Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies in the transplantation of bone. V. The capacity of fresh and treated homografts of bone to evoke transplantation immunity

1. Experiments to examine the antigenicity of homologous bone tissues in rats are reported. The tissues studied included fresh marrow-free cortical bone blocks and chips, fresh, boiled, frozen and freeze-dried marrow-containing iliac bone, fresh iliac bone devoid of marrow, and fresh red marrow. 2. The various tissues were transplanted from hooded to Wistar rats. Three weeks later a skin graft from each donor was transplanted to its respective host to detect the presence of transplantation immunity, which was indicated by the early rejection of the skin graft. 3. Homografts of fresh cortical bone evoked transplantation immunity indicating that it contained transplantation antigens which were also in the skin. 4. Homografts of fresh marrow-containing iliac bone also evoked transplantation immunity, which was shown to be caused by the red marrow. 5. Fresh iliac homografts devoid of marrow did not elicit transplantation immunity. This suggests that iliac bone tissue may not contain transplantation antigens or that the small amount of iliac bone inserted was insufficient. 6. Microscopy of the grafts, removed after three weeks, showed that the inflammatory infiltrations around the bone homografts and autografts were not very different, but that the amount of new bone formed was different. The autografts produced a lot of new bone, the homografts only a little. 7. It is suggested that the immune response evoked in the host by the foreign graft impairs the formation of new bone by fresh homografts of cortical blocks, cortical chips and marrow-containing iliac bone. 8. The impairment of new bone formation by homografts of marrow-free iliac bone is discussed. Such bone grafts fail to evoke detectable transplantation immunity. Why these grafts do not form more new homologous bone than the other homografts studied, is not clear. 9. Homografts of boiled and frozen iliac bone do not evoke any detectable change in the sensitivity of the host to donor tissue. 10. Homografts of freeze-dried marrow-containing iliac bone elicit a slight but significant prolongation of the survival of skin homografts. The implication, in terms of modern immunological theory, is that in such grafts certain tissue antigens still persist.
A GA-based multiple simulated annealing

The design of hybrid metaheuristics with ideas from the simulated annealing and evolutionary algorithms fields is a fruitful research line. In this paper, we present a new hybrid algorithm based on a genetic algorithm, whose search process simulates several parallel simulated annealing processes. An empirical study comparing the new model with classic simulated annealing, hybrid metaheuristics based on evolutionary algorithms and simulated annealing, and two evolutionary algorithms, concludes that the alternative scheme for combining ideas from simulated annealing and evolutionary algorithms introduced by the proposal may improve the performance of this kind of hybrid algorithms.
Development of a practical complete-kill assay to evaluate anti-Acanthamoeba drugs.

