Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling temporal behavior of postnatal cat retinal ganglion cells.

During development, mammalian retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) go through marked ontogenetic changes with respect to their excitable membrane properties. Voltage-clamp studies conducted in our laboratory have shown that the amplitude, voltage-dependence and kinetics of activation and inactivation (where present) of Na(+), K(+) and Ca(2+) conductances all exhibit developmental changes during a time when the firing patterns of mammalian ganglion cells shift from being transient to being predominantly sustained in nature. In order to better understand the contribution of each conductance to the generation of spikes and spiking patterns, we have developed a model based on our experimental data. For simplicity, we have initially used experimental data obtained from postnatal ganglion cells. At this age the ontogenetic changes observed in the characteristics of the various ionic currents are complete. Utilizing the methods adopted by Hodgkin and Huxley for the giant squid axon, we have determined rate equations for the activation and inactivation properties of the I(A), I(K dr), I(Na), I(Ca L), I(Ca N), and I(leak) currents in postnatal cat RGCs. Combining these with a simplified model of the calcium-activated potassium current (I(KCa)), we have solved and analysed the resulting differential equations. While spikes and spiking patterns resembling experimental data could be obtained from a model in which [Ca(2+)i] was averaged across the whole cell, more accurate simulations were obtained when the diffusion of intracellular Ca(2+) was modeled spatially. The resulting spatial calcium gradients were more effective in gating I(KCa), and our simulations more accurately matched the recorded amplitude and shape of individual spikes as well as the frequency of maintained discharges observed in mammalian postnatal RGCs.
Development of an Instrument To Measure Hope

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure hope in adults and to evaluate its psychometric properties. A 40-item Miller Hope Scale (MHS) was developed based on critical elements of hope revealed in a comprehensive review of the literature and on an exploratory study of hope in persons who survived a critical illness. The instrument was critiqued by measurement and content experts, and content validity was established. The MHS was pretested on 75 subjects. The refined instrument was next evaluated using 522 healthy adults. The intent was to establish norms on the instrument before using it on ill subjects. The range of scores on the MHS is 40 to 200, with high scores indicating high hope. Mean hope score for this healthy sample was 164.46 (SD = 16.31). A leptokurtic curve, skewed to the left, was noted in these responses. As expected, the instrument detected high hope in individuals who were screened to have no physical or mental health problems. The internal consistency alpha coefficient was . 93 with a 2-week test-retest reliability of . 82. Criterion-related construct validity was established by correlating the MHS to the Psychological Well-Being Scale, r = . 71, the Existential Well-Being Scale, r = . 82, and a 1-item hope self-assessment, r = . 69. Divergent validity with the Hopelessness Scale was established, r = -. 54. Maximum likelihood factor analysis with oblimin rotation resulted in a three-factor solution: I, Satisfaction with Self, Others, and Life; II, Avoidance of Hope Threats; and III, Anticipation of a Future.
Expression of aquaporin 8 and its up-regulation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate in human WISH cells.

OBJECTIVE Water absorption across the fetal chorioamniotic membranes is a critical regulatory pathway for amniotic fluid volume homeostasis. Aquaporins are cell membrane proteins that significantly enhance membrane permeability to water by acting as water channels. We recently demonstrated that aquaporin 8 is expressed in human amnion, chorion, and placenta. Thus, aquaporin 8 expression represents a molecular mechanism of amniotic water absorption through intramembranous pathways. The current study sought to determine whether aquaporin 8 is expressed in human amnion-derived cell culture and to explore its regulation by second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate. STUDY DESIGN Human amnion-derived WISH cells were cultured. Total RNA was isolated and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to determine aquaporin 8 gene expression. To determine the effect of cyclic adenosine monophosphate on aquaporin 8 expression, WISH cells were cultured in the presence of either monobutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate or the cyclic adenosine monophosphate-elevating agent forskolin. Multiplex semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was carried out to quantify aquaporin 8 messenger RNA levels. RESULTS Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction detected aquaporin 8 expression in WISH cells. After forskolin treatment for 2 hours, aquaporin 8 messenger RNA expression in WISH cells increased 4-fold (P <.001). Stimulation of aquaporin 8 gene expression by colforsin was observed throughout the study period of 20 hours. Incubation of WISH cells with monobutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate resulted in a 2-fold increase in aquaporin 8 messenger RNA level (P <.001). However, stimulation of aquaporin 8 gene expression by monobutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate attenuated to baseline level after 20 hours of monobutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate treatment. CONCLUSION The current study demonstrates the expression of aquaporin 8 water channel in human amnion-derived WISH cells and aquaporin 8 expression up-regulation by second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Aquaporin 8 messenger RNA demonstrates a relatively short biologic half-life in vitro, which renders its rapid responsiveness to regulation
Comparison Intra Articular Steroid vs. Hydraulic Distention for the Treatment of Frozen Shoulder

