Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bis(dithiocarbamato) nitrido technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals: a class of neutral myocardial imaging agents.

UNLABELLED The synthesis and biodistribution in various animal models (rat, dog, pig and monkey) of 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals containing the Tc = N multiple bond are reported. METHODS The complexes are represented by the general formula 99mTcN(L)2, where L is the monoanionic form of a dithiocarbamate ligand of the type [R1(R2)-N-C(=S)S]-, and R1 and R2 are variable, lateral groups. The preparations were carried out, both as a liquid and freeze-dried formulation, through a simple procedure involving the initial reaction of [99mTcO4]- with S-methyl N-methyl dithiocarbazate [H2NN(CH3)C(=S)SCH3], in the presence of tertiary phosphines or Sn2+ ion as reductants, followed by the addition of the sodium salt of the ligand (NaL) to afford the final product. The chemical identity of the resulting complexes was determined by comparing their chromatographic properties with those of the corresponding 99Tc analogs characterized by spectroscopic and x-ray crystallographic methods. The complexes are neutral and possess a distorted, square pyramidal geometry. RESULTS No decomposition of the complexes, in physiological solution, was observed over a period of 6 hr. Imaging and biodistribution studies demonstrated that these radiopharmaceuticals localize selectively in the myocardium of rats, dogs and primates, but that they failed to visualize the pig heart. The kinetics of heart uptake and clearance were studied in rats and dogs, and found to be strongly influenced by variation of the lateral R1 and R2 groups. CONCLUSION The high quality of myocardial images obtained in dogs and monkeys demonstrates that the derivative 99mTcN[E-t(EtO)NCS2]2 [99mTcN(NOEt)] exhibits the most favorable distribution properties for further studies in humans.
Evaluation of functional RAGE gene polymorphisms in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia—A case-control study from Iran

ABSTRACT We examined the possible relationship between three RAGE polymorphisms, −429C/T, −374 T/A, and 63-bp deletion, and susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in an Iranian population. This study included 75 ALL patients and 115 healthy subjects. Genotyping was performed using HEXA-ARMS-polymerase chain reaction. We found no significant association among RAGE gene polymorphisms and the risk for ALL at genotype, allelic and haplotype levels (P > 0.05). The hemoglobin levels were higher in patients with RAGE −374 TT than in the TA carriers (P = 0.019). Our results demonstrated that the RAGE gene variations were not associated with risk of pediatrics ALL.
Human anelloviruses and the central nervous system

Torque teno virus and related anelloviruses are a recent addition to the list of agents that cause chronic productive infections and high levels of plasma viraemia in humans. Many aspects of the natural history and pathogenesis of these under many respects surprising viruses are still poorly understood. In this review, we briefly outline the general properties of anelloviruses, examine what is currently known about the interactions they establish with the central nervous system (CNS), and discuss the possible pathological consequences. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Th17 cells are increased with severity of liver inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background and Aim: As a newly identified subset of T helper cells, T‐helper 17 cells (Th17) are major mediators of inflammation‐associated disease. Some reports have revealed significantly increased Th17 cells in hepatitis B virus‐infected patients, and a recent study has demonstrated that hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐specific Th17 cells can be induced in vitro and regulated by transforming growth factor‐β. This study attempted to characterize the role of Th17 cells in the disease progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC).
Emerging treatments for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

Dementia is referred to a loss of memory and decline in other mental abilities at levels critical enough to hinder performance of daily activities. It can be of several types, depending on the underlying pathophysiology. The behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are various, but the most clinically significant are depression, apathy, and anxiety. Other BPSD include agitation, aberrant motor behavior, elation, hallucinations, and alterations in sleep and appetite. About 90% of sufferers of dementia are affected by BPSD during the course of the illness. These symptoms occur in demented patients irrespective of the dementia subtype. However, there has not been significant development in the areas of disease-modifying pharmacotherapeutics for dementia. Therefore, tackling BPSD has emerged as a research avenue in the recent past. Existing antidepressants, antipsychotics, and cholinergic agents have been extensively used in the treatment of BPSD, independently and in different combinations. However, these agents have not successful in completely alleviating such symptoms. Research in this field is going on globally, but it is still limited by various factors. There is a strong need to develop new entities and test them clinically. This review focuses on emerging treatments for the management of clinically significant BPSD.
Consumer Options: Theory and an Empirical Application to a Sports Market

