Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Recombinant Human Soluble Thrombomodulin (rhs-TM) on a Rat Model of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation with Decreased Levels of Plasma Antithrombin III

Summary We reported that recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhs- TM) is effective for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in vivo, in mice and rats. In the present work, we investigated the effects of decreased plasma antithrombin III (ATIII) levels on anticoagulant effects of rhs-TM, as compared to findings with heparin, of which effect is lowered by the decreased plasma ATIII levels in patients with DIC. Rat plasma ATIII levels decreased when we mixed plasma with anti-rat ATIII antibody and the potential of heparin to prolong APTT or PT was markedly diminished. The potential of rhs-TM to prolong APTT and PT was not affected. In rats injected with anti-rat ATIII antibody, plasma ATIII levels decreased immediately. When the rats were infused with tissue factor (TF), DIC was induced. At doses of rhs-TM and heparin which were equally effective at inhibiting the decrease in platelet count and fibrinogen level in cuntiol rats treated with TF, only rhs-TM remained effective in preventing DIC in rats with reduced ATIII levels. Heparin was not effective, when administered to these rats with reduced ATIII levels. Therefore, rhs-TM effectively inhibits coagulation independent of ATIII levels, in contrast to heparin, which depends on the ATIII level.
2-Octyl-cyanoacrylate (Dermabond), a new glue for variceal injection therapy: results of a preliminary animal study.

BACKGROUND Endotherapy of bleeding gastric varices is problematic. The aim of this descriptive study in an animal model was to compare 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate (Dermabond), a Food and Drug Administration-approved agent for superficial wound closure, to N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl), an agent available outside of the United States for the endoscopic treatment of bleeding gastric varices. METHODS Eight New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to either the study agent Dermabond or the control agent, Histoacryl. Both active agents were equally mixed with ethiodized poppy seed oil (Ethiodol) and injected into the auricular vein. The animals were euthanized at various time intervals after injection. A 2 cm strip of tissue on either side of the injection site along with the adjacent perivascular tissues were resected for histologic evaluation. RESULTS The use of 0.5 mL of Dermabond effectively induced vascular occlusion compared with 0.2 mL of Histoacryl. The histologic changes acutely and at 1 week were similar with each mixture. CONCLUSION Dermabond may be useful in the treatment of gastric variceal bleeding, but further studies are necessary to determine dose response rates in animals and humans.
Accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins by surfclams, Spisula solidissima (Dillwyn, 1897) in the Gulf of Maine: seasonal changes, distribution between tissues, and notes on feeding habits.

Accumulation of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins by surfclams, Spisula solidissima, was studied over a period of two years at two inshore locations in southern Maine and at six stations on Georges Bank in the Gulf of Maine. Whole animals as well as individual tissues (siphon, mantle, digestive gland, foot, adductor muscle, gill) were analyzed for PSP-toxicity levels using the standard AOAC mouse bioassay. Analyses of gut contents were carried out on surfclams from both inshore and offshore locations to identify the type of particles ingested. Surfclams feed primarily on phytoplankton and detrital material characteristic of the overlying seawater and surface sediment. No evidence was found for any selection based on particle size or type. Elevated levels of PSP toxins were noted in surfclams from Georges Bank more than two years after initial toxification. Toxins were not evenly distributed among the various tissues of surfclams. Initially, maximum toxicity among surfclam tissues was found in digestive glands; however, subsequent analyses of samples collected later in the year indicated that toxicity in gill and mantle tissues had increased relative to initial values. No toxicity was detected in adductor muscles. Surfclams are characterized by a high variation in total toxin load among individual animals, with a tendency for decreasing variation as toxin levels increase. Archived data from the Main Department of Marine Resources revealed annual and seasonal patterns of toxin accumulation by surfclams, i.e., toxin accumulation is an annual event, with initial increases in toxicity usually occurring in early spring.
Biology of T memory type 1 cells

Summary: Engagement of inhibitory natural killer (NK) cell receptors for MHC class I molecules (NKR) can impair NK‐cell activation programs. Inhibitory NKR thus confer to NK cells the capacity to discriminate between MHC class I+ and MHC class I− target cells, and are therefore involved in the control of NK‐cell tolerance to self, as well as in the elimination of MHC class I− distressed cells by NK cells. In human and mouse, a subset of αβ T cells also express inhibitory NKR at their surface, but the biological function of inhibitory NKR on T cells remains to be precisely elucidated. We refer to these cells as T memory type 1 (Tm1) cells, and review here the phenotypic and functional features of this subset of memory‐phenotype CD8+αβ T cells. In vitro studies suggest that inhibitory NKR are involved in the peripheral control of T‐cell self‐tolerance. In vitro and in vivo analysis have revealed a novel biological function for inhibitory NKR when expressed on T cells. Indeed, engagement of inhibitory NKR on T cells provides them with survival signals against activation‐induced cell death. Thus, sensing of self‐MHC class I molecules by inhibitory NKR displayed on αβ T cells leads to the in vivo accumulation of Tm1 cells.
Using sister pairs to estimate how neighborhoods affect young adult outcomes.