IMPORTANCE Acanthamoeba keratitis is a debilitating eye disease that requires effective topical drug therapy. Currently, there is no standard in vitro test to evaluate anti-Acanthamoeba drugs. OBJECTIVE To develop a practical in vitro complete-kill assay to assess anti-Acanthamoeba drugs. DESIGN AND SETTING Isolates of Acanthamoeba strains (n = 15) evaluated in a clinical laboratory. An in vitro laboratory assay was created to determine whether polyhexamethylene biguanide, 0.02%, chlorhexidine digluconate, 0.02%, hexamidine diisethioonate, 0.1%, and voriconazole, 1.0%, were effective in completely killing 15 different isolates of Acanthamoeba at time points of 24, 48, and 72 hours in comparison with a saline control. Each 0.5-mL volume of drug was inoculated with 0.1 mL of Acanthamoeba cysts (range, 1-3 × 10(6)/mL) (determined with a hemacytometer) and allowed to incubate at 30°C. At the time points listed, 0.05 mL from each treatment group was inoculated onto nonnutrient agar overlaid with Enterobacter aerogenes. The plates were microscopically examined for growth 1 and 2 weeks after inoculation. At 2 weeks, all plates were subcultured onto a fresh medium. At another 7 days, the growth in subculture at each time point was graded "1" for growth and "0" for no growth. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The cumulative grades of 3 time points (range, 0-3) for each drug and isolate were nonparametrically compared to determine differences in growth between the drugs. The "kill" incidence rates over the 3 time points were also compared. RESULTS In vitro testing determined that antiacanthamoebal efficacy (determined by the median growth grade and the kill incidence rate) was more prominent for hexamidine diisethioonate (median growth grade, 0.0; kill incidence rate, 93% [14 of 15 isolates]) and polyhexamethylene biguanide (median growth grade, 0.0; kill incidence rate, 80% [12 of 15 isolates]) than for chlorhexidine digluconate (median growth grade, 1.0; kill incidence rate, 40% [6 of 15 isolates]), voriconazole (median growth grade, 2.0; kill incidence rate, 13% [2 of 15 isolates]), and saline (median growth grade, 3.0; kill incidence rate, 0% [0 of 15 isolates]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The complete-kill assay appears to provide separation in the effectiveness of different antiamoebic drug solutions. This assay may be helpful for guiding topical Acanthamoeba therapy and providing a practical method to evaluate and screen new anti-infectives in the treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Regional pulmonary blood flow: Comparison of dynamic contrast‐enhanced MR perfusion and phase‐contrast MR

Regional pulmonary blood flow can be assessed using both dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) MR and phase‐contrast (PC) MR. These methods provide somewhat complementary information: DCE MR can assess flow over the entire lung while PC MR can detect rapid changes in flow to a targeted region. Although both methods are considered accurate, one may be more feasible than the other depending on pathology, patient condition, and availability of an intravenous route. The objective of this study was to establish a consensus between the two methods by comparing paired DCE MR and PC MR measurements of relative blood flow in Yorkshire piglets (N = 5, age = 7 days, weight = 3.3 ± 0.6 kg) under various physiological states including regional lung collapse. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.71, P < 0.01) was observed between the methods. In conclusion, DCE MR and PC MR provide a consistent measure of changes in regional pulmonary blood flow. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Family Structure, Child Living Arrangement and Mothers’ Self-rated Health in Sweden—A Cross-Sectional Study

Alternate living, i.e. children living 50-50 with their parents following separation is emerging as a new family form. This study is the first to differentiate separated mothers with sole/main custody from mothers with alternately living children, analysing health outcomes and using a sample representative of the population. The association between the self-rated health (SRH) of mothers and different family structures are examined. Parental cooperation is included in the analyses as a potential mediator. Data on 755 mothers from the 2010 Swedish Level of Living Survey were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. Single mothers with sole/main custody reported poorer SRH than couple mothers in intact families while the difference was not significant for single mothers with children living alternately and mothers in stepfamilies. Controlling for potential confounders, probabilities for poor SRH for single mothers were reduced. The excess risk among mothers with sole/main custody may be due to poorer socioeconomic conditions. Employment was significantly more common among mothers with alternate living and an important explanatory factor for their better health compared to single mothers with sole/main custody. Adjusting for parental cooperation lowered the increased probability for poor SRH among single mothers with sole/main custody compared to single mothers with alternate living.
Deprenyl induces GFAP immunoreactivity in the intact and injured dopaminergic nigrostriatal system but fails to counteract axotomy‐induced degenerative changes

