Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stimulation of raphe (obscurus) nucleus causes long‐term potentiation of phrenic nerve activity in cat.

1. The respiratory response, measured as integrated phrenic nerve activity, during and for up to an hour following 10 min of continuous electrical stimulation of raphe obscurus was quantitated in anaesthetized, artificially ventilated cats whose carotid sinus nerves and vagus nerves had been cut. End‐tidal PCO2 and body temperature were kept constant with servocontrollers. 2. Stimulation of raphe obscurus caused a significant increase in both phrenic tidal activity and respiratory frequency that persisted following cessation of the stimulus. This persistent facilitation is referred to as 'long‐term potentiation' of respiration. 3. Control stimulations in the parenchyma of the medulla oblongata failed to stimulate respiration and cause the long‐term potentiation. 4. Both the direct facilitatory effects of raphe obscurus stimulation on phrenic nerve activity and the long‐term potentiation of respiration following the stimulus were prevented by pre‐treating cats with methysergide, a serotonin receptor antagonist. 5. The results are discussed in terms of the raphe obscurus being the potential source of the long‐term potentiation of respiration that occurs following stimulation of carotid body afferents (Millhorn, Eldridge & Waldrop, 1980a, b).
Mechanisms of Anesthetic Action and Neurotoxicity: Lessons from Molluscs

Anesthesia is a prerequisite for most surgical procedures in both animals and humans. Significant strides have been made in search of effective and safer compounds that elicit rapid induction and recovery from anesthesia. However, recent studies have highlighted possible negative effects of several anesthetic agents on the developing brain. The precise nature of this cytotoxicity remains to be determined mainly due to the complexity and the intricacies of the mammalian brain. Various invertebrates have contributed significantly toward our understanding of how both local and general anesthetics affect intrinsic membrane and synaptic properties. Moreover, the ability to reconstruct in vitro synapses between individually identifiable pre- and postsynaptic neurons is a unique characteristic of molluscan neurons allowing us to ask fundamental questions vis-à-vis the long-term effects of anesthetics on neuronal viability and synaptic connectivity. Here, we highlight some of the salient aspects of various molluscan organisms and their contributions toward our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the actions of anesthetic agents as well as their potential detrimental effects on neuronal growth and synaptic connectivity. We also present some novel preliminary data regarding a newer anesthetic agent, dexmedetomidine, and its effects on synaptic transmission between Lymnaea neurons. The findings presented here underscore the importance of invertebrates for research in the field of anesthesiology while highlighting their relevance to both vertebrates and humans.
Contemporaneous and Successive Mixed Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax Infections Are Associated with Ascaris lumbricoides: An Immunomodulating Effect?

Following an investigation suggesting a protective role for Ascaris against cerebral malaria, possibly through immunomodulation, we examined whether Ascaris had any impact on mixed Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections. We studied a cross section of 928 patient files between 1991 and 1999. Forty patients had contemporaneous mixed infections and 40 patients had P. falciparum infections, followed by P. vivax infections. There was a significant association between Ascaris infection and risk of having both contemporaneous or successive mixed P. falciparum and P. vivax infections (adjusted odds ratios respectively 6 [2–18] P = 0.001 and 3.6 [1.2–11.1] P = 0.02). There was a positive linear trend between the burden of Ascaris and the risk of mixed infections P < 0.0001. These results suggested the possibility that pre-existing Ascaris infection may increase tolerance of the host to different Plasmodium spp. , thus facilitating their coexistence.
Bone microstructure at the distal tibia provides a strength advantage to males in late puberty: An HR‐pQCT study

