Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholinergic and catecholaminergic afferents to the olfactory bulb in the Hamster: A neuroanatomical, biochemical, and histochemical investigation

A series of neuroanatomical, biochemical, and histochemical studies have been conducted to determine the sources of cholinergic afferents to the main olfactory bulb (MOB) in the hamster. Following horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injections that are restricted to the MOB, retrograde neuronal labeling is observed bilaterally in the anterior olfactory nucleus, locus coeruleus, and raphe nuclei, and ipsilaterally in the ventral hippocampal rudiment, dorsal peduncular cortex, piriform cortex, nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, anterior pole of the medial septal area and vertical limb of the diagonal band, nucleus of the horizontal limb of the diagonal band (HDB), and hypothalamus. Spread of HRP into the accessory olfactory bulb results in additional neuronal labeling ipsilaterally in the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract, medial amygdaloid nucleus, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and bilaterally in the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus. Retrograde tracing studies also have been conducted in cases with lesions in the basal forebrain or hypothalamus to assess the extent to which such lesions interrupt fibers of passage from other sources of centrifugal afferents, and the effects of such lesions on choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity and catecholamine content in the MOB and on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the forebrain have been evaluated. Lesions in the basal forebrain reduce or eliminate CAT and AChE activity in the MOB in direct relationship to the extent of damage to the HDB. Norepinephrine (NE) content in the MOB also is reduced by basal forebrain lesions, but in relationship to damage of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). The hypothalamic lesions have no effect on AChE activity in the forebrain or on CAT activity in the MOB, but they eliminate retrograde labeling in the locus coeruleus and raphe nuclei and reduce the NE content of the MOB to undetectable levels. The dopamine content of the MOB is not reduced by any of the lesions. Anterograde tracing studies have been conducted to compare the rostral projection patterns of the HDB with the distribution of AChE activity. Most of the rostrally directed axons travel in association with the MFB. A small component of axons travels in association with the lateral olfactory tract. Within the MOB, the axons terminate predominantly in the glomerular layer and in the vicinity of the internal plexiform layer. The projection and termination patterns of the HDB correspond well with the distribution of AChE activity. These various results indicate that the HDB is the major source of cholinergic afferents to the MOB.
Sorting Through Subsets: Which T-Cell Populations Mediate Highly Effective Adoptive Immunotherapy?

CD8+ T cells have been described as being naive or one of 4 antigen (Ag)-experienced subtypes representing a continuum of differentiation and maturation: T memory stem cell, central memory T cell, effector memory T cell, and terminally differentiated effector T cells. In mice, adoptive cell transfer of less-differentiated naive T cells, T memory stem cell, and central memory T cell subsets have consistently demonstrated superior in vivo expansion, persistence, and antitumor capacities relative to the more differentiated effector memory T cell and effector T cell subsets. Retrospective analyses from human adoptive cell transfer trials have confirmed that transfer of less-differentiated T-cell subsets is highly correlated with objective clinical responses. These findings, combined with the recent ability to convey de novo Ag reactivity with high efficiency through genetic engineering of exogenous T-cell or chimeric Ag receptors, now challenge the field with 3 important questions: (1) how should less-differentiated T-cell subsets be isolated for human clinical trials? ; (2) what is the best means of expanding T cells ex vivo in such a way as to not corrupt the beneficial traits of the younger subsets? ; and (3) is it necessary to physically separate younger subsets from their more differentiated counterparts? Answering these questions will allow for the rational development of the next generation of highly effective and potentially curative T-cell therapies for the treatment of cancer.
Colour coding in the superior temporal sulcus of rhesus monkey visual cortex

