Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated or Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor-Stimulated Monocytes Rapidly Express Biologically Active IL-15 on Their Cell Surface Independent of New Protein Synthesis1 2

Although IL-15 shares many of the biological activities of IL-2, IL-2 expression is primarily under transcriptional regulation, while the mechanisms involved in the regulation of IL-15 are complex and not completely understood. In the current study, we found that CD14+ monocytes constitutively exhibit both IL-15 mRNA and protein. IL-15 protein was found stored intracellularly and stimulation of CD14+ monocytes with either LPS or GM-CSF resulted in mobilization of IL-15 stores to the plasma membrane. This rapidly induced surface expression was the result of a translocation of preformed stores, confirming that posttranslational regulatory stages limit IL-15, because it was not accompanied by an increase in IL-15 mRNA and occurred independent of de novo protein synthesis. After fixation, activated monocytes, but not resting monocytes, were found to support T cell proliferation, and this effect was abrogated by the addition of an IL-15-neutralizing Ab. The presence of preformed IL-15 stores and the ability of stimulated monocytes to mobilize these stores to their surface in an active form is a novel mechanism of regulation for IL-15.
Inhibition of Inflammatory Mediators

Objective. To determine if statins induce anti-inflammatory effects in upper airway inflammation. Mediators of innate and adaptive immunity regulate airway inflammation. Release of these mediators involves enzymatic conversion of polyunsaturated fatty acids into biologically active mediators, which can be blocked by statins. Although upper airway inflammation and chronic sinusitis occur in millions of patients with asthma worldwide, the anti-inflammatory effects of statins in upper airway inflammation have not been previously studied. Study Design. Laboratory research. Setting. Tertiary referral center. Subjects and Methods. Analysis of sinus tissues collected from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis revealed suppression of highly expressed inflammatory mediators in patients who were found to be on statins, suggesting that statins may induce anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, the authors performed an in vitro study to determine if these anti-inflammatory effects were induced by statins. Cultured primary human airway epithelial cells were exposed to ambient air pollution particulates (PM) to trigger the inflammation, with and without statins, and the expression of inflammatory mediators was analyzed. Results. The authors found that expression of CCL5, CCL11, and IL13RA was suppressed in patients on statins. In vitro exposure to PM enhanced the expression of these mediators, while pretreatment with statins completely blocked these effects. Furthermore, the effects of statins were blocked by inhibition of the statin pathway using isopentenyl-5-pyrophosphate. Statins did not have any significant effect on the viability of normal cells. Conclusion. Statins induce anti-inflammatory effects in human airway epithelial inflammation. Statins may play a role in the treatment and prevention of chronic rhinosinusitis and pulmonary exacerbation of obstructive airway diseases.
Multidetector-row computed tomographic angiography findings of musculoskeletal tumors: retrospective analysis and correlation with surgical findings

Background: Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable method in staging musculoskeletal tumors, it may not give enough information on the association between the tumor and the main vascular structures adjacent to the tumor. In this respect, computed tomographic angiography (CTA) may be a useful alternative imaging technique. Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of CTA in determining vascular invasion in patients with musculoskeletal tumors and suspected vascular invasion by MRI, and to correlate the CTA findings with the surgical findings. Material and Methods: Twenty patients who had musculoskeletal tumors and lacked a fat plane between the tumor and adjacent vessels by MRI were included in this study. All patients were evaluated with CTA, and the CTA findings were reviewed by two radiologists to determine the presence of vascular invasion. Statistical analysis was carried out by using surgical findings as the gold standard. Results: There were nine women and 11 men (mean age 31 years) with either bone (n=9) or soft-tissue (n=11) tumors. Twelve patients without invasion according to the CTA examination were also surgically negative (true-negative cases). Of the eight patients with invasion shown by CTA, only three had adhesions and were considered surgically negative (false-positive cases). Five had invasions proven by surgery and were considered surgically positive (true-positive cases). Compared to the surgical findings, CTA had 100% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 62.5% positive predictive value, 100% negative predictive value, and 80% accuracy. Conclusion: CTA is a more accurate imaging technique than MRI in evaluating vascular invasion of musculoskeletal tumors, and provides valuable preoperative data.
Red blood cell distribution width in dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate RBC distribution width (RDW) in dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease (CDVD) with compensated or decompensated heart failure. DESIGN Retrospective case-control study. ANIMALS 27 healthy dogs and 135 dogs with CDVD (87 dogs with compensated heart failure and 48 dogs with decompensated heart failure). PROCEDURES The RDW and various CBC and serum biochemical variables were compared among groups. Correlations between RDW and various echocardiographic variables were evaluated. RESULTS Mean ± SD RDW in dogs with CDVD (13.1% ± 1.0%) was not significantly different from that of healthy dogs (12.8% ± 0.8%). The RDW of dogs with CDVD and compensated heart failure (13.0% ± 1.0%) was not significantly different from that of dogs with CDVD and decompensated heart failure (13.2% ± 1.1%). The RDW had a significant, weak, negative correlation with Hct (correlation coefficient, -0.250), hemoglobin concentration (correlation coefficient, -0.219), and mean corpuscular volume (correlation coefficient, -0.211). The RDW had a significant, weak, positive correlation with 1 echocardiographic index of CDVD severity (ie, the left atrium-to-aorta ratio [correlation coefficient, 0.183]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In this study population, RDW did not seem to be associated with the presence of heart failure or CDVD.
An Intelligent Decision-Making System Based on Multiple Classifiers updated Using confidence Rates and stress parameters

