Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ramalin Isolated from Ramalina Terebrata Attenuates Atopic Dermatitis‐like Skin Lesions in Balb/c Mice and Cutaneous Immune Responses in Keratinocytes and Mast Cells

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that involves eczematous skin lesions with pruritic erythematous papules. In this study, we investigated the mitigating effects of ramalin, a component of the Antarctic lichen Ramalina terebrata against AD in vivo and in vitro. Oral administration of ramalin lessened scratching behaviors and significantly reduced both serum immunoglobulin E and IL‐4 levels, and mRNA levels of IL‐4 and IL‐10 in AD‐induced Balb/c mice. In vitro, treatment with ramalin produced significantly less inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, including TARC, MCP‐1, RANTES, and IL‐8 in TNF‐α‐stimulated HaCaT cells. In addition, ramalin inhibited the activation of nuclear factor‐kappa B as well as the phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK). Furthermore, ramalin treatment resulted in decreased production of β‐hexosaminidase and proinflammatory cytokines IL‐4, IL‐6, and TNF‐α in 2,4 dinitrophenyl‐human serum albumin‐stimulated RBL‐2H3 cells through blocking MAPK signaling pathways. The results suggest that ramalin modulates the production of immune mediators by inhibiting the nuclear factor‐kappa B and MAPK signaling pathways. Taken together, ramalin effectively attenuated the development of AD and promoted the mitigating effects on Th2 cell‐mediated immune responses and the production of inflammatory mediators in mast cells and keratinocytes. Thus, ramalin may be a potential therapeutic agent for AD. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of implantation age on school-age language performance in pediatric cochlear implant users

Abstract Objective: This study examined specific spoken language abilities of 160 children with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss followed prospectively 4, 5, or 6 years after cochlear implantation. Study sample: Ninety-eight children received implants before 2.5 years, and 62 children received implants between 2.5 and 5 years of age. Design: Language was assessed using four subtests of the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL). Standard scores were evaluated by contrasting age of implantation and follow-up test time. Results: Children implanted under 2.5 years of age achieved higher standard scores than children with older ages of implantation for expressive vocabulary, expressive syntax, and pragmatic judgments. However, in both groups, some children performed more than two standard deviations below the standardization group mean, while some scored at or well above the mean. Conclusions: Younger ages of implantation are associated with higher levels of performance, while later ages of implantation are associated with higher probabilities of continued language delays, particularly within subdomains of grammar and pragmatics. Longitudinal data from this cohort study demonstrate that after 6 years of implant experience, there is large variability in language outcomes associated with modifiers of rates of language learning that differ as children with implants age.
Zebra mussels anchor byssal threads faster and tighter than quagga mussels in flow

SUMMARY While the invasive zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha has rapidly spread throughout the Great Lakes and inland waterways, it is being displaced by the quagga mussel Dreissena bugensis in shallow water habitats. However, zebra mussels remain dominant in areas with higher water velocity. We hypothesized that the persistence of zebra over quagga mussels in habitats with higher water velocity might result from greater rate and strength of byssal thread attachment. We examined whether zebra mussels relative to quagga mussels have: (1) higher byssal thread synthesis rate, (2) lower dislodgment in flow and (3) greater mechanical force required for detachment from substrate. Specifically, we examined byssal thread synthesis rate and dislodgment of both species in response to water velocities of 0, 50, 100 and 180 cm s–1. Byssal thread synthesis rate was significantly higher for zebra than for quagga mussels at all velocities. Dislodgment from the substrate increased for both species with increasing velocity but was significantly lower for zebra than for quagga mussels. We also tested the mechanical force to detach mussels after short (32 h) and long (two and three months) periods of attachment on hard substrate. Detachment force was significantly higher for zebra than for quagga mussels only after short-term attachment. Higher byssal thread synthesis rate in zebra mussels was a likely factor that minimized their dislodgment in flow and increased short-term attachment strength. Differences in byssal thread synthesis rate between the two species might partly account for the ability of zebra mussels to maintain dominance over quagga mussels in habitats with high velocities.
Cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 concentration in patients with purulent, bacterial meningitis - own observations.

