Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roles for protein kinases in the induction of nitric oxide synthase in astrocytes

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or a combination of interferon (IFN)‐γ and interleukin (IL)‐1β can induce a calcium‐independent nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in astrocyte cultures (Simmons and Murphy: J Neurochem 59:897, 1992; Eur J Neurosci 5:825,1993; Galea et al: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89:10945,1992). This induction can be measured by assaying cyclic GMP levels in the cultures, which correlates with, but is more sensitive than, measurement of nitrite accumulation. To study potential second‐messenger systems involved in the induction of iNOS, phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, and various protein kinase inhibitors were employed. PMA induced a time‐, dose‐, and L‐arginine‐dependent increase in cyclic GMP, which could be inhabited by dexamethasone or actinomycin D. This induction could be dramatically increased by concurrent treatment with IFN‐y. The presence of iNOS mRNA could be demonstrated by hybridization with a specific cDNA probe. H7 (a non‐specific serine/threonine kinase inhibitor) but not H89 (a more specific PKA inhibitor) prevented induction by all agents. However, downregulation of PKC or pretreatment with the PKC inhibitor calphostin C did not prevent the induction by LPS or cytokines, suggesting that PKC is not necessary for iNOS induction by these mediators. Additionally, genistein (a nonspecific tyrosine kinase inhibitor) could prevent induction by all agents, but the more specific inhibitor, tyrphostin, attenuated only NOS induction by LPS. These results suggest that activation ofPKC can lead to, but is not necessary for, the induction of NOS in astrocytes and that there is a potential role for tyrosine kinases in NOS induction by LPS. This complex control of induction of iNOS, seemingly requiring activation of multiple pathways for maximal effect, might represent a safeguard to prevent production of potentially toxic nitric oxide (NO) under normal physiological conditions. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Photosynthetic Acclimation in Pea and Soybean to High Atmospheric CO2 Partial Pressure

Nonnodulated pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Frosty) and soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. cv Wye) plants were grown under artificial lights from germination with ample nutrients, 600 [mu]mol photons m-2 s-1, and either 34 to 36 (control) or 64 to 68 Pa (enriched) CO2. For soybean, pod removal and whole-plant shading treatments were used to alter the source-sink balance and carbohydrate status of the plants. Growth of both species was substantially increased by CO2 enrichment despite some down-regulation of photosynthesis rate per unit leaf area (“acclimation”). Acclimation was observed in young pea leaves but not old and in old soybean leaves but not young. Acclimation was neither evident in quantum yield nor was it related to triose phosphate limitation of net photosynthesis. A correlation between levels of starch and sugars in the leaf and the amount of acclimation was apparent but was loose and only weakly related to the source-sink balance of the plant. A consistent feature of acclimation was reduced ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) content, although in vivo RuBPCase activity was not necessarily diminished by elevated growth CO2 owing to increased percentage of activation of the enzyme. A proposal is discussed that the complexity of photosynthetic acclimation responses to elevated CO2 is as an expression of re-optimization of deployment of within-plant resources at three levels of competition.
Patch test standard series recommended by the Brazilian Contact Dermatitis Study Group during the 2006-2011 period*

A retrospective study was carried out between 2006-2011. Six hundred and eighteen patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis underwent the standard patch test series recommended by the Brazilian Contact Dermatitis Research Group. The aim of our study was to evaluate the variation of positive patch-test results from standard series year by year. The most frequently positive allergens were: nickel sulfate, thimerosal and potassium bichromate. Decrease of positive patch-test results over the years was statistically significant for: lanolin (p=0.01), neomycin (p=0.01) and anthraquinone (p=0.04). A follow-up study should be useful in determining which allergens could be excluded from standard series, as they may represent low sensitization risk.
Self-Determination Theory and Wellness Tourism: How Do Wellness Facilities Contribute to Wellbeing?

The purpose of this dissertation study was to assess the extent and manner in which wellbeing is supported in the context of a wellness facility (destination spa / lifestyle retreat). In particular, the study considered which characteristics of a wellness facility are uniquely beneficial beyond engaging in healthful eating and exercise as a matter of routine, or benefits associated with a leisure vacation. Self-determination theory (SDT), an organismic theory of human motivation was used as a theoretical framework. The research consisted of two studies both of which were conducted onsite at a wellness facility in southeastern United States. The first, a qualitative study, was conducted to determine the applicability of SDT for measuring wellbeing as the outcome of a wellness vacation. Following, a quantitative study was undertaken that measured relative changes in wellbeing pre and post-vacation. In addition, two structural equation models were proposed to describe the manner in which psychological wellbeing may be supported. Overall, study results suggest that wellbeing is enhanced overall. All hypothesized precursors to wellbeing in study models were also significant. Theoretical as well as managerial implications for the structure of wellness facility programs and operations were discussed.
P2X7 Receptor Inhibition Improves CD34 T-Cell Differentiation in HIV-Infected Immunological Nonresponders on c-ART

