Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parental smoking, bronchial reactivity and peak flow variability in children

BACKGROUND A systematic quantitative review was conducted of the evidence relating environmental tobacco smoke to bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) during childhood. METHODS Twenty nine relevant studies were identified after consideration of 1593 articles selected by electronic search of the Embase and Medline databases using keywords relevant to passive smoking in children. The search was completed in April 1997. RESULTS Of 19 studies using challenge tests in children of school age, 10 (5759 children) could be summarised as the odds ratio of being bronchial hyperreactive in children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke compared with those not exposed. The pooled odds ratio for maternal smoking was 1.29 (95% confidence limits 1.10 to 1.50) with no evidence of heterogeneity between studies. However, in five further studies of 3531 children providing some evidence, but not odds ratios, none were statistically significant. A further four studies on 5233 children have collected data but are not published. In contrast, all four studies of circadian variation in peak expiratory flow found increased variation in children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. CONCLUSIONS A clear effect of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke on BHR in the general population has not been established. While the meta-analysis suggests a small but real increase in BHR in school aged children, it seems likely that this estimate is biased upwards due to publication bias. In contrast, limited evidence suggests greater variation in peak expiratory flow in children of smoking parents.
Power quality improvement using an advanced control of a four-leg multilevel converter

In this paper, the transient operation of a Three-Level Neutral Point Clamped (3LNPC) four-leg inverter equipped with an innovative control strategy able to improve the power quality in renewable energy based weak grids is investigated. The 3LNPC four-leg inverter is controlled to manage a Hybrid Energy Storage System in order to satisfy the energy/power demand in a weak grid and simultaneously to balance the AC voltage during unbalanced 3-phase loads. The proposed control strategy uses a special designed offset for the DC power/energy division and the decomposition of the supply three-phase voltage and current into symmetrical components using phasor representation for voltage balance. Real time simulations and experimental tests have been performed using a RT-LAB simulator, a 3LNPC converter prototype and an experimental MicroGrid in order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed system in a weak grid context.
Eighteen-month outcomes for clients receiving combined outpatient treatment and sober living houses

One of the most frequent and frustrating challenges facing clients in outpatient treatment is finding a living environment that is free of alcohol and drugs, and supportive of recovery. Sober Living Houses (SLHs) have been suggested as one potential solution. Among other advantages, SLHs are financially self-sustaining and residents can remain there as long as they wish, provided they comply with house rules and expectations. This study examined 18-month outcomes for 55 individuals receiving outpatient treatment combined with residence in a SLH. Repeated measures analyses comparing 6-month time periods showed significant improvement on measures of alcohol and drug use, arrests, and days worked. The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) showed significant improvement on legal and employment scales. On ASI alcohol and drug scales, individuals entered SLHs with very low severity that was maintained at 18 months. Involvement in 12-step groups was associated with reductions in alcohol and drug use.
Intraoperative corticomuscular motor evoked potentials for evaluation of motor function: a comparison with corticospinal D and I waves.

OBJECT The goal of this study was to compare motor evoked potentials recorded from muscles (muscle MEPs or corticomuscular MEPs) with corticospinal MEPs recorded from the cervical epidural space (spinal MEPs or corticospinal MEPs) to assess their efficacy in the intraoperative monitoring of motor function. METHODS Muscle and spinal MEPs were simultaneously recorded during surgery in 80 patients harboring brain tumors. Each case was assigned to one of four groups according to final changes in the MEPs: (1) Group A, in which there was an increased amplitude in the muscle MEP with an increased 13 wave amplitude (12 cases); (2) Group B, in which there was no significant change in the MEP (43 cases); (3) Group C, in which there was a decreased muscle MEP amplitude (< 35% of the control) with a decreased I wave amplitude but an unchanged D wave (15 cases); or (4) Group D, in which there was an absent muscle MEP with a decreased D wave amplitude (10 cases). In patients in Group A, the increase in the amplitude of the muscle MEP (range of increase 128-280%, mean increase 188.75 +/- 48.79%) was well correlated with the increase in the 13 wave in corticospinal MEPs. Most of these patterns were observed in patients harboring meningiomas (10 [83.3%] of 12 cases). Patients in Group B displayed no changes in muscle and corticospinal MEPs and no signs of postoperative neurological deterioration. Patients in Group C showed a substantial decrease in the amplitude of the muscle MEP (range of decrease 5.3-34.8% based on the control waveform, mean change 21.81 +/- 10.93%) without deterioration in the corticospinal D wave, and exhibited severe immediate postoperative motor dysfunction. This indicates dysfunction of the cortical gray matter, including the motor cortices, which are supposed to generate I waves. Patients in Group D exhibited decreases in the corticospinal D wave (range of decrease 21.5-55%, mean decrease 39.75 +/- 11.45%) and an immediate cessation of the muscle MEP as well as severe permanent motor paresis. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that, during surgery, monitoring of corticomuscular MEPs (which are related to I waves) is a much more sensitive method for the detection of immediate motor cortical damage than monitoring of corticospinal MEPs (D wave).
Propiedad familiar, control y efecto generación y RSC

