Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolism of Exogenous Gangliosides in Cerebellar Granule Cells, Differentiated in Culture

Abstract: The metabolism of exogenous gangliosides in the CNS has been investigated using cerebellar granule cells in culture as a model. For this purpose, GM2 and GM1, both isotopically radiolabeled at the level of the terminal sugar residue or of the long chain base moiety, were administered to differentiated cells for a 15‐h pulse, and their metabolic fate was followed in a time course protocol. At each time investigated (1,2, and 4 days after the pulse), several compounds, besides the ones administered, were detected: (a) GM2 (only after GM1 was given), GM3, lactosylceramide, glucosylceramide, and ceramide, all products of ganglioside stepwise catabolism; (b) GM 1 (only after GM2 was given), GDI a, GDlb, O‐Ac‐GTlb, and GTlb, that is, gangliosides more complex than the one administered; and (c) sphingomyelin. The compounds derived from ganglioside catabolism and sphingomyelin were detected only after administration of long chain base‐labeled precursors, whereas the others were found regardless of the labeling position of the precursor. In addition, radioactivity was incorporated in the delipidized residue when sugar‐labeled gangliosides were given to cells. Besides qualitative differences, quantitative ones were found after administration of the different precursors. Comparison of differences in the radioactivity incorporation values and calculation of the specific radioactivity of the individual sugar components of the GDI a and GTlb formed led to the conclusions that exogenous gangliosides (a) are easily taken up and metabolized by cerebellar granule cells, (b) undergo catabolism following the conventional pathway, (c) can be utilized directly as substrates for glycosylating reactions, thus giving rise to more complex gangliosides, and (d) give rise to fragments (of either saccharide or lipid nature) that can escape complete degradation and be reutilized for the resynthesis of gangliosides and sphingomyelin. This recycling process seems to be more efficient for lipid‐carrying fragments than for sugar‐containing fragments.
Intrathecal therapy in tetanus. A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE --To assess the efficacy of intrathecal therapy with tetanus antibody (antitetanus equine serum or human tetanus immune globulin) in neonatal and adult tetanus using meta-analytical techniques. DATA SOURCES --Clinical trials identified by searching MEDLINE and by reviewing bibliographies of published articles. STUDY SELECTION --Studies in English with concurrent controls treated without intrathecal therapy. DATA EXTRACTION --Data were extracted by one author and verified by the second; conflicts were resolved by discussion. DATA SYNTHESIS --No major treatment effect was found in neonatal tetanus when all studies were considered. A benefit was suggested for antitetanus equine serum in adult disease, but this finding should be accepted with caution. Subgroup analyses were limited in power. Methodological difficulties in neonatal and adult trials were common and safety has not been established. CONCLUSIONS --Intrathecal therapy for tetanus with either antitetanus equine serum or human tetanus immune globulin is not of proven benefit and should only be given in the context of well-designed, controlled trials.
HST GRISM CONFIRMATION OF TWO z ∼ 2 STRUCTURES FROM THE CLUSTERS AROUND RADIO-LOUD AGN (CARLA) SURVEY

Using Hubble Space Telescope slitless grism data, we report the spectroscopic confirmation of two distant structures at associated with powerful high-redshift radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs). These rich structures, likely (forming) clusters, are among the most distant structures currently known, and were identified on the basis of Spitzer/IRAC [3.6]–[4.5] color. We spectroscopically confirm nine members in the field of MRC 2036−254, comprising eight star-forming galaxies and the targeted radio galaxy. The median redshift is z = 2.000. We spectroscopically confirm 10 members in the field of B3 0756+406, comprising 8 star-forming galaxies and 2 AGNs, including the targeted radio-loud quasar. The median redshift is z = 1.986. All confirmed members are within 500 kpc (1 arcmin) of the targeted AGNs. We derive median (mean) star-formation rates of ( ) for the confirmed star-forming members of both structures based on their [O iii] luminosities, and estimate average galaxy stellar masses based on mid-infrared fluxes and spectral energy distribution modeling. Most of our confirmed members are located above the star-forming main sequence toward starburst galaxies, consistent with clusters at these early epochs being the sites of significant levels of star formation. The structure around MRC 2036−254 shows an overdensity of IRAC-selected candidate galaxy cluster members consistent with being quiescent galaxies, while the structure around B3 0756+406 shows field values, albeit with many lower limits to colors that could allow an overdensity of faint red quiescent galaxies. The structure around MRC 2036−254 shows a red sequence of passive galaxy candidates.
A survey of the enterococci isolated from an artisanal Italian goat's cheese (semicotto caprino)

