Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning and memory after neonatal exposure to 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) in rats: Interaction with exposure in adulthood

This study determined whether developmental and adult 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) exposures in rats have interactive effects on body temperature, learning, other behaviors, and monoamine concentrations in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and striatum. Learning was assessed in the Cincinnati water maze (CWM), Morris water maze (MWM), and novel object recognition (NOR). On acquisition trials in the MWM, significant differences from developmental MDMA exposure were found on latency, cumulative distance, path length, and angle of first bearing to the goal, but the early and adult MDMA exposure group performed no worse than the developmental‐only MDMA group. In the reversal trials, however, an interaction was seen: latency to the goal, cumulative distance, and angle of first bearing were increased in animals treated both developmentally and in adulthood with MDMA compared with those treated only developmentally. Other tests (elevated zero maze, CWM, NOR, and open‐field activity) did not show an interaction, nor did hippocampal concentrations of serotonin or dopamine. However, several behavioral tests showed neonatal MDMA effects, including increased errors in the CWM, reduced time spent with a new object in the NOR test, and reduced locomotor activity in the open‐field. By contrast, adult MDMA decreased the number of entries into open quadrants of the elevated zero maze. Litter effects were controlled by treating litter as the experimental unit and using mixed models repeated measures analyses. Correlational analyses suggested that the MWM reversal interaction involves multiple monoamine changes. The results indicate that developmental MDMA exposure can interact with adult exposure to interfere with some aspects of learning. Synapse 57:148–159, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reliability and cogency of expert witness evidence in modern civil litigation

References 1 Organ Donation Taskforce. Organs for transplants – a report from the Organ Donation Taskforce. Jan 2008. http:// www.dh. gov.uk/en/Publication sandstatistics/Publications/Publica tionsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_ 082122 (accessed 30 ⁄ 05 ⁄ 2011). 2 NHS Blood and Transplant. Statistics. http://www.organdonation. nhs.uk/ukt/statistics/latest_statistics/ latest_statistics. jsp (accessed 30 ⁄ 05 ⁄ 2011). 3 NHS Blood and Transplant. Transplant activity in the UK 2007–2008. http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ ukt/statistics/transplant_activity_ report/archive_activity_reports/ archive_activity_reports. jsp (accessed 30 ⁄ 05 ⁄ 2011). 4 Barnard C. A human cardiac transplant: an interim report of a successful operation performed at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. South African Medical Journal 1967; 41: 1271–4. 5 Sánchez-Fructuoso AI, Prats D, Torrente J, et al. Renal transplantation from non-heart beating donors: a promising alternative to enlarge the donor pool. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 2011; 11: 350–8. 6 NHS Blood and Transplant. News Releases. http://www.uktransplant. org.uk/ukt/newsroom/news_ releases/article.jsp? releaseId=47 (accessed 20 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011). 7 NHS Blood and Transplant. News releases. http://www. organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/ newsroom/news_releases/article. jsp? releaseId=271 (accessed 27 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011) 8 Department of Health. Legal Issues Relevant to Non-Heartbeating Organ Donation. Nov 2009. http:// www.dh. gov.uk/en/Publications andstatistics/Publications/ PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/ DH_108825 (accessed 27 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011). 9 Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. A Code of Practice for the Diagnosis and Confirmation of Death. Oct 2008 http://www.aomrc. org. uk/reports-guidance.html (accessed 27 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011). 10 Intensive Care Society and British Transplantation Society. Organ Donation after Circulatory Death. Dec 2010. http://www.ics. ac.uk/ intensive_care_professional/ standards_and_guidelines/dcd (accessed 27 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011). 11 NHS Blood and Transplant. National Standards for Organ Retrieval from Deceased Donors, Version 2. Watford, Herts: NHS Blood and Transplant; April 2011. 12 UK Donation Ethics Committee. An Ethical Framework for Controlled Donation after Circulatory Death – Consultation. Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Jan 2011. http:// www.aomrc. org.uk/reports-guidance. html (accessed 27 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2011). 13 Gardiner D, Riley B. Non-heartbeating organ donation – solution or a step too far. Anaesthesia 2007; 62: 431–3.
Effect of cisapride on secondary peristalsis in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