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el papel de la propiedad familiar en la politica de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) medida esta a partir de varios indicadores de transparencia informativa sobre las acciones sociales y medioambientales realizadas por las empresas. Utilizando una muestra de empresas no financieras espanolas en el periodo 2004-2010 e identificando el ultimo gran propietario de la compania a partir de las cadenas de propiedad, encontramos que el compromiso en RSC es menor en empresas con propiedad familiar, si bien, los resultados no indican que la presencia del fundador de la compania afecte significativamente a las politicas informativas de la empresa. Por otro lado, los resultados relativos al efecto del control ejercido por las familias sobre la transparencia en RSC son mixtos, sugiriendo que el control familiar influye en la politica de dar informacion o no sobre RSC, pero no en la amplitud de la informacion suministrada al mercado.
Ubiquitination and degradation of Syk and ZAP-70 protein tyrosine kinases in human NK cells upon CD16 engagement

Syk and ZAP-70 nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are essential elements in several cascades coupling immune receptors to intracellular responses. The critical role of these kinases in promoting the propagation of intracellular signaling requires a tight regulation of their activity, thus the existence of a negative feedback loop regulating their expression can be hypothesized. Herein, we have investigated whether ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis could be a mechanism responsible for controlling the fate of Syk and ZAP-70 after their immunoreceptor-induced activation. We found that both Syk and ZAP-70 become ubiquitinated in response to aggregation of the low affinity Fc receptor for IgG (CD16) on human natural killer cells. We confirmed the identity of the major in vivo ubiquitinated kinase species by performing an in vitro ubiquitination assay. In addition, we found that after CD16 stimulation, ubiquitinated forms of Syk and ZAP-70 associate with the receptor complex. After CD16 engagement, we also observed a decrease in the stability of Syk and ZAP-70 PTKs that is counteracted by pretreatment with either proteasome or lysosomal inhibitors. Moreover, in the presence of the proteasome inhibitor, epoxomicin, we observed an accumulation of ubiquitinated forms of both kinases. Our findings provide evidence of ligand-induced ubiquitination of nonreceptor PTKs belonging to the Syk family and propose the ubiquitin-dependent proteasome-mediated degradation pathway as a mechanism for attenuating the propagation of intracellular signaling initiated by immune receptor engagement.
The efficacy of electrical stimulation in experimentally induced cutaneous wounds in animals.

