Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison between transdermal nitroglycerin and sildenafil citrate in intrauterine growth restriction: effects on uterine, umbilical and fetal middle cerebral artery pulsatility indices

To evaluate the effects of transdermal nitroglycerin (GTN) and sildenafil citrate on Doppler velocity waveforms of the uterine (UtA), umbilical (UA) and fetal middle cerebral (MCA) arteries in pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Intravenous acid fibroblast growth factor protects intestinal mucosal cells against ischemia-reperfusion injury via regulating Bcl-2/Bax expression.

AIM To detect the effect of acid fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) on apoptosis and gene expression of bax and bcl-2 gene in rat intestine after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, and to explore the protective mechanisms of aFGF. METHODS One hundred and eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham-operated control group (C) (n = 6), intestinal ischemia group (I) (n = 6), aFGF treatment group (A) (n = 48) and intestinal ischemia-reperfusion group (R) (n = 48). In group I, the animals were killed after 45 min of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occlusion, while in groups R and A, the rats sustained 45 min of SMA occlusion and were then treated with normal saline and aFGF, respectively, sustained 15 min, 30 min, 1, 2, 6, 12, 24, or 48 h of reperfusion, respectively. In group C, SMA was separated, but without occlusion. Apoptosis in intestinal villus was determined with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling technique (TUNEL). Intestinal tissue samples were taken not only for detection of bax and bcl-2 gene expression by RT-PCR, but also for detection of bax and bcl-2 protein expression and distribution by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS The rat survival rates in aFGF treated group were higher than group R (P<0.05) and the improvement of intestinal histological structures was observed at 2, 6, and 12 h after the reperfusion in group A compared with group R. The apoptotic rates were (41.17+/-3.49)%, (42.83+/-5.23)% and (53.33+/-6.92)% at 2, 6 and 12 h after reperfusion, respectively in group A, apparently less than those of group R at matched time points (50.67+/-6.95, 54.17+/-7.86, 64.33+/-6.47, respectively) (P<0.05). The bax gene transcription and translation were significantly decreased in group A vs group R, while mRNA and protein contents of Bcl-2 in group A were obviously higher than those in group R during 2-12 h period after reperfusion. CONCLUSION The changes in histological structure and the increment of apoptotic rate indicated that the intestinal barrier was damaged after intestinal I/R injury, whilst intravenous aFGF could alleviate apoptosis induced by ischemia and reperfusion in rat intestinal tissues, in which genes of bax and bcl-2 might play important roles.
The Role of Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance in Securities Fraud Class Action Settlements

Because of previous data unavailability, it is unclear how important directors’ and officers’ (D&O) insurance is in securities fraud class action settlements. Using a unique data set of US D&O policies, we find that D&O insurance coverage is a less significant determinant of settlement amounts than estimated damages and proxies for the merits of cases. Limits on D&O insurance are related to settlements in only the weakest cases (those without allegations of accounting violations or institutional lead plaintiffs) where proxies for cases’ merits play a minimal role. Our findings suggest that most securities fraud class action settlements are meritorious and that accounting-related cases are a reasonable proxy for fraud.
Coral mortality induced by the 2015-2016 El-Niño in Indonesia: the effect of rapid sea level fall

The 2015–2016 El-Nino and related ocean warming has generated significant coral bleaching and mortality worldwide. In Indonesia, the first signs of bleaching were reported in April 2016. However, this El Nino has impacted Indonesian coral reefs since 2015 through a different process than temperature-induced bleaching. In September 2015, al-timetry data show that sea level was at its lowest in the past 12 years, affecting corals living in the bathymetric range exposed to unusual emersion. In March 2016, Bunaken Island (North Sulawesi) displayed up to 85 % mortality on reef flats dominated by Porites, Heliopora and Goniastrea corals with differential mortality rates by coral genus. Almost all reef flats showed evidence of mortality, representing 30 % of Bunaken reefs. For reef flat communities which were living at a depth close to the pre-El Nino mean low sea level, the fall induced substantial mortality likely by higher daily aerial exposure , at least during low tide periods. Altimetry data were used to map sea level fall throughout Indonesia, suggesting that similar mortality could be widespread for shallow reef flat communities, which accounts for a vast percent of the total extent of coral reefs in Indonesia. The altimetry historical records also suggest that such an event was not unique in the past two decades, therefore rapid sea level fall could be more important in the dynamics and resilience of Indonesian reef flat communities than previously thought. The clear link between mortality and sea level fall also calls for a refinement of the hierarchy of El Nino impacts and their consequences on coral reefs.
Hemispheric Processing of Categorical and Coordinate Spatial Relations in the Absence of Low Spatial Frequencies

