Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apoptosis in the adrenal gland of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice.

Apoptosis appears to play an important role in the development of diabetes in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse. Since the autoimmune process leading to the manifestation of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) can also affect the sympathochromaffin system, we analyzed the role of apoptosis and infiltration of the adrenal medulla as features of this autoimmune process in parallel with the development of diabetes. Prediabetic and diabetic NOD mice aged 3 to 30 weeks were studied and compared with control mice. Apoptosis was assessed by in situ end-labeling method and ultrastructural analysis. Adrenals were screened for lymphocytic infiltration by conventional hematoxylin-eosin staining. Chromaffin cells were characterized by immunohistochemical staining against synaptophysin and tyrosine hydroxylase. Apoptotic nuclei were detected in all mice studied at a very low level, mainly occuring within the connective tissue between medulla and cortex. The maximum score was achieved at 3 weeks (1.91+/-0.48 apoptotic cells/1000 counted cells; n = 4). There was no significant difference between NOD mice and control mice. No correlation could be found between blood glucose levels and apoptosis. On the ultrastructural level, apoptotic cells presented typical features of apoptosis, i.e. condensed nuclei and cytoplasm. Neither in NOD mice nor in controls lymphocytic infiltration or fibrosis of the adrenal was detected. Even NOD mice with overt diabetes did not exhibit morphological signs of medullitis. In summary, no signs of immune destruction of the adrenal medulla in NOD mice aged 3 to 30 weeks could be detected.
The role of Bh4 in parallel evolution of hull colour in domesticated and weedy rice

The two independent domestication events in the genus Oryza that led to African and Asian rice offer an extremely useful system for studying the genetic basis of parallel evolution. This system is also characterized by parallel de‐domestication events, with two genetically distinct weedy rice biotypes in the US derived from the Asian domesticate. One important trait that has been altered by rice domestication and de‐domestication is hull colour. The wild progenitors of the two cultivated rice species have predominantly black‐coloured hulls, as does one of the two U.S. weed biotypes; both cultivated species and one of the US weedy biotypes are characterized by straw‐coloured hulls. Using Black hull 4 (Bh4) as a hull colour candidate gene, we examined DNA sequence variation at this locus to study the parallel evolution of hull colour variation in the domesticated and weedy rice system. We find that independent Bh4‐coding mutations have arisen in African and Asian rice that are correlated with the straw hull phenotype, suggesting that the same gene is responsible for parallel trait evolution. For the U.S. weeds, Bh4 haplotype sequences support current hypotheses on the phylogenetic relationship between the two biotypes and domesticated Asian rice; straw hull weeds are most similar to indica crops, and black hull weeds are most similar to aus crops. Tests for selection indicate that Asian crops and straw hull weeds deviate from neutrality at this gene, suggesting possible selection on Bh4 during both rice domestication and de‐domestication.
ON THE EVOLUTION OF EMBRYO ABORTION IN THE HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL CRYPTANTHA FLAVA

The abortion of reproductive structures is common in flowering plants. Even under environmental conditions that do not appear stressful, fruits and ovules within developing fruits frequently fail to mature. For most species, enlargement of the ovary is good evidence ofpollination, but determining whether or not nondeveloped ovules have been fertilized is usually more difficult (Mogensen, 1975; Casper and Wiens, 1981). Perhaps for this reason, more is known about the properties of flowers and fruits that fail to mature than about the characteristics of nondeveloped ovules. The production of fruits is often resource limited, and fruit abortion can be selective based on: (1) the location ofthe flowers on the plant and/or the order in which the flowers are pollinated, (2) the number or percentage of developing seeds the ovaries contain, and (3) the source of the pollen (see Stephenson, 1981 for review; Bertin, 1982a, 1982b; Lee and Bazzaz, 1982a, 1982b). The questions usually addressed in the examination of flower and fruit abortion have parallels in studies of ovule abortion. Are the individual ovules fertilized? If so, are the ovules potentially capable of maturing or is the genetic constitution of the embryo (and/or endosperm) simply inviable? Is the number (or percentage) ofovules that develops within a fruit limited by resources? Are there criteria by which ovules are selectively eliminated? This paper examines a consistent pattern of ovule abortion in the herbaceous perennial Cryptantha flava (A. Nels.) Payson (Boraginaceae). This species usu-
Severe Lymphopenia Is Associated with Elevated Plasma Interleukin-15 Levels and Increased Mortality During Severe Sepsis

