Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Localization of neurotrophins and their high-affinity receptors during human enteric nervous system development.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Interactions of neurotrophins with the appropriate trk receptors result in growth and maturational alterations in nervous system cells during development. The aim of this study was to examine whether similar interactions could be involved in human enteric nervous system (ENS) survival or differentiation as well. METHODS Immunocytochemical detection of TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC, as well as the ligands neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), was accomplished on normal human fetal and postnatal intestine. RESULTS Neither neurotrophins nor their receptors were identified in immature postmigrational ENS progenitors at 7 weeks' fetal developmental age; however, TrkC and TrkA were specifically localized to developing ENS cells after 19 developmental weeks. From infancy through adulthood, TrkA and TrkB immunoreactivities were localized to both enteric ganglion cells and glia, whereas TrkC was localized exclusively to enteric ganglion cells. In postnatal intestine, BDNF immunoreactivity was primarily localized to enteric ganglion cells, with NT-3 localized to enteric plexuses, intermuscular basal lamina, and along or between circular and longitudinal smooth muscle cells. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that neurotrophic influences may be involved in ENS development and survival, with potential importance in functional differentiation disorders of the intestinal ENS.
Evolution of IGF-1 in Children Born Small for Gestational Age and with Growth Retardation, Treated by Growth Hormone Adapted to IGF-1 Levels after 1 Year

Aim: This study was designed to estimate the percentage of growth hormone (GH)-treated children born small for gestational age (SGA), with serum IGF-1 >2 SDS before and after GH dose adaptation. Methods: SGA boys aged 4–9 and girls aged 4–7 with a height <–2 SDS and an annual growth rate below the mean received a subcutaneous GH dose of 57 µg/kg/day for 2 years. The GH dose was to be decreased by 30% in children with serum IGF-1 >2 SDS at 12 months and on the previous sample. The GH dose could be reduced a second time to 35 µg/kg·day. IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 dosages were centralized. Results: Among the 49 (21 boys) children included in the study, 8 (16.3%) had an IGF-1 >2 SDS consecutively at 9 and 12 months (95% CI 7.3, 29.7). The GH dose was decreased in 6/8 children. However, IGF-1 levels were elevated at several nonconsecutive determinations in 45% (95% CI 28.4, 56.6) of the patients. Conclusion: A high IGF-1 level is observed in 45% of the GH SGA-treated children with a relatively high dose of GH. A 30% reduction in the GH dose causes a decrease in IGF-1 below 2 SDS in most children.
The changing face of Crohn’s disease: a population-based study of the natural history of Crohn’s disease in Örebro, Sweden 1963–2005

Abstract Objective: Changes in medical therapy and surgery might have influenced the natural history of Crohn’s disease (CD). Our aim was to explore the short-term outcome of CD and to specifically assess trends in disease phenotype, medications and surgery in the first five years from diagnosis. Material and methods: A population-based cohort comprising 472 CD patients diagnosed within the primary catchment area of Örebro University Hospital 1963–2005 were identified retrospectively and described. Data on medication, surgery, progression in disease location and behavior, were extracted from the medical records. Patients were divided into three cohorts based on year of diagnosis. Results: The proportion of patients with complicated disease behavior five years after diagnosis decreased from 54.4% (95%CI, 43.9–65.6) to 33.3% (27.4–40.0) in patients diagnosed 1963–1975 and 1991–2005, respectively (p = 0.002), whereas the proportion of patients progressing to complicated disease behavior was stable among those with non-stricturing, non-penetrating disease at diagnosis (p = 0.435). The proportion of patients undergoing surgery decreased from 65.8% (55.4–76.0) to 34.6% (28.6–41.5) in patients diagnosed 1963–1975 and 1991–2005, respectively (p < 0.001). The reduction in surgery preceded an increased use of immunomodulators and was explained by a decrease in surgery within three months from diagnosis (p = 0.001). Conclusions: We observed a striking decrease in complicated disease behavior and surgery five years after CD diagnosis, the latter largely due to a decrease in early surgery. Our findings suggest that the introduction of new treatments alone does not explain the reduction in surgery rates, the increasing proportion of patients with inflammatory disease at diagnosis also play an important role.
Evaluation of the counter‐regulatory responses to hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes during opiate receptor blockade with naltrexone

