Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Butyrate reduces high-fat diet-induced metabolic alterations, hepatic steatosis and pancreatic beta cell and intestinal barrier dysfunctions in prediabetic mice

In this study, we investigated the effect of diet supplementation with sodium butyrate (5% w/w), a short-chain fatty acid produced by the intestinal microbiota, on metabolic parameters, body adiposity, hepatic and pancreatic lipid accumulation, beta cell function/mass as well as on the structure and function of the tight junction-mediated intestinal epithelial barrier in both normal and obese/prediabetic C57 mice fed a regular (control) or high-fat diet for 60 days, respectively. Butyrate treatment significantly inhibited all the high-fat-induced metabolic dysfunctions evaluated, i.e. significantly reduced the weight gain and body adiposity as well as the insulin resistant state, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, without changing food intake. In addition, high-fat-fed mice treated with this short-chain fatty acid displayed no compensatory hyperplasia of pancreatic beta cells nor marked hepatic steatosis as seen in prediabetic mice after high-fat diet only. Isolated pancreatic islets from high-fat-fed mice treated with butyrate showed improvement of the insulin secretion, which was associated with a significant decrease in lipid accumulation within the pancreas. Butyrate enhanced the intestinal epithelial barrier, as revealed by the FITC-Dextran permeability assay, which was accompanied by a significant increase in the junctional content of the tight junction-associated claudin-1 in intestinal epithelia of jejunum, ileum, and colon of both control and high-fat mice. In conclusion, our results showed that diet supplementation with butyrate inhibits the deleterious effects of high-fat diet intake on metabolic parameters and structure/function of several tissues/organs associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a mouse model, suggesting a potential use of this short-chain fatty acid in the treatment of this endocrine-metabolic disorder. Impact statement Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid produced by the intestinal microbiota through the fermentation of non-absorbable carbohydrates and proteins (e.g. fibers). Sodium butyrate incorporated into the diet displayed a protective action on metabolic, hepatic, pancreatic and intestinal alterations induced by high-fat diet in mice, resulting in significant inhibition of the development of a prediabetic state. Thus, our data suggest that butyrate may have a potential therapeutic use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and related disorders.
The Evidence for Secretion Clearance Techniques

&NA; Many acute and chronic respiratory diseases are associated with increased respiratory secretions in the airways. Narrative reviews and a few systematic reviews of secretion clearance techniques have been published. These reviews raise concerns regarding the lack of evidence to support the various secretion clearance techniques. I conducted a comprehensive MEDLINE search of the following subjects: chest physical therapy, chest physiotherapy, postural drainage, forced expiratory technique, autogenic drainage, high‐frequency chest wall compression, flutter device and secretions, positive expiratory pressure and secretions, intrapulmonary percussion, mechanical in‐exsufflation and secretions. This was followed by a comprehensive search of cross‐references to identify additional studies. The results of this review are reported herein. There are a number of methodological limitations of the literature reporting studies of the use of secretion clearance techniques. Most of the studies were small, most used crossover designs, and few used sham therapy. Many studies were limited to shortterm outcomes such as sputum clearance with a single treatment session. Despite clinical observations that retained secretions are detrimental to respiratory function and despite anecdotal associates between secretion clearance and improvements in respiratory function, there is a dearth of high‐level evidence to support any secretion clearance technique.
Variabilidade espacial de atributos químicos em Latossolo cultivado de modo convencional com soja no cerrado piauiense

