Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipoxin and Aspirin-Triggered 15-epi-Lipoxin Cellular Interactions Anti-Inflammatory Lipid Mediators

Abstract Eicosanoids are known to play important roles in inflammation. Recent findings have given rise to several new concepts regulating the generation of eicosanoids, illustrated in Figure 1. Lipoxins (LX) are trihydroxytetraene-containing eicosanoids that are generated within vascular lumen by platelet-leukocyte interactions and at mucosal surfaces by leukocyte-epithelial cell interactions. During these cell-cell interactions, transcellular biosynthetic pathways are used as major routes, and thus, in humans, LX are formed in vivo during multicellular responses such as inflammation, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. This branch of the eicosanoid cascade generates specific tetraene-containing products that appear to function as stop signals, since they inhibit key steps in leukocyte-mediated inflammation. Of special interest, it appears that aspirin also functions in part via production of novel epimers of lipoxins or 15-epi-lipoxins (Figure 1). Here, we review recent developments on the cellular interactions of these novel anti-inflammatory mediators.
Vascular invasion in non-small cell lung carcinoma.

AIMS: To determine if there is any correlation between vascular invasion and prognosis in non-small cell carcinoma of the lung; and to look specifically at invasion of vascular channels by tumour cells. METHODS: Eighty seven patients undergoing lobectomy or pneumonectomy for adenocarcinoma or squamous carcinoma were followed up for five years. The histological sections were studied for evidence of vascular invasion using an elastic van Gieson stain. The incidence of intimal fibrosis in arteries and veins was noted and the proportion with vascular invasion evaluated using a scoring system. The presence or absence of lymphatic permeation and tumour necrosis were noted. Survival data were analysed using the log rank test. RESULTS: The overall five year survival was 32%. There were 64 squamous cell carcinomas and 23 adenocarcinomas. Vascular invasion was seen in 77% of patients and lymphatic invasion in 44%. Neither the presence nor absence nor the proportion of blood vessels showing vascular invasion showed any relation to prognosis. Intimal fibrosis and tumour necrosis were unrelated to prognosis. Patients with lymphatic permeation had recurrence and died earlier than those without. CONCLUSION: The presence of arterial or venous invasion by adenocarcinoma or squamous carcinoma of the lung was unrelated to survival; lymphatic permeation was associated with poor prognosis. The two common non-small cell lung cancers behaved differently from other solid tumours, where vascular invasion was a significant factor in determination of prognosis. The presence of intimal fibrosis was unrelated to prognosis.
Tactile processing in children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Abstract Many obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients experience sensory phenomena, such as bodily sensations and “just-right” perceptions accompanying compulsions. We studied tactile processing in OCD by psychophysical experiments targeting the somatosensory cortex. Thirty-two children and adolescents with OCD (8 tic-related, 19 with sensory phenomena (SP)) and their sex- and age-matched controls participated in the study. After clinical assessments, two questionnaires were completed for sensory problems (Sensory Profile and Touch Inventory for Elementary-School-Aged Children). The psychophysical experiments consisted of five tasks: simple reaction time, choice reaction time, dynamic (detection) threshold, amplitude discrimination, and amplitude discrimination with single-site adaptation. The tactile stimuli were sinusoidal mechanical vibrations (frequency: 25 Hz) applied on the fingertips. Just-noticeable differences (JNDs) were found in amplitude discrimination tasks. There was no difference between the OCD group and controls in detection thresholds. However, the OCD group (especially young males) had worse amplitude discrimination (i.e., higher JNDs) than controls. Young OCD participants had reduced adaptation than young controls. Tic-related OCD participants and those with SP had higher detection thresholds than those without. Additionally, the OCD group reported more problems than controls in the Emotional/Social subset of the Sensory Profile questionnaire. The discrimination results show altered tactile processing in OCD at suprathreshold levels. This can be explained by a scaling factor modifying the sensory signal with decreasing slope at higher input levels to achieve normal Weber fractions internally. Quadratic discriminant analysis gave the best positive (76%) and negative (60%) predictive values for classifying individuals (into “OCD” or “control” groups) based on psychophysical data alone.
Emergent hydrodynamics in integrable quantum systems out of equilibrium

Understanding the general principles underlying strongly interacting quantum states out of equilibrium is one of the most important tasks of current theoretical physics. With experiments accessing the intricate dynamics of many-body quantum systems, it is paramount to develop powerful methods that encode the emergent physics. Up to now, the strong dichotomy observed between integrable and non-integrable evolutions made an overarching theory difficult to build, especially for transport phenomena where space-time profiles are drastically different. We present a novel framework for studying transport in integrable systems: hydrodynamics with infinitely-many conservation laws. This bridges the conceptual gap between integrable and non-integrable quantum dynamics, and gives powerful tools for accurate studies of space-time profiles. We apply it to the description of energy transport between heat baths, and provide a full description of the current-carrying non-equilibrium steady state and the transition regions in a family of models including the Lieb-Liniger model of interacting Bose gases, realized in experiments.
Attitudes and practices of pediatric oncology providers regarding fertility issues

Given the higher survival rates of childhood cancer, health care providers must be aware of the side effects of cancer therapies to educate patients and provide appropriate interventions to reduce cancer‐related morbidity. To understand the current practices and attitudes in a pediatric hematology/oncology clinic, health care providers were surveyed regarding fertility issues pertinent to their patient care.
Effect of intraperitoneal infusion of deoxynivalenol on feed consumption and weight gain in the pig.

