Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploratory Behavior Correlates with Social Organization and Is Responsive to Peptide Injections in Prairie Voles

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are small rodents from the midwestern United States. Field and laboratory data from prairie voles captured in east-central Illinois (ILL) suggested that these animals are both monogamous and communal. ' However, field studies from a more arid habitat in Kansas (KAN) generally did not support the assumption that prairie voles are monogamous; it was suggested that prairie voles from KAN are polygynous,2 and the recent work of Roberts et aL3 indicated that KAN voles are less likely to show the characteristics of communal mammals. We hypothesized that more polygynous animals would be more active in a novel setting than would voles that are monogamous and/or communal, possibly reflecting adaptations by the more polygynous animals to facilitate dispersal from the family and access to potential mates. In Experiment 1, exploratory behavior in an open field (60 cm2 apparatus divided into 10 cm units) was compared in male and female prairie voles from the F3 generation of animals originally captured in ILL or KAN. All subjects were reared in the laboratory under comparable conditions until adulthood. KAN females were significantly more active than ILL females, while differences in open field activity between KAN and ILL males were not significant. In Experiment 2, KAN and ILL voles were compared in an elevated plus maze, which is considered a more sensitive index of responsivity to novelty (see ref: for maze parameters). During a 300-second test, general activity and exploration of the open arms of the maze were higher in KAN versus ILL voles (FIG. 1A) Hybrid crosses between ILL and KAN animals showed an intermediate level of exploration. Previous work with male ILL prairie voles implicated the behaviorally active neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the induction of selective aggression and in the development of preferences for a familiar ~ a r t n e r . ~ In other species, AVP treatments are associated with increased arousal and activity. Arginine vasopressin also is an antidiuretic hormone. We hypothesized that the high levels of exploratory behavior in KAN voles might reflect CNS adaptations to a more arid habitat, possibly mediated by increased secretion of and/or sensitivity to AVP. In Experiment 3, we examined the hypothesis that centrally administered (icv) injections of AVP (100 ng) would increase exploratory behavior. Because KAN prairie voles are already highly exploratory, we elected to examine the effects of
Programmed death-1 checkpoint blockade in acute myeloid leukemia

Introduction: Immune checkpoints are regulatory pathways induced in activated T lymphocytes that regulate antigen responsiveness. These immune checkpoints are hijacked by tumors to promote dysfunction of anti-tumor effector cells and consequently of tumor escape from the host immune system. Areas covered: Programmed death-1/programmed death ligand (PD-1/PDL-1), a checkpoint pathway, has been extensively investigated in leukemia mouse models. Expression of PD-1 on the surface of activated immune cells and of its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, on leukemic blasts has been documented. Clinical trials with PD-1 inhibitors in patients with hematological malignancies are ongoing with promising clinical responses. Expert opinion: Therapy of hematological cancers with antibodies blocking inhibitory receptors is expected to be highly clinically effective. Checkpoint inhibitory receptors and their ligands are co-expressed on hematopoietic cells found in the leukemic milieu. Several distinct immunological mechanisms are likely to be engaged by antibody-based checkpoint blockade. Co-expression of multiple inhibitory receptors on hematopoietic cells offers an opportunity for combining blocking antibodies to achieve more effective therapy. Up-regulation of receptor/ligand expression in the leukemic milieu may provide a blood marker predictive of response. Finally, chemotherapy-induced up-regulation of PD-1 on T cells after conventional leukemia therapy creates a solid rationale for application of checkpoint blockade as a follow-up therapy.
Blood pressure screening, management and control in England: results from the health survey for England 1994

Objective To assess the current levels of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in England and to determine the number and type of drugs prescribed. Design A cross-sectional household-based survey of English adults. Subjects A random sample from the adult English population of 12 116 adults who participated in the 1994 Health Survey for England. Main outcome measures Prevalences of treatment hypertension, awareness and control. Results Using a definition of hypertension as a systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure ≥ 95 mmHg, or a patient's being administered antihypertensive treatment, the prevalence of awareness of hypertension was 63%. Among hypertensives, 50% were receiving treatment and 30% had their hypertension controlled (< 160 mmHg/95 mmHg). Awareness, treatment and control rates are considerably lower than the most recently reported rates from the USA. Diuretics and β-blockers remain the most common antihypertensive agents used in England. Conclusion There is considerable scope for improving the treatment and control of hypertension in the English adult population.
The CBM Complex Underwrites NF-κB Activation to Promote HER2-Associated Tumor Malignancy

