Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of salsolinol on ACTH and cortisol response to handling stress in early anestrous sheep

Hasiec M. , Szlis M. , Chmielewska N. , Górski K. , Romanowicz K. , Misztal T. (2017): Effect of salsolinol on ACTH and cortisol response to handling stress in early anestrous sheep. Czech J. Anim. Sci., 62, 130–139. Inhibition of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity by salsolinol was demonstrated in lactating sheep. We assessed whether salsolinol regulates, besides lactation, also adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol release, and if its action is prolactin-dependent. We examined two groups of early anestrous sheep, which received for three days salsolinol or vehicle-only intracerebroventricular injections, and a group of lactating sheep injected with the vehicle only. On day 3, blood samples were collected for over six hours and the anterior pituitary was dissected. Plasma ACTH, cortisol, and prolactin concentrations, and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and prolactin (PRL) mRNA expression within the anterior pituitary were assayed. In all groups, ACTH and cortisol concentrations were higher (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001) during the first half of sampling than in the second half; there were no differences in prolactin concentration. Lactating sheep had lower (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001) plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations and higher (P < 0.001) plasma prolactin concentration than both groups of anestrous sheep during the first half of sampling. In the second half, there were no differences in ACTH and cortisol concentrations between all groups, but prolactin concentration was still higher (P < 0.001) in lactating animals. Salsolinol treatment decreased ACTH and cortisol concentrations during the first half of sampling (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001) compared to the anestrous controls, but had no effect on prolactin concentration. POMC mRNA expression was lower (P < 0.05) and PRL mRNA expression was higher (P < 0.05) in lactating sheep than in anestrous sheep. Salsolinol did not affect POMC and PRL mRNA expression. In conclusion, increased ACTH and cortisol concentrations during the first half of sampling occurred in response to handling stress. Salsolinol inhibited the HPA axis response to stress in early anestrous sheep, and it was unrelated to prolactin secretion.
Prognostic value of Ki 67 expression in HR-negative breast cancer before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Background: Immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of Ki67 has been identified as a prognostic and predictive marker in hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer, however, there is little evidence of the association of Ki67 with prognosis in HR-negative patients. We aimed to assess the benefit of Ki67 assessment in HR-negative breast cancers after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods: In the present study, a total of 183 HR-negative breast cancer patients with Stage II to III that treated with anthracycline and/or taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2004 and 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Endocrine therapy and trastuzumab was not administered to any patients in this study. Clinical and pathological features of the patients with breast cancer were retrieved from the hospital records. Predictive factors for NAC response and survival were analyzed. Results: Of the 183 patients, 122 (66.6%) were HRHER2+, and 61 (33.3%) were triple-negative. The clinical response rates were similar across breast cancer subtype. Patients whose tumors contained high Ki67 expression effectively responded to NAC. Ki67 labeling index was a predictive marker for pathologic complete response (pCR). Ki67 expression showed a positive correlation with HER2 status, tumor size, lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion and tumor grade. Furthermore, high Ki67 expression in post-treatment tumors was strongly correlated with poor disease-free survival (DFS), but no correlation of Ki-67 expression with overall survival (OS) was observed. Conclusions: Our results suggest that Ki67 expression in HR-negative breast cancer may improve the assessment of pathological response after NAC, and Ki67 score in residual tumor was an independent prognosticator for DFS in the HR-negative breast cancer patients.
Synchronic Versus Diachronic Explanation and the Nature of the Language Faculty

The nineteenth-century conception that linguistic structure was to be explained by recourse to the histories of languages was largely abandoned with the rise of synchronic theories in the twentieth century, but has recently returned to prominence. Whereas traditional generative theories of language have tended to attribute crosslinguistic regularities to constraints imposed on the class of possible grammars by the human Language Faculty, some scholars have argued that this is often a mistake: that there are no (or at least very few) real substantive universals of language, and that the regularities in question arise from common paths of diachronic change having their basis in factors outside of the defining properties of the set of cognitively accessible grammars. This review surveys evidence for that position, primarily in phonology but also in morphology and syntax. I argue that in phonology, there are at present no convincingly demonstrated substantive universals governing the set of possible regularities, and that the generalizations we find should be attributed to a combination of contingent historical developments and biases in the learning algorithm that relates available data to the grammars learners acquire. In morphology and syntax, I argue that some apparent generalizations are indeed the product of diachronic change rather than synchronic constraint.
Contribution of a TANK-Binding Kinase 1–Interferon (IFN) Regulatory Factor 7 Pathway to IFN-γ-Induced Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) and interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) share common target genes. Here we show that the Irf7 gene is regulated by transcription factors STAT1 and IRF9 in response to the type II interferon (IFN) IFN-γ. IRF7 cooperated with STAT1 and IRF1 to stimulate the expression of a subset of IFN-γ-induced STAT1 target genes. IRF7-mediated control of the Gbp2 gene required the presence and basal activity of the S/T kinase TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), whereas the binding of IRF7 to the Gbp2 promoter did not. Analysis of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) recruitment to the Gbp2 promoter revealed a role for IRF7 at later stages of the IFN-γ response. In support of the role of IRF7 in establishing an effective antibacterial response, IFN-γ-pretreated Irf7−/− macrophages showed an increased bacterial burden after infection with Listeria monocytogenes. Our data thus describe a biologically relevant basal activity of TBK1 and identify IRF7 as a novel player in the IFN-γ response.
The Use of the National Science Education Standards To Critique a Standardized High School Biology Examination.

