Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Responsiveness of the early corpus luteum to PGF2α and resulting progesterone, LH, and FSH interrelationships in mares

The effect of prostaglandin F2α (PGF) treatment during development of the corpus luteum on concentrations of plasma progesterone, LH, and FSH and the resulting temporal interrelationships among hormones were studied in 72 mares in two experiments. In experiment 1, a single treatment on Day 0 (day of ovulation) or Day 1 was associated with a significant increase in progesterone, but the increase was less (P < 0.05) than in nontreated mares. Eight of 12 mares treated on Day 2 or 3 (combined data) had a progesterone decrease for 1 or 2 days, followed by a gradual resurgence to concentrations similar to those in controls by Day 12. Luteolysis (progesterone decrease to < 1 ng/ml) occurred in each of 18 mares treated on Day 4, 5, or 6, except for one mare with resurgence after treatment on Day 4. In experiment 2, daily PGF treatment on Days 0, 1, and 2 suppressed the progesterone concentrations to < 2 ng/ml through Day 4, followed by an increase, indicating that the luteal cells remained viable during progesterone suppression. When PGF was given on Day 0, the increase in concentration of systemic LH on Day 1 was greater (P < 0.01) than the increase in controls, but the FSH concentration increase was not different from controls. Neither gonadotropin increased significantly after treatment on Day 1 or 2. Both gonadotropins increased within 24 h after PGF treatment on Day 3, 4, 5, or 6. Results indicated that PGF treatment on Day 0 or 1 had a novel retarding effect on progesterone output, treatment on Day 2 or 3 had a transient regressive effect with resurgence to control levels in most mares, and treatment on Day 4, 5, or 6 had a luteolytic effect in almost all mares. The gonadotropin results on Days 0 to 6 are compatible with reported days of change in pituitary content, indicating a direct effect of PGF at the hypothalamo-pituitary area.
Postpartum home care and its effects on mothers’ health: A clinical trial

Background: Postpartum home care plays an important role in prevention of postpartum complications. Regular visits of mothers during this period are imperative. This study aimed to provide postpartum home care for mothers to assess its effects on mothers’ health in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in two phases. First, a comprehensive postpartum home care program was compiled by performing a comparative study, using the available guidelines in this regard in different countries and based on the opinions of the experts. Next, a clinical trial was carried out on 276 women who gave birth in the university hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. There were 92 mothers in the intervention and 184 in the control group. The intervention group mothers were provided with postpartum home care service while the control group did not receive such a service. Results: Outcome assessment at 60 days’ postpartum revealed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the use of supplements, birth control methods, postpartum depression, breastfeeding problems, constipation, and fatigue (P < 0.05). No significant differences were noted between the two groups with regard to hospitalization, hemorrhoids, backache and lumbar pain (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The postpartum home care program had a positive effect on some aspects of the mothers’ health status and their satisfaction in our society.
Editorial commentary: Measles in pregnancy is not child's play.

Los Angles alone, 58 cases were reported in pregnant women [4]. It is easy to be complacent at this time, as measles has been virtually eliminated in the United States. Thosewho forgo immunization in the belief that their immunized friends and neighbors will protect them are foolhardy. During the epidemic in the United States in the 1980s, we were able to test >1000 students shortly after the first case occurred in their school. Although only about 4% were found to be seronegative, a sustained epidemic with several generations of cases occurred in these schools, all in individuals previously identified as seronegative [5]. Although measles is included in the exanthematous diseases of childhood, it is better described as a generalized disease manifested by a rash. This is attested to by the results of the current study, in which about half of those affected had encephalitis or pneumonia [1]. As is true of many viral infections (eg, mumps and chickenpox), adults usually suffer greater morbidity than children when they contract measles. This is particularly true when measles occurs in pregnancy. The authors found that almost 10% of these women died from measles; 40% had pneumonia. The morbidity from measles, moreover, was significantly greater in pregnant than in nonpregnant women with measles. Respiration compromised by pneumonia further compounds the increased demands of pregnancy. This, in addition to a severe febrile illness, resulted in an increased risk of low-birth-weight newborns, intrauterine fetal death, and spontaneous abortion compared to pregnant woman who did not have measles. Most of the adverse events in the unborn were in pregnancies complicated bymaternal death. However, these events also were significantly more common in infants of those women who survived measles in pregnancy than in the babies of pregnant women who did not have measles. Data were not available to assess the ef
Incomplete traumatic quadriplegia. A ten-year review.