The HER2/Neu protein is overexpressed in a large fraction of human breast cancers. NF-κB is one of several transcription factors that are aberrantly activated in HER2-positive breast cancers; however, the molecular mechanism by which HER2 activates NF-κB remains unclear. The CARMA3–BCL10–MALT1 (CBM) complex is required for GPCR- and EGFR-induced NF-κB activation. In the current study, the role of the CBM complex in HER2-mediated NF-κB activation and HER2-positive breast cancer was investigated. Interestingly, HER2-mediated NF-κB activation requires protein kinase C (PKC) activity rather than AKT activity. Using biochemical and genetic approaches, it was shown that the CBM complex is required for HER2-induced NF-κB activation and functionally contributes to multiple properties of malignancy, such as proliferation, avoidance of apoptosis, migration, and invasion, both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CARMA3-mediated NF-κB activity was required for the upregulation of two matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), MMP1 and MMP13, both of which contribute to tumor metastasis. To further access the physiologic role of CBM complex-mediated NF-κB activation in HER2-positive breast cancer progression, Malt1 knockout mice (Malt1−/−) were crossed with MMTV-Neu mice, in which mammary tumors spontaneously developed with HER2 overexpression. We observed delayed onset and prolonged progression time in mammary tumors in Malt1 knockout mice compared with control mice. In summary, these data demonstrate that the CBM complex is a crucial component mediating HER2-induced NF-κB signaling and tumor malignancy in HER2-positive breast cancer. Implications: The CBM complex bridges key signaling pathways to confer malignant phenotypes and metastatic potential in HER2-associated breast cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 14(1); 93–102. ©2015 AACR.
Corporate Social Responsibility and the Market Pricing of Corporate Earnings

Does a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance relate to the market pricing of its earnings? While prior CSR research has studied benefits of CSR activities from a managerial reporting and analyst perspectives, we focus on an investor behavior perspective. Briefly, motivated by the CSR literature’s assertion that the higher the CSR performance the higher is the company’s adherence to the spirit of the law and ethical standards and the finding in the accounting literature that CSR activities are negatively related to earnings management, we examine whether a firm’s CSR performance is associated with investors’ ability to more reliably price earnings news. We find in a short window around earnings announcements higher abnormal stock returns sensitivity to earnings surprises and higher abnormal trading volumes for firms with higher CSR activities. We also find that the well-known post-earnings announcement drift decreases in CSR performance. These findings are distinct from the previously documented corporate governance effect, robust to various measures of earnings surprises, abnormal returns, and CSR performance, and hold for a battery of validity checks that considers a possible endogeneity problem, and a variety of alternative explanations.
Ureterorenoscopy with holmium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet fragmentation is a safe and efficient technique for stone treatment in patients with a body mass index superior to 30 kg/m2.

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to analyze results and morbidity after flexible ureterorenoscopy in patients with a body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m(2) and to compare with results obtained in a large cohort of nonobese patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a retrospective study including all flexible ureterorenoscopy performed for stone retrieval in our institution between January 2004 and December 2008. During the study period, 224 procedures were performed, of which 18 had to be excluded because of missing BMI data. Thus, a total of 206 procedures were included in the final analysis (34 in 29 obese patients, 172 in 149 nonobese patients). Characteristics of the patients (age, BMI, previous treatment), stones (nature, location, number), and procedures (operating time, morbidity, outcome) were analyzed. Success was defined as clear imaging (completely stone free) on renal tomography and ultrasonography at 1, 3, and 6 months follow-up. RESULTS Mean BMI was 34±0.6 kg/m(2) in obese patients (OP) and 24±0.2 kg/m(2) in nonobese patients (NOP). Mean stone size, location, and composition were not significantly different between groups. Operative time was also similar in OP and NOP (102.5±6.1 min vs 103±3.4 min, P=NS). The rate of minor complications (fever, hematuria, flank pain) was similar in OP (11.8%) and NOP (11.4%). No major complication necessitating prolonged hospital stay or new surgical procedure was observed. The overall stone-free rate was not significantly different between OP (79.4%) and NOP (70%). CONCLUSION Flexible ureterorenoscopy is an appropriate treatment for use in obese patients and achieves excellent stone-free rates with low morbidity.
Culture-Independent Molecular Subtyping of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Clinical Samples

ABSTRACT A new molecular subtyping approach was developed which is based on the amplification and sequencing of a repetitive region of the P1 gene of Mycoplasma pneumoniae. It allows the differentiation of all known subtypes and variants of M. pneumoniae as well as the identification of new subtypes directly in clinical samples to characterize endemic and epidemic M. pneumoniae infections.
Bafilomycin A1 Inhibits Chloroquine-Induced Death of Cerebellar Granule Neurons

