Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased mammary blood flow in the lactating goat induced by parathyroid hormone‐related protein

Human synthetic parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) increased mammary blood flow (MBF) following close‐arterial infusion via the external pudic artery in goats during mid‐lactation. MBF increased 74 +/− 8% within 30 min of the start of continuous infusion of PTHrP compared with 10 +/− 3% in controls. MBF decreased by 90 min, however, and was not different from control values for the remainder of the infusion. The increase in plasma concentrations of calcium and decrease in phosphate during PTHrP suggests that this was not due to altered activity of PTHrP, but may relate to downregulation of response or production of counter‐regulatory vasoconstrictive agents within the gland. This problem was alleviated when PTHrP was infused in a pulsatile fashion. An average 14‐40% increase in MBF was achieved over 6 h, but this did not alter the rate of milk secretion, suggesting that mammary hyperaemia is not sufficient by itself to increase milk yield in the normally lactating goat. MBF increased in a dose‐dependent fashion, although the lowest dose used to give a detectable response was approximately 40‐fold higher than the concentration normally present in the mammary venous circulation. Thus, endogenous PTHrP may not be an important regulator of MBF during lactation in the goat.
The potential application of a biomarker approach for the investigation of low-calorie sweetener exposure

Low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) are commonly used as sugar substitutes in the diet to provide a desired sweet taste without increased energy intake. The number of LCS available on the market has increased considerably over the years and despite extensive evaluation of their safety prior to approval, debate continues around the effects of consumption on health. In Europe, Member States are obligated to monitor exposure to LCS and methods currently used tend to rely on self-reported dietary intake data alongside LCS concentrations in products. However, the acquisition of accurate data can be costly in terms of resources and time and are inherently imprecise. Although LCS are intensely sweet, they are chemically diverse and a limitation of many studies investigating the health effects of consumption is that they often fail to discern intakes of individual LCS. An approach which objectively assesses intakes of individual LCS would therefore allow robust investigations of their possible effects on health. Biomarker approaches have been utilised for the objective investigation of intakes of a range of dietary components and the feasibility of any such approach depends upon its validity as well as its applicability within the target population. This review aims to provide an overview of current understanding of LCS intake and explore the possibility of implementing a biomarker approach to enhance such understanding. Several commonly used LCS, once absorbed into the body, are excreted via the kidneys; therefore a urinary biomarker approach may be possible for the investigation of short-term exposure to these compounds.
Research on performances of back-illuminated scientific CMOS for astronomical observations

To evaluate performances of a back-illuminated scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera for astronomical observations, comparison tests between Andor Marana sCMOS and Andor iKon-L 936 CCD cameras were conducted in a laboratory and on a telescope. The laboratory tests showed that the readout noise of the sCMOS camera is about half lower, the dark current is about 17 times higher, the dynamic range is lower in the 12-bit setting and higher in the 16-bit setting, and the linearity and bias stability are comparable relative to those of the CCD camera. In field tests, we observed the open cluster M67 with the sCMOS and CCD cameras on a 60 cm telescope. Unlike the CCD camera, the sCMOS camera has a dual-amplifier architecture. Since a 16-bit image of the sCMOS camera is composed of two 12-bit images sampled with 12-bit high gain and low gain amplifiers simultaneously, it is not real 16-bit output data. The evaluation tests indicated that the dual-amplifier architecture of the sCMOS camera leads to a decline of photometric stability by about six times around specific pixel counts. For photometry of bright objects with similar magnitudes that require high frame rates, the sCMOS camera under 12-bit setting is a good choice. Therefore, the sCMOS camera is fitted with survey observations of variable objects requiring short exposure times, mostly less than 1 s, and high frame rates. It also satisfies the requirements for an offset guiding instrument owing to its high sensitivity, high temporal resolution and high stability.
Unilateral Optic Disc Edema Following Trabeculectomy

Two cases of a benign form of optic disc edema after successful trabeculectomy are reported. In both patients, optic disc edema was noted 2 to 4 weeks after trabeculectomy. The edema occurred without loss of visual acuity or field. The absolute intraocular pressure and intracranial pressure were normal—that is, the edema was not a syndrome of hypotony or pseudotumor cerebri. However, both patients had intracranial pressure in the high-normal range. The decrease in intraocular pressure into the, low-normal range after trabeculectomy may have altered the intracranial pressure;intraocular pressure ratio at the lamina cribrosa enough to produce optic disc edema.
Child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric bipolar disorder: development and preliminary results.