OBJECTIVE:Improvement of esophageal acid clearance appears to be an important effect of cisapride in the treatment of reflux disease. The mechanism underlying this effect is not clear. Esophageal peristalsis is a major component of the acid clearance process. In normal subjects secondary peristalsis is an important mechanism of esophageal acid clearance during sleep, and this response appears to be impaired in patients with reflux esophagitis. The effects of cisapride on secondary peristalsis are not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cisapride on the triggering and characteristics of secondary peristalsis in patients with reflux esophagitis.METHODS:In 17 patients with reflux esophagitis and impaired secondary peristalsis cisapride, 10 mg q.i. d. , or placebo were administered in a randomized double blind, crossover design for 4 days separated by a 4–7 day washout period. On the fourth day of treatment, primary peristalsis and secondary peristalsis in response to 10- and 20-ml air boluses were assessed.RESULTS:Secondary peristaltic success and amplitude were greater with the 20-ml bolus than with the 10-ml bolus. However, cisapride had no effect on either secondary peristaltic success or amplitude. Cisapride also had no effect on primary peristalsis or basal LES pressure.CONCLUSIONS:The improvement in esophageal acid clearance by cisapride is not explainable by improvement in secondary peristalsis.
Light-Load Efficiency Improvement for Buck Voltage Regulators

Extending battery life is a big challenge for today's laptop, and light-load efficiency is very important for battery life extension. In this paper, adaptive ON-time control is proposed to achieve higher efficiency when the buck converter is running in continuous current mode. A novel nonlinear inductor is then proposed to improve discontinuous-current-mode efficiency. A control method with a thorough analysis is proposed for the nonlinear inductor to achieve high efficiency, the required output voltage ripple, and sufficient transient response. The experimental results demonstrate the benefits of the proposed methods.
An adaptive image contrast enhancement based on differential evolution

Tubbs proposed a regularized incomplete beta function to represent some nonlinear transform functions most commonly used in image contrast enhancement. But how to define the coefficients of the beta function adaptively is still a problem. Applying the differential evolution in image contrast enhancement, we utilize the global quickly search ability of the differential evolution algorithm, adaptive mutation, search, at last searches the optimal α, β values of beta function and gets an adaptive contrast enhanced image. To avoid trapping into local optimum, a chaotic differential evolution algorithm is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can find the global optimal α, β in few iterations and save largely computational time and complexity.
Trusting Others: The Polarization Effect of Need for Closure

Because trust-related issues inherently involve uncertainty, we expected individuals' social-cognitive motivation to manage uncertainty--which is captured by their need for closure--to influence their level of trust in others. Through the results of 6 studies, we showed that higher need for closure was related to more polarized trust judgments (i.e., low trust in distant others and high trust in close others) in the case of both chronic and situational need for closure. Moreover, participants with high need for closure did not revise their level of trust when they received feedback about the trustees' actual trustworthiness, whereas participants with low need for closure did. Overall, our findings indicate that polarized (either high or low, as opposed to moderate) and persistent levels of trust may serve people's seizing and freezing needs for achieving cognitive closure.
A practical approach to prescribe the amount of used insulin of diabetic patients

To assess of diabetes mellitus, extensive mathematical studies have been done to date. Up to now, many crisp mathematical models have described this phenomenon, but with the aim of controlling and modelling diabetes mellitus in more realistic and practical form, the models that consider most aspects of the problem should be considered. This kind of attitude to the disease can be modelling with mathematics called fuzzy mathematics. In this paper, modelling of diabetes mellitus type 2 has been studied by using IF-Then fuzzy rules based on the medical information of diabetic patients of Parsian clinic in Mashhad-Iran who were treated during October 2009-February 2010, and then by using the defuzzification method the prescribable amount of insulin to diabetic patients type 2 would be determined. This approach will provide a better control possibility of blood glucose level stability in patients despite the uncertainty in the data and information of patients due to disturbances of body system.
Sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphohydrolase in regulation of sphingolipid metabolism and apoptosis

