Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute Alpha-Naphthylisothiocyanate-induced Liver Toxicity in Germfree and Conventional Male Rats

Differences in the responses of conventional and germfree male Sprague-Dawley rats to acute injury induced by alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT), a well-characterized biliary epithelial toxicant, were evaluated. Conventional and germfree rats were dosed once orally with 50 mg/kg of ANIT or corn oil alone and serially sacrificed daily for the next 3 days. Germfree rats treated with ANIT tended to have greater increases in virtually all liver and biliary-related analytes compared with conventional rats treated with ANIT; however, significant differences were found only in a few of these analytes including increased bile acids on day 3, total bilirubin on day 4, glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) on day 3, and reduced paraoxonase 1 (PON1) on days 2 and 3. Histologic differences between the conventional and germfree rats were modest, but most pronounced on day 2 (24-hr post dosing). Based on subjective scoring, biliary necrosis, neutrophilic cholangitis, and portal tract edema were more severe in germfree rats at 24 hr post dosing compared with conventional rats. Biliary epithelial replication did not differ between treated groups, however. Overall, germfree rats had a modestly greater level of biliary tract injury based on subjective histologic scoring and clinical chemistry measurements following an acute exposure to the well-characterized biliary toxin, ANIT; however, the difference between the ANIT-treated germfree and conventional groups was modest and most evident only within the first day following exposure. These findings suggest that the microbiome did not significantly affect ANIT-induced acute biliary tract injury in the conditions of this study.
Comparison between two tests of delayed recall for the diagnosis of dementia.

UNLABELLED Diagnosis of dementia is a challenge in populations with heterogeneous educational background. OBJECTIVE To compare the accuracies of two delayed recall tests for the diagnosis of dementia in a community with high proportion of illiterates. METHOD The delayed recall of a word list from the CERAD battery (DR-CERAD) was compared with the delayed recall of objects presented as line drawings from the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (DR-BCSB) using ROC curves. Illiterate (23 controls and 17 patients with dementia) and literate individuals (28 controls and 17 patients with dementia) were evaluated in a community-dwelling Brazilian population. RESULTS The DR-BCSB showed higher accuracy than the DR-CERAD in the illiterate (p=0.029), similar accuracy in the literate individuals (p=0.527), and a trend for higher accuracy in the entire population (p=0.084). CONCLUSION the DR-BCSB could be an alternative for the diagnosis of dementia in populations with high proportion of illiterates.
Ceramide and Mitochondria in Ischemia/Reperfusion

A hallmark of tissue injury in various models of ischemia/reperfusion (IR) is mitochondrial dysfunction and the release of mitochondrial proapoptotic proteins leading to cell death. Although IR-induced mitochondrial injury has been extensively studied and key mitochondrial functions affected by IR are chiefly characterized, the nature of the molecule that causes loss of mitochondrial integrity and function remains obscure. It has become increasingly clear that ceramide, a membrane sphingolipid and a key mediator of cell stress responses, could play a critical role in IR-induced mitochondrial damage. Emerging data point to excessive ceramide accumulation in tissue and, specifically, in mitochondria after IR. Exogenously added to isolated mitochondria, ceramide could mimic some of the mitochondrial dysfunctions occurring in IR. The recent identification and characterization of major enzymes in ceramide synthesis is expected to contribute to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of ceramide involvement in mitochondrial damage in IR. This review will examine the experimental evidence supporting the important role of ceramide in mitochondrial dysfunction in IR to highlight potential targets for pharmacological manipulation of ceramide levels.
Psychological functioning in parents of children undergoing elective cardiac surgery

