters of intact bacilli in membrane-lined vesicles inside the trophozoite cytoplasm; 5 × 102 CFU of bacteria per ml were recovered from lysed amebic trophozoites after 60 min of coculture. Demonstration of an interaction between B. pseudomallei and free-living acanthamebae in vitro raises the possibility that a similar interaction in vivo might affect environmental survival ofB. pseudomallei and subsequent human exposure. Endamebic passage of B. pseudomallei warrants further investigation as a potential in vitro model of intracellular B. pseudomallei infection.
A multi-robot system for landmine detection

This paper describes the development of a multi-robot system for area reduction in humanitarian demining. In spite of the specific requirements imposed to the work being carried out by the humanitarian demining domain, the results being achieved can also be used in other domains such as surveillance and remote monitoring. A multi-agent based architecture is responsible for coordinating a progressive stochastic analysis of the terrain. The all-terrain navigation used by the mobile robots is attained by a novel embodied reactive obstacle avoidance method. A control mission software has been developed to plan, configure and supervise the operations. Highly compliant legged and wheeled platforms have been developed accomplishing low-cost all-terrain robots. Digital signal processing algorithms have been applied for landmine detection using the payload sensors
Constitutive theory for velocity dispersion in rock with dual porosity

The high frequency behavior of the bulk modulus of fluid-saturated rock can be obtained from a double-porosity constitutive model, which is a direct conceptual extension of Biot's (1941) constitutive equations and which provides additional stiffening due to unrelaxed induced pore pressures in the soft porosity phase. Modeling the stiffening of the shear modulus at high frequency requires an effective medium average over the unequal induced pore pressures in cracks of different orientations. The implicit assumptions are that pore fluid equilibration does not occur between cracks of different orientations and between cracks and porous matrix. The correspondence between the constitutive equations of Berryman and Wang (1995) and Mavko and Jizba (1991) is explicitly noted.
Can Analysts Agree? The Problems of Consensus and the Psychoanalytic Mannequin: II. Empirical Tests

The present investigation reports on the execution of an empirical strategy for testing agreement in complex clinical psychoanalytic propositions, and for testing whether stereotypical assumptions are overridden (revised) by the specific character of the patient's narrative. The findings reveal that, in general, for the several domains of psychoanalytic formulation, psychoanalyst judges reach superior levels of ordinal agreement, and modest to good levels for agreement on magnitude. Moreover, formulations based on verbatim psychoanalytic sessions pass the “test of the mannequin” in most domains, i.e., surpass stereotypical psychoanalytic assumptions about the patient's dynamics. The mannequin concept, here operationalized, introduces a new and epistemically crucial consideration for the making of psychodynamic formulations. Other novel contributions of these studies include the development of operationalized measures of (reconstructive) historical linkage, and the introduction of magnitudinal agreement in this empirical area.
Genomes of sequence type 121 Listeria monocytogenes strains harbor highly conserved plasmids and prophages

The food-borne pathogen Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is often found in food production environments. Thus, controlling the occurrence of L. monocytogenes in food production is a great challenge for food safety. Among a great diversity of L. monocytogenes strains from food production, particularly strains belonging to sequence type (ST)121 are prevalent. The molecular reasons for the abundance of ST121 strains are however currently unknown. We therefore determined the genome sequences of three L. monocytogenes ST121 strains: 6179 and 4423, which persisted for up to 8 years in food production plants in Ireland and Austria, and of the strain 3253 and compared them with available L. monocytogenes ST121 genomes. Our results show that the ST121 genomes are highly similar to each other and show a tremendously high degree of conservation among some of their prophages and particularly among their plasmids. This remarkably high level of conservation among prophages and plasmids suggests that strong selective pressure is acting on them. We thus hypothesize that plasmids and prophages are providing important adaptations for survival in food production environments. In addition, the ST121 genomes share common adaptations which might be related to their persistence in food production environments such as the presence of Tn6188, a transposon responsible for increased tolerance against quaternary ammonium compounds, a yet undescribed insertion harboring recombination hotspot (RHS) repeat proteins, which are most likely involved in competition against other bacteria, and presence of homologs of the L. innocua genes lin0464 and lin0465.
Consumption of soft drinks and hyperactivity, mental distress, and conduct problems among adolescents in Oslo, Norway.

OBJECTIVES We examined whether high levels of consumption of sugar-containing soft drinks were associated with mental distress, hyperactivity, and conduct problems among adolescents. METHODS A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted with 10th-grade students in Oslo, Norway (n = 5498). We used the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to assess mental health outcomes. RESULTS There was a J-shaped dose-response relationship between soft drink consumption and mental distress, conduct problems, and total mental health difficulties score; that is, adolescents who did not consume soft drinks had higher scores (indicating worse symptoms) than those who consumed soft drinks at moderate levels but lower scores than those with high consumption levels. The relationship was linear for hyperactivity. In a logistic regression model, the association between soft drink consumption and mental health problems remained significant after adjustment for behavioral, social, and food-related variables. The highest adjusted odds ratios were observed for conduct problems among boys and girls who consumed 4 or more glasses of sugar-containing soft drinks per day. CONCLUSIONS High consumption levels of sugar-containing soft drinks were associated with mental health problems among adolescents even after adjustment for possible confounders.
Children in adoptive families: overview and update.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the past 10 years of published research concerning the 2% of American children younger than 18 years old who are adoptees. METHOD Review recent literature on developmental influences, placement outcome, psychopathology, and treatment. RESULTS Adoption carries developmental opportunities and risks. Many adoptees have remarkably good outcomes, but some subgroups have difficulties. Traditional infant, international, and transracial adoptions may complicate adoptees' identity formation. Those placed after infancy may have developmental delays, attachment disturbances, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Useful interventions include preventive counseling to foster attachment, postadoption supports, focused groups for parents and adoptees, and psychotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Variables specific to adoption affect an adopted child's developmental trajectory. Externalizing, internalizing, attachment, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms may arise. Child and adolescent psychiatrists can assist both adoptive parents and children.
Evolution of the ribosome at atomic resolution

