Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acceleration of wound healing by growth hormone-releasing hormone and its agonists

Despite the well-documented action of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) on the stimulation of production and release of growth hormone (GH), the effects of GHRH in peripheral tissues are incompletely explored. In this study, we show that GHRH plays a role in wound healing and tissue repair by acting primarily on wound-associated fibroblasts. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) in culture and wound-associated fibroblasts in mice expressed a splice variant of the receptors for GHRH (SV1). Exposure of MEFs to 100 nM and 500 nM GHRH or the GHRH agonist JI-38 stimulated the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) based on immunoblot analyses as well as the expression of an αSMA-β-galactosidase reporter transgene in primary cultures of fibroblasts isolated from transgenic mice. Consistent with this induction of αSMA expression, results of transwell-based migration assays and in vitro wound healing (scratch) assays showed that both GHRH and GHRH agonist JI-38 stimulated the migration of MEFs in vitro. In vivo, local application of GHRH or JI-38 accelerated healing in skin wounds of mice. Histological evaluation of skin biopsies showed that wounds treated with GHRH and JI-38 were both characterized by increased abundance of fibroblasts during the early stages of wound healing and accelerated reformation of the covering epithelium at later stages. These results identify another function of GHRH in promoting skin tissue wound healing and repair. Our findings suggest that GHRH may have clinical utility for augmenting healing of skin wounds resulting from trauma, surgery, or disease.
A double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of quetiapine as an add-on therapy to lithium or divalproex for the treatment of bipolar mania

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine combined with lithium or divalproex in the treatment of bipolar mania. Patients were randomized to 6 weeks of quetiapine (up to 800 mg/day) and lithium/divalproex (Li/DVP) (target trough serum concentrations of 0.7–1.0 mEq/L and 50–100 μg/mL, respectively) or placebo and lithium/divalproex. Quetiapine+lithium/divalproex treatment (n=104) showed a 2.0-point greater improvement on the primary outcome (change from baseline in Young Mania Rating Scale total score at day 21) compared with placebo+lithium/divalproex (n=96), and a 2.8-point greater difference by day 42, but the differences between groups were not statistically significant. Other efficacy measures, however, did show a statistically significant advantage in favor of quetiapine+lithium/divalproex over lithium/divalproex monotherapy at day 42. Improvement of mean Young Mania Rating Scale scores with quetiapine+lithium/divalproex was numerically but not statistically significantly greater than lithium/divalproex monotherapy in the treatment of bipolar mania. Potential reasons for the failure of quetiapine+lithium/divalproex to differentiate from placebo+lithium/divalproex treatment on the primary outcome measure and the implications of this for the treatment of mania and future studies are discussed. Overall, the combination of quetiapine with lithium or divalproex was well tolerated.
Comparing physical activity assessment methods in the Seasonal Variation of Blood Cholesterol Study.

PURPOSE This paper evaluated three measures of physical activity employed in the Seasonal Variation of Blood Cholesterol Study (Seasons), and it had two objectives: 1) To examine the laboratory validity of the Actillume activity monitor, and 2) To examine the relative validity of three 24-h physical activity recalls (24HR) in quantifying short-term physical activity behaviors. METHODS Nineteen healthy middle-age adults completed seven activity trials (reading, typing, box moving, stepping, and walking (3.5, 4.25, 5.0 km x h(-1))) while oxygen consumption and Actillume measures were obtained. ANOVA, linear regression, and a scatter plot were employed to examine the validity of the Actillume. In relative validity analyses of the 24HR in the Seasons study, participants (N = 481) completed two or three 24HR (MET-h x d(-1)) and a modified Baecke Questionnaire. A subset of the cohort (N = 41) wore the Actillume for 3-8 d (counts x min(-1) x d(-1)). The relative validity of the 24HR method was examined by comparison to these criterion measures. RESULTS In laboratory validation analyses, the monitor was found to discriminate between sedentary and moderate intensity activities, changes in walking speed, and to account for 79% of the variance in oxygen consumption across sedentary and walking trials. In relative validity analyses, correlations between the 24HR and the modified Baecke ranged from 0.29 to 0.52 (P < 0.01) across total, household, occupational, and leisure-time activities. CONCLUSIONS In laboratory testing, the Actillume monitor discriminated between sedentary and moderate intensity activities and was highly correlated with oxygen consumption. Three 24HR of physical activity were observed to have a relative validity that was comparable to published data from other short-term activity assessments that also employed the Baecke Questionnaire and activity monitors as criterion measures.
Cognitive Bias in Emissions Trading

