Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postinjury administration of 17β‐estradiol induces protection in the gray and white matter with associated functional recovery after cervical spinal cord injury in male rats

The majority of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) in the clinic occur at the lower cervical levels, resulting in both white and gray matter disruption. In contrast, most experimental models of SCI in rodents induce damage in the thoracic cord, resulting primarily in white matter disruption. To address this disparity, experimental cervical SCI models have been developed. Thus, we used a recently characterized model of cervical hemicontusion SCI in adult male rats to assess the potential therapeutic effect of post‐SCI administration of 17β‐estradiol. Rats received a hemicontusion at the level of the fifth cervical vertebra (C5) followed by administration of 17β‐estradiol via a slow release pellet (0.5 or 5.0 mg/pellet) beginning at 30 minutes post‐SCI. Behavioral evaluation of skilled and unskilled forelimb function and locomotor function were conducted for 7 weeks after SCI. Upon conclusion of the behavioral assessments, spinal cords were collected and histochemistry and stereology were conducted to evaluate the effect of treatment on the lesion characteristics. We found that post‐SCI administration of 17β‐estradiol decreased neuronal loss in the ventral horn, decreased reactive astrogliosis, decreased the immune response, and increased white mater sparing at the lesion epicenter. Additionally, post‐SCI administration of 17β‐estradiol improved skilled forelimb function and locomotor function. Taken together, these data suggest that post‐SCI administration of 17β‐estradiol protected both the gray and white matter in cervical SCI. Moreover, this treatment improved function on skilled motor tasks that involve both gray and white matter components, suggesting that this is likely a highly clinically relevant protective strategy. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:2630–2646, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Global effects of fluvastatin on the prothrombotic status of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome

Objective Numerous mechanisms have been proposed to explain the thrombotic/proinflammatory tendency of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients. Prothrombotic monocyte activation by antiphospholipid antibodies involves numerous proteins and intracellular pathways. The anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant and immunoregulatory effects of statins have been aimed as a therapeutic tool in APS patients. This study delineates the global effects of fluvastatin on the prothrombotic tendency of monocytes from APS patients. Methods Forty-two APS patients with thrombosis and 35 healthy donors were included in the study. APS patients received 20 mg/day fluvastatin for 1 month. Blood samples were obtained before the start, at the end and 2 months after the end of treatment. Results After 1 month of treatment, monocytes showed a significant inhibition of tissue factor, protein activator receptors 1 and 2, vascular endothelial growth factor and Flt1 expression that was related to the inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B/Rel DNA-binding activity. Proteomic analysis showed proteins involved in thrombotic development (annexin II, RhoA and protein disulphide isomerase) with altered expression after fluvastatin administration. In-vitro studies indicated that the inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase by fluvastatin might inhibit protein prenylation and MAPK activation. Conclusion The data from this study support the belief that fluvastatin has multiple profound effects in monocyte activity, which might contribute to thrombosis prevention in APS patients.
Long-Term Evolution of Nucleotide-Binding Site-Leucine-Rich Repeat Genes: Understanding Gained from and beyond the Legume Family1[C][W]