ABSTRACT Sepsis-related mortality has been found increased in RAG-1 knockout mice. However, in patients admitted to medical intensive care units, it is unknown whether severe lymphocyte depletion at admission is associated with increased interleukin (IL)-7 and IL-15 levels in circulation, and increased mortality. We prospectively enrolled 92 patients who were admitted to medical intensive care units for severe sepsis or septic shock. At admission, 24 patients (26.1%) had severe lymphopenia, defined as lymphocyte counts of less than 0.5 × 103/&mgr;L. Severe lymphopenia was associated with significantly higher plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor &agr;, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 and was also independently associated with 28-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.532; 95% confidence interval, 1.482−8.416; P = 0.004). The levels of plasma IL-15, but not IL-7, were increased modestly in patients with severe lymphopenia compared with those without (median, 12.2 vs. 6.4 pg/mL; P = 0.005). The elevated plasma IL-15 levels were contrarily associated with significantly decreased B-cell lymphoma 2 mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In conclusion, severe lymphopenia was associated with increased mortality in patients with severe sepsis. We found that patients with sepsis with severe lymphopenia had down-regulated B-cell lymphoma 2 mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, despite increased plasma IL-15 concentrations. Whether IL-7 and IL-15 are insufficient in patients with severe lymphopenia during severe sepsis warrants further investigations.
The relationship of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio with clinical outcome and final infarct core in acute ischemic stroke patients who have undergone endovascular therapy

Objectives: Of all strokes, 85% are ischemic and intracranial artery occlusion accounts for 80% of these ischemic strokes. Endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke was a new modality aiming at resolution of clots in occluded cerebral arteries. The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was introduced as a potential marker to determine increased inflammation, which is a result of releasing many mediators from the platelets. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether the PLR had a prognostic role in stroke patients undergoing thrombectomy and attempted to determine the effect that this ratio had on their survival. Methods: Over a three-year period, demographic, clinical, and angiographic findings of 57 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were evaluated. Results: The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of a PLR level cut-off value of 145 based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Successful revascularization (mTICI 2b and 3) was achieved in 42 of 57 (73.7%) patients; a mTICI 3 state was observed in 21 of 23 patients with low-PLR values (p = .015). Patients with higher PLR values had significantly a score of less than six on the ASPECT scale compared to patients with lower PLR values (p = .005). The patients with low-PLR values had better functional outcomes (mRS ≤ 2) compared with the patients with high-PLR values [respectively, p = . 004 (at first month) and p = . 014 (at third month)]. Discussion: The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio could represent pro-thrombotic inflammatory state in acute ischemic stroke patients because having a high-PLR values increased the poor prognosis, the rate of insufficient recanalization, and the size of infarcted area.
A Dynamic Model of Rational Addiction: Evaluating Cigarette Taxes

Addiction creates an intertemporal link between a consumer's past and present decisions, altering their responsiveness to price changes relative to nonaddictive products. We construct a dynamic model of rational addiction and endogenous consumption to investigate how consumers respond to policy interventions that aim to reduce purchases of cigarettes. We find that, on average, the category elasticity is about 35% higher when the model correctly accounts for addiction. However, some policies spur substitution from more expensive single packs to less expensive cartons of cigarettes, resulting in higher overall consumption for some consumers.
Activity against rhinoviruses, toxicity, and delivery in aerosol of enviroxime in liposomes

Enviroxime has been shown to inhibit the replication of rhinoviruses and other enteroviruses in concentrations as low as nanograms per milliliter in in vitro assays but is markedly less effective in clinical trials. The marked hydrophobicity and water insolubility of this compound may be a factor for this disparity. To overcome this handicap, we incorporated enviroxime into liposomes and then tested the antirhinovirus activity and toxicity of the liposome-incorporated enviroxime (LE) in cell culture and studied its administration by small-particle aerosol. Free enviroxime and LE were found to have equivalent efficacies against rhinovirus strains 1A and 13 in in vitro assays; however, preparations of LE were 10- to greater than or equal to 50-fold less toxic to tissue culture cells than was free enviroxime. In contrast to free enviroxime, which could not be delivered by small-particle aerosol because of its water insolubility, LE (4 mg/ml) was readily and successfully delivered by small-particle aerosol to the upper and lower respiratory tracts of mice; after just 20 min, significant levels of enviroxime were detected in the lungs and noses of exposed mice. Moreover, mice exposed to aerosols of liposomes containing both enviroxime and fluorescein isothiophosphatidylethanolamine showed accumulations of the fluorescent marker in the lungs, particularly in or around the tall columnar epithelial cells lining the bronchi and bronchioles.
Long-term outcome of meniscectomy: symptoms, function, and performance tests in patients with or without radiographic osteoarthritis compared to matched controls.

