Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Normal and Heat‐Induced Patterns of Expression of Heme Oxygenase‐1 (HSP32) in Rat Brain: Hyperthermia Causes Rapid Induction of mRNA and Protein

Abstract: Most cells possess a variety of mechanisms, such as high levels of glutathione, that guard against cytotoxic free radicals, which are suspected in the etiology of various neurological deficits. Neurons, however, are deficient in this an‐tioxidant source. The list of other potent antioxidants includes the bile pigments biliverdin and bilirubin. Heme oxygenase (HO) isozymes, HO‐1 (HSP32) and HO‐2, catalyze the rate‐limiting step in the only biological pathway by which bile pigments are produced. In this study, heat shock is identified as the only stimulus reported to date that can alter expression in brain HO‐1 of protein and mRNA in vivo. Using a HO‐1 cDNA probe, we examined the level of HO‐1 mRNA in normal rat brain and in brain 1 and 6 h following heat shock. Exposure of male rats to 42°C for 20 min caused a 20‐fold increase in brain HO‐1 1.8‐kb mRNA within 1 h after treatment. Quantification of brain HO‐1 protein by HO‐1 ra‐dioimmunoassay revealed a fourfold increase at 6 h posttreatment. In normal brain, HO‐1 protein was sparsely expressed in few select neuronal and nonneuronal cell populations in forebrain, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brainstem regions. Six hours following heat shock, an intense increase in HO‐1 protein in glia throughout the brain, epen‐dyma lining the ventricles of the brain, paraventricular nucleus, Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum, and cochlear nucleus of brainstem was observed. We suggest that increases in HO‐1 transcript and protein reflect a means to elevate levels of antioxidants in cells with compromised defense mechanisms caused by stress.
Fear of falling and falls in people with Parkinson’s disease treated with deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nuclei

Nilsson MH, Rehncrona S, Jarnlo G‐B. Fear of falling and falls in people with Parkinson’s disease treated with deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nuclei. Acta Neurol Scand: 2011: 123: 424–429. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Plasmid pattern analysis of Staphylococcal epidermidis isolates from patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis

The electrophoretic pattern formed by individual bacterial plasmid DNA molecules of differing molecular size was evaluated as an epidemiological marker among isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis from patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Purified covalently closed circular plasmid DNA was obtained from selected isolates, and 79% of the plasmids were found to be less than 10 megadaltons in size; only these small plasmids were sought in subsequent screening gels. Crude cell lysates obtained by a rapid lysis technique and screened by agarose gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of one or more small plasmids in 54 of 58 (93%) PVE isolates; 79% contained two or more. Among 45 plasmid-containing isolates from cases of sporadic PVE at three institutions there were no identical plasmid patterns, although several isolates differed by a single plasmid. In contrast, among nine isolates from a cluster of cases of PVE in Canada, two groups of three isolates each had identical plasmid patterns. Additional clinical data suggested that these isolates were epidemiologically related. Phage typing distinguished one of the groups with plasmid pattern identity, but not the other, from the three isolates with dissimilar patterns. Plasmid pattern analysis shows promise as an epidemiological marker for clinically important isolates of S. epidermidis.
Ferromagnetism on a paramagnetic host background: the case of rutile TM:TiO2 single crystals (TM = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu)

Single crystals of TiO2 rutile doped with Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu were grown with the flux method in a Na2B4O7 melt. The samples, checked in their structural and phase homogeneity by x-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy, were single-phase needle-shaped crystals several millimetres long. Paramagnetic and ferromagnetic behaviours at room temperature were observed and they are discussed also in connection with the magnetic properties of undoped TiO2 crystals.
Seroprevalence of hepatitis C and correlates of seropositivity among men who have sex with men in Vancouver, Canada: a cross-sectional survey

Objectives We sought to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Vancouver, Canada, and associations of risk behaviours with HCV serostatus. Methods We used data from the ManCount Study, a cross-sectional survey of MSM selected through a venue-based, time-location sampling method. Bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression modelling were used to determine correlates of HCV seropositivity. Bivariate analyses of participants who reported no history of injection drug use (IDU) were used to explore sexual behaviours associated with HCV seropositivity. Results HCV seroprevalence was 4.9% (56/1132). Among HCV-seropositive participants who responded to the question, 22.4% (11/49) were unaware of their HCV-seropositive status, 84.9% (45/53) reported a history of IDU and 60.7% (34/56) were HIV positive by dried blood spot. Multivariate modelling found previous IDU (adjusted OR (AOR): 26.30, 95% CI 11.15 to 62.03), receiving goods, drugs or money for sex (AOR 4.98, 95% CI 2.43 to 10.20) and current smoking (AOR 3.46, 95% CI 1.47 to 8.16) were associated with HCV seropositivity. Among MSM who reported no history of IDU, HCV seropositivity was associated with bleeding after receptive anal sex (p=0.001) and a previous diagnosis of gonorrhoea (p=0.007). Conclusions HCV seroprevalence among a sample of MSM is higher than the general population and associated with a history of IDU. Among those who did not report IDU, we found evidence that suggests sexual exposure could be the route of transmission.
Electrophysiological evidence for the "missing link" in crossmodal attention.