Significance Ribosomes exist in every cell and are responsible for translation from mRNA to protein. The structure of the ribosomal common core is highly conserved in all living species, while the outer regions of the ribosome are variable. Ribosomal RNA of eukaryotes contains expansion segments accreted onto the surface of the core, which is nearly identical in structure to that in prokaryotic ribosomes. Comparing eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomes allows us to identify 3D insertion fingerprints of the expansion segments. Similar fingerprints allow us to analyze the common core and detect ancestral expansion segments within it. We construct a molecular model of ribosomal evolution starting from primordial biological systems near the dawn of life, culminating with relatively recent changes specific to metazoans. The origins and evolution of the ribosome, 3–4 billion years ago, remain imprinted in the biochemistry of extant life and in the structure of the ribosome. Processes of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) expansion can be “observed” by comparing 3D rRNA structures of bacteria (small), yeast (medium), and metazoans (large). rRNA size correlates well with species complexity. Differences in ribosomes across species reveal that rRNA expansion segments have been added to rRNAs without perturbing the preexisting core. Here we show that rRNA growth occurs by a limited number of processes that include inserting a branch helix onto a preexisting trunk helix and elongation of a helix. rRNA expansions can leave distinctive atomic resolution fingerprints, which we call “insertion fingerprints. ” Observation of insertion fingerprints in the ribosomal common core allows identification of probable ancestral expansion segments. Conceptually reversing these expansions allows extrapolation backward in time to generate models of primordial ribosomes. The approach presented here provides insight to the structure of pre-last universal common ancestor rRNAs and the subsequent expansions that shaped the peptidyl transferase center and the conserved core. We infer distinct phases of ribosomal evolution through which ribosomal particles evolve, acquiring coding and translocation, and extending and elaborating the exit tunnel.
Prestimulation with recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) improves the long-term outcome of radioiodine therapy for multinodular nontoxic goiter.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of recombinant human TSH (rhTSH)-augmented radioiodine ((131)I) therapy for benign multinodular nontoxic goiter. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 2002 and 2005, 86 patients with a multinodular nontoxic goiter were treated with (131)I in two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. (131)I-therapy was preceded by 0.3 mg rhTSH (n = 42) or placebo (n = 44). In 2009, 80 patients completed a follow-up (FU) visit, including determination of thyroid volume, thyroid function, and patient satisfaction by a visual analog scale. RESULTS In both groups, thyroid volume was further reduced from 1 yr to final FU (71 months). The mean goiter volume reductions obtained at 1 yr and final FU [59.2 ± 2.4% (sem) and 69.7 ± 3.1%, respectively] in the rhTSH group were significantly greater than those obtained in the (131)I-alone group (43.2 ± 3.7 and 56.2 ± 3.6%, respectively, P = 0.001 and P = 0.006), corresponding to a gain of 24% at final FU. At last FU the mean reduction in compression visual analog scale score was significantly greater in patients receiving rhTSH (P = 0.049). Additional therapy (thyroid surgery or (131)I) was required more often in the placebo group (nine of 44) compared with the rhTSH group (two of 42) (P = 0.05). The prevalence of hypothyroidism at 1 yr [9 and 43% in the placebo and rhTSH groups, respectively (P < 0.0001)] increased to 16 and 52%, respectively, at final FU (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Enhanced goiter volume reduction with rhTSH-augmented (131)I therapy improves the long-term reduction in goiter-related symptoms and reduces the need for additional therapy compared with plain (131)I therapy. Overall patient satisfaction is benefited, despite a higher rate of permanent hypothyroidism.
Functional Organization of the Cardiac Ganglion of the Lobster, Homarus americanus

External recording and stimulation, techniques were used to determine which neurons and interactions are essential for production of the periodic burst discharge in the lobster cardiac ganglion. Burst activity can be modulated by brief single shocks applied to the four small cells, but not by similar stimulation of the five large cells, suggesting that normally one or more small cells primarily determine burst rate and duration. Repetitive electrical stimulation of large cells initiates spike activity in small cells, probably via excitatory synaptic and/or electrotonic connections which may normally act to prolong bursts and decrease burst rate. Transection of the ganglion can result in burst activity in small cells in the partial or complete absence of large cell spike activity, but large cells isolated from small cell excitatory synaptic input by transection or by application of dinitrophenol do not burst. Generally, transections which decrease excitatory feedback to small cells are accompanied by an increase in burst rate, but mean spike frequency over an entire burst cycle stabilizes at the original level within 10–30 min for various groups of cells whose spike-initiating sites are still intact. These and previous results suggest that the system is two layered: one or more small cells generate the burst pattern and impose it on the large cells which are the system's motorneurons.