Incomplete quadriplegia following closed injuries to the cervical spine is studied for future prognosis of this increasingly common lesion. Sixty patients were included in this study and classified into one of four clinical syndromes to correlate the different types of quadriplegia to its final outcome. Interest was focused primarily in the return of function to the lower and upper extremities and to rectal and bladder control. This communication concentrates on two major groups—the central spinal cord syndrome and the anterior spinal cord syndrome which, combined, represent 90% of our series. An ambulation follow-up comparison is made of central cord syndrome and anterior cord syndrome. A more accurate prognosis of cervical cord lesions can be established on a statistical basis.
Aging With Developmental Disabilities: An Overview

Because of advances in healthcare, individuals with developmental disabilities have a longer life expectancy than ever before. Increasing attention is being placed on this growing population of individuals throughout all aspects of the healthcare system including, medicine, rehabilitation, and social services. This article will review the demographic trends seen in this population, the effects of aging on individuals with disabilities, and contemporary practices that hold promise to diminish the negative consequences of aging and promote the individual's continued participation in the community.
Evidence for age-associated disinhibition of the wake drive provided by scoring principal components of the resting EEG spectrum in sleep-provoking conditions

ABSTRACT Age-associated changes in different bandwidths of the human electroencephalographic (EEG) spectrum are well documented, but their functional significance is poorly understood. This spectrum seems to represent summation of simultaneous influences of several sleep–wake regulatory processes. Scoring of its orthogonal (uncorrelated) principal components can help in separation of the brain signatures of these processes. In particular, the opposite age-associated changes were documented for scores on the two largest (1st and 2nd) principal components of the sleep EEG spectrum. A decrease of the first score and an increase of the second score can reflect, respectively, the weakening of the sleep drive and disinhibition of the opposing wake drive with age. In order to support the suggestion of age-associated disinhibition of the wake drive from the antagonistic influence of the sleep drive, we analyzed principal component scores of the resting EEG spectra obtained in sleep deprivation experiments with 81 healthy young adults aged between 19 and 26 and 40 healthy older adults aged between 45 and 66 years. At the second day of the sleep deprivation experiments, frontal scores on the 1st principal component of the EEG spectrum demonstrated an age-associated reduction of response to eyes closed relaxation. Scores on the 2nd principal component were either initially increased during wakefulness or less responsive to such sleep-provoking conditions (frontal and occipital scores, respectively). These results are in line with the suggestion of disinhibition of the wake drive with age. They provide an explanation of why older adults are less vulnerable to sleep deprivation than young adults.
IDENTIFICATION, CLONING AND IN-SILICO CHARACTERIZATION OF DROUGHT INDUCIBLE OsDREB2A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FROM INDICA RICE VARIETY

DREB proteins are transcription factors belong to t he AP2/ERF (APPETALA2/ Ethylene Responsive Elements Binding Factor) domain containing gene family which mediates abiotic stress responsive cellular signal transduction pathway. DREBs have been broadly categorized into DREB1 and DREB2 proteins based on their responses to abiotic stresses. OsDREB2A has been identified and characterized in rice as t he homolog for DREB2A which interact with cis -acting DRE/CRT (Dehydration responsive element/C-repeat) elements and activate the expression of downstream genes involved in dehydration and salini ty stresses. In this study we identified, cloned an d in-silico characterized the OsDREB2A Indica homolog sequence which exhibits N-terminal sequence variation from japonica sequence while maintaining the basic structural and functional sequence similarity, which is necessary for the activity of the protein. Structure prediction and a nalysis was performed to determine the structural a nd functional features of the OsDREB2A Indica gene. Multiple sequence analysis of twenty DREB2A like complete cDNA
Spatial analysis of air pollution and mortality in California.