Orienting attention involuntarily to the location of a sensory event influences responses to subsequent stimuli that appear in different modalities with one possible exception: orienting attention involuntarily to a sudden light sometimes fails to affect responses to subsequent sounds (e.g., Spence & Driver, 1997). Here we investigated the effects of involuntary attention to a brief flash on the processing of subsequent sounds in a design that eliminates stimulus-response compatibility effects and criterion shifts as confounding factors. In addition, the neural processes mediating crossmodal attention were studied by recording event-related brain potentials. Our data show that orienting attention to the location of a spatially nonpredictive visual cue modulates behavioural and neural responses to subsequent auditory targets when the stimulus onset asynchrony is short (between 100 and 300 ms). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that involuntary shifts of attention are controlled by supramodal brain mechanisms rather than by modality-specific ones.
Risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder among UK Armed Forces personnel

Background There is considerable interest in understanding further the factors that increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for military personnel. This study aimed to investigate the relative contribution of demographic variables; childhood adversity; the nature of exposure to traumatic events during deployment; appraisal of these experiences; and home-coming experiences in relation to the prevalence of PTSD ‘caseness’ as measured by a score of ⩾50 on the PTSD Checklist (PCL) in UK Armed Forces personnel who have been deployed in Iraq since 2003. Method Data were drawn from the first stage of a retrospective cohort study comparing UK military personnel who were deployed to the 2003 Iraq War with personnel serving in the UK Armed Forces on 31 March 2003 but who were not deployed to the initial phase of war fighting. Participants were randomly selected and invited to participate. The response rate was 61%. We have limited these analyses to 4762 regular service individuals who responded to the survey and who have been deployed in Iraq since 2003. Results Post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated with lower rank, being unmarried, having low educational attainment and a history of childhood adversity. Exposure to potentially traumatizing events, in particular being deployed to a ‘forward’ area in close contact with the enemy, was associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Appraisals of the experience as involving threat to one's own life and a perception that work in theatre was above an individual's trade and experience were strongly associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Low morale and poor social support within the unit and non-receipt of a home-coming brief (psycho-education) were associated with greater risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Conclusions Personal appraisal of threat to life during the trauma emerged as the most important predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms. These results also raise the possibility that there are important modifiable occupational factors such as unit morale, leadership, preparing combatants for their role in theatre which may influence an individual's risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Therefore interventions focused on systematic preparation of personnel for the extreme stress of combat may help to lessen the psychological impact of deployment.
Exosomes from eosinophils autoregulate and promote eosinophil functions

Eosinophils are able to secrete exosomes that have an undefined role in asthma pathogenesis. We hypothesized that exosomes released by eosinophils autoregulate and promote eosinophil function. Eosinophils of patients with asthma (n = 58) and healthy volunteers (n = 16) were purified from peripheral blood, and exosomes were isolated and quantified from eosinophils of the asthmatic and healthy populations. Apoptosis, adhesion, adhesion molecules expression, and migration assays were performed with eosinophils in the presence or absence of exosomes from healthy and asthmatic individuals. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were evaluated by flow cytometry with an intracellular fluorescent probe and nitric oxide (NO) and a colorimetric kit. In addition, exosomal proteins were analyzed by mass spectrometry. Eosinophil‐derived exosomes induced an increase in NO and ROS production on eosinophils. Moreover, exosomes could act as a chemotactic factor on eosinophils, and they produced an increase in cell adhesion, giving rise to a specific augmentation of adhesion molecules, such as ICAM‐1 and integrin α2. Protein content between exosomes from healthy and asthmatic individuals seems to be similar in both groups. In conclusion, we found that exosomes from the eosinophils of patients with asthma could modify several specific eosinophil functions related to asthma pathogenesis and that they could contribute fundamentally to the development and maintenance of asthma.
Affinity analysis of non‐steady‐state data obtained under mass transport limited conditions using BIAcore technology