Using sister pairs from the [U.S.] Panel Study of Income Dynamics we compare cross-section and fixed effect methods to examine the extent to which unobservable family characteristics bias estimates of neighborhood effects. We examine three outcomes for young adult women: whether a woman had a nonmarital birth as a teenager whether she obtained any post-secondary education and whether she received AFDC at age 25. (EXCERPT)
Posttraumatic narcolepsy in mild to moderate closed head injury.

Scattered reports exist describing secondary narcolepsy that develops following disease or organic insult to the brain. The present study is concerned with one particular type of secondary narcolepsy, posttraumatic narcolepsy, which we define as "narcolepsy that develops following a head injury in a previously asymptomatic individual". We obtained data on nine patients who had been previously diagnosed with mild to moderate closed head injury and who had unresolved sleep complaints. All patients presented with complaints of excessive daytime somnolence and/or sleep attacks. Patients also presented with a mix of cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations and/or sleep paralysis. All patients had undergone previous neurological and/or neuropsychological evaluation and testing, with seven of the nine patients having the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. Human leucocyte antigen (HLA) tissue typing was obtained in six of the nine cases. The standard protocol was utilized, consisting of overnight polysomnography with a Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) the following day. All patients' histories were negative for narcolepsy or any other significant sleep disorders prior to the head injury. The results of the neuropsychological testing indicated that all patients fell within the mild to moderate impairment range. The results of overnight polysomnography and MSLT data, along with patient histories, indicated a diagnosis of narcolepsy in all cases. The results of HLA typing indicated that three patients were DR2 positive, two were DR4 positive and one was DQW1 positive. We conclude that narcolepsy may be "dormant" and that, in cases genetically at risk, even a minor injury to the central nervous system can cause that person to become symptomatic. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Connectionist modelling in psychology: A localist manifesto

Over the last decade, fully distributed models have become dominant in connectionist psychological modelling, whereas the virtues of localist models have been underestimated. This target article illustrates some of the benefits of localist modelling. Localist models are characterized by the presence of localist representations rather than the absence of distributed representations. A generalized localist model is proposed that exhibits many of the properties of fully distributed models. It can be applied to a number of problems that are difficult for fully distributed models, and its applicability can be extended through comparisons with a number of classic mathematical models of behaviour. There are reasons why localist models have been underused, though these often misconstrue the localist position. In particular, many conclusions about connectionist representation, based on neuroscientific observation, can be called into question. There are still some problems inherent in the application of fully distributed systems and some inadequacies in proposed solutions to these problems. In the domain of psychological modelling, localist modelling is to be preferred.
GDP Growth, Private Debt and Monetary Policy

Economic research has considered Private Debt a determinant of GDP growth for years. By keeping this perspective, the objective of this work is to understand how much of the GDP response to a monetary shock is due to the variation of private debt. This is the marginal contribution of private debt, which we relate to an increase of the aggregate demand. We study the USA, the UK and Germany in the period 1980q1-2015q4. Our approach is based on the comparison of one baseline structural VAR with one counterfactual for each country. The analysis is developed using the two main constituents of private debt: households and corporations debt.
Pyloric Campylobacter infection and gastroduodenal disease

In 1982, a new spiral Gram‐negative bacterium which was similar to those of the genus Campylobacter was isolated from the gastric mucosa of 11 patients with gastritis. From then on, the organism was isolated in a further 1‐14 of 267 patients who underwent antral biopsy in Fremantle Hospital between January 1983 and September 1984. During. 1984, the bacterium was cultured from 88% of patients in whom it was detected histologically, and was not cultured from any patient with histologically normal gastric mucosa. The new bacterium, pyloric Campylobacter, grew in three days on brain–heart infusion blood‐agar at 37° in an atmosphere with added CO2. All isolates tested were sensitive to penicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, cephalosporins, gentamicin and bismuth citrate; 80% of isolates were sensitive to metronidazole or tinidazole. It is suggested that pyloric Campylobacter infection is a major factor in the causation of dyspeptic disease and peptic ulceration. Antibacterial regimens directed against the bacterium may provide a permanent cure for these chronic disorders.
The effect of Reynolds number on the propulsive efficiency of a biomorphic pulsed-jet underwater vehicle