O conhecimento da distribuicao espacial dos atributos do solo permite manejar a area de acordo com as necessidades da cultura, minimizando ao maximo o custo para produtor. Objetivou-se com o presente estudo avaliar a variabilidade espacial de alguns atributos quimicos em Latossolo Amarelo distrofico cultivado de modo convencional com soja no cerrado piauiense. O trabalho foi realizado no municipio de Currais, PI, em area de producao de soja, sob sistema de cultivo convencional, safra 2011/2012. Para a realizacao do estudo foram retiradas amostras de solo na camada de 0,00-0,20 m, em um grid, com intervalo regular de 200 m entre pontos de amostragem, totalizando 50 pontos, sendo cada ponto representado por oito subamostras. Foram avaliados o pH (H2O), materia orgânica, fosforo disponivel, potassio, calcio, magnesio, hidrogenio + aluminio. Com os valores obtidos calculou-se a capacidade de trocas de cations (CTC) a pH 7,0, soma de bases (SB), saturacao por aluminio (m%) e saturacao por bases (V%). Os menores coeficientes de variacao foram verificados para pH, materia orgânica e capacidade de troca cationica, tendo todas as variaveis analisadas apresentado dependencia espacial, indicando que o numero de amostra (50) foi suficiente para mapear a area em estudo, utilizando-se tecnicas de geoestatistica. A utilizacao da geoestatistica e a construcao dos mapas por meio da krigagem permitem identificar zonas de manejo especifico, com maiores e/ou menores valores de determinada variavel.
Case of downbeat nystagmus influenced by otolith stimulation

A patient with downbeat nystagmus and familial ataxia is described. The nystagmus was induced by static tilt away from normal upright posture, by linear acceleration of the head, and by convergence. It is inferred that the nystagmus was modulated by otolith‐specific stimuli and not by stimulation of the canals. These findings demonstrate the role of otolith function in generation of eye movements in the vertical plane and support proposed interrelationships between otolith and vergence mechanisms. The nystagmus and associated oscillopsia were partially suppressed by treatment with clonazepam.
Retrieving Autobiographical Memories Influences Judgments About Others

This research investigates whether metacognitive experiences accompanying the retrieval of autobiographical memories influence judgments about others. Based on social projection research, we tested the hypothesis that ease-of-retrieval, affecting how the self is perceived, affects first impressions. In line with this prediction, Experiment 1 showed that participants asked to recall a few personal instances of assertive behavior (easy retrieval) judged an unknown person to be more assertive than participants recalling many instances (difficult retrieval). Experiment 2, targeting creativity, provided evidence for the retrieval-ease mechanism: The effect disappeared when ease-of-retrieval was discredited as informational source in a misattribution paradigm. Finally, Experiments 3 and 4 replicated this pattern for the same personality traits and demonstrated two boundary conditions: Participants’ ease of autobiographical recalls affected judgments of in- but not outgroup members (Experiment 3), and judgments of unknown others were affected after autobiographical recall but not after recalling behaviors of someone else (Experiment 4).
Plasticity in the human motor system induced by perceptual learning

This study examines the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which somatosensory training affects the human motor system. We have developed a technique, which combines psychophysical and neuroimaging procedures to examine plasticity in the resting-brain following perceptual learning in a somatosensory-discrimination task. We show that effects of perceptual learning are not local to sensory areas of the brain, but rather change functional connectivity (FC) between somatosensory and motor areas and notably between primary motor and premotor areas of the brain. In behavioral terms, somatosensory perceptual training improves the rate and extent of motor learning. The beneficial effects are substantially dependent upon cognitive involvement and skill acquisition in the sensory domain. Passive-movement training without perceptual learning is less able to induce plasticity in the motor system. Overall, this study suggests a distributed pattern of plasticity due to perceptual learning that spreads beyond traditional boundaries of the somatosensory system.
Visual Recognition Memory in Drug-Exposed Infants

Visual recognition memory testing in high-risk infants has been shown to have significant predictive ability for later cognitive deficits. This study evaluated cognition in infants exposed prenatally to illicit stimulant drugs compared with nonexposed controls with a standardized test of visual recognition, the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII). Thirty-six healthy, full-term infants with prenatal exposure to cocaine and/or amphetamines and 26 infants with no drug exposures, matched for race and socioeconomic status, were tested. Average FTII scores were significantly lower and the percentage testing at risk significantly higher in the drug-exposed group (p < .01). Differences between groups were also noted in behaviors dealing with attention, distractibility, and activity level. These data support recent evidence from longitudinal studies showing that infants exposed to drugs prenatally may be at risk for later subtle neurological abnormalities and suggest these difficulties may be identifiable long before the children reach school age. J Dev Behav Pediatr 13:108–111, 1992.
Reproductive performance of beef cow herds in New Zealand

