Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rat Subchronic Inhalation Study of Smoke from Cigarettes Containing Flue-Cured Tobacco Cured Either by Direct-Fired or Heat-Exchanger Curing Processes

A subchronic, nose-only inhalation study compared the effects of mainstream smoke from a cigarette containing 100% flue-cured tobacco cured by a direct-fired process to that of a cigarette containing 100% flue-cured tobacco cured by a heat exchanger process. The tobaccos and mainstream smoke from tobaccos cured by the heat exchanger process have been shown to have significantly lower levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines than tobaccos cured by a direct-fired process. Male and female rats were exposed for 1 h/day, 5 days/wk, for 13 wk to mainstream smoke at 0, 0.06, 0.20, or 0.80 mg wet total particulate matter per liter of air. Clinical signs, body and organ weights, clinical chemistry, hematology, carboxyhemoglobin, serum nicotine, plethysmography, gross pathology, and histopathology were determined. When histologic changes resulting from exposure to smoke from the two types of cigarettes were compared, the only significant difference was increased epithelial hyperplasia of the anterior nasal cavity in males in the high-exposure group for the heat-exchanger cigarette. At the end of the exposure period, subsets of rats from each group were maintained without smoke exposures for an additional 13 wk (recovery period). At the end of the recovery period, there were no statistically significant differences in histopathological findings observed between the heat-exchanger-cured tobacco cigarette when compared to the direct-fired cured tobacco cigarette. The complete toxicological assessment in this study of heat exchanger and direct-fired tobaccos suggests no overall biologically significant differences between the two cigarettes.
Molecular Analysis of the CYP21 Gene and Prenatal Diagnosis in Families with 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency in Northeastern Iran

Objectives: A rapid and convenient approach for the detection of the most common CYP21 gene mutations in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) with classical forms of 21-hydroxylase deficiency was used. In addition, a new semiquantitative strategy for the detection of del8-bp was designed. These procedures were used for prenatal diagnosis and genotype-phenotype correlation in northeastern Iran. Design: Molecular analysis of the CYP21 gene for the detection of the 9 most common mutations (CYP21gene deletion, P30L, i2g, del-8bp, I172N, E6 cluster, V281L, Q318X and R356W) was performed on 30 CAH patients and for prenatal diagnosis in 2 cases. Methods: Restriction fragment length polymorphism, amplification-created restriction sites, allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and semiquantitative PCR were performed. Results: We characterized 90% of the CAH chromosomes. The most frequent mutations in the CYP21 gene were del-CYP21 (25%), I172N (22%) and i2g (15%). Unlike in other ethnic groups, there was no R356W mutation, however, a higher rate of del-8bp (10%) was found in our population. Wealso found 6 complex alleles in our patients. For 2 families prenatal CYP21 gene analysis resulted in the diagnosis of healthy fetuses and termination of dexamethasone treatment in the 15th week of gestation. Genotype-phenotype correlation was observed. The rate of homozygosity (50%) was greater than the predicted values due to the higher rate of parental consanguinity in our population. Conclusions: These molecular procedures proved to be sensitive and rapid for the detection of the most common mutations of the CYP21 gene and prenatal diagnosis. Increased 17-hydroxyprogesterone, found in neonatal CAH screening, can be confirmed by these mutation analyses.
Stability of corticosteroid patch test preparations

This study investigated the stability of tixocortol pivalate, budesonide, and hydrocortisone‐17‐butyrate (Hc‐17‐B) when present in a mix with petrolatum and when the corticosteroids were kept separately in petrolatum. The concentrations chosen for the corticosteroids were the same as those used in a study within the European Environmental Contact Dermatitis Research Group (EECDRG), in which 2 corticosteroid mixes (1 with a high concentration and 1 with a low concentration) and the 3 individual constituents, each at 2 concentrations, were patch tested. Ethanolic solutions of each corticosteroid, as well as 2 mixtures of these 3 corticosteroids, were also made up at corresponding concentrations. The preparations were kept at room temperature, refrigerated, and deep frozen, and repeatedly for 1 year, investigations to check stability by high performance liquid chromatography were carried out. A decrease of 20% of the initial value at time 0 was used as the threshold for stability. The petrolatum preparations and the ethanolic solutions of budesonide and tixocortol pivalate were stable for at least the whole investigative period, irrespective of storage conditions, while Hc‐17‐B 1.0% in ethanol kept deep frozen was stable at least during the same period. The latter corticosteroid when kept at room temperature was stable for 3 months only.
ATP/ADP Turnover and Import of Glycolytic ATP into Mitochondria in Cancer Cells Is Independent of the Adenine Nucleotide Translocator *