Purpose: To assess levels of distress, the marital relationship, and styles of coping of parents of children with congenital heart disease, to evaluate any change in these parameters following elective cardiac surgery for their child, and to compare these parents with parents of children undergoing another form of hospital treatment, and with parents of healthy children. Design: A prospective study in which parents were assessed the day before the surgical procedure being undergone by their child, and 12 months afterwards. Participants: We assessed three groups of parents of 75 children, aged from birth to 16.9 years. The first was a group whose children were undergoing surgery because of congenital heart disease, the second was a group whose children were undergoing transplantation of bone marrow, and the third was a group whose children were healthy. Measures used for assessment included the General Health Questionnaire, the Dyadic adjustment scale, and the Utrecht coping list. Results: Parents in both groups of children undergoing surgery had significantly higher rates of distress prior to the surgical procedures than did the parents of the healthy children, but within those whose children were undergoing cardiac surgery, there were no differences between parents of children with cyanotic and acyanotic lesions. Following treatment, there was a significant reduction in the levels of distress in both groups whose children had undergone surgery. There were few differences between any of the groups on the other parameters, and the evaluated indexes showed stability over time. Conclusion: Despite elevated levels of psychological distress prior to surgical procedures, which had fallen after one year, the stability of other parameters of parental functioning over time suggests that the surgical interventions are of less significance than either factors attributable to the presence of chronic illness, or the individual characteristics of the parents.
Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Probiotic Organisms From Intestine of Fresh Water Fishes

The gut microbiota of fresh water fishes Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mirigala and Cyprinus carpio was studied to isolate and identify probiotic bacteria. A total of 27 bacteria were screening out from the fresh water fish intestine. Out of this, five groups were divided in their biochemical characterization. These five isolates were evaluated with probiotic properties. Probiotic bacteria with more ability to inhibit growth of Aeromonas hydrophila was selected and identified by conventional and molecular techniques. This strain was able to survive and grow from pH 3 to 8.5 with the highest viability and growth rate at neutral conditions pH 7 for 3 isolates where as another two isolates was pH 6. In addition, all isolates are tolerated 0, 0.15 and 0.3% bile salt concentrations. This isolates also, showed inhibitory activity against tested fish pathogen A. hydrophila. Antibiotic sensitivity test indicated that these strains were resistant to Streptomycin and Vancomycin, Intermediate to Kanamycin and sensitive to Methicelin, Pencilin, Chloramphenicol, Gentamycin, Erythromycin and Amphicilin for all isolates. K e y w o r d s Isolation, Characterization, Probiotic, Intestine, Freshwater fishes
Task Scheduling in Speculative Parallelization

Concurrent programming using transactional memory models is an alternative approach to the ubiquitously supported lock-based programming. While hardware-based transactional memory has yet to become widely available, the advent of eﬃcient, general purpose software-based transactional memory frameworks has made it possible to apply this approach to automatic, rather than manual, parallelization. There are still a number of challenges that need to be addressed, however, concerning decomposition of sequential programs into tasks, scheduling of said tasks, and conﬂict resolution, among others. In this paper, I address the challenge of scheduling parallel tasks, using as input programs parallelized by Anjo’s Jaspex system [2, 1]. I show how the concept of contention management, a concept borrowed from software transactional memory, can be merged with scheduling algorithms in order to obtain more eﬃcient schedules. I also apply this principle to a general purpose transactional memory benchmark, STMBench7 [9], thereby showing how conﬂict-aware scheduling may enhance the performance of generic transactional memory frameworks.
Rességuier method and Qi Gong sequentially integrated in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

OBJECTIVES In fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), the Rességuier Method (RM) and Qi Gong (QG) can be efficacious. QG aims to improve posture, respiration, concentration, while RM aims to obtain patient awareness and control of pain perception. We evaluate 2 protocols integrating RM and QG in FMS. METHODS Thirty FMS patients were assigned to Group 1, treated by RM and then by QG or Group 2, treated by QG and then by RM. In both protocols, patients are treated 7 weeks by each technique (with 1 week interval), and followed up for 12 weeks. Patients were assessed at T0, at end of 1st (T1) and 2nd intervention (T2), at follow-up (FU) by number rating scale (NRS) for sleep quality and pain, Regional Pain Scale (RPS),Tender Points (TPs), FIQ, HAQ, SF36, HADS for anxiety and depression (HADS-a/d). RESULTS In Group 1 at T1 (after RM), NRS for pain, RPS, FIQ, HAQ were reduced, HADS-a and SF36 ameliorated; at T2 (after QG) FIQ were further reduced and TPs and HADS-d improved; HADS-a and SF36 maintained. In Group 2 at T1 (after QG), NRS for pain, RPS, TPs, FIQ, HAQ, reduced with reduction maintained at T2 (after RM). HADS-a and -d and SF36 ameliorated at T1, with improvement confirmed at T2; sleep quality ameliorated only at T2. Effects of both protocols are similar at T2 and maintained at FU. CONCLUSIONS In FMS, both protocols improve pain, disability, quality of life, tenderness, anxiety. RM also ameliorates sleep and QG improves depression. Sequential integration of RM and QG is efficacious in FMS.
HEMO Revisited: Why Kt/Vurea Only Tells Part of the Story.

