Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic variants in BCMO1 and CD36 are associated with plasma lutein concentrations and macular pigment optical density in humans

Abstract Lutein is recovered at high concentration in the human macula lutea. Recent studies suggest that this micronutrient might be implicated in prevention of age-related macular degeneration. Objective. To identify genes which affect blood and retina lutein concentrations among candidate genes (intestinal sterol transporters and carotenoid oxygenases). Design. A comparative plus an observational study. Participants. Twenty-nine healthy subjects for the comparative study and 622 subjects for the observational study. Intervention and methods. All the participants were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidate genes. Fasting plasma lutein concentrations were measured in all the participants and after 6 months' supplementation, with either a lutein-rich supplement or a placebo, in the 29 subjects who participated in the comparative study. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD), which is a measure of macula concentration of lutein, was measured before and after the dietary intervention in the 29 subjects. Associations between SNPs and plasma lutein and MPOD were assessed by partial least square (PLS) regression followed by univariate analysis. Observed associations between SNPs and plasma lutein were verified by haplotype-based association analysis in the cohort of 622 subjects. Main outcome measures. Plasma lutein levels and MPOD. Results. Six SNPs in four genes (ABCG8, BCMO1, CD36, and NPC1L1) explained 25% and 38% of the plasma and MPOD variance, respectively. Subjects with TT at the BCMO1 rs7501331 locus had lower (P < 0.05) plasma lutein than CT subjects. Subjects with CC at the CD36 rs13230419 locus had lower (P < 0.05) plasma lutein than subjects who carried a T allele. The association between CD36 and plasma lutein was confirmed in the cohort of 622 subjects. Subjects with TT at the BCMO1 rs7501331 locus had a higher (P < 0.05) MPOD, and subjects with GG at rs1761667 CD36 locus had a higher (P < 0.05) MPOD than those with an A allele. Conclusions. These results suggest that BCMO1 and CD36 are implicated in plasma and retina concentrations of lutein and that genetic variants in these genes can modulate blood and retina concentrations of lutein.
Differential expression of mast cell growth factor receptor (c‐kit) by peritoneal connective tissue‐type mast cells and tissue culture‐derived mast cells

The peritoneal cavity of the mouse is a major source of connective tissue‐type mast cells (CTMCs). Flow cytometric analysis using biotinylated recombinant murine mast cell growth factor (rMuMGF) showed that 1 to 3% of the cells in the peritoneal cavity exhibited MGF receptor (MGFR) (or c‐kit). CTMCs were the only cell types expressing MGFR in the peritoneal cavity, and every one of them expressed MGFR. More than half the peritoneal CTMCs retained the potential to proliferate in the presence of recombinant murine interleukin 3 (rMuIL‐3), rMuIL‐4, and rMuMGF and gave rise to pure, alcian blue‐positive “mast cells,” which actively expressed c‐kit transcripts and MGFR. Flow cytometric analysis and receptor assay carried out at 4° showed that the number of MGFRs on culture‐derived mast cells (CDMCs) was one‐third that of peritoneal CTMCs (6 104 vs. 1.8 105 MGFR/cell). At 37°, the total number of membrane MGFRs detected in CDMC was two to three times more than that detected at 4°, indicating that nearly 70% of total MGFR in CDMCs, compared with only 40% in peritoneal CTMCs, existed as “cryptic sites” unable to interact with exogenous ligand at 4°. Thus, diminished expression of MGFR is one of the phenotypic characteristics associated with CDMCs. J. Leukoc. Biol. 55: 596–602; 1994.
Melanin Pigment Containing Cellsin the Capsule of the Adrenal of the Goat

A histological study of 24 adrenal glands, collected fresh from a local abattoir demonstrated the presence of melanin pigment cells among the capsular cells of these organs. These tissues were compared with those of cow, sheep, horse, donkey, camel and human adrcnals in whiich no melanin containing cells were found.
Clot formation in canine whole blood as measured by rotational thromboelastometry is influenced by sample handling and coagulation activator