OBJECTIVE To describe child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CFF-CBT), a new developmentally sensitive psychosocial intervention for pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) that is intended for use along with medication. CFF-CBT integrates principles of family-focused therapy with those of CBT. The theoretical framework is based on (1). the specific problems of children and families coping with bipolar disorder, (2). a biological theory of excessive reactivity, and (3). the role of environmental stressors in outcome. CFF-CBT actively engages parents and children over 12 hour-long sessions. METHOD An exploratory investigation was conducted to determine the feasibility of CFF-CBT. Participants included 34 patients with PBD (mean age 11.33 years, SD = 3.06) who were treated with CFF-CBT plus medication in a specialty clinic. Treatment integrity, adherence, and parent satisfaction were assessed. Symptom severity and functioning were evaluated before and after treatment using the severity scales of the Clinical Global Impression Scales for Bipolar Disorder (CGI-BP) and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) respectively. RESULTS On completion of therapy, patients with PBD showed significant reductions in severity scores on all CGI-BP scales and significantly higher CGAS scores compared to pretreatment results. High levels of treatment integrity, adherence, and satisfaction were achieved. CONCLUSIONS CFF-CBT has a strong theoretical and conceptual foundation and represents a promising approach to the treatment of PBD. Preliminary results support the potential feasibility of the intervention.
Baculovirus Envelope Protein ODV-E66 Is a Novel Chondroitinase with Distinct Substrate Specificity*

Chondroitin sulfate is a linear polysaccharide of alternating d-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine residues with sulfate groups at various positions of the sugars. It interacts with and regulates cytokine and growth factor signal transduction, thus influencing development, organ morphogenesis, inflammation, and infection. We found chondroitinase activity in medium conditioned by baculovirus-infected insect cells and identified a novel chondroitinase. Sequence analysis revealed that the enzyme was a truncated form of occlusion-derived virus envelope protein 66 (ODV-E66) of Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus. The enzyme was a novel chondroitin lyase with distinct substrate specificity. The enzyme was active over a wide range of pH (pH 4–9) and temperature (30–60 °C) and was unaffected by divalent metal ions. The ODV-E66 truncated protein digested chondroitin most efficiently followed by chondroitin 6-sulfate. It degraded hyaluronan to a minimal extent but did not degrade dermatan sulfate, heparin, and N-acetylheparosan. Further analysis using chemo-enzymatically synthesized substrates revealed that the enzyme specifically acted on glucuronate residues in non-sulfated and chondroitin 6-sulfate structures but not in chondroitin 4-sulfate structures. These results suggest that this chondroitinase is useful for detailed structural and compositional analysis of chondroitin sulfate, preparation of specific chondroitin oligosaccharides, and study of baculovirus infection mechanism.
Brainstem efferents from the interface between the nucleus medialis and the nucleus interpositus in the rat

In a previous report (Buisseret‐Delmas et al. [1993] Neurosci. Res. 16:195–207), the authors identified the interface between the cerebellar nuclei medialis and interpositus as the origin of the nuclear output from cortical zone X. They named this nuclear interface the interstitial cell group (icg). In this study, the authors analyzed the icg efferents to the brainstem by using the anterograde and retrograde tracer biotinylated dextran amine. The main targets of these efferents are from rostral to caudal: 1) the accessory oculomotor nuclear region, essentially, the interstitial nucleus of Cajal; 2) the caudoventral region of the red nucleus; 3) a dorsal zone of the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis; 4) restricted regions of the four main vestibular nuclei; and 5) three restricted areas in the inferior olive, one that is caudal in the medial accessory subnucleus and two others that are rostral and caudal in the dorsal accessory subnucleus, respectively. These data support the notion that the icg contributes to the control of gaze‐orientation mechanisms, particularly those that are related to the vestibuloocular reflex. J. Comp. Neurol. 402:264–275, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Indicator-based sustainability assessment of the smallholder beef cattle production system in South Africa

ABSTRACT Ninety-five farmers were involved in deriving a set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators, which were used to assess sustainability of the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The derived indicators were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale and aggregated to provide a net sustainability score. Net sustainability scores were grouped into three categories; non-sustainable (<33%), partially sustainable (33–65%), and sustainable (>65%). Aggregate sustainability scores showed that the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu, respectively, was socially (48.2% and 56.6%) and environmentally (54.2% and 57%) partially sustainable, but economically (15.7% and 10.8%) non-sustainable. Aggregate scores of the two communities (Ncorha, 37% and Gxwalibomvu, 41.0%) indicated that they were both partially sustainable. Holistic agroecological interventions and institutional support have the potential to improve the economic dimension of sustainability while simultaneously maintaining or improving the social and environmental dimensions. Adoption of agroecological interventions can be facilitated through farmer field schools.
Does Policy Uncertainty Affect Mergers and Acquisitions?