In the rhesus monkey, the posterior bank of the superior temporal sulcus forms part of the prestriate visual cortex and has two regions, a medial one and a lateral one, which have their own separate callosal connections. The afferent input to these two regions was studied in experiments where the corpus callosum was sectioned, and labelled amino acids were injected into other visual areas. By this method, it was found that area 17 projects to that part of the superior temporal sulcus occupied by the more medial of the two callosal inputs. By contrast, the part of the sulcus occupied by the more lateral callosal input was found to receive a strong projection from the fourth visual complex, an area rich in colour-coded cells. Recordings were made from single cells in the superior temporal sulcus in animals in which the corpus callosum had been sectioned previously. The degeneration produced by this procedure was used to provide anatomical landmarks enabling us to assign cells to the lateral or the medial regions of the sulcus. Such recordings revealed that receptive fields were topographically organized in the lateral part of the sulcus and that most cells were colour specific. By contrast, cells recorded from in the region of the more medial callosal patch within this sulcus were directionally selective, without any obvious colour coding. It was concluded from these combined anatomico-physiological experiments that there are at least two distinct regions in the superior temporal sulcus which have different afferent connections and functional properties.
The role of human glutathione S-transferases M1 and T1 in individual susceptibility to bladder cancer.

Several genes involved in the metabolism of carcinogens have been found to be polymorphic in the human population, and specific alleles are associated with increased risk of cancer at various sites. This study is focused on the polymorphic enzymes glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) and T1 (GSTT1) that are involved in the detoxification of many xenobiotics involved in the etiology of bladder cancer. To investigate the role of GSTM1 and GSTT1 in bladder carcinogenesis, the polymerase chain reaction was used to determine GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes of cancer patients (n = 76) and controls (n = 248). The proportion of putative risk GSTM1 null genotype in the case group was 52.6%, compared to 49.6% in the control group, but the GSTT1 0/0 frequency in the bladder cancer group was significantly higher (P = 0.04) in comparison with the control group (27.6 vs 16.9%). Individuals lacking the GSTT1 gene are at an approximately 1.9-fold higher risk (OR = 1.87, C.I. 95% = 1.03-3.42) of developing bladder cancer in comparison with individuals with at least one active allele in the GSTT1 locus. A significantly higher incidence of GSTM1 deletion genotype (P = 0.02) was found in smokers with bladder cancer compared to the controls (70.6 vs 49.6%). Smokers lacking the GSTM1 gene are at an approximately 2.4-fold higher risk of bladder cancer (OR = 2.44, C.I. 95% = 1.10-5.30). The effect of smoking associated with the GSTT1 0/0 genotype was not found to affect the risk of bladder cancer.
The prescription drug epidemic in the United States: a perfect storm.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Abuse of prescription analgesics in the USA is increasing. The epidemic has been driven by many factors, including marketing strategies, incorrect prescribing practices, a variety of legal and illegal drug sources, belated governmental responses and increases in the number of prescriptions written. DESIGN AND METHODS Data sources including surveys, emergency room visits, treatment admissions, overdose deaths, toxicology laboratory findings and journal articles were examined to identify trends. RESULTS The surveys and emergency department visits show use lowest among young teenagers and highest among older teenagers and young adults, with significant increases among those aged 55 and older. The length of time between initial use of an opioid other than heroin and admission to treatment is shortening. Mortality data and toxicology exhibits confirm the increases and show the variation in the prevalence of various drugs across the USA. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Abuse is increasing, with varying patterns of use by high-risk groups and different geographic preferences. Prescription drug monitoring programs are being developed in each of the US states to deter 'doctor shopping'; the Food and Drug Administration has increased authority over manufacturers; and options for proper disposal of leftover medications exist. There is increased emphasis on responsible prescribing including risk assessments, prescribing agreements, treatment plans, and training for clinicians, as well as monitoring the interactions with benzodiazepines. However, unless these efforts decrease diversion, abuse and addiction, clinicians may lose the ability to use some of these opioids for effective pain management or so many barriers will be raised that pain will go undertreated or untreated.
Gubernatorial Approval and Administrative Influence