This study investigates whether cognitive biases such as the endowment effect and status quo bias occur in emissions trading. Such cognitive biases can serve as a barrier to trade. This study’s survey-based experiments, which include hypothetical emissions trading scenarios, show that the endowment effect does occur in emissions trading. The status quo bias occurs in only one of the three experiments. This study also investigates whether accumulation of experience can reduce cognitive bias as discovered preference hypothesis expects. The results indicate that practitioners who are supposed to have more experience show no evidence of having less cognitive bias. Contrary to the conventional expectation, the practitioners show significantly higher level of endowment effect than students and only the practitioners show a significant status quo bias. A consignment auction situation, which is used in California’s cap-and-trade program, is also tested; no significant difference between general permission trading and consignment auctions is found.
Tamm-Horsfall Protein Acts as a General Host-Defense Factor against Bacterial Cystitis

Aims: Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) is urine’s most abundant protein, but its biological function has remained elusive. Recently, THP-deficient (THP–/–) mice were shown to have difficulty clearing Escherichia coli from the urinary bladder. It has remained unclear if interaction between THP and E. coli is specific for E. coli or if THP has a versatile ability to clear a variety of bacteria from the bladder, and act as a broad host-defense mechanism against urinary tract infection (UTI). In this study, we examined the role of THP as a protective factor against UTI caused by bacteria other than E. coli, namely Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus saprophyticus by determining if the THP–/– mouse has difficulty clearing these bacteria from its bladder. Methods: THP gene knockout mice were generated by the technique of homologous recombination. K. pneumoniae and S. saprophyticus were introduced transurethrally, in separate experiments, into the bladders of the THP–/– and genetically similar wild-type (THP+/+) mice. Urine was collected at periodic intervals and cultured to quantitate the degree of bacteriuria. Bladders were surgically removed and examined histomorphometrically to determine the intensity of inflammation. Results: Results showed that both with K. pneumoniae and with S. saprophyticus, the THP–/– mice had more severe bacteriuria in comparison with THP+/+ mice. The inflammatory changes in the bladder were also markedly more intense in THP–/– mice with each of the bacterial species. Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that THP helps eliminate K. pneumoniae and S. saprophyticus from the urinary tract and acts as a general host-defense factor against UTI.
The Relationship of PTSD to Negative Cognitions: A 17-Year Longitudinal Study

With the growing interest in the role of cognitions in PTSD, this prospective study examined the course and bi-directional relationship between post-trauma cognitions and symptoms of PTSD. A sample of Israeli combat veterans, including former prisoners of war, was assessed in 1991, and later followed up in 2003 and 2008. PTSD symptoms were measured at three time points. Cognitions concerning the self and the world were measured twice. Applying Autoregressive Cross-Lagged (ARCL) modeling strategy, initial PTSD symptoms predicted subsequent negative cognitions but not vice versa. In addition, repeated measures design revealed that individuals with chronic PTSD symptoms had relatively negative cognitions that further amplified with time. More specifically, increasingly negative cognitions were documented among ex-prisoners of war. The main findings suggest that negative cognitions are fueled by PTSD and that in chronic PTSD there is an amplification of pathogenic outcomes over time. Discussion of the findings is in the context of current cognitive models of PTSD.
Antigen Display, T-Cell Activation, and Immune Evasion during Acute and Chronic Ehrlichiosis

ABSTRACT How spatial and temporal changes in major histocompatibility complex/peptide antigen presentation to CD4 T cells regulate CD4 T-cell responses during intracellular bacterial infections is relatively unexplored. We have shown that immunization with an ehrlichial outer membrane protein, OMP-19, protects mice against fatal ehrlichial challenge infection, and we identified a CD4 T-cell epitope (IAb/OMP-19107-122) that elicited CD4 T cells following either immunization or infection. Here, we have used an IAb/OMP-19107-122-specific T-cell line to monitor antigen display ex vivo during acute and chronic infection with Ehrlichia muris, a bacterium that establishes persistent infection in C57BL/6 mice. The display of IAb/OMP-19107-122 by host antigen-presenting cells was detected by measuring intracellular gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production by the T-cell line. After intravenous infection, antigen presentation was detected in the spleen, peritoneal exudate cells, and lymph nodes, although the kinetics of antigen display differed among the tissues. Antigen presentation and bacterial colonization were closely linked in each anatomical location, and there was a direct relationship between antigen display and CD4 T-cell effector function. Spleen and lymph node dendritic cells (DCs) were efficient presenters of IAb/OMP-19107-122, demonstrating that DCs play an important role in ehrlichial infection and immunity. Chronic infection and antigen presentation occurred within the peritoneal cavity, even in the presence of highly activated CD4 T cells. These data indicated that the ehrlichiae maintain chronic infection not by inhibiting antigen presentation or T-cell activation but, in part, by avoiding signals mediated by activated T cells.
Outbreak of leptospirosis among Adventure Race participants in Florida, 2005.