Peripheral CD4+ T-cell levels are not fully restored in a significant proportion of HIV+ individuals displaying long-term viral suppression on c-ART. These immunological nonresponders (INRs) have a higher risk of developing AIDS and non-AIDS events and a lower life expectancy than the general population, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We used an in vitro system to analyze the T- and B-cell potential of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells. Comparisons of INRs with matched HIV+ patients with high CD4+ T-cell counts (immune responders (IRs)) revealed an impairment of the generation of T-cell progenitors, but not of B-cell progenitors, in INRs. This impairment resulted in the presence of smaller numbers of recent thymic emigrants (RTE) in the blood and lower peripheral CD4+ T-cell counts. We investigated the molecular pathways involved in lymphopoiesis, focusing particularly on T-cell fate specification (Notch pathway), survival (IL7R-IL7 axis) and death (Fas, P2X7, CD39/CD73). P2X7 expression was abnormally strong and there was no CD73 mRNA in the CD34+ cells of INRs, highlighting a role for the ATP pathway. This was confirmed by the demonstration that in vitro inhibition of the P2X7-mediated pathway restored the T-cell potential of CD34+ cells from INRs. Moreover, transcriptomic analysis revealed major differences in cell survival and death pathways between CD34+ cells from INRs and those from IRs. These findings pave the way for the use of complementary immunotherapies, such as P2X7 antagonists, to restore T-cell lymphopoiesis in INRs.
Driver Performance While Texting: Even a Little is Too Much

Objective: To examine the impact of text messaging and other in-car behaviors on driving performance under simple and naturalistic road conditions in a driving simulator. Methods: Data from 28 healthy individuals (12 female) are presented. Participant age ranged from 18 to 28 (mean = 21.0). Average driving experience was 3.8 years (SD = 2.5). Participants completed a baseline loop condition in which they drove normally through a realistic virtual environment. Next, participants drove an identical loop, and at 3 specified points during this drive, participants were required to (1) complete a radio-tuning task; (2) type and send a text message containing “Drexel University”; and (3) type and send “I am driving to the store. ” Driving performance and task duration was compared between conditions. Results: Across all tasks, both lane management, F(1,27) = 11.1, P = . 002, and velocity, F(1,27) = 10.3, P = . 003, varied significantly more while task-engaged. Average lane deviation was significantly greater during a text messaging task than during the baseline drive of the same road segment, t(27) = −2.9, P = . 007. Comparison of task durations indicated that both texting tasks took significantly longer to complete than the radio task, with the “Drexel University” text (118 s) taking almost twice as long as the radio-tuning task (60 s). Unexpected and novel findings emerged in the evaluation of duration of texting tasks using the varying text-entry methods, with touch-screen modality taking significantly longer than others. Conclusions: Engaging in secondary tasks while operating a motor vehicle may have deleterious effects on driving performance and increase risk, even under the simplest of driving conditions. Text messaging may constitute a “perfect storm” of risk compared to other in-vehicle tasks such as tuning the car radio. The current investigation demonstrated detrimental effects of text messaging on driving behaviors such as lane maintenance, speed maintenance, and shifts of attention, even under relatively ideal and naturalistic driving conditions (e.g., familiar route, good weather, no traffic).
Microbiological quality of sewage sludge in Greece disposed for agricultural use

For the disposal of sewage, sludge landfill is currently the practice adopted in Greece. Thirteen wastewater treatment plants located throughout Greece (islands excluded) were investigated over a period of 1 year in order to determine sludge microbiological quality. The time of exposure of the samples to environmental conditions and stress varied considerably, from a few hours to several months. The mean values for total coliforms were 4 to > 2400/100 ml and for faecal coliforms < 3 to > 2400/100. Salmonellae were isolated from all plants with the exception of two. Parasites were isolated from five treatment plants. There was no difference in the bacterial indicator counts of faecal pollution or the presence of salmonellae and parasites according to the time of disposal of the sludge to the fields. The samples taken from the soil, or from flowers and vegetables which grow in the area of the sludge disposal were mostly negative for faecal pollution bacteria indicators. Salmonellae and parasites were not recovered from any samples. Five of the 16 serotypes reported from the National Salmonella Reference Center were present in the sludge samples.
Title : Cognitive Flexibility : A Default Network and Basal Ganglia Connectivity Perspective Running Title : Cognitive Flexibility : A Default Mode Perspective

Authors: D Vatansever, AE Manktelow, BJ Sahakian, DK Menon, EA Stamatakis Author affiliations: Division of Anaesthesia, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, CB2 0QQ, Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, CB2 0QQ, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, CB2 0QQ
Denial of Equal Civil Rights for Lesbians and Gay Men in the Netherlands, 1980–1993

