Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Art in Britain under the Romans

IT could have been predicted that this book would be greeted with the criticism that it was a waste of great talent on an unworthy subject. How superficial this criticism is can be judged by reading the first chapter alone, which puts art in Roman Britain into its imperial context, and is further emphasized the more one reads. Perhaps the most impressive feature of this book to the general reader will be the way in which from scattered and fragmentary evidence Professor Toynbee reconstructs a convincing picture of the mass of works of art of every sort that once could be seen in Roman Britain. The impressionistic picture of the artistic scene and the place of the artist in the life of the province constructed in the introductory sections is backed up with a wealth of detail mentioning and usually describing and assessing a very large proportion of the works of art from the greatest to the smallest objects known. Particularly notable is the use of evidence from the many often overlooked fragments of official sculpture, in conjunction with analogy from other provinces, to give an impression in some depth of the important place imperiallyinspired works of sculpture must have had, and to make one realize the visual impact these works must have made in the cities and military establishments which they chiefly adorned. The vividness of the picture which Professor Toynbee creates (and the convincing nature of her evidence for the former presence of immensely more works of art of importance than now remain) is a sufficient justification for the employment of intense scholarship on the scale here presented.
High Accuracy Multi-color Pyrometry for High Temperature Surfaces

An evaluation of previously proposed least-squares multi-color pyrometry methods was carried out to determine their highest achievable accuracy. The study was limited to the visible spectrum and the temperature range of 1700 to 3000 K, typical of electrode surfaces in high-power electric propulsion thrusters. A Monte-Carlo simulation of the various methods showed the eects that the number of colors of the pyrometer, the errors associated with noise and calibration, and the number of measurements have on the uncertainty of the predicted temperature. Some of these methods were found to lead to inaccurate results, an underestimate of the uncertainty of the predicted temperature, or yield larger uncertainties than single-color pyrometry. The two methods that were found to yield the highest accuracy without underestimating the uncertainty are based on tting the intensity versus wavelength data with three free parameters (temperature and the two coecien ts of the emissivity versus wavelength model). Adding complementary measurements, at the price of spatial or temporal resolution, is shown to allow a reduction of the uncertainty in the predicted temperature well below that associated with single-color pyrometry.
Adaptive sampling for on-the-fly ray casting of particle-based fluids

We present a fast and accurate ray casting technique for unstructured and dynamic particle sets. Our technique focuses on efficient, high quality volume rendering of fluids for computer animation and scientific applications. Our novel adaptive sampling scheme allows to locally adjust sampling rates both along rays and in lateral direction and is driven by a user-controlled screen space error tolerance. In order to determine appropriate local sampling rates, we propose a sampling error analysis framework based on hierarchical interval arithmetic. We show that our approach leads to significant rendering speed-ups with controllable screen space errors. Efficient particle access is achieved using a sparse view-aligned grid which is constructed on-the-fly without any pre-processing.
Free radical scavenger protects against inner hair cell loss after cochlear ischemia

We investigated the protective effects of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, against ischemic damage of inner hair cells (IHCs) in gerbils. Cochlear ischemia was induced in the animals by occluding the vertebral arteries bilaterally for 15 min. Edaravone (1 mg/kg, i.v.) or saline was administered 1 h after ischemia. Hearing was assessed by auditory brain response (ABR). In animals treated with saline, the ABR threshold shift was 24.1 dB and there was a 26.5% decrease in the number of IHCs. By contrast, in animals treated with edaravone, the threshold shift was 7.5 dB and only 8.8% of IHCs was lost. These results suggest that edaravone protects against damage to the inner ear following transient ischemia.
Magnetic correlations in the extended kagome YBaCo4O7 probed by single-crystal neutron scattering.