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid metabolite that regulates diverse biological processes by binding to a family of G protein–coupled receptors or as an intracellular second messenger. Mammalian S1P phosphatase (SPP-1), which degrades S1P to terminate its actions, was recently cloned based on homology to a lipid phosphohydrolase that regulates the levels of phosphorylated sphingoid bases in yeast. Confocal microscopy surprisingly revealed that epitope-tagged SPP-1 is intracellular and colocalized with the ER marker calnexin. Moreover, SPP-1 activity and protein appeared to be mainly enriched in the intracellular membranes with lower expression in the plasma membrane. Treatment of SPP-1 transfectants with S1P markedly increased ceramide levels, predominantly in the intracellular membranes, diminished survival, and enhanced apoptosis. Remarkably, dihydro-S1P, although a good substrate for SPP-1 in situ, did not cause significant ceramide accumulation or increase apoptosis. Ceramide accumulation induced by S1P was completely blocked by fumonisin B1, an inhibitor of ceramide synthase, but only partially reduced by myriocin, an inhibitor of serine palmitoyltransferase, the first committed step in de novo synthesis of ceramide. Furthermore, S1P, but not dihydro-S1P, stimulated incorporation of [3H]palmitate, a substrate for both serine palmitoyltransferase and ceramide synthase, into C16-ceramide. Collectively, our results suggest that SPP-1 functions in an unprecedented manner to regulate sphingolipid biosynthesis and is poised to influence cell fate.
The Mutant Form of Lamin A that Causes Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Is a Biomarker of Cellular Aging in Human Skin

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS, OMIM 176670) is a rare disorder characterized by accelerated aging and early death, frequently from stroke or coronary artery disease. 90% of HGPS cases carry the LMNA G608G (GGC>GGT) mutation within exon 11 of LMNA, activating a splice donor site that results in production of a dominant negative form of lamin A protein, denoted progerin. Screening 150 skin biopsies from unaffected individuals (newborn to 97 years) showed that a similar splicing event occurs in vivo at a low level in the skin at all ages. While progerin mRNA remains low, the protein accumulates in the skin with age in a subset of dermal fibroblasts and in a few terminally differentiated keratinocytes. Progerin-positive fibroblasts localize near the basement membrane and in the papillary dermis of young adult skin; however, their numbers increase and their distribution reaches the deep reticular dermis in elderly skin. Our findings demonstrate that progerin expression is a biomarker of normal cellular aging and may potentially be linked to terminal differentiation and senescence in elderly individuals.
Vigabatrin, but not Gabapentin or Topiramate, Produces Concentration‐related Effects on Enzymes and Intermediates of the GABA Shunt in Rat Brain and Retina

Summary: Purpose: The antiepileptic drug (AED) vigabatrin (VGB), which exerts its pharmacologic effects on the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, causes concentric visual field constriction in >40% of exposed adults. This may be a class effect of all agents with GABA‐related mechanisms of action. We compared the concentration‐related effects of VGB in rat brain and eye with those of gabapentin (GBP) and topiramate (TPM), both of which have been reported to elevate brain GABA concentrations in humans.
Cytotoxic Effects of Hydroxylated Fullerenes in Three Types of Liver Cells

Fullerenes C60 have attracted considerable attention in the biomedical field due to their interesting properties. Although there has been a concern that C60 could be metabolized to hydroxylated fullerenes (C60(OH)x) in vivo, there is little information on the effect of hydroxylated C60 on liver cells. In the present study, we evaluated the cytotoxic effects of fullerene C60 and various hydroxylated C60 derivatives, C60(OH)2, C60(OH)6–12, C60(OH)12 and C60(OH)36, with three different types of liver cells, dRLh-84, HepG2 and primary cultured rat hepatocytes. C60, C60(OH)2 and C60(OH)36 exhibited little or no cytotoxicity in all of the cell types, while C60(OH)6–12 and C60(OH)12 induced cytotoxic effects in dRLh-84 cells, accompanied by the appearance of numerous vacuoles around the nucleus. Moreover, mitochondrial activity in liver cells was significantly inhibited by C60(OH)6–12 and C60(OH)12. These results indicate that the number of hydroxyl groups on C60(OH)x contribute to the difference of their cytotoxic potential and mitochondrial damage in liver cells.
Optimization of selenoprotein P and other plasma selenium biomarkers for the assessment of the selenium nutritional requirement: a placebo-controlled, double-blind study of selenomethionine supplementation in selenium-deficient Chinese subjects.