The connection between the government and the governed is often evaluated using election results. This article explores this connection between elections using data on gubernatorial approval in the states. Specifically, I ask the question, Do governors with greater job approval ratings have greater influence over the state bureaucracy than governors with lower approval ratings? Measures of both gubernatorial influence and administrator contact with gubernatorial staff are regressed on gubernatorial approval ratings from state polling data, along with controls for other state characteristics. The results show that approval does affect a governor's influence with the bureaucracy, and as such, serves as an additional connection between the government and the governed.
Children And Families

Kang-Yi, C.D. , Wolk, C.B. , Locke, J., Beidas, R.S. , Lareef, I. , Pisciella, A.E. , Lim, S. , Evans, A. , & Mandell, D.S. : (2017). Impact of School-Based and Out-of-School Mental Health Services on Reducing School Absence and School Suspension among Children with Psychiatric Disorders Evaluation and Program Planning 67: 105-112, Apr 2018 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan. 2017.12. 006. Epub 2017 Dec 24.
Variant Lineages of Human Papillomavirus Type 18 in Northeast China Populations Characterized by Sequence Analysis of E6, E7, and L1 Regions

Introduction In cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 is predominantly related to adenocarcinomas. Variant lineages of HPV type 16 have been well characterized, whereas the knowledge about HPV 18 variants is limited in Northeast China. Methods To identify prevalent and novel HPV 18 variants in Northeast China, the E6, E7, and L1 genes of HPV 18 from patients with cervical lesion were amplified and sequenced, and intratypic variants were analyzed by comparing to the known phylogenetic branches. Results The HPV-18 E6 variants of our studied strains belong to 2 main branches: Asian-American (AA) variants in 81.5% and European (E) variants in 18.5%. Strains with variations of C287G, T482C, and C519A in E6 and C751T in E7 were novel variants. All the L1 genes of the analyzed HPV 18 strains had 4 C-G transversions at nucleotide positions of 5701, 6460, 6625, and 6842 and one G-A transition at position 5503. Moreover, strains with L1 nucleotide variations of A5920T, A6431T, and G6987A leading to amino acid substitutions of A164V, Q334P/H, and D520N are novel variants. Conclusions Based on the E6 gene, the prevalent HPV 18 in Northeast China was AA and E variants. Besides some common variations reported before, some new variations in the E6, E7, and L1 genes were found. Data about the novel variations found in the L1 gene of HPV 18 variants may be helpful to design the diagnostic reagents and vaccine for naturally infected HPV 18 in Northeast China.
Canadian guidelines for the initial management of community-acquired pneumonia: an evidence-based update by the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society. The Canadian Community-Acquired Pneumonia Working Group.

Lionel A Mandell MD FRCPC1, Thomas J Marrie MD FRCPC2, Ronald F Grossman MD FRCPC FACP3, Anthony W Chow MD FRCPC FACP4, Robert H Hyland MD FRCPC5, and the Canadian CAP Working Group* McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia; University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
Bankers in the Boardroom and Firm Performance in China

ABSTRACT We use a dataset comprising the appointments of commercial bankers as board of directors at Chinese listed firms and find that financially distressed firms are more likely to recruit a commercial banker as a director of the board. The presence of a banker on the board increases access to bank loans, yet many investors react negatively to announcements of such appointments. We also find that such appointments are typically followed by a drop in the appointing firm’s operating performance, and an increase in rent-seeking activities. This suggests that bank directors cannot strengthen corporate governance. Most financial resources are expropriated by corporate insiders.
Prozedurbedingte Blutungen bei elektiven perkutanen Koronarinterventionen

