Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of hypophysectomy and aflatoxin B1 on rat liver.

It has been reported that hypophysectomy protects against the hepatocarcinogenic action of aflatoxin B1 in rats. A study has been made of the effects of aflatoxin B1 and hypophysectomy on the livers of rats of different ages. Four groups of animals have been used, weanlings, small and large hypophysectomized rats, and adult intact rats. Ingestion of 4 ppm aflatoxin B1 for 4 to 5 weeks resulted in minimal changes in the livers of the weanlings and the hypophysectomized rats but caused massive necrosis in the livers of the adult intact animals. This was not related to the amount of diet consumed. The liver necrosis in the adult intact animals may have been due to the presence of a large tetraploid hepatocyte population. The absence of these cells could account for the resistance of the weanlings. The considerable tetraploid hepatocyte population present in the large hypophysectomized rats was not susceptible to the necrogenic action of the aflatoxin B1 either fed or given as i.p. injections. Hepatic nucleic acid synthesis was reduced by hypophysectomy or the administration of aflatoxin B1. In both cases the effect was more marked in the tetraploid than in the diploid hepatocytes. Nucleic acid synthesis in the hypophysectomized rat was more resistant to inhibition by aflatoxin B1 than that in intact rats. This appeared to be due to the lower basal level of nucleic acid synthesis in the hypophysectomized rat, the final inhibited levels being similar in the two groups of animals. The ability of the microsomal systems obtained from hypophysectomized rats to activate the aflatoxin B1 did not appear to be significantly less than the ability of microsomes isolated from control rats. The possibility was raised that there is a close connection between the uptakes of aflatoxin B1 and steroid hormones into the liver. These uptake mechanisms could be located primarily in the tetraploid hepatocytes. Hypophysectomy could protect against the cytotoxic and carcinogenic actions of aflatoxin by removing the steroid uptake mechanism by which aflatoxin enters the subcellular structures. The possible relationships between the cytotoxic and carcinogenic actions of aflatoxin are discussed.
Calcifying epileptogenic lesions; hemangioma calcificans; report of a case.

PECULIAR calcified neoplasms (or malformations) associated with symptomatic epilepsy have been encountered in the temporal lobe near the fissure of Sylvius. In order to gain an idea of their frequency, and as an aid to differential diagnosis, all cases of calcified epileptogenic lesions of the temporal region were collected in this institute for a six year period, and are reviewed here. Our attention was called to these lesions when we were consulted by a man aged 21 because of epileptic seizures. His attacks were characteristic of temporal lobe origin and roentgenograms demonstrated a peculiar intracerebral calcification in that lobe. REPORT OF A CASE Case 1 (J. S.). —Study led to osteoplastic craniotomy, in 1938, and the following excerpt is from the operative note by one of us (W.P.) in October 1938: "About 1 cm. beneath the surface of the right temporal lobe, a nodular, hard object was encountered. The surface
Heat transfer and thermal dosimetry.

AbstractThe heat transfer mechanisms which lead to the development of the bioheat equation are reviewed. Thermal modeling and analytical judgements which must be made in applying the equation are noted. Temperature profiles-which result from solution of the equation using a simple spherical model are considered with particular emphasis on the influence of thermal conductivity and perfusion. Thermal conductivity values of a number of both normal and tumor tissues are discussed. The importance of adequate macroscopic thermal dosimetry to the evaluation of the ultimate promise of hyperthermia is observed. Experience in the quantification of temperature, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and perfusion from a single minimally invasive measurement in small volumes of tissue using the thermal diffusion probe is presented.
THE PRIVATISATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