Non-proliferating cells oxidize respiratory substrates in mitochondria to generate a protonmotive force (Δp) that drives ATP synthesis. The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ), a component of Δp, drives release of mitochondrial ATP4− in exchange for cytosolic ADP3− via the electrogenic adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) located in the mitochondrial inner membrane, which leads to a high cytosolic ATP/ADP ratio up to >100-fold greater than matrix ATP/ADP. In rat hepatocytes, ANT inhibitors, bongkrekic acid (BA), and carboxyatractyloside (CAT), and the F1FO-ATP synthase inhibitor, oligomycin (OLIG), inhibited ureagenesis-induced respiration. However, in several cancer cell lines, OLIG but not BA and CAT inhibited respiration. In hepatocytes, respiratory inhibition did not collapse ΔΨ until OLIG, BA, or CAT was added. Similarly, in cancer cells OLIG and 2-deoxyglucose, a glycolytic inhibitor, depolarized mitochondria after respiratory inhibition, which showed that mitochondrial hydrolysis of glycolytic ATP maintained ΔΨ in the absence of respiration in all cell types studied. However in cancer cells, BA, CAT, and knockdown of the major ANT isoforms, ANT2 and ANT3, did not collapse ΔΨ after respiratory inhibition. These findings indicated that ANT did mediate mitochondrial ATP/ADP exchange in cancer cells. We propose that suppression of ANT contributes to low cytosolic ATP/ADP, activation of glycolysis, and a Warburg metabolic phenotype in proliferating cells.
Comparison of RapID Yeast Plus System with API 20C System for Identification of Common, New, and Emerging Yeast Pathogens

ABSTRACT The ability to identify yeast isolates by the new enzymatic RapID Yeast Plus System was compared to the ability to identify yeast isolates by the API 20C system. A total of 447 yeast isolates representing Blastoschizomyces capitatus, 17Candida spp. , 5 Cryptococcus spp. ,Geotrichum spp. , 2 Hanseniaspora spp. ,Hansenula anomala, Hansenula wingei, 3Rhodotorula spp. , Saccharomyces cerevisiae,Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, Trichosporon beigelii, and 2 Prototheca spp. were evaluated. Also, five quality control strains (Candida spp. andCryptococcus laurentii) with well-documented reactivities by the RapID Yeast Plus System were used. Each isolate was evaluated by both methods with a 48-h culture grown at 30°C on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Emmons modification) by following the recommendations of the manufacturers. The RapID Yeast Plus System enzymatic reactions were read after 4 h of incubation, and the API 20C carbohydrate assimilation identification profiles were obtained after 72 h of incubation. There was good (95.7%) agreement between the identifications obtained by the two methods with the eight commonCandida spp. and with Cryptococcus neoformans. The agreement was lower when the emerging Candida spp. and other yeast-like pathogens were tested (79.1 and 75.2%, respectively). These preliminary data suggest the potential utility of the RapID Yeast Plus System for use in the clinical laboratory for the rapid identification of common yeast pathogens as well as certain new and emerging species.
Molecular mechanisms of glucocorticoid antiproliferative effects: antagonism of transcription factor activity by glucocorticoid receptor

