Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REGULATION OF THE 24H BODY TEMPERATURE RHYTHM OF WOMEN IN LUTEAL PHASE: ROLE OF GONADAL STEROIDS AND PROSTAGLANDINS

An investigation into whether the rise in the 24h body temperature rhythm observed in the luteal menstrual phase is antagonized by the administration of prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors has been made. Intravaginal body temperature was monitored continuously for 24 h, once in the follicular and twice in the luteal phase. In the luteal phase, women were studied both without and with the simultaneous administration of a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor (lysine acetylsalicylate; 1.8 g every 6 h orally). The progesterone/estradiol ratio (measured at 17:00h each day) was related to mesor (r=0.825; P<0.001), acrophase (r=0.682; P<0.02), and amplitude (r=−0.731; P<0.001) of the 24h body temperature rhythm. Luteal phase elevation of the progesterone/estradiol ratio was associated with a 0.32±0.07°C increase in mesor (P<0.01), a 0.11±0.02°C decrease in amplitude (P<0.001), and a 34.8±11.6 min delay in acrophase (P<0.03) of the 24h body temperature rhythm. Prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors did not counteract these modifications. The present data shows that the modifications of the circadian parameters of the 24h body temperature rhythm observed during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle are strictly related to modifications of the progesterone/estradiol ratio, and presumably independent of prostaglandin synthesis.
Hearing results in adults after stapedotomy

Background: Although clinical otosclerosis is considered a rare disease, it is the common cause of hearing loss in patients with an intact tympanic membrane. Also, the hearing loss is amenable to other non-surgical remedies. However, stapes surgery is currently the preferred treatment modality. This study aimed to assess the short-term hearing results in adults after primary stapedotomy, and find, if any, the effects of some variables on post operative hearing. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of the clinical records of all consecutive patients who had primary stapedotomy for otosclerosis at the K. K. Ramalingam Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital and Research institute, Chennai, India between October 2011 and December 2011. Results: A total of 31 adults were studied; 19 (61.3%) were males and 12 (38.7%) were females. Their ages were between 21 years and 69 years; the mean age was 43.67 years, standard deviation (SD) 11.859 (95% CI; 39.24-48.10). The mean duration of symptom was 5.96 years; SD 6.188 (95% CI; 3.65-8.27). The commonest presenting symptoms were hearing loss (96.5%) and tinnitus (48.4%). The overall mean pre-operative pure tone average was 56.54 dB, SD 10.866 (95% CI; 52.55-60.52), while the overall mean post operative pure tone average was 33.75 dB, SD 15.577 (95% CI; 28.03-39.46). This difference was found to be statistically significant (Z = −4.454; P = 0.000). The overall mean pre-operative air bone gap was 43.14 dB; SD 6.824 (95% CI; 40.64-45.64) and the overall mean post operative air bone gap was 19.17 dB; SD 12.368 (95% CI; 14.63-23.70). This difference was found to be statistically significant (Z = −4.701). Nineteen patients (61.3%) had post operative air bone closure within 15 dB. The patient's age significantly correlated with the post operative pure tone average (r = 0.443; P = 0.023). There was no significant correlation between the duration of disease and the post operative pure tone average (r = −0.034; P = 0.870). Conclusions: Primary stapedotomy was effective in improving short term hearing outcome in adults with clinical otosclerosis. In addition, the post operative hearing outcomes were not affected by the duration of the disease; but by an increase in the patient's age.
GENETIC CONFIRMATION OF THE ORIGIN OF CLARKIA LINGULATA