Hypoglycaemia is the major limiting factor in achieving optimal glycaemic control in people with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), especially intensively treated patients with impaired glucose counter‐regulation during hypoglycaemia. Naloxone, an opiate receptor blocker, has been reported to enhance the acute counter‐regulatory response to hypoglycaemia when administered intravenously in humans. The current study was undertaken to investigate the oral formulation of the long‐acting opiate antagonist, naltrexone, and determine if it could have a similar effect, and thus might be useful therapeutically in treatment of T1DM patients with a high risk of hypoglycaemia.
Longitudinal Assessment of Distress among Veterans with Incidental Pulmonary Nodules.

RATIONALE Millions of patients are diagnosed with pulmonary nodules every year. Increased distress may be a common harm, but methods of mitigating this distress are unclear. OBJECTIVES We aimed to determine whether high-quality communication regarding the discovery of a pulmonary nodule is associated with a lower level of patient distress. METHODS We conducted a prospective, repeated-measures cohort study of 121 patients with newly reported, incidentally detected pulmonary nodules. The primary exposure was participant-reported quality of communication regarding the nodule. Secondary exposures included communication measures regarding participants' values, preferences, and decision making. The main outcome was nodule-related distress measured using the Impact of Event Scale. We used adjusted generalized estimating equations to measure the association between nodule communication quality and at least mild distress. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Most participants (57%) reported at least mild distress at least once. While average distress scores decreased over time, one-fourth still had elevated distress after 2 years of surveillance for a nodule. The average calculated risk of cancer at baseline was 10% (SD, 13%), but 52.4% believed they had a greater than 30% risk of lung cancer at baseline, and this percentage remained fairly constant at all visits. High-quality nodule communication was associated with decreased odds of distress (adjusted odds ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.73). Lower-quality communication processes regarding participants' values and preferences were also associated with increased odds of distress, but concordance between the actual and preferred decision-making roles was not. CONCLUSIONS Among patients with incidentally discovered pulmonary nodules, distress is common and persistent for about 25%. Many participants substantially overestimate their risk of lung cancer. Incorporating patients' values and preferences into communication about a pulmonary nodule and its evaluation may mitigate distress.
Determinates of Consumer Adoption Attitudes: An Empirical Study of Smart Home Services

Smart home services SHS have been developed by related firms and have had a strong impact on consumers' lives. This research integrates involvement antecedents, innovation diffusion factors and a technology acceptance model to develop a conceptual framework for discussing consumer attitudes and adoption behaviors toward smart home service applications. A sample of 580 respondents from different smart home buildings in Taiwan was asked to complete a survey. This paper proposes and validates a structured methodology for assessing and improving smart home service development. The research results verify that involvement antecedents interest, innovation diffusion factors observability, compatibility, relative advantage, and technology acceptance model perceived usefulness positively affect consumer attitudes toward the adoption of smart home services and that positive adoption attitudes lead to higher levels of adoption behavior. Perceived ease of use has no influence on consumer adoption attitudes toward smart home services unless through the mediating effects of perceived usefulness. Demographic variables, including gender, age and personal income, play important segmentation roles in the promotion strategies for smart home services.
Localized bioimpedance analysis in the evaluation of neuromuscular disease

