Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MAGPIE HOST MANIPULATION BY GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOOS: EVIDENCE FOR AN AVIAN MAFIA?

Why should the hosts of brood parasites accept and raise parasitic offspring that differ dramatically in appearance from their own? There are two solutions to this evolutionary enigma. (1) Hosts may not yet have evolved the capability to discriminate against the parasite, or (2) parasite‐host systems have reached an evolutionary equilibrium. Avian brood parasites may either gain renesting opportunities or force their hosts to raise parasitic offspring by destroying or preying upon host eggs or nestlings following host ejection of parasite offspring. These hypotheses may explain why hosts do not remove parasite offspring because only then will hosts avoid clutch destruction by the cuckoo. Here we show experimentally that if the egg of the parasitic great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius is removed from nests of its magpie Pica pica host, nests suffer significantly higher predation rates than control nests in which parasite eggs have not been removed. Using plasticine model eggs resembling those of magpies and observations of parasites, we also confirm that great spotted cuckoos that have laid an ejected egg are indeed responsible for destruction of magpie nests with experimentally ejected parasite eggs. Cuckoos benefit from destroying host offspring because they thereby induce some magpies to renest and subsequently accept a cuckoo egg.
Methylation Status of Genes Upregulated by Demethylating Agent 5-aza-2′-Deoxycytidine in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background/Aims: To determine the clinical significance of gene promoter methylation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we examined in clinical samples the methylation status of those promoters that showed elevated activity in hepatoma cell lines after 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine treatment. Methods: Regarding the genes with promoter hypermethylation in the cell lines, their expression levels and methylation status in HCC and non-HCC tissues were assessed by semiquantitive RT-PCR and methylation-specific PCR. To confirm the result, the expression levels and methylation status in 16 additional HCC and non-HCC tissues were assessed. Results: The promoter regions of caveolin 1 (CAV1), cysteine and glycine-rich protein 1 (CSRP1), Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6), myosin (light polypeptide 9) (MYL9), and transgelin (TAGLN) were highly methylated in the cell lines. CAV1 and CSRP1 were methylated in HCC more frequently than in non-HCC. KLF6, MYL9, and TAGLN were fully methylated in both HCC and non-HCC. Using additional clinical samples, downregulation of CAV1 and CSRP1 was observed in 38 and 56%, respectively, of the 16 HCC samples and aberrant methylation of CAV1 and CSRP1 was observed in 56% of HCC in both cases. Conclusion:CAV1 and CSRP1 were inactivated in HCC by aberrant methylation and they may serve as important biomarkers of malignancy.
Hospice patients’ attitudes regarding spiritual discussions with their doctors

The purpose of this study was to assess hospice patients’ attitudes regarding the discussion of spiritual issues with their physicians. We conducted in-depth interviews using open-ended questions on living with illness, spirituality and religion, and physician-patient relationships. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for dominant themes. The following dominant themes were identified: (1) treating the whole person, (2) treating with sensitivity, (3) favorable attitudes toward religious or spiritual discussions with doctors, and (4) no “preaching. ” Our findings suggest that patients do not expect physicians to be their primary spiritual advisors; however, physicians should be aware of and comfortable communicating with patients about religious or spiritual issues. More training in this topic may enhance the care physicians provide to patients near the end of life.
The schizophrenic career of a "monster drug".

The strange twists and turns in the history of thalidomide, the so-called “monster drug,” have almost been forgotten. Now, a haunting account1 of the tragic events that took place half a century ago has been written by Trent Stephens (an anatomist and embryologist, who has been studying the mechanism of action of thalidomide since 1972) and his collaborator, Rock Brynner (a historian who, as a patient, received the drug for pyoderma gangrenosum—an extremely rare autoimmune disorder). Their tale ends in the here-and-now with an amazing phoenix-like denouement. The story begins in the West German village of Stolberg in 1954, when Chemie Grunenthal, a small and relatively inexperienced pharmaceutical company, launched a search for a low-cost method to manufacture antibiotics from peptides. The company’s chief of chemical research heated a commercially available chemical named phthaloyisoglutamine and produced α -phthalimidoglutarimide, which the company labeled “thalidomide. ” The new molecule was patented, and they began to “cast about for a disease that thalidomide could cure. ” The Grunenthal investigators were unable to demonstrate antibiotic activity, or any other promising medicinal effects in mice and rats, but they were encouraged when they found that the new chemical seemed to be harmless. Extremely high doses did not kill rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, and dogs; moreover, no other side effects were detected. This led the team to describe thalidomide as “nontoxic;” the apparent safety of the new drug made its commercial prospects very attractive. Thalidomide exhibited no sedative effects in experimental animals; even so, Grunenthal management reasoned, “a nonlethal sedative would have enormous market potential. ” The company decided to explore the possibility that the new agent might act as a sedative in humans. Early in 1955, with no scientific rationale and with no formal plan to monitor immediate results or to conduct a systematic follow-up, … Address correspondence to William A. Silverman, MD, 501 Via Casitas, Apt 421, Greenbrae, CA 94904-1947
Apoptosis modulation in mononuclear cells recovered from individuals exposed to Plasmodium falciparum infection