Die Dissertation beleuchtet verschiedene Aspekte der Privatisierung und Liberalisierung in den Infrastruktursektoren Wasser, Transportwesen, Energie, und Postdienstleistungen. In einer Analyse des Britischen Eisenbahnsektors uber einen Zeitraum von uber 40 Jahren, wird der Frage nachgegangen ob die durchgefuhrten Reformen und Restrukturierungsmasnahmen zu Anderungen in der Kosteneffizienz oder Qualitat gefuhrt haben. In einem zweiten Essay wird auf Basis einer Stichprobe mit uber 2000 offentlichen und privaten Infrastrukturunternehmen untersucht ob, und in welchem Ausmas, Unterschiede im Hinblick auf finanzielle Kennzahlen erkennbar sind. Im letzten Kapitel wird in einem theoretischen Model ein Auktionsmechanismus vorgestellt, welcher die optimale Laufzeit bei Monopol-Konzessionen ("franchise bidding'') offenbart. Dabei wird unterstellt, dass die Bieter uber mehr Informationen als der Regulator verfugen und der Mechanismus daher die Bieter dazu veranlasst, zumindest einen Teil dieser Informationen dem Regulator bekannt zu geben ("truth revelation'').
Hypermethylation of PRDM1/Blimp‐1 promoter in extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma, nasal type: an evidence of predominant role in its downregulation

The loss of PRDM1 expression is common in extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma, nasal type (EN‐NK/T‐NT), but the role of promoter methylation in silencing PRDM1 expression remains unclear. Hence, we performed pyrosequencing analysis to evaluate the promoter methylation of PRDM1 gene in vivo and in vitro, to analyze the association between methylation and its expression, and to assess cellular effects of PRDM1 reexpression. The promoter hypermethylation of PRDM1 gene was detected in 11 of 25 EN‐NK/T‐NT cases (44.0%) and NK92 and NKL cells. The promoter hypermethylation of PRDM1 was significantly correlated with PRDM1 expression in vivo and in vitro, predominantly contributing to the loss of PRDM1 expression compared with genetic deletion and aberrant expression of miR‐223 in EN‐NK/T‐NT. PRDM1 expression was significantly restored by demethylation treatment, which induced cell proliferation suppression, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis increase. We also found that PRDM1 reexpression could downregulate the expression of Ets‐1, T‐bet, granzyme B, and c‐myc. Our findings demonstrated that the promoter hypermethylation of PRDM1 harbored a predominant role in the downregulation of PRDM1 expression, significantly affecting the biological behavior of tumor cells in EN‐NK/T‐NT.
Evaluation of parentage testing in the Czech population of Holstein cattle

A set of 233 Holstein calves, their 233 dams and 44 sires from 4 large-sized herds was genotyped for 10 microsatellites recommended by ISAG for paternity/parentage testing. Heterozygosity of microsatellites ranged from 0.607 ( SPS115) to 0.835 (), and PIC from 0.575 ( SPS115) to 0.816 () confirming a high polymorphism of each analysed locus. Their combined exclusion probability reached 0.999, which made them suitable and sufficiently accurate for parentage testing. A conflict between putative parents and calf in at least 2 markers with combined exclusion probability > 0.9 was required to reject parentage. The pedigree was considered incorrect in 25 (10.73%) out of the evaluated progeny/parent trios, of which in 10 samples the genotype of both parents did not match their offspring, and in 2 samples the putative dam was in conflict with the calf genotype. This result shows that the interchange of calves on farms with large-sized herds plays the role as important as the errors in sire identification, or recording mistakes.
Timing of the first cleavage division of haploid mouse eggs, and the duration of its component stages.

SUMMARY Mouse eggs were activated by treatment with hyaluronidase which removed the follicle cell9, followed by culture in vitro, and examined at the first cleavage mitosis. Second polar body extrusion usually occurred and haploid parthenogenesis was initiated. Air-dried chromosome preparations were made between 11 and 15-5 h after activation. Out of the 308 eggs examined 74 had already progressed to the 2-cell stage; the remaining 234 at the 1 -cell stage were examined in detail. All chromosome preparations of the first cleavage mitosis were classified into groups corresponding with the stages of prometaphase, metaphase (early or 'pre-chromatid', 'chromatid' and 'late chromatid') and anaphase. An indirect estimate was made of the duration of the first cleavage mitosis and of its component stages from the incidence of stages observed at different time intervals after activation. Similar eggs were also observed at 37 °C by time-lapse cine-photography and the interval between the disappearance of the pronucleus to the beginning of telophase of the first cleavage division was determined. The results of timing studies on the haploid eggs were compared with results obtained from similar observations on the first cleavage division of fertilized eggs which would of course normally be diploid. Artificially activated eggs with 2 pronuclei, resulting from second polar body suppression, were also examined, and serial chromosome preparations during mitosis showed that the 2 pronuclear chromosome groups unite on the first cleavage spindle and divide to give a heterozygous diploid 2-cell embryo.
The Neuroanatomy of Visual Enumeration: Differentiating Necessary Neural Correlates for Subitizing versus Counting in a Neuropsychological Voxel-based Morphometry Study