Blutungen im Rahmen einer perkutanen Koronarintervention (PCI) bei Patienten mit akutem Koronarsyndrom sind mit einer schlechteren Prognose assoziiert. Ziel dieser Studie war es, den Zusammenhang zwischen einer prozedurbedingten Blutung und dem 1-Jahres-Outcome bei Patienten mit stabiler koronarer Herzkrankheit und elektiver PCI zu analysieren. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass Blutungen in den ersten 30 Tagen nach Intervention mit einer erhohten Mortalitat und einem erhohten Risiko fur das Auftreten nicht todlicher Myokardinfarkte bis zu einem Jahr nach der PCI assoziiert sind.
Prevalence of dental caries among high school attendees in Qazvin, Iran.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental caries among high school students in Qazvin, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seven hundred and eighty randomly selected high school students participated in this study. There wer 315 (40.38%) boys and 465 (59.62%) girls of the ages of 15 and 16 years. They were examined for dental caries using World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria. The data were obtained from the epidemiological study of oral health carried out. RESULTS Of the total sample, only 24.5% were caries free, i.e.,the caries prevalence was 75.5%. The mean DMFT value for the total sample was 2.71 (+/- 0.86). Male students had a higher mean DMFT value (2.88 +/- 0.61) than female students (2.54 +/- 0.71) (P > 0.05). The mean DMFT value for the 15-year-old children was 2.66 (+/- 0.85) and for the 16-year-old children it was 2.76 (+/- 0.92). No statistically significant difference was found between male and female students. Also, no significant differences were seen.
Long-term Clinical Outcome of Intensity-modulated Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Between August 2009 and December 2011, 112 patients with pathologically confirmed ESCC treated with IMRT at Jiangsu Province People's Hospital and Nantong Tumor Hospital were included in a retrospective analysis. Patients received either IMRT alone (group A) or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) (group B). A radiation dose of 60–66 Gy administered in 30–33 fractions was delivered to the tumor. The patients in group B simultaneously received 2 cycles of cisplatin-based doublets with either 5-fluorouracil or taxotere. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compute the survival time. Early and late toxicities were scored according to CTCAE v.3. 0. Results The response rate of group B (91.07%) was not significantly greater than that of group A (89.29%) (X2 = 0.10, p = 0.75). The 1- and 3-year survival rates of group B (87.5% and 57.14%, respectively) were greater than those of group A (69.64% and 37.50%, respectively). The difference in overall survival was statistically significant between groups A and B (x2 = 5.30, p = 0.02; x2 = 4.33, p = 0.04). Hematological toxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, and treatment-related esophagitis were significantly higher in group B than group A (16.07% vs. 33.93%, p = 0.04; 10.71% vs. 26.79%, p = 0.03; 19.64% vs. 44.64%, p = 0.01). However, intergroup differences in terms of late toxicity were not significant. Conclusions IMRT was a practical and feasible technique to treat ESCC. Concurrent CRT could increase local tumor control and long-term survival. The CRT regimen was associated with a higher incidence of acute gastrointestinal and hematological toxicity.
Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Gene Products Occlude the Interferon Signaling Pathway at Multiple Sites

ABSTRACT Earlier studies have shown that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) blocks the interferon response pathways, at least at two sites, by circumventing the effects of activation of protein kinase R by double-stranded RNA and interferon and through the degradation of promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) since interferon has no antiviral effects in PML−/− cells. Here we report on two effects of viral genes on other sites of the interferon signaling pathway. (i) In infected cells, Jak1 kinase associated with interferon receptors and Stat2 associated with the interferon signaling pathway rapidly disappear from infected cells. The level of interferon alpha receptor is also reduced, albeit less drastically at times after 4 h postinfection. Other members of the Stat family of proteins were either decreased in amount or posttranslationally processed in a manner different from those of mock-infected cells. The decrease in the levels of Jak1 and Stat2 may account for the decrease in the formation of complexes consisting of Stat1 or ISGF3 and DNA sequences containing the interferon-stimulated response elements after exposure to interferon. (ii) The disappearance of Jak1 and Stat2 was related at least in part to the function of the virion host shutoff protein, the product of the viral UL41 gene. Consistent with this observation, a mutant lacking the UL41 gene and treated with interferon produced lesser amounts of a late protein (UL38) than the wild-type parent. We conclude that HSV-1 blocks the interferon signaling pathways at several sites.
Extracellular Striatal Concentrations of Endogenous 3,4‐Dihydroxyphenylalanine in the Absence of a Decarboxylase Inhibitor: A Dynamic Index of Dopamine Synthesis In Vivo