AIM This study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of determining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration in adults with purulent, bacterial meningoencephalitis. MATERIALAND METHODS A study group consisted of 16 patients hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Medical University of Silesia in Bytom in 2008 - 2012 due to purulent, bacterial meningoencephalitis. All of them were classified into two groups based on clinical severity, assessed on admission: group I - severe condition, group II - moderately severe or mild condition. CSF IL-6 concentration was measured in all patients on the first day of hospitalization. RESULTS Mean concentrations of IL-6 in CSF were assessed at 391.54 pg/mL and 110.51 pg/mL in patients in severe (group I) and moderately severe or mild condition (group II), respectively. Differences between CSF mean concentrations of this cytokine in both groups were statistically significant (p<0.01). No correlations between CSF IL-6 concentrations and other CSF inflammatory parameters were determined. Control testing performed in 5 patients of group I revealed only slight decrease of CSF IL-6 concentration in fatal cases. In case of patients who recovered from disease, IL-6 concentration in CSF was evidently decreased compared to its initial value. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest the usefulness of determining CSF interleukin-6 concentration to estimate inflammation intensity in the subarachnoid space, and indirectly, patient's clinical severity. IL-6 concentration may be also of prognostic importance in purulent, bacterial meningoencephalitis.
Dietary supplementation with Salvia sahendica attenuates acetylcholinesterase activity and increases mitochondrial transcription factor A and antioxidant proteins in the hippocampus of amyloid beta‐injected rats

We evaluated the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and potential antioxidant effects of Salvia sahendica extract to investigate whether these molecules are involved in learning and memory improvement in rats injected with fibrillar amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide in the CA1 region of their hippocampus.
World Dividends and Tax Shocks

Abstract For a sample of 28,895 firms across 30 countries and 29 years, there is a negative relation between dividend tax rates and dividend payout. Firms increase dividend payout in response to both absolute and relative (to capital gains tax rates) decreases in dividend tax rates. This negative relation is robust to both increases and decreases and both shocks and continuous variation in dividend tax rates and affects both dividend payer status and dividend payout level. However, dividend payers do not increase dividend payout levels following decreases in dividend tax rates. The negative relation between dividend tax rates and dividend payout is stronger in countries and firms with better governance and suggests a dividend taxation elasticity of −0.45.
Trajectories of self‐reported cognitive function in postmenopausal women during adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer

In a sample of 368 postmenopausal women, we (1) determined within‐cohort and between‐cohort relationships between adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer and self‐reported cognitive function during the first 18 months of therapy and (2) evaluated the influence of co‐occurring symptoms, neuropsychological function, and other covariates on relationships.
Regulation of hepatic lipid deposition by phospholipid in large yellow croaker