Using a recently developed measure of political and regulatory uncertainty, we document that policy uncertainty is strongly negatively associated with merger and acquisition activity at the macro and firm levels. Increases in policy uncertainty are associated with significant declines in aggregate deal volume and value, and in the likelihood of merger waves. Further, a one standard deviation increase in policy uncertainty is associated with an 8.9% decrease in acquisition likelihood (relative to the unconditional mean) during the following year. The effect of policy uncertainty varies in the cross section, with stronger effects if the target represents a less reversible investment, faces similar policy risk exposure, or if the acquirer's product demand or stock returns exhibit greater policy uncertainty sensitivity. The effect is attenuated for deals that cannot be delayed or result in vertical integration. To alleviate endogeneity concerns stemming from an omitted variable bias, we control for a wide array of proxies for overall economic conditions, potential valuation waves, and other sources of uncertainty and employ an instrumental variables approach.
The second national survey of oral health status of children and adults in China.

OBJECTIVES To describe the oral health status of Chinese children and adults at national level in relation to location and province and to highlight changes in dental caries experience. DESIGN Cross-sectional study, oral epidemiological survey based on WHO methodology, clinical examinations. SETTING National survey by National Committee for Oral Health. SUBJECTS Representative samples of provinces, districts, townships; cluster sampling including subjects aged 5,12,15,18, 35-44 and 65-74. Each age group consisted of 23,452 participants, i.e. total of 140,712 individuals. RESULTS At age 5, 76.6% were affected by dental caries and mean dmft was 4.5. Mean DMFT varied from 1.0 in 12-year-olds, 1.4 in 15-year-olds, 1.6 in 18-year-olds, 2.1 in 35-44-year-olds to 12.4 in 65-74-year-olds. In adults, caries experience was higher in females than in males. The effect of urbanisation on caries prevalence in children varied by province and age. Among adolescents and young adults caries levels were high in urban areas while caries experience was high for old-age people of rural areas. At national level, changes in dental caries prevalence of 12- and 15-year-olds were small. However, some provinces with extensive oral health programmes (e.g. Love Teeth Day) showed declining caries experience whereas provinces with limited preventive activities had increasing levels of caries. For all age groups, gingival bleeding and calculus were most frequent. Severe periodontal conditions were relatively rare. CONCLUSION The systematic implementation of preventive oral care and community-oriented health programmes are needed for the continuous promotion of oral health in China.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Until the 1990s, the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) recognized hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as the best treatment for those patients with an available donor. With the advent of imatinib in 2001, this paradigm changed dramatically as this drug provided outstanding and durable rates of hematologic, cytogenetic, and molecular responses. As a consequence it became the gold standard first-line treatment for most patients. However, after almost a decade of its use, it is clear that although very effective, imatinib cannot cure CML as transplantation has already proven so. Furthermore, the new non-myeloablative regimens and the improvements in survival after allogeneic transplant, especially in the field of unrelated transplants, offer this option to a broader population of patients with CML. This adds to the old question of whom to transplant, when and how to proceed with the allograft. This article reviews the current role of transplantation in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and will try to elucidate its role in the frontline setting as well as after first- and second-line kinase inhibitors failure.
An Improved Set of Standards for Finding Cost for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Background:Guidelines have helped standardize methods of cost-effectiveness analysis, allowing different interventions to be compared and enhancing the generalizability of study findings. There is agreement that all relevant services be valued from the societal perspective using a long-term time horizon and that more exact methods be used to cost services most affected by the study intervention. Guidelines are not specific enough with respect to costing methods, however. Method:The literature was reviewed to identify the problems associated with the 4 principal methods of cost determination. Findings:Microcosting requires direct measurement and is ordinarily reserved to cost novel interventions. Analysts should include nonwage labor cost, person-level and institutional overhead, and the cost of development, set-up activities, supplies, space, and screening. Activity-based cost systems have promise of finding accurate costs of all services provided, but are not widely adopted. Quality must be evaluated and the generalizability of cost estimates to other settings must be considered. Administrative cost estimates, chiefly cost-adjusted charges, are widely used, but the analyst must consider items excluded from the available system. Gross costing methods determine quantity of services used and employ a unit cost. If the intervention will affect the characteristics of a service, the method should not assume that the service is homogeneous. Conclusions:Questions are posed for future reviews of the quality of costing methods. The analyst must avoid inappropriate assumptions, especially those that bias the analysis by exclusion of costs that are affected by the intervention under study.
Equivalent Circuit Representation and Analysis of Galloping-Based Wind Energy Harvesting