We have studied the frustrated system YBaCo4O7.0 generally described as an alternating stacking of kagome and triangular layers of magnetic ions on a trigonal lattice, by single-crystal neutron diffraction experiments above the Néel ordering transition. Experimental data reveal pronounced magnetic diffuse scattering, which is successfully modeled by direct Monte Carlo simulations. Long-range magnetic correlations are found along the c axis, due to the presence of corner-sharing bipyramids, creating quasi-one-dimensional order at finite temperature. In contrast, in the kagome layers (ab plane), the spin-spin correlation function, displaying a short-range 120 degrees configuration, decays rapidly as typically found in spin liquids. YBaCo4O7 experimentally realizes a new class of two-dimensional frustrated systems where the strong out-of-plane coupling does not lift the in-plane degeneracy, but instead acts as an external "field. "
Perfluorooctanoic acid alters T lymphocyte phenotypes and cytokine expression in mice

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been used in commercial applications and detected in environmental matrices. This study focuses on whether PFOA affects the function of immune organs (spleen and thymus). Male ICR mice were exposed to 0, 2, 10, 50, and 250 ppm of PFOA in drinking water for 21 days. PFOA differently altered T lymphocyte populations. In the spleen, all doses of PFOA decreased CD8+ lymphocytes; CD4+ lymphocytes were increased by 50 and 250 ppm of PFOA. Exposure to 250 ppm of PFOA increased CD8+ lymphocytes in the thymus. In the histopathological evaluation, the spleen of 250 ppm PFOA‐treated groups revealed the increase of lymphoid hyperplasia of white pulp without significant alteration of red pulp. The thymus of 250 ppm PFOA‐treated group showed decreased thickness of the cortex and medulla, but lymphoid cells were more densely arranged. PFOA elevated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin‐1β, and interleukin‐6) in the spleen, and proto‐oncogene, c‐myc, in the spleen and thymus. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that PFOA has an immunomodulatory effect by altering T lymphocyte phenotypes and gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2009.
Compact Microstrip Lowpass Filter with Ultra-Wide Stopband

A new microstrip lowpass filter to achieve ultra wide stopband and miniaturized physical size is presented in this article. An interdigital structure embedded between the symmetric dual stepped high-low impedance resonators provides improved roll-off rate together with the generation of finite attenuation poles at high frequency. With the introduction of symmetrical series connected coupled inductive stubs and rectangular patch capacitors, the proposed filter has successfully achieved the characteristics such as compactness, high selectivity, low insertion loss and rejection of unwanted harmonics. It is designed, fabricated and measurements taken successfully.
Optic disc microcirculation in superior segmental optic hypoplasia assessed with laser speckle flowgraphy

