Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
C-Reactive Protein-Mediated Suppression of Nephrotoxic Nephritis: Role of Macrophages, Complement, and Fcγ Receptors1

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a member of the pentraxin family of proteins and an acute phase reactant. CRP modulates the response to inflammatory stimuli including LPS and C5a. We recently demonstrated that CRP prevents and reverses proteinuria in accelerated nephrotoxic nephritis (NTN). NTN is a model of active inflammatory immune complex-mediated nephritis induced by injection of antiglomerular basement membrane. CRP treatment prevented the induction of NTN in C57BL/6 (B6) mice, increased survival, and reversed ongoing nephritis. Protection was associated with a decrease in IL-1β and chemokines in the kidney and peritoneal cells as measured by quantitative RT-PCR. However, IL-10−/− mice were not protected by CRP either when given before disease onset or when disease activity was maximal. FcγRI−/− mice developed NTN, but were only transiently protected by CRP treatment. This transient protection was abrogated by cobra venom factor depletion of complement from FcγRI−/− mice. However, complement depletion did not prevent CRP-mediated protection in B6 mice, and CRP was protective in C3−/− mice. The role of macrophages in the protection provided by CRP was tested by treating B6 mice with liposomes containing clodronate. Clodronate-containing liposomes deplete mice of splenic and hepatic macrophages for 5–7 days. Pretreatment of NTN mice with clodronate but not control liposomes completely prevented CRP-mediated protection. These studies suggest that CRP mediates protection from NTN through the induction of IL-10 and that macrophages are required. In addition, FcγRI plays an important role but is not the sole mediator of CRP-mediated protection.
[Large hydrostatic balloon for choledocolithiasis].

AIM To assess the efficacy and safety of hydrostatic dilatation with large balloons for the treatment of choledocolithiasis in patients with difficult or risky extraction due to stone characteristics or peripapillary anatomy. DESIGN Prospective. PATIENTS This study included 22 patients in whom a hydrostatic dilatation of the papilla with large balloons was performed between June 2005 and April 2006. Patients had multiple large stones, tapered distal common bile duct, peri-/intradiverticular papilla, previous sphincterotomy, or Billroth-II surgery. Esophageal, pyloric and colonic CRE dilatation balloons with diameters ranging from 12 to 20 mm (Boston Scientific Corporation) were used. RESULTS Stone removal was achieved in a single session in all patients (100%). Most procedures (73%) did not require an extended exploration time. There were no complications. Hyperamilasemia was detected in 18% of patients. CONCLUSIONS Hydrostatic papillary dilatation with large balloons is a simple, effective, and safe technique for the removal of difficult stones located in the distal common bile duct. It does not add to exploration time, nor increases complications, and reduces the need for lithotripsy. Further studies are needed to define the usefulness of this technique.
Adaptive Regulation in Switched Bimodal Systems: An Experimental Evaluation

This paper presents experimental results on the adaptive exact output regulation in a switched bimodal mechanical system subject to unknown sinusoidal exogenous inputs representing reference or disturbance signals. The adaptive regulator design exploits the Q parameterization of regulators for the switched system, and where the Q parameter is tuned online to yield the desired regulator. The proposed adaptive regulator is evaluated on an experimental setup motivated by the flying height regulation problem in hard disk drives. In the experimental setup, the tip of a flexible beam is supposed to maintain a constant separation with respect to a surface with an unknown profile, while also being subject to an unknown disturbance force. The system exhibits a switching behaviour depending on whether contact takes place between the surface to be tracked and the tip of the beam. The experimental results successfully demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in achieving exact output regulation against unknown sinusoidal exogenous inputs and in the presence of switching in the system dynamics.
Stereoselective pharmacokinetics of cisapride in healthy volunteers and the effect of repeated administration of grapefruit juice.

