Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of chronic treatment with a cyclooxygenase inhibitor on reproductive parameters in male rat.

BACKGROUND Indomethacin is a member of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) commonly used for treatment of gout, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions. It has been shown to inhibit ovarian prostaglandins synthesis in mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. However, the effects of its chronic administration on male reproductive functions remain largely unknown. Using rat as a model, we studied the effect of chronic treatment with indomethacin on the male reproductive system. METHODS Testosterone was measured in the serum, testicular tissue, and testicular interstitial fluid by radioimmunoassay. Moreover, we also studied the direct effect of indomethacin in vitro on luteinizing hormone stimulated testosterone secretion from the Leydig cells isolated from various treatment groups. RESULTS Indomethacin treatment for 50 days caused a significant but reversible decrease in prostate weight, epididymal sperm reserves and sperm motility score compared with control rats (p < 0.05). In vitro stimulation of Leydig cells isolated from treated rat's testes with luteinizing hormone (250 microIU) produced significantly reduced testosterone compared with cells from control groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, stimulatory effect of luteinizing hormone on the control Leydig cells was significantly reduced when these cells were challenged with luteinizing hormone in the presence of indomethacin, (p < 0.05). Testosterone concentration in the testicular tissue and testicular interstitial fluid reduced after indomethacin treatment (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Due to its significant inhibition of key reproductive hormones, indomethacin effectively inhibits reproductive functions if used on a long-term basis. In his study, we have identified potential risks in the long-term use ofcyclooxygenase inhibitors.
The development of the serum protein pattern in Africans

The serum protein of African and European mothers, African and European umbilical cord blood, and African children up to 6½ years of age have been investigated. African umbilical cord blood contains significantly higher concentrations of γ globulin than European umbilical cord blood. Significant differences were not found in the other protein fractions. The level of γ globulin in the serum of African mothers is significantly higher than the corresponding level in European mothers. Significant differences were not observed in the other protein fractions. The changes in serum proteins in pregnancy in African women follow the pattern described in European women. Close correlation was demonstrated between the level of maternal and cord blood γ globulin. The significance of this finding has been discussed. It is concluded that hereditary factors cannot be excluded until further information on the level of γ globulin of Europeans and other races subjected to the conditions of life of the average African is available.
Hippocampal morphology and distinguishing late-onset from early-onset elderly depression.

OBJECTIVE Despite evidence for hippocampal abnormalities in elderly depression, it is unknown whether these changes are regionally specific. This study used three-dimensional mapping techniques to identify regional hippocampal abnormalities in early- and late-onset depression. Neuropsychological correlates of hippocampal morphology were also investigated. METHOD With high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, hippocampal morphology was compared among elderly patients with early- (N=24) and late-onset (N=22) depression and comparison subjects (N=34). Regional structural abnormalities were identified by comparing distances, measured from homologous hippocampal surface points to the central core of each individual's hippocampal surface model, between groups. RESULTS Hippocampal volumes differed between depressed patients and comparison subjects but not between patients with early- and late-onset depression. However, statistical mapping results showed that regional surface contractions were significantly pronounced in late- compared to early-onset depression in the anterior of the subiculum and lateral posterior of the CA1 subfield in the left hemisphere. Significant shape differences were observed bilaterally in anterior CA1-CA3 subfields and the subiculum in patients in relation to comparison subjects. These results were similar when each disease group was separately compared to comparison subjects. Hippocampal surface contractions significantly correlated with memory measures among late- but not early-onset depressed patients or comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS More pronounced regional volume deficits and their associations with memory in late-onset depression may suggest that these patients are more likely to develop cognitive impairment over time than individuals with early-onset depression. Mapping regional hippocampal abnormalities and their cognitive correlates may help guide research in defining risk profiles and treatment strategies.
Improved wavelet transform based edge detection for wide band spectrum sensing in Cognitive Radio

