Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet Activation and Platelet-leukocyte Aggregation Elicited in Experimental Colitis Are Mediated by Interleukin-6

Abstract:There is growing evidence for an interdependence of inflammation, coagulation, and thrombosis in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are associated with a hypercoagulable state and an increased risk of thromboembolism. Although the IBD-associated prothrombogenic state has been linked to the inflammatory response, the mediators that link these 2 conditions remain unclear. Recent evidence suggests that interleukin-6 (IL-6) may be important in this regard. The objective of this study was to more fully define the contribution of IL-6 to the altered platelet function that occurs during experimental colitis. The number of immature and mature platelets, activated platelets, and platelet–leukocyte aggregates were measured in wild-type and IL-6−/− mice with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)–induced colonic inflammation. DSS treatment of WT mice was associated with significant increases in the number of both immature and mature platelets, activated platelets, and platelet–leukocyte aggregates. These platelet responses to DSS were not observed in IL-6−/− mice. Chronic IL-6 infusion (through an Alzet pump) in WT mice reproduced all of the platelet abnormalities observed in DSS-colitic mice. IL-6–infused mice also exhibited an acceleration of thrombus formation in arterioles, similar to DSS. These findings implicate IL-6 in the platelet activation and enhanced platelet–leukocyte aggregate formation associated with experimental colitis, and support a role for this cytokine as a mediator of the enhanced thrombogenesis in IBD.
Cyclosporin as an Adjunct to Glaucoma Filtration Surgery

Purpose:Current adjunctive therapies to glaucoma surgery have unreliable effects, are toxic, and have numerous late complications associated with their use. This study examined whether topical cyclosporin (CsA) prolongs bleb survival after glaucoma filtration surgery. Methods:Anesthetized white New Zealand rabbits underwent glaucoma filtration surgery with a drainage tube. Cyclosporin (2%), applied intraoperatively or as topical treatment following glaucoma filtration surgery, was compared with intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) and an untreated control group. Results:The bleb remained elevated for 15.1 ± 3.2 days in the untreated control group, 12.2 ± 2.1 days after intraoperative cyclosporin, and 27.5 ± 1.7 days after intraoperative mitomycin C (P< 0.001). When topical treatment with cyclosporin followed intraoperative mitomycin C, bleb survival significantly decreased to 19.2 ± 4.6 days (P= 0.003). Intraocular pressure (IOP) remained significantly reduced in the mitomycin C-treated group longer than in either the control or cyclosporine-treated groups. Conclusions:In comparison with mitomycin C, neither intraoperative nor postoperative treatment with cyclosporin was associated with a decrease in intraocular pressure or prolonged bleb survival. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, topical treatment with cyclosporin actually mitigated the beneficial effects of mitomycin C on bleb survival. Clinical implications of these findings for patients with functioning blebs deserve further study.
An extracellular matrix protein in plants: characterization of a genomic clone for carrot extensin

Extensins are hydroxyproline‐rich glycoproteins found in many plant cell walls as a major protein component. The peptide Ser‐Hyp‐Hyp‐Hyp‐Hyp is abundant in the extensins. Using extensin cDNA clones as probes, we isolated six different clones from carrot genomic libraries. One of the genomic clones, pDC5A1, was characterized and found to contain an open reading frame encoding extensin and a single intron in the 3′‐non‐coding region. The derived amino acid sequence contains a signal peptide sequence and 25 Ser‐Pro‐Pro‐Pro‐Pro repetitive sequences. Two extensin transcripts were found corresponding to pDC5A1 with different 5′ start sites. These transcripts increase in abundance after wounding. This is consistent with the reported extensin accumulation in the cell wall upon wounding.
Significance of elevated igg anticardiolipin antibody levels in patients with budd-chiari syndrome

