Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic endothelin receptor blockade attenuates progressive ventricular dilation and improves cardiac function in rats with myocardial infarction: possible involvement of myocardial endothelin system in ventricular remodeling.

BACKGROUND Left ventricular dilatation after myocardial infarction is associated with impaired ventricular function and heart failure and has important implications for survival. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in ventricular dilatation and the effects of chronic endothelin receptor blockade by a mixed ET(A) and ET(B) receptor blocker (bosentan) on the circulating and cardiac endothelin systems. METHODS AND RESULTS Three hours after coronary ligation or sham operation, bosentan (100 mg x kg body wt(-1) x d(-1)) or placebo was given by gavage. Seven days and 8 weeks after surgery, hemodynamic and left ventricular volume studies were performed. Acute bosentan treatment (7 days) had no effects on hemodynamic parameters and early left ventricular dilatation. In the rats with large infarcts, chronic bosentan treatment (8 weeks) versus placebo reduced left ventricular systolic pressure (116+/-2 versus 125+/-3 mm Hg, P<.05) and arterial pressure (93+/-2 versus 103+/-3 mm Hg, P<.05), improved stroke volume index (0.69+/-0.06 versus 0.52+/-0.04 mL/kg, P<.05), and prevented in part the rightward shift of the pressure-volume curve. Chronic bosentan treatment also decreased ET-1 levels (390+/-33 versus 475+/-22 pg/g tissue, P<.05) and density of ET-1 receptors (262+/-24 versus 346+/-31 fmol/mg protein, P<.05) in left ventricular myocardium. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, a mixed ET(A) and ET(B) receptor antagonist (bosentan) partially prevented left ventricular dilatation and improved hemodynamics, suggesting that endothelin plays a role in left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Supporting this hypothesis, we show inhibitory effects of bosentan on the peripheral and myocardial endothelin system.
Malignant infantile osteopetrosis, presenting as hemolytic anemia: a case report -

The occurrence of malignant infantile osteopetrosis is observed in early stages of life along with increased sclerosis of the skeleton and decreased bone marrow spaces. The bone marrow damage of the disease leads to anemia, extramedullary hematopoiesis secondary to anemia, which result in hepatosplenomegaly, cranial nerves compression (optic nerve atrophy), and severe growth failure. The characteristic symptoms of the disease are fractures, visual damage, and bone marrow failure resulting in severe anemia. A 4-month-old infant presented with severe anemia and hepatosplenomegaly, bilateral optic atrophy, and acute respiratory tract infection. It was first thought to be hemolytic anemia or intrauterine infection. Radiological features, bone marrow studies, and clinical progression clinched the diagnosis of malignant infantile osteopetrosis. As it is a rare cause of severe anemia, clinicians should have sufficient idea about it.
Rapidly increasing collimation and magnetic field changes of a protostellar H2O maser outflow

Context. W75N(B) is a massive star-forming region that contains three radio continuum sources (VLA 1, VLA 2, and VLA 3), which are thought to be three massive young stellar objects at three different evolutionary stages. VLA 1 is the most evolved and VLA 2 the least evolved source. The 22 GHz H2O masers associated with VLA 1 and VLA 2 have been mapped at several epochs over eight years. While the H2O masers in VLA 1 show a persistent linear distribution along a radio jet, those in VLA 2 are distributed around an expanding shell. Furthermore, H2O maser polarimetric measurements revealed magnetic fields aligned with the two structures. Aims. Using new polarimetric observations of H2O masers, we aim to confirm the elliptical expansion of the shell-like structure around VLA 2 and, at the same time, to determine if the magnetic fields around the two sources have changed. Methods. The NRAO Very Long Baseline Array was used to measure the linear polarization and the Zeeman-splitting of the 22 GHz H2O masers towards the massive star-forming region W75N(B). Results. The H2O maser distribution around VLA 1 is unchanged from that previously observed. We made an elliptical fit of the H2O masers around VLA 2. We find that the shell-like structure is still expanding along the direction parallel to the thermal radio jet of VLA 1. While the magnetic field around VLA 1 has not changed in the past similar to 7 years, the magnetic field around VLA 2 has changed its orientation according to the new direction of the major-axis of the shell-like structure and it is now aligned with the magnetic field in VLA 1.
Transgelin is a direct target of TGF‐β/Smad3‐dependent epithelial cell migration in lung fibrosis