In endemic areas, asymptomatic infection by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum was found associated with elevated percentages of human host's mononuclear cell spontaneous in‐vitro apoptosis. In Dielmo, a village where malaria is holoendemic, apoptosis was age‐and parasite‐dependent. In‐vitro exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to the parasite extract induced a marked increase in the mononuclear cell membrane expression of functional CD95 antigen: a 3‐h exposure of the mononuclear cells to anti‐CD95 antibodies led to a detectable increase in the mean percentage of apoptotic nuclei found in the cultures carried out in the presence of P. falciparum extracts compared to control cultures. IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6 and IL‐10 promoted the viability of PBMC in cultures while IL‐1α or IFN‐γ had no obvious impact and TNFα gave conflicting results. IL‐2 was the most efficient cytokine at rescuing PBMC from cell death and this effect was associated with a strong increase in T cell activation. In contrast, IL‐4 and IL‐10 had no such effect on T cell activation, hence they acted as survival factors and not through their mitogenic activity. Taken together, these different observations suggested that the levels of in‐vitro apoptosis observed were not only associated with parasite infection, but also potentially modulated by the human host through different pathways.
Complete Structures of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella parapertussis Lipopolysaccharides*

The structures of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core and O antigen of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella parapertussis are known, but how these two regions are linked to each other had not been determined. We have studied LPS from several strains of these microorganisms to determine the complete carbohydrate structure of the LPS. LPS was analyzed using different chemical degradations, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. This identified a novel pentasaccharide fragment that links the O chain to the core in all the LPS studied. In addition, although the O chain of these bacteria was reported as a homopolymer of 1,4-linked 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-α-galacturonic acid, we discovered that the polymer contains several amidated uronic acids, the number of which varies between strains. These new data describe the complete structure of the LPS carbohydrate backbone for both Bordetella species and help to explain the complex genetics of LPS biosynthesis in these bacteria.
Improved Anti‐Inflammatory Activity of Three New Terpenoids Derived, by Systematic Chemical Modifications, from the Abundant Triterpenes of the Flowery Plant Calendula officinalis

Rings A, D and E of faradiol (1), and ring E of both arnidiol (10) and calenduladiol (4) have been subjected to various selective chemical manipulations to modify polarity, water affinity, H‐bonding, sterics, and number of aromatic groups of these anti‐inflammatory natural compounds. A total of 15 new and four known pentacyclic triterpenoids have been obtained in this way. Some 13 terpenoids were evaluated for their topical anti‐inflammatory activities with respect to inhibition of croton oil induced ear oedema in mouse. Three derivatives of 1, the C(16) benzyl ether 15, the C(30) aldehyde 24, and the C(30) primary alcohol 25 showed significantly improved anti‐inflammatory potencies, which is relevant for (future) structure–activity‐relationship (SAR) studies.
Multiple Alleles in Complementary Sex Determination of Habrobracon.

E X determination in most animals and in many dioecious plants is of the S backcross type. Females are recessive, mm (in cytological terms XX); males heterozygous dominant, M m (YX or OX); or males may be recessive, ff (ZZ); females heterozygous dominant, Ff (WZ or OZ). The dominant factor segregating as a unit in the digametic sex, M (Y or 0) in the male, F (W or 0) in the female, is usually an absence of sex-producing genes, its effectiveness depending upon autosomal sex-producers. This scheme does not hold for bees, wasps, and ants or for many other invertebrates in which males are normally haploid, produced parthenogenetically, females diploid and usually produced from fertilized eggs. If a haploid set of chromosomes be doubled, the ratio of sex determining genes will not be changed and hence the insect developing from the fertilized egg should be of the same sex as that developing from the unfertilized. This remained a puzzle until 1933 when it was shown (WHITING 1933) that sex determination in the parasitic wasp Habrobracon juglandis (Ashmead) is complementary, that there are different kinds of haploid males similar in appearance but containing different sex factors (xa+A and xb+A), and that the diploid complex of the female represents the heterozygous "double dominant" combination of two different male complexes (xa+xb+zA). This complementary theory was proved when the sex differentiating alleles were shown to be linked with the mutant gene fused, fu, affecting antennae, legs, and wings. Diploid males, which have been known in Habrobracon for several years, are homozygous for the sex alleles (axa+aA and axb+2A). This principle may be illustrated by the following example. Ap xa/xb female homozygous for the autosomal recessive gene veinless, vl, but heterozygous for fused and having fused associated with xb may be crossed with a non-veinless xb fused male (table I , A). The recessive veinless serves to mark the haploid sons which are fused and non-fused in equal numbers. The diploid offspring, whether males of females, will be non-veinless. Among the daughters,
Optical transmembrane potential measurements during defibrillation-strength shocks in perfused rabbit hearts.