The objective of the present study was to systematically evaluate the impact of methodology on thromboelastometry with canine whole blood. Thromboelastometry was performed on citrated blood using a variety of combinations of clotting activators [ex-tem (tissue factor or TF), in-tem (ellagic acid), diluted TF from Innovin, or Ca (recalcification only)] and storage times. Thromboelastometry was also performed using diluted TF from Innovin on blood collected into a contact inhibitor. Ex-vivo contact activation was compared between canine and human blood. Clotting activator had a marked impact on coagulation time, a minor impact on alpha angle, and no impact on clot formation time or maximum clot firmness. When ex-tem or in-tem was the clotting activator, sample storage up to 30 min did not affect results. With diluted TF from Innovin or Ca, sample storage was associated with the development of increased coagulability (as indicated by shorter coagulation time and clot formation time and higher alpha angle) due to ex-vivo contact activation. Canine blood underwent markedly more ex-vivo contact activation than did human blood. Canine blood undergoes significant ex-vivo contact activation during and after collection, which influences thromboelastometry results when a weak clotting activator (such as low TF or recalcification) is used. Thromboelastometry with a strong activator (such as ex-tem or in-tem) is less influenced by ex-vivo changes, and, therefore, likely to be more reflective of in-vivo hemostatic capabilities and to provide consistently interpretable and comparable results.
The microvasculature of the meniscus and its response to injury

The normal vascular anatomy of the menisci was inves tigated in five dogs by histology and tissue-clearing (Spalteholz) techniques. The vessels were found to originate in the perimeniscal capsular and synovial tis sues and penetrate the peripheral 25% of the meniscal tissues. The vascular response to complete midportion transection of the medial meniscus was evaluated in 15 dogs. This response originated from the peripheral synovial tissues and completely healed the lesion with fibrovascular scar tissue by 10 weeks. Longitudinal incisions in the avascular portion of the meniscus failed to heal. However, when these lesions were connected to the peripheral synovial tissues at their midportion by a vascular access channel, the entire lesion was healed with fibrovascular scar by 10 weeks.
Sequential Tests for Noninferiority and Superiority

Summary. The problem of simultaneous sequential tests for noninferiority and superiority of a treatment, as compared to an active control, is considered in terms of continuous hierarchical families of one‐sided null hypotheses, in the framework of group sequential and adaptive two‐stage designs. The crucial point is that the decision boundaries for the individual null hypotheses may vary over the parameter space. This allows one to construct designs where, e.g., a rigid stopping criterion is chosen, rejecting or accepting all individual null hypotheses simultaneously. Another possibility is to use monitoring type stopping boundaries, which leave some flexibility to the experimenter: he can decide, at the interim analysis, whether he is satisfied with the noninferiority margin achieved at this stage, or wants to go for more at the second stage. In the case where he proceeds to the second stage, he may perform midtrial design modifications (e.g., reassess the sample size). The proposed approach allows one to “spend,” e.g., less of α for an early proof of noninferiority than for an early proof of superiority, and is illustrated by typical examples.
HYDROTHERMAL AGEING OF TETRAGONAL ZIRCONIA CERAMICS

The effect of hydrothermal treatment on the phase stability, microstructure and mechanical properties of tetragonal zirconia ceramics stabilized with 3 mol%yttria was studied. At temperatures of 140-260°C the tetragonal phase transformed into monoclinic zirconia. The degree of transformation increased with increasing temperature and time of ageing. Changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties were observed for the samples used at temperatures of 180°C and higher. The thickness of transformed layer increased with increasing temperature and at 260°C it reached a thickness of 170 μm after 10 hours. The changes in mechanical properties (hardness and fracture toughness) corresponded to the structural changes in the material caused by hydrothermal ageing. Temperatures of 180°C and higher were critical for the mechanical and structural properties of the material.
Medication Regimen Complexity and Hospital Readmission for an Adverse Drug Event