Enhanced transforming growth factor (TGF) ‐β signaling contributes to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive and fatal disease characterized by alveolar epithelial type II (ATII) cell hyperplasia, (myo)fibroblast accumulation, and excessive extracellular matrix deposition. TGF‐β is a potent inducer of lung fibrosis, and it regulates the ATII cell phenotype; however, direct TGF‐β target genes controlling the ATII cell phenotype remain elusive. Here, we identified the transgelin (tagln) gene as a novel immediate target of TGF‐β/Smad3‐dependent gene expression in ATII cells using a Smad3 chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) screen. Direct ChIP confirmed the rapid and specific binding of Smad3 to the tagln promoter. Luciferase assays demonstrated transactivation of the tagln promoter by activin‐like kinase (Alk) 5‐mediated TGF‐β signaling. TGF‐β treatment resulted in rapid up‐regulation of tagln, but not tagln2, mRNA and protein expression, assessed by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. In vivo, tagln expression was significantly increased in ATII cells of mice during bleomycin‐induced lung fibrosis, as well as in lung specimen obtained from IPF patients, as assessed by RT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry. Knockdown of tagln using siRNA inhibited TGF‐β‐induced migration of lung epithelial A549 cells, as well as primary ATII cells. We thus identified tagln as a novel target of TGF‐β/Smad3‐dependent gene expression in ATII cells. Increased ATII cell expression of tagln in experimental and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may contribute to TGF‐β‐dependent ATII cell injury, repair, and migration in lung fibrosis. — Yu, H. , Konigshoff, M. , Jayachandran, A. , Handley, D. , Seeger, W. , Kaminski, N. , Eickelberg, O. Transgelin is a direct target of TGF‐β/Smad3‐dependent epithelial cell migration in lung fibrosis. FASEB J. 22, 1778–1789 (2008)
A profile of Australian family caregivers: diversity of roles and circumstances

Abstract: Research on family caregiving has been based largely on small samples, often drawn from support organisations or services, and has tended to focus on particular disability groups. Our study was population–based and included all ages and disabilities. As the first stage in a longitudinal research and health promotion program for informal caregivers, a statewide random survey of over 26 000 households was conducted by telephone: 78 per cent of self–identified carers (N= 976) agreed to participate in a one–hour interview. This paper presents a sociodemographic profile of Australian caregivers. Four types of relationship between carers and care recipients (adult offspring, spouses, parents and other relatives and friends) provide the framework for results. Group differences were observed on most characteristics: for example, age, living arrangements, work status and duration of care. Care recipient characteristics, including difficult behaviours and need for assistance, are also reported, as well as use of and need for community services. What the findings reflected most was the heterogeneity of both caregivers and care recipients and the diversity of caregiving roles and circumstances.
Freely Chosen Index Finger Tapping Frequency Is Increased in Repeated Bouts of Tapping

ABSTRACT Healthy individuals (n = 40) performed index finger tapping at freely chosen frequency during repeated bouts and before and after near-maximal muscle action consisting of 3 intense flexions of the index finger metacarpal phalangeal joint. One experiment showed, unexpectedly, that a bout of tapping increased the tapping frequency in the subsequent bout. Thus, a cumulating increase of 8.2 ± 5.4% (p < .001) occurred across 4 bouts, which were all separated by 10 min rest periods. Follow-up experiments revealed that tapping frequency was still increased in consecutive bouts when rest periods were extended to 20 min. Besides, near-maximal muscle activation, followed by 5 min rest, did not affect the tapping frequency. In conclusion, freely chosen tapping frequency was increased in repeated bouts of tapping, which were separated by 10–20 min rest periods. The observed phenomenon is suggested to be termed repeated bout rate enhancement.
Differential effects of matrix and growth factors on endothelial and fibroblast motility: Application of a modified cell migration assay