Enterococci were isolated from semicotto caprino cheese, a traditional cheese produced in Southern Italy: they were a significant part of the microbial population of this cheese, confirming the importance of the presence of these micro‐organisms during cheese‐making and ripening. They were also identified and studied for their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics: Enterococcus faecalis and Ent. faecium were the most frequently isolated species, followed by Ent. durans, Ent. hirae and Ent. gallinarum. None of the isolates showed lipolytic activity, whereas they were characterized by a relevant proteolytic activity as well as an antagonistic activity towards Listeria innocua. One strain of Ent. gallinarum showed a low‐level resistance to vancomycin, while six out of the 79 Ent. faecalis strains possessed β‐haemolysis reaction. The highest acidifying potential in skim milk was obtained by Ent. faecalis isolates. Thirty enterococcal strains representative of the different species at different ripening times were analysed by means of RAPD‐PCR, and revealed species‐specific profiles for all the considered species.
A retrospective review of the histopathology and clinicopathologic correlates of appendices removed from patients of acute appendicitis.

AIM Appendicitis is the most common intra-abdominal condition requiring emergency surgery, with a life time risk of about 6%. Although considerable data are available in the literature regarding the histopathology of appendicectomy specimens, such information from the Indian subcontinent remains unreported. METHODS A total of 348 consecutive appendices removed because of clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis were selected. Three sections from each specimen were submitted for histopathology. Histopathologic acute appendicitis if present was further classified into 3 subcategories. A retrospective analysis was performed on all these specimens. RESULTS The male female ratio was 2.6:1 with highest number of cases in the age group 21-30 years; 282 specimens out of 348 showed features consistent with acute appendicitis with an overall higher occurrence in males. Statistically significant association was obtained between perforation and male sex, older age and acute suppurative appendicitis. CONCLUSIONS Present study shows that acute appendicitis in India is a disease of young males. The negative appendicectomy rate is about 10.9%. On further subclassification of acute appendicitis, uncomplicated acute appendicitis seems to be the most common followed by acute suppurative appendicitis.
Multi-Scale Validation of SMAP Soil Moisture Products over Cold and Arid Regions in Northwestern China Using Distributed Ground Observation Data

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission was designed to provide global mapping of soil moisture (SM) on nested 3, 9, and 36 km earth grids measured by L-band passive and active microwave sensors. The validation of SMAP SM products is crucial for the application of the products and improvement of the retrieval algorithm. Since the SMAP SM products were released, much effort has been invested in the evaluation of the SMAP radiometer SM product (SMAP_P). However, there has been little validation of SMAP radar (SMAP_A) and active/passive combined (SMAP_AP) SM products. This paper presents an evaluation of SMAP_P, SMAP_A and SMAP_AP SM products by using distributed ground observations networks in different landscapes in the Heihe River Basin of northwestern China. The standard error metrics of SMAP products and relative error are applied to measure the products’ performances. The results show that the SMAP SM products exhibit consistent spatial-temporal variation with the ground measurements and typical precipitation events. Three products show various types of performance capability (e.g., active, passive and combined), surface coverage (e.g., bare, vegetated) and climatic region (e.g., cold, arid). Relatively, the SMAP_P shows the best performance, while the SMAP_A performs the worst. The best performances are observed over bare soils but with overestimation and the largest relative error, and unsatisfactory accuracies are observed over cold regions and woody vegetated surfaces with underestimation. The vegetation effect and the freezing-thawing cycle may be major factors that led to an unsatisfactory performance. Efforts on resolving the influence of these factors are expected to improve the accuracy and to promote the application of SMAP SM products over these regions. Overall, this evaluation provides an understanding of SMAP SM products over cold and arid regions, and suggestions for the further refinement of the SMAP SM retrieval algorithms.
A performance study of dual-hop transmissions with fixed gain relays

