Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Axial eye growth and refractive error development can be modified by exposing the peripheral retina to relative myopic or hyperopic defocus.

PURPOSE Bifocal contact lenses were used to impose hyperopic and myopic defocus on the peripheral retina of marmosets. Eye growth and refractive state were compared with untreated animals and those treated with single-vision or multizone contact lenses from earlier studies. METHODS Thirty juvenile marmosets wore one of three experimental annular bifocal contact lens designs on their right eyes and a plano contact lens on the left eye as a control for 10 weeks from 70 days of age (10 marmosets/group). The experimental designs had plano center zones (1.5 or 3 mm) and +5 diopters [D] or -5 D in the periphery (referred to as +5 D/1.5 mm, +5 D/3 mm and -5 D/3 mm). We measured the central and peripheral mean spherical refractive error (MSE), vitreous chamber depth (VC), pupil diameter (PD), calculated eye growth, and myopia progression rates prior to and during treatment. The results were compared with age-matched untreated (N=25), single-vision positive (N=19), negative (N=16), and +5/-5 D multizone lens-reared marmosets (N=10). RESULTS At the end of treatment, animals in the -5 D/3 mm group had larger (P<0.01) and more myopic eyes (P<0.05) than animals in the +5 D/1.5 mm group. There was a dose-dependent relationship between the peripheral treatment zone area and the treatment-induced changes in eye growth and refractive state. Pretreatment ocular growth rates and baseline peripheral refraction accounted for 40% of the induced refraction and axial growth rate changes. CONCLUSIONS Eye growth and refractive state can be manipulated by altering peripheral retinal defocus. Imposing peripheral hyperopic defocus produces axial myopia, whereas peripheral myopic defocus produces axial hyperopia. The effects are smaller than using single-vision contact lenses that impose full-field defocus, but support the use of bifocal or multifocal contact lenses as an effective treatment for myopia control.
Smad8/9 Is Regulated Through the BMP Pathway

Members of the transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) family function through Smad‐dependent and Smad‐independent pathways. The Smad‐dependent pathway is stimulated through the phosphorylation of receptor‐regulated Smad (R‐Smad) and inhibited through the dephosphorylation of R‐Smad or the gene induction of inhibitory Smad (I‐Smad). Little information is available on the regulation of R‐Smad gene expression. BMP4 potentiated the up‐regulation of Smad8/9 expression in C2C12, H9c2, 3T3‐L1, HepG2, B16, and primary fibroblasts. BMP4‐induced Smad8/9 expression was cycloheximide‐insensitive and LDN‐193189‐sensitive, suggesting a direct event mediated through BMP type I receptors. BMP4 transcriptionally stimulated the Smad8/9 gene, and BMP‐responsive elements (BREs) spanning nt −121 to nt −44 are involved in the up‐regulation of Smad8/9 expression in response to BMP4. Phosphorylated Smad1/5/8/9 specifically bound to the BREs of Smad8/9 gene. The present study reveals that Smad8/9 is a unique R‐Smad regulated through the BMP pathway at the mRNA level. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 1788–1796, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Concentration of chemokines in peripheral blood in first trimester of diabetic pregnancy