Cell migration is crucial in virtually every biological process and strongly depends on the nature of the surrounding matrix. An assay that enables real‐time studies on the effects of defined matrix components and growth factors on cell migration is not available. We have set up a novel, quantitative migration assay, which enables unharmed cells to migrate along a defined matrix. Here, we used this so‐called barrier‐assay to define the contribution of fibronectin (FN) and Collagen‐I (Col‐I) to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)‐induced cell migration of endothelial cells (EC) and fibroblasts. In EC, both FN and Col‐I stimulated migration, but FN‐induced motility was random, while net movement was inhibited. Addition of bFGF and VEGF overcame the effect of FN, with VEGF causing directional movement. In contrast, in 3T3 fibroblasts, FN stimulated motility and this effect was enhanced by bFGF. This motility was more efficient and morphologically completely different compared to LPA stimulation. Strikingly, directional migration of EC was not paralleled by higher amounts of stable microtubules (MT) or an increased reorientation of the microtubule‐organizing centre (MTOC). For EC, the FN effect appeared concentration dependent; high FN was able to induce migration, while for fibroblasts both low and high concentrations of FN induced motility. Besides showing distinct responses of the different cells to the same factors, these results address contradictive reports on FN and show that the interplay between matrix components and growth factors determines both pattern and regulation of cell migration. J. Cell. Biochem. 99: 1536–1552, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A randomized, controlled clinical trial of the homeopathic medication TRAUMEEL s® in the treatment of chemotherapy‐induced stomatitis in children undergoing stem cell transplantation

Stomatitis is a common consequence of chemotherapy and a condition for which there is little effective treatment. Although the management of patients with other chemotherapy‐related toxicities has improved in recent years, the incidence of stomatitis is increasing because of more intensive treatment and is often a dose limiting factor in chemotherapy. The authors assessed the efficacy of a homeopathic remedy, TRAUMEEL S®, in the management of chemotherapy‐induced stomatitis in children undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
Expression of LIF and LIFR in periodontal tissue during orthodontic tooth movement.

OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that leukemia inhibitor factor (LIF) and LIF receptor (LIFR) are expressed in periodontal tissue and that their expression may be upregulated during orthodontic tooth movement. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forces of 0.3 N were applied to move the upper left first molars mesially in 24 rats. These forces were kept constant for 3, 7, and 14 days and followed by animal sacrifice. The contralateral molars served as control. The rate of tooth movement was measured by Image J software. Paraffin-embedded sections of the upper jaws were prepared for histological and immunohistochemical analysis to test the LIF and LIFR expression. RESULTS Loaded teeth showed a significantly higher rate of tooth movement. The periodontium of the moved teeth experienced tissue remodeling, while there was no obvious change in the contralateral controls. Furthermore, LIF and LIFR were expressed in the periodontal tissue, and there were statistically significant differences between the loaded and unloaded teeth at 3 and 14 days. LIF presented significantly higher expression on the tension side compared with the pressure side at 3 days. CONCLUSION Both LIF and LIFR exist in the periodontal tissue, and continuous orthodontic forces induce the upregulation of LIF/LIFR production, suggesting that LIF/LIFR may play important roles in periodontium remodeling.
Low‐Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Accelerates Rat Femoral Fracture Healing by Acting on the Various Cellular Reactions in the Fracture Callus