This study is the first to assess lesion–symptom relations for subitizing and counting impairments in a large sample of neuropsychological patients (41 patients) using an observer-independent voxel-based approach. We tested for differential effects of enumerating small versus large numbers of items while controlling for hemianopia and visual attention deficits. Overall impairments in the enumeration of any numbers (small or large) were associated with an extended network, including bilateral occipital and fronto-parietal regions. Within this network, severe impairments in accuracy when enumerating small sets of items (in the subitizing range) were associated with damage to the left posterior occipital cortex, bilateral lateral occipital and right superior frontal cortices. Lesions to the right calcarine extending to the precuneus led to patients serially counting even small numbers of items (indicated by a steep response slope), again demonstrating an impaired subitizing ability. In contrast, impairments in counting large numerosities were associated with damage to the left intraparietal sulcus. The data support the argument for some distinctive processes and neural areas necessary to support subitization and counting with subitizing relying on processes of posterior occipital cortex and with counting associated with processing in the parietal cortex.
The long‐term effects of vasectomy on sexual behaviour

ABSTRACT ‐ Two hundred soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army who had undergone vasectomy at least 4 years earlier were interviewed by a pretested questionnaire to determine the incidence and nature of any changes in sexual behaviour after the operation. Fifty‐six percent re‐ported some change in their sexual behaviour after vasectomy. A de‐creased frequency of intercourse being reported by 15%, a decreased sexual desire by 19% and changes in sexual behaviour during inter‐course by 33%. Seven percent reported that their wives had noticed an alteration in sexual behaviour after operation. In spite of these changes in sexual behaviour after vasectomy the majority of men (92%) reported satisfaction with the operation, which is an indication that changes in sexual behaviour cannot be attributed directly to vasectomy.
Estimated incidence of sickle-cell disease in Aruba and St. Maarten suggests cost-effectiveness of a universal screening programme for St. Maarten.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the incidence of Sickle-Cell Disease (SCD) in Aruba and St. Maarten and to determine whether universal screening would be cost-effective according to United Kingdom criteria. METHODS Consecutive cord blood samples were collected in Aruba and the Dutch part of St. Maarten during 3 and 4 months, respectively. Samples were subjected to High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) screening of haemoglobin variants. RESULTS Of the 368 samples (87.6% of all registered births) collected in Aruba, 10 (2.72%; CI 1.3, 4.9%) tested heterozygous for the Sickle-cell gene (HbAS) and 7 (1.90%; CI 0.8, 3.9%) for the haemoglobin C gene (HbAC). Of the 193 samples (83.5%) collected in St. Maarten, 14 (7.25%; CI 4.0, 11.9%) contained HbAS and 10 (5.18%; CI 2.5, 9.3%) HbAC. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium predicted an incidence of 2.65% for HbAS and 1.86% for HbAC in Aruba and 6.80% for HbAS and 4.86% for HbAC in St. Maarten. These figures imply a newborn rate of about 2 SCD patients per 3 years in Aruba and 2 SCD patients per year in St. Maarten. CONCLUSIONS Universal screening of newborns for SCD seems cost-effective for St. Maarten.
Inferring the timing of long-distance dispersal between Rail metapopulations using genetic and isotopic assignments.