There is increasing evidence of a trophic‐like mechanism for some effects ascribed to deprenyl therapy in the central nervous system. For that, we studied the effect of chronic treatment with deprenyl in an animal model of Parkinson's disease induced by unilateral knife transection of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) in adult rats. The experimental conditions included a 3‐week pretreatment with deprenyl before stereotaxic transection of the MFB. Following surgery, deprenyl treatment was maintained for 3 weeks. Neurochemical and immunohistochemical procedures were used to study the dopaminergic system and reactive astrocytes in the nigrostriatal system. Deprenyl treatment failed to counteract the axotomy‐induced degenerative changes of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. However, it was effective in increasing the density of reactive astrocytes in terms of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity in the intact contralateral substantia nigra and also in further enhancing the axotomy‐induced increase of GFAP immunolabeled astrocytes in the lesioned substantia nigra. This deprenyl‐induced effect on GFAP immunoreactivity was confined to substantia nigra without effect in striatum. In addition, we found a medial to lateral gradient decrease in the distribution pattern of GFAP immunolabeled astrocytes. Axotomy increased the number of reactive astrocytes in either striatal area examined, but yet the preferential distribution pattern of reactive astrocytes in striatum was still evident. GLIA 21:204–216, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Social determinants of health and well-being among young people

HBSC, a WHO collaborative cross-national study, collects data on 11-, 13and 15-year-old boys’ and girls’ health and well-being, social environments and health behaviours every four years. The international report, which is written and produced by the HBSC Research Network and is published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, presents the world’s most comprehensive picture of young people’s health and well-being.
A three‐generational study of In ovo exposure to PBDE‐99 in the zebra finch

Based on a literature review of avian data for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), ecologically relevant doses, low (10 ng/egg), medium (100 ng/egg), and high (1,000 ng/egg) of the 2,2′,4,4′,5‐pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE‐99) congener along with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) control were injected into the yolk sac of un‐incubated eggs of zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata. Offspring development and adult phenotype were followed over three generations. No effects of in ovo PBDE exposure on hatching success, chick growth, thyroid hormone levels, or hematological traits were measured at sexual maturity (90 d posthatching). However, the authors did detect significant effects of BDE‐99 treatment on adult phenotype of in ovo–exposed birds by breeding observations, in which clutch size was significantly smaller in all PBDE‐dosed birds (low, medium, and high) compared with controls. A trend was also seen for longer laying intervals in PBDE‐dosed birds (13–14 d) compared with control birds (8 d). In addition, a significant effect of PBDE was found on growth of the second‐generation offspring of in ovo–treated females; body mass was significantly lower in the high‐PBDE dosed birds compared with controls from hatch through to fledging (day 30). The authors found no evidence of effects over the longer term and in successive generations, whether in adult, reproductive phenotype of the second‐generation offspring of in ovo–treated birds, or in the growth of their (third‐generation) offspring. Their results suggest that egg levels as low as 10 ng/g BDE‐99 may affect reproduction in small passerines by reducing clutch size. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:562–568. © 2012 SETAC
Drug‐induced hypersensitivity syndrome due to cyanamide associated with multiple reactivation of human herpesviruses

Drug‐induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS), characterized by serious adverse systemic reactions in addition to skin rash, has unknown pathogenesis. Its association with human herpesvirus (HHV), mainly HHV‐6, has been reported recently. A 46‐year‐old Japanese man is described in whom a generalized eruption developed about 1 month after taking cyanamide, a drug for alcoholism. This was associated with the following manifestations: high fever, lymphadenopathy, facial edema, marked leukocytosis with eosinophilia and atypical lymphocytes, lymphocytopenia, liver and renal dysfunction, and low IgG level. He was treated with 8 mg betamethasone daily and his condition improved, but he needed low‐dose corticosteroid for almost 1 year because of several episodes of recurrence. HHV‐6, HHV‐7, herpes simplex virus (HSV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) specific IgG titers showed more than a four‐fold rise sequentially. Significant numbers of copies of HHV‐6 and HHV‐7 DNA were detected in the peripheral white blood cells by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HHV‐6 and CMV DNA were detected in the serum by nested PCR. A patch test for cyanamide was positive. The diagnosis of DIHS due to cyanamide, which has never been reported as a causal drug of DIHS, accompanied by reactivation of not only HHV‐6, but also HHV‐7, CMV, and HSV, was made. Disturbance of the immune system was suggested by the persistent low level of IgG, and consecutive viral reactivation may have participated in the prolonged course in this case. J. Med. Virol. 75:430–434, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anxiety Disorders and Rapid Cycling: Data From a Cohort of 8129 Youths With Bipolar Disorder

