Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Central Corneal Thickness on the Long-Term Outcome of Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty as Primary Treatment for Ocular Hypertension and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Purpose: To determine if central corneal thickness (CCT) impacts the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effect of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods: A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients, who underwent SLT as primary treatment for OHT and POAG, between 2002 and 2005, was performed. Partial correlation analysis was performed to correlate the CCT to the percentage of IOP reduction at 3 to 30 months after SLT. Independent samples t test was performed to compare mean percentage of IOP reduction in eyes with CCT less than 555 &mgr;m versus CCT 555 &mgr;m or greater. Results: Eighty eyes of 47 patients were identified. The partial correlation coefficient value between the CCT and percentage of IOP reduction after SLT at 3 months was −0.253 (P = 0.025), at 12 months it was −0.22 (P = 0.049), and at 30 months it was 0.301 (P = 0.007). Independent samples t test showed that the mean percentage of IOP reduction in eyes with thinner corneas (CCT < 555 &mgr;m) was greater than that in thicker corneas (CCT ≥ 555 &mgr;m) at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 30-month post-SLT (P < 0.05). Conclusions: In patients with POAG and OHT, percentage of IOP reduction after SLT was significantly greater in eyes with thinner corneas (CCT < 555 &mgr;m). These findings indicate that patients treated with SLT as primary therapy who had thinner corneas demonstrated better IOP control for at least 30 months after SLT.
Standardizing Scavenger Receptor Nomenclature

Scavenger receptors constitute a large family of proteins that are structurally diverse and participate in a wide range of biological functions. These receptors are expressed predominantly by myeloid cells and recognize a variety of ligands, including endogenous and modified host-derived molecules and microbial pathogens. There are currently eight classes of scavenger receptors, many of which have multiple names, leading to inconsistencies and confusion in the literature. To address this problem, a workshop was organized by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health to help develop a clear definition of scavenger receptors and a standardized nomenclature based on that definition. Fifteen experts in the scavenger receptor field attended the workshop and, after extensive discussion, reached a consensus regarding the definition of scavenger receptors and a proposed scavenger receptor nomenclature. Scavenger receptors were defined as cell surface receptors that typically bind multiple ligands and promote the removal of non-self or altered-self targets. They often function by mechanisms that include endocytosis, phagocytosis, adhesion, and signaling that ultimately lead to the elimination of degraded or harmful substances. Based on this definition, nomenclature and classification of these receptors into 10 classes were proposed. The discussion and nomenclature recommendations described in this report only refer to mammalian scavenger receptors. The purpose of this article is to describe the proposed mammalian nomenclature and classification developed at the workshop and to solicit additional feedback from the broader research community.
cAMP delays beta‐amyloid (25‐35) induced cell death in rat cortical neurons

β-Amyloid (Aβ) accumulation is believed to contribute to neuronal cell death in Alzheimer's disease. To understand the role of cAMP in the regulation of Aβ induced cell death, we used 8-chlorophenylthio-cAMP (8-CPT-cAMP, a cAMP analog) to raise intracellular cAMP levels. Exposure of rat cortical neurons to Aβ(25-35) resulted in a gradual increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) over 48 h, which was preceded by a transient elevation in caspase-3-like activity. In the presence of 8CPT-cAMP, both caspase-3 activity and LDH release was significantly reduced. These data suggest that elevation of intracellular cAMP levels attenuate Aβ-induced neurotoxicity and may delay or prevent the onset of Aβ-induced neurode-generation.
Seeking a Better Portfolio with Industry Recommendations*

ABSTRACT This paper provides novel evidence that investors can build a better performing portfolio by exploiting industry level consensus recommendations. A minimum variance portfolio, combined with consensus recommendations, yields a higher Sharpe ratio and certainty equivalent returns. A minimum variance portfolio with no short-selling constraint consistently outperforms an equally weighted portfolio when exploiting consensus recommendations, which is an innovation compared to the existing literature. Our results suggest that sell-side analysts and brokers provide valuable information in the financial market and we benefit from incorporating the information in the portfolio optimisation.
Securitized and Direct Real Estate Factors in the Pricing of Us Bank Stocks

This article analyzes the role of securitized and direct real estate risks in the pricing of US bank stocks. Real estate risk measures are drawn from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) and NCREIF indexes. Beside the real estate, the other risk exposures considered are the market, the term, and the default premiums. The period covered runs from February 1990 to December 2015. GMM estimates of conditional multifactor models report considerable evidence in favor of real estate risk in US bank stocks.
Semantic and phonological information in sentence recall: Converging psycholinguistic and neuropsychological evidence