ABSTRACT In six national samples (a total of 11,863 respondents) of the Dutch population, aged 16 and over, the denial of equal rights (in housing, inheriting, and adoption) for lesbians and gay men decreased from 1980 and 1985, and remained stable between 1985 and 1993. The denial of equal rights for lesbians and gay men was subscribed to more strongly by social categories that have been exposed to traditional socializing agents and socializing circumstances in which traditional norms prevailed: membersofdenominations, people who frequently attend church, and older cohorts, especially the ones born before 1948, as well as by those who have presumably not dissociated themselves from these traditional norms, i.e., the lower educated.
Impact of Semantic Relatedness on Associative Memory: An ERP Study

Encoding and retrieval processes in memory for pairs of pictures are thought to be influenced by inter-item similarity and by features of individual items. Using Event-Related Potentials (ERP), we aimed to identify how these processes impact on both the early mid-frontal FN400 and the Late Positive Component (LPC) potentials during associative retrieval of pictures. Twenty young adults undertook a sham task, using an incidental encoding of semantically related and unrelated pairs of drawings. At test, we conducted a recognition task in which participants were asked to identify target identical pairs of pictures, which could be semantically related or unrelated, among new and rearranged pairs. We observed semantic (related and unrelated pairs) and condition effects (old, rearranged and new pairs) on the early mid-frontal potential. First, a lower amplitude was shown for identical and rearranged semantically related pairs, which might reflect a retrieval process driven by semantic cues. Second, among semantically unrelated pairs, we found a larger negativity for identical pairs, compared to rearranged and new ones, suggesting additional retrieval processing that focuses on associative information. We also observed an LPC old/new effect with a mid-parietal and a right occipito-parietal topography for semantically related and unrelated old pairs, demonstrating a recollection phenomenon irrespective of the degree of association. These findings suggest that associative recognition using visual stimuli begins at early stages of retrieval, and differs according to the degree of semantic relatedness among items. However, either strategy may ultimately lead to recollection processes.
Clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses. A comparative study of 13 cases with a provisional subgrouping into the melanotic and synovial types

Electron microscopy of two cases of clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses showed different fine structures. On the basis of these differences a proposed division is made of melanotic and synovial types of the tumor. A subsequent comparative histological study carried out on these tumors showed that there were histological criteria to separate the melanotic and synovial types of sarcoma. Using these histological criteria eleven further cases of clear cell sarcoma in the files of the Tumor Registry were subdivided. Review of the Tumor Registry material showed that eight were melanotic type tumors and one was a further synovial type tumor. Using these histological criteria there are two further cases in the Tumor Registry which are not clearly classifiable into either group. The present observations indicate that the majority of the so‐called clear cell sarcomas are in reality “melanomas of soft parts” with a minority of this type of tumor being of “synovial type”.
Missing Women in the 20 th Century of China : Historical Trends and the Process of Development

Excess female mortality has existed throughout Chinese history. Since the 1980s both the sex ratio at birth excess female infant and child mortality have risen significantly, resulting in a severely unbalanced sex ratio in the Chinese population. Data from the five censuses, with appropriate adjustments, permit estimates of the numbers of missing women from the period 1900–2000. The analysis is broken down by historically important periods and probes the relations to the important political and social events in each period. Our estimates are compared with those of other investigators and their implications for Chinese society are discussed.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage Volume Predicts Poor Outcomes But Not Delayed Ischemic Neurological Deficits Among Patients With Ruptured Cerebral Aneurysms

BACKGROUND:Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) predicts worse outcomes following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). One potential mechanism is that IVH predisposes to the development of delayed ischemic neurological deficits (DINDs). No previous studies have evaluated the association between IVH volume (in milliliters) and subsequent development of DINDs or poor outcomes. OBJECTIVE:To assess the association between the volume of IVH and the subsequent development of DINDs, delayed cerebral infarction, death, and poor neurological outcomes, specifically among patients with concomitant SAH and IVH. METHODS:We performed a cohort study involving 152 consecutive patients with concomitant SAH and IVH. To determine volume of IVH, we used the IVH Score, shown to correlate well with computerized volumetric assessment. To determine the relative quantity of subarachnoid blood, we applied the SAH Sum Score. Multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS:There was no significant association between IVH volume and the development of DINDs or delayed infarction. In contrast, patients with poor neurological outcomes had significantly larger baseline IVH volume (mean, 11.8 mL vs 3.8 mL, P = .001). In the multivariate analysis, IVH volume was an independent predictor of poor outcomes (OR per mL: 1.11 [1.04-1.18]). Patients in the highest quartile for IVH volume were far more likely to progress to poor outcome compared with those in the lowest quartile (OR 4.09 [1.32-12.65]). Interobserver agreement in the determination of IVH Score was moderate to good. CONCLUSIONS:IVH volume is an independent predictor of poor neurological outcomes, even after adjusting for the amount of subarachnoid blood. The pathophysiology of this association does not appear to involve an increased risk of DINDs or delayed infarction. Measures aimed at accelerating IVH clearance, such as intraventricular thrombolysis, merit further evaluation.
Controlling for Body Mass Effects: Is Part‐Whole Correlation Important?