The authors introduce the concept of consumer options and empirically validate it in the context of event ticket pricing. They demonstrate that consumer options can protect consumers from the downside related to uncertain outcomes and enhance seller profits by enabling superior market segmentation and increasing consumer willingness to pay. The authors examine the newly proposed ticket pricing mechanism in sports markets, in which there is uncertainty about the teams that will play in a final event (e.g., the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four basketball tournament). Fans who want to attend the game after knowing which teams will play are often disappointed because tickets typically sell out in advance. The authors propose that a fan can buy an option on a ticket before this uncertainty is resolved. Later, he or she can decide whether to exercise the option. The authors present a simple analytical model of consumer options in this setting. Then, they empirically demonstrate that profits under option pricing can exceed those from (1) advance selling and (2) pricing after uncertainty is resolved. The analysis and findings of this article lay a foundation for future work on consumer options in marketing.
The Spawning and Early Development of the Hawaiian Acorn Worm (Hemichordate), Ptychodera flava

Abstract The spawning and early embryogenesis of the hemichordate, Ptychodera flava, in Hawaii are described in detail and illustrated with photographs of living material. Natural spawning in the evenings of early December was induced by a shift of seawater temperature from about 22°C to about 26°C. The fertilized egg divides equally and slowly at first, reaching 8 cells at about 5 hr after insemination at room temperature (20-24°C). Divisions then appear to become slightly unequal and by 9 hr the embryo has divided into about 100 cells. The blastocoel forms during cleavage as an irregular space that, when viewed from the side, tends to appear oblate and ultimately appear crescent-shaped as the vegetal plate thickens into the blastocoel. The archenteron forms at about 18 hr as a cleft beginning at the vegetal pole and extending into the vegetal plate. As development proceeds, the embryo expands and by 24 hr forms a typical deuterostome gastrula with an outer sphere of ectoderm and a inner tube of endoderm connected at the blastopore. An out-pocketing of the gut appears at the tip of the archenteron over the next 4 hr to form the protocoel which will become the proboscis coelom. Approaching 40 hr the gut becomes asymmetric and over the next few hr contacts the ectoderm to form a mouth. Hatching occurs during this time at about 45 hr of development. Morphogenesis continues to produce an early tornaria larva by about 60 hr.
Rb-stabilized optical frequency reference at 1572 nm

In the framework of an on-board optical reference system, a 1560-nm DFB laser frequency-doubled and locked onto the D<sub>2</sub> line of <sup>87</sup>Rb using a 2-cm long vapour glass cell is used to generate an optical frequency comb. A second DFB laser operating at 1572 nm, a wavelength corresponding to a CO<sub>2</sub> transition is offset-locked to one mode of the comb. At 1572 nm, a relative frequency stability of 1·10<sup>-11</sup> at 1 s was obtained, reaching less than 4·10<sup>-12</sup> from 3,000 s up to at least 3 days. Limitations arising from the 1560-nm stabilized laser are discussed.
The insular cortex and cardiac response to stroke

That cerebrovascular events can endanger the heart has long been recognized. Neurologists are familiar with the fact that 10 to 20% of patients with stroke have had an antecedent myocardial infarction and that cerebral emboli may originate in the heart. They are also aware that an acute stroke commonly alters the EKG, producing repolarization abnormalities of ST segments and T waves. Following stroke there is an increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, which may be associated with adverse outcome.1 Only recently has research begun to clarify the basis for this neurocardiac interaction. In the 1980s, Cechetto and Saper2 identified a viscerotopic sensory cortex in the insula, which receives convergent inputs from limbic and autonomic centers in the brain. Subsequent functional imaging studies confirmed a similar arrangement in human cortex.3 Hachinski and Cechetto4 later showed that ischemic damage to the insular cortex, particularly the right insula, can have cardiovascular consequences in experimental animals, including increased heart rate variability in the midrange frequencies, consistent with excessive sympathetic stimulation. Oppenheimer et al.5 then demonstrated functional laterality in humans such that stimulation of the left insular cortex tends to cause parasympathetic cardiac responses and of the right insular cortex sympathetic responses. Cerebral vascular lesions in areas adjacent to the right insular cortex have marked cardiac effects. The resulting augmentation …
Antitumor activity and nucleic acid binding properties of dercitin, a new acridine alkaloid isolated from a marine Dercitus species sponge.