BACKGROUND The intake of selenium needed for optimal health has not been established. Selenoproteins perform the functions of selenium, and the selenium intake needed for their full expression is not known. OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine the intake of selenium required to optimize plasma selenoprotein P (SEPP1) and to compare SEPP1 with other plasma selenium biomarkers. DESIGN A 40-wk placebo-controlled, double-blind study of selenium repletion was carried out in 98 healthy Chinese subjects who had a daily dietary selenium intake of 14 micro g. Fourteen subjects each were assigned randomly to daily dose groups of 0, 21, 35, 55, 79, 102, and 125 micro g Se as l-selenomethionine. Plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, SEPP1, and selenium were measured. A biomarker was considered to be optimized when its value was not different from the mean value of the subjects receiving larger supplements. RESULTS The SEPP1 concentration was optimized at 40 wk by the 35- micro g supplement, which indicated that 49 micro g/d could optimize it. GPX activity was optimized by 21 micro g (total ingestion: 35 micro g/d). The selenium concentration showed no tendency to become optimized. CONCLUSIONS The present results indicate that SEPP1 concentration is the best plasma biomarker studied for assessing optimal expression of all selenoproteins, because its optimization required a larger intake of selenium than did GPX activity. On the basis of the selenium intake needed for SEPP1 optimization with adjustments for body weight and individual variation, ap 75 micro g Se/d as selenomethionine is postulated to allow full expression of selenoproteins in US residents. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00428649.
A MOTIVAÇÃO ESCOLAR E O PROCESSO DE APRENDIZAGEM

Resumo Este artigo procura salientar a importância da motivacao para os processos de aprendizagem e para o sucesso escolar. O envolvimento dos alunos em cada disciplina do curriculo varia muito em funcao de diversos factores, individuais e de contexto, ligados a motivacao. As actuais teorias cognitivas da motivacao dao prioridade ao estudo das crencas, valores e emocoes do individuo, por considerarem que essas sao mediadoras do comportamento e exercem forte influencia no processo motivacional. As pesquisas realizadas permitem concluir que a relacao entre a aprendizagem e a motivacao vai alem de qualquer pre-condicao estabelecida, ela e reciproca e, dessa forma, a motivacao pode produzir um efeito na aprendizagem e no desempenho, assim como a aprendizagem pode interferir na motivacao. Esta reflexao aponta algumas orientacoes para a pratica educativa. © Cien. Cogn. 2010; Vol. 15 (2): 132-141. Palavras-chave: motivacao; aprendizagem; contexto escolar. Abstract This article aims to stress the importance of motivation both on the learning process and on school success. Learners' involvement in all their curriculum depend on a range of individual and contextual factors all of them closely linked to motivation. Nowadays, the cognitive theories of motivation give priority to the individual's beliefs, values and emotions for they consider that these mediate behavior and exercise strong influence upon the motivational process. Previous researches claim that the relationship between learning and motivation goes beyond any pre-established condition, therefore motivation produces an effect upon learning and school performance as well as, due to the reciprocity of the process, it is also deeply influenced by it. This reflection points out some orientations for the educational practice. © Cien. Cogn. 2010; Vol. 15 (2): 132-141. Keywords : motivation; learning; school context.
Impact of Cell Density on Differentiation Efficiency of Rat Adipose-derived Stem Cells into Schwann-like Cells

