Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the effect of Spirulina against Gamma irradiation induced oxidative stress and tissue injury in rats

Many antioxidants have been investigated as hepato-protectors against ionizing radiation induced injury since they reduce the oxidative effect of the reactive oxygen species on normal cells . Spirulina is a potent scavenger of a variety of free radicals. The aim of this study was to investigate the radio-protective effect of Spirulina algae a gainst oxidative stress and tissue injury caused by gamma radiation. Rats were irradiated at two doses of 2 and 4Gy from cesium-137 source. Ten days prior to irradiation, animals received Spirulina daily (300mg/kg body weight i.p.). In the irradiated animal group, the oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly increased in the liver, while a marked decrease in hepatic contents of DNA, and glutathione (GSH). The level of cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), as well as activitiy of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), were significantly increased in sera of the irradiated rats. This was coupled with a decreased serum level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total serum protein by irradiation. The administration of Spirulina alone daily for 10 days caused a significant decrease in MDA and produced significant elevation of liver GSH. Moreover, a significant decrease occurred in cholesterol, and TG level with no change in serum LDL or HDL levels in serum. Treatment of rats with Spirulina for 10 days before acute irradiation significantly abolished radiation induced elevation in liver MDA level and significantly maintained hepatic GSH content and CAT activity close to the control values. Pre-irradiation treatment of rats with Spirulina showed a significantly higher hepatic DNA content compared to that of irradiated rats. The level of cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL as well as the activity of AST, ALT, and GGT in serum was significantly ameliorated when Spirulina was injected before irradiation. In conclusion, the increase in oxidative stress markers and the concomitant change in antioxidant levels indicate the role of oxidative stress in radiation-induced tissue damage. It was concluded that administration of Spirulina algae possess a radio protective capacity against ionizing-radiation induced oxidative stress and organ injury.
The predictive value of subjective symptoms and clinical signs for the presence of treatment‐requiring exudative age‐related macular degeneration

Purpose: The introduction of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors for the treatment of exudative age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) has increased the referral rates of AMD patients with visual symptoms to treating centres considerably. However, a large proportion of the referred patients do not qualify for treatment implying that considerable resources could be saved if these patients could be identified on the basis of the clinical data available in the referring nonspecialized setting.
sodVIC is an alpha-COP-related gene which is essential for establishing and maintaining polarized growth in Aspergillus nidulans.

Strains of Aspergillus nidulans carrying the conditional-lethal mutation sodVIC1 (stabilization of disomy) are defective in nuclear division and hyphal extension. The mutation affects both the establishment and maintenance of polar growth, since mutant spores do not germinate at restrictive temperature and preexisting hyphae stop growing upon upshift. The defect is reversible within the first 3-4 h at restrictive temperature but longer periods of incubation are lethal due to cell lysis and morphological abnormalities. There is no evidence for a specific cell cycle lesion, suggesting the existence of a feedback mechanism whereby hyphal extension is coordinated with nuclear partitioning. The sodVIC gene has been cloned from a chromosome VI-specific cosmid library and its product exhibits strong homology to the alpha-COP subunit of the coatomer complex involved in the secretory pathway in yeast and higher organisms. Molecular disruption of the gene is lethal, indicating that SodVIC is essential for growth in A. nidulans.
Distinctive Characteristics of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in the Young: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Analysis

Background: The median age of patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at presentation is 71 years. We conducted an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data to assess whether the presentation and outcomes of NSCLC in younger patients (age ≤40 years) are different from that in older patients (age >40 years). Methods: We obtained the demographic, clinical, and outcomes data for all patients diagnosed with NSCLC from 1988 to 2003 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry. Patients were grouped by age at diagnosis into younger than or equal to 40 years (younger cohort) or older than 40 years (older cohort). Results: During the period analyzed, we identified 2775 patients with NSCLC in the younger cohort and 236,313 patients in the older cohort. Compared with the older group, the younger group had greater proportion of African Americans (19.2% versus 10.9%; p < 0.0001), Asian or Pacific Islander (10.3% versus 5.9%; p < 0.0001), women (48.7% versus 41.9%; p < 0.0001), and patients with stage IV disease (57.4% versus 43.0%; p < 0.0001). Adenocarcinoma was more common in younger patients than in the older patients (57.5% versus 45.2%; p < 0.0001). Squamous cell carcinoma was less prevalent in the younger cohort than in older cohort (12.5% versus 26.4%; p < 0.0001). Five-year overall survival and cancer specific survival were significantly better for younger patients than for older patients across all stages. Conclusions: There is a greater representation of African Americans, Asians or Pacific Islanders, women, and adenocarcinoma histology in the younger cohort of patients with NSCLC compared with the older cohort. Despite presenting with stage IV disease more often, the overall and cancer-specific survivals are better in younger cohort than in the older cohort.
The evolution of anural larvae in molgulid ascidians.