This letter presents a study on the end-to-end performance of dual-hop wireless communication systems equipped with nonregenerative fixed gain relays and operating over flat Rayleigh-fading channels. More specifically, it first derives generic closed-form expressions for the outage probability and the average probability of error when the relays have arbitrary fixed gains. It then proposes a specific fixed gain relay that benefits from the knowledge of the first hop's average fading power and compares its performance with previously proposed relay gains that in contrast require knowledge of the instantaneous channel state information of the first hop. Finally, the letter investigates the effect of the relay saturation on the performance of the systems under consideration. Numerical results show that nonregenerative systems with fixed gain relays have a comparable performance to nonregenerative systems with variable gain, more complex, relays. These results also show that relay saturation of these systems results in a minimal loss in performance.
Employment Accessibility Among Housing Subsidy Recipients

This article estimates the extent to which different types of subsidized households live near employment, measuring the extent of spatial mismatch between these households and employment. Using census tract–level data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on housing subsidy locations and employment data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this article uses a distance-decay function to estimate job-accessibility indices for census tracts in metropolitan statistical areas with 100,000 people or more. I use these data to create weighted job-accessibility indices for housing subsidy recipients (public housing, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Section 8 New Construction, and housing voucher households) and the total population and renter households earning below 50% of area median income as points of comparison. I find that of all these groups, by a large margin, public housing households live in census tracts with the greatest proximity to low-skilled jobs. However, they also live among the greatest concentration of individuals who compete for those jobs, namely, the low-skilled unemployed. These findings suggest that we pay close attention to the trade-offs that public housing residents are making as these units are demolished and replaced with vouchers.
Hans Von Bülow: A Life and Times

ILLUSTRATIONS THE BULOW CHRONICLES BULOW'S FAMILY TREE PROLOGUE 1. From Alpha to Omega 2. Bulow's Family Background BOOK ONE: ON THE SLOPES OF PARNASSUS, 1830-1869 3. The Early Years 4. With Liszt in Weimar 5. The Growing Virtuoso. 1853-1855 6. Berlin, 1855-64 I: A City of Mingled Chimes 7. Berlin, 1855-64 II: Marriage to Cosima 8. Catastrophe in Munich, 1864-69 BOOK TWO: ASCENDING THE PEAK, 1870-1880 9. Bulow in Florence 10. First Tours of Britain - and Beyond, 1873-1875 11. The First Tour of America, 1875-76 12. A Scottish Interlude, 1877-78 13. At Hanover, 1877-79 14. Britannia Scorned, 1878-1879 BOOK THREE: VISTAS FROM THE SUMMIT, 1880-1894 15. The Meiningen Years, 1880-1885 I: The Meiningen Miracle 16. The Meiningen Years, 1880-1885 II: Enter Marie Schanzer 17. The Meiningen Years, 1880-1885 III: Paths of Glory 18. Bulow the Pedagogue: The Frankfurt Masterclasses, 1884-1887 19. A New Home in Hamburg, 1886 20. The Berlin Philharmonic, 1887-92 I: The Eagle's Wings 21. Return to America, 1889-1890 22. The Berlin Philharmonic, 1887-92 II: 'Glory, Honour, and Good Fortune' 23. The Last Days and Death of Bulow, 1893-94. APPENDIX I: BULOW'S AUTOPSY REPORT APPENDIX II: COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF BULOW'S COMPOSITIONS, TRANSCRIPTIONS, AND EDITIONS APPENDIX III: BULOW'S TITLES AND HONOURS LIST OF SOURCES INDEX
Gap between short- and long-term effects of patient education in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To systematically review educational or psychoeducational interventions for patients with rheumatoid arthritis focusing on long-term effects, especially health status. METHODS Two independent reviewers appraised the methodologic quality of the included randomized controlled trials, published between 1980 and July 2002. RESULTS Validity scores of studies ranged from 3 to 9 (of 11). The 7 educational programs mainly improved knowledge and compliance in the short and long term, but there was no improvement in health status. All 4 psychoeducational programs improved coping behavior in the short term, 2 of them showing a positive long-term effect on physical or psychological health variables. CONCLUSION Methodologically better-designed studies had more difficulties demonstrating positive outcome results. Short-term effects in program targets are generally observed, whereas long-term changes in health status are not convincingly demonstrated. There is a need to find better strategies to enhance the transfer of short-term effects into gains in health status.
Clinical trial of fluoride therapy in postmenopausal osteoporotic women: Extended observations and additional analysis

