Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mutagenic effects of 5-formyluracil on a plasmid vector during replication in Escherichia coli

Purpose : 5-Formyluracil (5-foU) is a major derivative of thymine produced in DNA by ionizing radiation and various chemical oxidants. It has been previously shown that 5-foU in template DNA directs misincorporation of nucleotides by DNA polymerases during in vitro DNA synthesis. The present experiments were designed to understand the biological effects of 5-foU in vivo. Materials and methods : The modified base was incorporated site-specifically into the recognition site of restriction endonuclease Sal I (5'-GTCGAC) or Afl II (5'-CTTAAG) in vector plasmid pSVK3 and introduced the plasmid into Escherichia coli. Results : When the plasmids were replicated in E. coli, 5-foU caused mutations at the target sites. The induced mutation frequencies were 0.038-0.049%. Sequence analysis revealed that 5-foU preferentially caused T:A →C:G and T:A →A:T base substitutions and -1 deletions at the 5-foU site. 5-FoU also caused mutations at sites near the 5-foU. The alkA mutation did not affect the frequency of mutations in 5-foU-containing plasmids. Conclusions : The present experiments demonstrated that 5-formyluracil in DNA caused mutations in E. coli.
Comparative analyses of stressors experienced by rural low-income pregnant women experiencing intimate partner violence and those who are not.

OBJECTIVE To describe the daily lives of rural pregnant women who smoked during pregnancy, with a focus on their sources of stress and the compounding effects of intimate partner violence. DESIGN A qualitative study using content analysis of research nurses' telephone logs from a large smoking cessation randomized controlled trial (N=695) in which 33% of the sample (n=227) experienced intimate partner violence in the past year. PARTICIPANTS Fifty pregnant women, 25 who had experienced intimate partner violence in the past year and 25 who had never experienced intimate partner violence, were randomly selected from those who received a nurse-delivered telephone intervention for smoking cessation (n=345). The mean age of the sample was 22 years, and the majority were White and living in a married-like relationship. RESULTS Women experiencing intimate partner violence discussed certain stressors significantly more often than nonabused women. These stressors included finances, lack of social support, legal issues, transportation issues, and abuse by the intimate partner and others. CONCLUSION Health care providers need to recognize that intimate partner violence creates a stress, which can compound the stressors of pregnancy and poverty in rural areas. Offering these women a chance to talk about their lives can help them not only to locate necessary resources, but also to break down the barriers of isolation.
Correction for Wang et al., Heterogeneous preferences, decision-making capacity, and phase transitions in a complex adaptive system

Correction for ‘‘Rational development of high-affinity T-cell receptor-like antibodies,’’ by Guillaume Stewart-Jones, Andreas Wadle, Anja Hombach, Eugene Shenderov, Gerhard Held, Eliane Fischer, Sascha Kleber, Frank Stenner-Liewen, Stefan Bauer, Andrew McMichael, Alexander Knuth, Hinrich Abken, Andreas A. Hombach, Vincenzo Cerundolo, E. Yvonne Jones, and Christoph Renner, which appeared in issue 14, April 7, 2009, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (106:5784–5788; first published March 23, 2009; 10.1073/pnas.0901425106). The authors request that Natko Nuber be added to the author list, between Sascha Kleber and Frank Stenner-Liewen, and be credited with performing research and analyzing data. The online version has been corrected. The corrected author and affiliation lines, and the author contributions footnote, appear below.
Long‐term Effects of Managed Care

Managed care (MC) plans have been introduced to curb the ever increasing health care costs. Many previous studies on effectiveness lacked a long-term perspective; hence, the sustainability of (possible) savings remains unclear. Moreover, because of their incentives, MC plans are susceptible to under-provision of care. Most of these possibly negative effects can only be observed in the long-term. This paper analyzes the long-term effects of MC plans on cost savings, mortality, and the use of service, using administrative data from a large Swiss health insurer. The identification is based on a propensity-score matching approach, where individuals who enter an MC plan are compared over 10 years to individuals who remain in a standard fee-for-service plan. Cost savings are substantial and sustainable, and the mortality rate is lower in MC plans. Cost savings are driven by fewer consultations and fewer days in hospital care, although the probability of visiting a provider at least once per year is similar or even higher for persons in MC plans. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Epicardial fat and vascular risk: a narrative review

Purpose of review We comment on the associations between epicardial adiposity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors. The effects of lifestyle measures and CVD drugs on cardiac adipose tissue are also discussed. Recent findings Epicardial adipose tissue exerts cardioprotective properties; however, in cases of pathological enlargement, epicardial fat can lead to myocardial inflammation and dysfunction as well as left ventricular hypertrophy and coronary artery disease (CAD) due to paracrine actions that include increased production of reactive oxygen species, atherogenic and inflammatory cytokines. Cardiac adiposity is associated with CAD, obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and chronic kidney disease, as well as with CVD risk factors such as lipids, hypertension, obesity markers, and carotid atherosclerosis. Summary Due to its anatomical and functional proximity to the coronary circulation, epicardial adipose tissue may represent an even more direct CVD risk marker than central adiposity. Lifestyle measures and certain drugs may affect its thickness, although there are limited data currently available. The clinical implications of epicardial fat in daily practice remain to be established in future studies.
Avoiding shame: the ethical context of abortion in Ghana.

