Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rat Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lens Model: Effects of High- Versus Low-Dk Lens Wear

Objectives. This study used a rat contact lens (CL) model to test if high- versus low-Dk lens wear caused changes in (1) conjunctival Langerhans cell (LC) number or location; (2) Bcl-2 expression; and (3) infection risk. Methods. Female, Lewis rats wore a high- or low-Dk CL continuously for 2 weeks. Afterward, corneas were harvested and processed for ADPase activity to identify LCs, for immunostaining and for real time-polymerase chain reaction. Contact lens-wearing rats also were challenged with Pseudomonas aeruginosa by placing a bacterial-soaked CL on the eye followed by topical delivery of bacteria. After 48 hrs, slit lamp examination and real time-polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate the corneal response. Results. Conjunctival LC were significantly increased after low- versus high-Dk CL wear (P<0.0001). In contrast, conjunctival LC in non-lens wearing rats was not significantly different from the high-Dk lens wearing group. Bcl-2 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in low- versus high-Dk CL wearing rats, while Bax, FasL, caspase 3, and caspase 9 levels were unchanged. Immunostaining for Bcl-2 showed fewer positively stained epithelial cells in the low- versus high-Dk lens wearing group. After bacterial challenge, 30% of low- versus none of the high-Dk CL wearing corneas became infected and showed increased mRNA levels for several proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase and matrix metalloproteinase-9. Conclusion. Low- versus high-Dk or non-CL wear led to an increased number of conjunctival LC, decreased Bcl-2 levels, and increased the risk of bacterial infection.
“Science” and “Religion”: Constructing the Boundaries

Over the past decade a number of historians of science have expressed strong reservations about whether their particular subject of interest actually has much of a history. Science, as the discipline is currently understood, emerged only during the nineteenth century, they tell us. Prior to that, students of nature had thought of themselves as pursuing ‘natural philosophy’ or ‘natural history’ – disciplines with a somewhat different orientation from that of twenty-first-century science. This claim has obvious ramifications for those whose concern lies with the past relationship between science and religion, for, if true, such a relationship cannot be older than the nineteenth century. Similar historical sensitivities are evident in the sphere of religious studies, in which increasing numbers of scholars have suggested that the idea ‘religion’, like ‘science’, is a modern development. ‘Religion’, and the plural ‘religions’, it is claimed, did not begin to take on their present meanings until the seventeenth century. The notion that there are ‘religions’, distinguished by discrete sets of beliefs and practices and linked by a common and generic ‘religion’, is actually a product of the European Enlightenment. During that period, the acute need to arrive at some criterion to adjudicate between different faiths led to the construction of ‘religions’ as sets of propositional beliefs that could be impartially compared and judged. In this chapter I shall explore in some detail the historical circumstances of the emergence of the dual categories ‘science’ and ‘religion’ with a view to showing their direct relevance for contemporary discussions of the science–religion relation.
Abnormal Ribosome Biogenesis Partly Induced p53-Dependent Aortic Medial Smooth Muscle Cell Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress

Ribosome biogenesis is a crucial biological process related to cell proliferation, redox balance, and muscle contractility. Aortic smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) show inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis, along with high levels of oxidative stress in aortic dissection (AD). Theoretically, ribosome biogenesis should be enhanced in the ASMCs at its proliferative state but suppressed during apoptosis and oxidative stress. However, the exact status and role of ribosome biogenesis in AD are unknown. We therefore analyzed the expression levels of BOP1, a component of the PeBoW complex which is crucial to ribosome biogenesis, in AD patients and a murine AD model and its influence on the ASMCs. BOP1 was downregulated in the aortic tissues of AD patients compared to healthy donors. In addition, overexpression of BOP1 in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) inhibited apoptosis and accumulation of p53 under hypoxic conditions, while knockdown of BOP1 decreased the protein synthesis rate and motility of HASMCs. The RNA polymerase I inhibitor cx-5461 induced apoptosis, ROS production, and proliferative inhibition in the HASMCs, which was partly attenuated by p53 knockout. Furthermore, cx-5461 aggravated the severity of AD in vivo, but a p53-/- background extended the life-span and lowered AD incidence in the mice. Taken together, decreased ribosome biogenesis in ASMCs resulting in p53-dependent proliferative inhibition, oxidative stress, and apoptosis is one of the underlying mechanisms of AD.
Cartes de Saillance Spatio-Temporelle basées Contrastes de Couleur et Mouvement Relatif