AIMS To determine whether the pharmacokinetics of cisapride and its interaction with grapefruit juice are stereoselective. METHODS The study was a randomized, two-phase cross over design with a washout period of 2 weeks. Ten healthy volunteers were pretreated with either water or 200 ml double strength grapefruit juice three times a day for 2 days. On the 3rd each subject ingested a single 10 mg dose of rac-cisapride tablet. Double strength grapefruit juice (200 ml) or water was administered during cisapride dosing and 0.5 and 1.5 h thereafter. Blood samples were collected before and for 32 h after cisapride administration. Plasma concentrations of cisapride enantiomers were measured by a chiral h.p.l.c. method. A standard 12-lead ECG was recorded before cisapride administration (baseline) and 2, 5, 8, and 12 h later. RESULTS This study showed that cisapride pharmacokinetics are stereoselective. In control (water treated) subjects, the mean Cmax (30 +/- 13.6 ng ml-1; P = 0.0008) and AUC(0, infinity) (201 +/- 161 ng ml-1 h; P = 0.029) of (-)-cisapride were significantly higher than the Cmax (10.5 +/- 3.4 ng ml-1) and AUC(0, infinity) (70 +/- 51.5 ng ml-1 h) of (+)-cisapride. There was no marked difference in elimination half-life between (-)-cisapride (4.7 +/- 2.7 h) and (+)-cisapride (4.8 +/- 3 h). Compared with the water treated group, grapefruit juice significantly increased the mean Cmax of (-)-cisapride from 30 +/- 13.6-55.5 +/- 18 ng ml-1 (95% CI on mean difference, -33, -17; P = 0.00005) and of (+)-cisapride from 10.5 +/- 3.4 to 18.4 +/- 6.2 ng ml-1 (95% CI on mean difference, -11.8, -3.9, P = 0.00015). The mean AUC(0, infinity) of (-)-cisapride was increased from 201 +/- 161 to 521.6 +/- 303 ng ml-1 h (95% CI on mean difference, -439, -202; P = 0.0002) and that of (+)-cisapride from 70 +/- 51.5 to 170 +/- 91 ng ml-1 h (95% CI on mean difference, -143, -53; P = 0.0005). The tmax was also significantly increased for both enantiomers (from 1.35 to 2.8 h for (-)-cisapride and from 1.75 to 2.9 h for (+)-cisapride in the control and grapefruit juice group, respectively; P < 0.05). The t(1/2) of (-)-cisapride was significantly increased by grapefruit juice, while this change did not reach significant level for (+)-cisapride. The proportion of pharmacokinetic changes brought about by grapefruit juice was similar for both enantiomers, suggesting non-stereoselective interaction. We found no significant difference in mean QTc intervals between the water and grapefruit juice treated groups. CONCLUSIONS The pharmacokinetics of cisapride is stereoselective. Grapefruit juice elevates plasma concentrations of both (-)- and (+)-cisapride, probably through inhibition of CYP3A in the intestine. At present, there are no data on whether the enantiomers exhibit stereoselective pharmacodynamic actions. If they do, determination of plasma concentrations of the individual enantiomers as opposed to those of racemic cisapride may better predict the degree of drug interaction, cardiac safety and prokinetic efficacy of cisapride.
Transport in a one-channel Luttinger liquid.

We study theoretically the transport of a one-channel Luttinger liquid through a weak link. For repulsive electron interactions, the electrons are completely reflected by even the smallest scatterer, leading to a truly insulating weak link, in striking contrast to that for noninteracting electrons. At finite temperature (T) the conductance is nonzero, and is predicted to vanish as a power of T. At T=0 power-law current-voltage characteristics are predicted. For attractive interactions, a Luttinger liquid is argued to be perfectly transmitted through even the largest of barriers
In their own image? a comparison of doctoral students' and faculty members' referencing behavior

This article compares doctoral students' and faculty members' referencing behavior through the analysis of a large corpus of scientific articles. It shows that doctoral students tend to cite more documents per article than faculty members, and that the literature they cite is, on average, more recent. It also demonstrates that doctoral students cite a larger proportion of conference proceedings and journal articles than faculty members and faculty members are more likely to self‐cite and cite theses than doctoral students. Analysis of the impact of cited journals indicates that in health research, faculty members tend to cite journals with slightly lower impact factors whereas in social sciences and humanities, faculty members cite journals with higher impact factors. Finally, it provides evidence that, in every discipline, faculty members tend to cite a higher proportion of clinical/applied research journals than doctoral students. This study contributes to the understanding of referencing patterns and age stratification in academia. Implications for understanding the information‐seeking behavior of academics are discussed.
The benefit of microsatellite instability is attenuated by chemotherapy in stage II and stage III gastric cancer: Results from a large cohort with subgroup analyses