In a 4 year clinical trial in 202 postmenopausal osteoporotic women receiving NaF at 75 mg/day or placebo (both groups received supplementary calcium at 1500 mg/day), we found (N Engl J Med 322:801, 1990) that NaF increased bone mineral density in the lumbar spine (LS‐BMD) substantially but did not decrease vertebral fracture rate (VFR), and it increased the nonvertebral fracture rate. Additional analyses and extended observations are now available on 50 women from the NaF group followed for up to 6 years of treatment. In these women, LS‐BMD increased linearly over the 6 years (median rate, 8.7%/year or 0.063 g/cm2/year). Because during the 4 year trial the NaF dosage was decreased (because of side effects) in 54 of the 101 women randomized to NaF, dose‐response relationships could be evaluated. For the entire study population, serum F level correlated directly with increase in LS‐BMD (r = 0.61, P < 0.001). When individual person‐years of observation were grouped by deciles of LS‐BMD, VFR (per 100 person‐years) decreased to a nadir of 24 as mean LS‐BMD for the group increased from 0.6 to 1.2 g/cm2 and then doubled to 52 in the group with mean LS‐BMD of 1.6 g/cm2. Multivariate analyses and inspection of three‐dimensional plots revealed a complex pattern in which VFR was influenced by interaction of several variables. When the effects of LS‐BMD, changes in LS‐BMD, and serum F were assessed simultaneously, VFR was seen to decrease with increasing LS‐BMD except when the higher LS‐BMD was associated with rapid rate of increase in LS‐BMD or a large increase from baseline serum F. For some patients (noncompliers or nonresponders), serum F or LS‐BMD failed to increase. Thus, it is possible that lower dosages of NaF produce moderate decreases in VFR.
A phase I/II trial of Z‐Dex (oral idarubicin and dexamethasone), an oral equivalent of VAD, as initial therapy at diagnosis or progression in multiple myeloma