Background. Several types of regulators (i.e. chemokines and metalloproteinases) are considered to play a crucial role in pregnancy by local modulation of the immune system at the level of peripheral leukocytes. The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in chemokines (interferon‐gamma‐inducible protein (IP‐10), monocyte chemotactic peptide‐1 (MCP‐1), cytokines regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9)) concentrations in diabetic patients could affect the course of pregnancy. Methods. The study group consisted of 65 diabetics in the first trimester of pregnancy. Some 47 pregnancies were successfully continued to delivery, 18 were terminated with spontaneous miscarriages. Twenty healthy women matched for gestational age served as a control group. Results. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C), vascular complications and lipoproteins (cholesterol, HDL‐cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol and triglicerides) concentrations in maternal blood did not influence the chemokines concentrations. Lower RANTES level and higher MMP‐9 concentrations were found in diabetic women. MCP‐1 and RANTES levels differed significantly between pregnancies with good and poor perinatal outcome. A logistic regression model revealed that not only duration of diabetes, age of patients, HbA1C and insulin requirements, but also MMP‐9, RANTES, MCP‐1 and LDL‐cholesterol levels seem to be involved in first trimester metabolism. Conclusions. Our results suggest the possible role of chemokines in early pregnancy development, especially in well‐controlled diabetic patients, when hyperglycaemia is unlikely to be the main reason for an unfavourable outcome. Our results show that MCP‐1 and RANTES might serve as predictive factors for an unfavourable outcome in diabetic pregnancy, whereas MMP‐9 seems to be a marker of immunological changes related to mild hyperglycaemia. However, the open question of how the modulation of chemokines concentrations might be applied to prevent miscarriage in diabetic patients remains.
Characterization of VP22 in Herpes Simplex Virus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT We examine biochemical characteristics of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) tegument protein VP22 by gel filtration, glycerol sedimentation, and chemical cross-linking experiments and use time course radiolabeling and immunoprecipitation assays to analyze its synthesis and interaction with other infected-cell proteins. VP22 was expressed as a delayed early protein with optimal synthesis requiring DNA replication. In immunoprecipitation assays, VP22 was found in association with several additional proteins including VP16 and a kinase activity likely to be that of UL13. Furthermore, in sizing chromatography experiments, VP22 was present in several higher-order complexes in infected cells. From gel filtration analysis the major form of VP22 migrated with a molecular mass of approximately 160 kDa, consistent with its presence as a tetramer, or a dimer complexed with other proteins, with a fraction of the protein migrating at larger molecular mass. In vitro-synthesized VP22 sedimented in a size range consistent with a mixture of tetramers and dimers. Short N- or C-terminal deletions resulted in migration almost exclusively as dimers, indicating that VP22, in the absence of additional virus-encoded proteins, could form higher-order assemblies, most likely tetramers, but that both N-and C-terminal determinants were required for stabilizing such assemblies. Consistent with this we found that isolated proteins encompassing either the N-terminal or C-terminal region of VP22 sedimented as dimers, and that the purified C-terminal domain could be cross-linked into dimeric structures. These results are discussed with regard to possible virus and host interactions involved in VP22 recruitment into virus particles.
Doctors on Display: The Evolution of Television's Doctors

Doctors have been portrayed on television for over 50 years. In that time, their character has undergone significant changes, evolving from caring but infallible supermen with smoldering good looks and impeccable bedside manners to drug-addicted, sex-obsessed antiheroes. This article summarizes the major programs of the genre and explains the pattern of the TV doctors' character changes. Articulated over time in the many permutations of the doctor character is a complex, constant conversation between viewer and viewed representing public attitudes towards doctors, medicine, and science.
Predicting success of endoscopic third ventriculostomy: validation of the ETV Success Score in a mixed population of adult and pediatric patients.

OBJECT Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has become the first line of treatment in obstructive hydrocephalus. The Toronto group (Kulkarni et al.) developed the ETV Success Score (ETVSS) to predict the clinical response following ETV based on age, previous shunt, and cause of hydrocephalus in a pediatric population. However, the use of the ETVSS has not been validated for a population comprising adults. The objective of this study was to validate the ETVSS in a "closed-skull" population, including patients 2 years of age and older. METHODS In this retrospective observational study, medical charts of all consecutive cases of ETV performed in two university hospitals were reviewed. The primary outcome, the success of ETV, was defined as the absence of reoperation or death attributable to hydrocephalus at 6 months. The ETVSS was calculated for all patients. Discriminative properties along with calibration of the ETVSS were established for the study population. The secondary outcome is the reoperation-free survival. RESULTS This study included 168 primary ETVs. The mean age was 40 years (range 3-85 years). ETV was successful at 6 months in 126 patients (75%) compared with a mean ETVSS of 82.4%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.61, revealing insufficient discrimination from the ETVSS in this population. In contrast, calibration of the ETVSS was excellent (calibration slope = 1.01), although the expected low numbers were obtained for scores < 70. Decision curve analyses demonstrate that ETVSS is marginally beneficial in clinical decision-making, a reduction of 4 and 2 avoidable ETVs per 100 cases if the threshold used on the ETVSS is set at 70 and 60, respectively. However, the use of the ETVSS showed inferior net benefit when compared with the strategy of not recommending ETV at all as a surgical option for thresholds set at 80 and 90. In this cohort, neither age nor previous shunt were significantly associated with unsuccessful ETV. However, better outcomes were achieved in patients with aqueductal stenosis, tectal compressions, and other tumor-associated hydrocephalus than in cases secondary to myelomeningocele, infection, or hemorrhage (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS The ETVSS did not show adequate discrimination but demonstrated excellent calibration in this population of patients 2 years and older. According to decision-curve analyses, the ETVSS is marginally useful in clinical scenarios in which 60% or 70% success rates are the thresholds for preferring ETV to CSF shunt. Previous history of CSF shunt and age were not associated with worse outcomes, whereas posthemorrhagic and postinfectious causes of the hydrocephalus were significantly associated with reduced success rates following ETV.
Plasmatic protein values in captive adult Iberian red deer stags (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