Background: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are costly, dangerous, and often preventable. Little is known about the link between medication regimen complexity and rehospitalization as a result of an ADE. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare admission and discharge medication regimen complexity in 2 cohorts: patients readmitted for an ADE within 30 days and patients not readmitted for an ADE. Methods: The study used a retrospective parallel-group case-control design. Participants from 4 urban acute care hospitals were included in the revisit cohort if they were rehospitalized within 30 days as a result of an adverse event coded as accidental poisoning. The no-revisit cohort was formed by randomly sampling patients with the same disease classification codes as the revisit group but without history of a readmission within 30 days. Complexity of medication regimens at the initial admission and discharge was quantified with the medication regimen complexity index (MRCI). Results: The revisit group comprised 92 individuals and the no-revisit group, 228. The revisit group had a significantly higher MRCI score at admission and discharge than the no-revisit group (all P < .005). Receiver operating characteristic curves, used to determine a potential MRCI cutoff score for risk of an ADE, revealed MRCI scores of 8 or greater to optimally predict increased risk for readmission caused by an ADE. Conclusions: Complex medication regimens at hospital admission are predictive of rehospitalizations for ADEs. This finding suggests that medication regimen complexity be considered as a target for interventions to decrease the risk for readmission.
Gabapentin loses efficacy over time after nerve injury in rats: role of glutamate transporter-1 in the locus coeruleus

Abstract Despite being one of the first-choice analgesics for chronic neuropathic pain, gabapentin sometimes fails to provide analgesia, but the mechanisms for this lack of efficacy is unclear. Rats with nerve injury including L5-L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) respond uniformly and well to gabapentin, but many of these studies are performed within just a few weeks of injury, questioning their relevance to chronic neuropathic pain. In this study, intraperitoneal gabapentin showed a time-dependently reduction in antihypersensitivity after SNL, associated with downregulation of astroglial glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) in the locus coeruleus (LC). Consistently, SNL also time-dependently increased basal but masked gabapentin-induced noradrenergic neuronal activity in the LC. In rats 2 weeks after SNL, knock-down of GLT-1 in the LC reduced the antihypersensitivity effect of gabapentin. In rats 8 weeks after SNL, increasing GLT-1 expression by histone deacetylase inhibitor valproate restored the antihypersensitivity effect of gabapentin, associated with restored gabapentin-induced noradrenergic neuronal activity in the LC and subsequent spinal noradrenaline release. Knock-down of GLT-1 in the LC reversed the effect of valproate to restore gabapentin-induced antihypersensitivity. In addition, the antihypersensitivity effect of the intrathecal &agr;2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine also decreased with time after SNL injury. These results suggest that downregulation of GLT-1 in the LC and reduced spinal noradrenergic inhibition contribute to impaired analgesic efficacy from gabapentin in chronic neuropathic pain and that valproate can rescue this impaired efficacy.
La nature et la formation des métaux selon Agricola et ses contemporains

RESUME. — Comment les idees d'Agricola sur la nature des metaux et leur origine reagissent-elles contre les theories plus anciennes, et comment furent-elles accueillies par ses contemporains ? Aux six metaux traditionnels d'Aristote, Agricola ajoute mercure, antimoine et bismuth, et il modifie en consequence la definition du metal. De meme, il transforme la theorie aristotelicienne de la double exhalaison d'apres ses observations des gites metalliferes et presente les metaux comme des sucs congeles, faits d'eau et de terre. Il rejette les idees alchimiques d'Avicenne, d'Ibn Juljul, d'Albert le Grand et du Bergbuchlein. Ses attaques contre Aristote susciteront de vives reactions, mais sa critique de l'alchimie sera reprise et amplifiee.
Functionalities of expressed messenger RNAs revealed from mutant phenotypes

Total messenger RNAs mRNAs that are produced from a given gene under a certain set of conditions include both functional and nonfunctional transcripts. The high prevalence of nonfunctional mRNAs that have been detected in cells has raised questions regarding the functional implications of mRNA expression patterns and divergences. Phenotypes that result from the mutagenesis of protein‐coding genes have provided the most straightforward descriptions of gene functions, and such data obtained from model organisms have facilitated investigations of the functionalities of expressed mRNAs. Mutant phenotype data from mouse tissues have revealed various attributes of functional mRNAs, including tissue‐specificity, strength of expression, and evolutionary conservation. In addition, the role that mRNA expression evolution plays in driving morphological evolution has been revealed from studies designed to exploit morphological and physiological phenotypes of mouse mutants. Investigations into yeast essential genes (defined by an absence of colony growth after gene deletion) have further described gene regulatory strategies that reduce protein expression noise by mediating the rates of transcription and translation. In addition to the functional significance of expressed mRNAs as described in the abovementioned findings, the functionalities of other type of RNAs (i.e., noncoding RNAs) remain to be characterized with systematic mutations and phenotyping of the DNA regions that encode these RNA molecules. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:416–427. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1329
Analyse et évaluation de l’argumentation dans l’analyse critique du discours (CDA) : délibération et dialectique des Lumières