Abstract Dietary phospholipid (PL) supplementation has been shown to reduce lipid accumulation in the tissues of farmed fish; however, the mechanisms underlying this effect are largely unknown. Thus, the present study was conducted to evaluate the potential impacts of PL on hepatic lipid metabolism both in vivo and in vitro. For in vivo study, four experimental diets – low lipid and low PL diet, as control diet (LL-LP diet, containing 12 % lipid and 1·5 % PL), low-lipid and high-PL diet (containing 12 % lipid and 8 % PL), high-lipid and low-PL diet (HL-LP diet, containing 20 % lipid and 1·5 % PL) and high-lipid and high-PL diet (HL-HP diet, containing 20 % lipid and 8 % PL) – were randomly allocated to four groups of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) (three cages per group) with similar initial body weight (approximately 8 g). For in vitro study, primary hepatocytes isolated from large yellow croaker were incubated either with graded levels of phosphatidylcholine (PC) (0–250 μm) or small interfering RNA (siRNA) for CTP: choline phosphate cytidylyltranferase α (CCTα) (siRNA-CCTα). Results showed that survival was independent of dietary treatments (P>0·05). Weight gain and feed efficiency in the HL-HP group were significantly higher than in the LL-LP and HL-LP groups (P<0·05). High level of dietary PL could markedly reduce abnormal hepatic lipid accumulation induced by the HL-LP diet (P<0·05). Similarly, compared with the corresponding controls, a significant decrease/increase in lipid content was observed in primary hepatocytes incubated with PC/siRNA-CCTα (P<0·05). High level of dietary PL reversed the HL-LP diet-induced increased levels of mRNA of fatty acid uptake and lipid synthesis related genes (P<0·05). In addition, High level of dietary PL markedly down-regulated the transcript levels of fatty acid oxidation-related genes and enhanced the transcript levels of VLDL assembly-related genes regardless of dietary lipid levels (P<0·05). Compared with corresponding controls, primary hepatocytes treated with PC showed significantly higher mRNA expression of lipid synthesis and VLDL assembly-related genes and lower mRNA expression of fatty acid oxidation-related genes, with hepatocytes treated with siRNA-CCTα exhibiting the opposite trend (P<0·05). In summary, these results demonstrated that high level of dietary PL might reverse the HL-LP diet-induced abnormal lipid accumulation in the liver through inhibiting fatty acid uptake and lipid synthesis, together with promoting the lipid export at the transcriptional level. Lipid export-promoting effect of PC was confirmed by in vitro studies. The present study showed for the first time that PL or PC could influence various metabolic pathways to regulate hepatic lipid deposition in fish at least at the transcriptional level.
Antibiotic use in early childhood and the development of asthma

Recent investigations have focused on the role of infections in infancy in promoting or protecting against the subsequent development of asthma. A related hypothesis concerns the possible role of medical responses to infections, including the widespread use of antibiotics. We chose children at Rudolf Steiner schools to test this latter hypothesis because a significant proportion of parents rejects the use of conventional treatments, including antibiotics.
Implementation of Material Sensitivity Analysis for Determining Unknown Remanent Magnetization of a Ferromagnetic Thin Shell

This paper deals with the numerical implementation of the material sensitivity analysis, which is used to efficiently determine an optimal magnetization distribution on a ship hull. A material sensitivity formula for the forward problem formulated in terms of the equivalent magnetic charge method is analytically derived. Then, the components of the adjoint system including the magnetic pseudo-source are thoroughly investigated in order to obtain the first-order gradient information of an objective function with respect to the magnetic charge. The formula facilitates applying the deterministic approach to searching for an optimal charge distribution and also it yields stable and reliable solutions to magnetostatic inverse problems in three dimensions. Finally, the proposed method has been successfully applied to a scale model ship and the predicted results on the underwater field disturbance due to the remanent magnetization of the hull have been compared to real measurements.
Exploring Inflammation in Hemodialysis Patients: Persistent and Superimposed Inflammation

Background: Inflammation is frequently elevated, and seems to be episodic in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Whether, its episodic character is due to the temporal variability, in periods free of clinical events, of the inflammatory indices or due, to the acute phase response induced by common inflammatory stimuli, has not been investigated yet in a longitudinal study. This study explores inflammation forms, characteristics and causes which are probably related to the high cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity in HD patients. Methods: In 37 HD patients, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were weekly measured for 16 consecutive weeks. Inflammatory clinical events, in the week before every measurement, were recorded. Repeated measures ANOVA were applied for statistical analysis. Results: Fifty-one of 533 patient-weeks were positive for a clinical event. Mean ± SD (range) hs-CRP was 7.01 ± 16.06 (0.2–169) mg/l for all the weeks of the study, 38.25 ± 39.35 (2.1–169) mg/l for the weeks with clinical events and 3.70 ± 3.86 (0.2–26.1) mg/l for the weeks free of events. Variations for SAA and IL-6 were similar. ‘Clinical events’ strongly influenced acute-phase proteins and IL-6 levels. The effect of the factor ‘time’ (as assessed by inflammatory indices variation in weekly repeated measurements) was significant for all the 3 indices measured, independently of the factor ‘clinical events’. Conclusions: In periods free of clinical events, microinflammation characterizes HD patients and fluctuates in time. Inflammation due to common clinical events is added, periodically, to this microinflammation. The high level persistent microinflammation as well as the superimposed – due to clinical events – inflammation could be related to the CVD in these patients.
Learning Organization and Work Engagement: An Empirical Evidence of a Higher Learning Institution in Malaysia