Dans cet article, nous proposons une modelisation de saillance spatio-temporelle. La saillance spatiale est obtenue a partir des couleurs et plus particulierement de leur contraste. La saillance temporelle est evaluee a partir du contratse de mouvement. En effet, une zone temporellement saillante est une zone en contraste de mouvement. Dans l'approche proposee, le contraste de mouvement est determine a partir d'une estimation locale et d'une estimation globale du mouvement ; la difference, appelee mouvement relatif, indique les zones temporellement saillantes. La saillance finale est obtenue en combinant les saillances spatiale et temporelle.
How competency‐based training locks the working class out of powerful knowledge: a modified Bernsteinian analysis

This paper argues that competency‐based training in vocational education and training in Australia is one mechanism through which the working class is denied access to powerful knowledge represented by the academic disciplines. The paper presents a modified Bernsteinian analysis to argue that vocational education and training students need access to disciplinary knowledge using Bernstein’s argument that abstract, conceptual knowledge is the means societies use to think ‘the unthinkable’ and ‘the not‐yet‐thought’. I supplement Bernstein’s social argument for democratic access to the disciplines with an epistemic argument that draws on the philosophy of critical realism.
Intended Receivers and Functional Significance of Grunt and Girney Vocalizations in Free-Ranging Female Rhesus Macaques

We investigated the intended receivers and contexts of occurrence of grunt and girney vocalizations in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta )t o assess whether these calls are best interpreted as signals of benign intent or as calls that may function to attract the attention of other individuals or induce arousal. We focally observed 19 free-ranging adult female rhesus macaques. Female calls increased dramatically after infants were born, and most were directed toward mother‐infant dyads. When infants were physically separated from their mothers, callers visually oriented toward infants in over 90% of the cases, suggesting that infants were the intended receivers of grunts and girneys. Approaches followed by vocalizations were more likely to lead to the caller grooming the mother, less likely to elicit a submissive response, and more likely to result in infant handling than approaches without calls. Infant handling, however, was not necessarily benign. Vocalizations were often emitted from a distance >1 m and were rarely followed by approaches or social interactions. Our results suggest that grunts and girneys are unlikely to have evolved as signals that encode information about the caller’s intention or subsequent behavior. Whereas girneys may be acoustically designed to attract infants’ attention and elicit arousal, grunts may have no adaptive communicative function. Mothers, however, may have learned that other females’ grunts and girneys are unlikely to be associated with significant risk and, therefore, are generally tolerant of the caller’s proximity and behavior.
Lymphatic obstruction in carcinomatous ascites.

The i.p. inoculation of C3H mice with 5 times 10-6 cells of a transplantable ovarian carcinoma invariably evokes accumulation of large amounts of ascitic fluid. Histological and pharmacotherapeutic studies indicate that obstruction to peritoneal lymphatic drainage is a key factor in the formation of carcinomatous ascites in this model. In the early stages of ascites formation, an intense inflammatory reaction appears to occlude the condusts that connect the peritoneal cavity to the subdiaphragmatic lymphatic plexus. This inflammatory reaction, elicited by the presence of tumor cells within the peritoneal cavity, can be inhibited with high-dose systemic corticosteroid therapy. Ascitic fluid accumulation in animals so treated is markedly retarded. Tumor cells do not gain access to lymphatic capillaries draining the peritoneal cavity until ascitic fluid accumulation is massive. Systemic anticoagulation with heparin or sodium warfarin does not prevent lodgment of tumor cells within these lymphatic capillaries, nor does it alter the pattern of ascitic fluid accumulation. Various considerations suggest that excess production of ascitic fluid is not a likely pathogenetic factor in murine carcinomatous ascites.
The neuropathology of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with respect to the cytological and biochemical characteristics of tau protein