Rapid speciation not only confers reproductive isolation in a few generations, but also has the consequence that the alleles of the derivative species are, at its outset, a limited sample of those of its progenitor. Therefore, when evidence from morphology, cytogenetical analysis of chromosome structure, geographical distributions and ecology combine to suggest that one species originated recently from another in a rapid series of events, both species are expected to possess in common a high proportion of their alleles detected by electrophoretic analysis of enzyme variation. I have used gel electrophoresis to examine the amount of genetic differentiation in two pairs of annual plant species that have been considered to have a recent parentoffspring relationship. In both cases, the parental species is widespread and outcrossing, and the derived species highly self-pollinating and found in only a single population. In a derived species of Stephanomeria, presently called "Malheurensis, " all the alleles but possibly one are also present in its progenitor (Gottlieb, 1973a). But numerous alleles in Clarkia franciscana are not present in its presumed progenitor (Gottlieb, 1973 b). Consequently, the electrophoretic evidence is concordant with the hypothesis of recent origin in the first case but not in the second. Various suggestions can be offered to explain the lack of concordance in C. franciscana but, because they deal with unobserved past events, they are not subject to disproof (Gottlieb, 1973b). The result is that the proposed mode of origin of C. franciscana (Lewis and Raven, 1958) is less certain than that for "Malheurensis. " Therefore, it became worthwhile to examine genetic differentiation between parent and derivative in another presumed case of recent rapid speciation. For this purpose, I selected an example in which both the derivative and parental species, although capable of self-fertilization, generally outcross: Clarkia lingulata and C. biloba. Clarkia lingulata is known from two sites in the Merced River Canyon, California, at the southern geographical periphery of the distribution of C. biloba. In external morphology, the two species differ only in the shape of the flower petal, but chromosomally they differ by a translocation, several paracentric inversions, and an extra chromosome in C. lingulata which is homologous to parts of two chromosomes of C. biloba (Lewis and Roberts, 1956; Lewis, 1962). Experimental study of the two species under uniform growth conditions failed to demonstrate any conditions of growth in which C. lingulata was better adapted than C. biloba (Lewis, 1969, 1973).
Exclusion of linkage to chromosome 14q in a large South Tyrolean family with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC)

Familial Idiopathic Basal Ganglia Calcification (FIBGC) is a neurodegenerative syndrome that usually follows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Linkage to only one locus on chromosome 14q (IBCG1) has been described so far. We identified and characterized a large multigenerational Italian family from a population isolate with 14 FIBGC affected members. Linkage analysis excluded the IBCG1 locus, thus demonstrating further locus heterogeneity for this disease. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effect of long term nicotine exposure on nicotine addiction and fetal growth.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of nicotine exposure starting before coitus and continuing during pregnancy and lactation period on delivery rate, fetal growth and nicotine addiction in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ten female Swiss Albino rats were divided into 2 groups as the nicotine group (NG) (n=5), and the control group (n=5), conceived by adding 2 male rats to each group. While the control group was given only normal drinking water, 0.4 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day nicotine was given to the NG in drinking water. After delivery, the BWs of pups were recorded weekly for 6 weeks and their drinking water preferences were assessed. Meanwhile, pups of the NG continued to receive 0.4 mg/kg/day nicotine for 12 months while the controls continued with normal drinking water. RESULTS At the end of the 6(th) week, it was determined that 30 (69%) rats out of 43 in the NG and only 7 rats (20%) out of 35 in the control group preferred the nicotine added drinking water (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed between control and NGs in post-natal birth weights and BWs recorded for 6 weeks. On the contrary, a significant decrease (p< 0.05) was observed in the BWs of NG at the end of 12 months nicotine exposure. CONCLUSION Use of maternal nicotine in pregnancy and lactation periods, even at a low dose, may be effective in nicotine addiction development although it may not affect delivery rate, and BWs of pups after delivery and during six weeks follow up in the lactation period.
Pilonidal sinus: Finding the right track for treatment

Management of pilonidal sinus is frequently unsatisfactory. No method satisfies all requirements for the ideal treatment ‐ quick healing, no hospital admission, minimal patient inconvenience, and low recurrence ‐but greater awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of existing methods would lead to improved management. Early excision of the pilonidal pit at the time of treatment of pilonidal abscess reduces the high (40 per cent) risk of subsequent sinus. Treatments for pilonidal sinus that flatten the natal cleft halve the risk of recurrence. En bloc excision of pilonidal sinus with secondary healing should be abandoned and emphasis given to development of treatments, such as primary asymmetric closure, which have more potential. Some treatments are operator‐dependent and, to achieve the best results, junior surgeons must be correctly trained and supervised. Future treatment studies must be prospective and randomized, and should compare healing time, recurrence rates beyond 3 years, nurse and hospital visits, patient inconvenience and loss of income.
People, Organizations, and Processes: An Inquiry into the Adoption of User-Centered Design in Industry

