Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enflurane Directly Depresses Glutamate AMPA and NMDA Currents in Mouse Spinal Cord Motor Neurons Independent of Actions on GABAA or Glycine Receptors

BackgroundThe spinal cord is an important anatomic site at which volatile agents act to prevent movement in response to a noxious stimulus. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that enflurane acts directly on motor neurons to inhibit excitatory synaptic transmission at glutamate receptors. MethodsWhole-cell recordings were made in visually identified motor neurons in spinal cord slices from 1- to 4-day-old mice. Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) or potentials (EPSPs) were evoked by electrical stimulation of the dorsal root entry area or dorsal horn. The EPSCs were isolated pharmacologically into glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor– and non-NMDA receptor–mediated components by using selective antagonists. Currents also were evoked by brief pulse pressure ejection of glutamate under various conditions of pharmacologic blockade. Enflurane was made up as a saturated stock solution and diluted in the superfusate; concentrations were measured using gas chromatography. ResultsExcitatory postsynaptic currents and EPSPs recorded from motor neurons by stimulation in the dorsal horn were mediated by glutamate receptors of both non-NMDA and NMDA subtypes. Enflurane at a general anesthetic concentration (one minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration) reversibly depressed EPSCs and EPSPs. Enflurane also depressed glutamate-evoked currents in the presence of tetrodotoxin (300 nm), showing that its actions are postsynaptic. Block of inhibitory &ggr;-aminobutyric acid A and glycine receptors by bicuculline (20 &mgr;m) or strychnine (2 &mgr;m) or both did not significantly reduce the effects of enflurane on glutamate-evoked currents. Enflurane also depressed glutamate-evoked currents if the inhibitory receptors were blocked and if either D,L-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (50 &mgr;m) or 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione disodium (10 &mgr;m) was applied to block NMDA or &agr;-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid–kainate receptors respectively. ConclusionsEnflurane exerts direct depressant effects on both &agr;-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid and NMDA glutamate currents in motor neurons. Enhancement of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid A and glycine inhibition is not needed for this effect. Direct depression of glutamatergic excitatory transmission by a postsynaptic action on motor neurons thus may contribute to general anesthesia as defined by immobility in response to a noxious stimulus.
Primary Visual Experience and Secondary Cognitive Elaboration in Stage Rem: A Modest Confirmation and an Extension

The finding by Molinari and Foulkes (1969) that REM-burst sleep mentation is more sensory and less conceptual than that occurring during episodes of ocular quiescence within EEG stage REM was confirmed, but at a reduced level of absolute discriminability and only when spontaneous portions of S's dream interview were considered. Evidence was gathered to suggest that bursts of EEG sawtooth waves which often precede REMs are phasic events with mentation correlates comparable to those of REM bursts themselves and that sawtooth activity may, in fact, mark the point at which the most discontinuity is experienced in S's train of sleep thought. Implications of these findings for tonic-phasic and scanning-hypothesis models are discussed, and the possibility is presented of extending them to studies of non-REM sleep mentation.
F-Wave Characteristics as Surrogate Markers of Spasticity in Patients With Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

We sought to identify significant ulnar nerve conduction abnormalities and also to detect ulnar F-wave variable changes in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Conventional conduction study was performed unilaterally to ulnar nerves of eight men and 12 women with secondary progressive MS (mean age, 47.5 ± 6.6 years), having spastic hemiparesis and hand spasticity. A series of 40 electrical stimuli were also delivered to their ulnar nerves unilaterally so as to obtain F waves. The side of examination was ipsilateral to the side of spastic paresis. The following F-wave variables were estimated: F-wave persistence, latency, amplitude, duration, and F chronodispersion. Ten patients with remitting-relapsing MS without any evidence of hand spasticity and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers served as controls. Motor and sensory conduction study was normal in all participants. The F-wave persistence, latency, and duration parameters and also the F chronodispersion were comparable between groups. The mean and maximum F-wave amplitude values (P = 0.005) and the F mean/M (P = 0.001) and F maximal/M (P = 0.001) ratios were significantly higher than those of controls. Finally, the F-wave amplitude parameters in patients with secondary progressive MS significantly correlated with the degree of spasticity and the duration of disease. Significant amplitude F-wave abnormalities occurred in patients with secondary progressive MS and hand spasticity, emphasizing the contribution of upper motor neurons damage in the genesis of F waves.
Influence of aging byproducts on the gassing tendency of transformer oils

Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) has now become a standard in the utility industry throughout the world and is considered to be the most important oil test for oil-filled power transformers. This article intends to show that the gassing of oil is a more complex phenomenon. Aged oil and reclaimed aged oil samples were submitted thermal and electrical stresses (considering various scenarios) and the dissolved gasses analyzed by chromatography. This contribution provides experimental evidence that the chemical composition of hydrocarbon blend and the oil born decay products are also contributing factors to oil gassing. The influence of oil born decay products onto the diagnostics predicted by some DGA techniques is also emphasized. Although such a research is still in a preliminary stage, some very stimulating results have been obtained.
ASSISTED AND RESISTED SPRINT TRAINING IN SWIMMING

This study was undertaken to determine whether the resisted-sprint in overstrength (OSt) or the assisted-sprint in overspeed (OSp) could be efficient training methods to increase 100-m front crawl performance. Thirty-seven (16 men, 21 women) competition-level swimmers (mean = SD: age 17.5 ± 3.5 years, height 173 ± 14 cm, weight 63 ± 14 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups: OSt, OSp, and control (C). All swimmers trained 6 days per week for 3 weeks, including 3 resisted or assisted training sessions per week for the groups OSt and OSp respectively. Elastic tubes were used to generate swimming overstrength and overspeed. Three 100-m events were performed before, during, and after the training period. Before each 100-m event, strength of the elbow flexors and extensors was measured with an isokinetic dynamometer. Stroke rate and stroke length were evaluated using the video-recorded 100-m events. In the OSt group, elbow extensor strength, swimming velocity, and stroke rate significantly increased (p < 0.05), while stroke length remained unchanged after the 3-week training period. In the OSp group, stroke rate significantly increased (p < 0.05) and stroke length significantly decreased (p < 0.05) without changes in swimming velocity. No significant variations in the C group were observed. Both OSt and OSp proved to be more efficient than the traditional training program. However, the OSt training program had a larger impact on muscle strength, swimming performance, and stroke technique than the OSp program.
The effects of production pacing and arousing content on the information processing of television messages

The limited capacity model of television viewing is used to investigate the impact of arousing content and fast paced production of viewers’ information processing of TV messages. Results show that both fast pace and arousing content elicit self‐reported arousal, but they elicit different patterns of physiological arousal. Both fast pace and arousing content increase the allocation of processing resources to messages. The combination of fast pace and arousing content overloads the processing system resulting in less recognition and cued recall for the specific content of the message. Results generally support the limited capacity theory of television viewing.
The Systematics of the Aeolidacea (Nudibranchia: Mollusca) of the Hawaiian Islands, with Descriptions of Two New Species