RATIONALE Although substantial scientific evidence suggests that chronic exposure to ambient air pollution contributes to premature mortality, uncertainties exist in the size and consistency of this association. Uncertainty may arise from inaccurate exposure assessment. OBJECTIVES To assess the associations of three types of air pollutants (fine particulate matter, ozone [O3], and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) with the risk of mortality in a large cohort of California adults using individualized exposure assessments. METHODS For fine particulate matter and NO2, we used land use regression models to derive predicted individualized exposure at the home address. For O3, we estimated exposure with an inverse distance weighting interpolation. Standard and multilevel Cox survival models were used to assess the association between air pollution and mortality. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Data for 73,711 subjects who resided in California were abstracted from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention II Study cohort, with baseline ascertainment of individual characteristics in 1982 and follow-up of vital status through to 2000. Exposure data were derived from government monitors. Exposure to fine particulate matter, O3, and NO2 was positively associated with ischemic heart disease mortality. NO2 (a marker for traffic pollution) and fine particulate matter were also associated with mortality from all causes combined. Only NO2 had significant positive association with lung cancer mortality. CONCLUSIONS Using the first individualized exposure assignments in this important cohort, we found positive associations of fine particulate matter, O3, and NO2 with mortality. The positive associations of NO2 suggest that traffic pollution relates to premature death.
Effects of magnesium sulfate on hemodynamic response to carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Introduction: Carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum (PP) for laparoscopic surgery increases arterial pressure, heart rate, and systemic vascular resistance. In this randomized, double blind, prospective clinical study; we investigated the efficacy of magnesium sulfate to prevent adverse hemodynamic response associated with PP in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients, of either sex (18-65 years of age), undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly allocated in one of the two groups containing 30 patients each. Group M received magnesium sulfate 30 mg/kg intravenously as a bolus before PP. Group C received same volume of 0.9% saline. Results: Mean arterial pressure and heart rate were significantly less throughout the period of pneumoperitoneum in patients of group M. Intravenous labetalol was required in 40% (12 out of 30) of the patients in group C to control intraoperative hypertension and it was clinically significant in comparison to group M. Conclusion: Magnesium sulfate administered before PP attenuates adverse hemodynamic response and provides hemodynamic stability during PP created for laparoscopic surgery.
Sesquiterpenes from Onopordum illyricum and their Antifeedant Activity

Phytochemical investigation of the acetone extract of the aerial parts of Onopordum illyricum L. afforded five known sesquiterpenoids: compounds 3 and 4 already isolated from O. illirycum, and 8α-[4′-hydroxymethacryloyloxy]-sonchucarpolide (1), 8α-[4′-hydroxymethacryloyloxy]-4-epi-sonchucarpolide (2) and 8-(4′-hydroxymethacryloyl)-dehydromelitensin (5), not previously detected in this species. Compounds 4 and 5 showed moderate antifeedant activity against larvae of Spodoptera littoralis.
The economic effect of interlocking directorates in Italy: new evidence using centrality measures

We use measures of vertex centrality to examine interlocking directorates and their economic effects in Italy. We employ centrality measures like degree, eigenvector centrality, betweenness, and flow betweenness, along with the clustering coefficient. We document the existence of a negative relationship between both degree and eigenvector centrality and firm value. Betweenness and flow betweenness, on the other hand, are not associated with lower firm valuations. We argue that these differences derive from the different properties of these measures: while degree and eigenvector centrality measures the influence and the power of the connections, betweenness and flow betweenness are proxies for the volume of information that passes between the nodes. This result is robust with respect to the use of both stock market and operating performance measures, as well as several controlling variables.
Estimation of mean first passage time for bursty gene expression

Gene expression is an intrinsically noisy process, typically, producing mRNAs and proteins in bursts. An important description of such stochastic processes can be done in terms of the mean first passage time (MFPT), i.e., the time taken by mRNAs/proteins to reach a particular threshold. We study the role of burstiness on MFPT and obtain an analytical expression for different models of transcriptional and translational bursts. Our analytical results and numerical simulations confirm that MFPT monotonically decreases with burstiness.
Metabolomics Differential Correlation Network Analysis of Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) significantly compromises the life quality of affected individuals and imposes a substantial economic burden on our society. Unfortunately the pathogenesis of the disease is till poorly understood and no effective medications have been developed. OA is a complex disease that involves both genetic and environmental influences. To elucidate the complex interlinked structure of metabolic processes associated with OA, we developed a differential correlation network approach to detecting the interconnection of metabolite pairs whose relationships are significantly altered due to the diseased process. Through topological analysis of such a differential network, we identified key metabolites that played an important role in governing the connectivity and information flow of the network. Identification of these key metabolites suggests the association of their underlying cellular processes with OA and may help elucidate the pathogenesis of the disease and the development of novel targeted therapies.
The atypical Spitz tumor of uncertain biologic potential