We develop an intelligent multi-classifier decision-making system for multi-class classification tasks. The proposed system called I-MDS (Intelligent Multiple Decision System) uses a dynamic scheme to combine the information provided by the individual classifiers and make a classification decision. The individual classifiers in the system are interconnected and use a negotiation scheme to come up with a unified decision. During the interactive and reactive negotiation process, individual classifiers are allowed to revaluate their confidence in their individual decisions and to respond to a system-wise stress parameter that keeps increasing as long as the system does not reach a unified decision. If after a certain number of negotiation rounds the system can not reach a unified decision, the input pattern is rejected. The proposed systems were tested on multi-class classification problems from the UCI repository and were shown to produce better classification rates and fewer misclassifications than majority voting combination technique.
Determination of 2, 4-D in water samples by salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction-UV-Vis

A novel method for determination of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was developed by using salting-out assisted liquid–liquid extraction (SALLE) via water-miscible acetonitrile as the extractant coupled with ultraviolet visible spectrophotometry. SALLE conditions, including volume of salting-out solvent, the pH of sample solution and salting-out solvent as variable factors. The optimal salting-out parameters were obtained as follows: 2 mL of acetonitrile was added to 2 mL of sample solution with pH = 2 and then 6 mL salting-out solvent containing 5 mol/L sodium chloride at a pH of 2 was added to the solution for extraction. This procedure afforded a convenient and cost-saving operation for 2,4-D, such as good linear relationships (R = 0.9979) between absorbance and concentration from 2.5 μg/mL to 25 μg/mL, low limits of detection (0.75 μg/mL). The method recoveries obtained at fortified three concentrations for two water samples ranged from 83% to 100%.
WATER QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR AQUACULTURE

Fish and other organisms with aquacultural potential live in water, thus, it is no surprise that professional fish culturists state that "Water quality determines to a great extent the success or failure of a fish cultural operation" (Piper et al. 1982). Because water is an essential requirement for fish farming, any properly prepared business plan for aquaculture must describe the quality and quantity of water available for the proposed enterprise. An experienced aquaculturist can judge whether the water is suitable for the proposed enterprise. The objective of this report is to present a brief overview of a few physical and chemical qualities of water that are of importance to aquaculture—the business of fish farming. Although the quantity of water available is of primary importance, only water quality factors are considered here.
Development of fatty atrophy after neurologic and rotator cuff injuries in an animal model of rotator cuff pathology.

BACKGROUND Detachment of a tendon from its osseous insertion, as can be the case with severe rotator cuff injuries, leads to atrophy of and increased fat in the corresponding muscle. We sought to validate a rotator cuff injury model in the rabbit and to test the hypothesis that tenotomy of a rotator cuff tendon would consistently create muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration analogous to the changes that occur after injury to a nerve innervating the same muscle. METHODS New Zealand white rabbits were divided into three groups: (1) partial rotator cuff tear without retraction of the muscle, (2) complete rotator cuff tear with retraction of the muscle, and (3) nerve transection of the subscapular nerve. Animals were killed at two or six weeks after injury, and the muscles were analyzed for weight, cross-sectional area, myosin fiber-type composition, and fat content. In addition, the subscapular nerve was harvested at two weeks and evaluated for neuronal injury. RESULTS At six weeks after injury, the rabbit muscles in the complete tenotomy and nerve transection groups had significant decreases in wet mass and increases in fat content relative to the control groups. Fat accumulation had a similar spatial pattern at six weeks in both the nerve transection and complete tenotomy groups. Such changes were not seen in the partial tenotomy group. No change was found in muscle myosin fiber-type composition. At two weeks after injury, subscapular nerves in the complete tenotomy group showed gross evidence of neuronal injury. CONCLUSIONS This study establishes the rabbit subscapularis muscle as a valid model to study the muscular changes associated with rotator cuff tears. Our data suggest that the muscular changes associated with complete tenotomy are comparable with those seen with denervation of the muscle and suggest that chronic rotator cuff tears may induce a neurologic injury.
Overarm Throwing Variability as a Function of Trunk Action