Many physiological and life-history traits scale with body mass, and this mass dependence must often be taken into account when comparing group means or when analyzing correlations between traits. Residual analysis (Bennett 1987), multiple regression (Hayes and Shonkwiler 1996), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA, Atchley et al. 1976; Packard and Boardman 1987) have been proposed as robust techniques to reduce or eliminate mass dependence, since the use of ratios (i.e., the trait value divided by body mass) is problematic (Packard and Boardman 1987). The first of these three methods all involve regression, so problems may arise when the physiological trait of interest is the mass of an organ or tissue and the covariate is body mass. In a regression between organ mass and body mass, both variables include the mass of the organ. This tends to create a positive relationship between the two variables, even when no correlation between organ mass and the rest of body mass (i.e., body mass minus organ mass) exists. Sokal and Rohlf (1995) referred to the correlation between a part (e.g., organ mass) and the whole (e.g., body mass) as “part-whole correlation. ” A number of authors have addressed the issue of partwhole correlation within the context of scaling (e.g., Prothero 1986; LaBarbera 1989) and the analysis of ratios (e.g., Atchley et al. 1976; Jackson and Somers 1991 and references therein). Descriptions of the effects of part-whole correlation in ANCOVA, multiple regression, and residual analysis, however, have been only anecdotal. For instance, Tracy and Sugar (1989) and Burness et al. (1998) described examples where removal of partwhole correlation changed the results of ANCOVA and residual analysis, respectively. A more in-depth study of the effects of part-whole correlation on regression-type analyses (e.g., multiple regression, residual analysis, and ANCOVA) is lacking, and as a result, this potential problem is often ignored. For instance,
MARKERLESS MOTION CAPTURE WITHIN SPORT: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

The purpose of this case study was to compare centre of mass (CoM) recorded by a markerless motion capture system (60 Hz) to a criterion marker based system (120 Hz). Gait kinematics of one healthy male participant was recorded five times by both capture systems simultaneously. CoM position was assessed using a full body six degrees of freedom model, normalised to the stance phase based on a 20 N vertical force threshold recorded with force plates. T-tests on RMSE indicated frontal (0.002 m) and sagittal (0.066 m) CoM coordinates were not significantly different between systems, transverse CoM (0.020 m) was significantly different. Statistical parametric mapping showed significant difference in sagittal CoM during the last 20% of stance. Markerless systems show promise in accurately assessing CoM. Future work should focus on sport actions with larger cohorts.
POPULATION-LEVEL RIGHT-PAW PREFERENCE IN RATS ASSESSED BY A NEW COMPUTERIZED FOOD-REACHING TEST

We re-studied the distribution of paw preference in rats using a new computerized food-reaching test, which recorded the times and time intervals between the single right- and left-paw entries. Using the traditional food-reaching test, we found that of 144 rats, 72.7% were right-handed, 19.7% left-handed, and 7.6% mixed-handed. This population-level J-shaped right-hand preference did not fit a binomial chance distribution (25:25:50). Of right handers, 99.5% first used their right paw and 0.5% left paw; of left-handers, 98.6% first used their left paw and 1.4% right paw. Of mixed-handers, 59% first used the right paw and 41% left paw for food reaching. The time interval between putting the rat into the test cage and the first right-paw entry was significantly shorter than the first left-paw entry in total sample. Males were faster than females (shorter time intervals between right- or left-paw entries). The distribution of the time intervals between right- or left-paw entries was inverse J-shaped, which exhibited a normal distribution after taking the logarithms of the time intervals. There was no significant difference between time intervals for the left-paw entries; time intervals for the right-paw entries were significantly shorter in males than females, accentuating the role of the left brain for sex differences in motor control. The results suggested that humans are not unique in population-level right-hand preference; our new method would be suitable for new developments in handedness research
Active and Conservative Treatment of Acute Otitis Media; Prospective Studies

Two Finnish prospective studies of acute otitis media are reviewed, one consisting of 158 and the other of 248 patients. Treatment with myringotomy in combination with antibiotics gave results which were better than those obtained by antibiotics alone. If the patients had a history of two or more earlier attacks of acute otitis media, healing rates were poorer irrespective of the method of therapy, and treatment without myringotomy could not be adhered to even if planned. Mastoid roentgenograms showed partial or total cloudiness in many ears and proved to be a good method of recognizing the cases in which the disease was likely to run a prolonged course.