Nineteen species of aeolid nudibranchs are here recorded from the Hawaiian Islands. The natural history and distribution of each species is described. Morphological accounts of these taxa are provided and their systematic status is discussed. The status of an additional three species, previously recorded from the Hawaiian Islands but not encountered in this study, is reviewed. Based on the study of the Hawaiian aeolidacean nudibranch fauna, the systematics of the Facelinidae are reviewed. An examination of the zoogeographical affinities of the Hawaiian aeolid fauna suggests that many taxa have a typical Indo-West Pacific distribution. However, a significant portion of the fauna is substantially more widely distributed and appears to be circumtropical. THE FIRST SERIOUS ATTEMPTS to characterize the Hawaiian opisthobranch fauna are those of Kay (1961, 1962a, 1962b, 1964a, 1964b) and Kay and Young (1969). Kay described most of the anaspideans and several sacoglossans, and Kay and Young dealt with the dorid nudibranchs. Aeolid nudibranchs have only sporadically been described or recorded from Hawaii. Pease (1860) described two species, Aeolis semidecora and A. parvula. Bergh (1900) described Samla annuligera from Laysan Island. Edmondson (1946) recorded five species of aeolids, but identified only Glaucus by name. Zahl (1959) figured Pteraeolidia semperi and Aeolidiella sp. from Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Harris (1968, 1970) recorded Phestilla melanobrachia and P. sibogae from the Hawaiian Islands. Rosin (1969) recorded Herviella sp. , and Baba (1969) recorded Learchis indica. The purpose of this study is to revise the earlier work on the Hawaiian aeolids and to report on previously unrecorded species. In this synthesis I include the collection records of E. Alison Kay which are primarily from I Manuscript accepted 15 May 1977. 2 University of Hawaii, Department of Zoology, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. Present address: University of New Hampshire, Department of Zoology, Durham, New Hampshire 03824. the islands of Oahu and Kauai and span a period of over 10 years. My own 0 bservations were made from September 1972 to October 1973. During this period, monthly collections were made at four principal sites on Oahu: Kaneohe Bay, Ala Moana Beach Park, Diamond Head Beach Park, and Kewalo Basin. Collections were also made at other localities in the islands, including Fleming's Beach, Maui, and on the Kona coast, Hawaii. At least 22 species of aeolid nudibranchs can be attributed to the Hawaiian Islands. Three species have been recorded that were not encountered in this study: Samla annuligera Bergh (known only from the holotype collected at Laysan); Embletonia gracile Risbec 1928 [here tentatively identified from a figure by Edmondson (1946)]; and Aeolis parvula Pease 1860 (which is not identifiable from Pease's brief description). At least five additional species of aeolids have been collected by Kay but are not included in this study because few specimens are available.
Expression of the ether-a-go-go (ERG) potassium channel in smooth muscle of the equine gastrointestinal tract and influence on activity of jejunal smooth muscle.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether ether-a-go-go (ERG) potassium channels are expressed in equine gastrointestinal smooth muscle, whether ERG channel antagonists affect jejunal muscle contraction in vitro, and whether plasma cisapride concentrations in horses administered treatment for postoperative ileus (POI) are consistent with ERG channels as drug targets. SAMPLE POPULATION Samples of intestinal smooth muscle obtained from 8 horses free of gastrointestinal tract disease and plasma samples obtained from 3 horses administered cisapride for treatment of POI. PROCEDURE Membranes were prepared from the seromuscular layer of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, large colon, and small colon. Immunoblotting was used to identify the ERG channel protein. Isolated jejunal muscle strips were used for isometric stress response to ERG channel blockers that included E-4031, MK-499, clofilium, and cisapride. Plasma concentrations of cisapride were determined in 3 horses administered cisapride for treatment of POI after small intestinal surgery. RESULTS Immunoblotting identified ERG protein in all analyzed segments of the intestinal tract in all horses. The selective ERG antagonist E-4031 caused a concentration-dependent increase in jejunal contraction. Clofilium, MK-499, and cisapride also increased jejunal contraction at concentrations consistent with ERG channel block; effects of E-4031 and cisapride were not additive. Peak plasma cisapride concentrations in treated horses were consistent with ERG block as a mechanism of drug action. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The ERG potassium channels modulate motility of intestinal muscles in horses and may be a target for drugs. This finding may influence development of new prokinetic agents and impact treatment of horses with POI.
Pregnancy‐Associated Group B Streptococcal Endocarditis: A Report of Two Fatal Cases

Group B streptococci commonly colonize parturient women, yet pregnancy-associated endocarditis due to this organism is rare. Most reports of group B streptococcal endocarditis are from the preantibiotic era and occurred in women with rheumatic mitral valve disease. Reported herein are two cases of fatal group B streptococcal endocarditis involving the aortic valve of women with no preexisting heart disease. One had undergone a second-trimester abortion and the other had a normal pregnancy and uncomplicated vaginal delivery.
Creating a self-improving school system

A third thinkpiece, to be published early in 2012, will set these developments within the wider national context as it evolves, including how local authorities respond to these changes and with what consequences for schools within a self-improving system. The education service is embarking on radical reforms, and more time is needed before the initial dust settles and pertinent longer-term questions may usefully be posed.
[Dietary behaviours of volleyball and basketball players].