Bone is a complex structure with many levels of organization. Advanced imaging tools such as high‐resolution (HR) peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) provide the opportunity to investigate how components of bone microstructure differ between the sexes and across developmental periods. The aim of this study was to quantify the age‐ and sex‐related differences in bone microstructure and bone strength in adolescent males and females. We used HR‐pQCT (XtremeCT, Scanco Medical, Geneva, Switzerland) to assess total bone area (ToA), total bone density (ToD), trabecular bone density (TrD), cortical bone density (CoD), cortical thickness (Cort.Th), trabecular bone volume (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular spacing standard deviation (Tb.Sp SD), and bone strength index (BSI, mg2/mm4) at the distal tibia in 133 females and 146 males (15 to 20 years of age). We used a general linear model to determine differences by age‐ and sex‐group and age × sex interactions (p < 0.05). Across age categories, ToD, CoD, Cort.Th, and BSI were significantly lower at 15 and 16 years compared with 17 to 18 and 19 to 20 years in males and females. There were no differences in ToA, TrD, and BV/TV across age for either sex. Between sexes, males had significantly greater ToA, TrD, Cort.Th, BV/TV, Tb.N, and BSI compared with females; CoD and Tb.Sp SD were significantly greater for females in every age category. Males' larger and denser bones confer a bone‐strength advantage from a young age compared with females. These structural differences could represent bones that are less able to withstand loads in compression in females. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
The musculoskeletal phenotype of the RASopathies

The Ras/MAPK signal transduction pathway is critical for the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of multiple cell types. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is caused by inactivating mutations in the NF1 gene resulting in an increased Ras signaling cascade. Subsequently, additional syndromes with some overlapping physical manifestations such as Noonan syndrome, Costello syndrome, and cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome were also shown to be due in many cases to mutations in genes encoding for proteins interacting with the Ras/MAPK pathway. Although neurocutaneous manifestations have been considered hallmark features for these disorders, multiple organ systems including the musculoskeletal system are affected. Some of the overlapping musculoskeletal phenotypes include scoliosis, kyphosis, anterior chest wall anomalies, pes planus, osteopenia, and hand anomalies. However, there are also discordant skeletal phenotypes such as sphenoid wing dysplasia and tibial pseudarthrosis seen only in NF1. We provide an overview of the concordant and discordant musculoskeletal manifestations in the RASopathies. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Institutional and Individual Investor Preferences for Dividends and Share Repurchases

Using aggregate data on institutional and individual holdings for the 1989-1996 period, it is shown that relatively lower (higher) taxed institutional (individual) investors prefer low (high) dividend yield stocks to high (low) dividend yield stocks. Also, individuals prefer dividend paying firms, whereas institutions typically prefer non-paying firms. Institutions show a weak preference for firms that engage in larger share repurchases, whereas individuals do not prefer share repurchases. These results are contrary to the widely held beliefs a) regarding tax-based and non-tax-based dividend clienteles, b) that firms pay dividends to encourage monitoring by institutional investors, and c) that the personal tax rate on equity is low (or zero).
Novel Reactivity of Dibenzothiophene Monooxygenase from Bacillus subtilis WU-S2B

Dibenzothiophene monooxygenase (BdsC) from Bacillus subtilis WU-S2B utilized aromatic compounds not having sulfur atoms as substrates. It acted on indole and its derivatives to form indigoid pigments, and also utilized indoline and phenoxazine. In addition, BdsC exhibited activity toward benzothiophene (BT) derivatives but not BT, suggesting that it shows wide reactivity toward aromatic compounds.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE GRISM SPECTROSCOPY OF EXTREME STARBURSTS ACROSS COSMIC TIME: THE ROLE OF DWARF GALAXIES IN THE STAR FORMATION HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE

Near infrared slitless spectroscopy with the Wide Field Camera 3, on board the Hubble Space Telescope, offers a unique opportunity to study low-mass galaxy populations at high redshift (z ∼ 1–2). While most high-z surveys are biased toward massive galaxies, we are able to select sources via their emission lines that have very faint continua. We investigate the star formation rate (SFR)–stellar mass (M⋆) relation for about 1000 emission line galaxies identified over a wide redshift range of 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 2.3. We use the Hα emission as an accurate SFR indicator and correct the broadband photometry for the strong nebular contribution to derive accurate stellar masses down to M⋆ ∼107 M☉. We focus here on a subsample of galaxies that show extremely strong emission lines (EELGs) with rest-frame equivalent widths ranging from 200 to 1500 Å. This population consists of outliers to the normal SFR–M⋆ sequence with much higher specific SFRs (>10 Gyr−1). While on-sequence galaxies follow continuous star formation processes, EELGs are thought to be caught during an extreme burst of star formation that can double their stellar mass in a period of less than 100 Myr. The contribution of the starburst population to the total star formation density appears to be larger than what has been reported for more massive galaxies in previous studies. In the complete mass range 8.2 < log(M⋆/M☉) <10 and a SFR lower completeness limit of about 2 M☉ yr−1 (10 M☉ yr−1) at z ∼ 1 (z ∼ 2), we find that starbursts having EWrest(Hα) > 300, 200, and 100 Å contribute up to ∼13%, 18%, and 34%, respectively, to the total SFR of emission-line-selected sample at z ∼ 1–2. The comparison with samples of massive galaxies shows an increase in the contribution of starbursts toward lower masses.
A Novel Generalized Framework for Performance Analysis of Selection Combining Diversity

A novel generalized framework for performance analysis of selection combining diversity in Rayleigh fading channels is derived. It is shown that the performance of arbitrary systems used with selection combining diversity can be expressed in terms of only the performance of the system on a single branch Rayleigh fading channel. The results are valid for coded and uncoded transmission as well as for balanced (equal power) diversity branches and unbalanced (unequal power) diversity branches. The generalized framework encompasses both general noise and general interference, and allows correlated noise and correlated interference sources. Applications of the generalized framework to analytical, semi-analytical and simulation based performance evaluation of digital modulation schemes are discussed.
Systematic review of the treatment of cancer-associated anorexia and weight loss.

PURPOSE We systematically assessed the efficacy and safety of appetite stimulants in the management of cancer-related anorexia. Literature databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of appetite stimulants in the treatment of cancer anorexia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Studies were graded according to quality. Fifty-five studies met inclusion criteria. RESULTS Only two drugs have evidence to support their use for anorexia (progestins and corticosteroids). There is strong evidence against the use of hydrazine sulfate. The outcomes of these trials have been mixed and patient population heterogeneous. CONCLUSION The optimal dose, time to start, and duration of treatment for many appetite stimulants for cancer anorexia is still unknown. A more systematic approach to research methodology with universal outcome measure and prospective randomized studies are need. Combination regimens are needed but this cannot at the present time be supported by the data presented.
Kiwi fruit (Actinidia chinensis L.) polysaccharides exert stimulating effects on cell proliferation via enhanced growth factor receptors, energy production, and collagen synthesis of human keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and skin equivalents

Within physiological engineering exogenous carbohydrates were recently confirmed as pharmacologically active compounds. To investigate potential dermatological activity purified polysaccharides from kiwi fruits (Actinidia chinensis L., Actinidiaceae) were characterized concerning monomer composition, linkage types and molecular weights and were tested under in vitro conditions for regulating activities on cell physiology of human keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and skin equivalents. Ten micrograms per milliliter of raw polysaccharide, neutral type‐II‐arabinogalactans, and acidic arabinorhamnogalacturonans of kiwi fruits stimulated cell proliferation of human keratinocytes (NHK, HaCaT) up to 30% significantly while mitochondrial activity was stimulated for nearly 25% in regard to control cells. Fibroblasts were not as sensitive as keratinocytes but >130 μg/ml kiwi fruit polysaccharides increased proliferation and ATP‐synthesis significantly, too. Proliferation‐stimulating activity was dependent on terminal 1‐α‐l‐arabinose residues since enzymatic release of these sugar moieties caused significantly decreased proliferation of HaCaT and fibroblasts of about 10% in regard to untreated cells. In three dimensional skin equivalents, it was shown that the polysaccharides led to a doubled collagen synthesis of fibroblasts compared to the normally strongly reduced biosynthetic activity. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The production of direct object clitics in pre-school– and primary school–aged children with specific language impairments