Background Frozen shoulder is a chronic fibrosing condition of the capsule of the shoulder joint. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to compare the result of treatment of frozen shoulder by Hydraulic Distention under local anesthesia with steroid and intra articular steroid alone. Sample Size: 60 patients were taken in this study and were divided into two groups. Duration and Setting: The study was conducted in 2005-2006 treated in the department of orthopaedic, Janaki medical college Teaching Hospital, Janakpur. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective, observational, comparative and clinical study. Sixty patients were selected from Dhanusha District of Janakpur, Nepal. They were divided into two groups. Since January 2005 to January 2006 periods in the department of orthopedics surgery, Janaki Medical College & Teaching Hospital, Janakpur. The Group I was treated by hydraulic distention of glenohumeral joint with 50ml normal saline with steroid, oral medicines (analgesics and muscle relaxants) and exercises. Patients in group II were treated by intra-articular steroid followed by oral medicines (analgesics and muscle relaxants) and exercises. Results: The average age of patients in group I was 52 ± 2.16 years and 50 ± 2.03 in group II. There were 37 (63%) females and 23 (37%) males in our study. Female to male ratio was 1.7:1. All patients in group noted immediate pain relief with excellent return of range of motion (ROM) and resumption of normal sleep. At the end of 45 days of follow up all patients had returned to their normal daily activities. Most of them got excellent ROM and pain relief. All patients in group II noted immediate pain relief and resumption of almost normal sleep. At the end of 45 days of follow up most of the patient presented with good relief of pain but could not return to most of their normal activities because of less improvement in ROM. Conclusions: Hydraulic distension technique is quick, safe and gives early results, so it should be considered first for the treatment of frozen shoulder. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/jucms.v1i1. 8415 Journal of Universal College of Medical Sciences Vol.1(1) 2013: 3-9
Impact of Surotomycin on the Gut Microbiota of Healthy Volunteers in a Phase 1 Clinical Trial

ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea has been associated with disruption of the normal intestinal microbiota, particularly the Bacteroides fragilis group and Prevotella species. Surotomycin is a bactericidal cyclic lipopeptide in development for treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea that has selective and potent activity against C. difficile and other Gram-positive bacteria and a minimal impact on intestinal Gram-negative organisms. The impacts of ascending doses of surotomycin on major organism groups in the gut microbiota of healthy volunteers were evaluated during a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose phase 1 study. Thirty volunteers were randomized into 3 cohorts, using a 4:1 ratio, to receive 250 mg, 500 mg, or 1,000 mg of surotomycin, or placebo, twice daily for 14 days. Stool samples collected at baseline (days 0 and 1) and at the end of treatment (days 13 to 15) were cultured quantitatively. The B. fragilis group, the Bacteroides/Prevotella group, and Enterobacteriaceae were also quantified by quantitative real-time PCR. Baseline and end-of-treatment stool samples showed 1- to 2-log10 CFU/g reductions in total bacterial counts for most volunteers. Various decreases in clostridial, Lactobacillus-Bifidobacterium group, and enterococcus-streptococcus group counts occurred while patients were receiving surotomycin, whereas the enterobacteria and the B. fragilis group persisted at the end of treatment. There was no change in enterococcus MICs of surotomycin, nor was vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus detected after exposure. Surotomycin at doses of up to 1,000 mg twice daily had only modest disruptive effects on the gut microbiota. The potential sparing of the gut microbiota by surotomycin may decrease the risk of disease recurrence.
[Diagnostic difficulties in pulmonary tuberculosis in children].

UNLABELLED Pulmonary tuberculosis in children remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. AIM To evaluate the difficulty of diagnosis and the epidemiological, clinical, radiological and bacteriological features of pulmonary tuberculosis in children. MATERIAL AND METHOD We analyzed in a descriptive and retrospective study, 254 children with pulmonary tuberculosis hospitalized in Pulmonary Pediatric Department of Iaşi during Jan 2000 - Dec 2005. The surveyed parameters include: the history of TB contact and BCG vaccination, the social condition, the nutrition status, the size of PPD induration, the clinical aspects, the microbiological results, chest X-ray, Quantiferon test. RESULTS Of the total number of cases: 65.4% had poor social conditions, 72.8% cases with TB contact, almost all patients with malnutrition I, 53.5% cases with BCG scar = 3 mm, 58.35% children with positive tuberculin skin test, 61.8% cases with acute onset, 24.8% with microbiological confirmation, 63.8% with hilar involvement, 18 cases with positive Quantiferon test. CONCLUSIONS 1. The early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children is often difficult. 2. Pulmonary tuberculosis in children must be a priority of the public health programs for extending the area of diagnostic methods.
The role of residence near hazardous waste sites containing benzene in the development of hematologic cancers in upstate New York