BACKGROUND In sports, such as basketball and volleyball, players must demonstrate the speed, strength, stamina and concentration. Correct nutrition affects the strength of the muscles and the extension of capacity. It is also necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system and determines the rate of regeneration after physical effort. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess dietary behaviours of professional volleyball and basketball players and compare the prevalence of correct behaviours in both groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS 209 professional volleyball and basketball players from sports clubs localized in six Silesian cities were survived with the mean of author questionnaire. The chi-square test was used to examine differences in the prevalence of the correct behaviours among players. RESULTS Analysis of the results obtained showed that 52% of the players had 4-5 meals a day. 35% of respondents had wholemeal bread and/or groats daily. Milk and dairy products daily ate 71% of surveyed players, meat and sausages 70% respectively. 41% of respondents had cottage cheese and 28% had fish several times a week. Vegetables and fruit were eaten by 21% and respectively 23% of respondents. Sweets were eaten daily by 40% of surveyed, while fast-food were eaten several times a week by 17% of players. Nutrients for athletes were used by 32%, and vitamin supplementation by 48% of respondents. Prevalence of correct dietary behaviour in the group of professional volleyball and basketball players differed. Basketball players statistically more frequently than volleyball players had 4-5 meals a day, had wholemeal bread and/or thick groats, milk and dairy products, meat and sausages, especially poultry. They had raw vegetables and fruit several times a day. They drank more than 2.5 liters of fluids per day. They also significantly more frequently than volleyball players consumed the fast-food occasionally or never. CONCLUSIONS Dietary behaviours of surveyed players were incorrect. Comparison of prevalence of proper behaviours showed that a group of basketball players had more favourable nutrition habits.
Surface and intracellular markers of mouse mesenteric and peripheral lymph node and Peyer's patch cells.

The incidence of surface and internal T and B cell markers in mouse mesenteric and peripheral node and Peyer's patch lymphocytes is unique to each population. BALB/c Peyer's patches show a high frequency of cells with complement receptors, surface and internal κ-chain determinants, and surface and internal α-chain determinants, and a low frequency of Thy-1-positive cells. Peripheral and mesenteric lymph nodes show an intermediate frequency of cells with complement receptors, external and internal κ-chains, and Thy-1 antigen. Mesenteric node cells can be distinguished from peripheral node cells by a higher frequency of cells with µ-chain on their surface, and by the presence, in a frequency comparable to that of Peyer's patch cells, of cells with surface and internal α-chains. Discrepancies, particularly marked for the internal determinants of Peyer's patch lymphocytes, between the sum of frequencies for µ, γ, and α heavy chains vs the incidence of κ-determinants, suggest either unbalanced synthesis of heavy and light chains, or a large proportion of cells containing an unidentified immunoglobulin class.
Estimating specific absorption rates in pregnant women by using models at 12-, 20-, and 26-weeks' gestation for plane wave exposures

The numerical dosimetry of women during pregnancy is an important issue in electromagnetic field safety. We had developed a whole-body numerical pregnant-woman model at 26-weeks' gestation. In this study, we developed pregnant-woman models that included the inherent tissues of pregnant women adjusted to the standard reference values at 12- and 20-weeks' gestation by deforming the existing pregnant-woman model. We also improved the original 26-weeks' pregnant-woman model so that the masses of inherent pregnancy tissues are adjusted to the standard reference values. The anatomical details of the developed pregnant-woman models and basic SAR characteristics for whole-body exposure to RF electromagnetic fields are described.
Change in Speech Perception and Auditory Evoked Potentials over Time after Unilateral Cochlear Implantation in Postlingually Deaf Adults