1. Savige J, Colville D. Opinion: Ocular features aid the diagnosis of Alport syndrome. Nat Rev Nephrol 2009; 5: 356–60. 2. Savige J, Liu J, DeBuc DC et al. Retinal basement membrane abnormalities and the retinopathy of Alport syndrome. Invest Ophthalmol Visual Sci 2010; 51: 1621–7. 3. Herwig MC, Eter N, Holz FG, Loeffler KU. Corneal clouding in Alport syndrome. Cornea 2011; 30: 367–70. 4. McCartney PJ, McGuiness R. Alport’s syndrome and the eye. Aust NZ J Ophthalmol 1989; 17: 165–8. 5. Saika S, Hayashi Y, Miyamoto T, Yoshitomi T, Ohnishi Y. Multiple retinal holes in the macular region: a case report. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2002; 240: 578–9.
Phase-I/II Study of Bortezomib in Combination with Carboplatin and Bevacizumab as First-Line Therapy in Patients With Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Background: This study aimed to establish the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of weekly bortezomib in combination with fixed standard doses of carboplatin and bevacizumab, and to estimate the efficacy (response rate and progression free survival [PFS]) and safety of combination therapy with carboplatin, bortezomib, and bevacizumab as first-line therapy in patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Patients were assigned to three dose levels of weekly bortezomib with the fixed standard doses of carboplatin AUC 6 and bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) every 3 weeks using a standard phase-I design. Bortezomib doses were 1.3 mg/m2, 1.6 mg/m2, and 1.8 mg/m2 weekly on day 1 and day 8 of every 3-week cycle. A maximum of six cycles was administered. Patients with complete, partial response or stable disease were continued on single-agent bevacizumab (15 mg/kg every 3 weeks) as maintenance therapy. In phase II, either level III or MTD was administered to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination in first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. Results: Sixteen patients were enrolled (three, four, and nine patients in dose level I, II, and III, respectively). There was no predefined dose limiting toxicity in cycle 1 in all 16 patients. The recommended phase-II dose is bortezomib 1.8 mg/m2 weekly on day 1 and day 8 in combination with carboplatin AUC 6 and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg on every 21-day cycle. Totally 9 patients were treated at the recommended phase-II dose level. The most common treatment related grade-3/4 toxicities during the subsequent cycles were thrombocytopenia (58%), lymphopenia (25%), neutropenia (12%), and diarrhea (25%). The grade-1/2 neuropathy was seen in 7 out of 16 patients (44%). The response rate, PFS, and overall survival in all patients were 37.5% (95%CI 13.8%–61.2%), 5.0 months (95%CI: 3.1–8.4), 9.9 months (95% CI: 8.2–14.1), and among the 9 patients in phase-II portion are 44% (95%CI 15.3%–77.3%), 5.5 months (95%CI: 3.1–2.2) and 10.9 months (95%CI: 8.0–14.1). Conclusion: The recommended phase-II dose for this combination is: carboplatin AUC 6, bevacizumab 15 mg/kg on day 1 and bortezomib 1.8 mg/m2 on day 1 and day 8 on every 21-day cycle. The regimen was very well tolerated with interesting clinical activity in first-line treatment of NSCLC.
Psychological aspects in anonymous and non-anonymous oocyte donation.

A study, in which 110 patients were screened by a psychoanalyst, included 69 recipients who chose non-anonymous oocyte donation, i.e. they received oocytes from a known donor, most frequently a sister or a close relative. Another 41 recipients received anonymous oocytes, but had to bring a donor. Psychological motivations for either choice are reported, and significant topics such as attitudes towards confidentiality and links to the child are compared. No specific psychopathology is reported at this stage. An additional study on children born by these techniques is ongoing.
Sonography versus Plain x Rays in Diagnosis of Nasal Fractures

Background The standard imaging procedure for suspected nasal fractures has been radiography (XR). However, its usefulness for clinical decision making is highly controversial. High-resolution ultrasonography now offers a promising new diagnostic imaging option. In this study we compared the diagnostic value of high-resolution ultrasonography and conventional XR in the evaluation of suspected nasal fractures. Methods A prospective single-blinded study was performed. Ultrasound (US) and XR findings in 80 patients with suspected nasal fractures were compared with the definite clinical diagnosis with respect to sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. Results For detection of fractures of the nasal dorsum, both modalities had high sensitivity (98 and 88% for US and XR, respectively) and specificity (95% for both US and XR). In lateral nasal wall fractures, specificity was higher for XR (75% versus 94%). Sensitivity was significantly higher for the US examination (98% versus 28%). In summary, the accuracy was higher for US. Conclusion When available, US should be the first-line imaging procedure in the evaluation of nasal fractures.
Abnormal iron metabolism and oxidative stress in mice expressing a mutant form of the ferritin light polypeptide gene