To study the optical transmembrane potential change (delta F) induced during shocks, optical recordings were obtained in 15 isolated perfused rabbit hearts treated with the potentiometric dye di-4-ANEPPS and diacetyl monoxime. Shock electrodes were sutured on the right and left ventricles. A laser beam 30 microns in diameter was used to optically excite di-4-ANEPPS. Fluorescence from a region 150 microns in diameter was recorded during a shock. In the macroscopic study (six animals), there were nine recording spots that were 3 mm apart between the two shock electrodes. In the microscopic study, there were three recording regions that were 3 mm away from either shock electrode and midway between them, with nine recording spots that were 30 microns (three animals), 100 microns (three animals), and 300 microns (three animals) apart in each region. After 20 S1 stimuli, a 10-ms truncated exponential S2 shock of defibrillation-threshold strength was given during the plateau of the last S1 action potential. In the microscopic study, shocks were also given during diastole, with delta F recordings at the three recording regions. Shocks of both polarities were tested. delta F during the shock was expressed as a percentage of the fluorescence change during the S1 upstroke action potential amplitude (the S1 Fapa), ie, delta F/Fapa%. In the macroscopic study, the magnitudes of delta F/Fapa% from recording spots 1 to 9, numbered from the left to the right ventricular electrodes, were 77 +/- 41%, 46 +/- 32%, 32 +/- 27%, 28 +/- 20%, 37 +/- 25%, 24 +/- 20%, 33 +/- 22%, 37 +/- 25%, and 59 +/- 29%, respectively (P < .05 among the nine spots). Depolarization or hyperpolarization could occur near either shock electrode with both shock polarities, but the magnitude of hyperpolarization was 1.8 +/- 0.9 times that of depolarization at the same recording spot when the shock polarity was reversed (P < .01). In the microscopic study, the change in delta F/Fapa% varied significantly over the microscopic regions examined. The maximum values of delta F/Fapa% for hyperpolarizing shocks during diastole reached only 7 +/- 10% of those for shocks during the plateau (P < .01). During diastole, the time until a new action potential occurred after the beginning of the shock was shorter when the membrane was depolarized (1.1 +/- 0.5 ms) than when it was hyperpolarized (12.8 +/- 9.1 ms, P < .01). Conclusions are as follows: (1) A shock can induce either hyperpolarization or depolarization. (2) Hyperpolarization or depolarization during a shock can occur near either the anodal or cathodal shock electrode. (3) Variation of delta F/Fapa% exists within a microscopic region. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Climate change and children's health

Purpose of review To present the latest data that demonstrate how climate change affects children's health and to identify the principal ways in which climate change puts children's health at risk. Recent findings Data continue to emerge that further implicate climate change as contributing to health burdens in children. Climate models have become even more sophisticated and consistently forecast that greenhouse gas emissions will lead to higher mean temperatures that promote more intense storms and droughts, both of which have profound implications for child health. Recent climate models shed light upon the spread of vector-borne disease, including Lyme disease in North America and malaria in Africa. Modeling studies have found that conditions conducive to forest fires, which generate harmful air pollutants and damage agriculture, are likely to become more prevalent in this century due to the effects of greenhouse gases added to earth's atmosphere. Summary Through many pathways, and in particular via placing additional stress upon the availability of food, clean air, and clean water and by potentially expanding the burden of disease from certain vector-borne diseases, climate change represents a major threat to child health. Pediatricians have already seen and will increasingly see the adverse health effects of climate change in their practices. Because of this, and many other reasons, pediatricians have a unique capacity to help resolve the climate change problem.
An epidemiological study on prevalence of anaemia among elderly population residing in rural Nalgonda , Telangana , India

Anaemia is a global health challenge, and India is no exception. Large number of studies including NFHS-3 have quantified the prevalence of anaemia among children, adolescents, women in reproductive age group, pregnant & lactating mothers and men in age groups below 50 years. However, there is lack of studies among elderly population. This study was conducted in rural areas of Nalgonda district to detect the prevalence of anaemia among elderly. 633 individuals (342 males: 291 Females) above the age of 50 years were included in the study through two stage random sampling. Haemoglobin levels were detected by Sahli technique. The data was analysed using statistical software OpenEpi version 3.03a. The study revealed that based on WHO definition of anaemia, 29.86% of study population was anaemic. The prevalence of anaemia was significantly higher among females than males. In both sexes the prevalence of anaemia increased with advancing age, although this trend was statistically significant only among males. The study identified that anaemia is an significant public health problem among elderly. The authors recommend that larger studies should be conducted to identify the prevalence of anaemia among elderly, as well as to identify type of anaemia and cause(s) of anaemia among our senior citizens to provide baseline data for planning appropriate interventional programme.
Use of permanent hair dyes and bladder‐cancer risk