BACKGROUND Complicated cutaneous wounds and their subsequent management can be a clinical challenge in veterinary medicine. There is still an unmet need for an ideal wound healing therapy that is able to stimulate efficiency and quality of repair. Skin wounds generate large and persistent endogenous electric currents and fields termed the "current of injury". The current of injury is involved in numerous processes of wound healing. These observations have led to the hypothesis that applied electrical stimulation (ES) may promote wound healing by imitating the natural electrical current that occurs in cutaneous wounds. OBJECTIVES This review details the use, effect and mechanism of ES in different preclinical experimental cutaneous wound models and discusses the potential of how ES could be translated into veterinary practice. RESULTS Studies have found a variable effect of ES on wound healing. Some have been positive with faster rates of wound re-epithelialization, increased wound collagen formation and angiogenesis noted. Other studies have shown no effect or detrimental results. The effects of ES are highly influenced by the ES modality, polarity and parameters. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Electrical stimulation has the potential to play a significant role in enhancing cutaneous wound healing in veterinary practice. Clinical studies are necessary to corroborate the findings from experimental studies which have shown promise including the use of alternating pulsed and direct current and the use of bio-electric dressings. The ideal ES device would need to be safe, easy to use, portable, noninvasive and aid wound healing by having a beneficial effect on all wound healing stages.
High Levels of Circulating Epinephrine Trigger Apical Cardiodepression in a &bgr;2-Adrenergic Receptor/Gi–Dependent Manner: A New Model of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Background— Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an acute heart failure syndrome characterized by myocardial hypocontractility from the mid left ventricle to the apex. It is precipitated by extreme stress and can be triggered by intravenous catecholamine administration, particularly epinephrine. Despite its grave presentation, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is rapidly reversible, with generally good prognosis. We hypothesized that this represents switching of epinephrine signaling through the pleiotropic &bgr;2-adrenergic receptor (&bgr;2AR) from canonical stimulatory G-protein–activated cardiostimulant to inhibitory G-protein–activated cardiodepressant pathways. Methods and Results— We describe an in vivo rat model in which a high intravenous epinephrine, but not norepinephrine, bolus produces the characteristic reversible apical depression of myocardial contraction coupled with basal hypercontractility. The effect is prevented via Gi inactivation by pertussis toxin pretreatment. &bgr;2AR number and functional responses were greater in isolated apical cardiomyocytes than in basal cardiomyocytes, which confirmed the higher apical sensitivity and response to circulating epinephrine. In vitro studies demonstrated high-dose epinephrine can induce direct cardiomyocyte cardiodepression and cardioprotection in a &bgr;2AR-Gi–dependent manner. Preventing epinephrine-Gi effects increased mortality in the Takotsubo model, whereas &bgr;-blockers that activate &bgr;2AR-Gi exacerbated the epinephrine-dependent negative inotropic effects without further deaths. In contrast, levosimendan rescued the acute cardiac dysfunction without increased mortality. Conclusions— We suggest that biased agonism of epinephrine for &bgr;2AR-Gs at low concentrations and for Gi at high concentrations underpins the acute apical cardiodepression observed in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, with an apical-basal gradient in &bgr;2ARs explaining the differential regional responses. We suggest this epinephrine-specific &bgr;2AR-Gi signaling may have evolved as a cardioprotective strategy to limit catecholamine-induced myocardial toxicity during acute stress.
Identification of nucleophosmin/B23, an acidic nucleolar protein, as a stimulatory factor for in vitro replication of adenovirus DNA complexed with viral basic core proteins.

The processes governing chromatin remodeling and assembly, which occur prior to and/or after transcription and replication, are not completely understood. To understand the mechanisms of transcription and replication from chromatin templates, we have established in vitro replication and transcription systems using adenovirus (Ad) DNA complexed with viral basic core proteins, called Ad core, as a template. Using this system, we have previously identified, from HeLa cells, template activating factor-I as a stimulatory factor for the Ad core DNA replication. Here, using this system as a tool, we identified and purified a novel template activating factor activity that consists of two acidic polypeptides whose apparent molecular masses are 38 kDa and 37 kDa. These two polypeptides correspond to two splicing variants of nucleolar phosphoprotein, nucleophosmin/B23. Recombinant B23 proteins stimulate the Ad core DNA replication, and the acidic regions of B23 proteins are important for its activity. In addition, B23 proteins directly bind to core histones and transfer them to naked DNA. Furthermore, chromatin components such as histones and topoisomerase II are co-immunoprecipitated with B23 from cell extracts. These observations lead to a hypothesis that nucleophosmin/B23 is involved in structural changes of chromatin, thereby regulating transcription and replication within the ribosomal DNA region or maintaining the nucleolar structure.
In Vivo Binding to Peripheral Benzodiazepine Binding Sites in Lesioned Rat Brain: Comparison Between [3H]PK11195 and [18F]PK14105 as Markers for Neuronal Damage