Abstract Anxiety disorders (ADs) are common in youths with bipolar disorder (BD). We examine psychiatric comorbidity, hospitalization, and treatment in youths with versus without AD and rapid cycling (four or more cycles per year). Data from the Integrated Healthcare Information Services cohort were used and included 8129 youths (ages ⩽18 years). Prevalence of AD, demographic, type of AD, hospitalization, and use of psychotropics were compared between rapid and nonrapid cycling. Overall, 51% of the youths met criteria for at least one comorbid AD; they were predominantly female and were between 12 and 17 years of age. The most common comorbid ADs were generalized ADs and separation ADs. In the patients with rapid cycling, 65.5% met criteria for comorbid AD. The BD youths with AD were more likely to have major depressive disorders and other comorbid ADs, to be given more psychotropics, and to be hospitalized for depression and medical conditions more often than were those without AD.
Team collaboration: the use of behavior principles for serving students with ASD.

PURPOSE Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and behavior analysts are key members of school-based teams that serve children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Behavior analysts approach assessment and intervention through the lens of applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA-based interventions have been found effective for targeting skills across multiple domains for children with ASD. However, some SLPs may be unfamiliar with the breadth of ABA-based interventions. The intent of this tutorial is to briefly introduce key ABA principles, provide examples of ABA-based interventions used within schools, and identify strategies for successful collaboration between behavior analysts and SLPs. METHOD This tutorial draws from empirical studies of ABA-based interventions for children with ASD within school settings, as well as discussions in the extant literature about the use of behavior principles by SLPs and strategies for interdisciplinary collaboration. CONCLUSION Given the prevalence of ASD at 1 in 68 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014) and the high cost of serving these children within schools (an average cost of 286% over regular education; Chambers, Shkolnik, & Perez, 2003), the need for effective, comprehensive service provision and efficiency within interdisciplinary teams is paramount. Communication, mutual understanding, and recognition of common ground between SLPs and behavior analysts can lead to successful collaboration.
Iris feature extraction based on gray-scale morphological skeleton

Iris recognition is one of the most reliable biometric technologies. Iris feature extraction is a key issue in iris recognition. This paper proposes a novel method to extract the features of space domain from iris image, which uses gray-scale morphological filtering. It is well known that the skeleton which shows the features of images is extracted from binary images by morphological filtering. The skeleton of gray scale images can be also extracted by gray-scale morphological filtering. In order to extract the features of the iris, we apply the gray-scale morphological filtering to the iris image and obtain its skeleton. The binary skeleton which is regarded as the iris code is obtained by threshold processing. The Hamming distance was employed for classification of iris codes. In the proposed method, the Hamming distance of intro class and inter class are separated completely.
PET imaging of brain function while puncturing the acupoint ST36.

OBJECTIVE To explore the experimental method of obtaining position emission tonogiaphy (PET) imaging evidence of changes in cerebral function by puncturing the Stomach 36 (ST36, Zusanli) acupoint. METHODS Data on changes of cerebral glycometabolism were obtained from six healthy male volunteers with positron emission tomography. Visual experimental evidence, as well as statistical parametric mapping (SPM), was gathered while puncturing the ST36 (Zusanli, right leg) acupoint. RESULTS There was increased glycometabolism in the hypothalamus, head of the caudate nucleus, temporal lobe, the sinistral cerebellum, postcentral gyrus, and brain stem while the acupoint ST36 was being punctured. CONCLUSIONS Acupuncture on ST36 can lead to increase in glycometabolism in the vegetative nerve centers, which is correlated with gastric function. Visual experimental evidence of ST36 acupuncturing on functional gastrointestinal disorder was obtained in our study.
Defective Stimulation of Adipocyte Adenylate Cyclase, Blunted Lipolysis, and Obesity in Pseudohypoparathyroidism 1a