Abstract AIM: To describe the reproductive performance of beef cow herds in New Zealand and to develop reference ranges for assessing the reproductive performance of individual herds from in-calf rates, that take into account variation in the length of mating periods. METHODS: Veterinary practices throughout New Zealand involved in beef cattle work were asked to collect reproductive data from seasonally calving beef cow herds mated in the spring of 2001 through to the end of summer of 2002. An estimate of conception rate (termed calculated conception rate: CCR) was determined for each herd, assuming that the conception rate was constant for each 21-day interval of the mating period. The algebraic relationship between CCR and in-calf rate at pregnancy testing was defined for mating periods of different durations and, therefore, given the in-calf rate and the duration of the mating period, a CCR could be determined for each herd. Expected pregnancy rates were recalculated from CCR data for a range of mating period durations to produce a look-up table for assessing herd reproductive performance. Reproductive data describing regional differences in in-calf rates and CCRs, bull:cow ratios, breed characteristics, start dates of mating and durations of mating periods were summarised. The effect of study variables in explaining CCRs was examined using a general linear model (GLM). RESULTS: Data were collected from 1,005 beef cow herds distributed throughout New Zealand. The median in-calf rate for all herds was 91%, the lower quartile was ≤88% and the upper quartile ≥94%. The mean CCR for herds with complete reproductive data (862) was 55% (SD 11), the lower quartile was ≤48% and upper quartile ≥61%. Median in-calf rates for 2-year-old heifers (mated at approximately 15 months of age), 3-year-old heifers (mated at approximately 27 months of age), and mixed-age cows were 90%, 91% and 92%, respectively. The study variables that accounted for significant variation in breeding group CCR in a multivariate GLM were ‘region’ (p<0.01) and ‘date mating commenced’ (<0.01). The adjusted R2 for the model was 0.055. CONCLUSIONS: The reproductive reference range produced provides veterinarians and herd managers with a quantitative method for assessing reproductive performance of beef cow herds compared with industry averages, from in-calf rates at the time of pregnancy testing and durations of mating periods.
[Morbidity and mortality in patients aged over 75 years undergoing surgery for aortic valve replacement].

BACKGROUND The greater longevity observed today has caused an increase in the number of elderly who need surgery. Aortic stenosis is a common condition in this age group. OBJECTIVE To evaluate morbidity and mortality in people aged 75 years or older who have undergone valvuloplasty or valve replacement surgery for aortic stenosis alone or associated with other injuries. METHODS We studied 230 consecutive cases between Jan/2002-Dec/2007. Patients were 79.5 +/- 3.7 years (75 - 94), and 53.9% were men. In the sample, 68.7% had hypertension, 17.9% had atrial fibrillation, 15.9% were obese, and 14.4% had undergone previous heart surgery. At surgery, 87.4% underwent aortic stent placement, and 12.6% underwent aortic valvuloplasty. RESULTS The mortality rate was 13.9% (9.4% with isolated aortic stenosis versus 20.9% with an associated procedure, p = 0.023) and the morbidity rate was 30.0% (25.2% with aortic stenosis alone versus 37.4% with an associated procedure, p = 0.068). The most common complications were: low cardiac output (20.2%), renal dysfunction (9.7%), and prolonged ventilatory support (7.9%). In the bivariate analysis, the main predictors of mortality were low cardiac output (RR 10.1, 95% CI: 5.02-20.3), use of intra-aortic balloon (RR 6.6, 95% CI: 3.83-11.4), sepsis (RR 6.77, 95%: 1.66-9.48) and renal dysfunction after surgery (RR 6.21, 95%: 3.47-11.1). As for morbidity, the predictors were: pre-operative renal dysfunction (RR 2.22, 95%: 1.25-3.95), atrial fibrillation (RR 1.74, 95%: 1.16-2.61), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (RR 1.93, 95%: 1.25-2.97). CONCLUSION Aortic valve surgery in the elderly is related to a slightly higher mortality rate than in younger patients, and its main risk factors were associated procedures, renal failure, atrial fibrillation, COPD, and sepsis.
Platelet‐derived growth factor stimulates LAT1 gene expression in vascular smooth muscle: Role in cell growth

Platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) contributes to vascular disease by stimulating the growth of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Since amino acids are required for cell growth, the present study examined the effect of PDGF on system L amino acid transport, which is the predominant cellular pathway for the uptake of essential amino acids. System L amino acid transport was monitored by measuring the uptake of L‐leucine. Treatment of SMCs with PDGF stimulated L‐leucine transport in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner, and this was associated with a selective increase in LAT1 mRNA and protein. PDGF failed to induce the expression of the other system L transport proteins, LAT2 and the heavy chain of the 4F2 cell surface antigen. The induction of LAT1 by PDGF was dependent on de novo RNA and protein synthesis and on mTOR activity. Serum, thrombin, and angiotensin II likewise stimulated L‐leucine transport by inducing LAT1 expression. Inhibition of system L amino acid transport by the model substrate 2‐aminobicyclo‐(2,2,1)‐heptane‐2‐carboxylic acid blocked growth factor‐mediated SMC proliferation and induced SMC apoptosis, whereas it had no effect on quiescent cells. These results demonstrate that growth factors stimulate system L amino acid transport by inducing LAT1 gene expression and that system L amino acid transport is essential for SMC proliferation and survival. The capacity of vascular mitogens to induce LAT1 expression may represent a basic mechanism by which these agents promote cell growth and provide a novel therapeutic target for treatment of vasculoproliferative disorders.
Diffraction in the High Frequency Regime by a Thin Layer of Dielectric Material II: the Trace of the Wave in the Shadow of the Obstacle

We use in this paper a generalized impedance boundary condition equivalent to a thin layer of material with dielectric absorbing constants to compute in the high frequency regime the trace of the normal derivative of the magnetic field on the boundary, in the shadow of an analytic obstacle. In particular, we prove that there exist creeping rays in the shadow of the obstacle. This is true for any incident electromagnetic wave characterized by an analytic wave front.
Resource Allocation in an LTE Cellular Communication System

The problem of allocating resources for user transmissions on the downlink of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular communication system is studied. A novel optimal multiuser scheduler is proposed and its performance is evaluated. Numerical results show that the system performance improves with increasing correlation among OFDMA sub-carriers. It is found that a limited amount of feedback information can provide a relatively good performance. A sub-optimal scheduler with a lower computational complexity is also proposed, and shown to provide good performance. The sub-optimal scheme is especially attractive when the number of users is large, as the complexity of the optimal scheme may be unacceptably high in many practical situations.
Adaptation of the growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I axis to chronic and severe calorie or protein malnutrition.

The hierarchy of diet components (e.g., protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals) influencing growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and their binding proteins (BP) is not well defined. Young adult rats were fed diets for 1 mo that included low protein or 60% and 40% of carbohydrate calories. We hypothesized that levels of both hormones, their dominant BPs and liver IGF-I mRNA would fall, and that part of the mechanism for decreasing serum IGF-I would be enhanced IGFBP-3 protease activity. By day 30, caloric deprivation to 40% lowered serum GH, GHBP, IGF-I and IGFBP-3, and liver IGF-I mRNA. This was the only condition resulting in body weight loss (-15%) vs 39% gain in controls. Restriction to 60% calories had no impact on BP levels, slightly lowered IGF-I (-12%) in the face of a 95% inhibition of GH levels, while allowing a modest 9% body weight gain. Protein deprivation lowered serum GH, IGF-I and IGFBP-3, and liver IGF-I mRNA, while GHBP levels were normal. The reduced total IGF-I under these dietary conditions could not be explained by an increase in IGFBP-3 protease activity, or a decrease in the association of IGF-I with IGFBP-3 and the acid labile subunit.
Gastroscopy following a positive fecal occult blood test and negative colonoscopy: systematic review and guideline.