Objectives:Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is characterized by hepatic venous outflow obstruction. Though hypercoagulable states are implicated in the causation of BCS, the etiology remains unknown in most cases. Presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) is a known cause of hypercoagulable state. We therefore studied the frequency of IgG aCL in BCS.Methods:Sera were obtained from 19 patients with BCS, 50 healthy controls, 18 age- and gender-matched patients with cirrhosis, and 15 patients with acute viral hepatitis. IgG aCL levels were measured using a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay. Values exceeding mean + 2 SD of healthy controls were taken as abnormal.Results:Mean ± SD IgG aCL levels (GPL units) in the four groups were: healthy controls, 6.3 ± 4.4; BCS, 13.8 ± 13.3 (p < 0.05, compared with healthy controls); cirrhosis, 15.1 ± 14.9 (p < 0.05, compared with healthy controls and p= ns, compared with BCS patients); and acute viral hepatitis, 5.0 ± 2.5 (p= ns, compared with healthy controls). The levels in BCS and cirrhosis patients were similar (p= ns). The number of patients with elevated aCL was: healthy controls, 3/50; BCS, 6/19; cirrhosis, 7/18; and acute viral hepatitis, 0/15. The number of patients with elevated IgG aCL was significantly higher among patients with BCS and cirrhosis, compared with controls (p= 0.03 and p= 0.002, respectively). Conclusions:Patients with BCS had higher IgG aCL levels than healthy controls. However, as aCL levels were also elevated in patients with cirrhosis, the pathogenetic role of IgG aCL in the causation of BCS is doubtful.
Suboptimal Decision Making in Borderline Personality Disorder: Effect of Potential Losses

Abstract This research explored the underlying processes mediating risky decisions for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). We tested whether BPD patients were more apt to take risks compared to a matched comparison group. We used two controlled tasks designed to assess risky decision-making, both to achieve gains and to avoid losses. Overall, BPD patients showed increased risk-taking compared to the comparison group (p = .011, η2 = .224), and were especially likely to be risk-seeking when the decision was framed as a potential loss (p < .0001, d = 1.77). When the outcome involved pure losses, BPD patients were insensitive to the relative expected value between choice options resulting in suboptimal decision making (p = .004, d = 1.24), but did not differ from the comparison group when taking risks to achieve gains (p = .603, d = 0.21). We discuss these results in the context of behavioral and neuropsychiatric research suggesting abnormalities BPD patients’ ability to effectively regulate affect.
LIFETIME SELECTION ON ADULT BODY SIZE AND COMPONENTS OF BODY SIZE IN A WATERSTRIDER: OPPOSING SELECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF SEXUAL SIZE DIMORPHISM

Abstract Sexual size dimorphism (SSD), the difference in body size between males and females, is common in almost all taxa of animals and is generally assumed to be adaptive. Although sexual selection and fecundity selection alone have often been invoked to explain the evolution of SSD, more recent views indicate that the sexes must experience different lifetime selection pressures for SSD to evolve and be maintained. We estimated selection acting on male and female adult body size (total length) and components of body size in the waterstrider Aquarius remigis during three phases of life history. Opposing selection pressures for overall body size occurred in separate episodes of fitness for females in both years and for males in one year. Specific components of body size were often the targets of the selection on overall body size. When net adult fitness was estimated by combining each individual's fitnesses from all episodes, we found stabilizing selection in both sexes. In addition, the net optimum overall body size of males was smaller than that of females. However, even when components of body size had experienced opposing selection pressures in individual episodes, no components appeared to be under lifetime stabilizing selection. This is the first evidence that contemporary selection in a natural population acts to maintain female size larger than male size, the most common pattern of SSD in nature. Corresponding Editor: W. T. Starmer
Growing Up With Cerebral Palsy: Contemporary Challenges of Healthcare Transition

Cerebral palsy is traditionally known as a major cause of chronic disability in childhood. With advances in neonatal care and improved survival, the majority of adolescents with cerebral palsy require ongoing services into adulthood. This paper highlights some of the challenges in their transition from pediatric to adult healthcare and proposes key elements to ensure a smooth transition process.
DISCOVERY, PROGENITOR AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF A STRIPPED ENVELOPE SUPERNOVA iPTF13bvn