The aim of this article is to improve our understanding of user-centered design (UCD) adoption and provide accordingly useful advice to the UCD community. UCD adoption was investigated through a Web survey. The results show that the early involvement of UCD practitioners in the product life cycle is more frequent compared to 10 years ago. It is also true that the methods and the techniques employed have shifted their focus from summative evaluation to rapid development cycles and from quantitative to qualitative evaluation methods. Based on the survey, there are several organizational factors UCD practitioners and their management should consider. UCD should be part of the business strategy and supported by higher management. Usability goals must be set through competitive analysis and practitioners should be rewarded if goals are reached or exceeded. For bespoke systems, usability goals should be explicitly discussed with the customer. Special attention should be paid to communication inside and outside the company so as to clarify the outcomes and benefits of the UCD approach.
The CaaX Proteases, Afc1p and Rce1p, Have Overlapping but Distinct Substrate Specificities

ABSTRACT Many proteins that contain a carboxyl-terminal CaaX sequence motif, including Ras and yeast a-factor, undergo a series of sequential posttranslational processing steps. Following the initial prenylation of the cysteine, the three C-terminal amino acids are proteolytically removed, and the newly formed prenylcysteine is carboxymethylated. The specific amino acids that comprise the CaaX sequence influence whether the protein can be prenylated and proteolyzed. In this study, we evaluated processing of a-factor variants with all possible single amino acid substitutions at either the a1, the a2, or the X position of the a-factor Ca1a2X sequence, CVIA. The substrate specificity of the two known yeast CaaX proteases, Afc1p and Rce1p, was investigated in vivo. Both Afc1p and Rce1p were able to proteolyze a-factor with A, V, L, I, C, or M at the a1 position, V, L, I, C, or M at the a2 position, or any amino acid at the X position that was acceptable for prenylation of the cysteine. Eight additional a-factor variants with a1 substitutions were proteolyzed by Rce1p but not by Afc1p. In contrast, Afc1p was able to proteolyze additional a-factor variants that Rce1p may not be able to proteolyze. In vitro assays indicated that farnesylation was compromised or undetectable for 11 a-factor variants that produced no detectable halo in the wild-type AFC1 RCE1 strain. The isolation of mutations in RCE1 that improved proteolysis of a-factor-CAMQ, indicated that amino acid substitutions E139K, F189L, and Q201R in Rce1p affected its substrate specificity.
Taste, palatability and the control of appetite

The majority of research into the control of appetite has concentrated on the motivational constructs of hunger and satiety. The success of this approach is unquestionable, and we now know a great deal about the mechanisms underlying the initiation and cessation of eating. Yet it has proved more difficult to accommodate the influence of the sensory proper- ties of foods into a framework of appetite control based around hunger and satiety alone. The present review exam- ines the role of sensory factors, particularly taste and smell, in terms of their influence on food palatability, first by dis- cussing the problems of defining and measuring palatability, and then by reviewing studies which have examined the effects of flavour manipulations on appetite. It is important at the outset to clarify the use of the words taste and flavour in this context. To the lay person, ‘taste’ itself is often used as an hedonic evaluation, for example when a food is described as ‘tasting good’. A great deal of research into palatability has therefore used the word taste as synonymous with flavour. Technically, of course, these taste ratings are often based on flavour, that is they combine gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) components into a single percept, which is the flavour of the food. Thus, in the present review, ratings of the taste of complex foods are taken to be evaluations based on flavour, except where the stimuli tested only contained gustatory information.
Cryopreservation of human platelets using dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol-glucose: effects on "in vitro" platelet function.