Right-handed participants performed the categorical and coordinate spatial relation judgments on stimuli presented to either the left visual fieldright hemisphere (LVF-RH) or the right visual fieldleft hemisphere (RVF-LH). The stimulus patterns were formulated either by bright dots or by contrast-balanced dots. When the stimuli were bright, an RVF-LH advantage was observed for the categorical task, whereas an LVF-RH advantage was observed for the coordinate task. When the stimuli were contrast balanced, the RVF-LH advantage was observed for the categorical task, but the LVF-RH advantage was eliminated for the coordinate task. Because the contrast-balanced dots are largely devoid of low spatial frequency content, these results suggest that processing of low spatial frequency is responsible for the right hemisphere advantage for the coordinate spatial processing.
Pulvinar Inactivation Disrupts Selection of Movement Plans

The coordinated movement of the eyes and hands under visual guidance is an essential part of goal-directed behavior. Several cortical areas known to be involved in this process exchange projections with the dorsal aspect of the thalamic pulvinar nucleus, suggesting that this structure may play a central role in visuomotor behavior. Here, we used reversible inactivation to investigate the role of the dorsal pulvinar in the selection and execution of visually guided manual and saccadic eye movements in macaque monkeys. We found that unilateral pulvinar inactivation resulted in a spatial neglect syndrome accompanied by visuomotor deficits including optic ataxia during visually guided limb movements. Monkeys were severely disrupted in their visually guided behavior regarding space contralateral to the side of the injection in several domains, including the following: (1) target selection in both manual and oculomotor tasks, (2) limb usage in a manual retrieval task, and (3) spontaneous visual exploration. In addition, saccades into the ipsilesional field had abnormally short latencies and tended to overshoot their mark. None of the deficits could be explained by a visual field defect or primary motor deficit. These findings highlight the importance of the dorsal aspect of the pulvinar nucleus as a critical hub for spatial attention and selection of visually guided actions.
Using Behavioral Economic Field Experiments at a Firm

Economic Research Volume Title: The Analysis of Firms and Employees: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Volume Author/Editor: Stefan Bender, Julia Lane, Kathryn Shaw, Fredrik Andersson, and Till von Wachter, editors Volume Publisher: University of Chicago Press Volume ISBN: 978-0-226-04287-9; 0-226-04287-1 Volume URL: http://www.nber. org/books/bend08-1 Conference Date: September 29-30, 2006 Publication Date: October 2008
Complexity of the 5′ Untranslated Region of EIF4A3, a Critical Factor for Craniofacial and Neural Development

Repeats in coding and non-coding regions have increasingly been associated with many human genetic disorders, such as Richieri-Costa-Pereira syndrome (RCPS). RCPS, mostly characterized by midline cleft mandible, Robin sequence and limb defects, is an autosomal-recessive acrofacial dysostosis mainly reported in Brazilian patients. This disorder is caused by decreased levels of EIF4A3, mostly due to an increased number of repeats at the EIF4A3 5′UTR. EIF4A3 5′UTR alleles are CG-rich and vary in size and organization of three types of motifs. An exclusive allelic pattern was identified among affected individuals, in which the CGCA-motif is the most prevalent, herein referred as “disease-associated CGCA-20nt motif. ” The origin of the pathogenic alleles containing the disease-associated motif, as well as the functional effects of the 5′UTR motifs on EIF4A3 expression, to date, are entirely unknown. Here, we characterized 43 different EIF4A3 5′UTR alleles in a cohort of 380 unaffected individuals. We identified eight heterozygous unaffected individuals harboring the disease-associated CGCA-20nt motif and our haplotype analyses indicate that there are more than one haplotype associated with RCPS. The combined analysis of number, motif organization and haplotypic diversity, as well as the observation of two apparently distinct haplotypes associated with the disease-associated CGCA-20nt motif, suggest that the RCPS alleles might have arisen from independent unequal crossing-over events between ancient alleles at least twice. Moreover, we have shown that the number and sequence of motifs in the 5′UTR region is associated with EIF4A3 repression, which is not mediated by CpG methylation. In conclusion, this study has shown that the large number of repeats in EIF4A3 does not represent a dynamic mutation and RCPS can arise in any population harboring alleles with the CGCA-20nt motif. We also provided further evidence that EIF4A3 5′UTR is a regulatory region and the size and sequence type of the repeats at 5′UTR may contribute to clinical variability in RCPS.
Utility of fine‐needle aspiration cytology in the classification of leprosy