Abstract: Peripheral‐type benzodiazepine binding sites are not normally present in most cerebral tissues, but following neuronal damage, the cells involved in the ensuing gliosis show a marked expression of these sites. In a unilateral excitotoxic striatal lesion in the rat, we sought to determine whether the isoquinoline derivatives PK11195 and PK14105 bind to these sites in vivo and whether demonstration of these sites offers the potential of indirectly localising areas of neuronal damage. Binding was studied at several intervals after coinjection of [3H]PK11195 and [18F]PK14105 to determine the time courses of specific binding. Both compounds were rapidly extracted into all cerebral tissues, but in the absence of binding sites in nonlesioned tissues, this was followed by a rapid clearance of radioactivity. In lesioned areas, both [3H]PK11195 and [18F]PK14105 accumulated over the first 5 min followed by a much slower clearance of radioactivity, resulting in a “specific signal. ”[3H]PK11195 binding peaked at 20–30 min postinjection, with radioactivity in the lesioned striatum being three times greater than in its contralateral homologue. The specific signal was present for at least 60 min. The maximal [18F]PK14105‐specific signal was of similar magnitude but peaked earlier and was retained for only 45 min. Specific signals with both ligands were also detected in regions remote from the primary lesion site, e.g., in the hippocampus and substantia nigra. Predosing animals with a large dose of PK11195 (3 mg/kg), sufficient to saturate peripheral‐type benzodiazepine binding sites, abolished in vivo binding of both [3H]PK11195 and [18F]PK14105 to both primary‐ and remote‐lesioned tissues. The specific signal with both ligands could be of sufficient magnitude and duration to make tomographic studies in humans feasible.
Delayed Exercise Is Ineffective at Reversing Aberrant Nociceptive Afferent Plasticity or Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI) that correlates with sensory fiber sprouting. Recent data indicate that exercise initiated early after SCI prevents the development of allodynia and modulated nociceptive afferent plasticity. This study determined if delaying exercise intervention until pain is detected would similarly ameliorate established SCI-induced pain. Adult, female Sprague-Dawley rats with a C5 unilateral contusion were separated into SCI allodynic and SCI non-allodynic cohorts at 14 or 28 days postinjury when half of each group began exercising on automated running wheels. Allodynia, assessed by von Frey testing, was not ameliorated by exercise. Furthermore, rats that began exercise with no allodynia developed paw hypersensitivity within 2 weeks. At the initiation of exercise, the SCI Allodynia group displayed marked overlap of peptidergic and non-peptidergic nociceptive afferents in the C7 and L5 dorsal horn, while the SCI No Allodynia group had scant overlap. At the end of 5 weeks of exercise both the SCI Allodynia and SCI No Allodynia groups had extensive overlap of the 2 c-fiber types. Our findings show that exercise therapy initiated at early stages of allodynia is ineffective at attenuating neuropathic pain, but rather that it induces allodynia-aberrant afferent plasticity in previously pain-free rats. These data, combined with our previous results, suggest that there is a critical therapeutic window when exercise therapy may be effective at treating SCI-induced allodynia and that there are postinjury periods when exercise can be deleterious.
Manual approach during hand gesture imitation.

