Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of neuroprotective effect of quercetin with donepezil in scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of quercetin with donepezil in scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats. Materials and Methods: Five groups of adult male Wistar rats (12 months old) weighing 180–200 g (n = 6) were used. The normal control group received normal saline and test group animals were pretreated orally with quercetin (25 mg/kg), donepezil (3 mg/kg), and a combination of quercetin (25 mg/kg) with donepezil (3 mg/kg), respectively, dosed at every 24 h interval for 14 consecutive days, afterward amnesia was induced by scopolamine (3 mg/kg) on the 14th day through intraperitoneal route. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Morris water maze, elevated plus maze, and passive avoidance paradigm. Acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AchE) level, biochemical markers such as lipid peroxidase (LPO), glutathione (GSH), β amyloid1-42level, and histopathological study of rat brain were estimated. Statistical analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Dunnett's post hoc test. P ≥ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Pretreatment with quercetin, donepezil, and their combination showed a significant increase in escape latency, step-through latency, and decreased transfer latency in respective cognitive models of the Morris water maze, passive avoidance test, and elevated plus maze. Further coadministration significantly decreased AchE level, β amyloid1-42level as compared to individual therapy. Biochemical markers such as elevated GSH, decreased LPO were observed, and histopathological studies revealed the reversal of neuronal damage in the treatment group (P < 0.05) as compared to scopolamine-treated control group. Conclusion: Pretreatment with quercetin potentiates the action of donepezil in scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats. The improved cognitive memory could be due to the synergistic effect of the drugs by decreasing AchE level, β amyloid1-42level, and antioxidant action in rat brain.
Postoperative intramuscular dextromethorphan injection provides pain relief and decreases opioid requirement after modified radical mastectomy.

BACKGROUND Narcotics are still the therapeutic mainstay for postoperative pain relief. However, many unwanted side effects are accompanied. NMDA antagonists have been demonstrated to produce analgesic and antihyperalgesic effects, moreover, to possess potentiated effect of narcotics on postoperative pain management. AIMS To examine whether postoperative dextromethorphan (DM), an antitussive and also an NMDA antagonist, intramuscular injection (I.M.) reduced pain and analgesic requirement after modified radical mastectomy (MRM). METHODS Sixty-one patients scheduled for MRM were included and randomly allocated into two groups. For the control group (n=31), patients received chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM, 20 mg) I.M. , while in the DM group (n = 30), 40 mg DM containing 20 mg CPM (I.M.) was given at the end of surgery. Meperidine (1 mg/kg, I.M.) was prescribed for postoperative pain relief, if ask. The time to first meperidine injection, total meperidine consumption, worst pain score, bed-rest time, and meperidine-related side effects were recorded for 48 hours postoperation. RESULTS A longer time to first meperidine injection (20.3 +/- 1.4 vs 1.5 +/- 0.2 hr, p < 0.001) and lower meperidine consumption (10.7 +/- 4.0 vs 70.7 +/- 8.9 mg, p < 0.001) were observed in the DM group than the control group. The average bed rest time was significantly shorter in the DM group than in the control group (18.9 +/- 1.5 vs 23.4 +/- 1.6 hr, p < 0.001). The number of patients who required meperidine injection (6 vs 27, p < 0.005) and meperidine-related side effects were significantly lower in the DM group than in the control group (1 vs 7, p < 0.025). No difference was noted in worst VAS pain score between the DM and the study groups. CONCLUSION Postoperative DM I.M. injection provided an analgesic effect and reduced meperidine requirement after MRM.
Recovery After Psychosis (RAP): A Compassion Focused Programme for Individuals Residing in High Security Settings

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a recovery group intervention based on compassionate mind training, for individuals with psychosis. In particular, the objective was to improve depression, to develop compassion towards self, and to promote help seeking. Method: A within-subjects design was used. Participants were assessed at the start of group, mid-group (5 weeks), the end of the programme and at 6 week follow-up. Three group programmes were run over the course of a year. Nineteen participants commenced the intervention and 18 completed the programme. Results: Significant improvements were found on the Social Comparison Scale; the Beck Depression Inventory; Other As Shamer Scale; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory and the General Psychopathology Scale from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Conclusions: The results provide initial indications of the effectiveness of a group intervention based on the principles of compassionate focused therapy for this population. The findings of this study, alongside implications of further research are discussed.
The Effect of Hemodialysis and Acetate-Free Biofiltration on Anemia