In this issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, a posthoc analysis of the data and samples of the Hemodialysis (HEMO) study reports on the effect of raising Kt/Vurea on a broad range of low molecular weight uremic toxins. [1][1] The HEMO study,[2][2] one of the great pivotal
Knowing Pornography

This essay draws on my personal experience with pornography to explore how sexually explicit material helps construct men's sexuality in contemporary U.S. culture. From this personal narrative, I show how pornography was an important means of sex education in my life; constructed women as objects, which encouraged me to see women in real life that way; created or reinforced desires for specific acts; shaped and constrained my sexual imagination with its standardized scripts; reinforced racist stereotypes; and eroticized violence for me in a way that not only affected my sex life, but also gave me a sense of control over women.
The Dry Pipeline of Antiarrhythmic Therapies

TO THE EDITOR: Zimetbaum and Josephson (1) are confident that new approaches to drug development and screening for risk for adverse events may ultimately reduce the toxicity of [antiarrhythmic] agents. Unfortunately, this optimism has fallen on deaf ears in the pharmaceutical industry: The only new drugs to treat atrial fibrillation are dofetilide, ibutilide, and azimilide (2, 3). These class III antiarrhythmic agents, far from being bold breakthroughs in the management of atrial fibrillation, are niche players (2) whose long-term efficacy and toxicity are matters of speculation (3). The remaining antiarrhythmic agents that Zimetbaum and Josephson advocate for patients in whom rate control fails, patients who have contraindications to systemic anticoagulation, or patients who were excluded from the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) study because of age or comorbid conditions (4) have very high toxicities, including lethal arrhythmias. Furthermore, dosing is a matter of heated debate, and monitoring is difficult and expensive. Researchers should organize large trials using the hybrid therapies Zimetbaum and Josephson advocate to determine whether the combination of expensive and marginally therapeutic drugs and ablative procedures is better than rate control (4, 5).
Stored electromagnetic energy and quality factor of radiating structures

This paper deals with the old yet unsolved problem of defining and evaluating the stored electromagnetic energy—a quantity essential for calculating the quality factor, which reflects the intrinsic bandwidth of the considered electromagnetic system. A novel paradigm is proposed to determine the stored energy in the time domain leading to the method, which exhibits positive semi-definiteness and coordinate independence, i.e. two key properties actually not met by the contemporary approaches. The proposed technique is compared with an up-to-date frequency domain method that is extensively used in practice. Both concepts are discussed and compared on the basis of examples of varying complexity.
Saliva and plasma TIMP-1 in patients with colorectal cancer: a prospective study

Abstract Background and aims. A prospective cross-sectional study was designed to test if total levels of TIMP-1 in saliva and plasma correlated with the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a population with symptoms consistent with this disease. Materials and methods. Stimulated whole saliva and blood samples were collected from 161 individuals referred to colonoscopy with symptoms associated with CRC. The results of the examination, as well as previous and/or current other diseases were recorded. In a blinded study, the authors used an in-house TIMP-1 ELISA previously validated for use in saliva and plasma to determine total levels of TIMP-1. Results. Fifty-six of the patients (35%) were diagnosed with CRC. Plasma TIMP-1 levels were significantly elevated in CRC patients compared with patients with other, non-malignant diseases and individuals without disease. Significant differences in saliva TIMP-1 levels between CRC patients and individuals without CRC could not be demonstrated. In addition, no correlation was found between levels of TIMP-1 in plasma and saliva. Conclusion. Total levels of TIMP-1 in saliva do not reflect the presence of CRC, and TIMP-1 saliva measurements thus cannot substitute plasma TIMP-1 measurements in detection of CRC.
Stimulation of the beta3-Adrenoceptor as a novel treatment strategy for anxiety and depressive disorders.