OBJECTIVE To describe the long-term influence of meniscectomy on pain, functional limitations, and muscular performance. To assess the effects of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA), gender and age on these outcomes in patients with meniscectomy. DESIGN 159 subjects (35 women), mean age 53 years, were examined 19 (17-22) years after open meniscectomy. Self-reported symptoms and function were assessed, performance tests were carried out and radiographs were taken. Sixty-eight age- and gender-matched controls were examined likewise. The data was analysed in two steps. First, subjects with meniscectomy were compared to the controls, and subgroup analyses were carried out with regard to radiographic OA, gender and age. Second, similar comparisons were carried out within the meniscectomized group. RESULTS Meniscectomized subjects reported significantly (P< 0.001) more symptoms and functional limitations than did controls. This was also true when operated subjects without OA were compared to controls without OA. Within the meniscectomized group, severe radiographic OA (joint space narrowing grade 2 or more) and female gender, but not older age, was associated with more symptoms and functional limitations. Meniscectomy was associated with worse muscular performance. Female gender and older age were associated with worse muscular performance in the study group. CONCLUSIONS Meniscectomy is associated with long-term symptoms and functional limitations, especially in women. Patients who had developed severe radiographic OA experienced more symptoms and functional limitations. Age did not influence self-reported outcomes, however older age was associated with worse muscular performance.
How the Location of Superoxide Generation Influences the β-Cell Response to Nitric Oxide*

Background: Although nitric oxide inhibits β-cell function, the impact of superoxide on nitric oxide signaling remains unknown. Results: Superoxide produced within β-cells inhibits nitric oxide-dependent responses, whereas extracellular generation does not. Conclusion: The reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide regulates the β-cell response to nitric oxide. Significance: The location of radical generation dictates the functional response of β-cells to reactive species. Cytokines impair the function and decrease the viability of insulin-producing β-cells by a pathway that requires the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and generation of high levels of nitric oxide. In addition to nitric oxide, excessive formation of reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, has been shown to cause β-cell damage. Although the reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide results in the formation of peroxynitrite, we have shown that β-cells do not have the capacity to produce this powerful oxidant in response to cytokines. When β-cells are forced to generate peroxynitrite using nitric oxide donors and superoxide-generating redox cycling agents, superoxide scavenges nitric oxide and prevents the inhibitory and destructive actions of nitric oxide on mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and β-cell viability. In this study, we show that the β-cell response to nitric oxide is regulated by the location of superoxide generation. Nitric oxide freely diffuses through cell membranes, and it reacts with superoxide produced within cells and in the extracellular space, generating peroxynitrite. However, only when it is produced within cells does superoxide attenuate nitric oxide-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, gene expression, and toxicity. These findings suggest that the location of radical generation and the site of radical reactions are key determinants in the functional response of β-cells to reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. Although nitric oxide is freely diffusible, its biological function can be controlled by the local generation of superoxide, such that when this reaction occurs within β-cells, superoxide protects β-cells by scavenging nitric oxide.
A Retention Model for Navy Physicians

Abstract : In recent years, the Navy has indicated concern about the retention patterns observed for physicians. Some specialties show relatively low retention compared to others, and the aggregate retention rate for specialists has declined. This research memorandum discusses the derivation of a model to estimate the influence of various factors on unobligated physicians' decisions to stay in or to leave the Navy. The main analytical issues is the quantification of the role of the positive and growing civilian-military pay differential on the retention of Navy physicians. Keywords: Civilian personnel; Compensation; Decision making; Logit model; Mathematical prediction; Medical personnel; Naval personnel; Nonlinear analysis; Personnel retention; Physicians; Salaries; Statistical analysis.
Phosphorylation of ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase During Wheat Seeds Development

Starch is the dominant reserve polysaccharide accumulated in the seed of grasses (like wheat). It is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and a material applied to the bioplastics and biofuels industry. Hence, the complete understanding of starch metabolism is critical to design rational strategies to improve its allocation in plant reserve tissues. ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADP-Glc PPase) catalyzes the key (regulated) step in the synthetic starch pathway. The enzyme comprises a small (S) and a large (L) subunit forming an S2L2 heterotetramer, which is allosterically regulated by orthophosphate, fructose-6P, and 3P-glycerate. ADP-Glc PPase was found in a phosphorylated state in extracts from wheat seeds. The amount of the phosphorylated protein increased along with the development of the seed and correlated with relative increases of the enzyme activity and starch content. Conversely, this post-translational modification was absent in seeds from Ricinus communis. In vitro, the recombinant ADP-Glc PPase from wheat endosperm was phosphorylated by wheat seed extracts as well as by recombinant Ca2+-dependent plant protein kinases. Further analysis showed that the preferential phosphorylation takes place on the L subunit. Results suggest that the ADP-Glc PPase is a phosphorylation target in seeds from grasses but not from oleaginous plants. Accompanying seed maturation and starch accumulation, a combined regulation of ADP-Glc PPase by metabolites and phosphorylation may provide an enzyme with stable levels of activity. Such concerted modulation would drive carbon skeletons to the synthesis of starch for its long-term storage, which later support seed germination.
Growth hormone treatment increases CO(2) response, ventilation and central inspiratory drive in children with Prader-Willi syndrome.