The authors monitored, for a period of 12 months, anemia-, nutrition-, and free radical-related parameters and the rHuEPO dose required to maintain target hemoglobin (Hb) in 20 patients with chronic renal failure. Ten patients each were randomized for treatment by either acetate-free biofiltration (AFB) or low-flux hemodialysis (HD). At baseline, Hb levels were 102±2 (AFB) vs. 98±2 g/L (HD) (not significant difference, NS), the rHuEPO dose was 4050±976 vs. 5100±1538 IU/week (NS). Compared with baseline and with HD, lower rHuEPO doses were required during AFB at months 8, 9, 10 and 11, and 12 when they were 2100±510 (AFB) vs. 6000±1153 (HD), p=0.008. Prealbumin, transferrin and cholinesterase levels rose in the AFB group. Kt/V, albumin, transferrin saturation, aluminium, bicarbonate in serum, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in erythrocytes, and malondialdehyde and antioxidant capacity in plasma did not differ between the AFB and HD groups. In terms of anemia control, AFB using an AN69 membrane was found to be more advantageous than low-flux HD, AFB improves some nutritional parameters. The compared methods do not differ in their effect on lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant system. (Int J Artif Organs 2000; 23: 173–80)
Enhanced image and video representation for visual recognition

The subject of this thesis is about image and video representations for visual recognition. This thesis first focuses on image search, both for image and textual queries, and then considers the classification and the localization of actions in videos. In image retrieval, images similar to the query image are retrieved from a large dataset. On this front, we propose an asymmetric version of the Hamming Embedding method, where the comparison of query and database descriptors relies on a vector-to-binary code comparison. For image classification, where the task is to identify if an image contains any instance of the queried category, we propose a novel approach based on a match kernel between images, more specifically based on Hamming Embedding similarity. We also present an effective variant of the SIFT descriptor, which leads to a better classification accuracy. Action classification is improved by several methods to better employ the motion inherent to videos. This is done by dominant motion compensation, and by introducing a novel descriptor based on kinematic features of the visual flow. The last contribution is devoted to action localization, whose objective is to determine where and when the action of interest appears in the video. A selective sampling strategy produces 2D+t sequences of bounding boxes, which drastically reduces the candidate locations. The method advantageously exploits a criterion that takes in account how motion related to actions deviates from the background motion. We thoroughly evaluated all the proposed methods on real world images and videos from challenging benchmarks. Our methods outperform the previously published related state of the art and remains competitive with the subsequently proposed methods.
Microsatellite assessment of multiple paternity in natural populations of a live‐bearing fish, Gambusia holbrooki

Three polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and employed to examine paternity patterns in two natural populations of live‐bearing mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki. Each locus displayed four to five alleles per population in samples of presumably unrelated adults. Nearly 900 embryos from a total of 50 pregnant females were assayed individually, and paternal alleles in each embryo were identified. Counts of paternal alleles, Mendelian segregation patterns, multilocus allelic associations and genetic relatedness coefficients were employed to estimate the minimum and effective numbers of fathers per brood. At least 90% of the assayed broods were shown to have been fathered by multiple males, a figure substantially higher than previous estimates based on less polymorphic genetic loci. However, the genetic data yield a face‐value estimate of only about 2.2 fathers per brood, a number that seems perhaps surprisingly low based on frequencies of attempted copulations by males. Both biological and sampling factors that might bias mean sire counts downward are considered. Although higher sire counts per brood might be obtained from loci with even greater numbers of alleles, little statistical room remains for higher frequency estimates of multiple paternity in Gambusia.
Silent ischemic infarcts are associated with hemorrhage burden in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Background: Neuropathologic studies suggest an association between cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and small ischemic infarctions as well as hemorrhages. We examined the prevalence and associated risk factors for infarcts detected by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Methods: We performed retrospective analysis of MR images from 78 subjects with a diagnosis of probable CAA and a similar aged group of 55 subjects with Alzheimer disease or mild cognitive impairment (AD/MCI) for comparison. DWI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were inspected for acute or subacute infarcts. We also examined the association between DWI lesions and demographic variables, conventional vascular risk factors, and radiographic markers of CAA severity such as number of hemorrhages on gradient-echo MRI and volume of T2-hyperintense white matter lesions. Results: Twelve of 78 subjects with CAA (15%) had a total of 17 DWI-hyperintense lesions consistent with subacute cerebral infarctions vs 0 of 55 subjects with AD/MCI (p = 0.001). The DWI lesions were located primarily in cortex and subcortical white matter. CAA subjects with DWI lesions had a higher median number of total hemorrhages (22 vs 4, p = 0.025) and no difference in white matter hyperintensity volume or conventional vascular risk factors compared to subjects with CAA without lesions. Conclusions: MRI evidence of small subacute infarcts is present in a substantial proportion of living patients with advanced cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). The presence of these lesions is associated with a higher burden of hemorrhages, but not with conventional vascular risk factors. This suggests that advanced CAA predisposes to ischemic infarction as well as intracerebral hemorrhage. AD = Alzheimer disease; ADC = apparent diffusion coefficient; CAA = cerebral amyloid angiopathy; DWI = diffusion-weighted imaging; FLAIR = fluid-attenuated inversion recovery; GRE = gradient-echo; HTN = hypertension; ICH = intracerebral hemorrhage; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; MGH = Massachusetts General Hospital; nWMH = normalized white matter hyperintensity volumes; WMH = white matter T2-hyperintense lesions.
Immunosuppression and Increased Susceptibility to Japaneses B Encephalitis Virus in Trichinella spiralis-Infected Mice