Abstract Speech perception varies widely across cochlear implant (CI) users and typically improves over time after implantation. There is also some evidence for improved auditory evoked potentials (shorter latencies, larger amplitudes) after implantation but few longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between behavioral and evoked potential measures after implantation in postlingually deaf adults. The relationship between speech perception and auditory evoked potentials was investigated in newly implanted cochlear implant users from the day of implant activation to 9 months postimplantation, on five occasions, in 10 adults age 27 to 57 years who had been bilaterally profoundly deaf for 1 to 30 years prior to receiving a unilateral CI24 cochlear implant. Changes over time in middle latency response (MLR), mismatch negativity, and obligatory cortical auditory evoked potentials and word and sentence speech perception scores were examined. Speech perception improved significantly over the 9-month period. MLRs varied and showed no consistent change over time. Three participants aged in their 50s had absent MLRs. The pattern of change in N1 amplitudes over the five visits varied across participants. P2 area increased significantly for 1,000- and 4,000-Hz tones but not for 250 Hz. The greatest change in P2 area occurred after 6 months of implant experience. Although there was a trend for mismatch negativity peak latency to reduce and width to increase after 3 months of implant experience, there was considerable variability and these changes were not significant. Only 60% of participants had a detectable mismatch initially; this increased to 100% at 9 months. The continued change in P2 area over the period evaluated, with a trend for greater change for right hemisphere recordings, is consistent with the pattern of incremental change in speech perception scores over time. MLR, N1, and mismatch negativity changes were inconsistent and hence P2 may be a more robust measure of auditory plasticity in adult implant recipients. P2 was still improving at 9 months postimplantation. Future studies should explore longitudinal changes over a longer period.
Cryptosporidium parvum is cytopathic for cultured human biliary epithelia via an apoptotic mechanism

While the clinical features of sclerosing cholangitis secondary to opportunistic infections of the biliary tree in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are well known, the mechanisms by which microbial pathogens such as Cryptosporidium parvum associated with this syndrome actually cause disease are obscure. We established an in vitro model of biliary cryptosporidiosis employing a human biliary epithelial cell line. Using morphological and biochemical techniques, we examined the interaction of C. parvum with cultured human cholangiocytes. When the apical plasma membrane of polarized, confluent monolayers of human biliary epithelial cells was exposed to C. parvum oocysts that had been excysted in vitro, sporozoites attached to and invaded the cells in a time‐, dose‐, temperature‐, and pH‐dependent manner. The infectious process was both plasma membrane domain– and cell‐specific, because no attachment or invasion occurred when the basolateral membrane of cholangiocytes was exposed to the parasite, or when a human hepatocyte cell line (HepG2) was used. Time‐lapse video microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that sporozoite attachment was rapid, involved extensive cholangiocyte membrane ruffling, and culminated in parasite penetration into a tight‐fitting vacuole formed by invagination of the plasma membrane similar to those found in naturally occurring infection in vivo. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that C. parvum organisms formed parasitophorus vacuoles and were able to undergo a complete reproductive cycle, forming both asexual and sexual reproductive stages. Unexpectedly, direct cytopathic effects were noted in infected monolayers, with widespread programmed cell death (i.e., apoptosis) of biliary epithelial cells as assessed both morphologically and biochemically beginning within hours after exposure to the organism. The novel finding of specific cytopathic invasion of biliary epithelia by C. parvum may be relevant to the pathogenesis and possible therapy of the secondary sclerosing cholangitis seen in AIDS patients with biliary cryptosporidiosis.
The Effect of Steam on the Fast Carbonation Reaction Rates of CaO

Postcombustion CO2 capture using calcium looping (CaL) is a rapidly developing technology based on the reaction between CaO and CO2. The influence of the presence of steam in the flue gas on the carbonation reaction has been barely studied in the literature. Experiments using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) were carried out to study the effect of steam over the very short reaction time where the carbonation reaction takes place under the kinetic-controlled regime. A simple reaction particle model is applied to interpret the results obtained and to derive reaction rate constants and support the quantitative discussion on steam effects. Results obtained in this work indicate that steam has no influence on the reaction rate constant.