Localized bioimpedance analysis is a novel, noninvasive technique with potential application to neuromuscular disease. In this procedure, high‐frequency alternating current is passed through muscle, and parameters related to the consequent voltage pattern are evaluated. Currents flowing perpendicular to muscle fibers encounter many more cell membranes than do currents flowing parallel to them, producing surface voltage patterns that are altered by disease. Using this technique, 45 normal subjects and 25 patients with various neuromuscular diseases were studied, including 4 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 4 with inflammatory myopathy, and 11 with inclusion‐body myositis. Two parameters, the spatially averaged phase and the effective longitudinal resistivity, were altered in patients with neuromuscular disease. Reductions in phase correlated to disease progression, whereas normalization of phase correlated with disease remission. In patients with inclusion‐body myositis, a unique pattern of reduced phase and elevated resistivity was identified. These findings suggest that localized bioimpedance analysis has the potential of playing a substantial role in the diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation of neuromuscular disease. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 000–000, 2002
Basolateral Amygdala Lesions Block the Memory‐enhancing Effect of Glucocorticoid Administration in the Dorsal Hippocampus of Rats

These experiments examined the effects of bilateral amygdala nuclei lesions on modulation of memory storage induced by bilateral intrahippocampal microinfusions of glucocorticoids in male Sprague‐Dawley rats. Post‐training infusions of the glucocorticoid receptor (type II) agonist RU 28362 (3.0 or 10.0 ng) enhanced inhibitory avoidance retention, and infusions of the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU 38486 (3.0 or 10.0 ng) administered shortly before training in a water maze spatial task did not affect acquisition, but impaired retention. In both tasks, neurochemically induced lesions of the basolateral but not of the central amygdala blocked the memory‐modulatory effects of the intrahippocampal infusions of the drugs affecting glucocorticoid receptors. Lesions of the central amygdala alone impaired inhibitory avoidance retention, but basolateral amygdala lesions alone did not affect acquisition or retention in either task. These findings are consistent with previous evidence indicating that lesions of the basolateral amygdala block the memory‐modulatory effects of systemically administered glucocorticoids, and provide further evidence that the basolateral amygdala is a critical area involved in regulating glucocorticoid effects in other brain regions involved in memory storage.
Absence of an Important Vaccine and Diagnostic Target in Carriage- and Disease-Related Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae

ABSTRACT Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi)-associated disease is a major health problem globally. Whole-genome sequence analysis identified the absence of hpd genes encoding Haemophilus protein D in 3 of 16 phylogenetically distinct NTHi isolates. This novel finding is of potential clinical significance, as protein D and hpd represent important NTHi vaccine antigen and diagnostic targets, respectively.
Determinants of Groundwater Price under Bilateral Bargaining with Multiple Modes of Contracts: A Case from Madhya Pradesh, India

In response to a concern about irrigation owners' exploitative pricing to buyers, this paper investigates the determinants of groundwater price in Madhya Pradesh, India. Observing bilateral negotiations over groundwater prices between water sellers and buyers, we explicitly incorporate the differences in bargaining power as one of the determinants. Since the past literature on land tenancy markets suggests that prices become higher under output sharing contracts, we also examine whether this applies to groundwater markets. Our empirical analyses show that output sharing buyers pay higher prices to the sellers than buyers under either fixed or flat charge contracts presumably due to a risk premium payment and an implicit interest payment. Furthermore, we found that the water price becomes higher when the buyers have no alternative water seller nearby. Although these premiums attached to the water price may not be considered excessively high under the constraint of imperfect contingent markets, if equity is to be achieved, the individuals who must be targeted first are output sharing buyers who have no alternative sellers.
Preschoolers' Inhibition in Their Home: Relation to Temperament

Abstract Researchers assessed 58 preschoolers' reactions to an unfamiliar person and unfamiliar objects in their familiar home environment. Children participated in a 30-min procedure designed to elicit behavioral inhibition, including (a) a free-play period with a stranger present, (b) a structured interaction with the stranger, and (c) uncertainty-eliciting tasks. Behaviors representing the child's reactions toward the mother, stranger, and novel objects were coded. Mothers completed a temperament scale. Preschoolers exhibited behaviors indicative of inhibition toward unfamiliar social and nonsocial stimuli; behaviors remained stable across increasingly intrusive episodes. The approach/withdrawal component of temperament was related to behavioral inhibition. Individual differences in mood did not appear to be related to differences in inhibition. Parent reported temperament was related to researcher-observed behaviors.
Classification of 2-pore domain potassium channels based on rectification under quasi-physiological ionic conditions