Induced abortion is considered reprehensible by Akan people in Ghana when it causes medical accidents or becomes publicly known. A secret and successful abortion, on the other hand, is approved of. This paradoxical view proves logical if we see how it is related to shame. Both childbirth and abortion are potentially shameful, but the shame of the latter can be hidden and thus avoided. The shame of an unwanted childbirth, however, will always be visible. A smooth abortion, therefore, takes away the shame of both.
Improving Hyperspectral Pixel Classification With Unsupervised Training Data Selection

An unsupervised method for selecting training data is suggested here. The method is tested by applying it to hyperspectral land-use classification. The data set is reduced using an unsupervised band selection method and then clustered with a nonparametric cluster technique. The cluster technique provides centers of the clusters, and those are the samples selected to compose the training set. Both the band selection and the clustering are unsupervised techniques. Afterward, an expert labels those samples, and the rest of unlabeled data can be classified. The inclusion of the selection step, although unsupervised, allows to select automatically the most suitable pixels to build the classifier. This reduces the expert effort because less pixels need to be labeled. However, the classification results are significantly improved in comparison with the results obtained by a random selection of training samples, in particular for very small training sets.
Lesions of the mammillary body region alter hippocampal movement signals and theta frequency: Implications for path integration models

Cells throughout the hippocampal formation are involved in processing spatial information. These same cells also show an influence of locomotor activity, and these movement signals are thought to be critical for the path integration abilities of these cells. Nuclei in the mammillary region provide ascending influences to the hippocampal formation and have been implicated in influencing both hippocampal spatial and theta signals. Here, we report the effects of mammillary lesions on movement‐related signals in several hippocampal subregions. We find first, as predicted by earlier work, these lesions cause an approximately 1 Hz reduction in the frequency of theta modulation of cell firing. According to recent theoretical work, this might, in turn, be expected to influence the size of hippocampal place fields. Our data do not confirm this prediction for any of the hippocampal regions examined. Second, we report lesion effects on the relationship between firing rate and running speed for the hippocampal cells. These lesions caused a reduction in both the slope and intercept of rate‐by‐speed functions for cells in the hippocampus and postsubiculum. Surprisingly, cells in subiculum showed an opposite effect, so that the excitatory influence of locomotion was enhanced. Path integration theories predict that the speed at which path integration occurs is related to the strength of this movement signal. In remarkable accordance with this prediction, we report that the timing of the place cell signals is slowed following mammillary lesions for hippocampal and postsubicular cells, but, in contrast, is speeded up for subicular cells. In fact, the timing for place signals across lesion condition and brain region is predicted by a single linear function which relates timing to the strength of the running speed signal. Thus, these data provide remarkable support for some aspects of current path integration theory, while posing a challenge for other aspects of these same theories. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Three benefits of microcatheters for retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varices.

AIM To evaluate the usefulness of the microcatheter techniques in balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) of gastric varices. METHODS Fifty-six patients with gastric varices underwent BRTOs using microcatheters. A balloon catheter was inserted into gastrorenal or gastrocaval shunts. A microcatheter was navigated close to the varices, and sclerosant was injected into the varices through the microcatheter during balloon occlusion. The next morning, thrombosis of the varices was evaluated by contrast enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT). In patients with incomplete thrombosis of the varices, a second BRTO was performed the following day. Patients were followed up with CE-CT and endoscopy. RESULTS In all 56 patients, sclerosant was selectively injected through the microcatheter close to the varices. In 9 patients, microcoil embolization of collateral veins was performed using a microcatheter. In 12 patients with incomplete thrombosis of the varices, additional injection of sclerosant was performed through the microcatheter that remained inserted overnight. Complete thrombosis of the varices was achieved in 51 of 56 patients, and the remaining 5 patients showed incomplete thrombosis of the varices. No recurrence of the varices was found in the successful 51 patients after a median follow up time of 10.5 mo. We experienced one case of liver necrosis, and the other complications were transient. CONCLUSION The microcatheter techniques are very effective methods for achieving a higher success rate of BRTO procedures.
Anti-Microbial Susceptibility Patterns of Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Tertiary Care Unites in Akola City