Treatment of cells with the macrolide antibiotic bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of vacuolar (V)-ATPase, or with the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine, has been shown to pharmacologically inhibit autophagy as evidenced by an accumulation of autophagosomes, which in turn causes Bax-dependent apoptosis. However, bafilomycin A1 has also been reported to inhibit chloroquine-induced apoptosis, suggesting a complex interrelationship between these two inhibitors of autophagy. To determine whether the cytoprotective effect of bafilomycin A1 on chloroquine-treated cells was dependent on inhibition of V-ATPase, we examined the single and combined effects of bafilomycin and chloroquine on cultured cerebellar granule neurons. When added separately, chloroquine or high concentrations of bafilomycin A1 (≥10 nM) induced a dose-dependent inhibition of autophagy (as measured by an increase in LC3-II, a marker specific for autophagosomes), followed by caspase-3 activation and cell death. When added in combination, bafilomycin A1 potently inhibited chloroquine-induced caspase-3 activity and cell death at concentrations (≤1 nM) that neither altered vacuolar acidification nor inhibited autophagy. The neuroprotective effects of bafilomycin A1 against chloroquine were substantially greater than those produced by Bax deficiency. Bafilomycin A1-induced neuroprotection seemed to be stimulus-specific, in that staurosporine-induced death was not attenuated by coaddition of bafilomycin A1. Together, these data suggest that in addition to promoting death via inhibition of V-ATPase and autophagy, bafilomycin A1 possesses novel, neuroprotective properties that inhibit Bax-dependent activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway resulting from the pharmacological inhibition of autophagy.
Modulation of cytokine production and protection against lethal endotoxemia by the cardiac glycoside ouabain.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that cytokines are capable of modulating cardiovascular function and that some drugs used in the treatment of heart failure variably modulate the production of cytokines. To examine whether cardiac glycosides also modulate cytokine production, we evaluated the effects of ouabain on the production of cytokines in vitro and in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained from healthy volunteers. PBMC were cultured with or without ouabain in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Ouabain induced the production of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in PBMC and induced mRNA of these cytokines, an induction apparently at the transcriptional level. Amiloride, staurosporin, and genistein inhibited cytokine production, and protein kinase C and tyrosine kinase appeared to be involved in the modulation of cytokine production induced by ouabain. However, when PBMC were stimulated with LPS, ouabain suppressed the production of IL-6 and TNF-alpha. To investigate whether ouabain modulates cytokine production in vivo, we evaluated the effects of ouabain in LPS-treated mice. Ouabain was found to protect against LPS-induced lethal toxicity in mice and decreased circulating IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels in vivo. CONCLUSIONS These previously unrecognized immunomodulating effects of a cardiac glycoside may explain either the beneficial or the detrimental effects of these drugs in heart failure patients.
Complexity-adjustable SC decoding of polar codes for energy consumption reduction

This study proposes an enhanced list-aided successive cancellation stack (ELSCS) decoding algorithm with adjustable decoding complexity.Also, a logarithmic likelihood ratio-threshold based path extension scheme is designed to further reduce the memory consumption of stack decoding. Numerical simulation results show that without affecting the error correction performance, the proposed ELSCS decoding algorithm provides a flexible trade-off between time complexity and computational complexity, while reducing storage space up to 70%. Based on the fact that most mobile devices operate in environments with stringent energy budget to support diverse applications, the proposed scheme is a promising candidate for meeting requirements of different applications while maintaining a low computational complexity and computing resource utilisation.
AINTEGUMENTA and AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE6 Act Redundantly to Regulate Arabidopsis Floral Growth and Patterning1[C][W][OA]

An Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) flower consists of four types of organs arranged in a stereotypical pattern. This complex floral structure is elaborated from a small number of floral meristem cells partitioned from the shoot apical meristem during reproductive development. The positioning of floral primordia within the periphery of the shoot apical meristem depends on transport of the phytohormone auxin with floral anlagen arising at sites of auxin maxima. An early marker of lateral organ fate is the AP2/ERF-type transcription factor AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), which has been proposed to act downstream of auxin in organogenic growth. Here, I show that the related, AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE6 (AIL6)/PLETHORA3 gene acts redundantly with ANT during flower development. ant ail6 double mutants show defects in floral organ positioning, identity, and growth. These floral defects are correlated with changes in the expression levels and patterns of two floral organ identity genes, APETALA3 and AGAMOUS. ant ail6 flowers also display altered expression of an auxin-responsive reporter, suggesting that auxin accumulation and/or responses are not normal. Furthermore, I show that ANT expression in incipient and young floral primordia depends on auxin transport within the inflorescence meristem. These results show that ANT and AIL6 are important regulators of floral growth and patterning and that they may act downstream of auxin in these processes.
Effects of dietary L-carnitine and coenzyme Q10 supplementation on performance and ascites mortality of broilers