The intermediate Palomar Transient Factory reports our discovery of a young supernova, iPTF13bvn, in the nearby galaxy, NGC 5806 (22.5 Mpc). Our spectral sequence in the optical and infrared suggests a Type Ib classification. We identify a blue progenitor candidate in deep pre-explosion imaging within a 2σ error circle of 80 mas (8.7 pc). The candidate has an MB luminosity of −5.52 ± 0.39 mag and a B − I color of 0.25 ± 0.25 mag. If confirmed by future observations, this would be the first direct detection for a progenitor of a Type Ib. Fitting a power law to the early light curve, we find an extrapolated explosion date around 0.6 days before our first detection. We see no evidence of shock cooling. The pre-explosion detection limits constrain the radius of the progenitor to be smaller than a few solar radii. iPTF13bvn is also detected in centimeter and millimeter wavelengths. Fitting a synchrotron self-absorption model to our radio data, we find a mass-loading parameter of 1.3×1012 g cm−1. Assuming a wind velocity of 103 km s−1, we derive a progenitor mass-loss rate of 3 × 10−5 M☉ yr−1. Our observations, taken as a whole, are consistent with a Wolf–Rayet progenitor of the supernova iPTF13bvn.
Rapid contamination with varicella‐zoster virus DNA to the throat of a daycare attendee and environmental surfaces from a child with varicella

described in family,1,2 hospital3–5 and institutional6,7 settings. Epidemiological and virological observations suggest that the infection occurs after exposure to aerosolized varicellazoster virus (VZV) or direct contact with patients with varicella or herpes zoster. In this report, we show that contamination with VZV DNA was found in the throat of a daycare attendee and on environmental surfaces approximately 4 h after recognizing the onset of varicella in a child at a daycare center. Additionally, as reported previously,2,3 it was found that a secondary outbreak of varicella did not occur at the daycare center after immediate inoculation of the remaining children with a live varicella vaccine.
Phenylthiocarbamide perception in patients with schizophrenia and first-degree family members.

OBJECTIVE The inability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) has been associated with medical and neurological illnesses not typically related to taste. The authors examined PTC sensitivity in schizophrenia patients and their non-ill relatives to determine whether this represented a vulnerability marker. METHOD PTC sensitivity was assessed in 42 schizophrenia patients, 23 healthy comparison subjects, and 12 first-degree relatives of the patients. RESULTS More nontasters were found among patients and family members than healthy comparison subjects. Among patients, nontasters had more positive symptoms. Differences were not explained by sex, age, medication, smoking, or cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of PTC nontasters was greater among schizophrenia patients and non-ill first-degree family members. Phenotypic variation in PTC sensitivity is genetic in origin. This suggests a higher risk for illness among subjects with recessive alleles.
The early management of muscle strains in the elite athlete: best practice in a world with a limited evidence basis

From 12 to 14 December 2007 UK Sport held a think tank on “muscle strains” in London. This brought together many of UK Sport’s top sports medicine clinicians along with three invited international experts. Many issues of muscle strains were discussed over the three days, but the aspect that attracted the most attention was the early management of strains in the elite athlete. A consensus summary of conclusions on this specific topic from the think tank is presented here. The international experts were chosen by request of the UK clinicians for different reasons. Drs Best (basic science) and Orchard (epidemiology) are recognised internationally by the peer-review system as experts in their fields. Dr Mueller-Wohlfahrt is also recognised internationally as Europe’s premier clinician in the early management of muscle strains. This recognition was initially bestowed on him by his patients, most notably from the thousands of professional football players he has managed over the past 30 years from every country in Europe. Increasingly this recognition has been accorded by the “mainstream” clinicians in the United Kingdom, hence his invitation to the think tank. With the reserve typical of both the British and the scientific community, a common assessment of Dr Mueller-Wohlfahrt’s methods by delegates was “initially I had to be sceptical, but I have seen and heard of so many good results that I am now curious to know why these good outcomes are occurring”. One session of the think tank involved an assessment of our “expert recommendations” for the early management of muscle strains in the elite athlete and a judgement of the evidence base for making the recommendations. The evidence base part was generally easy: almost all of our so-called knowledge has a basis …
Romanian adverbs and the pragmatic field