During the past 54 million years of evolution, 94% of ancestral legume leucine-rich-repeat gene lineages have experienced deletions or expansions, while 6% have been maintained in a conservative manner. Proper utilization of plant disease resistance genes requires a good understanding of their short- and long-term evolution. Here we present a comprehensive study of the long-term evolutionary history of nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) genes within and beyond the legume family. The small group of NBS-LRR genes with an amino-terminal RESISTANCE TO POWDERY MILDEW8 (RPW8)-like domain (referred to as RNL) was first revealed as a basal clade sister to both coiled-coil-NBS-LRR (CNL) and Toll/Interleukin1 receptor-NBS-LRR (TNL) clades. Using Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) as an outgroup, this study explicitly recovered 31 ancestral NBS lineages (two RNL, 21 CNL, and eight TNL) that had existed in the rosid common ancestor and 119 ancestral lineages (nine RNL, 55 CNL, and 55 TNL) that had diverged in the legume common ancestor. It was shown that, during their evolution in the past 54 million years, approximately 94% (112 of 119) of the ancestral legume NBS lineages experienced deletions or significant expansions, while seven original lineages were maintained in a conservative manner. The NBS gene duplication pattern was further examined. The local tandem duplications dominated NBS gene gains in the total number of genes (more than 75%), which was not surprising. However, it was interesting from our study that ectopic duplications had created many novel NBS gene loci in individual legume genomes, which occurred at a significant frequency of 8% to 20% in different legume lineages. Finally, by surveying the legume microRNAs that can potentially regulate NBS genes, we found that the microRNA-NBS gene interaction also exhibited a gain-and-loss pattern during the legume evolution.
Optimal Stimulus Intensity and Reliability of Air Stimulation Technique for Elicitation of Laryngo-Upper Esophageal Sphincter Contractile Reflex

To determine the optimal air stimulus intensity and duration for elicitation of the laryngo–upper esophageal sphincter (UES) contractile reflex, we studied 37 healthy volunteers 20 to 81 years of age. A sleeve device monitored the UES pressure. For laryngeal stimulation, we used an air stimulator unit (Pentax AP-4000) that incorporated a nasolaryngeal endoscope. The arytenoids and interarytenoid areas were stimulated at least three times by three different stimuli: 6–mm Hg air pulse with 50-ms duration, 10–mm Hg air pulse with 50-ms duration, and 6–mm Hg air pulse with 2-second duration. Of 1,165 air stimulations, 1,041 resulted in mucosal deflections. Of these, 451 resulted in an abrupt increase in UES pressure. The response/deflection ratio for 6–mm Hg stimulation with 2-second duration was significantly higher than those for air pulses with 50-ms duration (p < .001). We conclude that although the laryngo-UES contractile reflex can be elicited by an air pulse with 50-ms duration, this ultrashort stimulation is not reliable. Using longer-duration pulses (at least 2 seconds) improves the reliability of elicitation of the laryngo-UES contractile reflex.
Asset restructuring and business group affiliation in French civil law countries

We examine the relationship of environmental antecedents to asset restructuring in nine French civil law countries in Latin America and Europe. In these countries, business group affiliation helps member firms to access resources, take advantage of environmental opportunities, and neutralize threats. Results indicated that environmental antecedents, such as change in country development, increased competition and deregulation led to increased asset restructuring. More importantly, however, we also found that the influence of environmental factors was moderated by business group membership. The relationship between change in country development and restructuring was stronger for group‐affiliated firms and the effects of increased competition and deregulation on asset restructuring were stronger for primarily independent firms. Our study offers additional evidence that organizations may respond differently to environmental opportunities and threats depending on the institutional setting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Glycaemic control and development of retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: a longitudinal study

Relationships between glycaemic control, hypertension, and development of microangiopathy have been well documented in Type 1 (insulin‐dependent) but not in Type 2 (non‐insulin‐dependent) diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we have investigated these relationships in a cohort of 64 Type 2 patients free of retinopathy (by angiofluorography), who were regularly followed until development of retinopathy or for at least 7 years as outpatients. Glycaemic control was assessed by 1 to 4 HbA1 determinations per year. Retinal status was monitored by annual angiofluorography. Nonproliferative retinopathy developed in 14 patients (cumulative incidence at 13 years: 29.8 %) after a mean diabetes duration of 14.3 ± 8.9 years (range 2–27). In multivariate analysis (Cox model), mean HbA1 during follow‐up (p < 0.001), and hypertension at first examination (p = 0.09) were associated with the development of retinopathy, but age, sex, BMI, diabetes duration, smoking, and fasting blood glucose were not. The relative risk for developing retinopathy (RR) was 7.2 (IC 95 %: 1.61–32.4) in patients with a mean HbA1 during follow‐up above the median value of the cohort (8.3 %) compared with patients with HbA1 during follow‐up below this value. RR was 2.5 (IC 0.8–8) in patients with HbA1 at first examination above compared to below the median value (8.4 %). RR was 3.0 (IC 0.9–10) in patients treated for hypertension at baseline compared to those without treatment. A sixfold increase in retinopathy prevalence was observed between patients with mean HbA1 in the highest or lowest quartile of mean HbA1 distribution during follow‐up. This longitudinal study indicates a strong association between long‐term glycaemic control and the development of diabetic retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The serotonin transporter genotype modulates the relationship between early stress and adult suicidality in bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with a higher risk of suicide and with worse early life stress. A serotonin (5‐hydroxytryptamine; 5‐HT) transporter‐linked polymorphic region (5‐HTTLPR) has been shown to influence the relationship between stress and the risk of attempting suicide in the general population, but has not been investigated in BD.
The N Terminus of Rift Valley Fever Virus Nucleoprotein Is Essential for Dimerization