ABSTRACT Third-person direct object (DO) clitic pronoun production is examined through an elicited production method in pre-school– and primary school–aged groups of Italian children with specific language impairment (SLI) to establish whether there is an improvement from age 5 years to age 7 years and whether there are qualitative differences in the two groups’ responses. It was found that 5- and 7-year-old Italian children with SLI produce fewer third-person DO clitics than same-age peers. The kind of responses they provide changes: at 5 years, children with SLI tend to omit clitics, while at 7 years, they use a full noun. Production of third-person DO clitics is a persistent challenge for children with SLI and is confirmed to be a good clinical marker both at 5 and 7 years of age.
Evaluation of early hospital discharge after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The increasing number of patients waiting for bone marrow transplantation in our service led to the implement of an early hospital discharge program with the intention of reducing the interval between diagnosis and transplantation. In this study we analyzed the results from early discharge, with outpatient care for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. DESIGN AND SETTING Retrospective study at the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit of Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. METHODS We compared clinical outcomes within 100 days post-transplantation, for 51 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who received partially outpatient-based allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and the results were compared with a historical control group of 49 patients who received inpatient-based hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. RESULTS There were significantly fewer days of hospitalization (p = 0.004), Pseudomonas-positive cultures (p = 0.006) and nausea and vomiting of grade 2-3 (p < 0.001) in the outpatient group. There were no significant differences in mortality between the groups and no deaths occurred within the first 48 days post-transplantation in the outpatient group. CONCLUSIONS This partially outpatient-based hematopoietic stem cell transplantation program allowed an increased number of transplantations in our institution, in cases of CML and other diseases, since it reduced the median length of hospital stay without increasing morbidity and mortality.
Mechanism of Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity on Atherosclerosis and Coronary Heart Disease Ca 2 regulatory mechanisms of exercise protection against coronary artery disease in metabolic syndrome and diabetes

Sturek M. Ca regulatory mechanisms of exercise protection against coronary artery disease in metabolic syndrome and diabetes. J Appl Physiol 111: 573–586, 2011. First published May 19, 2011; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00373. 2011. — Chronic exercise attenuates coronary artery disease (CAD) in humans largely independent of reductions in risk factors; thus major protective mechanisms of exercise are directly within the coronary vasculature. Further, tight control of diabetes, e.g., blood glucose, can be detrimental. Accordingly, knowledge of mechanisms by which exercise attenuates diabetic CAD could catalyze development of molecular therapies. Exercise attenuates CAD (atherosclerosis) and restenosis in miniature swine models, which enable precise control of exercise parameters (intensity, duration, and frequency) and characterization of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and diabetic milieu. Intracellular Ca is a pivotal second messenger for coronary smooth muscle (CSM) excitation-contraction and excitation-transcription coupling that modulates CSM proliferation, migration, and calcification. CSM of diabetic dyslipidemic Yucatan swine have impaired Ca extrusion via the plasmalemma Ca ATPase (PMCA), downregulation of L-type voltage-gated Ca channels (VGCC), increased Ca sequestration by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca ATPase (SERCA), increased nuclear Ca localization, and greater activation of K channels by Ca release from the SR. Endurance exercise training prevents Ca transport changes with virtually no effect on the diabetic milieu (glucose, lipids). In MetS Ossabaw swine transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels are upregulated and exercise training reverses expression and TRPC-mediated Ca influx with almost no change in the MetS milieu. Overall, exercise effects on Ca signaling modulate CSM phenotype. Future studies should 1) selectively target key Ca transporters to determine definitively their causal role in atherosclerosis and 2) combine mechanistic studies with clinical outcomes, e.g., reduction of myocardial infarction.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccines: An Update for Gynecologists