In Cognitive Radio Network an efficient fast and accurate wideband spectrum sensing technique is highly required to identify the spectrum holes in wireless environment to achieve efficient spectrum utilization. The wavelet transform being a multi-resolution analysis tool has been proposed for the edge detection of sub-bands in wideband spectrum sensing [1]. In this paper we proposed an improved wavelet transform (WT) based algorithm where we perform non-linear logarithmic scaling of the WT coefficient after doing normalization of the PSD of the wideband spectrum. Logarithmic scaling along with the normalization is done to emphasis the small single scale modulus maxima at the edges to achieve more effective WT based edge detection in order to get better accuracy. Comparative studies show that the proposed algorithm performs better than the conventional WT based edge detection algorithm as well as edge detection multi-scale algorithms.
A Novel Conflict-Free Parallel Memory Access Scheme for FFT Processors

This brief presents a novel conflict-free access scheme for memory-based fast Fourier transform (FFT) processors. It is proved to satisfy the constraints of the mixed-radix, continuous-flow, parallel-processing, and variable-size FFT computations. An address generation unit is also designed and outperforms existing architectures with reduced gate delay and lower hardware complexity.
Speciation and patterns of diversity

1. Introduction: Speciation and patterns of diversity Roger K. Butlin, Jon R. Bridle and Dolph Schluter 2. On the arbitrary identification of real species Jody Hey 3. The evolutionary nature of diversification in sexuals and asexuals Timothy G. Barraclough, Diego Fontaneto, Elisabeth A. Herniou and Claudia Ricci 4. The poverty of the protists Graham Bell 5. Theory, community assembly, diversity and evolution in the microbial world Thomas P. Curtis, Nigel C. Wallbridge and William T. Sloan 6. Patterns of biodiversity and limits to adaptation in time and space Jon R. Bridle, Jitka Polechova and Timothy H. Vines 7. Dynamic patterns of adaptive radiation: evolution of mating preferences Sergey Gavrilets and Aaron Vose 8. Niche dimensionality and ecological speciation Patrik Nosil and Luke Harmon 9. Progressive levels of trait divergence along a 'speciation transect' in the Lake Victoria cichlid fish Pundamilia Ole Seehausen 10. Rapid speciation, hybridization and adaptive radiation in the Heliconius melpomene group James Mallet 11. Investigating ecological speciation Daniel J. Funk 12. Biotic interactions and speciation in the tropics Douglas W. Schemske 13. Ecological influences on the temporal pattern of speciation Albert B. Phillimore and Trevor D. Price 14. Speciation, extinction, and diversity Robert E. Ricklefs 15. Temporal patterns in diversification rates Andy Purvis, C. David L. Orme, Nicola H. Toomey and Paul N. Pearson 16. Speciation and extinction in the fossil record of North American mammals John Alroy.
Multiple sclerosis: glatiramer acetate induces anti-inflammatory T cells in the cerebrospinal fluid

Glatiramer acetate (GA) is believed to induce GA-reactive T cells that secrete anti-inflammatory cytokines at the site of inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, GA-reactive T cells have not been established from the intrathecal compartment of MS patients, and intrathecal T cells may differ from T cells in blood. Here, we compared the phenotype of GA-reactive T cells from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood of five MS patients treated with GA for 3-36 months, and in three of these patients also before treatment. From the CSF of these patients, all 22 T cell lines generated before and all 38 T cell lines generated during treatment were GA-reactive. GA treatment induced a more pronounced anti-inflammatory profile of GA-reactive T cell lines from CSF than from blood. While GA-reactive T cell clones from CSF were restricted by either human leukocyte antigen (HLA) -DR or HLA-DP, only HLA-DR restricted GA-reactive T cell clones were detected in blood. No cross reactivity with myelin proteins was detected in GA-reactive T cell lines or clones from CSF. These results suggest that a selected subset of GA-reactive T cells are present in the intrathecal compartment, and support an anti-inflammatory mechanism of action for GA.
Evidence for age-dependent mating strategies in the simultaneous hermaphrodite snail, Lymnaea stagnalis (L.)