Pathological examinations, using a panel of tau and other antibodies, were performed on the brains from 55 consecutively acquired cases of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Clinically, these comprised 31 cases of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 10 cases of motor neurone disease inclusion dementia (MNDID), seven cases of progressive aphasia (PA), four cases of semantic dementia (SD) and three cases of progressive apraxia (PAX). Tau pathology, in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and glial cell tangles, was present in six cases of FTD with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17, five of these cases resulting from +16 splice‐site mutation and one from +13 mutation in the tau gene. The insoluble tau proteins were comprised mostly of four‐repeat (4‐R) isoforms. Eight other cases of FTD, one of PA and all three cases of PAX showed tau‐positive inclusions (Pick bodies) and swollen cells (Pick cells), characteristic of Pick's disease. In these cases, the insoluble tau proteins were present in most instances as three‐repeat (3‐R) tau isoforms, although two cases with a mixture of 3‐R and 4‐R isoforms were seen. One other case of FTD showed an unusual pathology characterized by massive extracellular deposition of tau protein, composed of 4‐R tau isoforms, within white matter without neuronal or glial cell inclusions. However, 33 (60%) of 55 FTLD cases showed no tau pathology in the brain, except for the rare NFTs, composed of a mix of 3‐R and 4‐R isoforms, in some of the more elderly cases. Of these 33 cases, 13 had FTD, 10 had MNDID, six had PA and four had SD. The pathological changes present were those of a superficial cortical laminar microvacuolation with mild subpial and subcortical gliosis; the 10 MNDID cases had ubiquitin‐positive inclusions in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. These 33 nontau FTLD cases, along with five Alzheimer's disease (AD) and six Huntington's disease (HD) cases with severe pathology, showed a variable loss of soluble tau proteins, broadly comparable with the extent of neuronal loss from the cortex and loss of the intracortical perikaryal marker, NeuN, but unrelated to proteins within afferent projection fibres such as neurofilament and α‐synuclein. Levels of tau mRNA were decreased in parallel in the tau‐negative FTLD cases and in the severe AD and HD cases. Hence, the loss of tau from these 33 nontau FTLD cases is just one aspect of a neurodegenerative process that destroys many components of the nerve cell machinery and does not represent a specific disordering of the cell's ability to form tau proteins or incorporate these into microtubules.
Isolation of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis from non-ruminant wildlife living in the sheds and on the pastures of Greek sheep and goats

SUMMARY This study aimed to: (1) investigate whether non-ruminant wildlife interfacing with dairy sheep and goats of four Greek flocks endemically infected with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) harboured MAP and (2) genetically compare the strains isolated from the wildlife to those isolated from the small ruminants of these flocks. We cultured and screened, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), pooled-tissue samples from 327 wild animals of 11 species for the MAP-specific IS900 insertion sequence. We also cultured faecal samples from 100 sheep or goats from each of the four flocks. MAP was detected in samples from 11 sheep, 12 goats, two mice, two rats, a hare and a fox. Only one rat had histopathological findings. Genetic typing categorized 21 isolates as cattle-type strains and two, from a house mouse and a goat respectively, as sheep-type strains; this is the first report of a rodent harbouring a sheep-type strain. The MAP types that were most frequently isolated amongst the sheep and goats of each flock were also the ones isolated from sympatric rodents; those isolated from the fox and hare also belonged to the predominant ruminant strains.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Gastric Cancer Growth Control by BEZ 235 In Vivo Does Not Correlate with PI 3 K / mTOR Target Inhibition but with [ 18 F ] FLT Uptake

Purpose: In this study, we tested the antitumor activity of the dual phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/ mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 against gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Design:Gastric cancer cell lines (N87, MKN45, and MKN28) were incubated with BEZ235 and assessed for cell viability, cell cycle, and PI3K/mTOR target inhibition. In vivo, athymic nude mice were inoculated with N87, MKN28, or MKN45 cells and treated daily with BEZ235. 30-Deoxy-30-[18F]fluorothymidine ([F]FLT) uptake was measured via small animal positron emission tomography (PET). Results: In vitro, BEZ235 dose dependently decreased the cell viability of gastric cancer cell lines. The antiproliferative activity of BEZ235 was linked to a G1 cell-cycle arrest. In vivo, BEZ235 treatment resulted in PI3K/mTOR target inhibition as shown by dephosphorylation of AKT and S6 protein in all xenograft models. However, BEZ235 treatment only inhibited tumor growth of N87 xenografts, whereas no antitumor effect was observed in the MKN28 and MKN45 xenograft models. Sensitivity to BEZ235 in vivo correlated with downregulation of the proliferation marker thymidine kinase 1. Accordingly, [F]FLT uptake was only significantly reduced in the BEZ235-sensitive N87 xenograft model as measured by PET. Conclusion: In conclusion, in vivo sensitivity of gastric cancer xenografts to BEZ235 did not correlate with in vitro antiproliferative activity or in vivo PI3K/mTOR target inhibition by BEZ235. In contrast, [F]FLT uptake was linked to BEZ235 in vivo sensitivity. Noninvasive [F]FLT PET imaging might qualify as a novel marker for optimizing future clinical testing of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors. Clin Cancer Res; 17(16); 5322–32. 2011 AACR.
High association of mycobacterial infections with polymyositis in a non-endemic country for tuberculosis