The characterization of the first selective orally active and brain-penetrant beta3-adrenoceptor agonist, SR58611A (amibegron), has opened new possibilities for exploring the involvement of this receptor in stress-related disorders. By using a battery of tests measuring a wide range of anxiety-related behaviors in rodents, including the mouse defense test battery, the elevated plus-maze, social interaction, stress-induced hyperthermia, four-plate, and punished drinking tests, we demonstrated for the first time that the stimulation of the beta3 receptor by SR58611A resulted in robust anxiolytic-like effects, with minimal active doses ranging from 0.3 to 10 mg/kg p.o. , depending on the procedure. These effects paralleled those obtained with the prototypical benzodiazepine anxiolytic diazepam or chlordiazepoxide. Moreover, when SR58611A was tested in acute or chronic models of depression in rodents, such as the forced-swimming and the chronic mild stress tests, it produced antidepressant-like effects, which were comparable in terms of the magnitude of the effects to those of the antidepressant fluoxetine or imipramine. Supporting these behavioral data, SR58611A modified spontaneous sleep parameters in a manner comparable to that observed with fluoxetine. Importantly, SR58611A was devoid of side effects related to cognition (as shown in the Morris water maze and object recognition tasks), motor activity (in the rotarod), alcohol interaction, or physical dependence. Antagonism studies using pharmacological tools targeting a variety of neurotransmitters involved in anxiety and depression and the use of mice lacking the beta3 adrenoceptor suggested that these effects of SR58611A are mediated by beta3 adrenoceptors. Taken as a whole, these findings indicate that the pharmacological stimulation of beta3 adrenoceptors may represent an innovative approach for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders.
Subjective Memory Complaints of Family Members of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Depression

Background: First-degree relatives of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and major depression (MD) carry an increased genetic risk for the same disorders. Subjective memory complaints of the family members of patients might be an early sign or an indicator of an increased risk of either dementia or depression. Alternatively, they might be the consequence of the increased subjective awareness of relatives and spouses of patients of their own age-associated memory failures. To investigate the relevance of the above-mentioned hypotheses, the prevalence rates of subjective memory complaints of first-degree relatives and spouses of patients with AD, of patients with MD and of control subjects were compared. Methods: Personal interviews were conducted with 718 first-degree relatives and 196 spouses of 146 AD patients, 168 patients with MD and 136 control subjects from the general population. The prevalences of subjective memory complaints by relatives or spouses were compared using χ2 tests. To control for differences of gender and age at onset, Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed. Results: There were no differences in the prevalence of subjective memory complaints by first-degree relatives of subjects with AD, MD and controls after controlling for age differences. The same applies to the subjective memory complaints in their spouses. Conclusion: Subjective memory complaints were frequent in family members. However, they were neither associated with the genetic risk of AD or of MD nor could they be explained by an increased awareness by having a demented spouse or relative. Consequently, familial factors seem to have a limited influence on the presence of subjective memory complaints in the elderly.
Impaired antibody response to Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide and low IgG2 and IgG4 concentrations in Apache children.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Because Native American children are at much higher risk for invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b infection than white children, we compared the antibody responses to H. influenzae type b polysaccharide vaccine in healthy Apache and white children. RESULTS The concentrations of H. influenzae type b antibody after immunization with polysaccharide vaccine were approximately 10-fold lower in 24-month-old Apache children than in whites of a similar age (P less than 0.01). The decreased response involved H. influenzae type b antibodies of the IgG, IgM, and IgA classes. Concentrations of IgG antibody to tetanus toxoid did not differ significantly, and IgG antibodies to diphtheria toxoid were only twofold lower (P = 0.028). Although total IgG, IgM, and IgA levels were higher in two-year-old Apaches than in whites (all P less than 0.001), IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses were lower (both P less than 0.001). Among the Apaches, individual immunoglobulin levels and allotypes were not significantly correlated with their antibody responses to H. influenzae type b polysaccharide. CONCLUSIONS Apache children have significant impairment of their antibody response to H. influenzae type b polysaccharide and little or no impairment of their antibody responses to protein toxoids. This immunodeficiency may explain the high incidence of H. influenzae type b infection in this population.
Topluma Hizmet Uygulamaları Etkinliklerinin Öğretmen Adaylarının Sosyal Becerileri ve Öz Yeterlik İnanç Düzeylerine Etkisi