Every year, more states are adding standardized state-mandated science achievement tests to their testing programs. However, published analyses of these statewide science examinations are rare. It is critical to evaluate these tests because tests define what will be taught to students. The purpose of this article is two-fold: 1) to provide a brief historical overview of standardized testing in science including its purpose, consequences, characteristics, and evaluation; 2) to provide a critique that is unique in that this study used national science standards to evaluate a state-mandated standardized science test.
Recent improvements to dual ridge waveguide horn antennas: The 200MHz to 2000MHz and 18GHz to 40GHz models

Dual-Ridged Horn Antenna (DRHA) are a workhorse in EMC and Antenna Pattern Measurement laboratories. Their broadband capability allows the user to test over a wide frequency ranges without the need to stop the test to change antennas. Recently these antennas came under scrutiny when Burns, Leuchtmann, and Vahldieck showed the pattern problems at the upper end of their band. Since their work new models have been introduced that correct the problems of DRHA in the 1 to 18GHz range. In the present paper a commercially available Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) package is used to analyze the 200MHz to 2GHz and the 18 to 40GHz versions of the DRHA family. Gain, antenna factor (AF) and VSWR are computed. A prototype of the new version is measured. The measured results validate the computed predictions. The result is a DRHA with a smoother gain. This antenna maintains a single lobe in the radiation pattern at 2GHz, the upper end of its range than the traditional DRHA design. These improvements increase the frequency band of the antenna from 2GHz to 2.5GHz. The analysis of the 18 to 40GHz antenna shows that the pattern illumination is improved by the use of open sides as shown by the author in previous papers The resulting antennas are better suited for EMC measurements through their specified entire frequency range. Additionally their better illumination makes these antennas ideal for use on other areas such as antenna measurements and reflector illumination.
Misfit dislocations in gold/Permalloy multilayers

Several groups have reported the misfit dislocation structures in Au/Ni0.8Fe0. 2 multilayers where the lattice parameter misfit is very large. To explore the factors controlling such structures, molecular dynamics simulations have been used to simulate the vapour-phase growth of (111)-oriented Au/Ni0.8Fe0. 2 multilayers. The simulations revealed the formation of misfit dislocations at both the gold-on-Ni0.8Fe0. 2 and the Ni0.8Fe0. 2-on-gold interfaces. The dislocation configuration and density were found to be in good agreement with previously reported high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations. Additional atomic-scale simulations of a model nickel–gold system indicated that dislocations are nucleated as the first nickel layer is deposited on gold. These dislocations have an (a/6)⟨112⟩ Burgers vector, typical of a Shockley partial dislocation. Each dislocation creates an extra {220} plane in the smaller lattice parameter nickel layer. These misfit-type dislocations effectively relieve misfit strain. The results also indicated that the dislocation structure is insensitive to the energy of the depositing atoms. Manipulation of the deposition processes is therefore unlikely to reduce this component of the defect population.
The Development of Episodic Memory: Lifespan Lessons

This article looks at the development of epi- sodic memory (EM) in children from a lifespan perspec- tive, focusing on studies that directly compare children's patterns of memory performance to those of older adults. With training, children show greater improvements and higher levels of asymptotic performance than older adults even when they initially perform at the same or lower lev- els. Thus, the plasticity of EM appears to be greater in children than in older adults. Next, the article describes the two-component model of EM development, which delineates sets of mechanisms that may underlie EM dif- ferences between children and older adults. According to this model, EM requires the interaction between associa- tive and strategic components. It posits that the associa- tive component of EM is relatively mature by middle childhood and declines in old age. The strategic compo- nent of EM matures later than the associative component and also declines in old age. Empirical evidence supports the model, and the article discusses its relation to recent findings in developmental psychology and neuroscience. The article concludes that a lifespan perspective on EM helps to delineate the differences, commonalities, and dependencies among mechanisms that regulate its func- tion and development. KEYWORDS—episodic memory; binding; strategy use; life- span psychology; child development; aging
Ethylene and Auxin in the Control of Wood Formation