Summary Infection with T. spiralis larvae greatly increased the susceptibility of mature mice to fatal CNS disease when challenged peripherally with JBE virus 7 days after administration of larvae. By 28 days following T. spiralis infection, susceptibility to JBE virus returned to control levels. It was found that this parasite caused a suppression of the neutralizing and complement-fixing antibody responses to JBE virus, whether challenged at 7 or 28 days. In contrast, infection with N. dubius larvae, or irradiated larvae of either parasite, had no effect on susceptibility or antibody responses to virus. Evidence of T. spiralis larval migration into the brains of infected mice was not observed. Increased corticosteroid hormone levels, suppression of the humoral antibody response, or changes in fixed macrophage phagocytic activity did not appear to constitute potential mechanisms for the increased susceptibility of T. spiralis-infected mice to JBE virus. 1
Ophidine (beta-alanyl-L-3-methylhistidine, "balenine') and other histidine dipeptides in pig muscles and tinned hams.

The amounts of anserine (β-alanyl-L-1-methylhistidine), carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) and ophidine (β-alanyl-L-3-methylhistidine) were determined in various muscles and other tissues of pigs. The amount of the histidine dipeptides varied with age and muscle type. Ophidine accumulated in the longissimus dorsi at a rate of 25 nmol g−1 protein day−1 while the anserine concentration remained relatively constant. Thus, an estimate of the age of a pig can be obtained from the anserine: ophidine ratio in a sample of its skeletal muscle. Because the histidine dipeptides are unaffected by cooking, it is possible from an analysis of the dipeptides to monitor the type of lean pig meat used in preparing tinned hams. As the anserine:carnosine:ophidine ratio in pig meat is quite different from that in other species it is possible to distinguish between genuine and imitation hams.
Alpinate Oxyphyllae Fructus (Alpinia Oxyphylla Miq) Extracts Inhibit Angiotensin-II Induced Cardiac Apoptosis in H9c2 Cardiomyoblast Cells

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We used a traditional Chinese medicine, alpinate oxyphyllae fructus (AOF), to evaluate its effect on Ang II-induced cardiac apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. Ang II-treated H9c2 cells were administered AOF of 20-100 µg/mL concentrations. Ang II significantly increased TUNEL-positive nuclei in the H9c2 cells, effect was inhibited by AOF administration in both pre-treated and post-treated H9c2 cells. Caspases 9 and 3 activities were increased by Ang II and downregulated by AOF administration, especially in pre-treatment. AOF treatment reversed Ang II-induced mitochondria membrane potential instability in H9c2 cells as observed by JC-1 stain assay. Furthermore, pro-apoptotic proteins Bad and cytochrome c increased and decreased respectively under AOF administration. The levels of p-Bad anti-apoptotic protein were significantly increased after AOF treatment. This study indicates that mitochondrial dependent apoptosis induced by Ang II.
Structure in Personal Networks

Most personal (egocentric) network studies describe networks using measures that are not structural, opting instead for attribute-based analyses that summarize the relationships of the respondent to network members. Those researchers that have used structural measures have done so on networks of less than 10 members who represent the network core. Although much has been learned by focusing on attribute-based analyses of personal network data, the application of structural analyses that are traditionally used on whole (sociocentric) network data may prove fruitful. The utility of this approach becomes apparent when the sample of network members elicited is relatively large. Forty six respondents freelisted 60 network members and evaluated tie strength between all 1,770 unique pairs of members. Graph-based measures of cohesion and subgroups revealed variability in the personal network structure. Non-hierarchical clustering generated subgroups which were subsequently verified by respondents as meaningful. Further analysis of the correlation between subgroup types and overlap between subgroups demonstrates how the analysis of each network can be summarized across subjects. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the richness of the data and the value of contrasting individual matrix results to the norm as defined by all 45 subjects.
Motivations for Extradyadic Infidelity Revisited