Abstract: Basal levels of endogenous 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) were detected by HPLC coupled with coulometric detection in dialysates from freely moving rats implanted 48–72 h earlier with transversal dialysis fibers in the dorsal caudate. Because decarboxylase inhibitor is absent in the Ringer's solution, this method allows monitoring of basal output of dopamine (DA) and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, as well as DOPA. Extracellular DOPA concentrations were reduced by the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor α‐methylparatyrosine (200 mg/kg, i.p.) and by the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine (0.25 mg/kg, s.c.). The dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol (0.2 mg/kg, s.c.) stimulated DOPA output by about 60% over basal values. γ‐Butyrolactone, at doses of 700 mg/kg, i.p., which are known to block dopaminergic neuronal firing and which reduce DA release, stimulated DOPA output maximally by 130% over basal values. Tetrodotoxin, which blocks DA release by blocking voltage‐dependent Na+ channels, increased DOPA output maximally by 100% over basal values. The results indicate that basal DOPA can be detected and monitored in the extracellular fluid of the caudate of freely moving rats by transcerebral dialysis and can be taken as a dynamic index of DA synthesis in pharmacological conditions.
Deadline-Aware Coflow Scheduling in a DAG

Data-intensive applications usually need to deal with huge volumes of data within their deadlines. These applications can be modelled as DAGs and require parallel computation frameworks such as MapReduce and Spark to enhance the performance. The network communication has a crucial impact on the performance of an application. Coflow is intended to address the application-specific network level Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements in cloud-based data centres. However, existing works mainly focus on scheduling coflows in a single stage. How to schedule coflows in multi-stage applications (represented as DAGs) remains to be an open problem. In this paper we study the problem of scheduling coflows in a DAG to meet its deadline requirement. Single stage coflow scheduling has been proven to be NP-hard. Multiple stages in a DAG make our problem even more complex. Owing to the complexity of the problem, we propose a genetic algorithm-based method for solving the problem. The effectiveness of our solution is verified through numerical evaluation. Experimental results show that our solution can effectively guarantee the deadline of the DAGs compared with existing single stage coflow scheduling algorithms.
A Role for Auxin Response Factor 19 in Auxin and Ethylene Signaling in Arabidopsis1

Although auxin response factors (ARFs) are the first well-characterized proteins that bind to the auxin response elements, elucidation of the roles of each ARF gene in auxin responses and plant development has been challenging. Here we show that ARF19 and ARF7 not only participate in auxin signaling, but also play a critical role in ethylene responses in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) roots, indicating that the ARFs serve as a cross talk point between the two hormones. Both arf19 and arf7 mutants isolated from our forward genetic screens are auxin resistant and the arf19arf7 double mutant had stronger auxin resistance than the single mutants and displayed phenotypes not seen in the single mutants. Furthermore, we show that a genomic fragment of ARF19 not only complements arf19, but also rescues arf7. We conclude that ARF19 complements ARF7 at the protein level and that the ARF7 target sequences are also recognized by ARF19. Therefore, it is the differences in expression level/pattern and not the differences in protein sequences between the two ARFs that determines the relative contribution of the two ARFs in auxin signaling and plant development. In addition to being auxin resistant, arf19 has also ethylene-insensitive roots and ARF19 expression is induced by ethylene treatment. This work provides a sensitive genetic screen for uncovering auxin-resistant mutants including the described arf mutants. This study also provides a likely mechanism for coordination and integration of hormonal signals to regulate plant growth and development.