Ogretmen egitiminin amaclari arasinda, toplumsal sorumluluk bilinci, oz guven, isbirligi gibi degerler onemli bir yer tutmaktadir. Bu tur degerlere sahip ogretmenlerin, kendi ogrencileri uzerindeki olumlu etkileri kacinilmaz olacaktir. Bu baglamda, sosyal becerileri gelismis, kendini ogretmenlik mesleginde yeterli goren ogretmenlerin yetistirilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu calismanin amaci, topluma hizmet uygulamamalari (THU) etkinliklerinin, ogretmen adaylarinin sosyal becerileri ve oz yeterlilik inanc duzeyleri uzerindeki etkilerini arastirmaktir. Calismada, nitel ve nicel verilerin birlikte degerlendirildigi karma arastirma deseni kullanilmistir. Nitel verilerin toplanmasinda, ogretmen adaylari ile yapilan gorusmeler kullanilmis ve icerik analizi yapilarak betimlenmistir. Nicel verilerin toplanmasinda ise, croanbach alfa ic tutarlilik katsayisi . 94 olan 90 maddelik sosyal beceriler olcegi ve croanbach alfa ic tutarlilik katsayisi . 86 olan 29 maddelik oz yeterlik inanc olcegi kullanilmistir. On test-son test seklinde calismanin basinda ve sonunda ogretmen adaylarina uygulanan bu iki olcege ait verilerin analizinde, “tek gruplu on test-son test deneysel desen” kullanilmistir. Elde edilen veriler, “bagimli orneklemler icin t testi” kullanilarak analiz edilmistir. Nicel verilerin analiz sonuclarindan, ogretmen adaylarinin oz yeterliliklerine olan inanclari ve sosyal becerilerinin anlamli duzeyde (p<0,05) pozitif yonde arttigi tespit edilmistir. Nitel verilerin icerik analizinde ise, sosyal becerilerin ve oz yeterlilik inanclarinin artmasinin sadece THU’ya bagli olmadigi anlasilmaktadir. Iyi planlanmis bir THU’nun sosyal beceriler ve oz yeterlilik inanclarina olumlu katkilari olurken, iyi planlanmamis bir THU’nun bu tur becerilerin gelisiminde katkisi olmadigi sonucuna varilmistir. Bu tur etkinliklerin iyi bir planlama ile topluma ve ogretmen adaylarina fayda saglayacak sekilde bircok farkli boyutta ele alinmasi tavsiye edilir.
Utilisation of dental services in Turkey: a cross-sectional survey.

AIM To assess the factors affecting the utilisation of dental service in Turkey. METHOD A cross-sectional study using a sample of 866 adults randomly selected from nine provinces, collecting data on socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of dental visits and attitudes toward dental services in face-to-face interviews. RESULTS 40.4% of adults had visited a dentist within the previous year. Logistic regression analysis showed that gender and educational level were significant factors affecting the utilisation of dental services, with women using dental services significantly more than men and those having higher education compared to those having low education. Satisfaction from the services of the private dental offices and private hospitals was higher than from state hospitals. Age, reasons for dental visit and the place of the last visit were found to be the most significant predictors of satisfaction. CONCLUSION Utilisation of dental services is low amongst Turkish adults. Women and individuals with higher levels of education use dental services more than others. The majority of the people prefer private dental offices, where the patient satisfaction is high.