Small-scale wind energy can be harvested for wireless sensing applications by exploiting the galloping phenomenon of a bluff body attached to a piezoelectric cantilever. Certain predictive model is required to understand the behavior of such a galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvester (GPEH). Conventional analytical and numerical models have simplified the interface circuit as a pure resistor. In practice, the energy generated by the harvester should be rectified before delivery to a real application. In such a case, the formulation of analytical or numerical model becomes cumbersome considering the complex coupling between the structure, fluid, piezoelectric transducer, and practical interface circuit. This paper proposes an equivalent circuit representation approach to predict the performance of GPEHs, capable of incorporating various interface circuits. The mechanical parameters and piezoelectric coupling in the system are represented by standard electronic components and the aerodynamic force by a user-defined component (nonstandard). The entire system is modeled in a circuit simulator for system-level simulation and evaluation. The proposed approach is verified by theoretical solution and experiment. Subsequent parametric study is performed to investigate the influence of standard ac and dc interfaces on the GPEH's behavior, with a focus on the threshold of galloping, power output, and induced electrical damping.
Biomechanical Evaluation of the X-Stop Device for Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study Design: Controlled experimental study. Objective: To evaluate the kinematical effects of X-Stop device on the spinal process at the operated and the adjacent segments before and after X-Stop surgeries during various weight-bearing postures in elderly patients with lumbar spine stenosis. Summary of Background Data: The mechanism of interspinous process (ISP) devices is to directly distract the ISP of the implanted level to indirectly decompress the intervertebra foramen and spinal canal. Few studies have investigated the changes of ISP gap caused by X-Stop implantation using magnetic resonance imaging or radiography, but the effect of X-Stop surgery on the kinematics of spinous processes during functional activities is still unclear. Methods: Eight patients were tested before and, on average, 7 months after surgical implantation of the X-Stop devices using a combined computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging and dual fluoroscopic imaging system during weight-bearing standing, flexion-extension, left-right bending, and left-right twisting positions of the torso. The shortest distances of the ISPs at the operated and the adjacent levels were measured using iterative closest point method and was dissected into vertical (gap) and horizontal (lateral translation) components. Results: At the operated levels, the shortest vertical ISP distances (gap) significantly (P<0.05) increased by 1.5 mm during standing, 1.2 mm during left twist, 1.3 mm during extension, and 1.1 mm during flexion, whereas they also increased yet not significantly (P>0.05) in right twist, left bend, and right bend after the X-Stop implantation. The lateral translations were not significantly affected. At both cephalad and caudad adjacent levels, the ISP distances (vertical and horizontal) were not significantly affected during all postures after X-Stop implantation. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that implantation of the X-Stop devices can effectively distract the ISP space at the diseased level without causing apparent kinematic changes at the adjacent segments during the studied postures.
Compound haploinsufficiencies of Ebf1 and Runx1 genes impede B cell lineage progression

Early B cell factor (EBF)1 is essential for B lineage specification. Previously, we demonstrated the synergistic activation of Cd79a (mb-1) genes by EBF1 and its functional partner, RUNX1. Here, we identified consequences of Ebf1 haploinsufficiency together with haploinsufficiency of Runx1 genes in mice. Although numbers of “committed” pro-B cells were maintained in Ebf1+/−Runx1+/− (ERhet) mice, activation of B cell-specific gene transcription was depressed in these cells. Expression of genes encoding Aiolos, κ0 sterile transcripts, CD2 and CD25 were reduced and delayed in ERhet pro-B cells, whereas surface expression of BP-1 was increased on late pro-B cells in ERhet mice. Late pre-B and immature and mature B cells were decreased in the bone marrow of Ebf1+/− (Ehet) mice and were nearly absent in ERhet mice. Although we did not observe significant effects of haploinsuficiencies on IgH or Igκ rearrangements, a relative lack of Igλ rearrangements was detected in Ehet and ERhet pre-B cells. Together, these observations suggest that B cell lineage progression is impaired at multiple stages in the bone marrow of Ehet and ERhet mice. Furthermore, enforced expression of EBF1 and RUNX1 in terminally differentiated plasmacytoma cells activated multiple early B cell-specific genes synergistically. Collectively, these studies illuminate the effects of reduced Ebf1 dosage and the compounding effects of reduced Runx1 dosage. Our data confirm and extend the importance of EBF1 in regulating target genes and Ig gene rearrangements necessary for B cell lineage specification, developmental progression, and homeostasis.