We previously reported that the prognosis of microsatellite instability high (MSI‐H) gastric cancer is similar to that of MSI‐low/microsatellite stable (MSI‐L/MSS) gastric cancer. The reason for this seemed to be related to the effects of chemotherapy. To verify this hypothesis, we expanded the study population and reanalyzed the prognosis of MSI‐H gastric cancer. Data from 1,276 patients with Stage II and III gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy with curative intent between January 2005 and June 2010 were reviewed. The prognosis of MSI‐H tumors in comparison with MSI‐L/MSS tumors was analyzed, according to the administration of chemotherapy and other clinicopathologic features. A total of 361 (28.3%) patients did not receive chemotherapy (MSI‐H = 47 and MSI‐L/MSS = 314), whereas 915 (71.7%) patients did receive chemotherapy (MSI‐H = 58 and MSI‐L/MSS = 857). The hazard ratio of MSI‐H versus MSI‐L/MSS was 0.49 (95% confidence interval: 0.26–0.94, p = 0.031) when chemotherapy was not received and 1.16 (95% confidence interval: 0.78–1.71, p = 0.466) when chemotherapy was received. In subgroup analyses, the prognosis of MSI‐H was better in Stage III, women, with lymph node metastasis, and undifferentiated histology subgroups when chemotherapy was not received. However, in patients treated with chemotherapy, prognosis was worse for MSI‐H tumors in Stage III, undifferentiated histology, and diffuse type subgroups of gastric cancer. In conclusion, MSI‐H tumors were associated with a good prognosis in Stage II and III gastric cancer when patients were treated by surgery alone, and the benefits of MSI‐H status were attenuated by chemotherapy.
Searching and Scanning: How Executives Obtain Information From Executive Information Systems

Executive information systems may be used in different ways by managers in retrieving information. Two common modes of use are scanning, or general browsing of data; and focused search, or seeking answers to specific questions or well-defined problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents of these two different modes of EIS use and also to examine their implications for perceived performance changes.The results show that, whenexecutives focus their use of EIS to answer specific questions or solve well-defined problems, they help to fine-tune operations and verify assumptions -- in other words, they help to make the organization more efficient. However, an EIS may also lead an executive to challenge fundamental managerial assumptions and preconceptions when using it to scan through information without having specific questions in mind. In this mode, an EIS may be used to help formulate problems and foster creativity -- thereby improving organizational effectiveness.EISs were found to contribute to gains in efficiency much more frequently than to gains in effectiveness. Companies that want to achieve greater effectiveness should pay attention to the role of the EIS in the scanning behavior of their managers. Factors that influenced the extent to which managers would engage their EIS in scanning included the extent to which EIS scanning was undertaken by others in the organization and the characteristics of the EIS itself.
Cofilin drives rapid turnover and fluidization of entangled F-actin

Significance When an animal cell moves or divides, a disordered network of actin filaments (F-actin) builds mechanical scaffolds to drive cell-shape changes. Actin filaments are undergoing continual cycles of assembly and disassembly, known as turnover, but it is unknown how these dynamics impact the mechanical properties of actin-filament-based networks. Here, we show that actin-filament turnover dynamics contribute to mechanical stress relaxation. Additionally, we identify the factors necessary to generate a nonequilibrium steady state of dynamic actin filaments that provides a picture of their regulation in vivo. The shape of most animal cells is controlled by the actin cortex, a thin network of dynamic actin filaments (F-actin) situated just beneath the plasma membrane. The cortex is held far from equilibrium by both active stresses and polymer turnover: Molecular motors drive deformations required for cell morphogenesis, while actin-filament disassembly dynamics relax stress and facilitate cortical remodeling. While many aspects of actin-cortex mechanics are well characterized, a mechanistic understanding of how nonequilibrium actin turnover contributes to stress relaxation is still lacking. To address this, we developed a reconstituted in vitro system of entangled F-actin, wherein the steady-state length and turnover rate of F-actin are controlled by the actin regulatory proteins cofilin, profilin, and formin, which sever, recycle, and assemble filaments, respectively. Cofilin-mediated severing accelerates the turnover and spatial reorganization of F-actin, without significant changes to filament length. We demonstrate that cofilin-mediated severing is a single-timescale mode of stress relaxation that tunes the low-frequency viscosity over two orders of magnitude. These findings serve as the foundation for understanding the mechanics of more physiological F-actin networks with turnover and inform an updated microscopic model of single-filament turnover. They also demonstrate that polymer activity, in the form of ATP hydrolysis on F-actin coupled to nucleotide-dependent cofilin binding, is sufficient to generate a form of active matter wherein asymmetric filament disassembly preserves filament number despite sustained severing.
A Reconsideration of Animal Body-Part Utility Indices