ABSTRACT Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a Phlebovirus in the Bunyaviridae family. The nucleoprotein N is the most abundant component of the virion; numerous copies of N associate with the viral RNA genome and form pseudohelicoidal ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) circularized by a panhandle structure formed by the base-paired RNA sequences at the 3′ and 5′ termini. These structures play a central role in transcription and replication. We investigated the intermolecular interactions of the RVFV N protein and found that after chemical cross-linking treatment, the nucleoprotein from purified RNPs migrates mainly as dimers. The N-N interaction was studied using the yeast two-hybrid system, the GST pull-down method, and mutational analysis. We demonstrated that the N terminus from residue 1 to 71, and particularly Tyr 4 and Phe 11, which are conserved among phlebovirus N sequences, are involved in the interaction. The C-terminal region did not seem to be essential for the N-N interaction. Moreover, we showed that NTOS, the N protein of the related Toscana phlebovirus, interacts with itself and forms heterodimers with NRVF, suggesting that the dimeric form of N may be a conserved feature in phlebovirus RNPs.
The use of sentinel node sampling in vulval cancer

Between March 2007 and December 2009, 38 patients underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) sampling, along with vulvectomy, in their management of vulval cancer. A review has been conducted to establish the reliability and accuracy of the new procedure compared with the traditional total inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. We also aimed to establish both the short- and long-term morbidities of both total inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy and SLNB and to assess the duration of hospital stay in both groups. Our data have shown a reduced short- and long-term morbidity and reduced length of hospital stay for the SLNB procedure. We conclude that it is a reliable and safe procedure, however it should only be conducted in cancer centres.
Prevalence and Correlates of Penile HPV Infection in a Clinic-Based Sample of Hispanic Males.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this manuscript is to describe the prevalence, genotypic distribution of penile HPV infection and the behavioral risk factors associated with penile HPV infection (any HPV type, high-oncogenic-risk [HR] types, low-oncogenic-risk [LR] types, and of multiple HPV types) in a group of sexually active males who went to an STI clinic in San Juan, Puerto Rico. METHODS After providing informed consent, the participants, underwent a detailed behavioral interview and a clinical examination. Frequency distributions and descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study samples. Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for any type of HPV, HR types, LR types, or multiple types. Logistic regression analyses was performed to determine factors associated with each of the HPV types. RESULTS Two hundred and six participants were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the participants was 37.8±13.1 years. Close to 80% of the sample were infected with at least one HPV type; 73.5% were infected with one or more LR-HPV types; 32.4%, with one or more HR-HPV types; and 46.0%, with multiple HPV types. The most prevalent HR types were HPV-35, -31, and -16; the most prevalent LR types were HPV 6/11, and -84. After adjusting for age, having a high number of lifetime female sexual partners was highly associated with having multiple types of HPV infection (estimated OR=2.86; 95% CI=1.41, 5.80). CONCLUSION HPV infection is common among sexually active males frequenting this STI clinic. HPV types not covered by the current quadrivalent HPV vaccine were identified. Multiple HPV types in the penis are significantly related to the lifetime number of female sexual partners. The high prevalence of HPV at this particular STI clinic evidences that males need to be targeted in primary care settings if the available vaccine is to be effectively promoted. In addition, opportunities for secondary prevention of HPV in STI settings are recommended, because of the burden of anal and penile cancer documented in the island.