BACKGROUND A sizeable number of individuals who participate in population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs and have a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) do not have an identifiable lesion found at colonoscopy to account for their positive FOBT screen. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the evidence and provide recommendations regarding the use of routine esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) to detect upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers in patients participating in a population-based CRC screening program who are FOBT positive and colonoscopy negative. METHODS A systematic review was used to develop the evidentiary base and to inform the evidence-based recommendations provided. RESULTS Nine studies identified a group of patients who were FOBT positive and colonoscopy negative. Three studies found no cases of UGI cancer. Four studies reported cases of UGI cancer; three found UGI cancer in 1% or less of the population studied, and one study found one case of UGI cancer that represented 7% of their small subgroup of FOBT-positive/colonoscopy-negative patients. Two studies did not provide outcome information that could be specifically related to the FOBT-positive/colonoscopy-negative subgroup. CONCLUSION The current body of evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine EGD as a means of detecting gastric or esophageal cancers for patients who are FOBT positive/colonoscopy negative, in a population-based CRC screening program. The decision to perform EGD should be individualized and based on clinical judgement.
Comparison of laparoscopically assisted and conventional ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVE To compare safety, outcome, and feasibility of laparoscopic assisted and conventional laparotomy for ileocolic resection in Crohn's disease. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Private clinic, USA. SUBJECTS 74 patients who had ileocolic resection and anastomosis for Crohn's disease between August 1991 and July 1996, 48 through conventional laparotomy and 26 in whom it was laparoscopically assisted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Age, operating time, duration of hospital stay, early and late morbidity, and patients' subjective assessment. RESULTS The mean age was 42 (+/- 17) in the conventional group and 40 (+/- 15) in the laparoscopically assisted group. The mean operating time was significantly shorter in the conventional group, 90.5 +/- 3.7 minutes, compared with 150 +/- 1.2 minutes in the laparoscopic-assisted group (p < 0.0001), but they stayed in hospital significantly longer, 9.6 +/- 0.6 days in the conventional group, compared with 7 +/- 0.8 days in the laparoscopic-assisted group (p < 0.0001). There were no differences between the groups in the incidence of early complications or the cost of admission, but at a mean follow up of 30 months (range 2-59) significantly more patients in the conventional group had developed symptomatic bowel obstruction (15/48 compared with 2/26, p = 0.02). 31 patients in the conventional group (65%) and 16 in the laparoscopically assisted group (62%) returned their subjective assessments. There were no differences between the groups in the number with changed bowel habits, use of drugs for bowel movement, or restricted diet, but patients in the laparoscopically assisted group returned to work more quickly (3.7 +/- 1.2 weeks) compared with 8.2 +/- 1.1 weeks in the conventional group, had better cosmetic results (14/16 compared with 13/31, p = 0.004), and were more likely to have improved social and sexual lives (8/16 compared with 5/31, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION Laparoscopically assisted ileocolic resection for Crohn' s disease is safe and has less morbidity than conventional laparotomy.
Importance of ileoscopy during colonoscopy for the early diagnosis of ileal tuberculosis: report of two cases.

VOLUME 53, NO. 7, 2001 GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY 813 From the Department of Medicine, Department of Pathology, and Department of Surgery, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Hong Kong. Reprint requests: Dr. Vincent K. S. Leung, Department of Medicine, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR. Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 0016-5107/2001/$35.00 + 0 37/54/114954 doi:10.1067/mge.2001. 114954 Importance of ileoscopy during colonoscopy for the early diagnosis of ileal tuberculosis: report of two cases