Individual body segment actions evolve during throwing skill development. Maximal trunk involvement is typically the last feature of the movement pattern to fully develop. The current study examined developmental levels of trunk action and the associated variability in the throwing motion. The throwing motions of children and adolescents were analyzed via motion capture and trunk actions were classified as exhibiting no rotation (n = 7), blocked rotation (n = 6), or differentiated rotation (n = 11). Results indicated nonrotators exhibited greater variability than blocked-rotators in maximum humeral external rotation and humeral horizontal adduction angles at ball release; nonrotators also demonstrated greater variability than differentiated-rotators on these parameters, in addition to forward trunk tilt and elbow extension angle at ball release. Nonrotators produced more variable peak upper torso and humeral horizontal adduction angular velocities, as well as peak upper torso linear velocity, relative to .
What Are We Doing to Early Adolescents? The Impact of Educational Contexts on Early Adolescents

For some children, the early adolescent years mark the beginning of a downward spiral in school-related behaviors and motivation that often lead to academic failure and school dropout. Although these declines are not so extreme for most adolescents, there is sufficient evidence of gradual decline in various indicators of academic motivation, self-perceptions, and school-related behaviors over the early adolescent years to make one ask why. Several investigators have proposed that these declines could result from the types of educational contexts to which many adolescents are exposed during the middle-grade years. This hypothesis is explored in this article. First, the results of analyses using the eighth-grade cohort from the National Educational Longitudinal Study comparing student outcomes in different types of middle-grade school settings are reported. Second, the results of several relevant studies assessing the impact of specific school environmental characteristics on the course of change in early adolescents' school-related motivation are reported.
Time Course Analysis of Aminoglycoside-Induced Elevation of Serum Creatinine

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the time course of aminoglycoside-induced serum creatinine (SCr) elevation and compare that in patients treated with amikacin (AK) and those treated with gentamicin (GM). Methodology: A one-year, non-interventional prospective study of patients with normal baseline renal function and were administered either GM or AK. The study was carried out at the internal medicine department of Al-Watani governmental hospital. Outcome of interest was the time course of serum creatinine elevation during the course of aminoglycoside therapy. Data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 16). Results: The study was performed in 94 patients, who had to be administered GM or AK by intravenous injections. In both groups, the significant rise in SCr was detected on the 4th day of therapy. However, GM induced up to 32% increase while AK induced up to 19.5% increase in SCr from baseline levels. In the course of AK treatment, patients on single dosing frequency and those <65 years of age did not show a significant increase in SCr levels during the 6-day therapy. In the course of GM therapy, patients on single frequency dosing, younger patients and females showed a significant elevation in SCr on the 5th day while elderly, males and those on multiple dosing showed a significant elevation on the 4th day of therapy. However, all patient categories on GM therapy showed similar extent of SCr elevation. Conclusion: In patients with normal renal function, GM and AK showed similar time course but different extent of SCr elevation. Amikacin induced no SCr elevation when given in single dosing frequency or when given to younger patients. Such effects were not observed with GM.
Development of visual contour integration in children with migraine without aura

Introduction: As migraine attacks pose insult to cerebral circulation and ion homeostasis, migraine has the potential to interfere with the development of different brain structures, producing functional deficits. It is known that visual contour integration (CI) is a function with a protracted development. Therefore, we sought to establish whether migraine interferes with its development. Methods: Forty-eight migraineurs (without aura) and 48 age- and sex-matched controls participated in the study, divided into three cohorts by age. Stimuli were presented on cards with a contour consisting of Gabor patches embedded in random noise. Difficulty was varied by the manipulation of relative noise density. The task was to identify and show the contour. Results: A significant difference was found between the performance of migraineurs and controls in the 10–14-year-old and 15–18-year-old cohorts (p < 0.05). Development between all three cohorts was significant in the control group (p < 0.017), while it was not significant in migraineurs between 6 and 14 years. Correlation between age and CI threshold was stronger in controls than in migraineurs. Conclusion: Children with paediatric migraine exhibited a less marked development in the Gabor patch-based CI task.
Sensorless position estimation in solenoid actuators with load compensation

This paper investigates the effects of varying external load on sensorless plunger position estimation regarding solenoid actuators. We propose an improved technique capable of compensating these forces applied to the solenoid. Major advantage of the method is that both plunger position and external load can be simultaneously estimated, thus further improving robustness and extending the possible fields of application of such devices. Experimental results are also presented in support of the usability of the method.
Noninherited Risk Factors and Congenital Cardiovascular Defects: Current Knowledge