A new cytotoxic acridine alkaloid that exhibited antitumor activity in vivo was isolated from a marine Dercitus species sponge collected at a depth of 160 m in the Bahamas. This violet alkaloid, designated dercitin, inhibited the proliferation of cultured murine and human leukemia, lung, and colon tumor cells at nM concentrations (IC50 values of 63-150 nM) and prolonged the life of mice bearing ascitic P388 tumors (%T/C = 170, 5 mg/kg, i.p., QD1-9). Dercitin was also active against i.p. B16 melanoma and modestly inhibited the growth of s.c. Lewis lung carcinoma on the same schedule. DNA blocked the antiproliferative effects of the agent in culture, and incorporation studies indicated that dercitin disrupted DNA and RNA synthesis with less effects on protein synthesis, similar to the effects of known DNA intercalators. After 1-h exposure to 400 nM dercitin, the rates of incorporation of [3H]uridine, [3H]thymidine, and [3H]leucine by cultured P388 cells were inhibited 83, 61, and 23%, respectively. Equilibrium dialysis indicated that dercitin bound calf thymus DNA with an affinity of 3.1 microM and maximal binding of 0.20 mol dercitin/mol base pair. Binding involved intercalation as evidenced by ability to relax supercoiled phi X174 DNA (half maximal concentration for dercitin relaxation was 36 nM). The effects of dercitin on DNA mobility were reversible, and complete relaxation of DNA with topoisomerase I in the presence of dercitin followed by phenol extraction resulted in the appearance of supercoiled DNA. Dercitin, at microM concentrations, had a small effect in the K+-sodium dodecyl sulfate assay using cultured P388 cells, suggesting minimal inhibition of topoisomerase activity. But, dercitin completely inhibited DNA polymerase I/DNase nick translation of DNA at 1 microM. Relaxation of DNA at a given concentration was greater than inhibition of nick translation suggesting that the effects of dercitin on enzyme activity were secondary to changes in DNA conformation. Results indicate that dercitin is a new marine natural product that probably exerts its biological effects through intercalation into nucleic acids.
Adaptive Laguerre-lattice filters

Adaptive Laguerre-based filters provide an attractive alternative to adaptive FIR filters in the sense that they require fewer parameters to model a linear time-invariant system with a long impulse response. We present an adaptive Laguerre-lattice structure that combines the desirable features of the Laguerre structure (i.e., guaranteed stability, unique global minimum, and small number of parameters M for a prescribed level of modeling error) with the numerical robustness and low computational complexity of adaptive FIR lattice structures. The proposed configuration is based on an extension to the IIR case of the FIR lattice filter; it is a cascade of identical sections but with a single-pole all-pass filter replacing the delay element used in the conventional (FIR) lattice filter. We utilize this structure to obtain computationally efficient adaptive algorithms (O(M) computations per time instant). Our adaptive Laguerre-lattice filter is an extension of the gradient adaptive lattice (GAL) technique, and it demonstrates the same desirable properties, namely, (1) excellent steady-state behavior, (2) relatively fast initial convergence (comparable with that of an RLS algorithm for Laguerre structure), and good numerical stability. Simulation results indicate that for systems with poles close to the unit circle, where an (adaptive) FIR model of very high order would be required to meet a prescribed modeling error, an adaptive Laguerre-lattice model of relatively low order achieves the prescribed bound after just a few updates of the recursions in the adaptive algorithm.
Civic Community Theory and Rates of Violence: A Review of Literature on an Emergent Theoretical Perspective

Civic community theory has emerged in the last 10 years as a middle range theory to explain community variation in rates of crime. It has proven to be particularly powerful for explaining variations in violent crime across rural communities in the U.S. This essay provides a review of the available published literature testing components of the theory. The three main conceptual dimensions of the civic community thesis are outlined, and the nature of the empirical evidence is evaluated. The essay concludes with several suggestions for future research.
Attitudes of physicians and medical students toward nutrition's place in patient care and education at Ben-Gurion University.