Insertional mutations in exon 4 of the ferritin light chain (FTL) gene are associated with hereditary ferritinopathy (HF) or neuroferritinopathy, an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive impairment of motor and cognitive functions. To determine the pathogenic mechanisms by which mutations in FTL lead to neurodegeneration, we investigated iron metabolism and markers of oxidative stress in the brain of transgenic (Tg) mice that express the mutant human FTL498‐499InsTC cDNA. Compared with wild‐type mice, brain extracts from Tg (FTL‐Tg) mice showed an increase in the cytoplasmic levels of both FTL and ferritin heavy chain polypeptides, a decrease in the protein and mRNA levels of transferrin receptor‐1, and a significant increase in iron levels. Transgenic mice also showed the presence of markers for lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, and nitrone–protein adducts in the brain. However, gene expression analysis of iron management proteins in the liver of Tg mice indicates that the FTL‐Tg mouse liver is iron deficient. Our data suggest that disruption of iron metabolism in the brain has a primary role in the process of neurodegeneration in HF and that the pathogenesis of HF is likely to result from a combination of reduction in iron storage function and enhanced toxicity associated with iron‐induced ferritin aggregates in the brain.
The Use of Esmolol, Nicardipine, or Their Combination to Blunt Hemodynamic Changes After Laryngoscopy and Tracheal Intubation

Laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation (LTI) often provoke an undesirable increase in blood pressure (BP) and/or heart rate (HR). We tested the premise that nicardipine (NIC) and esmolol (ESM) in combination (COMB) would oppose both. Adult surgical patients received pretreatment (randomized) with IV bolus NIC 30 &mgr;g/kg (n = 31), ESM 1.0 mg/kg (n = 34), or COMB (one-half dose each, n = 32). Peak BP and HR after LTI were compared with controls (CONT;n = 35) with no pretreatment. Anesthetic induction was standardized: IV thiopental (5–7 mg/kg), fentanyl (1–2 &mgr;g/kg), and succinylcholine (1.5 mg/kg). Systolic (S), diastolic (D), and mean (M) BP and HR awake before pretreatment (baseline) were similar in all test groups. No patient was treated for hypotension, bradycardia, or tachycardia after pretreatment or anesthetic induction. Peak HR after LTI was increased versus baseline in CONT and all test groups, but did not differ from CONT among the test groups. Peak SBP and DBP increased versus baseline in CONT, and with ESM and NIC, but not COMB. Peak SBP, DBP, and MBP were increased with ESM versus COMB, and peak DBP with ESM versus NIC. Compared with no pretreatment before the IV induction of general anesthesia, the peak increase in BP after LTI is best blunted by the combination of nicardipine and ESM, compared with either drug alone. No single drug or combination in the doses tested opposed increased HR. Implications Compared with no pretreatment before the IV induction of general anesthesia, the peak increase in blood pressure after laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation is best blunted by the combination of nicardipine and esmolol, compared with either drug alone. No single drug or combination in the doses tested opposed increased heart rate.
The Gastrin Receptor Antagonist Netazepide (YF476) Prevents Oxyntic Mucosal Inflammation Induced by Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Mongolian Gerbils

Long‐term Helicobacter pylori infection causes gastritis leading to hypergastrinemia and predisposes to gastric cancer. Our aim was to assess the role of gastrin in oxyntic mucosal inflammation in H. pylori‐infected Mongolian gerbils by means of the gastrin receptor antagonist netazepide (YF476).
Long‐term remission of blastic natural killer‐cell lymphoma after autologous peripheral blood stem‐cell transplantation

We report here a case of blastic natural killer (NK)‐cell lymphoma treated successfully with autologous peripheral blood stem‐cell transplantation (APBSCT). A 57‐year‐old man had skin tumors and was diagnosed as having blastic NK‐cell lymphoma by tumor biopsy. Skin, lymph nodes, left tonsil, and bone marrow were involved at presentation. Chemotherapy led to complete remission (CR). To sustain CR, the patient underwent high‐dose chemotherapy in combination with 12 Gy of total‐body irradiation (TBI) followed by autologous peripheral blood stem‐cell rescue. He showed rapid recovery of hematopoiesis and could tolerate regimen‐related toxicity after APBSCT. He has maintained long‐term remission for 20 months after APBSCT. From this case, we concluded that APBSCT with preconditioning by TBI‐containing regimens might be a cure‐attaining treatment for disseminated blastic NK‐cell lymphoma and should be considered as a choice of treatment in cases where no suitable donors for allogeneic transplantation are available. Am. J. Hematol. 80:124–127, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES AND THEIR CONTROL THROUGH COWPATHY