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is well documented to cause reduced feed consumption (FC) and weight gain (WG) rates in sensitive animal species. In the present study, the effect of DON on pigs when ingested as a DON-spiked diet was compared with toxin administered by a continuous-delivery osmotic pump that was implanted intraperitoneally (i.p.). The trial was conducted for a 7-day period. At 4 ppm dietary DON, overall FC and WG were reduced -14% and -8%, respectively, compared with control animals; at 9 ppm DON, values were -46% and -65% less, respectively. With i.p. infusion of te toxin, although FC was also reduced [-16% at 2 micrograms DON/hr (low dose) or -31% at 5 micrograms DON/hr (high dose)], WG rates were affected to a relatively less extent (-5% or -9%, respectively) than that noted with dietary DON. In pigs on dietary DON, both FC and WG were most affected during the initial 3-day period and showed significant recovery thereafter; however, in animals dosed by the i.p. pump, FC improved only moderately, and WG stayed relatively constant over the 7 days. The effect of dietary DON on WG appears to be influenced by more than just reduced feed intake, particularly at higher toxin concentrations.
Interfering with leukocyte integrin activation—a novel concept in the development of anti‐inflammatory drugs

Inflammation is a crucial response against invading pathogens, in which immune cells, including neutrophils and T cells, are recruited into tissue from the bloodstream to help clear infection. However, a prevailing inflammatory response where the immune cells attack healthy tissue is associated with many diseases, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and multiple sclerosis. Integrins are key players in the recruitment of immune cells from the bloodstream into tissues, and are thus therapeutic targets for intervention with inflammatory responses. Thus far, mainly extracellularly acting therapeutics (monoclonal antibodies) have been developed against integrins, targeting ligand binding sites in these heterodimeric adhesion receptors. However, since these therapeutics nonselectively block all integrin functions, some side effects are expected and have been observed. Therefore, novel concepts need to be developed in the therapeutic targeting of integrins. Recently, major advances have been made in the understanding of integrin biology. Integrin structures have been solved by X‐ray crystallography, revealing unexpected data about the activation mechanism of integrins in cells. Additionally, several intracellular factors in the integrin activation process have been identified, providing potential specific targets for therapeutic intervention. Here, we present key events and players in leukocyte integrin activation, and discuss potential new drug targets in the prevention of inflammatory disease.
Percentage of canals filled in apical cross sections - an in vitro study of seven obturation techniques.

AIM To compare the apical density of several obturation techniques when used in palatal roots of extracted maxillary molars. METHODOLOGY Seventy extracted molars were randomly divided into seven groups with 10 teeth each. The palatal root canals were instrumented to size 60 MAF, coated with Kerr's Pulp Canal Sealer, and obturated using one of seven techniques. The palatal roots were separated from the crowns, decalcified, and sectioned horizontally at 2 and 4 mm from the apex. The cross-sections were photographed through a microscope, the photos were analysed, and the amount of area in the canal that was obturated with gutta-percha was measured. The means for the 20 sections per group were calculated and the means were compared using mixed analysis of variance test. RESULTS Simplifill used in accordance with the manufacturer's directions and Thermafil had the greatest mean obturated area, but neither were statistically better than mechanical lateral or warm vertical compaction (WVC; Schilder Technique). Simplifill as recommended and Thermafil were statistically better than cold lateral (P = 0.0210 and 0.0433, respectively), WVC (continuous wave) (P = 0.0006 and 0.0015), and the modified Simplifill group (P = 0.0010 and 0.0012). In addition, mechanical lateral and WVC (Schilder) had statistically more obturated area than WVC (continuous wave) (P = 0.0054 and 0.0073) and modified Simplifill (P = 0.0015 and 0.0016). Cold lateral and WVC (continuous wave) had significantly more obturated area than modified Simplifill (P = 0.0040 and 0.0087). CONCLUSIONS Simplifill as recommended, Thermafil, mechanical lateral and WVC (Schilder) obturation techniques created more complete obturation using gutta-percha at the 2 and 4 mm levels than cold lateral, WVC (continuous wave), and Simplifill not used as directed.
SEC22 and SLY2 are identical