We present one experiment and a neuropsychological case study to investigate to what extent phonological and semantic representations contribute to short-term sentence recall. We modified Potter and Lombardi's (1990) intrusion paradigm, in which retention of a list interferes with sentence recall such that on the list a semantically related lure is presented, which is expected to intrude into sentence recall. In our version, lure words are either semantically related to target words in the sentence or semantically plus phonologically related. With healthy participants, intrusions are more frequent when lure and target overlap phonologically in addition to semantically than when they solely overlap semantically. When this paradigm is applied to a patient with a phonological short-term memory impairment, both lure types induce the same amount of intrusions. These findings indicate that usually phonological information is retained in sentence recall in addition to semantic information.
Dutch public affairs professionals in the national and European arena: A smart mix of skills, attitude, and knowledge competences

Although the profession of public affairs (PA) is increasingly important for organizations, relatively little is known about the range of competences PA professionals need. This article presents a qualitative study among 41 experienced Dutch PA professionals and practitioners, who were interviewed about the competences needed in regional and local PA. The results show that a combination of skills-related, attitudinal, and knowledge-related competences is needed. Skills-related competences involve two broad domains: politics and communication. Attitudinal competences comprise the almost paradoxical qualities of authentic professionalism and flexibility. Knowledge-related competences comprise political and communicative knowledge. These competences are used in a delicate process of swapping, depending on the situation of the very moment and the PA file at hand. Every competence may be of decisive importance. The PA professional is a silent diplomat.
Interferon and natural killer activity in multiple myeloma. Lack of correlation between interferon‐induced enhancement of natural killer activity and clinical response to human interferon‐α

Natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral lymphocytes was measured in 39 patients with multiple myeloma prior to and during interferon (IFN) therapy. NK activity increased in a majority of patients following the first injection of IFN and remained at an increased level during I year of therapy. Lower doses of IFN seemed to induce a greater increase in NK activity than higher doses. No correlations could be observed between the response of the tumors to IFN therapy and pretreatment levels of NK activity, IFN‐induced enhancement of NK activity in vitro or IFN‐induced enhancement of NK activity in vivo.
Time course of release of inflammatory markers after coronary stenting: comparison between bare metal stent and sirolimus-eluting stent

BackgroundHigh levels of release of inflammatory markers after coronary angioplasty are predictors of late restenosis. Sirolimus-eluting stent reduces the risk of restenosis. Aim of the studyTo compare the release of inflammatory markers after coronary angioplasty with sirolimus-eluting stent and bare metal stent. MethodsSixteen patients with a proximal left anterior descending coronery artery stenosis were randomly assigned to receive either bare metal stent (n=8) or sirolimus-eluting stent (n=8). We measured simultaneously aortic and coronary sinus concentrations of the von Willebrand factor antigen, tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-6 before, immediately and after 2 h after stenting. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and troponin-I circulating levels were measured before and 6 and 24 h after coronary angioplasty. ResultsBefore stenting, all values were similar in both groups. The coronary sinus change of the von Willebrand factor antigen level between baseline and 2 h after stenting was +20.1±26.9% in the bare metal stent group and −5.7±23.02% in the sirolimus-eluting stent group (P<0.05). We observed a significant increase in the von Willebrand factor antigen (from 132.8±58.8 to 169±40.7%, P<0.05) systemic concentrations 24 h after stenting in the bare metal stent group but not in the sirolimus-eluting stent group (from 140.6±84% to 136±39.5%), P=NS). ConclusionThe present study shows that a difference in the release of inflammatory markers can be detected after coronary stenting with bare metal stent or sirolimus-eluting stent. The lower release of the von Willebrand factor antigen in the coronary sinus 2 h after the procedure and the lower systemic concentrations of the von Willebrand factor antigen 24 h after stenting in the sirolimus-eluting stent group are likely to reflect a reduced production of the von Willebrand factor antigen at the site of the vascular injury.
Accumulation of cytoplasmic calcium, but not apamin‐sensitive afterhyperpolarization current, during high frequency firing in rat subthalamic nucleus cells