The susceptibility to mycobacterial infections of immunosuppressed subjects, for example, those treated actively for rheumatic diseases, is widely recognized.1 2 However, the co-existence of mycobacterial infection (caused either by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other mycobacterial infections) and polymyositis (PM) has been reported only in small series of patients 2–5 predominantly from countries where tuberculosis (TB) is endemic 2 3 or in immigrants in a Western country.4 5 We assessed the frequency of mycobacterial infections in patients with PM and dermatomyositis (DM) in Finland, a non-endemic country for TB that has kept detailed registry for TB. All patients with an ICD-8 code for PM (716.00) and DM (716.10) who had been discharged from any Finnish hospital …
Paediatric Trauma Epidemiology in an Urban Scenario in India

Purposes. To identify the epidemiology of paediatric trauma in an urban scenario of India and compare results with studies from developed countries, and to formulate preventive measures to decrease such traumas. Methods. Between January 2004 and 2005 inclusive, 500 paediatric, orthopaedic trauma patients presenting to our hospital were prospectively studied. Information was recorded in a prescribed proforma. Results. The children's ages ranged from 0 to 16 years; 274 were males. Most fractures occurred in children aged 7 to 12 years and decreased in older children. The ratio of fractures in left versus right upper extremity was 2:1. In children aged 0 to 6 years, the most common injured site was the elbow, whereas in children aged 7 to 16 years it was the distal radius. In descending order, most injuries were sustained at home (47%), in school (21%), due to sports (17%), and due to vehicular accidents (13%). Conclusion. An effective accident prevention programme in developing countries requires changes in lifestyle and environment, and overcoming obstacles such as ignorance, illiteracy, and inadequate resources.
An electrophysiological study of the smooth muscle of the human colon.

Electrical recordings were made in vitro from preparations of human colonic smooth muscle from surgically resected specimens. The behaviour of the taenia consisted of regular spike action potentials based on a slow wave rhythm (22 +/- 5 c.p.m.), with tetanic contractions of the muscle. The actions of cholinergic drugs were studied and experiments performed to investigate the mechanism of the action potentials. The circular muscle produced clusters of spikes with solitary contractions. The differences between the two muscle layers may be of relevance to understanding the colonic electromyogram as recorded in vivo.
Use of a predictor panel to evaluate susceptibility test methods proposed for piperacillin-tazobactam

A predictor panel of clinical isolates that produce a variety of types and amounts of beta-lactamases was used to assess the accuracy of dilution and disk diffusion susceptibility tests for piperacillin-tazobactam. Combinations of piperacillin-tazobactam with a fixed ratio of 8:1 and with tazobactam held constant at 4 micrograms/ml were examined in dilution tests performed in agar. In addition, disks containing 100 and 10 micrograms of piperacillin and tazobactam, respectively, were examined in diffusion tests. Three very major discrepancies between MICs determined with an 8:1 ratio and MICs determined with tazobactam held constant at 4 micrograms/ml were noted. These involved strains that appeared to be susceptible in tests with the 8:1 ratio but resistant when tazobactam was held constant at 4 micrograms/ml. However, the differences were only twofold. Error rate-bounded analysis with the disk containing 100 and 10 micrograms of piperacillin and tazobactam, respectively, revealed low error rates, regardless of whether MICs were determined with an 8:1 ratio or tazobactam held constant at 4 micrograms/ml. Thus, a predictor panel was useful in the identification of accurate susceptibility test for piperacillin-tazobactam.
Calculation of the scattering length in atomic collisions using the semiclassical approximation.