Genetic analysis of the secretory pathway in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has identified 11 sec and bet mutants that are temperature sensitive for transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi complex (secl2, -13, -16, -17, -18, -20, -21, -22, and -23 and betl and -2 [6, 8]). To clone SEC22, we transformed the sec22-3 mutant with a library of yeast genomic DNA constructed in the multicopy vector YEP24 (2). We defined a 4.5-kb fragment that complemented this mutant at 37°C. Integration by homologous recombination was used to determine whether this DNA fragment contained the SEC22 structural gene. This was done by ligating the 4.5-kb insert into YIp5, a URA3containing plasmid that must be integrated into the yeast genome to be maintained (12). The resulting construct was digested within the insert to direct integration and then transformed into a ura3 his4 strain. These events placed the URA3 gene adjacent to the cloned locus. The Ura+ strain was then crossed to a ura3 sec22-3 mutant. The diploid was sporulated, and the Ts' and Ura+ markers were found to cosegregate in 15 of 15 tetrads. This finding indicates that the cloned DNA contains the SEC22 structural gene. Further subcloning defined a 2.8-kb fragment and a 1.8-kb fragment (Fig. 1A and B) capable of full complementation. Digestion of the unique NcoI site followed by end filling and ligation resulted in a loss of complementing activity, defining this site as internal to the gene (Fig. 1E). DNA sequence analysis identified one open reading frame (of 0.64 kb) spanning this site, which is predicted to encode a 25-kDa protein. A comparison of this sequence with others in the National Biomedical Research Foundation Library data base revealed that SEC22 is identical to SLY2 (suppressor of loss of YPT1 function). SLY2 was identified as a gene whose overproduction enables yeast cells to survive in the absence of the essential ras-like Yptl protein (3, 4), which is required for ER-to-Golgi transport (1, 10, 11). SEC22 interacts genetically with BET] and BOSJ, two other genes required for ER-to-Golgi transport (7). To identify additional genetic interactions, one member of each complementation group of sec and bet mutants that block ER-to-Golgi transport was transformed with the SEC22 gene
Phylogenetic analysis of Culicoides species from France based on nuclear ITS1‐rDNA sequences

Abstract. Biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) play important roles in the transmission of viral diseases affecting wild and domestic ruminants and horses, including Bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS) respectively. In southern Europe, BT has been largely transmitted by the classical Afro‐Asian vector Culicoides imicola Kieffer. However, other species such as C. obsoletus Meigen, C. scoticus Downs & Kettle and C. pulicaris Linné may also be involved in BTV transmission. As a consequence of the discovery of C. imicola followed by BTV‐2 outbreaks on the island of Corsica in October 2000, further studies on these biting midges have been carried out. To better characterize the evolution and phylogenetic relations of Culicoides, molecular analysis in parallel with a morphology‐based taxonomic approach were performed. Phylogenetic analyses of French Culicoides species were undertaken using the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) as a molecular target. This region was shown to be useful in understanding evolutionary and genetic relationships between species. Construction of several trees showed that molecular phylogeny within the genus Culicoides correlates not only with morphological‐based taxonomy but also with ecological patterns.
Reducing Binge Drinking in Adolescents through Implementation of the Strategic Prevention Framework.

The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a conceptual model that supports coalition-driven efforts to address underage drinking and related consequences. Although the SPF has been promoted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and implemented in multiple U.S. states and territories, there is limited research on the SPF's effectiveness on improving targeted outcomes and associated influencing factors. The present quasi-experimental study examines the effects of SPF implementation on binge drinking and enforcement of existing underage drinking laws as an influencing factor. The intervention group encompassed 11 school districts that were implementing the SPF with local prevention coalitions across eight Kansas communities. The comparison group consisted of 14 school districts that were matched based on demographic variables. The intervention districts collectively facilitated 137 community-level changes, including new or modified programs, policies, and practices. SPF implementation supported significant improvements in binge drinking and enforcement outcomes over time (p < .001), although there were no significant differences in improvements between the intervention and matched comparison groups (p > .05). Overall, the findings provide a basis for guiding future research and community-based prevention practice in implementing and evaluating the SPF.
The Gender Gap in Early Career in Mongolia

Relatively little is known about the youth labour market in general and about gender differences in Mongolia, one of the fifty poorest countries in the world. This paper addresses the issue by taking advantage of a School to Work Survey (SWTS) on young people aged 15-29 years carried out in 2006. On average, female wages are not lower than those of males. However, women have a much higher average educational level than men: in fact, although not statistically significant among teenagers (15-19), the conditional gender gap becomes significant and sizeable for the over-20. The Juhn, Murphy and Pierce (1993) decomposition confirms that, if wages were paid equally, women should have 11.7% more considering only their educational advantage and overall 22% more, a substantial gap for the low earnings of Mongolians.
Political Learning Through Entertainment - Only an Illusion?