A population‐based case‐control study was conducted in Los Angeles, California, which involved 1,514 incident cases of bladder cancer and an equal number of age‐, sex‐ and ethnicity‐matched controls. Information on personal use of hair dyes was obtained from 897 cases and their matched controls. After adjustment for cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for bladder cancer, women who used permanent hair dyes at least once a month experienced a 2.1‐fold risk of bladder cancer relative to non‐users (p for trend = 0.04). Risk increased to 3.3 (95% CI = 1.3–8.4) among regular (at least monthly) users of 15 or more years. Occupational exposure to hair dyes was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer in this study. Subjects who worked for 10 or more years as hairdressers or barbers experienced a 5‐fold (95% CI = 1.3–19.2) increase in risk compared to individuals not exposed. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A profile of clients of male sex workers in Córdoba, Argentina

This paper provides a profile of clients seen by male sex workers (MSWs) in Córdoba, Argentina. Thirty-two MSWs completed a diary after each paid sexual encounter with a client over a two-week period. The results show that 254 commercial sex encounters were reported. More than half of these encounters were with first time clients. The most common source of recruiting clients was advertisements followed by street contact. The majority of the clients were aged in their 30s or 20s, and identified as 'middle class' and 'bisexual' or 'gay'. In the majority of the encounters, alcohol or drugs were not used by clients, and in about less than half of the cases, the MSWs had some personal tracing information about the client. Most of the clients indicated to the MSW what sexual activity they wanted and unsafe anal sex was requested in a minority (6%) of the encounters. While most workers reported having no or little attraction to the client, most indicated that they would serve the client again. The implications of the results for public health education and further research are discussed.
Spatio‐Temporal Short‐Term Urban Traffic Volume Forecasting Using Genetically Optimized Modular Networks

Abstract: Current interest in short‐term traffic volume forecasting focuses on incorporating temporal and spatial volume characteristics in the forecasting process. This article addresses the problem of integrating and optimizing predictive information from multiple locations of an urban signalized arterial and proposes a modular neural predictor consisting of temporal genetically optimized structures of multilayer perceptrons (MLP) that are fed with volume data from sequential locations to improve the accuracy of short‐term forecasts. The results show that the proposed methodology provides more accurate forecasts compared to the conventional statistical methodologies applied, as well as to the static forms of neural networks.
Second-Order Cone model for Active Distribution Network Expansion Planning

This paper proposes Second-Order Cone Programming (SOCP) model for Active Distribution Network Expansion Planning (ADNEP). The objective minimizes total investment and operation cost. Distributed Generation (DG) curtailment and load curtailment are used as the active management schemes to decrease the future operation risks of the planning. The expansion model allows alternatives to be considered for new wiring, new substation, substation expansion and DG installation. The Distribution Network Expansion Planning (DNEP) problem is a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problem, which is NP-hard. Active management and uncertainties especially with the DG integration make the DNEP problem much complex. In order to find the polynomial time computable model, this paper converts the DNEP problem to a SOCP model through distflow equations and constraints relaxation. Scenario analysis is picked for the future uncertainties. CVX and GUROBI solver are used to solve the SOCP model, and a 50 nodes application example is used to for the verification.
The Association Between Levels of Cortisol Secretion and Fear Perception in Patients With Remitted Depression Predicts Recurrence

This study examines the association between cortisol secretion and fear perception in remitted patients to identify mechanisms underlying risk for recurrence of depression. We hypothesized that the stronger the association between cortisol secretion and fear perception in persons with remitted depression, the more recurrence would be experienced. We also investigated whether high levels of cortisol and fear perception per se predict more recurrence. These effects were assumed to be stronger in women than in men. In a prospective design, we investigated 77 outpatients with remitted depression and related the association between their 24-hour urinary free cortisol secretion and fear perception (from ambiguous faces and from vocal expressions) to recurrence of depression within 2 years. We applied Cox regression models, partial correlations, and Fisher z tests. In 21 patients, depression recurred. Irrespective the channel of perception (eye or ear), the interaction between fear perception and cortisol secretion was significantly related to recurrence of depression. Patients high or low on both variables are more at risk. This increased risk was also reflected by a significant association between cortisol secretion and facial fear perception, but only among subjects who experienced recurrence. A trend in the same direction was found for vocal fear perception. Fear perception and cortisol secretion per se did not predict recurrence. No gender differences were found. The association between cortisol secretion and fear perception (probably indicative for altered fear circuits in the brain) constitutes a mechanism underlying risk for recurrence of depression.