Alterations in blood lymphocyte subpopulations and hematologic values in neonatal calves after administration of a combination of multiple-antigen vaccines.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate alterations in lymphocyte subpopulations, CBC results, and clinical signs in neonatal calves inoculated with 3 commercially available proprietary multiple-antigen vaccines containing known quantities of endotoxin. DESIGN Prospective, randomized controlled field trial. ANIMALS 36 healthy Holstein heifer calves between 3 and 31 days old. PROCEDURE Vaccines were administered to 18 calves according to label instructions, except for the recommended age of administration. The 18 other calves served as unvaccinated controls. Two weeks after entry into the study, calves were given secondary doses of the same vaccines. Calves in both groups were examined and blood samples were collected for determination of lymphocyte subpopulations and hematological parameters once daily for 5 days beginning on the day that both the primary and the secondary vaccinations were given. Lymphocyte subpopulations, including BoCD2+, BoCD4+, BoCD8+, B cells, and gamma/delta T cells, were determined by use of flow cytometry, using monoclonal antibodies as markers. RESULTS Vaccinated calves did not develop clinical signs of illness. There were no significant differences in absolute numbers of lymphocyte subpopulations between vaccinated and unvaccinated calves. Vaccinated calves had significantly higher rectal temperatures, total WBC counts, and absolute neutrophil counts than did control calves. These differences persisted for 3 to 4 days after vaccination. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Findings confirm empirical observations that vaccination with multiple products at the same time may induce evidence of an inflammatory response in most calves. Additional research is indicated to further evaluate the safety of using multiple vaccines simultaneously.
Efficacy of cypermethrin, deltamethrin and nimbicidine on fecundity and egg viability of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Fecundity and egg viability of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) females were significantly (P<0.01) reduced by synthetic pyrethroids and an alkaloid containing insecticide nimbicidine. In control, the average number of eggs laid by each female/day was 12.18. The lowest number of eggs laid by each female/day was noted as 4.38 when combining nimbicidine with two pyrethroids i.e., cypermethrin and deltamethrin. The percentage of egg hatching without insecticide treatment was 95%. The lowest percent of egg hatching was 63.95 when the adult female was fed on flour medium treated with combined doses of cypermethrin, deltamethrin and nimbicidine. Among the treated insecticides, nimbicidine (80.69%) proved effective in reducing the fertility than those of cypermethrin (86.05%) and deltamethrin (88.52%). Key words : Tribolium ; cypermethrin; deltamethrin; nimbicidine; fecundity; fertility DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/ujzru.v29i1. 9461 UJZRU 2010; 29(1): 23-27
Analysis of microstructures and macrotextures for different apple cultivars based on parenchyma morphology

Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold parenchyma were imaged by confocal laser scanning microscopy to be extracted morphology characteristics, which were used to analyze the relationship with macrotexture of apples tested by penetration and compression. Before analyzing the relationship, the significantly different morphology parameters were reduced in dimensions by principal component analysis and were proved to be availably used for distinguishing the different apple cultivars. For compression results, cell did not absolutely determine the hardness in different apple cultivars, and the pore should also be taken into consideration. With the same size in cell feret diameter, the bigger the pore feret diameter was, the softer the apple became. If no difference existed in pore feret diameter size, the cultivar became harder with a narrower distribution in cell feret diameter. The texture parameters were compared with the roundness parameters in the same or inverse changing trends to explore the relationship. High correlations were found between the texture parameters (energy required in whole penetration (Wt), fracture force (Fp), crispness) and pore solidity (R2 > 0.924, P < 0.001). Compactness of parenchyma played an important role in fruit texture. This research could provide the comprehension about relationship between microstructure and macrotexture of apple cultivars and morphological values for modeling apple parenchyma, contributing to numerical simulation for constitutive relation of fruit. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:304–312, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The colonisation of the glenohumeral joint by Propionibacterium acnes is not associated with frozen shoulder but is more likely to occur after an injection into the joint