The stochastic and infrequent nature of long-distance dispersal often makes it difficult to detect. We quantified the frequency, distance, and timing of long-distance dispersal in a nonmigratory, secretive wetland bird, the California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus), between an inland and a coastal metapopulation separated by greater than 100 km. Using 15 microsatellites in conjunction with stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes, we classified Rails as residents of their capture population, recent migrants that dispersed to their capture population less than one year before capture, established migrants that dispersed to their capture population more than one year before capture, and seasonal migrants that dispersed away from their capture population to forage, but returned the next season. Most Rails (195 of 204, or 95.6%) were classified as residents, but we detected two established migrants that had moved >100 km more than a year before capture. Seven Rails appeared to be seasonal migrants, but comparisons of feather isotope values with isotope values from wetland soils indicated that the isotope values in the feathers of these Rails likely resulted from natural environmental variation (e.g., source element effects) rather than long-distance dispersal of individuals. Thus, these seven Rails were most likely misassigned by isotopic population assignments due to small-scale variation in the isoscape. Using genetic data in conjunction with isotopic data allowed us to not only infer the timing of long-distance dispersal events, but to successfully track long-distance movements of nonmigratory Rails between metapopulations even when environmental variation of isotopes occurred across small spatial scales.
The Dynamin-dependent, Arrestin-independent Internalization of 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A) Serotonin Receptors Reveals Differential Sorting of Arrestins and 5-HT2A Receptors during Endocytosis* 210

5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A) receptors, a major site of action of clozapine and other atypical antipsychotic medications, are, paradoxically, internalized in vitro and in vivo by antagonists and agonists. The mechanisms responsible for this paradoxical regulation of 5-HT2A receptors are unknown. In this study, the arrestin and dynamin dependences of agonist- and antagonist-mediated internalization were investigated in live cells using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged 5-HT2A receptors (SR2-GFP). Preliminary experiments indicated that GFP tagging of 5-HT2A receptors had no effect on either the binding affinities of several ligands or agonist efficacy. Likewise, both the native receptor and SR2-GFP were internalized via endosomes in vitro. Experiments with a dynamin dominant-negative mutant (dynamin K44A) demonstrated that both agonist- and antagonist-induced internalization were dynamin-dependent. By contrast, both the agonist- and antagonist-induced internalization of SR2-GFP were insensitive to three different arrestin (Arr) dominant-negative mutants (Arr-2 V53D, Arr-2-(319–418), and Arr-3-(284–409)). Interestingly, 5-HT2A receptor activation by agonists, but not antagonists, induced greater Arr-3 than Arr-2 translocation to the plasma membrane. Importantly, the agonist-induced internalization of 5-HT2A receptors was accompanied by differential sorting of Arr-2, Arr-3, and 5-HT2A receptors into distinct plasma membrane and intracellular compartments. The agonist-induced redistribution of Arr-2 and Arr-3 into intracellular vesicles and plasma membrane compartments distinct from those involved in 5-HT2A receptor internalization implies novel roles for Arr-2 and Arr-3 independent of 5-HT2A receptor internalization and desensitization.
The (too Many) Problems of Analogical Reasoning with Word Vectors

This paper explores the possibilities of analogical reasoning with vector space models. Given two pairs of words with the same relation (e.g. man:woman :: king:queen), it was proposed that the offset between one pair of the corresponding word vectors can be used to identify the unknown member of the other pair (king - man + woman = queen). We argue against such “linguistic regularities” as a model for linguistic relations in vector space models and as a benchmark, and we show that the vector offset (as well as two other, better-performing methods) suffers from dependence on vector similarity.
Risk Factors of Violence During a 4-Week Period in a Psychiatric Outpatient Population

Abstract The clinical impact of structured risk assessment instruments has been limited by a lack of information regarding a) their short-term accuracy and b) the relationship between change as measured by the instrument and a change in the risk for harm. Data were collected every 4 weeks on a) variables designed to resemble the items of a structured risk assessment instrument, b) substance use, c) social circumstances and mental state, and d) violent behavior. Scores on the variables designed to resemble the items of a risk assessment instrument were associated with violence during the ensuing 4 weeks. However, an increase in a subject’s score on these variables was not associated with violence. Instead, increasing cocaine use and increasing social conflict as described by the subject at interview were associated with violence during those weeks.
Effect of Bothrops alternatus snake venom on macrophage phagocytosis and superoxide production: participation of protein kinase C