SUMMARY In many mating systems female reproductive capacity is a limiting resource over which males will compete. As a consequence, males and females have usually different fitness optimization strategies which may give rise to sexual conflict. Since simultaneous hermaphrodites have, in theory, the option to mate as male or as female at any time, conflict will occur if partners insist in taking the same role. Several lines of evidence exists that body size influences gender choice. However, growth in many invertebrates is indeterminate and therefore age is generally a covariant of size. We therefore investigated the effect of age on mating choices in the simultaneous hermaphrodite Lymnaea stagnalis. Using fully sexually mature animals sampled from three different age groups we show that copulation frequency declines with age. Specifically, in age-matched couples the frequency of primary and reciprocal copulations declines with age. Furthermore, the younger partner tends to mate as male with greater probability in couples of unequal age. Size was never a factor in the sex role preference of Lymnaea. Thus, young Lymnaea always attempt to copulate as male independent of the age of their partner, whereas senior snails act primarily as female. The sex role choices of middle-aged snails appear to depend on their partner's age. In addition, we demonstrate that the likelihood that an animal will copulate as male is not correlated with prostate gland size but correlates with the level of afferent electrical activity recorded in the nerve originating in the prostate gland. Together, our results indicate the existence of an age- and not size-dependent mating system in Lymnaea.
English Language Learners' Nonword Repetition Performance: The Influence of Age, L2 Vocabulary Size, Length of L2 Exposure, and L1 Phonology.

PURPOSE This study examined individual differences in English language learners' (ELLs) nonword repetition (NWR) accuracy, focusing on the effects of age, English vocabulary size, length of exposure to English, and first-language (L1) phonology. METHOD Participants were 75 typically developing ELLs (mean age 5;8 [years;months]) whose exposure to English began on average at age 4;4. Children spoke either a Chinese language or South Asian language as an L1 and were given English standardized tests for NWR and receptive vocabulary. RESULTS Although the majority of ELLs scored within or above the monolingual normal range (71%), 29% scored below. Mixed logistic regression modeling revealed that a larger English vocabulary, longer English exposure, South Asian L1, and older age all had significant and positive effects on ELLs' NWR accuracy. Error analyses revealed the following L1 effect: onset consonants were produced more accurately than codas overall, but this effect was stronger for the Chinese group whose L1s have a more limited coda inventory compared with English. CONCLUSION ELLs' NWR performance is influenced by a number of factors. Consideration of these factors is important in deciding whether monolingual norm referencing is appropriate for ELL children.
Cutaneous involvement in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma. The Children's Leukemia Cooperative Group of the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

OBJECTIVE Skin involvement in children with acute monocytic leukemia or CD30-positive anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is well-known. In contrast, very little is known about the malignant cutaneous infiltrates in children with acute lymphoblatic leukemia (ALL) or lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL). This study was designed to determine the frequency of these specific lesions in childhood ALL or LBL and the characteristics of such patients. DESIGN We studied the clinical and biological findings of children with cutaneous involvement at initial diagnosis of ALL or LBL enrolled between August 1989 and March 1995 in the multicentric trial 58881 of the Children's Leukemia Cooperative Group of the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). RESULTS Among the 1359 children enrolled in the multicenter trial EORTC 58881, 24 presented with skin involvement at diagnosis. ALL was diagnosed in 15 patients and LBL in 9. In 15 cases, skin lesions were observed within a median time of 6 weeks (range, a few days to 8 months) before the diagnosis of the hematologic disease. Twenty-one children had at least one skin lesion located on the head. Diffuse cutaneous lesions were observed in 7 infants with high-risk ALL. Seventeen of the 24 children remain in the first complete remission (median follow-up of 3 years; range 2 months to 5 years) and 3 are in the second remission with a follow-up of 14 to 24 months. CONCLUSION The present study demonstrates that cutaneous involvement can be an early manifestation of ALL or LBL. Cutaneous leukemic infiltrates can be observed in children with standard risk as well as in high-risk ALL. Cutaneous involvement in children with LBL is mainly associated with a B-cell precursor immunophenotype of the lymphomatous cells. The most frequent location of skin lesions in children with ALL or LBL is on the head. Further studies are needed to evaluate the prognosis of children with such involvement at diagnosis.
. 13 , No . 2 ( 2004 ) , 121-125 Urinary Activities of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and Its Isoenzyme B in Cadmium-Exposed Rats