It is generally expected that 2-pore domain K+ (K2P) channels are open or outward rectifiers in asymmetric physiological K+ gradients, following the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz (GHK) current equation. Although cloned K2P channels have been extensively studied, their current-voltage (I-V) relationships are not precisely characterized and previous definitions are contradictory. Here we study all the functional channels from 6 mammalian K2P subfamilies in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells with patch-clamp technique, and examine whether their I-V relationships are described by the GHK current equation. K2P channels display 2 distinct types of I-V curves in asymmetric physiological K+ gradients. Two K2P isoforms in the TWIK subfamily conduct large inward K+ currents and have a nearly linear I-V curve. Ten isoforms from 5 other K2P subfamilies conduct small inward K+ currents and exhibit open rectification, but fits with the GHK current equation cannot precisely reveal the differences in rectification among K2P channels. The Rectification Index, a ratio of limiting I-V slopes for outward and inward currents, is used to quantitatively describe open rectification of each K2P isoform, which is previously qualitatively defined as strong or weak open rectification. These results systematically and precisely classify K2P channels and suggest that TWIK K+ channels have a unique feature in regulating cellular function.
Pasireotide for the treatment of acromegaly

ABSTRACT Introduction: Acromegaly is a chronic disease with high morbidity and enhanced mortality if left untreated. Treatment options include surgery, medical therapy (somatostatin analogues (SA), dopamine agonists (DA) and growth hormone receptor antagonists) and radiotherapy. Despite these treatment options, “real-life” studies have shown that approximately 50% of patients are not controlled. In this scenario, a next-generation SA, pasireotide, has recently been approved for the treatment of acromegaly. Areas covered: 1) pasireotide’s pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; 2) pasireotide’s anti-secretory and anti-proliferative effects, from preclinical studies up to phase III clinical trials; and 3) the adverse effects of pasireotide, focusing on hyperglycemia; 4) biomarkers of response to SA treatment. Expert opinion: surgery is the primary treatment for most patients with acromegaly; however, approximately half of them will need adjuvant therapy. At present, the decision of this adjuvant treatment is made on a “trial-and-error” fashion. Nevertheless, in recent years, efforts have been made to establish biomarkers for the response to drugs involved in the treatment of acromegaly, which will change the treatment of acromegaly towards a more personalized therapeutic decision-making process. In the near future, the establishment of pasireotide response biomarkers will allow us to identify good candidates for first-line medical monotherapy with pasireotide.
Waveguide avalanche photodiode operating at 1.55 μm with a gain-bandwidth product of 320 GHz

An In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As-In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As waveguide avalanche photodiode with a record gain-bandwidth product of over 320 GHz has been demonstrated. A bandwidth of 28 GHz was achieved at low gains with low excess noise and a quantum efficiency of 16% at 1.55 /spl mu/m.
Some Atmospheric Processes Governing the Large-Scale Tropical Circulation in Idealized Aquaplanet Simulations

Abstract The large-scale tropical atmospheric circulation is analyzed in idealized aquaplanet simulations using an atmospheric general circulation model. Idealized sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are used as lower-boundary conditions to provoke modifications of the atmospheric general circulation. Results show that 1) an increase in the meridional SST gradients of the tropical region drastically strengthens the Hadley circulation intensity, 2) the presence of equatorial zonal SST anomalies weakens the Hadley cells and reinforces the Walker circulation, and 3) a uniform SST warming causes small and nonsystematic changes of the Hadley and Walker circulations. In all simulations, the jet streams strengthen and move equatorward as the Hadley cells strengthen and become narrower. Some relevant mechanisms are then proposed to interpret the large range of behaviors obtained from the simulations. First, the zonal momentum transport by transient and stationary eddies is shown to modulate the eddy-driven jets, whic.
A Reconfigurable Direct RF Receiver With Jitter Analysis and Applications