Rapidly changing business environment requires organization to gain competitive advantage in order to survive. As people is known to be the most valuable assets to an organization, having employees that are actively engaged in their work can positively leads to higher performance and subsequently contribute to the success of the organization. One of the factors that would lead to work engagement among employees is through the learning organization concept which provides continuous learning and improvement, directly linked to an employee daily work and development. Despite its importance, seldom has it been reported in the literature that this paradigm has been examined. Therefore, this study attempts to determine: (i) the level of work engagement among employees; and (ii) the relationship between learning organization dimension and work engagement. Data collected from 150 employees of an institution of higher education revealed that work engagement among employees is at high level. Only four learning organization dimensions namely, empowerment, embedded system, environmental connection and strategic leadership were found to have positive and significant relationships with work engagement. The implications and consequences of the study findings for higher learning institutions are further discussed.
Enhancing Traffic Engineering Performance and Flow Manageability in Hybrid SDN

Hybrid Software-Defined Networking (HSDN) is a transitional networking form of SDN where SDN elements are partially deployed in traditional networks. Previous researches show that redirecting every flow of source-destination pair through at least one SDN switch can obtain flow manageability, e.g., access control and traffic measurement. Intuitively, the selection of SDN switch as the waypoint for every flow has a significant effect on the Traffic Engineering (TE) performance, such as maximum link utilization and routing efficiency. And it is worth noting that SDN switch can split traffic to the outgoing links to exactly profit the TE performance. In this paper, from the perspective of TE performance, we propose a flow routing and splitting (FRS) algorithm whereby we jointly determine an appropriate SDN switch for every flow as the waypoint, as well as optimizing the traffic splitting fractions for every SDN switch among its outgoing links to minimize the maximum link utilization. We conduct simulations with different SDN deployment rate. The results indicate that, when 20% of the SDN switches are deployed, the proposed FRS algorithm can obtain a lower maximum link utilization compared with other state-of-art works. Not only that, FRS algorithm can also generate a little longer paths for every flow on the average, which has a limited influence on the routing efficiency.
IL-17A Promotes Immune Cell Recruitment in Human Esophageal Cancers and the Infiltrating Dendritic Cells Represent a Positive Prognostic Marker for Patient Survival

We previously reported that tumor-infiltrating interleukin (IL)-17A-producing cells play a protective role in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the potential mechanisms involved remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of IL-17A on immune cell recruitment and function in ESCC. In vitro chemotaxis assays using the ESCC cell lines EC109 and KYSE30 demonstrated that although IL-17A showed no significant direct effects on the migration of T cells, natural killer (NK) cells as well as dendritic cells (DCs), it could induce ESCC tumor cells to produce inflammatory chemokines, for example, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CCL2, CCL20, which are associated with the migration of T cells, NK cells, and DCs, respectively. In addition, IL-17A enhanced the cytotoxic effects of NK cells against tumor cells by augmenting the expression of cytotoxic molecules, for example, tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, interferon-&ggr;, Perforin, and Granzyme B and activation receptors, for example, NKp46, NKp44, NTB-A, and NKG2D on NK cells. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the density of IL-17A-producing cells was positively and significantly associated with the density of CD1a+ DCs in tumor tissues. With the analyses of 181 ESCC patients, we found a correlation of higher number of tumor-infiltrating CD1a+ DCs with significantly improved overall survival of patients with ESCC. This study provides further understanding of the roles of Th17 cells in ESCC, which may contribute to the development of novel cancer immunotherapy strategies.
Force-Extension Relation and Plateau Modulus for Wormlike Chains.