Binding data obtained with Biacore instrumentation is often evaluated using a kinetic transport model where reaction rate constants and a mass transport coefficient are used to describe the interaction. Here the use of a simplified model, an affinity transport model, for determination of the affinity (KD) but not the kinetics (ka, kd) has been investigated. When binding rates were highly governed by mass transport effects the two models returned the same affinity and gave similar residuals, but ka and kd values found with the kinetic transport model were unreliable. On the other hand the affinity transport model failed to describe the data when binding curves were less influenced by mass transport effects. Under such circumstances the kinetic transport model returned correct ka and kd values. Depending on the outcome of the analysis the affinity transport model can therefore be used to reduce uncertainties of the kinetic parameters or as an easy way to determine KD values from non‐steady‐state data. The use of the affinity transport model is illustrated with simulated data and with binding data obtained for the interaction between a 439 Da thrombin inhibitor and immobilized thrombin. Since it is more difficult to resolve high ka values for low molecular weight analytes, the affinity transport model may be particularly useful for affinity analysis involving fast reactions between such analytes and immobilized protein targets. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The immunoregulatory effects of antidepressants

There is some evidence that major depression is accompanied by activation of the inflammatory‐response system (IRS). It has been hypothesized that increased production of proinflammatory cytokines may play a role in the etiology of major depression. If increased production of proinflammatory cytokines is at all involved in the etiology of depression, one would expect antidepressive treatments to have negative immunoregulatory effects. This paper reviews the effects of antidepressants, such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), heterocyclic antidepressants (HCAs), serotonin‐noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), lithium, l‐5‐hydroxytroptophan (L‐5‐HTP), reversible inhibitors of MAO‐A (RIMA) on the production of proinflammatory cytokines, e.g. interferon‐γ (IFNγ), and negative immunoregulatory cytokines and agents, e.g. interleukin‐10 (IL‐10). In depressed patients, prolonged treatment with antidepressants and mood stabilizers normalizes signs of activation of the IRS, such as increased serum IL‐6 and acute phase protein concentrations. In vitro, it has been shown that various types of antidepressive drugs, including TCAs (imipramine; clomipramine); SSRIs (citalopram, fluoxetine, sertraline); lithium; SNRIs (venlafaxine); HCAs (trazodone); RIMAs (moclobemide) and L‐5‐HTP significantly suppress the ratio of IFNγ/IL‐10 production by peripheral blood immunocytes. These antidepressant drugs appear to have a common effect on the IRS, i.e. in vitro they increase the production of IL‐10 by peripheral blood leukocytes. Thus, the results suggest that antidepressants have negative immunoregulatory effects. It may be speculated that antidepressants exert some of their antidepressant effects through their negative immunoregulatory capacities. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Clinical outcome of low‐grade NHL patients with bone marrow involvement

Background Bone marrow (BM) involvement in low‐grade non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has a clear impact on patients’ survival. The standard practice is morphological examination of BM biopsy at diagnosis. The clinical significance of flow cytometry (FC) analysis of BM aspirates is largely unknown.
Dyslipidemia in chronic kidney disease: are statins still indicated in reduction cardiovascular risk in patients on dialysis treatment?

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly health disease all around the world with a high burden of mortality and cardiovascular (CV) morbidity rate. Even when renal replacement therapy is reached, more than half patients die, mainly for CV causes due either to uremia-related cardiovascular risk factors (such as anemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, mineral bone disease-CKD with hyperparathyroidism, oxidative stress, hypoalbuminemia, chronic inflammation, prothrombotic factors) or to traditional ones (age, male gender, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, smoking, insulin levels, family history, dyslipidemia). Among the latter causes dyslipidemia represents one of the major, potentially correctable risk factor. METHODS AND RESULTS Statins have demonstrated to effectively and safely reduce cholesterol levels in CKD patients. Here we will examine the effects of statins on CV risk factors in CKD patients and particularly in patients on dialysis treatment, in the light of the unfavorable results of the large trials 4D and AURORA, recently published, underlining the role of malnutrition/inflammation as confounding factor. Probably it will be that only with a real prevention, starting statins even in the early stages of CKD, as indicated by post hoc analysis of large trials, that we will reach results in reducing the mortality rate in CKD patients. In the meanwhile, all the other remediable CV risk factors have to be at the same time corrected.
Prevalencia de la hipomineralización incisivo molar en una muestra de 772 escolares de la provincia de Barcelona

El esmalte es el tejido más duro del organismo debido a que estructuralmente está constituido por millones de prismas altamente mineralizados que lo recorren en todo su espesor. Es translúcido; a mayor mineralización, mayor translucidez y está compuesto químicamente por una matriz orgánica (1-2 %), una matriz inorgánica (95 %) y agua (3-5 %). Las alteraciones producidas durante la fase inicial de la secreción de la matriz en el proceso de amelogénesis pueden provocar defectos estructurales cuantitativos que se manifiestan como hipoplasias en los dientes, mientras que las que afectan los procesos de maduración o mineralización, se traducen en defectos cualitativos o hipomineralizaciones (1,2). RESUMEN
The Effect of Parents’ Attitudes on Sons’ Marriage Timing