UNLABELLED We studied whether the beneficial effects of growth hormone (GH) treatment on growth and body composition in PWS are accompanied by an improvement in respiratory function. We measured resting ventilation, airway occlusion pressure (P(0.1)) and ventilatory response to CO(2) in nine children, aged 7-14 years, before and 6-9 months after the start of GH treatment. During GH treatment, resting ventilation increased by 26%, P(0.1) by 72% and the response to CO(2) by 65% (P < 0.002, <0.04 and <0.02, respectively). This observed increase in ventilatory output was not correlated to changes in body mass index. CONCLUSION Treatment of children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) seems to have a stimulatory effect on central respiratory structures. The observed increase in ventilation and inspiratory drive may contribute to the improved activity level reported by parents of PWS children during growth hormone therapy.
CD43 controls the intracellular growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through the induction of TNF‐α‐mediated apoptosis

Establishment of Tuberculosis infection begins with the successful entry and survival of the pathogen within macrophages. We previously showed that macrophage CD43 is required for optimal uptake and growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we explore the mechanisms by which CD43 restricts mycobacterial growth in murine macrophages. We found that although M. tuberculosis grows more readily in resting CD43−/− macrophages, priming of cells with IFN‐γ returns the bacterial growth rate to that seen in CD43+/+ cells. To discern the mechanisms by which M. tuberculosis exhibits enhanced growth within resting CD43−/− macrophages, we assessed the induction of inflammatory mediators in response to infection. We found that absence of CD43 resulted in reduced production of TNF‐α, IL‐12 and IL‐6 by M. tuberculosis‐infected macrophages. We also found that infected resting, but not activated CD43−/− macrophages, showed decreased apoptosis and increased necrosis. Exogenous addition of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine TNF‐α restored control of M. tuberculosis growth and induction of apoptosis to CD43+/+ levels. We propose that CD43 is involved in the inflammatory response to M. tuberculosis and, through the induction of pro‐inflammatory mediators, can regulate apoptosis to control intracellular growth of the bacterium.
Heterodyning technique to improve performance of delta-sigma-based beamformers

Delta-sigma (/spl Delta//spl Sigma/) modulators can implement a simpler digital ultrasound beamformer than can traditional architectures based on multi-bit analog-to-digital converters (A/D). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ modulators, however, suffers from limited oversampling ratios. To improve the SNR of each channel, a mixing signal heterodynes narrowband signals to lower frequencies where the baseband /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ modulator performs better. Noise figure analyses are presented that illustrate the effectiveness of this technique in improving noise performance. Also, spectral Doppler and color flow simulations are presented that realistically emulate a 32 channel oversampled beamformer and compare these results with traditional and ideal systems.
Understanding Business Education: Examining the Effect of the Application of Strategic Learning Among Diverse Business Disciplines

Strategic learning is an educational construct that evaluates the skill, will, and selfregulation of students across ten learning attributes to determine interventions that can improve overall academic achievement. If precisely implemented to a targeted grouping of students, these interventions can be generalized to achieve broader successful results in learning. Determining these groupings, therefore, is a necessary first step in applying this construct. Business discipline was identified as a possible method of categorizing business students in higher education for the purposes of more precisely applying the strategic learning construct. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine if the delineation of undergraduate business students based upon their selected business discipline is an appropriate target for the precise application of strategic learning. Through the use of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), a research sample from a U.S. university was surveyed to determine both the subjects’ business disciplines and their learning attributes with regard to the strategic learning construct. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the resultant data indicated if this method of delineation was suitable for categorizing business students with respect to the application of the strategic learning concept. The findings of this analysis indicated that no statistically significant differences among the discipline groupings were determined with respect to the any of the scales assessed by the LASSI, demonstrating that business discipline is likely not a worthwhile method for delineating business students with respect to their learning attributes.