Cet article represente le developpement de notre recent travail sur le discours politique, centre sur les reactions politiques a l’actuelle crise financiere et economique en Grande-Bretagne. Considerant le discours politique comme dote d’un caractere essentiellement argumentatif, et plus specifiquement comme une forme d’argumentation et de deliberation pratiques, nous soutenons qu’une analyse critique de ce discours appelle a integrer la theorie et l’analyse de l’argumentation a la version de l’analyse critique du discours (CDA) avec laquelle nous travaillons. La presentation de cette version de la CDA, et de notre approche de l’analyse et de l’evaluation de l’argumentation et de la deliberation pratiques, est suivie d’une illustration de la demarche. Celle-ci se refere a une partie du discours sur le Budget prononce en juin 2010 par Georges Osborne, Chancelier de l’Echiquier du gouvernement britannique de coalition entre conservateurs et liberaux democrates, et a la mise en cause critique de la strategie d’austerite du gouvernement qui eu lieu dans le debat public, particulierement dans les media. Dans la derniere partie de cet article, nous avancons que notre approche innovatrice de l’analyse et de l’evaluation de l’argumentation et de la deliberation pratiques contribue de maniere particulierement efficace a promouvoir l’objectif de la CDA : etendre au discours les formes de critique repandues dans le champ de la theorie sociale critique. Nous nous appuyons pour ce faire sur les debats qui traitent des rapports entre critique et rationalite. Nous posons que l’approche normative que nous adoptons est necessaire pour integrer l’analyse du discours argumentatif a la critique, et que notre demarche est en parfait accord avec les objectifs de la theorie critique, du moins tels que Habermas les concoit.
English as a lingua franca and globalization: an interconnected perspective

It is increasingly acknowledged in applied linguistics that non-native speakersof English outnumber native speakers. This article reflects on the continuedmomentum of the debate regarding English as a lingua franca (ELF) with aview to situating the discussion within a broader framework than has beenthe case hitherto. The article considers the current situation in light of theoreticalpositions on globalization, aligning the key voices in ELF with current viewson the sociopolitical world order as embodied by various means of conceptualiz-ing globalization. The discussion proposes that adopting a
Optical properties of dissolved organic matter relate to different depth‐specific patterns of archaeal and bacterial community structure in the North Atlantic Ocean

ABSTRACT Prokaryotic abundance, activity and community composition were studied in the euphotic, intermediate and deep waters off the Galician coast (NW Iberian margin) in relation to the optical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Microbial (archaeal and bacterial) community structure was vertically stratified. Among the Archaea, Euryarchaeota, especially Thermoplasmata, was dominant in the intermediate waters and decreased with depth, whereas marine Thaumarchaeota, especially Marine Group I, was the most abundant archaeal phylum in the deeper layers. The bacterial community was dominated by Proteobacteria through the whole water column. However, Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes occurrence was considerable in the upper layer and SAR202 was dominant in deep waters. Microbial composition and abundance were not shaped by the quantity of dissolved organic carbon, but instead they revealed a strong connection with the DOM quality. Archaeal communities were mainly related to the fluorescence of DOM (which indicates respiration of labile DOM and generation of refractory subproducts), while bacterial communities were mainly linked to the aromaticity/age of the DOM produced along the water column. Taken together, our results indicate that the microbial community composition is associated with the DOM composition of the water masses, suggesting that distinct microbial taxa have the potential to use and/or produce specific DOM compounds. &NA; Graphical Abstract Figure. Optical properties of the DOM shaping microbial communities in the North Atlantic.
Importance of surgical resection in the successful management of soft tissue sarcoma.