This paper aims to assess the relationship between the urinary activity of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and its isoenzyme B (NAG-B) and cadmium (Cd) concentration in the urine as well as to evaluate which of these lysosomal enzymes may be a more useful biomarker for the monitoring of Cd-induced tubular damage. For this purpose we have used an experimental model in rats chronically exposed to Cd in which we noted damage to the proximal tubules, including lysosomes. In rats intoxicated with 5 mg Cd/dm3, the urinary activities of NAG and NAG-B increased after 12 weeks of treatment, while at 50 mg Cd/dm3 activities increased already after the 1st week. The urinary Cd excretion in Cd-exposed rats, but not in the non-exposed ones, positively correlated with the activities of NAG and NAG-B. A positive correlation which was observed between NAG and NAG-B activities was stronger in Cd-exposed animals than in those not exposed. The results of the present and our previous histopathological and histoenzymatic studies, confirm the usefulness of total NAG and NAG-B as sensitive markers of proximal tubular injury for the monitoring of chronic exposure to Cd. Taking into account the strong correlation between the total NAG and its isoenzyme B, similar correlation coefficients between their activities and Cd concentration in urine and simplicity of total NAG determination compared to that of NAG-B, one can conclude that the determination of total NAG is suitable for the monitoring of exposure to Cd. As the urinary activity of total NAG is a sum of activities of several isoenzymes, which may be influenced by various factors, and the intralysosomal localization of NAG-B, we hypothesize that NAG-B should be recommended as a sensitive and useful marker for routine monitoring of chronic exposure to Cd.
Performing sentiment analysis in Bangla microblog posts

Much of the research work on sentiment analysis has been carried out in the English language, but work in Bangla is limited to only news corpus and blogs. Microblogging sites are becoming a valuable source for publishing huge volumes of user-generated information, as users express their views, opinions, and sentiments over various topics. In this paper, we aim to automatically extract the sentiments or opinions conveyed by users from Bangla microblog posts and then identify the overall polarity of texts as either negative or positive. We use a semi-supervised bootstrapping approach for the development of the training corpus which avoids the need for labor intensive manual annotation. For classification, we use Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) and do a comparative analysis on the performance of these two machine learning algorithms by experimenting with a combination of various sets of features.
Polylysine modification of adenoviral fiber protein enhances muscle cell transduction.

Adenoviral vectors (ADVs) are used widely for gene delivery to different tissues including muscle. One particularly promising use for ADVs is in the transfer of the dystrophin gene to the muscle of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). However, studies in different animal models of DMD suggest that ADVs inefficiently transduce mature skeletal muscle. In this article we test whether AdZ.F(pK7), a genetically modified ADV that expresses a polylysine moiety on the end of the fiber protein, could enhance transduction of muscle cells and circumvent the maturation-dependent loss of muscle infectivity by ADVs. The efficiency of transduction was tested at different levels of muscle maturation. In vitro, AdZ.F(pK7) showed a higher level of transduction at all stages of differentiation including myoblasts, myotubes, and single muscle fibers. In vivo, mature skeletal muscle was transduced fourfold better by AdZ.F(pK7) than by the unmodifled vector (AdZ.F). Together, these observations demonstrate improved ADV transduction of skeletal muscle by modifying ADV tropism, and provide a proof-of-principle that modification of ADVs to target muscle-specific molecules could result in tissue-specific transfer of skeletal muscle tissue as well.
Sequential phosphorylation of Nedd1 by Cdk1 and Plk1 is required for targeting of the γTuRC to the centrosome