BACKGROUND The technique of freezing blood platelets could be very useful in the transfusion support of thrombocytopenic patients. The best method of platelet cryopreservation still remains an object of debate, though it has been suggested that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is more effective than glycerol-glucose as a cryopreservative. However, few studies have directly compared platelets cryopreserved with different methods. METHODS We compared "in vitro" function of platelets cryopreserved with 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or 3% glycerol-glucose at -140 degrees C. Platelet aggregation and release reaction were studied with a Lumi aggregometer, thromboxane B2 (TxB2) production by radioimmunoassay, and Ca++ movement by the Fura 2 method. RESULTS Cryopreservation with both of the methods dramatically reduced the ability of platelets to release ATP and to aggregate in response to single agonists. In contrast, cryopreserved platelets maintained their ability to aggregate after stimulation with paired agonists and to produce TxB2. Cytoplasmic Ca++ increase induced by thrombin was observed in the glycerol-preserved platelets, while it was nearly absent in the DMSO-preserved ones. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that cryopreservation with glycerol-glucose or DMSO induces similar defects of platelet function. The damage is severe, but platelets are still able to respond to strong stimulation.
Antithrombotic Properties of Trillium Coated Connectors

Trillium coating (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN) offers, in addition to the presence of heparin, endothelium-like properties of its negatively charged surface. Its thromboresistant properties on coated connectors are tested here and compared with uncoated standard connectors, as well as with the Carmeda BioActive surface (CBAS) heparin surface coating. A partial cardiopulmonary bypass bovine model (body weight 68 ± 5 kg) was selected, and the surfaces were exposed to the blood stream (pump flow 3.5 L/min) for up to 350 minutes without systemic heparinization. Thereafter, another set of samples was exposed to stagnant blood for 20 minutes. Besides hemodynamic, hematologic, and biochemical analyses, the macroscopic appearance of 45 blood exposed surface samples were graded semiquantitatively on a scale of 0 to 10: no macroscopic deposits = grade 0, one spot (1 mm diameter) = grade 1, two spots = grade 2, five or more spots = grade 5, 10% of the surface covered with clots= grade 6, 100% covered= grade 10. When exposed to blood flow, Trillium and CBAS coatings showed a statistically significant (p = 0.03) better thromboresistance (score: 0 ± 0 for both) than uncoated connectors (score: 0.8 ± 1.5) in this nonheparinized model. The same holds true when the connectors were exposed to stagnant blood (score: 0 ± 0 for both coatings vs 4.3 ± 2.8 for controls;p = 0.03). Therefore, Trillium coating exhibits significant antithrombotic properties that outperform standards for connectors used in clinical perfusion.
In situ observation of fluoride-ion-induced hydroxyapatite–collagen detachment on bone fracture surfaces by atomic force microscopy

The topography of freshly fractured bovine and human bone surfaces was determined by the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Fracture surfaces from both kinds of samples exhibited complex landscapes formed by hydroxyapatite mineral platelets with lateral dimensions ranging from ∼90 nm × 60 nm to ∼20 nm × 20 nm. Novel AFM techniques were used to study these fracture surfaces during various chemical treatments. Significant topographical changes were observed following exposure to aqueous solutions of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or highly concentrated sodium fluoride (NaF). Both treatments resulted in the apparent loss of the hydroxyapatite mineral platelets on a timescale of a few seconds. Collagen fibrils situated beneath the overlying mineral platelets were clearly exposed and could be resolved with high spatial resolution in the acquired AFM images. Time-dependent mass loss experiments revealed that the applied agents (NaF or EDTA) had very different resulting effects. Despite the fact that the two treatments exhibited nearly identical results following examination by AFM, bulk bone samples treated with EDTA exhibited a ∼70% mass loss after 72 h, whereas for the NaF-treated samples, the mass loss was only of the order of ∼10%. These results support those obtained from previous mechanical testing experiments, suggesting that enhanced formation of superficial fluoroapatite dramatically weakens the protein–hydroxyapatite interfaces. Additionally, we discovered that treatment with aqueous solutions of NaF resulted in the effective extraction of noncollagenous proteins from bone powder.
Realizing deep-submicron gap spacing for CMOS-MEMS resonators with frequency tuning capability via modulated boundary conditions