We designed an oral equivalent regime to mimic VAD and its hybrids, using idarubicin and dexamethasone (Z‐Dex) given in four cycles to induce cytoreduction prior to dose intensification in multiple myeloma cases. 20 patients (de novon=15, replaced VAD n=2, relapsed n=2, and resistant n=1), 13 males and seven females with a median age of 54 years (range 40–65 years) received Z‐Dex therapy. The overall response rate was 70% (14/20), with one patient (5%) achieving complete remission (CR). The response rate for previously untreated patients was 80% (12/15), with a CR rate of 6.7% (1/15). Both patients who received Z‐Dex in place of VAD continued to respond. Myelosuppression was seen in 14/20 patients (70%); 4/20 (20%) developing severe neutropenia with one death from neutropenic sepsis. Gastrointestinal toxicity and alopecia were infrequently reported. Satisfactory responses can be obtained using an oral regime equivalent to VAD with tolerable toxicity and morbidity.
Grafting of deproteinized bone particles inhibits bone resorption after maxillary sinus floor elevation.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the value of deproteinized bone particles on bone resorption in the augmented space after maxillary sinus floor elevation in rabbits. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 20 rabbits underwent bilateral grafting, using blood clots (control group) and deproteinized bone particles (experimental group), and followed with histologic and histomorphometric analysis. RESULTS Two weeks after grafting, the augmented space was almost completely obliterated by both newly formed bone and fibrous connective tissue in the control group. Some osteoclasts were found on the surface of newly formed bone, especially near the elevated sinus membrane. In the experimental group, newly formed bone was found along the elevated sinus membrane, the cortical wall of the augmented space, and the surface of deproteinized bone particles near the cortical wall. Some osteoclasts were found along the deproteinized bone particles and a few adhered to the surface of the newly formed bone. Eight to 10 weeks after implantation in the control group, most of the newly formed bone had been resorbed. In the experimental group, newly formed bone was found in most parts of the convex augmented space. Histomorphometrical analysis showed that the augmented height was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group at all evaluation times. Bone area was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group at 6, 8, and 10 weeks after implantation. The area of grafted deproteinized bone particles did not change significantly from 2 to 10 weeks. CONCLUSION Slowly resorbed deproteinized bone particles contribute to stable augmentation of the maxillary sinus floor by inhibiting bone resorption.
Developmental expression patterns of testicular olfactory receptor genes during mouse spermatogenesis

A subset of olfactory receptors (ORs) is expressed in mammalian male germ cells. Recent studies on human and mouse sperm have suggested that calcium signaling via a testicular OR regulates sperm flagellar motility. However, it remains to be determined at what stages testicular ORs are expressed during spermatogenesis and whether each germ cell expresses one or multiple ORs. Here we examined the developmental expression profiles of several mouse testicular OR genes using an in situ hybridization technique at the cellular level. We found that OR transcripts in the spermatogenic cells are expressed in three developmental stages: late pachyten spermatocytes, early round spermatids, or late round spermatids. The OR mRNAs were condensed in a single dot‐like structure within the nuclei of a subpopulation of spermatogenic cells. Double‐fluorescent in situ hybridization revealed that some cells contained two dot‐like signals derived from transcripts of two different ORs, suggesting that single spermatogenic cells could express more than one OR. One cell‐multiple OR gene expression combined with variability in expression appears to result in heterogeneity in the repertoire of ORs expressed by individual spermatogenic cells. Although the functional consequence of heterogeneous OR expression awaits development of a methodology for characterizing OR proteins, our observations give insights into OR gene expression as well as OR function(s) in spermatogenic cells.
Seasonal variation in the incidence of peptic ulcer and esophageal variceal bleeding in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND Seasonal variation of peptic ulcer and peptic ulcer bleeding has been reported in many western countries. To investigate the seasonal variation of peptic ulcer (PU) and esophageal variceal (EV) bleeding in Taiwan, this retrospective study was conducted. METHODS Seven hundred and forty-six cases of gastric ulcer (GU) bleeding, 777 cases of duodenal ulcer (DU) bleeding and 264 cases of EV bleeding were recruited from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 1992. Patients were sent to the Medical Emergency Room (MER) for hematemesis and/or melena. Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopic examinations were completed within 24 hours for all patients. RESULTS Significant seasonal variation was found in the incidence of PU and EV bleeding. PU bleeding was most often seen in March and EV bleeding was most often seen in February. CONCLUSIONS The possible mechanism for the cyclic change of PU and EV bleeding is unclear, but clearly more manpower is needed during the months of February and March for better management of the increasing number of cases of PU and EV bleeding.