The development of antibiotic resistance can be viewed as global problem in microbial genetic ecology. Bacterial infection is the most common cause for hospital visits. Most of members of the Enterobacteriaceae family are a leading cause of infectious diseases in both the community and acute care settings. Monitoring antibiotic susceptibility patterns of uropathogens at a local level yields important information regarding emerging problems of antibiotic resistance and provides assistance in managing empirical therapy. The existence of large concern over the increasing resistance to antibiotics for clinically important pathogens which cause varied number of diseases has led to monitor the prevailing resistance pattern microbes in a study which was carried out in the city of Akola. In the present study, different one four nine clinical samples were collected from government hospitals and different pathological laboratories. Isolation and identification of isolates belonging to family Enterobacteriaceae was done based on their morphologic, cultural and biochemical characteristics . The prominent isolates then evaluated for antimicrobial resistance by Disc Diffusion Method. The samples 51% were positive and 48.99% were negative to the infection. The highest causative organism was E.coli followed by Klebsiella. Antibiotic resistance profile obtained revealed high resistance of isolates to Ampicillin , Amoxicillin, Nalidixic Acid, Ciprofloxacin . In contrast organisms showed susceptibility to Chloramphenicol and then to Colistin. These findings indicate that continued surveillance at a local level is essential to maintaining the efficacy and safety of empirical therapy.
The Camera-Marugo-Cohen syndrome: report of two new patients.

This report describes two unrelated patients with obesity, mental retardation, body asymmetry, and muscle weakness. Several obesity syndromes with common characteristics have been described. Findings in our patients, in addition to those of the previously reported cases, include body asymmetry, characteristic physiognomy, lordosis, and typical anomalies of hands and feet. These physical manifestations correspond to the Camera-Marugo-Cohen syndrome. Our patients represent the second and third cases of this condition.
Angioarchitecture of Tumors Induced by Two Different Cloned Cell Lines Established from a Transplantable Rat Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma

Angiogenesis, a biologic process whereby endothelial cells divide and migrate to form new blood vessels, is a key step in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the differences in angioarchitecture between two different tumors induced by cloned cell lines (MT-8 and MT-9), derived from a transplantable rat malignant fibrous histiocytoma, by scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts. During a 3-week observation period after implantation, the growth of MT-8 tumors appeared to be faster than that of MT-9 tumors. Histologically, MT-8 tumors were of the uniformly undifferentiated sarcoma type arranged in characteristic organoid structures, and MT-9 tumors showed a storiform growth pattern. In MT-8 tumors, neovascularization occurred by sprouting at postimplantation (PI) week 1, and the newly formed capillaries gradually became more tortuous. In MT-9 tumors, at PI week 1, the corrosion casts of newly formed capillaries mainly showed a wavy course but no fingerlike outgrowths of capillaries were seen. At PI weeks 2 and 3, the sprouting was seen specifically in MT-9 tumors, forming basketlike structures and glomeruloid structures of capillaries. These results indicate that angiogenesis or angioarchitecture of MT-8 tumors is different from that of MT-9 tumors, depending on the differences in their tumor histology and by the features like absence or presence of basketlike structures and glomeruloid structures of capillaries.
Plasmid-Mediated High-Level Gentamicin Resistance among Enteric Bacteria Isolated from Pet Turtles in Louisiana

ABSTRACT The sale of small turtles is banned by the Food and Drug Administration from the U.S. market due to concerns about their excretion of Salmonella spp. To produce a safe pet for the export market, the Louisiana pet turtle industry uses gentamicin sulfate baths (1,000 μg/ml) to eradicate Salmonella spp. from turtle eggs. In 1999, we analyzed bacterial samples recovered from turtle farms and found that strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae and other bacteria, such as Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, were resistant to high concentrations of gentamicin (>2,000 μg/ml) and to other aminoglycosides. The goal of this study was to identify the gene(s) which contributes to the high-level gentamicin resistance phenotype observed in bacteria from environmental samples with turtle farming activity, particularly the salmonellae, and to estimate the incidence of such genes in these bacteria. R plasmids from gentamicin-resistant strains were transferred by conjugation and transformation to naive Escherichia coli cells. Cloning and sequencing of the gentamicin resistance determinants on these plasmids revealed the presence of the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase genes aac(3)-IIa and aac(3)-VIa; the latter was present as a gene cassette of a class 1 integron. Multiplex PCR assays showed that every gentamicin-resistant isolate carried one of these acetyltransferase genes. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and restriction enzyme digestion analysis of R plasmids carrying these genes revealed different restriction profiles and sizes, indicating a dissemination of the gentamicin resistance genes through mobile molecular elements. The data presented highlight the need to develop an alternate method for the eradication of Salmonella spp. from turtle eggs.
Algorithmic Approach to Overcome Scalp Deficiency in the Setting of Secondary Cranial Reconstruction