BACKGROUND Patients' tendency to draw near or into the target when copying figures, a phenomenon termed closing-in, has been previously described. That the closing-in could occur when copying hand gestures has also been noted. OBJECTIVES To study a patient with corticobasal degeneration to quantify his manual approach behavior and to test a possible working memory hypothesis. METHODS The subject of this study is a patient with severe ideomotor apraxia from probable corticobasal degeneration. Fluorine 18-labeled deoxyglucose-positron emission tomographic findings revealed a hypometabolism involving the bilateral parietotemporal and the right frontal lobes. When asked to copy an examiner's (J.C.K.) hand gesture, the patient approached, touched, or grasped the examiner's hand, a behavior mostly consistent with the closing-in behavior previously proposed. To investigate the frequency and severity of closing-in, the patient was asked to copy 20 meaningless hand gestures (10 simple and 10 complex). Copying the 20 hand gestures was performed with either the left or the right hand while the patient was seated opposite the examiner (across condition) or on the same side of the examiner (lateral condition). RESULTS Of the 80 trials, closing-in occurred in 43 (53.8%) (35 with approaching, 6 with touching, and 2 with grasping). The closing-in was more frequent and more severe when gesturing with the left than the right hand, but it did not differ between the lateral and across conditions and between simple and complex gestures. CONCLUSIONS Corticobasal degeneration might be associated with aberrant manual approach behavior. Although our results do not support the working memory hypothesis, frontal dysfunction might have led to a loss of voluntary control of ontologically primitive propensity to move the forelimb in the direction to which one attends.
Cleavage of IgG1 in gingival crevicular fluid is associated with the presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 plays an important role in the adaptive immune response. Kgp, a lysine-specific cysteine protease from Porphyromonas gingivalis, specifically hydrolyses IgG1 heavy chains. The purpose of this study was to examine whether cleavage of IgG1 occurs in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in vivo, and whether there is any association with the presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis and other periodontopathogens. MATERIAL AND METHODS GCF was obtained from nine patients with aggressive periodontitis, nine with chronic periodontitis and five periodontally healthy individuals. The bacterial loads of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, Prevotella intermedia and Tannerella forsythia were analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the presence and cleavage of IgG1 and IgG2 were determined using Western blotting. Kgp levels were measured by ELISA. RESULTS Cleaved IgG1 was identified in the GCF from 67% of patients with aggressive periodontitis and in 44% of patients with chronic periodontitis. By contrast, no cleaved IgG1 was detectable in healthy controls. No degradation of IgG2 was detected in any of the samples, regardless of health status. Porphyromonas gingivalis was found in high numbers in all samples in which cleavage of IgG1 was detected (P < 0.001 compared with samples with no IgG cleavage). Furthermore, high numbers of Tannerella forsythia and Prevotella intermedia were also present in these samples. The level of Kgp in the GCF correlated with the load of Porphyromonas gingivalis (r = 0.425, P < 0.01). The presence of Kgp (range 0.07-10.98 ng/mL) was associated with proteolytic fragments of IgG1 (P < 0.001). However, cleaved IgG1 was also detected in samples with no detectable Kgp. CONCLUSION In patients with periodontitis, cleavage of IgG1 occurs in vivo and may suppress antibody-dependent antibacterial activity in subgingival biofilms especially those colonized by Porphyromonas gingivalis.
On the role of frequency dispersion on the trans-pacific tsunamis: Study of the 2010 and 2015 Chilean tsunamis

The trans-pacific propagation of the 2010 and 2015 Chilean tsunamis have been simulated by resolving both the Saint-Venant and the Boussinesq equations, these latter equations taking into account the frequency dispersion of waves. Numerical results show that the frequency dispersion simulation must be considered to reproduce the wave heights and arrival times recorded by several DART buoys in the Pacific Ocean. Several grid resolutions have been tested using either the Saint-Venant or the Boussinesq model (10', 5' and 2'). Only the Saint-Venant simulation at a 5' resolution and the Boussinesq simulation at a 2' resolution allow to reproduce the amplitudes and arrival times of the first waves. Numerical results indicate that frequency dispersion has a significant impact on the computed waveforms and suggest that the Saint-Venant code generates numerical dispersion similar to the physical frequency dispersion. It has been confirmed by one dimensional sensitivity tests. By comparing both events (2010 and 2015), we show that the frequency dispersion is stronger for the second event and it has been confirmed by the analysis of the Absolute Pressure Gages KSR1 and MRT1 spectrograms at some 17000 km from the source. Indeed, the main wave energy is contained in the first waves for the 2010 events and in the following waves for the 2015 event. Nevertheless, for the 2010 event, we also detect some late arrival waves at the APG KSR1, three hours after the first arrival time, with energy only two times lower than the first wave one.