The autonomous firing pattern of neurons in the rat subthalamic nucleus (STN) is shaped by action potential afterhyperpolarization currents. One of these is an apamin‐sensitive calcium‐dependent potassium current (SK). The duration of SK current is usually considered to be limited by the clearance of calcium from the vicinity of the channel. When the cell is driven to fire faster, calcium is expected to accumulate, and this is expected to result in accumulation of calcium‐dependent AHP current. We measured the time course of calcium transients in the soma and proximal dendrites of STN neurons during spontaneous firing and their accumulation during driven firing. We compared these to the time course and accumulation of AHP currents using whole‐cell and perforated patch recordings. During spontaneous firing, a rise in free cytoplasmic calcium was seen after each action potential, and decayed with a time constant of about 200 ms in the soma, and 80 ms in the dendrites. At rates higher than 10 Hz, calcium transients accumulated as predicted. In addition, there was a slow calcium transient not predicted by summation of action potentials that became more pronounced at high firing frequency. Spike AHP currents were measured in voltage clamp as tail currents after 2 ms voltage pulses that triggered action currents. Apamin‐sensitive AHP (SK) current was measured by subtraction of tail currents obtained before and after treatment with apamin. SK current peaked between 10 and 15 ms after an action potential, had a decay time constant of about 30 ms, and showed no accumulation. At frequencies between 5 and 200 spikes s−1, the maximal SK current remained the same as that evoked by a single action potential. AHP current did not have time to decay between action potentials, so at frequencies above 50 spikes s−1 the apamin‐sensitive current was effectively constant. These results are inconsistent with the view that the decay of SK current is governed by calcium dynamics. They suggest that the calcium is present at the SK channel for a very short time after each action potential, and the current decays at a rate set by the deactivation kinetics of the SK channel. At high rates, repetitive firing was governed by a fast apamin‐insensitive AHP current that did not accumulate, but rather showed depression with increases in activation frequency. A slowly accumulating AHP current, also insensitive to apamin, was extremely small at low rates but became significant with higher firing rates.
Plantaris Excision and Ventral Paratendinous Scraping for Achilles Tendinopathy in an Athletic Population

Background: Achilles tendinopathy is a frequent problem in high-level athletes. Recent research has proposed a combined etiologic role for the plantaris tendon and neovascularization. Both pathologies can be observed on ultrasound imaging.1,13 However, little is known about the change in structure of the Achilles tendon following the surgical treatment of these issues. The purpose of the study was to assess if excising the plantaris and performing ventral paratendinous “scraping” of the neovascularization improved symptoms of Achilles tendinopathy and whether there was a change in the fibrillar structure of the tendon with ultrasound tissue characterization (UTC) following this operation. Methods: This prospective consecutive case series included 15 professional/semiprofessional athletes (17 Achilles tendons) who underwent plantaris excision and paratendinous scraping to treat noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy. The plantaris tendon was excised if adherent to the Achilles tendon, and the area of neovascularization for scraping was demarcated on preoperative imaging. Preoperative and postoperative Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) scores were taken. UTC was performed on 11 of 17 tendons preoperatively and postoperatively. The mean follow-up was for 25 months. Results: Fourteen of 15 patients had a successful outcome after the surgery. The mean VISA-A improved from 51 to 95 (p=.0001). There was a statistically significant (p=.04) improvement in the aligned fibrillar structure of the tendon confirmed with UTC scanning following surgery from 90% (±8) to 96% (±5). Conclusion: This group of high-level athletes derived an excellent clinical result from this operation. Furthermore, UTC scanning offered an objective method to evaluate the healing of Achilles tendons. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.
Autonomous adaptations to climate change and rice productivity: a case study of the Tanahun district, Nepal

ABSTRACT A key issue arising from farmers’ climate change adaptation practices in agriculture is whether autonomous adaptations improve crop production and productivity. A comparison of crop productivity between farms employing autonomous adaptations and those not adopting provides an empirical means of resolving this question. This study assesses the climate change adaptation practices used by rice farmers in the Tanahun district of Nepal, their impact on rice productivity, and the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt adaptation practices. Adaptation practices used by rice farmers include adjustment in timing of farm operations, selection of varieties, crop rotation, improved irrigation, and fertilizer management. Rice productivity was found to be significantly higher among adopting farmers compared to non-adopting farmers. The findings further suggest that age of the household head, family size, migration of family members outside their village, number of plots under rice cultivation, land holding, and farmers’ access to information on climate change all influence farmers’ adaptation decisions. This study provides empirical evidence indicating the need for policy makers to take into consideration autonomous adaptations when designing planned adaptations against likely impacts of climate change.
Substrate and Inhibitor–Specific Conformational Changes in the Human Serotonin Transporter Revealed by Voltage-Clamp Fluorometry

The serotonin transporter (SERT) regulates neurotransmission by the biogenic monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine) in the central nervous system, and drugs inhibiting SERT are widely used for the treatment of a variety of central nervous system diseases. The conformational dynamics of SERT transport function and inhibition is currently poorly understood. We used voltage-clamp fluorometry to study conformational changes in human SERT (hSERT) during 5-HT transport and inhibitor binding. Cys residues were introduced at 12 positions in hSERT to enable covalent attachment of a rhodamine-based fluorophore. Transport-associated changes in fluorescence from fluorophore-labeled hSERT expressed in Xenopus oocytes could be robustly detected at four positions in hSERT: endogenous Cys109 in the top of transmembrane domain (TM) 1b, Cys substituted for Thr323 in the top of TM6, Ala419 in the interface between TM8 and extracellular loop (EL) 4, and Leu481 in EL5. The reporter positions were used for time-resolved measurement of conformational changes during 5-HT transport and binding of cocaine and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors fluoxetine and escitalopram. At all reporter positions, fluorescence changes observed upon substrate application were distinctly different from those observed upon inhibitor application, with respect to relative amplitude or direction. Furthermore, escitalopram, fluoxetine, and cocaine induced a very similar pattern of fluorescent changes overall, which included movements within or around TM1b, EL4, and EL5. Taken together, our data lead us to suggest that competitive inhibitors stabilize hSERT in a state that is different from the apo outward-open conformation as well as inward-facing conformations.
Berberine Ameliorates Diabetes-Associated Cognitive Decline through Modulation of Aberrant Inflammation Response and Insulin Signaling Pathway in DM Rats