The animal body-part utility indices developed by Lewis Binford have been used to interpret faunal assemblages ranging from Plio-Pleistocene sites in East Africa to a late prehistoric bison kill in the High Plains of North America. Little attention, however, has been placed on refining or further developing these scales of economic utility. We examine Binford's derivation of the modified general utility index (MGUI) and demonstrate that it is needlessly complex. A nearly identical index, the food utility index (FUI), is presented. It simply scales variation in the amount of meat, marrow, and bone grease associated with different caribou body parts. We then use the insights provided by this simple scale to explore relations among economic utility, differential body-part representation, and human decision making.
Agents of Reconciliation

Conflicting parties experience threats to both their agency and morality, but the experience of agency-threat exerts more influence on their behavior, leading to relationship-destructive tendencies. Whereas high-commitment relationships facilitate constructive tendencies despite the conflict, we theorized that in low-commitment relationships, affirming the adversary’s agency is a prerequisite for facilitating more constructive tendencies. Focusing on sibling conflicts, Study 1 found that when commitment was low (rather than high), agency-affirmation increased participants’ constructive tendencies toward their brother/sister compared with a control/no-affirmation condition. A corresponding morality-affirmation did not affect participants’ tendencies. Study 2 replicated these results in workplace conflicts and further found that the positive effect of agency-affirmation in low-commitment relationships was mediated by participants’ wish to restore their morality. Study 3 induced a conflict between lab participants and manipulated their commitment. Again, in the low- (rather than high-) commitment condition, agency-affirmation increased participants’ wish to restore their morality, leading to constructive behavior.
Focusing Problems of a Buried Point Scatterer using a Low Frequency SAR

In this paper, we inspect the range and azimuthal defocusing of a buried point scatterer for a low frequency (L or P band) synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Firstly we present the hydraulic electromagnetic and propagation models that allow us to calculate the water content profile in the soil, to deduce the dielectric constant and to simulate the electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation and attenuation. Secondly results of pulse simulation and focusing for several configurations (band polarization, incident angle, point scatterer depth, water content profile) are presented and discussed. The advantages and drawbacks of L and P radars are discussed in the conclusion.
Cell Surface Galactosylation Is Essential for Nonsexual Flocculation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

ABSTRACT We have isolated fission yeast mutants that constitutively flocculate upon growth in liquid media. One of these mutants, thegsf1 mutant, was found to cause dominant, nonsexual, and calcium-dependent aggregation of cells into flocs. Its flocculation was inhibited by the addition of galactose but was not affected by the addition of mannose or glucose, unlike Saccharomyces cerevisiae FLO mutants. The gsf1 mutant coflocculated withSchizosaccharomyces pombe wild-type cells, while no coflocculation was found with galactose-deficient (gms1Δ) cells. Moreover, flocculation of the gsf1 mutant was also inhibited by addition of cell wall galactomannan from wild-type cells but not from gms1Δ cells. These results suggested that galactose residues in the cell wall glycoproteins may be receptors ofgsf1-mediated flocculation, and therefore cell surface galactosylation is required for nonsexual flocculation in S. pombe.
Outcome of standardized treatment for patients with MDR-TB from Tamil Nadu, India