The aim of this study was to assess the time trend of plasmatic proteins in red deer stags. Blood samples were taken monthly from 17 male red deer for 22 months. Total plasmatic determination and protein electrophoresis were performed. Plasmatic proteins showed minimum values during spring and summer and a maximum at the peak of the mating period. Total globulins, β and γ, followed a pattern similar to that observed for total proteins, whereas α1 and α2 globulins showed no seasonal variations. Albumin showed higher values in early spring and summer and lower values at the beginning of autumn, coinciding with the mating season. These seasonal changes in plasmatic proteins should be taken into account when assessing blood protein analysis results.
LACTATION AND MENSTRUAL FUNCTION AS RELATED TO CANCER OF THE BREAST.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that breast cancer is related to lactation and menstrual activity. All patients entering Roswell Park Memorial Institute during a 2-year period were interviewed regarding relevant characteristics. The risk of breast cancer was found to be less for women who had nursed longer than a total of 36 months. Risk was found increased for women who had never married never been pregnant who had their pregnancies late in life or who had never nursed. The difference in these relative risks was not large. The effect of lactation may be of special significance in retarding the risk of breast cancer. The implications are that a long nursing history at least more than 17 months and a short menstrual history may carry some diminished risk of breast cancer. Difference in incidence in certain countries particularly in Japan may be due to varying lactating customs and menstrual duration.
Genetic differentiation between parapatric ‘nearshore’ and ‘offshore’ populations of the bottlenose dolphin

The existence of nearshore and offshore populations of the bottlenose dolphin has been documented throughout its range. In several cases the two regional forms have been shown to be morphologically distinct, although there is considerable overlap for most characters. The populations off the eastern coast of North America have been the subject of a long-term programme of research on their distribution and movements. In this study, we compare mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers between dolphins classified as either nearshore or offshore type. These putative populations were found to be distinct at both nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. Further, the level of variation among the nearshore dolphins was reduced compared with the offshore population. A broader geographical comparison suggests a shared lineage between offshore dolphins from the western North Atlantic and both offshore and nearshore dolphins from the eastern Atlantic. These results are consistent with local differentiation based on habitat or resource specialization in the western North Atlantic, and suggest differences in the character of the nearshore/offshore distinction in different parts of the world.
An Electronic Ratio Error Set for Current Transformer Calibrations

A direct-reading electronic ratio error set for current transformer calibrations is described. It is capable of generating direct and quadrature error currents from 1 ppm to 5 percent of transformer secondary currents up to 10 A. The uncertainty is less than one percent of the generated current. The set features electronic display of the direct and quadrature components with three digits each and is direct reading at 50, 60, and 400 Hz.
Neurotrophin 4/5 is required for the normal development of the slow muscle fiber phenotype in the rat soleus

SUMMARY During normal postnatal development, rat soleus (SOL) muscle fibers undergo a dramatic fast-to-slow myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform transformation. We exploited this phenomenon to evaluate the role of neurotrophin 4/5 (NT-4/5) in the regulation of muscle fiber phenotype. Intramuscular injections of recombinant NT-4/5 into the SOL muscle of rat neonates significantly accelerated the normal fast-to-slow MyHC isoform transformation. Sequestration of endogenous NT-4/5 with TrkB–IgG prevented this transformation from occurring. Administration of the other TrkB ligand, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), did not affect the normal course of the MyHC isoform transformation in this muscle, indicating that the observed effect is NT-4/5 specific. Botulinum toxin blockade of synaptic transmission significantly disrupted the normal fast-to-slow MyHC isoform switch. Because administration of NT-4/5 to paralyzed muscles failed to restore the normal course of this MyHC transformation, we believe that the effect of NT-4/5 is not directly on the muscle fibers but that it probably activates or forms a type of retrograde signal to motoneurons. The developmental upregulation of NT-4/5 mRNA in rat SOL muscle fibers occurred earlier than the upregulation of MyHC I/b mRNA associated with muscle fiber transformation. This timing is consistent with the idea that NT-4/5 is involved in early events that lead to the upregulation of the slow MyHC isoform in this muscle.
Useful Parameters To Predict the Eventual Mental Outcome of Hypothyroid Children