We derive the linear force-extension relation for a wormlike chain of arbitrary stiffness including entropy elasticity, bending and thermodynamic buckling. From this we infer the plateau modulus $G^0$ of an isotropic entangled solution of wormlike chains. The entanglement length $L_e$ is expressed in terms of the characteristic network parameters for three different scaling regimes in the entangled phase. The entanglement transition and the concentration dependence of $G^0$ are analyzed. Finally we compare our findings with experimental data.
Cell Proliferation in the Endolymphatic Sac In Situ After the Rat Waldeyer Ring Equivalent Immunostimulation

Objectives/Hypothesis It has been recognized that immunological mechanisms could be involved in the pathogenesis of different inner ear disorders, such as progressive sensorineural hearing loss, Meniere's disease, and even sudden deafness. The endolymphatic sac acts as an immune control organ for the inner ear and has been considered as an effector site of the mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue. The purpose of the study was to determine the potentially immunological relationship between endolymphatic sac and Waldeyer ring equivalent, one of the most important affector organs in mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue.
Induction of cystic forms by different stress conditions in Borrelia burgdorferi

Cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi might represent a low metabolic activity state or phase of B. burgdorferi cells that allows the spirochete to survive in a hostile environment until conditions are favourable to multiply again. In this study we evaluated the rate of cyst formation induced by oxidative stress, pH variations, and heating, reconversion of cysts to vegetative forms, and some aspects of their metabolic activity. We observed cyst formation in the presence of extreme pH values, and at high temperature, but the best production of cystic forms was observed in the presence of H2O2. When transferred to BSK II medium, the cystic forms reconverted to spirochetes in relation to their age and type of induction treatment. Furthermore, we demonstrated a low metabolic activity of cystic forms by measuring amino acid incorporation. Overall, these data suggest that the phenomenon of conversion to cysts by B. burgdorferi provides a limited survival potential. This short‐term survival, however, gives borreliae an additional chance to overcome unfavourable environmental conditions.
Proximal tubular fluid angiotensin II levels in angiotensin II-induced hypertensive rats

Background It has been shown that infusions of low-dose angiotensin II (Ang II) for 2 weeks lead to impaired pressure natriuresis and autoregulatory capability. Although intrarenal renin content and renin mRNA levels are markedly reduced, whole-kidney Ang II content has been shown to be increased. However, the intrarenal distribution of the increased intrarenal Ang II has not been established. Objective To determine the concentrations of Ang II in the proximal tubule fluid achieved in hypertensive rats (n = 16) infused with Ang II, previously prepared by infusion with Ang II at 60 ng/min via osmotic minipump for 13 days. Methods Rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium and prepared for micropuncture, and then several free-flow proximal tubular fluid collections were obtained and pooled for each rat. At the end of each experiment, a blood sample was collected and the micropunctured kidney was excised and homogenized in chilled methanol. All samples were extracted immediately after collection and stored at −20°C until the day of Ang II radioimmunoassay. Results Mean arterial blood pressure averaged 179 ± 3 mmHg, renal plasma flow was 1.89 ± 0.15 ml/min per g, and glomerular filtration rate averaged 0.58 ± 0.04 ml/min per g. The Ang II concentration in proximal tubular fluid averaged 4.5 ± 1.1 pmol/ml, a value substantially greater than the Ang II concentrations in plasma (0.17 ± 0.03 pmol/ml), urine (0.06 ± 0.01 pmol/ml), or total kidney tissue (0.40 ± 0.10 pmol/g). Plasma renin activity (1.0 ± 0.21 ng Ang I/ml per h) was markedly suppressed, as observed previously. Conclusions These findings indicate that Ang II concentrations in proximal tubular fluid collected from kidneys of anesthetized hypertensive rats infused with Ang II are in the nanomolar range, similar to those observed in normotensive rats. The inappropriate maintenance of nanomolar concentrations of Ang II in proximal tubular fluid of Ang II-infused hypertensive rats, even at markedly increased arterial pressures, may contribute to the impaired pressure natriuresis capability previously reported and, thereby, to the development and maintenance of hypertension in this model.