Glucocorticoids (GCs) exert their anti‐inflammatory andimmunosuppressive effects by inhibiting the expression of cytokines andadhesion molecules. The molecular basis of GC action lies in theircapacity to diffuse through the cell membrane and bind their cytosolicGC receptor (GR), which subsequently undergoes nuclear translocationand modulates transcriptional activation through association withpromoter elements, GC response elements (GRE). GR also antagonized theactivity of transcription factors, including NF‐κB, NF‐AT, and AP‐1,through direct and indirect mechanisms. GCs induced the genetranscription and protein synthesis of the NF‐κB inhibitor, IκB. Activated GR antagonized transcription factor activity throughprotein:protein interaction. This involved complexing with andinhibition of transcription factor binding to DNA (simple model),association with factor bound at its DNA site (compositemodel), and/or through interaction of GRE‐bound GR withDNA‐bound transcription factor (transmodulation model). Finally, GRcompeted with transcription factors for nuclear coactivators(competition model), including CBP and p300. Remarkably, GR did notaffect the assembly of the preinitiation complex but acted proximallyin inhibiting transcription factor activity and thus transcriptionalinitiation.
The effects of trade openness on income inequality - evidence from BRIC countries

In the last few decades, a lot of countries opened their economies to trade. And as a result, the share of world trade in world output increased from 33 percent in 1975 to 59 percent in 2013. These same years also witnessed an increasing income gap between developed and developing countries, in addition to income inequality within countries. I look into the relationship between trade openness and income distribution in greater detail in this paper. I conduct my analysis for the BRIC countries, namely, Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, and China. In my analysis, I find that an increase in trade as a percentage of GDP has in fact resulted in the worsening of the income distributions in these countries.
Household Awareness of What to Do in a Disaster: A Social Capital Approach

This article investigates the utility of a social capital approach for explaining household awareness of what to do in a disaster in the context of long-term threats. Using data from a household survey in Dominica, it assesses how the concepts and measures for two variants of social capita—relational and community—can be used to explain three separate awareness outcomes. Results demonstrate the relevance of both relational and community social capital tools for disaster research. Each type of social capital was found to be significantly related to a different awareness outcome. Further, although there was no evidence of a different effect of relational social capital across outcomes, there were significant differences between the effects of community social capital on awareness of protective measures, knowledge of what to take to a shelter, and familiarity with disaster committee responsibilities.
In vitro cytotoxic effects of imatinib in combination with anticancer drugs in human prostate cancer cell lines

The platelet‐derived growth factor receptor (PDFG‐r), a tyrosine kinase, is expressed in 88% of primary prostate cancer and in 80% of the metastases. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib blocks the PDGF signaling pathway by inhibiting PDGF‐r autophosphorylation. We examined the cytotoxic effects of imatinib in combination with other anticancer agents in the human prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC‐3, and DU 145.
Bidirectional ranking for person re-identification

This paper proposes a simple but efficient bidirectional ranking method to improve person re-identification results across non-overlapping cameras. Previous methods treat person reidentification as a special object retrieval problem, and compute the final rank result purely based on a unidirectional matching between the probe and all gallery images. However, the expected person image may be excluded from the probe's ? -nearest neighbor due to appearance changes caused by variations in illuminations, poses, viewpoints and occlusion. To solve the above problem, our method queries every gallery image in a new gallery composed of the original probe image and other gallery images, and revises the initial query result in accordance with both content and context similarities between bidirectional ranking lists. A latent assumption of our method is that images of the same person should not only have similar visual content, known as content similarity, but also possess similar k-nearest neighbors, known as context similarity. Extensive experiments conducted on a series of standard data sets have validated the effectiveness of our proposed method with an average improvement of 5-10% over original baseline methods.
Time-Varying Combinations of Bayesian Dynamic Models and Equity Momentum Strategies

A novel dynamic asset-allocation approach is proposed where portfolios as well as portfolio strategies are updated at every decision period based on their past performance. For modeling, a general class of models is specified that combines a dynamic factor and a vector autoregressive model and includes stochastic volatility, denoted by FAVAR-SV. Next, a Bayesian strategy combination is introduced in order to deal with a set of strategies. Our approach extends the mixture of the experts analysis by allowing the strategic weights to be dependent between strategies as well as over time and to further allow for strategy incompleteness. Our approach results in a combination of different portfolio strategies: a model-based and a residual momentum strategy. The estimation of this modeling and strategy approach can be done using an extended and modified version of the forecast combination methodology of Casarin, Grassi, Ravazzolo and Van Dijk(2016). Given the complexity of the non-linear and non-Gaussian model used a new and efficient filter is introduced based on the MitISEM approach by Hoogerheide, Opschoor and Van Dijk (2013). Using US industry portfolios between 1926M7 and 2015M6 as data, our empirical results indicate that time-varying combinations of flexible models in the FAVAR-SV class and two momentum strategies lead to better return and risk features than very simple and very complex models. Combinations of two strategies help, in particular, to reduce risk features like volatility and largest loss, which indicates that complete densities provide useful information for risk.
Bacterial air contamination of operating theatres and surgical wards of a university teaching hospital.