Theories of family stability and change, demographic processes, and social psychological influences on behavior all posit that parental attitudes and beliefs are a key influence on their children’s behavior. We have evidence of these effects in Western populations, but little information regarding this social mechanism in non-Western contexts. Furthermore, comparisons of mothers’ and fathers’ independent roles in these crucial intergenerational mechanisms are rare. This article uses measures from a 10-year family panel study featuring independent interviews with mothers and fathers in rural Nepal to investigate these issues. We test the association of specific attitudes, rather than broad ideational domains, about childbearing and old-age care with sons’ subsequent marriage behavior. Our results indicate that both mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes have important and independent influences on sons’ marriage behavior. Simultaneous study of both parents’ attitudes reveals that gender-specific parenting contexts can shape the relationship between parental attitudes and children’s behaviors. This crucial mechanism of intergenerational continuity and change is strong in this non-Western setting, with substantial implications for studies of intergenerational influences on behavior in all settings.
[Expression and Clinical Significance of PD-1 and PD-L1 in Pulmonary Carcinoids].

BACKGROUND The incidence of pulmonary carcinoid (PC) is very rare in primary lung malignant tumors, and the prognosis of this disease is closely associated with its pathological features. In this study, the expressions of programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in lung carcinoid cells were detected, and the correlation between the expression and corresponding clinical physiological and pathologic features was further analyzed. METHODS The expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1 in 20 cases of PC paraffin-embedded tissue specimens were detected through immunohistochemistry. The H-score of immunohistochemical staining (range, 0-300) was employed to evaluate the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in the tumor tissues. RESULTS In the 20 cases of patients with PC, 40% (8/20) showed positive expressions of PD-1, and 45% (9/20) showed positive expressions of PD-L1. Significantly higher expressions of PD-1 were observed in the smoking patients than in the nonsmoking patients (63.64% vs 11.11%, P<0.05). Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between the expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1 and the clinical characteristics of the patients, such as age, gender, pathological type, clinical stage, and metastasis (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Approximately 40% of PC patients had positive expressions of PD-1or PD-L1. The positive expression rate of PD-1 in the smoking patients was significantly higher than that in the nonsmoking patients. These results suggest that the expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1 may be associated with the occurrence and development of PC.
Can People Remain Engaged and Vigorous in the Face of Trauma? Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza

Abstract This is the first study to investigate how actively engaged and vigorous people remain in their life tasks in the midst of chronic exposure to significant traumatic events. We sought to identify risk and protective factors for engagement within the context of ongoing exposure to political violence and social upheaval. We randomly identified and interviewed 1,196 adult residents of the West Bank and Gaza during a period of violent conflict on 3 occasions: (1) September–October 2007, (2) April–May 2008, and (3) October–November 2008. Participants were asked about their exposure to political violence, symptoms of depression, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, their level of social support, psychosocial resource loss, and positive engagement in life tasks. Path modeling revealed that trauma exposure indirectly affected engagement through its impact on resource loss and PTS and depression symptoms. PTS symptoms at Wave 2 were modestly related to greater engagement at Wave 3, and depression symptoms did not independently predict engagement at Wave 3. Psychosocial resource loss at Wave 1 and Wave 2 was the best overall predictor of engagement at Wave 3, through its direct and indirect effects via PTS symptoms. Greater engagement was also predicted by greater social support, being more educated, being younger, and being more religious. The relative independence of psychological distress and engagement was noted as a critical finding supporting a key tenet of positive psychology. The relationship of resource loss and social support with engagement suggests that bolstering psychosocial resources may offer a route for primary and secondary prevention amidst chronic traumatic conditions.
On the fluctuations of sums of independent random variables.

If X(1), X(2),. are independent random variables with zero expectation and finite variances, the cumulative sums S(n) are, on the average, of the order of magnitude S(n), where S(n) (2) = E(S(n) (2)). The occasional maxima of the ratios S(n)/S(n) are surprisingly large and the problem is to estimate the extent of their probable fluctuations.Specifically, let S(n) (*) = (S(n) - b(n))/a(n), where {a(n)} and {b(n)}, two numerical sequences. For any interval I, denote by p(I) the probability that the event S(n) (*) epsilon I occurs for infinitely many n. Under mild conditions on {a(n)} and {b(n)}, it is shown that p(I) equals 0 or 1 according as a certain series converges or diverges. To obtain the upper limit of S(n)/a(n), one has to set b(n) = +/- epsilon a(n), but finer results are obtained with smaller b(n). No assumptions concerning the under-lying distributions are made; the criteria explain structurally which features of {X(n)} affect the fluctuations, but for concrete results something about P{S(n)>a(n)} must be known. For example, a complete solution is possible when the X(n) are normal, replacing the classical law of the iterated logarithm. Further concrete estimates may be obtained by combining the new criteria with some recently developed limit theorems.