The role of fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of benign skin lesions has been restricted primarily to the evaluation of bacteriologic and morphologic indices in leprosy. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of FNAC in the diagnosis and classification of lepromatous lesions. Aspirates of 94 newly diagnosed cases of leprosy were studied, and the bacterial load was determined by modified Ziehl‐Neelsen (ZN) stain. A skin biopsy was taken from the same site at the same sitting. Frozen and paraffin sections stained with hematoxylin‐eosin (H&E) and ZN stains were examined from the biopsy specimen. In 61 of 94 cases (64.9%), the aspirates were satisfactory. Both diagnosis and classification of leprosy were possible in 40 of these 61 cases; the rest of the aspirates showed nonspecific chronic inflammation. The 39 cases of leprosy where a biopsy was available from the same site were classified on FNAC into tuberculoid (TT and BT), lepromatous (LL and BL), and midborderline (BB) subtypes. Taking the histologic diagnosis and Ridley‐Jopling classification to be the gold standard, a strong concordance in tuberculoid leprosy cases (18 of 20 cases, 90%) and in lepromatous cases (15 of 16 cases, 93.7%) was observed. Midborderline cases of leprosy posed a problem, and a correct cytohistological correlation was observed in only one of the three cases. Diagn. Cytopathol. 24:317–321, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bridging Supervised Learning and Test-Based Co-optimization

This paper takes a close look at the important commonalities and subtle differences between the well-established field of supervised learning and the much younger one of cooptimization. It explains the relationships between the problems, algorithms and views on cost and performance of the two fields, all throughout providing a two-way dictionary for the respective terminologies used to describe these concepts. The intent is to facilitate advancement of both fields through transfer and cross-pollination of ideas, techniques and results. As a proof of concept, a theoretical study is presented on the connection between existence / lack of free lunch in the two fields, showcasing a few ideas for improving computational complexity of certain supervised learning approaches.
Ongoing sonic hedgehog signaling is required for dorsal midline formation in the developing forebrain

The division of the mammalian forebrain into distinct left and right hemispheres represents a critical step in neural development. Several signaling molecules including sonic hedgehog (SHH), fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8), and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been implicated in dorsal midline development, and prior work suggests that the organizing centers from which these proteins are secreted mutually regulate one another during development. To explore the role of the ventral organizing center in the formation of two hemispheres, we assessed dorsal midline development in Shh mutant embryos and in wildtype embryos treated with the SHH signaling inhibitor HhAntag. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that SHH signaling plays an important role in maintaining the normal expression patterns of Fgf8 and Bmp4 in the developing forebrain. We further show that FGF8 can induce the expression of Zic2, which is normally expressed at the midline and is required in vivo for hemispheric cleavage, suggesting that FGF signaling may stimulate dorsal midline development by inducing Zic2 expression. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008
A lifetime-extending model-based predictive control for scheduling in concentrating solar power plants