Ascidians are urochordates, marine invertebrates with non-feeding motile chordate tadpole larvae, except in the family Molgulidae. Urodele, or tailed, Molgulids have typical ascidian chordate tadpole larvae possessing tails with muscle cells, a notochord, and a dorsal hollow nerve cord. In contrast, anural (or tail-less) Molgulids lack a tail and defining chordate features. Molecular phylogenies generated with 18S and 28S ribosomal sequences indicate that Molgulid species fall into at least four distinct clades, three of which have multiple anural members. This refined and expanded phylogeny allows careful examination of the factors that may have influenced the evolution of tail-less ascidians.
Occupational stigma as a primary barrier to health care for street-based sex workers in Canada

Individuals working in the sex industry continue to experience many negative health outcomes. As such, disentangling the factors shaping poor health access remains a critical public health priority. Within a quasi-criminalised prostitution environment, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of occupational stigma associated with sex work and its relationship to barriers to accessing health services. Analyses draw on baseline questionnaire data from a community-based cohort of women in street-based sex work in Vancouver, Canada (2006–2008). Of a total of 252 women, 141 (55.9%) reported occupational sex work stigma (defined as hiding occupational sex work status from family, friends and/or home community), while 125 (49.6%) reported barriers to accessing health services in the previous six months. In multivariable analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic, interpersonal and work environment risks, occupational sex work stigma remained independently associated with an elevated likelihood of experiencing barriers to health access. Study findings indicate the critical need for policy and societal shifts in views of sex work as a legitimate occupation, combined with improved access to innovative, accessible and non-judgmental health care delivery models for street-based sex workers that include the direct involvement of sex workers in development and implementation.
A technique to improve network lifetime in mobile ad hoc networks

Energy is an important issue in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), and different energy‐aware routing mechanisms have been proposed to minimize the energy consumption in MANETs. Most of the energy‐aware routing schemes reported in the literature have considered only the residual battery capacity as the cost metric in computing a path. In this paper, we have proposed, an energy‐aware routing technique which considers the following parameters: (i) a cost metric, which is a function of residual battery power and energy consumption rate of participating nodes in path computation; (ii) a variable transmission power technique for transmitting data packets; and (iii) To minimize the over‐utilization of participating nodes, a limit is set on the number of paths that can be established to a destination through a participating node. The proposed scheme is simulated using Qualnet 4.5 simulator, and compared with Ad hoc On‐Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Lifetime Enhancement Routing (LER). We observed that the proposed scheme performs better in terms of network lifetime and energy consumption. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Future sea ice conditions in Western Hudson Bay and consequences for polar bears in the 21st century

The primary habitat of polar bears is sea ice, but in Western Hudson Bay (WH), the seasonal ice cycle forces polar bears ashore each summer. Survival of bears on land in WH is correlated with breakup and the ice‐free season length, and studies suggest that exceeding thresholds in these variables will lead to large declines in the WH population. To estimate when anthropogenic warming may have progressed sufficiently to threaten the persistence of polar bears in WH, we predict changes in the ice cycle and the sea ice concentration (SIC) in spring (the primary feeding period of polar bears) with a high‐resolution sea ice‐ocean model and warming forced with 21st century IPCC greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios: B1 (low), A1B (medium), and A2 (high). We define critical years for polar bears based on proposed thresholds in breakup and ice‐free season and we assess when ice‐cycle conditions cross these thresholds. In the three scenarios, critical years occur more commonly after 2050. From 2001 to 2050, 2 critical years occur under B1 and A2, and 4 under A1B; from 2051 to 2100, 8 critical years occur under B1, 35 under A1B and 41 under A2. Spring SIC in WH is high (>90%) in all three scenarios between 2001 and 2050, but declines rapidly after 2050 in A1B and A2. From 2090 to 2100, the mean spring SIC is 84 (±7)% in B1, 56 (±26)% in A1B and 20 (±13)% in A2. Our predictions suggest that the habitat of polar bears in WH will deteriorate in the 21st century. Ice predictions in A1B and A2 suggest that the polar bear population may struggle to persist after ca. 2050. Predictions under B1 suggest that reducing GHG emissions could allow polar bears to persist in WH throughout the 21st century.
Right hemidiaphragmatic mobility: assessment with US measurement of craniocaudal displacement of left branches of portal vein.