Background:Multidisciplinary approaches have shown improved outcomes in secondary cranial reconstruction, however, scalp deficiency remains a common obstacle for tension-free scalp closure during cranioplasty. Therefore, our objective was to create an algorithmic approach using a novel concept of “component separation” to help minimize potential complications. Methods:The authors tested the hypothesis of achieving greater scalp mobility by way of “component separation” in a half-scalp, bilateral cadaver study, and describe within 2 clinical examples. Pterional-sized (N = 2) and hemicraniectomy-sized (N = 2) scalp flaps were dissected on 2 cadaveric heads using an internal control for each scenario. All flaps (N = 4) were created with (experimental group) and without (control group) “retaining ligament release. ” Total amounts of scalp mobility were measured bilaterally and compared accordingly. Results:Scalp flap mobility was calculated from the sagittal midline using identical arcs of rotation. With zero tension, we observed an increased distance of movement equaling 1 cm for the “experimental” pterional flap, compared with the contralateral “control. ” Similarly, we found an increase of additional 2 cm in scalp mobility for the “experimental” hemicraniectomy-sized flap. Conclusions:Tension free scalp closure is most critical for achieving improved outcomes in secondary cranial reconstruction. In this study, we show that a range of 1 to 2 additional centimeters may be gained through a component separation, which is of critical value during scalp closure following cranioplasty. Therefore, based on our high volume cranioplasty experience and cadaver study presented, we offer some new insight on methods to overcome scalp deficiency accompanying secondary cranial reconstruction.
Characterization of Neuronal Migration Disorders in Neocortical Structures: Loss or Preservation of Inhibitory Interneurons?

Summary: Purpose: Neuronal migration disorders (NMD) are often associated with therapy‐resistant epilepsy. In human cerebral cortex, this hyperexcitability has been correlated with a loss of inhibitory interneurons. We used a rat model of focal cortical NMD (microgyria) to determine whether the expression of epileptiform activity in this model coincides with a decrease in inhibitory interneurons.
Study of Third Coronary Artery in Adult Human Cadaveric Hearts.

INTRODUCTION Third coronary artery (TCA) is a direct branch arising from the anterior aortic sinus (right aortic sinus) which supplies right ventricular outflow tract. It is found frequently and may be an important source for collateral coronary blood flow through a vascular anastomotic bridge (circle of Vieussens) between the right and left coronary systems. AIM To evaluate the gross anatomy of third coronary artery in terms of their number, origin, extent and distribution. MATERIALS AND METHODS After an ethical approval, 150 formalin fixed adult human cadaveric hearts were collected from Department of Anatomy, BVDU Medical College and Hospital, Sangli and Pune over the period of six years. The careful dissection was carried out to note details about third coronary artery and data was analysed using SPSS computer software. RESULTS The TCA was present in 32% of the heart specimens. In 42 hearts (28%) single TCA and in 6 hearts (4%) double TCA were noted. It was found to be variably distributed to conus arteriosus, anterior wall of the right ventricle, interventricular septum and the apex of the heart. TCA was larger than right coronary artery in 8 hearts and later ended at inferior border of heart. Myocardial bridge was noted over large third coronary artery in one specimen. CONCLUSION TCA is present frequently. It anastomoses with branches of left anterior descending artery (LADA) and contributes to apical and septal perfusion. Hence role of TCA should always be considered during diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
Changes in Extracellular Matrix Materials in the Uterine Myometrium of Rats during Pregnancy and Postparturition

Morphological changes in extracellular matrix materials in the uterine myometrium of rats during pregnancy and postparturition were studied by light and electron microscopy together with immunofluorescence microscopy for type III and IV collagens, fibronectin and laminin. The main components present in late pregnancy were 1) various‐sized collagen fibrils, 2) thick elastic fibers adjacent to smooth muscle cells, and 3) continuous and thick basement membranes of hypertrophic smooth muscle cells. These findings are considered to indicate degradation of collagen fibrils and development of elastic fibers and basement membranes of smooth muscle cells. This change in extracellular matrix materials in the late stage of pregnancy may be important in the process of uterine enlargement associated with elasticity and preparation for labor. In the postpartum stage, myofibroblastic interstitial cells were seen to phagocytize collagen fibrils, and elastic fibers accumulated mainly around the bundles of smooth muscle cells. These changes in the postpartum stage are thought to be important for the process in which the uterus returns to the nonpregnant condition. It is suggested that smooth muscle cells participate in regulating the development of their basement membranes and elastic fibers, and that myofibroblastic interstitial cells function by clearing degraded collagen fibrils from the uterine myometrium. Acta Pathol Jpn 41: 122‐132, 1991.