Abstract Romanian constructions in which a sentential adverb precedes a ‘that’ clause raise questions about the status of the adverb, the status of the selected clause, and the structure of the left periphery that allows for such a word order. The proposal is that certain pragmatic features ensuring the evidential reading on the adverb (i.e., features of speech acts in Speas & Tenny 2003) become visible to the syntactic computation. Accordingly, the structure of the left periphery extends further than ForceP (Rizzi 1997), as it also maps out the discourse set-up at the pragmatics-syntax interface.
The lexical representation of nasality in Brazilian Portuguese

Nasality is one ofthe most characteristic aspects ofthe Portuguese vowel System. The literature on the subject of nasality distinguishes between nasal vowels, nasalized vowels, and nasal diphthongs. In agreement with earlier proposals it is argued that nasal vowels derive synchronically from underlying sequences of a vowel followed by a nasal mora. The discussion of nasalized vowels concentrates on the behavior of the palatal nasal /n/. Allophonic nasalization caused by /n/ seems to function in a way comparable with (surface) contrastive nasalization triggered by the nasal mora. This effect is explained äs a consequence ofthefact that palatal sonorants are represented äs phonological geminates. The phonology of nasal diphthongs will also be discussed, and it will be shown that they are not derivedfrom an oral diphthong followed by a nasal mora, äs is generally assumed, but are represented äs nasal diphthongs at the level of lexical representation.
Gender “tailored” conceptions: should the option of embryo gender selection be available to infertile couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology?

The purpose of this article is to ascertain and appraise the ethical issues inherent to the utilisation of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for gender selection in infertile patients anticipating undergoing a medically indicated assisted reproductive technique procedure. Performance of preimplantation genetic diagnosis per request specifically for gender selection by an infertile couple undergoing medically indicated assisted reproductive technique may not breach the principles of ethics, and is unlikely to alter the population balance of sexes.
OX40 Controls Islet Allograft Tolerance in CD154 Deficient Mice by Regulating FOXP3+ Tregs

The role of OX40 in the islet allograft tolerance, especially in the absence of CD154 costimulation, remains poorly defined. In the present study, we used CD154 deficient mice to critically examine the role of OX40 in the activation of T effector cells and Foxp3+ Tregs and the effect of blocking OX40 on the induction of islet allograft tolerance. We found that blocking OX40 costimulation in CD154 deficient mice induced donor specific tolerance but stimulating OX40 resulted in prompt islet allograft rejection. We also found that OX40 differentially regulates T effector cells and Foxp3+ Tregs, OX40 signaling mediates proliferation of CD154 deficient T effector cells but blocks the induction and suppressor functions of Foxp3+ Tregs. Our data suggest that the role of OX40 in the induction of islet allograft tolerance involves modifying not only the T effector cells but also the Foxp3+ Tregs in CD154 deficient mice.
Does Variation in Soil Water Content Induce Variation in the Size of Hatchling Snapping Turtles (Chelydra Serpentina)?

Abstract Most studies that have investigated the influence of hydric conditions during incubation on the size and quality of hatchling reptiles have used either vermiculite or sand as the incubation medium, and the applicability of data derived from eggs using one media type or the other to natural populations has had considerable debate. However, few studies have used soil from actual nesting areas as the incubation medium. In this study, I tested the influence of variation in substrate water content during incubation on the size of hatchling Snapping Turtles from southeastern Michigan using soil collected from actual Snapping Turtle nests. Eggs from six clutches were fully buried in sterilized soil that had been dried and then reconstituted to six different levels of hydration (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13% gravimetric water content). Eggs in the driest soil (3%) had a slight net loss of mass over the course of incubation, whereas eggs in the wetter soils gained mass to varying degrees correlating positively with soil water content. Hatchling mass was significantly lower in the two driest soils than in the wetter soils. Carapace length was significantly shorter for hatchlings from the driest soil (3%) than for those from soils with 7% and 9% water contents, and significantly shorter for hatchlings from the wettest soil (13%) than for those from the 7, 9, and 11% water contents. Soil water contents measured adjacent to a single nest site over three consecutive field seasons ranged from 1.1 to 8.2%, with median water contents ≤ 5% in all three seasons. These findings support the hypothesis that normal variation in soil hydration can influence the size of hatchlings emerging from natural nests. The degree to which hatchling size varies with normal variation in soil water content, however, may have only minor impact on hatchling survivorship in light of other factors that could potentially influence hatchling survival in this species.
Rousseau's Counter-Enlightenment: A Republican Critique of the Philosophes