The purpose of this study is to explain viewers’ entertainment and feelings of being informed when watching political talk shows on German TV, depending on their viewing motivations. First, an exploratory survey (N = 189) aims to identify the motivation. Results show that some participants had a strong interest in gaining political information by following such shows, while others simply watch them for entertainment purposes. Drawing on the concept of infotainment as well as on the elaboration likelihood model as a basis for entertainment and the feeling of being informed, four hypotheses are then tested in a 2 × 2 (focus on entertaining features versus focus on information × talk show containing a video clip versus talk show containing no video clip) experiment with 63 subjects. The results suggest that people felt better informed and were more entertained through political talk shows when watching them with a focus on entertaining features rather than with a focus on information. However, whether a talk.
Minimal clinically important rehabilitation effects in patients with osteoarthritis of the lower extremities.

OBJECTIVE To estimate minimal clinically important differences (MCID) of effects measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the lower extremities undergoing a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation intervention. METHODS A prospective cohort study assessed patients' health by the WOMAC at baseline (entry into the clinic) and at the 3 month followup, and by a transition questionnaire asking about the change of "health in general related to the OA joint" during that time period. The WOMAC section score differences between the "equal" group and the "slightly better" and "slightly worse" groups resulted in the MCID for improvement and for worsening. RESULTS In total 192 patients were followed up. The MCID for improvement ranged from 0.80 to 1.01 points on the continuous WOMAC numerical rating scale from 0 to 10, reflecting changes of 17 to 22% of baseline scores. The MCID for worsening conditions ranged from 0.29 (6%) to 1.03 points (22%). In the transition reply subjectively unchanged patients reported a "pessimistic bias" of 0.35 to 0.51 points, except for the stiffness section. Both MCID and pessimistic bias showed regression to the mean and baseline dependency. CONCLUSION The assessment of MCID using the transition method is a heuristic and valid strategy to detect particular rehabilitation effects in patients with OA of the lower extremities with the use of the WOMAC, and it is worth implementing. The size of the MCID and of the systematic bias is comparable to that assessed by other methods and in other therapeutic settings.
Multi-factor analysis of texture and color-texture features for robust hand detection in non-ideal conditions

Present paper explores gray-level texture features and their extension to color spaces to check their robustness and feasibility in hand detection system. A bare hand detection is affected by uneven illumination, skin tone variation, affine distortions, position variation, complex background, etc., which also effects the performance of features as well as learning ability of classifiers. Despite all, making gestures using bare hand comes naturally to humans as compared to any input devices such as red-markers, data-glove, and 3D cameras etc. In this system, three texture features, namely, gray-level histogram, R-HoG, Gabor feature and three color-texture features, namely, color based HSV histogram, color R-HoG, and color Gabor, are explored using Naive Bayes (Probabilistic view), Euclidean and Chebyshev distance (Proximity view) and Gentle, Modest and Real AdaBoost (Boosting algorithm). The features are extracted from three images resolutions, 50×50 pixels, 100×100 pixels and 200×200 pixels, to analyze the effect of resolution on the features. Database are self-collected and validated using Cohen's Kappa test. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based pairwise comparison among features and classifiers is performed to rank them based on performance and weightage of their performance w.r. t each other. Experimental results suggest that performance of all color-texture features are better than their respective texture features. However, the most robust combination is observed to be of color-HoG feature for Modest AdaBoost classifier.
Dream Recall Frequency in a Representative German Sample

The present study investigated the effects of sociodemographic variables on dream recall frequencies in a representative sample of 931 persons over 14 years of age. Analyses indicated that age, sex, and the size of the place of residence had small but significant effects: women and inhabitants of large cities tend to report dreams more often than men and residents of small towns. There was also a decline in dream-recall frequency with age. The explained variance, however, was small.
Evolutionary Origins of Human Alcoholism in Primate Frugivory

Evolutionary origins of alcohol consumption have rarely been considered in studies of ethanol addiction. However, the occurrence of ethanol in ripe and decaying fruit and the substantial heritability of alcoholism in humans suggest an important historical association between primate frugivory and alcohol consumption. Olfactory localization of ripe fruit via volatilized alcohols, the use of ethanol as an appetitive stimulant, and the consumption of fruits with substantial ethanol content potentially characterize all frugivorous primates, including hominoids and the lineage leading to modern humans. Patterns of alcohol use by humans in contemporary environments may thus reflect a maladaptive co-option of ancestral nutritional strategies. Although diverse factors contribute to the expression of alcoholism as a clinical syndrome, historical selection for the consumption of ethanol in the course of frugivory can be viewed as a subtle yet pervasive evolutionary influence on modern humans.