In the thirst of modernization and industrialization man has contributed pollution to the life and ecology of plants, animals and microbes. Increased demand for food and fiber has lead to the chemicalization of agriculture and we have reached on such a stage that modern agriculture is dependent on high yielding varieties, which can only be grown under the influence of fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides are the man made chemicals which are being used to produce enough cheap food. In India, 90,000 MT of technical grade pesticides are used annually to control pests and plant diseases. The pesticides are classified as insecticides, fungicides, weedicides, herbicides, nematodicides and rodenticides; of which insecticides constitutes 77% of the total pesticides used in different agricultural and animal husbandry practices and in public health operations. Majority of these pesticides are beneficial when used for specific purposes, handled properly and applied as per the recommendations of the manufacturer. However, over the years, there has been a mounting fear and concern that indiscriminate and improportionate use of pesticides may lead to their residues in food chain which may exert their harmful effects in human beings and animals. In an ideal pesticide application, the chemical should fall exactly on the target and be degraded completely to harmless compounds but this never occurs and only some part of the pesticide hits the target pests while remaining drifts into the environment. If we look retrospectively, we find that the use of pesticides started during second world war when these hazardous and toxic poisons were considered as chemical weapons. A Swiss scientist Paul Muller invented DDT in the year 1939 which was considered as a wonder chemical that kills the insects, pests and was found wonderful in malaria control programmes. But soon after the discovery of DDT, its harmful effects also came into the knowledge of the scientists. In 1944, A famous biologist found harmful effects of DDT in birds, which produced thin shelled eggs, easily broken in nests resulting into failure of reproduction and decline of bird population. The amount of pesticides used in India is very low (only 0.5 kg/ha) as compared to other developed countries (Table 1), even then we have much higher pesticide residues in food of our country. Table 1. Consumption of pesticides in different countries
Endogenous ACh enhances striatal NMDA‐responses via M1‐like muscarinic receptors and PKC activation

Cortical glutamatergic fibres and cholinergic inputs arising from large aspiny interneurons converge on striatal spiny neurons and play a major role in the control of motor activity. We have investigated the interaction between excitatory amino acids and acetylcholine (ACh) on striatal spiny neurons by utilizing intracellular recordings, both in current‐ and in voltage‐clamp mode in rat brain slices. Muscarine (0.3–10 μm) produced a reversible and dose‐dependent increase in the membrane depolarizations/inward currents induced by brief applications of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA), while it did not affect the α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionate (AMPA)‐induced responses. These concentrations of muscarine did not alter the membrane potential and the current‐voltage relationship of the recorded cells. Neostigmine (0.3–10 μm), an ACh‐esterase inhibitor, mimicked this facilitatory effect. The facilitatory effects of muscarine and neostigmine were antagonized either by scopolamine (3 μm) or by pirenzepine (10–100 nm), an antagonist of M1‐like muscarinic receptors, but not by methoctramine (300 nm), an antagonist of M2‐like muscarinic receptor. Accordingly, these facilitatory effects were mimicked by McN‐A‐343 (1–10 μm), an agonist of M1‐like muscarinic receptors, but not by oxotremorine (300 nm), an agonist of M2‐like receptors. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) did not block the facilitatory effect produced by the activation of muscarinic receptors suggesting that this effect is postsynaptically mediated. The action of neostigmine was prevented either by the intracellular calcium (Ca2+) chelator BAPTA (200 mm) or by preincubating the slices with inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC) (staurosporine 100 nm or calphostin C 1 μm). McN‐A‐343 did not alter the excitatory post synaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by corticostriatal stimulation in the presence of physiological concentration of magnesium (Mg2+ 1.2 mm), while it enhanced the duration of these EPSPs recorded in the absence of external magnesium. Our data show that endogenous striatal ACh exerts a positive modulatory action on NMDA responses via M1‐like muscarinic receptors and PKC activation.