HYPOTHESIS A systemic disease-free state necessitates a local disease-free state. This cannot be accomplished without a properly performed resection by an experienced surgical team. Successful local management of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) may lead to improved disease-free survival. An STS treatment protocol using wide local excision followed by radiation therapy is effective in achieving local tumor control and survival similar to that of multiple-modality regimens, but with lower morbidity. DESIGN Retrospective cohort review (August 1, 1987, to May 6, 1998). SETTING Referral to a single musculoskeletal oncologic surgeon, with surgery performed at a tertiary care medical center in a large urban area. PATIENTS Ninety patients with STS of the trunk or extremities. INTERVENTIONS Preoperative evaluation included surveillance computed tomographic scan of the chest, magnetic resonance imaging of primary site to assess tumor extent and to plan the surgical approach, and angiography if vascular bypass was proposed. Wide local excision of tumor was performed, with concomitant vascular bypass and/or complex plastic reconstruction as needed. Postoperative radiation therapy was given in most patients. Adjuvant chemotherapy was used selectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Morbidity, local recurrence rates, and survival. RESULTS Histologically negative margins were obtained in 89 (99%) of 90 patients; 86 (96%) remained free of local disease at follow-up. Five patients died of systemic metastatic disease. CONCLUSION Excellent local control obtained with aggressive, appropriate surgery followed by radiation therapy in most patients and chemotherapy in only selective high-risk patients leads to excellent survival, with low morbidity and good functional outcome.
Female Students' Experiences in an Old Testament Bible Course at a Christian University

Female Students’ Experiences in an Old Testament Bible Course at a Christian University by Janet K. Puls M.S.W. , Saint Louis University, 1999 B.A., Maryville University, 1997 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University February 2011
Effect of different doses of dietary calcium on murine colonic cell proliferation

One-hundred and twenty 6-week-old 257BL/65 mice were fed for 2 or 7 weeks with diets supplemented with different combinations of bile acids and calcium. The effect of calcium, bile acids and the duration of these treatments on proliferative indices of the colonic mucosa was studied with a multiway analysis of variance. In mice not treated with bile acids, a low level (0.1%) of calcium in the diet was related to a significantly higher number of cells in each compartment of the crypt, compared with diets supplemented with 0.5 and 1% calcium (P < 0.01). There was no difference between the groups fed with normal and high calcium diets. Bile acids significantly increased proliferative indices in all animal groups whatever the duration of the treatment; however, this effect was significantly lower in the mice fed with 0.5% and 1% calcium than in those fed with 0.1% calcium (P < 0.01). There was a significant interaction between the effect of bile acids and the effect of calcium regarding the number of labeled cells and the labeling indices. Duration of the treatment had little effect on these indices. The effect of bile acids on colonic proliferative activity could be significantly reduced by calcium supplementation, and this effect was stable with time. Although there was no toxic effect of the highest calcium diet, there was no advantage in increasing the calcium dose beyond 0.5%.
Dynamic connectivity among cortical layers in local and large‐scale sensory processing

Cortical processing of sensory stimuli typically recruits multiple areas, but how each area dynamically incorporates activity from other areas is not well understood. We investigated interactions between cortical columns of bilateral primary sensory regions (S1s) in rats by recording local field potentials and multi‐unit activity simultaneously in both S1s with electrodes positioned at each cortical layer. Using dynamic connectivity analysis based on Granger‐causal modeling, we found that, shortly after whisker stimulation (< 10 ms), contralateral S1 (cS1) already relays activity to granular and infragranular layers of S1 in the other hemisphere, after which cS1 shows a pattern of within‐column interactions that directs activity upwards toward superficial layers. This pattern of predominant upward driving was also observed in S1 ipsilateral to stimulation, but at longer latencies. In addition, we found that interactions between the two S1s most strongly target granular and infragranular layers. Taken together, the results suggest a possible mechanism for how cortical columns integrate local and large‐scale neocortical computation by relaying information from deeper layers to local processing in superficial layers.