The effect of Reynolds number on the propulsive efficiency of pulsed-jet propulsion was studied experimentally on a self-propelled, pulsed-jet underwater vehicle, dubbed Robosquid due to the similarity of its propulsion system with squid. Robosquid was tested for jet slug length-to-diameter ratios (L/D) in the range 2–6 and dimensionless frequency (StL) in the range 0.2–0.6 in a glycerin–water mixture. Digital particle image velocimetry was used for measuring the impulse and energy of jet pulses from the velocity and vorticity fields of the jet flow to calculate the pulsed-jet propulsive efficiency, and compare it with an equivalent steady jet system. Robosquid's Reynolds number (Re) based on average vehicle velocity and vehicle diameter ranged between 37 and 60. The current results for propulsive efficiency were compared to the previously published results in water where Re ranged between 1300 and 2700. The results showed that the average propulsive efficiency decreased by 26% as the average Re decreased from 2000 to 50 while the ratio of pulsed-jet to steady jet efficiency (ηP/ηP, ss) increased up to 0.15 (26%) as the Re decreased over the same range and for similar pulsing conditions. The improved ηP/ηP, ss at lower Re suggests that pulsed-jet propulsion can be used as an efficient propulsion system for millimeter-scale propulsion applications. The Re = 37–60 conditions in the present investigation, showed a reduced dependence of ηP and ηP/ηP, sson L/D compared to higher Re results. This may be due to the lack of clearly observed vortex ring pinch-off as L/D increased for this Re regime.
Oral Disease Status of a Sample of Jordanian People Ages 10 to 28 with Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective To determine the levels of periodontal disease and dental caries in subjects with cleft lip and palate and to compare them with matched noncleft control subjects. Design A total of 32 subjects with cleft lip and palate, ages 10 to 28 years, and a similar number of noncleft control subjects were examined for plaque biofilm deposits, gingivitis, periodontitis, and dental caries by using the Silness and Löe plaque index (PI), Löe and Silness gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), and the decayed-missing-filled-teeth (DMFT) index, respectively. Setting Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Prince Rashed Hospital, Royal Medical Services, northern Jordan. Results Scores for PI, GI, PPD, and DMFT were significantly higher in subjects with cleft lip and palate than in control subjects. Conclusion Subjects with cleft lip and palate are at an increased risk for dental caries and periodontal disease when compared with a noncleft population.
Reading between the Lines: Using Media to Improve German Inflation Forecasts

In this paper, we examine the predictive ability of automatic and expert-rated media sentiment indicators for German inflation. We find that sentiment indicators are competitive in providing inflation forecasts against a large set of common macroeconomic and financial predictors. Sophisticated linguistic sentiment algorithms and business cycle news rated by experts perform best and are superior to simple word-count indicators and autoregressive forecasts.
Predictive Role of Physical Education Motivation

In this study we examined adolescents’ physical activity (PA) stability as well as individual differences in PA across grades 7–9. In addition, we tested the predictive role of adolescents’ self-determination and goal orientations in physical education at grade 6 in relation to their PA development. Adolescents’ (N = 812) self-reported PA was measured five times and physical education motivation once. Results revealed a decreasing trajectory of PA, with individual differences diminishing over time. Although boys’ showed a consistently higher PA level, gender did not moderate the change in PA. Finally, self-determination and task orientation (boys only) predicted PA levels but did not predict change in PA.
Transcript analysis of the c-vac region and differential synthesis of the two regulatory gas vesicle proteins GvpD and GvpE in Halobacterium salinarium PHH4

Halobacterium salinarium PHH4 synthesizes gas vesicles in the stationary growth phase by the expression of 14 gyp genes arranged in two clusters. The chromosomal gvpACNO (c-gvpACNO) gene cluster (encoding the major structural gas vesicle protein GvpA and the minor structural protein GvpC was transcribed as three mRNA species starting at one promoter during the stationary phase of growth. The second gene cluster, c-gvpDEFGHIKLM), was transcribed during all stages of growth as a relatively unstable, single mRNA with a maximal length of 6 kb. In addition, a 1.7-kb c-gvpD transcript was synthesized during stationary growth starting at the same promotor as that of the cgvpDEFGHIJKLM mRNA. The expression of the first two genes located in this unit (c-gvpD and c-gvpE) was also monitored by Western blot (immunoblot) analyses using antisera raised against these proteins synthesized in Escherichia coli. While the cGvpD protein was present only during early exponential growth and disappeared during gas vesicle formation, the cGvpE protein was present during cGvpA and gas vesicle synthesis in the early stationary phase of growth. Previous data indicated that cGvpD is involved in repression of gas vesicle formation, whereas cGvpE is a transcriptional activator for the c-gvpA promoter. The appearance of both proteins during the growth cycle is in line with the functions of these proteins in gas vesicle synthesis. The mechanism of the differential translation of cGvpD and cGvpE from the c-gvpDEFGHIJKLM rnRNA still has to be elucidated, but antisense RNAs complementary to the 5' terminus as well as the 3' portion of the c-gvpD mRNA might be involved in this regulation. Such RNAs occurred during early stationary growth when the cGvpD protein level decreased and may possibly inhibit the translation of the c-gvpD mRNA.
Discrimination of the Shape of the Masked Inducing Figure Precedes Perception of the Illusory Triangle