I read with interest the recent article by Ludgate et al, who reported on a large series of atypical Spitz tumors (ASTs), a subgroup of ambiguous tumors that have histologic features of Spitz nevi mixed with features of melanoma and, thus, are difficult to diagnose. In such patients, sentinel node biopsy has been proposed with the hypothesis that, if any metastasis is detected, then it represents proof that the lesion was malignant. To date, 117 patients with ASTs who underwent sentinel node biopsy have been reported, and 50 of those patients had lymph node lesions. Such melanocytic deposits have been interpreted mostly as micrometastases; however, because the possibility that they represent only benign nevi also was considered, the consequent discussion developed by the authors on this topic risks diminishing the possible diagnostic value of sentinel node biopsy in patients with these tumors. Undoubtedly, the incidence of melanocytic deposits in sentinel lymph nodes from patients with ASTs (42.7%) differs dramatically from that of lymph node nevi in sentinel lymph nodes from patients with melanoma (3.9%). However, because diagnostic criteria with which to differentiate lymph node micrometastases from lymph node nevi exist and seem to work, all lymph node lesions should be diagnosed using the same histologic criteria, irrespective of the diagnoses made on synchronous cutaneous tumors. In fact, it does not seem reasonable to diagnose a lymph node lesion as metastasis if the cutaneous lesion was labeled as melanoma and to diagnose a lymph node lesion that has the same characteristics differently if the cutaneous tumor was classified otherwise. If to diagnose a cutaneous tumor using data derived from a lymph node is illogical, then, in the same way, it must be illogical to use data derived from a cutaneous tumor to diagnose a lymph node lesion.
Linguistic landscape in Mostar

In this paper we aim at presenting the results of a new type of research – linguistic landscaping – done for the very first time in the city of Mostar. The theoretical and methodological approach combines postulates and paradigms developed by the linguistic landscape researchers like Rosenbaum et al. (1977), Spolsky and Cooper (1991), Landry and Bourhis (1997), Ben-Rafael et al. (2006), Cenoz and Gorter (2006), Backhaus (2007), Edelman (2010) etc. We aimed to find out information about the sociolinguistic situation in the city of Mostar using linguistic landcsape methodology. Namely, linguistic landscape research can lead to various conclusions about speech community and its social and political implications, about prevailing cultural beliefs; it mirrors different social issues. The study aims to answer the following research question: To what extent does the linguistic landscape of Mostar reflect the languages spoken by the speech community? We used the methodology described in recent publications in the discipline and analyzed one thousand and ten linguistic signs collected at six survey areas in the city. Data analysis results have shown that linguistic landscape in Mostar has its specific traits influenced by ethnolinguistic composition, geographical distribution, power relations, prestige, symbolic value, vitality and literacy.
Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Renin—Angiotensin System Inhibition: Reducing Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension are associated with significant cardiovascula: morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle modifications effectively decrease the risk of progression to diabetes in high‐risk patients, but intensive interventions can be costly and difficult for patients to maintain. The addition of pharmacotherapy is often necessary to treat hyperglycemia and hypertension and lower the risk of cardiovascular complications. Clinical trial data suggest the use of insulin‐sensitizing and antihyperglycemic agents to delay the progression to diabetes. Similarly, analysis of data from clinical trials of angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers indicate that the use of these agents results in fewer cases of new‐onset diabetes among patients with hypertension, when compared with other antihypertensive agents. Angiotensin II has direct and indirect effects on insulin and its signaling pathways, providing support for the biologic mechanism underlying the benefits of renin‐angiotensin system inhibition in preventing diabetes and cardiovascular events. Clinical trials now under way will further evaluate the role of renin‐angiotensin system inhibition in preventing diabetes and its microvascular and macrovascular complications.
Impaired Nutrient Signaling and Body Weight Control in a Na+ Neutral Amino Acid Cotransporter (Slc6a19)-deficient Mouse*

Amino acid uptake in the intestine and kidney is mediated by a variety of amino acid transporters. To understand the role of epithelial neutral amino acid uptake in whole body homeostasis, we analyzed mice lacking the apical broad-spectrum neutral (0) amino acid transporter B0AT1 (Slc6a19). A general neutral aminoaciduria was observed similar to human Hartnup disorder which is caused by mutations in SLC6A19. Na+-dependent uptake of neutral amino acids into the intestine and renal brush-border membrane vesicles was abolished. No compensatory increase of peptide transport or other neutral amino acid transporters was detected. Mice lacking B0AT1 showed a reduced body weight. When adapted to a standard 20% protein diet, B0AT1-deficient mice lost body weight rapidly on diets containing 6 or 40% protein. Secretion of insulin in response to food ingestion after fasting was blunted. In the intestine, amino acid signaling to the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway was reduced, whereas the GCN2/ATF4 stress response pathway was activated, indicating amino acid deprivation in epithelial cells. The results demonstrate that epithelial amino acid uptake is essential for optimal growth and body weight regulation.