This thesis considers aspects of the regulation of growth rate and fibre properties in forest trees. These properties are both genetically determined and influenced by environmental stimuli. Induction of reaction wood is an environmentally induced process involving changes in growth rate and fibre properties that can be readily studied. Plant hormones are signalling agents that play important roles in the initiation and coordination of wood formation; in this thesis the plant hormones auxin and ethylene were investigated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A novel MS technique for measuring the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in minute amounts of plant tissue was developed. Ethylene is often connected to stress responses in plants, and ethylene evolution is increased when reaction wood is formed. Here it is demonstrated that this increase is regulated by ACC oxidase, the enzyme catalysing the last step in the ethylene biosynthetic pathway. This is in contrast to most of the earlier findings that tended to indicate that ethylene production directly reflects the availability of ACC. Although ethylene is strongly up-regulated during reaction wood formation, its role in modulating the growth rate and fibre properties remains unknown. Further, it is demonstrated that reaction wood in both poplar (Populus tremula L.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is formed without changes in auxin concentration in the cambial tissues. This suggests that the previously held assumption that the difference in auxin concentration is key factor in the induction of reaction wood is unsound. Further, auxin concentrations were compared in hybrid aspen trees (Populus tremula L. x tremuloides Michx.) growing vertically at different growth rates. These trees showed good correlations between auxin levels and growth rates. The growth rate was mediated by increases in the cell cycling rate rather than in the width of the cell division zone. Thus, the growth rate in poplar was correlated to auxin levels in normal wood formation, but not during reaction wood formation.
Optimization of Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction for Analysis of Wine Aroma Compounds

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a fast and simple sampling method for analysis of volatile compounds, but quantitation can be affected by sample matrix and sampling conditions. Sampling time and temperature are particularly important in controlling analyte response, and the effects vary for different compound classes and volatilities. Tests with model solutions containing a range of typical wine volatiles show that increasing temperature and sampling time can increase sensitivity for higher boiling polar compounds but decrease sensitivity for very volatile compounds. Sample matrix elements such as ethanol concentration can also have different effects on the responses of different compounds.
Determinants of sustainable growth: A comparative analysis of conventional and islamic banks

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of intangible and financial resources on accountingand market-based performance of two bank business models i.e. conventional and Islamic banks operating in fourteen different countries worldwide for two periods referred as pre (2006-2007) and post (2009-2010) financial crisis (568 observations). The required data to calculate different constituents of intangible (i.e. intellectual capital (IC)) and financial resources is derived from Bankscope database. The results reveal that both IC and financial capital resources are necessary for banks being conventional or Islamic to create value at all times i.e. preand post-crisis period. The results further indicate a positive relationship between IC, financial capital and accounting performance of both sets of banking; however IC and financial capital are only significantly associated with the market value of Islamic banks.
Inequality and Household Finance during the Consumer Age

One might expect that rising US income inequality would reduce demand growth and create a drag on the economy because higher-income groups spend a smaller share of income. But during a quarter century of rising inequality, US growth and employment were reasonably strong, by historical standards, until the Great Recession. This paper analyzes this paradox by disaggregating household spending, income, saving, and debt between the bottom 95 percent and top 5 percent of the income distribution. We find that the top 5 percent did indeed spend a smaller share of income, but demand drag did not occur because the spending share of the bottom 95 percent rose, accompanied by a historic increase in borrowing. The unsustainable rise in household leverage concentrated in the bottom 95 percent ultimately spawned the Great Recession. The demand drag of rising inequality could be one explanation for the stagnant recovery in the recessionâ€™s aftermath.
Experimental Modelling of Spinal Anaesthesia in Rats