ABSTRACT: Adipocyte plasma membranes were isolated from four patients with type la pseudohypoparathyroidism, a disease in which deficiency of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein Gs has been reported, and from controls. Stimulation of adenylate cyclase by isoproterenol was defective, whereas inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cyclase activity by N6-(phenylisopropyl)adenosine was normal. The patients had low serum FFA concentrations and developed obesity in childhood. These results suggest that pseudohypoparathyroidism 1a is connected with a blunted stimulatory response of adenylate cyclase, possibly because of low Gs activity, and that this blunted response may lead to decreased lipolysis and to obesity.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers, Oral Contraceptive Use, and Breast Cancer Before Age 50

Background: Understanding the effect of oral contraceptives on risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers is important because oral contraceptive use is a common, modifiable practice. Methods: We studied 497 BRCA1 and 307 BRCA2 mutation carriers, of whom 195 and 128, respectively, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Case-control analyses were conducted using unconditional logistic regression with adjustments for family history and familial relationships and were restricted to subjects with a reference age under 50 years. Results: For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was no significant association between risk of breast cancer and use of oral contraceptives for at least 1 year [odds ratio (OR), 0.77; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.53-1.12] or duration of oral contraceptive use (Ptrend = 0.62). For BRCA2 mutation carriers, there was no association with use of oral contraceptives for at least 1 year (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 0.90-2.92); however, there was an association of elevated risk with oral contraceptive use for at least 5 years (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.08-3.94) and with duration of use (ORtrend per year of use, 1.08; P = 0.008). Similar results were obtained when we considered only use of oral contraceptives that first started in 1975 or later. Conclusions: We found no evidence overall that use of oral contraceptives for at least 1 year is associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers before age 50. For BRCA2 mutation carriers, use of oral contraceptives may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among women who use them for at least 5 years. Further studies reporting results separately for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers are needed to resolve this important issue. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1863–70)
Dose linearity study of selegiline pharmacokinetics after oral administration: evidence for strong drug interaction with female sex steroids.

AIMS The purpose of this study was to characterize the dose relationship of selegline and desmethylselegiline pharmacokinetics within the selegiline dose range from 5 to 40 mg. METHODS Eight female subjects, of whom four were using oral contraceptives, ingested a single dose of 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg or 40 mg of selegiline HCl in an open four-period randomized study. Concentrations of selegiline and desmethlylselegiline in serum were measured by gas chromatography for 5 h. As it became evident that the use of oral steroids had a drastic effect on selegiline concentrations, the pharmacokinetic analyses were performed separately for oral contraceptive users and those not receiving any concomitant medication. RESULTS The total AUC and Cmax of selegiline were 10-to 20-fold higher in those subjects taking oral steroids compared with subjects with no concomitant medication; this finding was consistent and statistically significant at all the four dose levels. The dose linearity of selegiline pharmacokinetics failed to be demonstrated in both groups. The AUC and Cmax of desmethylselegiline were only moderately higher (about 1.5-fold; P=NS at each dose level) in the subjects taking oral steroids than in those not receiving concomitant medication. The AUC values of desmethylselegiline increased in a dose linear manner in subjects with no concomitant medication, but not in the oral steroid group. The metabolic ratio (AUC(desmethylselegiline)/AUC(selegiline)) was several-fold lower in the group receiving oral steroids compared with the no-concomitant-medication group (P<0.005 at all the four dose levels). CONCLUSIONS Concomitant use of oral contraceptives caused a drastic (20-fold) increase in the oral bioavailability of selegiline. The highly significant difference in the metabolic ratio between the groups provides evidence that the mechanism of the interaction between selegiline and female sex steroids involves reduced T-demethylation of selegiline. The present results suggest that concomitant use of selegiline with exogenous female sex steroids should be avoided or the dosage of selegiline should be reduced in order to minimize the risks of selegiline related adverse drug reactions.