ABSTRACT: The Quebec Network for Genetic Medicine has followed the development of some 100 hypothyroid children treated by 1 month of age and evaluated at 18 months, 3 and 5 yr and the Griffiths Mental Development Scales, then at 7 and 9 yr with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised. Results show that the children as a group reach scores within the normal range of the tests. However, a few patients have low scores at each evaluation. Previously, we showed a correlation between a low serum thyroxine concentration, or a relatively retarded bone maturation before treatment, and low mental scores. To better characterize the significance of this relationship we correlated these pretreatment factors and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised results of 43 subjects reaching the age of 7 yr. Again, the same correlation was observed. Calculating a predictive factor (low thyroxine, <2 μg/dl and retarded bone surface, <0.05 cm2) from data recorded before therapy initiation, 10 of 13 children were correctly predicted to have I.Q. values <90. The use of these parameters might permit early intervention, and allow specific guidance of the more affected subjects.
Discriminatory ability of right atrial volumes with two‐ and three‐dimensional echocardiography to detect elevated right atrial pressure in pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients have high mortality due to right ventricular failure. Predictors of poor prognostic outcome are increased right atrial volume (RAV) and elevated mean right atrial pressure (mRAP). Our aim was to determine whether RAV measured with 2D echocardiography (2DE) and 3D echocardiography (3DE) can detect elevated mRAP in patients evaluated for PH.
Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Accelerates and a Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Delays Knee Ligament Healing

Background Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to treat ligament injuries; however, their individual and combined effects are not established. Hypotheses Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound accelerates ligament healing, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug delays healing, and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug inhibits the beneficial effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Sixty adult rats underwent bilateral transection of their knee medial collateral ligaments. Animals were divided into 2 drug groups and treated 5 d/wk with celecoxib (5 mg/kg) mixed in a vehicle solution (NSAID group) or vehicle alone (VEH group). One to 3 hours after drug administration, all animals were treated with unilateral active low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and contralateral inactive low-intensity pulsed ultrasound. Equal numbers of animals from each drug group were mechanically tested at 2 weeks (n = 14/group), 4 weeks (n = 8/group), and 12 weeks (n = 8/group) after injury. Results Ultrasound and drug intervention did not interact to influence ligament mechanical properties at any time point. After 2 weeks of intervention, ligaments treated with active low-intensity pulsed ultrasound were 34.2% stronger, 27.0% stiffer, and could absorb 54.4% more energy before failure than could ligaments treated with inactive low-intensity pulsed ultrasound, whereas ligaments from the NSAID group could absorb 33.3% less energy than could ligaments from the VEH group. There were no ultrasound or drug effects after 4 and 12 weeks of intervention. Conclusions Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound accelerated but did not improve ligament healing, whereas the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug delayed but did not impair healing. When used in combination, the beneficial low-intensity pulsed ultrasound effect was cancelled by the detrimental nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug effect. Clinical Relevance Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound after ligament injury may facilitate earlier return to activity, whereas nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may elevate early reinjury risk.
A comparison of different biogeographical classifications of Europe, Great Britain and Spain.

Various biogeographical and bioclimatic classifications of a number of regions, countries and continents have been created to meet different objectives. A policy maker might ask the question 'why is there no single accepted classification and how do the different classifications compare with one another? ' In order to answer these two questions three classifications created by different methods for Great Britain and two for Spain are compared using the Kappa statistic. All of the classifications were created from data on cellular grids with a set window size. Further non-statistical comparisons are made with other classifications. The biogeographic classifications studied in this paper produced three different types of zone: those that were always identified whatever the method; those that were broadly similar but where the boundaries differed; and those that were unique to a particular classification. These different types of zone are likely to exist for any comparison between classifications of a particular region. The extent of the geographic window from which data were obtained had a major effect on the classification of grid cells at the edges of the window. For example, the few grid cells in the south of England, with characteristics of continental Europe, are not detected if data from Great Britain alone are used for the classification. We conclude that the data window should always be larger than the area for which the classification is being made. The objective Kappa statistic, although useful, was not capable of discerning similarities and dissimilarities that appear obvious to the subjective human eye. Although the details of the classifications differed there were broad similarities between the classifications and these differences reflect important divisions along major environmental axes that have been inferred by earlier biogeographers. As the divisions are real there is a sound basis for their use in future land use or environmental policy.
Family stress moderates relations between physiological and behavioral synchrony and child self-regulation in mother-preschooler dyads.

From a bio-behavioral framework, the relations between physiological synchrony, positive behavioral synchrony, and child self-regulation under varying levels of risk were examined among 93 mother- (M age = 30.44 years, SD = 5.98 years) preschooler (M age = 3.47 years, SD =.52 years, 58.70% male) dyads. Physiological synchrony was examined using interbeat interval (IBI) data and measures of positive behavioral synchrony and self-regulation were based on observations of a mother-child interaction task. Results supported the phenomenon of physiological synchrony among mother-preschooler dyads during an interaction, but not a baseline, task. Moderation analyses indicated that under conditions of high family risk, positive behavioral synchrony and child self-regulation were greater when physiological synchrony was low. Positive behavioral synchrony was positively associated with child self-regulation, regardless of risk status. The results document physiological synchrony among mothers and their preschool-aged children and the complex ways that physiological attunement relates to important developmental processes.