Integrated CMOS-MEMS array resonators have been demonstrated that takes advantage of pull-in effect to surmount limitations of CMOS foundry process and attains electrode-to-resonator gap spacing at a deep-submicron range, leading to much smaller motional impedance compared to conventional CMOS-MEMS technologies, while possessing unique frequency tuning capability by modulating their mechanical boundary conditions. With the increase of applied dc-bias which simultaneously serves for functions of pull-in and resonator operation, the upward frequency shift of resonance caused by boundary condition (“BC”) change offers opposite tuning mechanism to well-known effect of electrical stiffness. As a result, frequency variation induced by BC-modulation and electrical-stiffness would yield a frequency-insensitive region under a certain dc-bias.
Modeling of the dielectric barrier RF discharge at atmospheric pressure

One dimensional hybrid modeling of the dielectric barrier radio frequency (DBRF) discharge at atmospheric pressure in argon is performed. Electrons in this model are described in kinetic way and heavy species in hydrodynamic way. Electron density, capacitive power deposition and electrons temperature distributions in the discharge gap for low and high current modes of the DBRF discharge as well as volt-ampere characteristics of DBRF discharge are calculated. The differences between radio-frequency discharge with bare electrodes and DBRF discharge are established.
Active metasurface for low-profile reconfigurable antennas

The analysis and design of a low-profile Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity antenna comprising an active metasurface are presented. The antenna under investigation is formed by embedding a feeding source in a cavity composed of a Perfect Electrical Conductor (PEC) surface and a metasurface reflector. Several configurations of such antennas are presented to achieve different desired performances such as high directivity, frequency agility and beam steering.
Clinical value of flow cytometric assessment of dendritic cell subsets in peripheral blood after solid organ transplantation

OVER the last years, the clinical value of flow cytometric monitoring of circulating dendritic cells (DCs) following solid organ transplantation attains more and more importance in transplantation medicine. The central role of DCs in transplantation immunology can be attributed to their function as professional antigenpresenting cells: firstly, DCs capture and present antigens and present these antigens to antigen-specific T cells. This process is enriched by bidirectional communication between DCs and T cells leading to T cell polarization into various effector and regulatory types (1). Secondly, within the scope of tolerance induction, DCs present self or foreign antigens to immature CD4CD8 thymocytes or induce anergy in peripheral T cells (2). This central role in the immunological processes makes DCs valuable to monitor immune function status after organ transplantation. Our study group recently published results in Cytometry B about the prognostic value of flow cytometric monitoring of the plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and myeloid DC (mDCs) subsets in peripheral whole blood of long-term heart transplanted patients (3). Patients were classified in two study groups regarding their calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressive drug, which is the cornerstone of an immunosuppressive drug therapy after transplantation. One group was treated with tacrolimus (TAC), and the other group with cyclosporine A (CsA)-based drug regimen, respectively. The TAC group had a higher expression of pDCs in peripheral blood compared to the CsA group. In general, TAC-treated patients had less biopsy proven acute rejection (BPAR) in their medical history compared to CsA-treated patients. Moreover, patients with higher values of pDCs had less events of BPAR as patients with low pDC values. Our results indicate that DC subsets could serve as useful biomarkers for detecting patients at risk of acute cellular rejection after heart transplantation. Interestingly, a small study in 20 heart transplanted (HTx) patients showed that expression of mDCs in peripheral blood was lower in patients with BPAR in contrast to patients without rejection. These results suggest that DC subsets may have the potential to serve as surrogate markers of rejection in the early period after HTx (4). In summary, this study results in organ transplanted patients revealed that analysis of circulating DCs enables (i) monitoring of an optimized immunosuppressive therapy following HTx (3,5), (ii) analysing tolerance-inducing effects following transplantation (6), and (iii) drawing conclusions on the incidence of rejection (3). However, little is known about the development of immunological cell populations and especially about DCs within the first year post organ transplantation. Thus, we designed a study, which was approved by the local Ethic Committee of Leipzig, to monitor expression of pDCs and mDCs