A study of the level and significance of air contamination in the four operating theatres and four surgical wards of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria was carried out. A total of 48 air samples were taken from each of the operating theatres while a total of 36 air samples were taken from each surgical ward, using a "Casella slit Sampler". The means of the bacterial carrying particles per cubic foot of air varied, from theatre to theatre, from 12.29 to 14.29 (in the mornings) and 9.79 to 11.4 (in the evening). Statistically, these differences were insignificant (t-value < 1.96). Recognised pathogens were not recovered from both the air and the fomites in the operating theatres. However, free-living fungi were isolated. The air of the surgical wards showed levels of contamination from 20.39 to 35.28 (in the mornings) and 20.33 to 39.55 (in the evenings) bacterial carrying particles per cu.ft. of air. The differences between the counts in the mornings and evenings were also not statistically significant. Some pathogens were isolated from the air in the wards. The findings indicated that the level of air contamination of the surgical wards influenced the rates of post-operative wound sepsis.
The Relationship among Real Gross Domestic Product, CO2 Emissions, and Energy use in South Caucasus and Turkey

The paper analyses the relationship among real gross domestic product (GDP), CO2 emissions and energy use in South Caucasus countries and Turkey over the 1992-2013 years. Results of unit root tests show that all variables are integrated of order one. In general, cointegration tests with breaks suggest the presence of a long-run relationship between these variables. Causality results suggest that “conservation hypothesis” holds for Armenia; while, for Azerbaijan and Georgia, we reached mixed results, since both “feedback hypothesis” and “growth hypothesis” received support by empirical findings. Finally, no evidence of causality emerges for Turkey, in favour of “neutrality hypothesis. ” Therefore, the relevant policy implication of the study is that a common energy policy strategy would not be pursued by these countries, given the different causality links emerged in the area.
Habituation of Salmonella spp. at Reduced Water Activity and Its Effect on Heat Tolerance

ABSTRACT The effect of habituation at reduced water activity (aw) on heat tolerance of Salmonella spp. was investigated. Stationary-phase cells were exposed to aw0.95 in broths containing glucose-fructose, sodium chloride, or glycerol at 21°C for up to a week prior to heat challenge at 54°C. In addition, the effects of different aws and heat challenge temperatures were investigated. Habituation at aw0.95 resulted in increased heat tolerance at 54°C with all solutes tested. The extent of the increase and the optimal habituation time depended on the solute used. Exposure to broths containing glucose-fructose (aw 0.95) for 12 h resulted in maximal heat tolerance, with more than a fourfold increase inD54 values. Cells held for more than 72 h in these conditions, however, became as heat sensitive as nonhabituated populations. Habituation in the presence of sodium chloride or glycerol gave rise to less pronounced but still significant increases in heat tolerance at 54°C, and a shorter incubation time was required to maximize tolerance. The increase in heat tolerance following habituation in broths containing glucose-fructose (aw 0.95) was RpoS independent. The presence of chloramphenicol or rifampin during habituation and inactivation did not affect the extent of heat tolerance achieved, suggesting that de novo protein synthesis was probably not necessary. These data highlight the importance of cell prehistory prior to heat inactivation and may have implications for food manufacturers using low-aw ingredients.
PER-1 type beta-lactamase production in Acinetobacter baumannii is related to cell adhesion.

BACKGROUND Recently, the dissemination of ESBL (PER-1) among Acinetobacter isolates was reported in Turkish hospitals. We investigated the presence and the association of various virulence determinants in 20 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates, of which 13 were blaPER-1 positive. MATERIAL/METHODS Virulence tests were slime and hemolysin production, gelatinase and protease activity, biofilm formation, and Caco2 cell adhesion. RAPD analysis was also performed with ERIC primers. RESULTS None of the strains was positive for slime or hemolysin production and gelatinase or protease activity. A total of 16 strains, five of which were PER-1 gene negative, formed a biofilm on polymer surfaces. There was no relation between the presence of the PER gene and biofilm formation. On the other hand, nine strains (all PER-1 gene positive) were positive in adhesion experiments to Caco2 cell lines. All PER-negative strains were negative for cell adhesion. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates the existence of a relation between PER-1 gene and cell adhesion in Acinetobacter strains.
What Drives Differences in Management?