In this work, a model-based predictive control (MPC) approach with turbine protection is proposed to face the scheduling problem in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES). This approach allows rescheduling the generation at regular periods taking advantage of the most recent energy prices and weather forecast, and of the current plant's state. Moreover, a more workable generation schedule for the next day is carried out as a result of that rescheduling. The turbine protection is based on the penalization for changes of the turbine output and the limitations of the number of daily turbine startups. These mechanisms aim to preserve the turbine lifetime. However, these constraints limit the flexibility of the electricity generation, therefore they could worsen the economic profits derived from sales of electricity. In conclusion, the proposed scheduling method provides a trade-off between the economic profits obtained from energy sales and the protection of the generation block. The proposed approach is applied, in a simulation context, to a 50 MW parabolic trough collector-based CSP with TES under the assumption of participation in the Spanish day-ahead energy market. A case study based on a one-month period is performed. The simulation results show, for several levels of turbine protection, the changes in generation profiles and the reduction of economic profits. It can also be observed that the reduction of economic profits is not significant. This result encourages the use of the turbine protection in the MPC approach.
Incidence of Symptomatic Congenital Toxoplasmosis During Ten Years in a Brazilian Hospital

Background: Population seroprevalence and rates of mother-to-child transmission are important in determining the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis. (CT) Mother-to-child transmission depends on the timing of acute maternal infection and treatment during pregnancy. The incidence of CT varies widely across geographic regions, ranging from 1 to 10 cases per 10,000 live births. The incidence of symptomatic disease varies from 0.15 to 0.34 cases per 10,000. Methods: This is a review of patients treated at a pediatric CT clinic at a university hospital in the south of Brazil, from 2004 to 2014. Results: The annual incidence of CT varied from 0 to 14 cases per 10,000 live births, with a mean incidence of 6 cases per 10,000 during the 10 years studied (CI 95%: 3.02–8.91). The incidence of symptomatic CT varied from 0 to 9 cases per 10,000 live births, with a mean incidence of 5 per 10,000 (CI 95%: 2.44–6.94). There were 5 (14.3%) asymptomatic cases. The main findings were retinochoroiditis (54%), intracranial calcifications (37.5%) and altered cerebrospinal fluid (37.5%). Conclusions: The incidence of CT and the rate of symptomatic cases were in accordance with the previous data from other studies in Brazil, being significantly higher than in previous North American and European studies.
In vivo molecular mediators of cancer growth suppression and apoptosis by selenium in mammary and prostate models: lack of involvement of gadd genes

We used acute selenium (Se) treatments (i.e., daily single oral gavage of 2 mg Se per kilogram of body weight for 3 days) of female Sprague-Dawley rats bearing 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea–induced mammary carcinomas to increase the probability of detecting in vivo apoptosis and the associated gene/protein changes in the cancerous epithelial cells. The results show that whereas control carcinomas doubled in volume in 3 days, Se-methylselenocysteine and selenite treatments regressed approximately half of the carcinomas, accompanied by a 3- to 4-fold increase of morphologically observable apoptosis and ∼40% inhibition of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine index of the cancerous epithelial cells. The mRNA levels of growth arrest-DNA damage inducible 34 (gadd34), gadd45, and gadd153 genes were, contrary to expectation, not higher in the Se-treated carcinomas than in the gavage or diet restriction control groups. The gadd34 and gadd153 proteins were localized in the nonepithelial cells and not induced in the cancer epithelial cells of the Se-treated carcinomas. On the other hand, both Se forms decreased the expression of cyclin D1 and increased levels of P27Kip1 and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation in a majority of the mammary carcinomas. Furthermore, the lack of induction of gadd genes in vivo by methylseleninic acid was confirmed in a human prostate xenograft model in athymic nude mice. In summary, these experiments showed the induction of cancer epithelial cell apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation by Se in vivo through the potential involvement of cyclin D1, P27Kip1, and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathways. They cast doubt on the three gadd genes as mediators of Se action in vivo. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(3):682–91]
Cloning, nucleotide sequence and functions of XPR6, which codes for a dibasic processing endoprotease from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Yarrowia lipolytica DO613, carrying the xpr6‐13 mutation, secretes an inactive precursor of alkaline extracellular protease that has not been cleaved after the Lys‐Arg at the end of the pro‐region. Compared to wild type, DO613 membrane preparations had significantly reduced ability to cleave after Lys‐Arg of an artificial substrate. The XPR6 gene was cloned by complementation by screening for restoration of production of alkaline protease activity. Sequencing of a 3735 base pair SalI‐SphI XPR6 fragment revealed a large open reading frame with a coding capacity of 976 amino acids (molecular weight, 110 016). The deduced amino acid sequence had significant homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Kex2p, a processing endoprotease that cleaves after pairs of basic amino acids. Disruption of the XPR6 gene was not lethal, but it resulted in several phenotypic changes. First, essentially no mature alkaline extracellular protease was produced indicating that the low levels produced by strains carrying previously isolated xpr6 alleles were due to leaky mutations. Second, mating type B strains carrying the disrupted XPR6 gene did not mate, but mating type A strains did. Third, the XPR6 disruption strains grew poorly on rich media at pH 5·5 and above. Cells remained physically attached after budding and continued to bud forming large dog balloon‐like structures. In addition, these structures aggregated forming visible clumps in liquid culture. These growth aberrations were largely eliminated by growing cells in medium at pH 4. Fourth, no mycelial forms were observed regardless of the pH.
Validity and reliability of measures of television viewing time and other non‐occupational sedentary behaviour of adults: a review