Arguing that the question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's relationship to the Enlightenment has been eclipsed and seriously distorted by his association with the French Revolution, Graeme Garrard presents the first book-length case that shows Rousseau as the pivotal figure in the emergence of Counter-Enlightenment thought. Viewed in the context in which he actually lived and wrote -- from the middle of the eighteenth century to his death in 1778 -- it is apparent that Rousseau categorically rejected the Enlightenment "republic of letters" in favor of his own "republic of virtue. " The philosophes, placing faith in reason and natural human sociability and subjecting religion to systematic criticism and doubt, naively minimized the deep tensions and complexities of collective life and the power disintegrative forces posed to social order. Rousseau believed that the ever precarious social order could only be achieved artificially, by manufacturing "sentiments of sociability", reshaping individuals to identify with common interests instead of their own selfish interests.
The purine nucleotide cycle. IV. Interactions with oscillations of the glycolytic pathway in muscle extracts.

Abstract The oscillations observed previously in the operation of the purine nucleotide cycle correspond to oscillations in the glycolytic pathway, as shown by metabolite assays. The oscillatory process involves the activation of phosphofructokinase by its product fructose diphosphate, as well as control by the adenine mononucleotides. The changes in the concentrations of ATP, ADP, and AMP associated with the glycolytic oscillations, and the corresponding changes in the concentrations of GTP and GDP, account for the behavior of the purine nucleotide cycle. The responsiveness of the purine nucleotide cycle to changes in the [ATP]:[ADP] ratio is consistent with its proposed role in maintaining a high [ATP]:[ADP] ratio in the face of a high rate of ATP usage during muscular contraction.
Reality Check

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a school-based gang prevention initiative developed in 1991 through the collaborative efforts of the Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and the Phoenix Police Department. Uniformed law enforcement officers, certified as G.R. E.A. T. instructors, teach the 9-week curriculum to middle school students. In 1994, the National Institute of Justice funded a national evaluation of the G.R. E.A. T. program. The process evaluation component of this larger study is reported. First, results of on-site observations of the G.R. E.A. T. Officer Training program, including an overview of the training activities, and the authors' assessment of the training process are reported. Second, observations of the implementation of the program by officers at six sites are reported. Of primary concern was whether the program delivered to students was similar to the program taught to the officers during the G.R. E.A. T. OfficerTraining.
Toward wide-scale all-optical transparent networking: the ACTS optical pan-European network (OPEN) project

The European ACTS project optical pan-European network (OPEN) aims at assessing the feasibility of an optical pan-European overlay network, interconnecting major European cities by means of a mesh of high-capacity optical fiber links, cross-connected through transparent photonic nodes. Both the transmission links and the routing network elements rely on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) all-optical technologies, such as wavelength translation. This paper presents results obtained in the following domains covered within the project: network topology considerations (optimization and dimensioning); network physical layer simulation; fabrications of packaged functional modules based on advanced optoelectronic devices; laboratory demonstrations of N/spl times/10 Gb/s transmission and routing; feasibility of an optical time division multiplexing/WDM (OTDM/WDM) interface; and the field implementation of a 4/spl times/4 multiwavelength crossconnect prototype, featuring all-optical space and wavelength routing. This implementation was realized in two cross-border field trials, one conducted between Norway and Denmark and the other between France and Belgium. The final results of the Norway to Denmark field trials are presented, featuring the successful cascade of three wavelength-translating optical crossconnects (OXCs), along with the transmission over 1000 km of a mix of standard/submarine cable links for four channels at 2.5 Gb/s.