A simple analytical formula, [ital a]=[ital [bar a]][1[minus]tan([pi]/[ital n][minus]2)]tan[l brace][Phi][minus][[pi]/2([ital n][minus]2)][r brace], is obtained for the scattering length in atomic collisions. Here [ital [bar a]]=cos[[pi]/([ital n][minus]2)][l brace] [radical]2[ital M][alpha] /[[h bar]([ital n][minus]2)][r brace][sup 2]/([ital n][minus]2)[[Gamma]([ital n][minus]3)/([ital n][minus]2)]/[[ital T]([ital n][minus]1)/([ital n][minus]2)] is the mean scattering length determined by the asymptotic behavior of the potential [ital U]([ital r])[similar to][minus][alpha]/[ital R][sup [ital n]], ([ital n]=6 for atom-atom scattering or [ital n]=4 for ion-atom scattering), [ital M] is the reduced mass of the atoms, and [Phi] is the semiclassical phase calculated at zero energy from the classical turning point to infinity. The value of [ital [bar a]], the average scattering length, also determines the slope of the [ital s]-wave phase shifts beyond the near-threshold region. The formula is applicable to the collisions of atoms cooled down in traps, where the scattering length determines the character of the atom-atom interaction. Our calculation shows that repulsion between atoms ([ital a][gt]0) is more likely than attraction with a probability'' of 75%. For the Cs-Cs scattering in the [sup 3][Sigma][sub [ital u]] state, [ital [bar a]]=95.5[ital a][sub [ital B]] has been obtained, where [ital a][sub [ital B]] is the Bohr radius. The comparison of the calculated cross-section energymore » dependence with the experimental data gives evidence for a positive value for the Cs-Cs scattering length, which makes cesium Bose gas stable. « less
Bilateral Tibial Marrow Ablation in Rats Induces a Rapid Hypercalcemia Arising from Extratibial Bone Resorption Inhibitable by Methylprednisolone or Deflazacort

The goals of this study were to quantitate biochemical markers of bone metabolism on days 1–15 after bilateral tibial marrow ablation surgery in young adult rats and to determine the effect of a single dose of methylprednisolone (2 mg/kg) or deflazacort (2.5 mg/kg) given at the time of ablation. Unexpectedly, serum calcium levels rose to a maximum of 15.9 mg/dl on day 7 after marrow ablation and remained above normal through day 15. This increase was blocked by a single intramedullary injection of methylprednisolone or deflazacort immediately following ablation; however, the fact that both drugs produced a characteristic rapid 3‐ to 10‐fold increase in the serum α2‐macroglobulin level demonstrates that the drugs rapidly reached the circulation. Both methylprednisolone and deflazacort also inhibited intramedullary deposition of collagen by 40–60% on day 7, a time near which operated control animals achieved maximal accumulation of new bone in this model. Histological comparisons among the three experimental groups were largely consistent with biochemical results. The urinary hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio for the operated control group doubled on day 3 and then returned to presurgical levels on day 7 and later. The timing and size of the hydroxyproline/creatinine peak, as well as the fact that the intratibial osteoclastic response peaks on days 8–10 after ablation, suggests it results from extratibial bone resorption induced by marrow ablation. Consistent with this rationale, urinary calcium excretion in operated controls rose 9‐fold from day 0 to day 3 and appeared to plateau over the period from day 3 to day 9, before returning to a near presurgical level on day 15. Elevated excretion of calcium noted on days 9–15 in deflazacort‐treated animals, which occurs in the absence of a detectable increase in resorption marker hydroxyproline, may however be due to the known action of glucocorticoids in increasing kidney filtration of calcium. In summary, this is the first report to show that bilateral tibial marrow ablation in rats causes a rapid hypercalcemia and calciuria which is accompanied initially by a peak of bone resorption marker urinary hydroxyproline. We speculate that the source of calcium and hydroxyproline is extratibial osteoclastic bone resorption induced by circulating cytokines whose release from ablated tibias or osteoclastogenic action is inhibitable by methylprednisolone and deflazacort.
Receptor-mediated antigen uptake and its effect on antigen presentation to class II-restricted T lymphocytes.

Article de synthese sur: - l'effet de la fixation specifique de l'antigene aux immunoglobulines de membrane, aux recepteurs Fc, et autres molecules de la surface cellulaire sur la presentation de l'antigene; - le mecanisme de la fixation et de la degradation de l'antigene