In typical direct radio frequency (RF) sampling receivers, the sample clock jitter results in SNR degradation on received signals that increases log linearly with RF signal frequency. De-jittering received signals is computationally expensive, especially for wideband communications signals, because the induced jitter on received signals varies as a function of RF signal frequency. This paper considers a reconfigurable direct RF receiver (RDRFR) that has a stair-step jitter pattern as a function of RF signal frequency. The RDRFR uses a two-stage sampling circuit. In the first stage, the RF input is bandpass filtered and pulse sampled without quantizing the signal. The discrete-time analog signal is then interpolated with a continuous time low-pass filter, then sampled and quantized by a traditional analog-to-digital converter. With this two-stage sampling circuit, the induced signal jitter from the RF sampling is identical for all in-band signals and is the same to within an integer scale factor for all signals, in-band or out-of-band. This key circuit property means that it is possible to remove jitter with very low computational complexity in the RDRFR. Furthermore, this result can be exploited to improve system performance with non-ideal anti-alias filters by identifying non-desired signals caused by out-of-band leakage.
Block in Anaphase Chromosome Separation Caused by a Telomerase Template Mutation

Telomeres are essential for chromosome stability, but their functions at specific cell-cycle stages are unknown. Telomeres are now shown to have a role in chromosome separation during mitosis. In telomeric DNA mutants of Tetrahymena thermophila, created by expression of a telomerase RNA with an altered template sequence, division of the germline nucleus was severely delayed or blocked in anaphase. The mutant chromatids failed to separate completely at the midzone, becoming stretched to up to twice their normal length. These results suggest a physical block in mutant telomere separation.
SEPARATION, STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION AND ESTROGENIC ACTIVITY STUDIES OF THE STRUCTURAL ISOMERS OF 4-NONYLPHENOL BY GC-PFC COUPLED WITH MS AND NMR

A commercial nonylphenol (NP) reagent was separated into 14 fractions, NP1 to NP14 using a gas chromatograph equipped with a preparative fraction collector (GC-PFC). The identifi cation of the major components of 14 fractions was attempted by analysis of their nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, and the estrogenicity of the isomers was tested in a recombinant yeast screen system. Eleven structural isomers of NP were characterised and identifi ed as the following para- (position 4-) branch isomers of phenol:
4394 provide theoretical basis for the establishment of standard therapeutic protocols for patients with LANPC . Materials and Methods

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common head-neck malignant tumors in China, with especially high morbidity in the south region. The morbidity of NPC in Guangdong Province ranks the third in all malignant tumors and the first in head-neck tumors (Hu et al., 2014; Li et al., 2014), and with significant racial, regional and family aggregation phenomenon (Qu et al., 2015). Radiotherapy is the primary therapeutic method for locoregional advanced NPC (LANPC) because LANPC is sensitive to radiotherapy. In recent years, with the wide application of intensity modified radiation therapy (IMRT) and comprehensive therapies, the therapeutic efficacy for NPC patients has been further improved and the 5-year local recurrence free survival rate is up to 78.4%~80% (Lin et al., 2014; Lee et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2014). However, the therapeutic efficacy for LANPC patients is still unsatisfactory and the 5-year survival rate
near-native state 23 S rRNA folds independently to a T . thermophilus Domain III of the Material Supplemental

The three-dimensional structure of the ribosomal large subunit (LSU) reveals a single morphological element, although the 23S rRNA is contained in six secondary structure domains. Based upon maps of interand intra-domain interactions and proposed evolutionary pathways of development, we hypothesize that Domain III is a truly independent structural domain of the LSU. Domain III is primarily stabilized by intra-domain interactions, negligibly perturbed by inter-domain interactions, and is not penetrated by ribosomal proteins or other rRNA. We have probed the structure of Domain III rRNA alone and when contained within the intact 23S rRNA using SHAPE (selective 29-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension), in the absence and presence of magnesium. The combined results support the hypothesis that Domain III alone folds to a near-native state with secondary structure, intra-domain tertiary interactions, and inter-domain interactions that are independent of whether or not it is embedded in the intact 23S rRNA or within the LSU. The data presented support previous suggestions that Domain III was added relatively late in ribosomal evolution.