Using the Kanizsa triangle in a free-inspection paradigm, Gellatly has shown that subjects report seeing an illusory triangle while apparently not phenomenally aware of the inducing areas. It is argued that Gellatly's procedure may induce response processes which camouflage early sensory processes. By forcing subjects to choose between two response alternatives, it was shown that when they could just perceive the illusory triangle, they could also correctly discriminate the shape of the inducing elements. Under the free-inspection procedure, the duration threshold for seeing the illusory triangle was about 9 ms while the threshold for discriminating the shape of the inducing elements was about 2 ms. A static representation of the dynamic procedure used by Gellatly has been derived, which shows a novel effect of contour completion across boundaries resulting in a ghostly white triangle.
A comparison of orbitally‐shaken and stirred‐tank bioreactors: pH modulation and bioreactor type affect CHO cell growth and protein glycosylation

Orbitally shaken bioreactors (OSRs) support the suspension cultivation of animal cells at volumetric scales up to 200 L and are a potential alternative to stirred‐tank bioreactors (STRs) due to their rapid and homogeneous mixing and high oxygen transfer rate. In this study, a Chinese hamster ovary cell line producing a recombinant antibody was cultivated in a 5 L OSR and a 3 L STR, both operated with or without pH control. Effects of bioreactor type and pH control on cell growth and metabolism and on recombinant protein production and glycosylation were determined. In pH‐controlled bioreactors, the glucose consumption and lactate production rates were higher relative to cultures grown in bioreactors without pH control. The cell density and viability were higher in the OSRs than in the STRs, either with or without pH control. Volumetric recombinant antibody yields were not affected by the process conditions, and a glycan analysis of the antibody by mass spectrometry did not reveal major process‐dependent differences in the galactosylation index. The results demonstrated that OSRs are suitable for recombinant protein production from suspension‐adapted animal cells. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 32:1174–1180, 2016
Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with metabolic parameters and dietary habits among medical undergraduate students in southeastern of Iran

Background: To date, there is still inconclusive evidence on the extra-gastric manifestations of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection. This study aimed to determine whether there is an association between H.pylori infection with metabolic syndrome and dietary habits among medical undergraduate students in south-eastern of Iran, Zahedan. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among 363 undergraduate students in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences during spring 2014. All subjects completed a questionnaire including demographic factors and dietary habits. Serum H. pylori-specific IgG antibodies, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels were measured after an overnight fast. Results: The seroprevalence of H. pylori infection was 45.7%. H. pylori-positive subjects had lower mean levels of TC and TG and higher levels of HDL-C compared to H. pylori-negative subjects. In addition, lower levels of LDL-C (P = 0.044) and FBS (P = 0.05) were observed among subjects with positive H pylori infection. Only rare consumption of raw vegetables (odds ratio [OR] =3.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.37–5.24) as well as higher levels of FBS (OR = 1.031, 95% CI = 1.001–1.99) were significantly associated with higher odds of H. pylori infection in both the univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: In a small population of young students in southeastern of Iran, H. pylori infection was associated with low consumption of raw vegetables and higher serum blood glucose.
Selective inhibition by rottlerin of macropinocytosis in monocyte‐derived dendritic cells

We present here the analysis of fluid‐phase endocytosis (FPE) in human blood monocytes and monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (MDDC) facilitated by our serendipitous identification of rottlerin as an efficient inhibitor of dendritic cell FPE (IC50 of 0·4 µM). Rottlerin was found to be an excellent tool for FPE analysis: rapid‐acting, irreversible and selective for FPE (as opposed to receptor‐mediated endocytosis) at concentrations of 3 µM and below. The inhibitory effect was not due to toxicity or visible change in membrane ruffles, but affects on cytoskeletal reorganization were evident in MDDC treated with relevant rottlerin concentrations during adhesion. A marked increase in FPE was observed in 1 hr interleukin (IL)‐4 and granulocyte macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (GM‐CSF)‐stimulated monocytes. Moreover, rottlerin inhibited the augmented FPE of 1‐day cytokine treated monocytes and their augmented ability to induce T cell proliferative responses to tetanus toxoid. We conclude that rottlerin is a useful tool for investigating FPE and its functional importance.