Envenomations caused by different species of Bothrops snakes result in severe local tissue damage, hemorrhage, pain, myonecrosis, and inflammation with a significant leukocyte accumulation at the bite site. However, the activation state of leukocytes is still unclear. According to clinical cases and experimental work, the local effects observed in envenenomation by Bothrops alternatus are mainly the appearance of edema, hemorrhage, and necrosis. In this study we investigated the ability of Bothrops alternatus crude venom to induce macrophage activation. At 6 to 100 ¼g/mL, BaV is not toxic to thioglycollate-elicited macrophages; at 3 and 6 ¼g/mL, it did not interfere in macrophage adhesion or detachment. Moreover, at concentrations of 1.5, 3, and 6 ¼g/mL the venom induced an increase in phagocytosis via complement receptor one hour after incubation. Pharmacological treatment of thioglycollate-elicited macrophages with staurosporine, a protein kinase (PKC) inhibitor, abolished phagocytosis, suggesting that PKC may be involved in the increase of serum-opsonized zymosan phagocytosis induced by BaV. Moreover, BaV also induced the production of anion superoxide (O2_) by thioglycollate-elicited macrophages. This BaV stimulated superoxide production was abolished after treating the cells with staurosporine, indicating that PKC is an important signaling pathway for the production of this radical. Based on these results, we suggest that phagocytosis and reactive oxygen species are involved in the pathogenesis of local tissue damage characteristic of Bothrops spp. envenomations.
Nanorod mediated collagen scaffolds as extra cellular matrix mimics

Creating collagen scaffolds that mimic extracellular matrices without using toxic exogenous materials remains a big challenge. A new strategy to create scaffolds through end-to-end crosslinking through functionalized nanorods leading to well-designed architecture is presented here. Self-assembled scaffolds with a denaturation temperature of 110 °C, porosity of 70%, pore size of 0.32 μm and Young’s modulus of 231 MPa were developed largely driven by imine bonding between 3-mercapto-1-propanal (MPA) functionalized ZnO nanorods and collagen. The mechanical properties obtained were much higher than that of native collagen, collagen—MPA, collagen—3-mercapto-1-propanol (3MPOH) or collagen- 3-MPOH-ZnO, clearly bringing out the relevance of nanorod mediated assembly of fibrous networks. This new strategy has led to scaffolds with mechanical properties much higher than earlier reports and can provide support for cell growth and facilitation of cell attachment.
The use of stable isotopes to evaluate water mixing and water use by flood plain trees along the Garonne valley

Before the confluence of the Tarn, the Garonne valley was the driest area in the entire south-west of France, due to the relatively low rainfall and low summer discharge of the Garonne River and its tributaries. The natural abundance of the stable isotope of oxygen (18O) and ionic charge of surface and ground water were used to estimate the water source for the Garonne River and phreatic subsurface water. We also measured these constituents in the sap of trees at several flood plain sites to better understand the source of water used by these trees. 18O signatures and conductivity in the Garonne River indicated that the predominance of water was from high altitude surface runoff from the Pyrenees Mountains. Tributary inputs had little effect on isotopic identity, but had a small effect on the conductivity. The isotopic signature and ionic conductivity of river water (δ18O: −9.1‰ to −9.0‰, conductivity: 217–410 µS/cm) was distinctly different from groundwater (δ18O: −7.1‰ to −6.6‰, conductivity: 600–900 µS/cm). Isotopic signatures from the sap of trees on the flood plain showed that the water source was shallow subsurface water (<30 cm), whereas trees further from the river relied on deeper ground water (>1 m). Trees at both locations maintained sap with ionic charges much greater (2.3–3.7×) than that of source water. The combined use of 18O signatures and ionic conductivity appears to be a potent tool to determine water sources on geographic scales, and source and use patterns by trees at the local forest scale. These analyses also show promise for better understanding of the effects of anthropogenic land-use and water-use changes on flood plain forest dynamics.