Background & objectives Programmatic management of MDR-TB using a standardized treatment regimen (STR) is being implemented under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in India. This study was undertaken to analyse the outcomes of MDR-TB patients treated at the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai, with the RNTCP recommended 24 months STR, under programmatic conditions. Methods Patients failed to the category II re-treatment regimen and confirmed to have MDR-TB, were treated with the RNTCP's STR in a prospective field trial on a predominantly ambulatory basis. Thirty eight patients were enrolled to the trial from June 2006 to September 2007. Results Time to culture conversion was two months or less for 82 per cent of patients. Culture conversion rates at 3 and 6 months were 84 and 87 per cent respectively. At the end of treatment, 25 (66%) were cured, 5 defaulted, 3 died and 5 failed. At 24 months, 30 (79%) patients, including 5 defaulters, remained culture negative for more than 18 months. Twenty two (58%) patients reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which required dose reduction or termination of the offending drug. No patient had XDR-TB initially, but 2 failure cases emerged as XDR-TB during treatment. Interpretation & conclusions Outcomes of this small group of MDR-TB patients treated with the RNTCP's STR is encouraging in this setting. Close attention needs to be paid to ensure adherence, and to the timely recognition and treatment of ADRs.
Ozone Induces Inflammation in Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Aim. Ozone is a main component of secondary pollutants of vehicle exhausts, and ozone exposure to children in urban areas may be associated with the development of asthma. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) by which ozone affects human airway epithelium and subsequent airway inflammation. Methods. Human bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to ozone at 0.16 mg/m3 for varying periods. The concentrations of IL-1 and IL-6 secreted by the cells were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the contents of intracellular malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. Furthermore, the conditional medium from the ozone-exposed cells was examined for stimulating human peripheral T lymphocytes from asthmatic patients and healthy subjects, and the production of cytokines was characterized by ELISA and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results. Ozone stimulated the IL-1 and IL-6 production by BEAS-2B cells and its stimulatory effects were time dependent. Furthermore, ozone exposure significantly increased the levels of MDA in BEAS-2B cells, as compared with that of the cells without ozone exposure, in a time-dependent manner. In addition, the conditional medium from the cells exposed to ozone, but not control condition medium, significantly increased the relative levels of IL-1 mRNA transcripts in human peripheral T lymphocytes from asthmatic patients, but not healthy subjects. However, the conditional medium did not induce significantly increased levels of IL-2 production by peripheral T cells. Conclusions. Our data indicated that exposure to low levels of ozone for a short period induced increases in the pro-inflammatory markers and oxidative stress in epithelial cells, which might contribute to airway inflammation particularly in asthmatic children.
The fatty acid and sterol content of food composites of middle- aged men in seven countries

Specific fatty acids and sterols in food composites from seven countries were analyzed. In the 1960s, groups of 8 to 49 men from 16 cohorts, ages 40 ‐ 59 years and living in the United States, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, or Japan recorded their food intake. In 1987, we collected food composites representing the average food intake per cohort sample in the 1960s. The foods were transported to the Netherlands, pooled, and centrally analyzed for energy, total fat, 42 fatty acids, cholesterol, and four plant sterols. The fat content ranged from 12% of total daily energy in the Tanushimaru, Japan, cohort to 50% in the U.S. cohort sample, and the polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio ranged from 0.17 in the east Finland cohort to 1.2 in Tanushimaru. The amount of trans fatty acids with 16 or 18 carbon atoms varied between 0.2 g/day in Corfu, Greece, and 8.6 g/day in Zutphen, Netherlands, and that of a-linolenic acid between 0.8 g/day in Rome and 2.5 g/day in east Finland. The sum of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexanoic acid ranged from 0.1 (U.S. railroad) to 2.0 g/day (Ushibuka, Japan), and phytosterols from 170 (U.S. railroad) to 358 mg/day (Corfu, Greece). Thus the intake of various fatty acids and sterols with potential relevance for coronary heart disease occurrence varied 10-fold or more between cohorts. Our data can be used to generate new hypotheses about the causes of differences in incidence of diseases between countries. q 1997 Academic Press