BACKGROUND On 21 November 2005, a 32-year-old male resident of New York was hospitalized with suspected leptospirosis. He had participated in an endurance-length swamp race on 4-5 November 2005 outside of Tampa, Florida. METHODS We interviewed racers to assess illness, medical care, and race activities. A suspected case was defined as fever plus > or = 2 signs or symptoms of leptospirosis occurring in a racer after 4 November 2005. Individuals with suspected cases were referred for treatment as needed and were asked to submit serum samples for microscopic agglutination testing (MAT) and for rapid testing by the dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay dipstick immunoglobulin M immunoassay. RESULTS The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and participating state health departments interviewed 192 (96%) of 200 racers from 32 states and Canada. Forty-four (23%) of 192 racers met the definition for a suspected case. The median age of the patients was 37 years (range, 19-66 years), and 128 (66.7%) were male. Fourteen (45%) of the 31 patients with suspected cases who were tested had their cases confirmed by serological testing (a single sample with MAT titer > or = 400), including the index case patient. Organisms of a potential novel serovar (species Leptospira noguchii) were isolated in culture from 1 case patient. Factors associated with increased risk of leptospirosis included swallowing river water (odds ratio [OR], 3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-7.0), swallowing swamp water (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1-5.2), and being submerged in any water (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.7). CONCLUSIONS This report describes a leptospirosis outbreak that resulted in a high rate of symptomatic infection among adventure racers in Florida. The growing popularity of adventure sports may put more people at risk for leptospirosis, even in areas that have not previously been considered areas of leptospirosis endemicity.
An anthroposophic lifestyle and intestinal microflora in infancy

The intestinal flora is considered to have an impact on the development of the immune system. In the anthroposophic lifestyle, a diet comprising vegetables spontaneously fermented by lactobacilli, and a restrictive use of antibiotics, anti‐pyretics and vaccinations, is typical. The aim of this study was to assess the gut flora in infants in relation to certain lifestyle characteristics associated with anthroposophy. Sixty‐nine children < 2 years of age with an anthroposophic lifestyle, and 59 infants of a similar age with a traditional lifestyle, were clinically examined and questionnaire replies assessed. Fecal samples were analyzed by bacterial enumeration, bacterial typing through biochemical fingerprinting and by measuring microflora‐associated characteristics (MACs). The numbers of colony‐forming units (CFU)/g of feces were significantly higher for enterococci and lactic acid bacteria in children who had never been exposed to antibiotics (5.5 × 107 vs. 2.1 × 107; p < 0.001 and 10 × 107 vs. 4.1 × 107; p < 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, the number of enterococci was significantly higher in breastfed and vegetarian infants (p < 0.01). The diversity (Simpson's diversity index) of lactobacilli, as determined by biochemical fingerprinting, was higher in infants born at home than in those born in hospital (p < 0.01). Several MACs were related to specific lifestyle features, and infants with an anthroposophic lifestyle had a higher proportion of acetic acid and a lower proportion of propionic acid in their stool as compared to the control children. In conclusion, lifestyle factors related to the anthroposophic way of life influenced the composition of the gut flora in the infants. These differences may contribute to the lower prevalence of atopic disease previously observed in children in anthroposophic families.
Effects of tramadol on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of tramadol on isolated rat hearts subjected to global ischemia-reperfusion injury. Design. Langerdorff perfused isolated rat hearts were subjected to 60 min of global ischemia following 60 min of reperfusion. In group I and III hearts were received tramadol before the onset of ischemia. Following the ischemic period, group II and III hearts were received tramadol infusion. Group I and IV hearts were subjected to saline at the same time point. The myocardial postischemic recovery was compared using hemodynamic, coronary flow, biochemical parameters from coronary effluent, and oxidative stress markers from heart tissue homogenates. Results. There were significant differences between tramadol and saline used groups in hemodynamic parameters. GPx values of groups I and III were significantly lower than group IV (p<0.05). SOD values of groups I, II and III were higher than group IV (p<0.05). LDH values of groups I and II were significantly lower than groups III and IV (p<0.05). Conclusion. Tramadol provides a cardioprotective effect against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in isolated rat heart.
First observations on some aspects on the natural history of European pond turtles Emys orbicularis in Slovenia

In Slovenia not much is known about the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) and its habitat use. The purpose of this work was to determine age structure of the Draga pri Igu ponds population using the capture-mark-recapture method. For this purpose, we caught and marked 34 individuals and scored their age, gender and 12 morphometric characters. Turtles in the Draga pri Igu ponds became active in the period of late February to early March. Hibernation started around the second half of October to the beginning of November. Mating took place directly after hibernation. In April, individuals migrated from the hibernation (pond named “Veliki pond”) to the mating ground (“part of Srednji pond”). The preferred egg laying place of the turtles is on the east side of “Veliki pond”, where also plundered nests were recorded. Using radio telemetry, the hibernation site was located on the east side of the pond “Veliki pond”. The mean SCL of 4 females was 183 ± 13.08; of 26 males, 137.89 ± 9.89; and 76.88 ± 1.25 of 2 subadult turtles, respectively. Almost half of all individuals were old adults.
Tuberculosis and badgers: new approaches to diagnosis and control