OBJECTIVES To describe attitudes of physicians and medical students at one medical school toward the role of dietetic treatment in patient care and toward adding nutritional education into the medical school curriculum. STUDY DESCRIPTION: A cross sectional survey was conducted at Soroka University Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University's School of Medicine. The attitudes of 67 physicians and 62 medical students toward nutritional treatment were determined using an attitudes questionnaire. RESULTS Despite recommendations in medical treatment protocols to use dietary intervention as the primary treatment for several chronic diseases, physicians did not rate nutritional treatment as the most important treatment for these conditions. Students rated the importance of nutritional treatment significantly higher for each of the medical conditions presented than did practicing physicians (p=0.001). Almost 50% of the physicians reported not using nutritional treatment due to lack of time and awareness of the available options. Physicians and students rated the importance of nutrition education in the curriculum equally. Physicians who rated nutrition treatment as important also felt the need to add this subject to the medical education curriculum. CONCLUSION Physicians and medical students agreed that dietary treatment and nutrition education are important. Our results suggest that there is good reason to introduce nutrition topics into medical school curricula. Improved nutritional knowledge in physicians would improve the teamwork capacity between physicians and dieticians in the realms of curative care and public health.
Epidemiology and treatment patterns of epithelial ovarian cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction: While ovarian cancer (OC) is relatively rare, it remains one of the most fatal cancers. Lack of robust screening methods for eOC lead to detection of most cases at advanced stages, and most patients relapse following initial treatment. Areas covered: This review summarizes epidemiology and treatment patterns of epithelial ovarian cancer (eOC). MEDLINE, EMBASE, conference proceedings, and the Cochrane Library were searched using key terms and Medical Subject Headings for ovarian cancer, treatment patterns, and epidemiology to identify articles published from 2005–2015. Expert commentary: To improve early detection, future studies should focus on the identification of biomarkers that can detect asymptomatic disease. Following diagnosis and eventual relapse, response to first-line platinum appears to guide physicians’ choice of subsequent therapies, but we do not understand what patients ultimately receive or its relationship to categories of response to first-line platinum. Improved understanding of later-line treatment patterns, by initial response to platinum, could correlate with overall outcomes among relapsed patients and promote development of more effective treatment guidelines. Novel treatment approaches, such as immunotherapies, would fulfill a need for an effective strategy against advanced stages of OC that results in fewer toxic side effects.
Antioxidant capacity and total phenol content of commonly consumed selected vegetables of Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the study was to determine the antioxidant capacity (AC) and total phenolic content (TPC) of selected commonly consumed Bangladeshi vegetables and herbs. METHODS Hydrophilic extracts from edible portions of ten vegetables and two herbs were analysed. The total phenolic amount ranged from 27.65 +/- 1.45 mg to 1.08 +/- 0.15 Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/ g on a fresh weight (FW) basis. Contents of total phenol were determined spectrophotometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteau method and the antioxidant capacity was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH-RSA). RESULTS Antioxidant capacity varied from 8328.80 +/- 29.15 to 0.61 +/- 0.19 micromol Trolox Equivalent (TE)/g of FW. Ipomoea leaves showed the highest AC (8328.80 +/- 29.15 micromol TE/g), while the lowest AC (0.61 +/- 0.19 micromol TE/g) was seen in radish. A linear relationship was observed between Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) values and total phenol. Antioxidant capacity of the assayed samples correlated significantly and positively with total phenolic content (R2 = 0.814, p < 0.01). Vegetables with high polyphenol like Ipomoea leaves and mint showed high AC with the exception of raw banana which demonstrated moderate AC though it contained high TPC. Moderate TPC vegetables like amaranths and coriander leaves did not show substantial AC. CONCLUSION The data indicates that indigenous vegetables containing high polyphenols may be a potential source of dietary antioxidants.
Reasons: Explanations or Evidence?*