Background and Objectives Schwann-like (SC-like) cells induced from adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) may be one of the ideal alternative cell sources for obtaining Schwann cells (SCs). They can be used for treating peripheral nerve injuries. Co-culture with SCs or exposure to glial growth factors are commonly used for differentiation of ASCs to SC-like cells. However, the effect of initial cell density as an inductive factor on the differentiation potential of ASCs into the SC-like cells has not been yet investigated. Methods and Results ASCs were harvested from rat and characterized. The cells were seeded into the culture flasks at three different initial cell densities i.e. 2×103, 4×103 and 8×103 cells/cm2 an overnight and differentiated toward SC-like cells using glial growth factors. After two weeks, the differentiation rate of ASCs to SC-like cells at different densities was assessed by immunofluorescence, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis and real time RT-PCR. Expression of the typical SCs markers, S-100 proteins and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) protein, was observed in all cell densities groups although the number of S100-positive and GFAP-positive cells, and the expression of p75NTR mRNA, another SC marker, were significantly higher at the density of 8×103 cells/cm2 when compared with the other cell densities groups (p<0.001). Conclusions The results suggest that the higher differentiation rate of ASCs to SC-like cells can be obtained at initial cell density of 8×103 cells/cm2, possibly via increased cell-cell interaction and cell density-dependent influence of glial growth factors.
Low-dose atorvastatin in severe chronic kidney disease patients: A randomized, controlled endpoint study

Objective. There have been no endpoint studies with statins for patients with severe renal failure. The purpose of this prospective, open, randomized, controlled study was to investigate whether atorvastatin (10 mg/day) would alter cardiovascular endpoints and the overall mortality rate of patients with chronic kidney disease stage 4 or 5 (creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min). Material and methods. The study subjects comprised 143 patients who were randomized either to placebo (controls; n=73; mean age 69.5 years) or to treatment with atorvastatin (n=70; mean age 67.9 years). The patients included were either non-dialysis (n=33), haemodialysis (n=97) or peritoneal dialysis (n=13) patients. Analysis focused on the primary endpoints of all-cause mortality, non-lethal acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Statistical analysis for endpoint data was mainly by intention-to-treat. Results. Primary endpoints occurred in 74% of the subjects. There was no difference in outcome between the control and atorvastatin groups. The 5-year endpoint-free survival rate from study entry was ≈20%. Atorvastatin was withdrawn in ≈20% of patients due to unacceptable side-effects. In the atorvastatin group, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was reduced by 35% at 1 month and then sustained. The controls showed a progressive reduction in LDL cholesterol until 36 months. Conclusions. Although atorvastatin reduced total and LDL cholesterol effectively it was not beneficial regarding the long-term outcomes of cardiovascular endpoints or survival. In contrast to other patient groups, patients with severe chronic kidney disease, especially those on dialysis, seem to derive limited benefit from this lower dose of atorvastatin.
The preterm parturition syndrome

The implicit paradigm that has governed the study and clinical management of preterm labour is that term and preterm parturition are the same processes, except for the gestational age at which they occur. Indeed, both share a common pathway composed of uterine contractility, cervical dilatation and activation of the membranes/decidua. This review explores the concept that while term labour results from physiological activation of the components of the common pathway, preterm labour arises from pathological signalling and activation of one or more components of the common pathway of parturition. The term ‘great obstetrical syndromes’ has been coined to reframe the concept of obstetrical disease. Such syndromes are characterised by: (1) multiple aetiology; (2) long preclinical stage; (3) frequent fetal involvement; (4) clinical manifestations that are often adaptive in nature; and (5) gene–environment interactions that may predispose to the syndromes. This article reviews the evidence indicating that the pathological processes implicated in the preterm parturition syndrome include: (1) intrauterine infection/inflammation; (2) uterine ischaemia; (3) uterine overdistension; (4) abnormal allograft reaction; (5) allergy; (6) cervical insufficiency; and (7) hormonal disorders (progesterone related and corticotrophin‐releasing factor related). The implications of this conceptual framework for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of preterm labour are discussed.
Economics and happiness

Evalua, tomando puntos claves de la economia politica, el caos a que llego el pensamiento social contemporaneo, e intenta llegar a las mismas preguntas que hizo Prebisch al final de su vida sobre America Latina despues de tantos experimentos desarrollistas y reformistas fracasados.