Partnering with the Census we implement a new survey of “structured” management practices in 32,000 US manufacturing plants. We find an enormous dispersion of management practices across plants, with 40% of this variation across plants within the same firm. This management variation accounts for about a fifth of the spread of productivity, a similar fraction as that accounted for by R&D, and twice as much as explained by IT. We find evidence for four “drivers” of management: competition, business environment, learning spillovers and human capital. Collectively, these drivers account for about a third of the dispersion of structured management practices.
Adipose tissue thickness affects in vivo quantitative near-IR spectroscopy in human skeletal muscle.

The influence of adipose tissue thickness (ATT) on near-IR spectroscopy (NIRS) measurements in vivo was studied in the human flexor digitorum superficialis muscle at rest and during sustained isometric handgrip exercise. NIRS was used for the quantitative measurement of muscle O(2) consumption (mV.O(2)) and forearm blood flow (FBF) in 78 healthy subjects. Skinfold thickness ranged from 1.4 to 8.9 mm within the group. Resting mV.O(2) was 0.11+/-0.04 ml of O(2). min(-1). 100 g(-1), and FBF was 1.28+/-0.82 ml.min(-1). 100 ml(-1). There was a negative correlation (r=-0.70, P< or =0.01), indicating a decrease in mV.O(2) with increasing ATT. mV.O(2) in the 10 leanest subjects appeared to be twice as high as that in the 10 subjects with the highest ATT. A poor correlation (r=0.29, P< or =0.01) was found between ATT and FBF. The gender difference that we found for mV.O(2) was due to the difference in ATT between female and male subjects. No correlation was found between maximum voluntary contraction and mV.O(2), nor between maximum voluntary contraction and ATT, indicating that the contraction force did not confound our results. These results show that ATT has a substantial confounding influence on in vivo NIRS measurements, and that it is essential to incorporate this factor into future NIRS muscle studies in order to justify comparisons between different groups. To facilitate such comparisons, upper and lower boundaries for normal values of mV.O(2) and FBF in relation to ATT are presented.
Pramlintide as an adjunct to insulin therapy improves long-term glycemic and weight control in patients with type 2 diabetes: a 1-year randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Mealtime amylin replacement with the human amylin analog pramlintide, as an adjunct to mealtime insulin replacement, reduces postprandial glucose excursions in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of pramlintide in this patient population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a 52-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter study, 656 patients with type 2 diabetes (age 57 +/- 10 years, diabetes duration 12 +/- 7 years, BMI 34.0 +/- 7.0 kg/m(2), HbA(1c) 9.1 +/- 1.2%, mean +/- SD) treated with insulin (alone or in combination with sulfonylureas and/or metformin) were randomized to receive additional preprandial subcutaneous injections of either placebo or pramlintide (60 micro g TID, 90 microg BID, or 120 microg BID). RESULTS Treatment with pramlintide 120 micro g BID led to a sustained reduction from baseline in HbA(1c) (-0.68 and -0.62% at weeks 26 and 52, respectively), which was significantly greater than that seen with placebo (P < 0.05). The proportion of patients achieving an HbA(1c) <8% was approximately twofold greater with pramlintide (120 microg BID) than with placebo (46 vs. 28%, P < 0.05). The glycemic improvement with pramlintide 120 micro g BID was accompanied by a mean weight loss (-1.4 kg vs. +0.7 kg with placebo at week 52, P < 0.05) and occurred without an overall increase in the severe hypoglycemia event rate. The most common adverse event associated with pramlintide use was transient, mild-to-moderate nausea. CONCLUSIONS Mealtime amylin replacement with pramlintide 120 microg BID, as an adjunct to insulin therapy, improves long-term glycemic and weight control in patients with type 2 diabetes.