Imagine you are walking along a busy road, deep in thought, and someone suddenly pushes you over. You stand up and turn to confront the person responsible for your fall. Suppose this person tells you that he has just saved your life by pushing you out of the way of a fast-traveling bus (and suppose, if you like, that this story is confirmed by disinterested onlookers). He also tells you that he almost didn’t push you and thereby save your life because he is in a great hurry to get to a meeting. You thank him profusely, and he hurriedly goes on his way. It seems that a natural way of describing what just happened in this scenario is to say that this stranger considered the reasons for and against helping you and he made a quick judgment that, given the balance of reasons in play, he really ought to save you. No description of this kind would be appropriate if the person who pushed you over had simply accidentally tripped. Of course, he could appropriately say, “the reason I fell on you was that I tripped,” but in saying this he would not be providing a
Existential Cognition: Computational Minds in the World

List of Figures Acknowledgements Abbreviations of Archival Collections Chapter 1: Cultural Knowledge: Searching at the Boundaries Chapter 2: Relationship, Complementarity, and "Twinness" Chapter 3: "Real" Chapter 4: Languages of Sound Chapter 5: Languages of Image, Design, and Structure Chapter 6: Motion, Cycles, and Renewal Appendix A: All the Nations Bibliography Index
Comparison of gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry for carbon stable-isotope analysis of carbohydrates.

RATIONALE We compared gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/IRMS) and liquid chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/IRMS) for the measurement of δ(13)C values in carbohydrates. Contrary to GC/IRMS, no derivatisation is needed for LC/IRMS analysis of carbohydrates. Hence, although LC/IRMS is expected to be more accurate and precise, no direct comparison has been reported. METHODS GC/IRMS with the aldonitrile penta-acetate (ANPA) derivatisation method was compared with LC/IRMS without derivatisation. A large number of glucose standards and a variety of natural samples were analysed for five neutral carbohydrates at natural abundance as well as at (13)C-enriched levels. Gas chromatography/chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (GC/CIMS) was applied to check for incomplete derivatisation of the carbohydrate, which would impair the accuracy of the GC/IRMS method. RESULTS The LC/IRMS technique provided excellent precision (±0.08‰ and ±3.1‰ at natural abundance and enrichment levels, respectively) for the glucose standards and this technique proved to be superior to GC/IRMS (±0.62‰ and ±19.8‰ at natural abundance and enrichment levels, respectively). For GC/IRMS measurements the derivatisation correction and the conversion of carbohydrates into CO2 had a considerable effect on the measured δ(13)C values. However, we did not find any significant differences in the accuracy of the two techniques over the full range of natural δ(13)C abundances and (13)C-labelled glucose. The difference in the performance of GC/IRMS and LC/IRMS diminished when the δ(13)C values were measured in natural samples, because the chromatographic performance and background correction became critical factors, particularly for LC/IRMS. The derivatisation of carbohydrates for the GC/IRMS method was complete. CONCLUSIONS Although both LC/IRMS and GC/IRMS are reliable techniques for compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis of carbohydrates (provided that derivatisation is complete and the calibration requirements are met), LC/IRMS is the technique of choice. The reasons for this are the improved precision, simpler sample preparation, and straightforward isotopic calibration.
Effects of L‐arginine, mirabegron, and oxybutynin on the primary bladder afferent nerve activities synchronized with reflexic, rhythmic bladder contractions in the rat

We measured single‐unit mechanosensitive afferent activities (SAAs) during reflexic, rhythmic bladder contractions (RBCs), and examined whether L‐arginine, an NO substrate, and mirabegron, a β3‐adrenoceptor agonist, and oxybutynin, an antimuscarinic agent, can affect the SAAs in such condition.