Time spent in non‐occupational sedentary behaviours (particularly television viewing time) is associated with excess adiposity and an increased risk of metabolic disorders among adults; however, there are no reviews of the validity and reliability of assessing these behaviours. This paper aims to document measures used to assess adults' time spent in leisure‐time sedentary behaviours and to review the evidence on their reliability and validity. Medline, CINAHL and Psych INFO databases and reference lists from published papers were searched to identify studies in which leisure‐time sedentary behaviours had been measured in adults. Sixty papers reporting measurement of at least one type of leisure‐time sedentary behaviour were identified. Television viewing time was the most commonly measured sedentary behaviour. The main method of data collection was by questionnaire. Nine studies examined reliability and three examined validity for the questionnaire method of data collection. Test–retest reliabilities were predominantly moderate to high, but the validity studies reported large differences in correlations of self‐completion questionnaire data with the various referent measures used. To strengthen future epidemiological and health behaviour studies, the development of reliable and valid self‐report instruments that cover the full range of leisure‐time sedentary behaviour is a priority.
Deloading tape reduces muscle stress at rest and during contraction.

PURPOSE Taping techniques that aim to protect and reduce stress on an injured tissue during rehabilitation are common in sport. Called deloading tape, the mechanism of action is hypothesized to involve effects ranging from direct mechanical deloading of the underlying soft tissues to psychological effects on confidence. There is no evidence that deloading tape has direct mechanical effects. This study used an elastographic technique (supersonic shear imaging) to test the hypothesis that deloading tape applied to the skin over the rectus femoris would reduce stress within the taped area of this muscle. METHODS Thirteen healthy volunteers participated in this experiment. Muscle shear elastic modulus was compared between three treatments (no tape, deloading tape, and sham tape) in four conditions: three conditions without muscle contraction at different rectus femoris muscle-tendon unit lengths (moderately stretched, highly stretched, and shortened) and during submaximal isometric leg extension. RESULTS Although there was no effect of treatment when the muscle was shortened (P = 0.99), the shear elastic modulus was significantly affected by treatment for the three other conditions (all P < 0.002). Muscle shear elastic modulus was significantly less during application of deloading tape than that during both the no tape and sham tape conditions (all P ≤ 0.001; e.g., vs no tape: moderately stretched, 8.4 ± 2.7 vs 6.7 ± 1.7 kPa; highly stretched, 25.2 ± 8.2 vs 14.4 ± 4.3 kPa; submaximal contraction, 21.3 ± 4.8 vs 14.2 ± 4.3 kPa). CONCLUSIONS Through the use of elastography, this is the first study to support the hypothesis that deloading tape reduces stress in the underlying muscle region, thereby providing a biomechanical explanation for the effect observed during rehabilitation in clinical practice (reduce pain, restore function, and aid recovery). Further investigations are necessary to confirm these results in injured tissues.