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) is considered to be an important wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis infection for cattle in Ireland and in Great Britain. The inability to eradicate the disease from cattle is, in part, a consequence of M. bovis infection in badgers sharing the environment with cattle. Whereas national tuberculosis eradication programmes continue to be effective in maintaining the disease prevalence in cattle at a low level, strategies to control and eradicate tuberculosis in badgers remain constrained by a lack of reagents and rapid tests to diagnose tuberculosis infection in live badgers. However, the development of rational control measures for both badgers and cattle can be achieved by detailed epidemiological analysis combining immunological testing and strain typing with current developments in information technology and geographical information systems. This allows for construction of detailed profiles of tuberculosis episodes which can identify the nature of the outbreak, its likely origin and future spread. The identification of critical areas for control then permits the strategic allocation of resources based on analysis of disease patterns in cattle and badgers. Targeted vaccination of badgers is an option which could facilitate the elimination of disease in affected areas.
Quantification of the effects of Septoria tritici blotch on wheat leaf gas exchange with respect to lesion age, leaf number, and leaf nitrogen status.

Quantification of the damaging effects of pathogens on diseased plants and inclusion of these damaging functions in crop simulation models is of great importance for a more complete understanding of yield response to diseases. In this study, the effect of Septoria tritici blotch (STB) on net photosynthetic and dark respiration rates of wheat flag leaves was quantified. Bastiaans' model: Y=(1-x)beta was used to characterize the relationship between relative leaf photosynthesis (Y, considering Ynet and Ygross) and STB severity (with x the proportion of the diseased area). The value of beta indicates whether the effect of disease on photosynthesis is larger (beta >1), lower (beta <1), or equal (beta =1) to the proportion of visible diseased area. In the experimental conditions used here, leaf nitrogen content (in a range from 0.18 to 0.24 mg cm(-2)), and leaf number (flag and second leaves) did not significantly influence the effect of STB on leaf gas exchange. By contrast, damage depended strongly on the developmental stages of the STB lesions. STB lesions had no effect on inoculated leaves before visible symptoms appeared. Chlorotic symptoms had less effect on leaf net photosynthetic rate than could be accounted for by the visible diseased area (betanet=0.81). The effect of necrotic lesions on the leaf net photosynthetic capacity was slightly greater than that accounted for by visible symptoms (betanet=1.35). Our results suggest that the effect of the necrotic symptoms on the net photosynthesis expressed by betanet >1 is due to a combination of a decrease in the gross photosynthesis (betagross still >1) and to an increase in the dark respiration rate (betagross
Color Doppler sonography of ureteral jets in normal volunteers: importance of the relative specific gravity of urine in the ureter and bladder.

OBJECTIVE Sonographic visualization of ureteral jets is a well-recognized phenomenon. In vitro studies have indicated that detection of fluid flow similar to ureteral jets depends on differences in density between the moving and the stationary fluid. This study was undertaken to determine if differences in density between ureteral urine and urine in the bladder could make a significant impact on the sonographic detectability of ureteral jets in vivo. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Ten healthy volunteers were vigorously hydrated after an overnight fast. An initial color Doppler sonographic examination of ureteral jets was performed before voiding (while concentrated urine that had accumulated overnight was still in the bladder). A second examination was performed after two cycles of voiding and refilling the bladder (to ensure that dilute urine produced by the hydration was in the bladder). RESULTS In all subjects, normal ureteral jets were readily identified on the initial examination. The difference in the estimated specific gravity between bladder urine and ureteral urine during the initial examination ranged from 0.002 to 0.016 (mean, 0.008). This was a statistically significant difference (p less than .05). On the second examination, ureteral jets were not detected from either ureter in any subject. The difference in the estimated specific gravity of bladder urine and ureteral urine during the second examination ranged from 0.000 to 0.002 (mean, 0.001). This was not a statistically significant difference (p greater than .05). There was no statistically significant difference in the diuresis rates throughout the course of the examinations. These ranged from 300 to 1218 ml/hr. CONCLUSION These in vivo results support the hypothesis that detection of ureteral jets depends on density differences between ureteral and bladder urine. This is important clinically, because normal ureteral jets may be undetectable, despite adequate hydration and high rates of diuresis, if the patient is allowed to completely void and refill the bladder before the examination.