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause several common gynecologic problems. Oncogenic HPV infections are responsible for abnormal cervical cytology, cervical dysplasia, and cervical cancer. In 2006, a vaccine was introduced to prevent these common problems in women's health. The currently available HPV vaccine is quadrivalent, with HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18. Recently published clinical trials have consistently shown efficacy approaching 100%. Current clinical recommendations are for universal vaccination of adolescent and young adult women. This review will discuss the natural history and epidemiology of HPV, the diseases associated with these infections and current clinical usage of this vaccine. Future developments in this area will also be discussed.
Organisational factors and knowledge management within large marketing departments: an empirical study

One hundred and seventy‐nine heads of sales or direct marketing departments in large UK companies across five industry sectors completed mail questionnaires concerning the knowledge management (KM) practices employed by their firms. The extents of the KM systems operating within sample enterprises were analysed with respect to each company’s use of teamwork, level of bureaucracy and centralisation of decision making, innovativeness, and ability to cope with change. Respondents’ views on the contributions of KM to marketing management were also examined.
Synergestic effect of lycopene and Melatonin against the genesis of oxidative stress induced by cyclophosphamide in rats

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an alkylating agent that has been considered effective for cancer treatment. Lycopene, the pigment in tomato fruits, has beneficial effect in the treatment of some diseases. The goal of this study is to evaluate the protective effect of lycopene alone or combined with melatonin (Mel) in inhibiting the oxidative stress and toxic effect of CP in rats. Five groups of rats were included in this study; Group I served as the control. Rats in groups II-V were administrated with single dose of CP (150 mg/kg B.W) interperitoneally for 3 days. On the same day of CP administration, the rats in group III were fed a diet supplemented with lycopene (50 mg/kg of diet), rats in group IV were administered with a dose of 2.5 mg Mel/kg body weight (bw) injected subcutaneously and rats in group V were supplemented with lycopene and a dose of 2.5 mg Mel/kg bw injected subcutaneously. After 15 days the blood samples were collected. Results obtained showed that CP exerted its toxic effect by increasing the free radicals and reactive oxygen species that causes lipid peroxidation and cell damage, and this in turn is detected by elevation in nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), while the activities of antioxidants enzymes including (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) were significantly decreased as compared with the control rats. The combined treatment (Lyco + Mel) group showed potential reduction in these parameters more than those treated with lyco alone. The activities of SOD, CAT and GPx were found significantly high than lyco alone treated rats. A positive significant correlation between NO and MDA (r = .81). In conclusion, these results suggested that supplementation of diet with lycopene and Mel provided antioxidant defense with strong chemopreventive activity against Cp-induced cytotoxicity.
Energy efficiency gains through data offloading in heterogeneous small cell networks

The deployment of so-called small cells is considered to be a prominent solution to the ever increasing mobile data traffic demand and to provide capacity at traffic hot spots effectively. However, overlaying macro base stations will still consume the highest fraction of the network power. In this paper, we study the power consumption and energy efficiency of heterogeneous networks, when large macro base stations offload traffic to more energy-efficient small cells and, thereby, lower their power consumed. In order to evaluate the potential energy efficiency gains utilizing different types of small cells, namely mi-cro, pico, and femto cells, we use a powerful network evaluation framework, which is based on the modeling of flow dynamics of mobile traffic and inter-cell interference conditions. We apply an existing data offloading algorithm to the model of a real deployed Long Term Evolution network and find that utilizing micro, pico, and femto base stations to offload traffic yield similar results with respect to the overall network power consumption. During the course of a day, the power consumption can be reduced by 23.6 % 28.8 % and 24.2 % respectively. However, we observed that micro base stations are much more suitable to serve additional offloaded traffic due to their larger coverage areas, which makes them superior to pico and femto base stations, in particular in terms of total network energy efficiency.