—Prevention of congenital cardiovascular defects has been hampered by a lack of information about modifiable risk factors for abnormalities in cardiac development. Over the past decade, there have been major breakthroughs in the understanding of inherited causes of congenital heart disease, including the identification of specific genetic abnormalities for some types of malformations. Although relatively less information has been available on noninherited modifiable factors that may have an adverse effect on the fetal heart, there is a growing body of epidemiological literature on this topic. This statement summarizes the currently available literature on potential fetal exposures that might alter risk for cardiovascular defects. Information is summarized for periconceptional multivitamin or folic acid intake, which may reduce the risk of cardiac disease in the fetus, and for additional types of potential exposures that may increase the risk, including maternal illnesses, maternal therapeutic and nontherapeutic drug exposures, environmental exposures, and paternal exposures. Information is highlighted regarding definitive risk factors such as maternal rubella; phenylketonuria; pregestational diabetes; exposure to thalidomide, vitamin A cogeners, or retinoids; and indomethacin tocolysis. Caveats regarding interpretation of possible exposure-outcome relationships from case-control studies are given because this type of study has provided most of the available information. Guidelines for prospective parents that could reduce the likelihood that their child will have a major cardiac malformation are given. Issues related to pregnancy monitoring are discussed. Knowledge gaps and future sources of new information on risk factors are described. ( Circulation . 2007;115:2995-3014.)
Role of Protein Phosphorylation in the Inhibition of Protein Synthesis Caused by Hypoxia in Rat Hepatocytes

Hypoxia causes a rapid and reversible inhibition of translation in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. This inhibition is neither due to an ATP loss nor to an increase in cell death. Because protein synthesis is mainly regulated by reversible phosphorylation of initiation and/or elongation factors, we investigated whether translation inhibition by hypoxia may be related to changes in the phosphorylation status of proteins. Whatever the incubation conditions, three phosphoreactive bands (molecular weights 220, 129, and 83 kDa) were detected by antiphosphotyrosine antibodies. The phosphorylation in the 129-and 83-kDa bands, however, was significantly and progressively decreased under hypoxia. Although this time-dependent decrease was sensitive to changes in oxygen tension, it occurred after the early protein synthesis inhibition caused by hypoxia. Moreover, sodium orthovanadate prevented tyrosine de-phosphorylation in hypoxic cells, but did not restore the depressed protein synthesis caused by hypoxia. Under aerobic conditions, orthovanadate inhibited the synthesis of proteins, confirming that protein phosphorylation is a major mechanism involved in translational regulation. Once again, this inhibitory effect occurred only after 90 minutes of incubation whereas hypoxia inhibits the protein synthesis at the beginning of the incubation. Labeling cells with [33–32P]-ortho-phosphoric acid allowed detection of several phosphorylated proteins that appeared under hypoxia. Because they were not recognized by the phosphotyrosine antibodies, we suggest that serine/threonine residues of key proteins may be the putative hypoxic targets.
Comparative immunochemical studies of the surface antigens of Escherichia coli strains 08:K87(B?)H19 and (O32):K87(B?):H45.

The O-antigenic lipopolysaccharides and the acidic polysaccharides isolated from Escherichia coli strains O8:K87(B? ):H45 were compared with respect to chemical composition and seroligical specificity. The O-specific polysaccharide moiety of the lipopolysaccharide from E. coli O8:K87(B? ):H19 contains mannose as the sole sugar constituent, whereas the (O32)-specific polysaccharide moiety of the lipopolysaccharide from E. coli (O32):K87(B? ):H45 consists of glucose, galactose, glucuronic acid, N-acetylglucosamine, and N-acetyl-l-fucosamine in the molar rations of 1:1:1:1:1. From both strains, an acidic polyaccharide can be isolated which consists of glucose, galactose, glucuronic acid, N-acetylglucosamine, and N-acetyl-l-fucosamine in the molar ratios of 1:1:1:1:1. Both acidic-polysaccharide preparations, as well as the (O32)-specific polyaccharide moiety of the lipopolyaccharide from E. coli (O32):K87(B? ):H45, have the same structure and, upon partial acid hydrolysis, yield the same oligosaccharides. With the aid of bacterial agglutination, passive haemagglutination, and immune precipitation in homologous and absorbed immune sera, as well as inhibition studies of these reactions with oligosaccharides, serological identity of the acidic polysaccharide and the (O32)-specific polyaccharide moiety of the lipopolyaccharide from E. coli (O32):K87(B? ):H45 was shown. It is concluded that the acidic polysaccharide, which has been shown to be the K antigen of E. coli O8:K87(B? ):H19, is also responsible for O-specificity in strain (O32):K87(B? ):H45.