1. Horvath G. Szikszay M, Dobos I, Benedek G. Intrathecally applied α2-adrenoceptor agonist (hydrophil ST-91) effects on motor functions in rats. Second Congress of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society, Szeged, 26-28 January 1995. Neurobiology 3; 69, 1995. 2. Klimscha W, Horvath G, Szikszay M, Dobos I, Benedek G, Antinociceptive effects of the S(+) and racemic ketamnine isomers in acute pain tests. MÉT, Szeged, 3-4 July. Physiology 6: 43, 1996. 3. Horvath G, Dobos I, Szikszay M, Benedek G, Intrathecally coadministered verapamil potentiates the ST-91 induced antinociception in rats. MÉT, Szeged, 3-4 July. Physiology 6: 41, 1996. 4. Horvath G, Klimscha W, Dobos I, Szikszay M, Benedek, G, Intrathecal agmatine pretreatment decreases the hyperalgesia and potentiates the morphine induced antinociception in rats. 16 th Annual ESRA Congress, London, England, 17-20 September, 1997. Regional Anesthesia 9/3: 67, 1997. 5. Klimscha W, Horváth G, Dobos I, Szikszay M, Benedek G, Intrathecalisan adott ketamin enantiomerek fájdalomcsillapitó hatásának analizálása gyulladásos fájdalomteszten patkányon. MÉT LXII. Vándorgyűlése, Pécs, Július 9-12. 1997. 6. Dobos I, Horvath G, Szikszay M, Benedek G, Evaluation of chronic intrathecal catheterization in rats. Magyar Idegtudományi Társaság 5. Konferenciája, Debrecen, Január 21-24. 1998. Neurobiology 6: 469-470, 1998. 7. Horvath G, Szikszay M, KlimschaW, Dobos I, Kekesi G, Benedek G, Eisenach,J. Effect of intrathecal agmatine on morphine-induced spinal analgesia in rats. Annual Congress of European Society of Anaesthesiologists, Barcelona, Spain, 25-28 April, 1998. Br. J. Anaest. 80:167, 1998.
Energy losses from an arc tracking in aeronautic cables in DC circuits

A specific setup was developed to create a fault transient arc between aeronautic cables with current intensity up to 100 A. Electrical measurements were coupled to arc length determination, based on arc fast imaging in order to deduce the shape of the arc and the electrode voltage drop. Using optical sensors the radiation emitted by the arc in the range of wavelength higher than 200 nm (non VUV radiation) was estimated. The cable ablation rate was also deduced in the study. A phenomenological and quantitative analysis was performed by coupling the experimental results with theoretical calculation of net emission and using literature results on arc energy transfer. The results show that for copper cables, about 45% of the input electric energy is transferred to the contacts producing a strong ablation of the cable. Then the radiation part is divided in two contributions having more or less the same ratio (12% each): VUV radiation deposited very near from the arc, and non VUV radiation that may propagate far from the arc. The remaining energy is lost by convection and thermal conduction.
Haematological and Biochemical Studies on some Ruminants

Haematological studies of ruminant vertebrates (cow, sheep and goat) present one acceptable method of understanding the ecological biochemical and physiological relationship between lower and higher vertebrate animals like man. Haematological/Biochemical studies were carried out on blood from the vertebrate ruminants: Goat (Capra hircus-L), sheep (Ovis Aries dolrchra), cattle (Bos Taurus) and human (Homo sapiens) as control, indicated that; Electrophoretically goat blood revealed three different Hb polymorphic types: HbAA (45%), HbAS (50%) and HbSS (5%). Only the ‘O’ Rh blood group was observed in all cases, and GST values of 4.05-6.30 I.U were obtained on the other hand. Cow Hb electrophoresis produced two patterns corresponding to the human HbAA and HbAS types. Only the ‘O’ Rh- blood group was obtained in all cases and GST values of 2.85-5.02 I.U were obtained, while sheep blood produced only the HbAA-type, only the ‘O’ blood group was identified in all case. GST activity values were in the range of 3.05-4.52 I.U. These results could point to definite haematological and biochemical similarities in man and ruminants and thus serves as a springboard for further genetic studies using lower vertebrates research models. Keywords : Haemoglobin, glutathione-S-transferase, genotype, erythrocyte J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage . June, 2012, Vol. 16 (2) 217 - 221
Polarization Bistability in a 1550 nm Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Subject to Variable Polarization Optical Injection

The polarization bistability (PB) features in a 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (1550 nm-VCSEL) subject to variable polarization optical injection (VPOI) are experimentally investigated. We have investigated the influence of polarization angle <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of optical injection on PBs induced by scanning the power (power-induced PB) and the frequency of injected light (frequency-induced PB) along with different routes. The experimental results show that, for the fixed frequency of the injection laser and by scanning the injection power within a certain region, there exists a determined range of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in which power-induced PB in the 1550 nm-VCSEL subject to VPOI can be observed. For VPOI with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$</tex-math></inline-formula> located within the determined range, the power-induced PB possesses larger hysteresis width, as compared with orthogonally polarized optical injection. The hysteresis width will be larger for a smaller value of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Under the condition of fixed injection power and continuously varying the frequency of the injection laser, two frequency-induced hysteresis cycles can be observed, of which one is located at negative frequency detuning, and the other is located at positive frequency detuning. The variations of the two hysteresis width with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$</tex-math></inline-formula> exhibit different trends. Also, when the bias current of the 1550 nm-VCSEL increases, the hysteresis width can be further broadened for the power-induced PB, and the broadening effect is relatively weak for the frequency-induced PB.