Relationship infidelities are motivated by many distinct factors, with previous research indicating motivations of dissatisfaction, neglect, anger, and sexual desire (Barta & Kiene, 2005). We expand on this by demonstrating additional, empirically distinct motivations for infidelity. Using an Internet-based questionnaire, participants (N = 495), most of whom were young adults, self-reported their infidelities. In addition to evidence for previously studied motivations, our data demonstrate additional factors, including lack of love (“I had ‘fallen out of love with’ my primary partner”), low commitment (“I was not very committed to my primary partner”), esteem (“I wanted to enhance my popularity”), gaining sexual variety (“I wanted a greater variety of sexual partners”), and situational factors (“I was drunk and not thinking clearly”). Our results also show personality correlates with infidelity motivations. Consistent with predictions, attachment insecurity was associated with motivations of anger, lack of love, neglect, low commitment, and esteem, while unrestricted sociosexual orientation was associated with sexual variety. Implicit beliefs (e.g., growth, destiny, romanticism) were differentially associated with sexual desire, low commitment, lack of love, and neglect. These findings highlight multifaceted motivations underlying infidelity, moving beyond relationship deficit models of infidelity, with implications for research and psychotherapy involving people’s romantic and sexual relationships.
Effects of Sublethal Exposure to Imidacloprid on Subsequent Behavior of Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes virginicus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract Experiments were conducted to determine whether subterranean termites, Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks), previously exposed to sublethal doses of imidacloprid (Premise), and allowed to recover for 1 wk, demonstrated behavioral aversion to a subsequent exposure. Worker termites experiencing a previous sublethal but debilitating exposure to imidacloprid-treated sand (either 10 or 100 ppm for 4 h) showed no apparent aversion to a second encounter with imidacloprid-treated sand under conditions of this experiment. If these laboratory results hold in the field and termites traveling through a zone of soil treated with imidacloprid are impaired but subsequently recover, they will be just as likely as their naive nestmates to reenter the treated area if their travels take them through the nonrepellent application a second time. Our results also indicate that a sublethal exposure to imidacloprid can affect termite tunneling behavior. Many worker termites that received an initial 4-h exposure to 100 ppm imidacloprid-treated sand died, but those that survived tunneled significantly less than did their naive nestmates, as did some termites exposed to 10 ppm imidacloprid.
Aberrant DNA methylation of miR‐219 promoter in long‐term night shiftworkers

The idea that shiftwork may be carcinogenic in humans has gained widespread attention since the pioneering work linking shiftwork to breast cancer over two decades ago. However, the biomolecular consequences of long‐term shiftwork exposure have not been fully explored. In this study, we performed a genome‐wide CpG island methylation assay of microRNA (miRNA) promoters in long‐term night shiftworkers and day workers. This analysis indicated that 50 CpG loci corresponding to 31 miRNAs were differentially methylated in night shiftworkers compared to day workers, including the circadian‐relevant miR‐219, the expression of which has been implicated in several cancers. A genome‐wide expression microarray assay was carried out in a miR‐219‐overexpressed MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line, which identified 319 differentially expressed transcripts. The identified transcriptional targets were analyzed for network and functional interrelatedness using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software. Overexpression of miR‐219 in MCF‐7 breast cancer cells resulted in accentuated expression of apoptosis‐ and proliferation‐related anti‐viral immunodulators of the Jak‐STAT and NF‐κβ pathways. These findings suggest that long‐term night shiftwork exposure may lead to the methylation‐dependent downregulation of miR‐219, which may in turn lead to the downregulation of immunomediated antitumor activity and increased breast cancer risk. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 54:406–413, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in General Medical Units

The activities of a consultation-liaison psychiatry service to general medical units in a university affiliated suburban teaching hospital are described, with a report from the MICRO-CARES clinical database on 165 consecutive referrals over a 12 month period. The referral rate was 4.2% of admissions. The data confirm the association of psychiatric referral and prolonged length of hospital stay (mean of 18 days for referred patients, 9 days for non-referred patients). The most common reasons for referral were depression, suicide risk evaluation, organic brain syndrome and suspected psychological component to illness. The most common psychiatric diagnoses were Mood Disorders (55%), Organic Mental Disorders (35%), Adjustment Disorders (19%), Somatoform and other Somatic Disorders (16%) and Personality Disorders (15%). Although 67% of patients received at least one confirmed diagnosis, 39% of all diagnoses remained “differential”, or unconfirmed, at discharge. Concordance with drug recommendations was 97% and with non-drug recommendations 95%. Two groups of patients were prominent among the referrals: the young self-poisoning patient, and the older patient living alone. The issues involved in providing a liaison psychiatry service to general medical units with these characteristics are described.