The study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary L-carnitine and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on growth performance and ascites mortality of broilers. A 3 × 3 factorial arrangement was employed with three levels (0, 75 and 150 mg/kg) of L-carnitine and three levels of CoQ10 (0, 20 and 40 mg/kg) supplementation during the experiment. Five hundred and forty one-day-old Arbor Acre male broiler chicks were randomly allocated into nine groups with six replicates each. All birds were fed with the basal diets from day 1 to 7 and changed to the experimental diets from day 8. During day 15 to 21 all the birds were exposed to low ambient temperature (15 - 18°C) to induce ascites. The results showed that under this condition, growth performance of broilers were not significantly affected by CoQ10 or L-carnitine + CoQ10 supplementation during week 0 - 3 and 0 - 6, but body weight gain (BWG) of broilers was significantly reduced by 150 mg/kg L-carnitine during week 0 - 6. Packed cell volume (PCV) of broilers was significantly decreased by L-carnitine and L-carnitine + CoQ10 supplementation (P < 0.05). Erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF), ascites heart index (AHI) and ascites mortality of broilers were significantly decreased by L-carnitine, CoQ10 and L-carnitine + CoQ10 supplementation. Though no significant changes were observed in total antioxidative capability (T-AOC), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) was increased by L-carnitine, CoQ10 and L-carnitine + CoQ10 supplementation (P < 0.05). Malonaldehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased by CoQ10 and L-carnitine + CoQ10 supplementation. The results indicate that dietary L-carnitine and CoQ10 supplementation reduce ascites mortality of broilers; the reason may be partially associated with their antioxidative effects.
Epidemiology of collegiate injuries for 15 sports: summary and recommendations for injury prevention initiatives.

OBJECTIVE To summarize 16 years of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) injury surveillance data for 15 sports and to identify potential modifiable risk factors to target for injury prevention initiatives. BACKGROUND In 1982, the NCAA began collecting standardized injury and exposure data for collegiate sports through its Injury Surveillance System (ISS). This special issue reviews 182 000 injuries and slightly more than 1 million exposure records captured over a 16-year time period (1988-1989 through 2003-2004). Game and practice injuries that required medical attention and resulted in at least 1 day of time loss were included. An exposure was defined as 1 athlete participating in 1 practice or game and is expressed as an athlete-exposure (A-E). MAIN RESULTS Combining data for all sports, injury rates were statistically significantly higher in games (13.8 injuries per 1000 A-Es) than in practices (4.0 injuries per 1000 A-Es), and preseason practice injury rates (6.6 injuries per 1000 A-Es) were significantly higher than both in-season (2.3 injuries per 1000 A-Es) and postseason (1.4 injuries per 1000 A-Es) practice rates. No significant change in game or practice injury rates was noted over the 16 years. More than 50% of all injuries were to the lower extremity. Ankle ligament sprains were the most common injury over all sports, accounting for 15% of all reported injuries. Rates of concussions and anterior cruciate ligament injuries increased significantly (average annual increases of 7.0% and 1.3%, respectively) over the sample period. These trends may reflect improvements in identification of these injuries, especially for concussion, over time. Football had the highest injury rates for both practices (9.6 injuries per 1000 A-Es) and games (35.9 injuries per 1000 A-Es), whereas men's baseball had the lowest rate in practice (1.9 injuries per 1000 A-Es) and women's softball had the lowest rate in games (4.3 injuries per 1000 A-Es). RECOMMENDATIONS In general, participation in college athletics is safe, but these data indicate modifiable factors that, if addressed through injury prevention initiatives, may contribute to lower injury rates in collegiate sports.
Validation of the Technology Satisfaction Model (TSM) Developed in Higher Education: The Application of Structural Equation Modeling

This project validates the Technology Satisfaction Model (TSM) developed. While Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989) ignored the issue of computer self-efficacy and satisfaction. TSM incorporates both. While TAM is used for measuring the acceptance of technology in general; TSM examines the satisfaction on wireless internet usage with a particular focus to the students studying in Higher Education. To develop and validate the TSM, data gained through a survey conducted with 285 students studying in five faculties of a comprehensive public university in Malaysia. Quota sampling technique was used. Instrument reliability and validity were performed by Rasch analysis using Winsteps version 3.49. The results of the study were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS version 18.0. The findings showed that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had a statistically significant positive direct influence on satisfaction. Subsequently, computer self-efficacy discovered a significant positive direct influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Moreover, the results also demonstrated that computer self-efficacy had a significant indirect influence on satisfaction mediated by perceived usefulness. Eventually, computer self-efficacy also revealed a statistically significant indirect influence on satisfaction mediated by perceived ease of use of wireless internet.