Aims Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of Propionibacterium (P.) acnes in the subcutaneous fat and capsule of patients undergoing shoulder surgery for frozen shoulder or instability. Patients and Methods A total of 46 patients undergoing either an arthroscopic capsular release or stabilisation had biopsies taken from the subcutaneous fat and capsule of the shoulder at the time of surgery. These samples were sent for culture in enrichment, and also for Nucleic Acid Amplification testing. The prevalence of P. acnes and other microbes was recorded. Fisher's exact test of binary variables was used to calculate the association with significance set at p < 0.05. Assessment of influence of independent variables including a pre‐operative glenohumeral injection, fat colonisation and gender, was undertaken using binary linear regression. Results A total of 25 patients (53%) had P. acnes in one or more tissue samples and 35 (74%) had other bacterial species. The same microbe was found in the subcutaneous fat and the capsule in 13 patients (28%). There was no statistically significant association between the surgical pathology and capsular colonisation with P. acnes (p = 0.18) or mixed identified bacterial species (p = 0.77). Male gender was significantly associated with an increased capsular colonisation of P. acnes (odds ratio (OR) 12.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.43 to 106.77, p = 0.02). A pre‐operative glenohumeral injection was significantly associated with capsular P. acnes colonisation (OR 5.63, 95% CI 1.07 to 29.61, p = 0.04. Positive fat colonisation with P. acnes was significantly associated with capsular P. acnes (OR 363, 95% CI 20.90 to 6304.19, p < 0.01). Regression models pseudo R2 found fat colonisation with P. acnes to explain 70% of the variance of the model. Patients who had a pre‐operative glenohumeral injection who were found intra‐operatively to have fat colonisation with P. acnes had a statistically significant association with colonisation of their capsule with P. acnes (OR 165, 95% CI 13.51 to 2015.24, p < 0.01). Conclusion These results show a statistically significant association between subcutaneous skin P. acnes culture and P. acnes capsular culture, especially when the patient has undergone a previous injection. The results refute the hypothesis that P. acnes causes frozen shoulder.
Deliquescence behavior of organic/ammonium sulfate aerosol

Recent studies have shown that tropospheric aerosols composed of internal mixtures of organics with sulfates are quite common with the organic composing up to 50% of the particle mass. The influences of the organics on the chemical and physical properties of the aerosol are not known. In this paper, we report the solubility of a series of dicarboxylic acids in saturated ammonium sulfate solution as a function of temperature. We also report the deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) of the pure dicarboxylic acids and of mixtures of dicarboxylic acids with ammonium sulfate. For the systems studied, we find that the presence of water‐soluble dicarboxylic acids caused deliquescence to occur at a lower relative humidity (RH) than pure ammonium sulfate. In contrast, the less soluble dicarboxylic acids had no measurable effect on the deliquescence relative humidity of ammonium sulfate.
Rate-aware relay selection scheme for wireless networks

This paper proposes a new relay selection scheme for wireless cooperative networks that effectively distributes traffic of packets from source nodes to the sink. By estimating the rate in two hops from source to relay and relay to destination, the source can choose the most optimal relay node to forward its messages. Simulation results indicate that our scheme is efficient in increasing packet delivery ratio and decreasing average energy consumption.
Exterior Powers of Lubin-Tate Groups

Let O be the ring of integers of a non-Archimedean local field of characteristic zero and π a fixed uniformizer of O. We prove that the exterior powers of a π-divisible module of dimension at most 1 over a locally Noetherian scheme exist and commute with arbitrary base change. We calculate the height and dimension of the exterior powers in terms of the height of the given π-divisible module. In the case of p-divisible groups, the existence of the exterior powers are proved without any condition on the basis.