Low‐intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been shown to accelerate fracture healing in both animal models and clinical trials, but the mechanism of action remains unclear. In fracture healing, various consecutive cellular reactions occurred until repair. We investigated whether the advanced effects of LIPUS depended on the duration and timing of LIPUS treatment in a rat closed femoral fracture model to determine the target of LIPUS in the healing process. Sixty‐nine Long‐Evans male rats that have bilateral closed femoral fractures were used. The right femur was exposed to LIPUS (30 mW/cm2 spatial and temporal average [SATA], for 20 minutes/day), and the left femur was used as a control. Rats were divided into four groups according to timing and duration of treatment (Ph‐1, days 1–8; Ph‐2, days 9–16; Ph‐3, days 17–24; throughout [T], days 1–24 after the fracture). Animals were killed on day 25. After radiographs and microfocus X‐ray computed tomography (μCT) tomograms were taken, the hard callus area (HCA), bone mineral content (BMC) at the fracture site, and mechanical torsion properties were measured, and histological analysis was conducted. Interestingly, the maximum torque of the LIPUS‐treated femur was significantly greater than that of the controls in all groups without any changes in HCA and BMC. The multiviewing of three‐dimensional (3D) μCT reconstructions and histology supported our findings that the partial LIPUS treatment time was able to accelerate healing, but longer treatment was more effective. These results suggest that LIPUS acts on some cellular reactions involved in each phase of the healing process such as inflammatory reaction, angiogenesis, chondrogenesis, intramembranous ossification, endochondral ossification, and bone remodeling.
Metronidazole Prophylaxis in Abdominal Hysterectomy

Abstract. The use of prophylactic metronidazole in elective total abdominal hysterectomy was evaluated in a prospective, double‐blind randomized study. The rate of complicated wound healing was 18% in the metronidazole group and 13% in the placebo group. The bacteriologically confirmed wound infection rate was 3.9% in both the metronidazole and the placebo group. Only one of the infections was anaerobic and it appeared in the placebo group. No pelvic infections were observed in either of the groups and hospital stay was the same in both. Peroperative investigations of the vaginal flora showed significantly fewer anaerobic strains in the metronidazole group than in the placebo group.
Effects of controlled-release urea application on the growth, yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency of cotton

Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of the controlled release urea (CRU) application on growth yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency of cotton in the main cotton zone of the Yangtze River basin in 2010. Different nitrogen levels were set in order to determine the suitable dosage of CRU on cotton. The special purpose was to provide evidence for the CRU application in cotton fields. The results show that the application of CRU promotes the growth of cotton significantly and enhances the nitrogen supply in the whole period. Compared to the treatment with total N as base fertilizer (UB), the bod, flower, little bolls and total bolls are increased significantly. There are no significant differences in the yield between the CRU treatment and the treatment of controlled release urea and urea combined application (60%CRU + 40%U), but an increase by 12.38%-22.67% compared to the UB treatment, and an increase by 4.49%-7.23% compared to the treatments of total N split application (UD). The nitrogen uptake of CRU treatment was significantly increased by 13.01%-48.32% and 30.27%-13.01% than UB treatment and UD treatment, respectively. The nutrient recovery efficiency of CRU treatment is increased by 16.42-20.59, 5.92-11.29 and 4.22-12.59 percentage points compared to the UB treatment, UD treatment and 60%CRU + 40%U treatment, respectively. In this study, there was a good linearity relationship between the cotton yield and amount of CRU in Wuxue site. The yield of cotton response to amount of CRU could be described by the model of linear plus plateau in Jingzhou site.
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis: Perspectives in Diagnosis and Management

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis: Perspectives in Diagnosis and Management Martina Vasakova, Ferran Morell, Simon Walsh, Kevin Leslie, and Ganesh Raghu Department of Respiratory Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, Thomayer Hospital Prague, Prague, Czech Republic; Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca, Servei de Pneumologı́a, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Departament de Medicina, Universitat Autonóma de Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratoria, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; King’s College National Health Service Hospital Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill, London, United Kingdom; Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona; and Center for Interstitial Lung Diseases, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Washington
Inter‐relationships of Salmonella Status of Flock and Grow‐Out Environment at Sequential Segments in Broiler Production and Processing