Background: Memory-impairment was one of the common characteristics in patients with diabetes mellitus. The release of chronic inflammation mediators and insulin resistance in diabetic brain gave rise to the generation of toxic factor Aβ42 which was the marker of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the impairment of memory in diabetes mellitus was also correlated predominantly with uptake/metabolism of glucose in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Previously, anti-inflammation and hypoglycemic effects of berberine (BBr) have been described in peripheral tissues. For better understanding the effects of BBr on cognitive action in diabetics, we investigated the functions of BBr involved in anti-inflammation and ameliorating insulin resistance in prefrontal cortex of diabetic rats. Methods: Intragastric administration of BBr (187.5 mg/Kg/d) was used in diabetic rats. Fear-condition assay was applied for cognitive assessment, and relative protein expressions were detected by western-blot. The glucose uptake in prefrontal cortex of diabetic rats was tested by Positron-Emission Tomography imaging. The levels of inflammation mediators were determined by commercial ELISA kits. Results: The inflammation mediator release and insulin resistance in the mPFC of diabetic rats was inhibited by BBr. The activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MAPK signaling pathway, as well as two novel isoforms PKCη and PKC𝜀 and the translocation of NF-κB in neuron were also down-regulated by BBr; furthermore, the neuron specific glucose transporter GLUT3 was remarkably augmented by 2–3 times when compared with diabetic group; meanwhile, BBr also promoted glucose uptake in the brain. Additionally BBr decreased the expressions of amyloid precursor protein and BACE-1, and the production of oligomeric Aβ42. Finally, it accelerates the reinforcement of the information and ameliorates cognitive impairment. Conclusion: BBr inhibited the activation of inflammation pathway and insulin resistance in the mPFC of diabetic rats. Finally, it improved the lesion of cognition in diabetic rats.
5HT1A‐Receptor Binding in the Brain of Cyclic and Ovariectomized Female Rats

Although it has been reported that hypothalamic 5HT1A‐receptor functioning is modulated by oestrogen and that this modulation contributes to the regulation of female sexual behaviour, there have been no reports up to now showing changes in numbers of these receptors during the oestrus cycle and after oestrogen treatment. We therefore analysed 5HT1A‐receptors in eight brain areas of female rats at different stages of the oestrus cycle, and in ovariectomized (OVX) females without and with oestrogen replacement. In‐vitro receptor autoradiography with the agonist 3H‐8‐OH‐DPAT(3H‐8‐hydroxy‐2‐[di‐n‐propylamino]tetralin) was used to determine numbers and affinities of 5HT1A‐receptors. To evaluate the hormonal state of the animals, serum concentrations of oestradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin were also measured. Hormone determinations confirmed the expected endocrine states of the animals. In the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, the number of 3H‐8‐OH‐DPAT binding sites (Bmax‐value) during oestrus was increased compared to dioestrus yielding significant differences when using ANOVA statistics. In OVX females, the number of binding sites was decreased compared to pro‐oestrus and oestrus, and after oestrogen replacement, it was as high as during oestrus. All other brain areas analysed (medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral septum, cingulate cortex, amygdala, hippocampal region CA1, and layers V and VI of the occipital cortex) showed no significant changes in 3H‐8‐OH‐DPAT binding site numbers. Also the affinity of 3H‐8‐OH‐DPAT binding sites did not change during the oestrus cycle, but in the medial preoptic area, oestradiol‐treated OVX animals showed a tendency for increased affinity compared to untreated OVX females. This was indicated by a change in Kd which appeared to be significant when groups were compared with the t‐test. We conclude from our data, that in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, which is involved in the regulation of sexual function, 5HT1A‐receptors are up‐regulated during oestrus, that ovariectomy reduces the receptor numbers, and that oestradiol replacement counteracts the effect of ovariectomy. Since the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus contains a high number of oestrogen receptive cells, our data indicate that oestrogen up‐regulates 5HT1A‐receptor expression in this nucleus.