ObjectivesEpidemiologic studies suggest an association between environmental exposure to benzene and hematologic cancers, but the relationship is not firmly established. The aim of this study was to assess the potential association between residence near hazardous waste sites containing benzene and hospitalization discharge rates for persons having hematologic cancers.Materials and MethodsWe determined the number of hospital discharges of people with hematologic cancers in New York State except for New York City for the years 1993 to 2008.Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression models were used to compare the rates of hospitalization of residents in zip codes containing hazardous waste sites containing benzene to the rates of discharges from residents in zip codes without waste sites.ResultsWhen adjusting for potential confounders we found a 15% increase in the rate of hospitalization for chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) [rate ratio (RR): 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.33], a 22% increase in the rate of discharges for total leukemia (RR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.04–1.43) and a 17% increase in the rate of discharges for total lymphoma (RR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.02–1.35) in the benzene exposed sites. We found greater effects of exposure in African Americans compared to Caucasians, females compared to males and people with higher socioeconomic status (SES) compared to those with lower SES for several of the diseases studied.ConclusionsAfter controlling for major confounders we found statistically significant increases in discharge rates for several hematologic cancers in persons residing in zip codes containing benzene waste sites. These results provide additional support for a relationship between environmental exposure to benzene and risk of hematologic cancers.
Long-term effects of implementation intentions on prevention of smoking uptake among adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To test the efficacy of implementation intentions in reducing smoking uptake in a sample of adolescents. DESIGN Classes of adolescents (aged 11-12 years) were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: implementation intention, self-efficacy, two control conditions. An implementation intention or a self-efficacy manipulation (both formed in relation to how to refuse offers of cigarettes) was completed by intervention condition participants at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Long-term smoking behavior (self-report and objective) was assessed at 48 months post-baseline. RESULTS There were no differences between the two control conditions and the self-efficacy condition. Controlling for baseline smoking, sex, attitudes to smoking, friends and family smoking, and the multilevel nature of the data, intention-to-treat analyses indicated the implementation intention manipulation significantly reduced self-reported smoking compared to the other three conditions combined. Analyses on objectively assessed smoking (carbon monoxide breath measure) in a random subsample of participants also indicated that the implementation intention manipulation compared to the other three conditions significantly reduced smoking. CONCLUSION Implementation intentions can reduce smoking in adolescent samples. Implications for using implementation intentions to reduce smoking in adolescents are discussed.
Indomethacin-induced small intestinal injury is ameliorated by cilostazol, a specific PDE-3 inhibitor

Abstract Background. Neutrophil migration, one of the major factors predisposing to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)-induced intestinal lesions, consists of several steps, including interaction with P-selectin from platelets. Cilostazol, a specific phosphodiesterase (PDE)-3 inhibitor, suppresses the expression of P-selectin from platelets and reduces interaction between platelets and leukocytes, leading to inflammatory amelioration in several disease models. We tried to clarify the therapeutic effectiveness of cilostazol for NSAID-induced small intestinal lesions. Subjects and methods. 1) Anti-PSGL-1 antibody (2 mg/kg) or cilostazol (100 mg/kg) was administered to mice one hour before Indomethacin (IND, 2.5 mg/kg) administration for 4 days to evaluate small intestinal lesions. 2) IND-induced migratory behaviors of neutrophils and platelets were evaluated in intestinal vessels by an intravital microscopy. Results. i) IND induced small intestinal lesions with an increase in MPO activity. Anti-PSGL-1 antibody and cilostazol ameliorated intestinal lesions along with suppression of MPO activity. ii) Intravital microscopy revealed that administration of IND increased migration of platelet-bearing neutrophils. Cilostazol treatment ameliorated neutrophil migration by blocking interaction between platelets and neutrophils. Conclusion. Our results suggest that enhanced platelets-bearing neutrophil migration is critically involved in the pathogenesis of IND-induced small intestinal lesions and suggest a potential application of cilostazol for prevention of NSAID-induced small intestinal lesions.
Comparisons on perinatal depression between the first-child women and the second-child women in West China under the universal 2-child policy