PURPOSE To evaluate the correlation and agreement between ultrasonographic (US) measurement of craniocaudal displacement of the left intrahepatic branches of the portal vein and radiographic measurement of right hemidiaphragmatic mobility. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-one patients with indications for abdominal angiography or percutaneous cholangiography prospectively underwent radiographic evaluation of right hemidiaphragmatic mobility and B-mode US measurement of craniocaudal displacement of the left intrahepatic branches of the portal vein. US was performed by using a 3.5-MHz convex transducer in a right subcostal position with a longitudinal orientation. Statistical analyses were performed by using linear regression, paired Student t test, and Bland-Altman analyses. RESULTS The correlation between the US and radiographic measurements was found to be linear: hemidiaphragmatic mobility = (-1.562 + 1.032) x portal vein branch displacement (r = 0.651, P <.001). The mean craniocaudal displacement of the intrahepatic branches of the portal vein measured at US was 35.2 mm +/- 10.7 (SD). The mean right hemidiaphragmatic mobility measured at radiography was 34.8 mm +/- 17.0. The mean difference between the two measurements was not statistically significant (0.4 mm +/- 12.9, P =.807). CONCLUSION US measurement of craniocaudal displacement of the left intrahepatic branches of the portal vein can be used for indirect assessment of right hemidiaphragmatic mobility.
Heat exposure induces oxidative stress and dna damage in the male germ line†

Abstract The reproductive consequences of global warming are not currently understood. In order to address this issue, we have examined the reproductive consequences of exposingmalemice to a mild heat stress. For this purpose, adultmalemice were exposed to an elevated ambient temperature of 35°C under two exposure models. The first involved acute exposure for 24 h, followed by recovery periods between 1 day and 6 weeks. The alternative heating regimen involved a daily exposure of 8 h for periods of 1 or 2 weeks. In our acute model, we identified elevated sperm mitochondrial ROS generation (P < 0.05), increased sperm membrane fluidity (P < 0.05), DNA damage in the form of single-strand breaks (P<0.001), and oxidative DNAdamage (P<0.05), characteristic of an oxidative stress cascade. This DNA damage was detected in pachytene spermatocytes (P < 0.001) and round spermatids (P < 0.001) isolated from testes after 1 day heat recovery. Despite these lesions, the spermatozoa of heat-treated mice exhibited no differences in their ability to achieve hallmarks of capacitation or to fertilize the oocyte and support development of embryos to the blastocyst stage (all P>0.05). Collectively, our acute heat stress model supports the existence of heat susceptible stages of germ cell development, with the round spermatids being most perturbed and spermatogonial stem cells exhibiting resistance to this insult. Such findings were complemented by our chronic heat stress model, which further supported the vulnerability of the round spermatid population. Summary Sentence Environmental heating induces a state of oxidative stress in the male germ line, affecting multiple germ cell types; primarily the round spermatid and pachytene spermatocyte populations.
The critical dimension of ethnicity in liver cirrhosis mortality statistics.

BACKGROUND In 1997, liver cirrhosis was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Beginning in the 1950s, liver cirrhosis mortality rates have been consistently higher for black than for white men and women. There has been a gradual adoption of the recommendation that all death certificates include information on the Hispanic origin of decedents, with universal adoption in the 1997 data year. It is the purpose of this study to examine the extent to which relative risks for cirrhosis mortality might shift for different demographic groups when Hispanic origin is considered along with the race and sex of the decedent. METHODS Age-adjusted death rates were calculated for liver cirrhosis by using public-use data files produced by the National Center for Health Statistics. Trends in cirrhosis mortality rates from 1991 through 1997 are shown for white Hispanic, white non-Hispanic, black Hispanic, and black non-Hispanic men and women. RESULTS In 1997, white Hispanic men show the highest cirrhosis mortality rates over the period examined, followed by black non-Hispanic and white non-Hispanic men, white Hispanic women, and black non-Hispanic and white non-Hispanic women. Among Hispanic decedents, the largest group was of Mexican ancestry, with large numbers being born outside the United States and having low education levels. CONCLUSIONS The findings of higher risk for cirrhosis mortality among white men and women of Hispanic origin serve to focus new attention on these demographic groups. Collateral analyses of other causes of death do not support alternate explanations of these findings as artifacts of demographic misclassification. Future studies of amounts and patterns of alcohol consumption should include Hispanic origin among demographic factors examined.
Aerosolized L-693,989 for Pneumocystis carinii prophylaxis in rats