Nedd1 is a new member of the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) and targets the γTuRC to the centrosomes for microtubule nucleation and spindle assembly in mitosis. Although its role is known, its functional regulation mechanism remains unclear. Here we report that the function of Nedd1 is regulated by Cdk1 and Plk1. During mitosis, Nedd1 is firstly phosphorylated at T550 by Cdk1, which creates a binding site for the polo-box domain of Plk1. Then, Nedd1 is further phosphorylated by Plk1 at four sites: T382, S397, S637 and S426. The sequential phosphorylation of Nedd1 by Cdk1 and Plk1 promotes its interaction with γ-tubulin for targeting the γTuRC to the centrosome and is important for spindle formation. Knockdown of Plk1 by RNAi decreases Nedd1 phosphorylation and attenuates Nedd1 accumulation at the spindle pole and subsequent γ-tubulin recruitment at the spindle pole for microtubule nucleation. Taken together, we propose that the sequential phosphorylation of Nedd1 by Cdk1 and Plk1 plays a pivotal role in targeting γTuRC to the centrosome by promoting the interaction of Nedd1 with the γTuRC component γ-tubulin, during mitosis.
Resonant activation over a fluctuating barrier.

We consider the problem of thermally activated potential barrier crossing in the presence of fluctuations of the barrier itself. For a piecewise linear barrier switching between two values as a Markov process, exact and Monte Carlo rersults reveal a novel resonantlike phenomenon as a function of the barrier fluctuation rate. For very slow variations the average crossing time is the average of the times required to diffuse over each of the barriers separately; for very fast variations the mean crossing time is that required to cross the average barrier
Anxiety Relief Effects of Non-Pharmacological Intervention on Patients under Local Anesthesia

The objective of this study is to verify the effects of diversional therapy targeting the patients who underwent orthopedic operations on the patients’ anxiety and vital signs. The experimental group watched the video that a patient selected wearing screen glasses during an operation under local anesthesia. The control group received midazolam 0.5mg/kg (usual handling) through operation surgeon’s prescription, and intravenous infusion was conducted during an operation. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory, visual analog scale of anxiety, and vital signs were measured before and after the operation. The state anxiety score of the experimental group decreased, and there was no significant difference. And the anxiety (VAS) score, the experimental group’s score decreased. The control group’s score decreased, and there was no significant difference. No significant difference in vital signs was found between two groups. This means that the non-pharmacological therapy wearing screen glasses is not inferior to the pharmacological therapy using midazolam in terms of the effects of intervening in anxiety. The diversional therapy using screen glasses is safe, costeffective, and is a pleasant alternative therapy for patients, and is expected to be an independent nursing intervention.
Incidence and Prognosis of Acute Renal Failure in Older Patients

Few studies have assessed the prevalence and outcome of acute renal failure (ARF) in the elderly. Among 437 ARF cases prospectively studied during a nine‐year period in a nephrology department, 152 (35%) occurred in patients over 70 years of age (Group 1). Patients over 70 account for only 10.5% of all hospital admissions in our country, and prevalence of ARF was 3.5 times higher in these patients than in younger people. Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) was diagnosed in 40% of Group 1 and 52% of the younger patients (Group 2) (P < .05), whereas prerenal ARF was found in 47% and 32%, respectively (P < .001). Dehydration was the most frequent cause of prerenal ARF in the elderly (51%). The etiological distribution of ATN was similar in both groups, being of multifactorial origin in most cases. Oliguria was present in 49% of ATN in Group 1 and in 66% of Group 2 (P < .05). There were no significant differences in dialysis needs.