Abstract Background: Universal 2-child policy was proposed in 2015 in China, but it was still uncertain whether having a second child would have any impacts on maternal health, especially mental health. So, the aim of this study was to compare the incidence of perinatal depression between the first-child women and the second-child women and to describe the patterns of perinatal depression from the first and third trimesters to 6 weeks postpartum. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in a university hospital, 969 first-child women and 492 second-child women registered in this hospital from Dec 2017 to Mar 2018 were involved in the study. The Mainland Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was applied to screen perinatal depressive symptoms, while socio-demographic and obstetric data were obtained by self-administered questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to compare the risk of depression between 2 groups, and repeated measures of analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were used to determine the EPDS scores of 2 groups across 3 stages. Results: The incidence of perinatal depression was 21.78% to 24.87% and 18.29% to 22.15% in the first-child group and the second-child group, respectively. The second-child women were less likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than the first-child women in the first trimester (Adjusted OR = 0.630, 95%CI = 0.457–0.868, P = .005), but no significant difference was found between the 2 groups in the third trimester and at postpartum period. During the whole perinatal period, no significant difference was found in EPDS scores of the first-child group among the three stages. However, the EPDS scores of the second-child group were higher in the first trimester than that at the postpartum period. Conclusion: The risk of perinatal depression for the second-child women was no higher than for the first-child women, and the EPDS scores of the second-child women were decreasing during the perinatal period. So couples in West China are recommended to consider having a second child without much worry about its negative effects on mental health under the universal 2-child policy.
Relative Survival and Contribution of Saugers Stocked in the Peoria Pool of the Illinois River, 1990–1995

Abstract Numbers of sauger Stizostedion canadense declined in the Peoria Pool of the Illinois River from the 1970s to the 1990s. Stocking was evaluated as a means of supplementing natural reproduction in the pool. Marked fry were stocked in 1991–1994 (20–176/ha), and marked fingerlings were stocked in 1990–1995 (<1–20/ha). In 1990, fingerlings with a mean total length of 44 mm were stocked in June, and 92-mm fingerlings were stocked in September and October. Relative survival was 4.9:1 in favor of the 44-mm fingerlings. During 1991–1994, relative survival averaged 440:1 for stocked fingerlings (39–61 mm) versus fry. From 1990 to 1995, contribution of stocked saugers to the year-classes averaged 33.9% at age 0. Because of the immigration of wild saugers into Peoria Pool and emigration of stocked and wild fish to other pools, contributions of stocked saugers to individual year-classes decreased each year subsequent to stocking. Mean contribution of stocked saugers at harvestable ages (age 2 and older) was 9.
Soft robotics: Technologies and systems pushing the boundaries of robot abilities

Soft materials and deformable structures have given robots the ability to stretch, squash, climb, and morph, with potential for biodegradability and self-healing. The proliferation of soft robotics research worldwide has brought substantial achievements in terms of principles, models, technologies, techniques, and prototypes of soft robots. Such achievements are reviewed here in terms of the abilities that they provide robots that were not possible before. An analysis of the evolution of this field shows how, after a few pioneering works in the years 2009 to 2012, breakthrough results were obtained by taking seminal technological and scientific challenges related to soft robotics from actuation and sensing to modeling and control. Further progress in soft robotics research has produced achievements that are important in terms of robot abilities—that is, from the viewpoint of what robots can do today thanks to the soft robotics approach. Abilities such as squeezing, stretching, climbing, growing, and morphing would not be possible with an approach based only on rigid links. The challenge ahead for soft robotics is to further develop the abilities for robots to grow, evolve, self-heal, develop, and biodegrade, which are the ways that robots can adapt their morphology to the environment.
Animal Welfare as Preventative Medicine

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to both human and animal health, but reduction of use raises issues of how standards of animal health and welfare can be maintained without them. This turns the spotlight onto the role of good management and higher standards of animal welfare as drug-free ways of improving immune function and increasing resistance to infection. Research is urgently needed into the relationship between animal welfare, immunity, gut microbiota and disease and we are not yet in a position to claim that improving welfare will improve resistance to disease. ‘Boosting’ the immune system is not straightforward and an interdisciplinary approach is needed.
Mortality and years of potential life loss in systemic lupus erythematosus: a population-based cohort study

Multiple sources were used to identify 325 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients within the city of Oslo during 1999–2009 who met ≥4 of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. The survival, standard mortality rate (SMR), years of potential life loss before 60 years of age (YPLL60) and causes of death of these patients were examined and compared to a matched control population. Only inception cases (127) were studied in the calculation of survival. The analysis includes underlying, immediate and contributing causes of death. The five- and 10-year survival was 95% and 90%, respectively, which was significantly reduced when compared to the general population. A total of 50 SLE patients died during the study period. Overall SMR was 3.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2–3.8) with the highest SMR found for female patients aged 16–39 years old. SLE patients had a 10 times higher rate of YPLL60 compared to the control group. YPLL emphasizes active disease and reduces the importance of cancer as a cause of death in SLE. This study demonstrates that YPLL gives additional and useful information for the prognosis of SLE, supplementing traditional methods of measuring mortality.