In this study, we investigated how the likelihoods of Salmonella presence in various samples from broilers and their grow‐out environment throughout one production cycle were related. Sixty‐four broiler flocks from 10 complexes of two companies in the southern United States were included in the study. Samples from the gastrointestinal tracts of chicks, transport tray pads and litter and drag swabs from the house were collected on the day of placement of each flock. Approximately, 1 week before harvest, whole bird carcass rinses, caecum and crop samples were collected from birds from these same flocks. On the day of harvest, litter and drag swab samples were also taken from the house after the birds were removed. Upon arrival of the flocks at the processing plant, whole carcass rinses, caecum and crop samples were collected. As the flocks were processed, carcass rinses were collected just before the carcasses entered the immersion chill tank and as they exited the chill tank. Logistic regression was used to model the relationships between the likelihood of Salmonella in samples of each type collected at each sampling point and Salmonella frequencies in all the samples taken from the flock and grow‐out environment at preceding production stages. The analysis demonstrated that increased likelihood of Salmonella contaminated carcasses entering the immersion chill tank was associated with higher contamination of the exteriors and crops of birds at arrival for processing as well as house environmental samples at the time of harvest and prior to placement. The best predictors of post‐chill broiler carcass Salmonella status were the frequencies of Salmonella in the litter on the day of harvest and prior to placement. The immersion chilling appeared to disrupt some of the relationships between the processing plant and pre‐harvest samples.
Towards reliability-based design for geotechnical engineering

This paper presents an overview of the evolution in structural and geotechnical design practice over the past half a decade or so in relation to how uncertainties are dealt with. For the general reader who is encountering reliability-based design (RBD) for the first time, this would provide a valuable historical perspective of our present status and important outstanding issues that remain to be resolved. The key elements of RBD are briefly discussed and the availability of statistics to provide empirical support for the development of simplified RBD equations is highlighted. Several important implementation issues are presented with reference to an EPRI study for reliability-based design of transmission line structure foundations. Reliability-based design, simplified or otherwise, provides a more consistent means of managing uncertainties, but it is by no means a perfect solution. Engineering judgment still is indispensable in many aspects of geotechnical engineering - reliability analysis merely removes the need for guesswork on how uncertainties affect performance and is comparable to the use of elasto-plastic theory to remove the guesswork on how loads induce stresses and deformations.
Effect of elastic cavity wall and occlusal loading on microleakage and dentin bond strength.

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effect of an unfilled-adhesive resin (Adper Single Bond) and a filled-adhesive resin (Adper Single Bond 2) with and without a low viscosity resin (Filtek Flow) as an elastic cavity wall on marginal leakage and dentin microtensile bond strength in Class V composite restorations under unloaded and loaded conditions. METHODS V-shaped cavities were prepared on the buccal surfaces of 56 premolars lined with unfilled (Groups 1 and 3) or filled (Groups 2 and 4) adhesives with (Groups 3 and 4) and without (Groups 1 and 2) a low viscosity resin and restored with a resin composite. The restored teeth in each group were divided into two sub-groups for unloaded and loaded conditions with 50N loading force for 250,000 cycles parallel to the long-axis of the tooth. Five specimens from each group were cut bucco-lingually 0.7 mm thick and subjected to a dye leakage test for four hours using 2% methylene blue dye. The tested specimens were then trimmed into dumbbell shapes at the gingival margin and subjected to microtensile testing. The remaining two specimens were cut, embedded and observed for resin/dentin interfaces under a scanning electron microscope. RESULTS For the microleakage test, there were no significant differences in microleakage among the groups on both the enamel and dentin margin. No statistically significant differences were found between microleakage of the loaded and unloaded groups on enamel margins for all materials. There were statistically significant differences between microleakage of the loaded and unloaded groups on the dentin margin for Groups 3 and 4. For the microtensile test, the significant difference was found between Groups 1 and 4 for the unloaded groups. For the loaded groups, there were no significant differences between Groups 1 and 2 and Groups 3 and 4. There were no statistically significant differences in microtensile bond strength between the loaded and unloaded groups except for Group 2. CONCLUSION The application of filled adhesive or low viscosity resin had no influence on marginal leakage at both the enamel and dentin margin but it had an influence on the microtensile bond strength to dentin of Class V restorations. Occlusal loading significantly increased the degree of marginal leakage at the dentin margin when low viscosity was applied in combination with either unfilled or filled-adhesives, but it decreased dentin bond strength in the group treated with only filled adhesive.