Water-soluble pneumocandin L-693,989, a potent antipneumocystis agent in the rat model for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), inhibits P. carinii cyst development and effectively prevents the development of PCP when used as a prophylactic agent (D. M. Schmatz, M. A. Powles, D. C. McFadden, L. Pittarelli, J. Balkovec, M. Hammond, R. Zambias, P. Liberator, and J. Anderson, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 36:1964-1970, 1992). However, because of limited oral bioavailability, this compound would likely be restricted to parenteral use in humans. As an alternative, the aerosol delivery of L-693,989 was explored to determine the dosing regimen required to prevent the onset of PCP. Rats with latent P. carinii infections were immunosuppressed continuously with dexamethasone to promote the onset of PCP. During the 6-week immunosuppression period, L-693,989 was delivered to rats as a nebulized solution (volume median diameter of 3.8 microns) via a nose exposure inhalation chamber. The efficiency of aerosol delivery to the lungs and the rate of clearance were determined by using radiolabelled compound. It was found that a daily dose of 0.7 micrograms of L-693,989 per lung or a weekly dose of 77.9 micrograms/lung effectively prevented the development of P. carinii cysts and trophozoites as well as the associated pneumonia commonly seen in rats with acute P. carinii infections. These results demonstrate that L-693,989 is potentially useful as an aerosol prophylactic agent for PCP.
Differential post‐transcriptional regulation of p21WAF1/Cip1 levels in the developing nervous system following γ‐irradiation

Radiation‐induced death in the developing brain is p53‐dependent. However, genetic studies indicate that the signalling pathways that couple irradiation to p53 expression can vary between different developing neural populations [ Herzog et al. (1998)Science, 280, 1089–1091]. Here we establish that signalling downstream of p53 also exhibits brain region‐specific differences that are associated with the relative vulnerability of some cell populations to radiation‐induced killing in the mouse. Following γ‐irradiation, p53 and p21WAF1/cip1, but not Bax, protein levels increased in the developing cerebellum. In contrast, neither p21WAF1/cip1 nor Bax protein levels were elevated in the retina following irradiation, despite increased p53 expression. In the retina, p53 expression was associated with cells destined to die, whereas in the cerebellum, p53 was expressed in both radiation‐sensitive and radiation‐resistant neuroblasts of the external granule cell layer. Although p21WAF1/cip1 mRNA was expressed in all p53‐positive neuroblasts after irradiation, p21WAF1/cip1 protein was only detected in radiation‐resistant neuroblasts of the cerebellum. Thus, p21WAF1/cip1 was subject to post‐transcriptional regulation with p21WAF1/cip1 protein only accumulating in cells destined to survive irradiation. Nevertheless, p21WAF1/cip1 function was not essential for radiation resistance, as postmitotic neuroblasts in the external granule cell layer were spared in p21WAF1/cip1 knockout mice.
Tuberculous meningitis-induced unilateral sensorineural hearing loss: a temporal bone study

The relationship between meningitis and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has long been studied. Many histopathological studies of animal models and human temporal bones with respect to bacterial meningitis have been carried out. However, the relationship between SNHL and tuberculous meningitis was seldom addressed and the pathophysiology remains unclear. We carried out temporal bone studies on material from a 22-year-old patient who developed a right unilateral SNHL before dying from tuberculous meningitis. The histopathological findings for the right temporal bone were as follows: (1) inflammation mainly appeared in the internal auditory canal, modiolus and Rosenthal's canal and extended to the osseous spiral ligament, whereas the perilymphatic spaces were less involved; (2) the organ of Corti, cochlear nerve fibres and spiral ganglion cells were severely degenerated, particularly in the basal and middle turns; (3) the contralateral side (for which the patient had no complaints) showed an inner space free from inflammation, but some granulomatous formations were observed in the middle ear cavity. We conclude that the modiolus and cochlear aqueduct are the main routes for the spread of infection from the meninges to the inner ear. The progression of hearing loss resembles that of bacterial meningitis and shares attributes of retrocochlear SNHL.
Adolescents with Childhood-Onset GHD: How Do We Get Them to Peak Bone Mass?

The development of osteoporosis, with its attendant risk of fragility fracture, is in part related to the peak bone mass (PBM) achieved in early adulthood. Adolescence is a critical time for the acquisition of bone mass, with around 40% of skeletal mass being accrued during pubertal maturation. Growth hormone (GH) plays an integral role in the achievement of PBM after completion of linear growth, and several recent studies have suggested that GH replacement should continue in individuals with childhood-onset GHD until PBM has been attained – irrespective of the height achieved. In those with severe GHD after growth and pubertal development are complete, a seamless transition of GH therapy into adult life may be preferable to allowing a gap in GH treatment. The ‘window of opportunity’ concept for achieving PBM will, nevertheless, continue to be challenged by GHD teenagers who may resent the seamless continuation of GH replacement beyond adolescence. Preparation for this possibility should therefore begin during childhood, with all GHD teenagers being encouraged to remain on GH therapy until at least their mid-20s.