Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gavage-Related Reflux in Rats

After oral gavage dosing of rats, reflux may occur, resulting in serious respiratory effects and mortality. Published information on gavage-related reflux is limited, as it has not yet been a focus of research. Nevertheless, it represents a recurrent challenge in daily toxicology practice of oral gavage dosing. The absence of clear guidance and criteria for the identification and management of reflux-induced effects can limit the ability to properly interpret toxicity study results. The review presented herein includes an overview of experimental data from gavage studies in rats, in which reflux was observed, and provides a comprehensive analysis of the literature on reflux in general and the different potential pathways contributing to gavage-related reflux in rats. The article aims to increase the awareness and understanding of the pathogenesis of gavage-related reflux and provides guidance on identification of potential risk factors, as well as interpretation of histological changes and their toxicological relevance. Furthermore, differentiation of reflux-induced effects from direct compound-related toxicity and from gavage errors is addressed in particular, and the importance of nasal histology is discussed.
The Stimulatory Effect of Leptin on the Neuroendocrine Reproductive Axis of the Monkey* *This work was supported by USPHS (NIH) Grants P50-HD-12629, T32-HD-07453, RR-00166, HD-18185, RR-00166, HD-16631, and HD-08610; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and ZymoGenetics, Inc.

Leptin acts as a metabolic activator of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis in several rodent species, but whether leptin plays a similar role in primates is unknown. To explore this question, we examined the effects of leptin on gonadotropin and testosterone secretion in male rhesus monkeys that were fasted for 2 days. Mean plasma levels of LH and FSH, LH pulse frequency, and LH pulse amplitude were significantly higher in leptin-treated animals compared with saline-treated controls during the second day of the fast. To identify targets for leptin’s action, we used in situ hybridization and computerized imaging to map leptin receptor (Ob-R) messenger RNA (mRNA) distribution. Ob-R mRNA was observed in the anterior pituitary and several areas of the brain, including the arcuate and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus. Ob-R mRNA was coexpressed in both POMC and neuropeptide Y neurons in the arcuate nucleus, whereas little or no coexpression of Ob-R mRNA was evident in GnRH neurons. These results sugges.
A Longitudinal Study of 100 Consecutive Admissions for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning to the Royal Adelaide Hospital

A longitudinal study of one hundred consecutive admissions to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning was conducted from 1986 to 1989. Twenty-five patients left hospital with persistent symptoms and signs of this poisoning. Five subsequently recovered. Twenty-four other patients, who were well when they left hospital, did not attend for a review one month after discharge. Extensive neuropsychiatric testing at this time showed 32% (24 of 76) had obvious sequelae of their exposure. Overall, the frequency of neuropsychiatric sequelae in the patients who only received oxygen at atmospheric pressure was 63% (N = 8) on discharge and 67% (N = 6) on one month follow-up. The frequency of sequelae among those who were given one hyperbaric oxygen treatment only was 46% (N = 24) on discharge and 50% (N = 20) on one month follow-up. In contrast, the frequency of sequelae in patients who had two or more hyperbaric oxygen treatments was only 13% (N = 68) on discharge (P < 0.005) and 18% (N = 50) on follow-up (P < 0.005). The frequency of sequelae was also significantly greater if hyperbaric oxygen was delayed (P < 0.05). No markers of severe poisoning could be identified.
The CETP TaqI B Polymorphism is Associated with the Risk of Sudden Death in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

OBJECTIVES Type 2 diabetic patients are at high risk of CHD and sudden death. This cardiovascular risk can be partly attributed to low levels of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C). The B2 allele of the CETP TaqIB polymorphism has been repeatedly reported to be associated with high HDL -C levels in both healthy and type 2 diabetic subjects, but its association with CHD is unclear. We investigated the association of the CETP TaqIB polymorphism with coronary heart disease (CHD), and sudden death in particular, in a prospective cohort of type 2 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The CETP TaqIB polymorphism was genotyped in 3124 type 2 diabetic subjects with high cardiovascular risk: the DIABHYCAR study. We used Cox regression analysis to estimate the impact of the TaqIB SNP on the CHD events (myocardial infarction or sudden death) during follow-up. RESULTS The incidence of CHD was higher in B1B1 homozygotes than in B2 carriers (P = 0.02). This effect was mainly due to sudden death: hazard ratio (B1B1 vs B2+) = 1.51 [95% CI = 1.05-2.18]. Although the B1 allele was associated in a dose-dependent fashion with lower HDL-C (P < 0.001), the association with sudden death persisted after adjusting for multiple risk factors, including HDL-C levels. CONCLUSION In type 2 diabetic patients, the CETP TaqI B polymorphism is a good genetic predictor of cardiac mortality. This association is partly independent of the effect on HDL-C levels. Abbreviations: CHD: coronary heart disease DBP: diastolic blood pressure HDL-C: high density lipoprotein-cholesterol CETP: cholesteryl ester transfer protein CRP: C-reactive protein MI: myocardial infarction SBP: systolic blood pressure SNP: single nucleotide polymorphism UAE: urinary albumin excretion
Hunger in the United States: policy implications.

The Beginnings of U.S. Food Policies The roots of present hunger policies in the United States reach back to the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment, soup kitchens, and breadlines abounded and large quantities of surplus food were destroyed because the poor could not afford to buy it. In 1930, acting on legislation passed by Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the newly created Federal Emergency Relief Administration began distributing surplus farm products as food relief, thus helping farmers while feeding the poor. ’ A more formal oversight of farm prices and production was authorized in 1933, and a food-distribution program was instituted in 1935. In 1936 the first school lunch program utilized surplus commodities donated to state-supported schools, and from 1939 to 1943 an experimental food stamp program permitted exchange of vouchers for surplus commodities and other foods. With the rise in war-stimulated employment and the decline in surplus foods as U S . production was shipped abroad to the armed forces and the Allies, the 1946 National School Lunch Act stipulated that a considerable portion of its food aid be cash instead of commodities. Through the 1930s and early 1940s, the
Orthogonal‐field‐alternation gel electrophoresis banding patterns of DNA from yeasts

Chromosomal DNAs from various yeast species were separated by orthogonal‐field‐alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). To this end we developed a spheroplasting and lysis method to obtain intact DNA from both ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. The OFAGE banding patterns of 22 ascomycetous and four basidiomycetous yeast strains were compared. The strains represented species from the genera: Brettanomyces, Candida, Croococcus, Filobasidiella, Geotrichum, Hansenula, Kluyveromyces, Pachysolen, Pichia, Rhodosporidium, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces, Saccharomycodes, Saccharomycopis, Schizosaccharomyces and Zygosaccharomyces. Variations occurred in the number of bands and their positions in the gel, not only among strains of different genera but also among species from the same genus and even between varieties of the same species. The ascomycetous yeasts, with the exeption of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, only showed one to five bands of DNA larger than 1000 kilobase pairs (kb) in general none smaller. The paterns of the four basidiomycetous yeasts revealed also a few large DNA bands but in addition one to six bands ranging in size from 500 to 1000 kb, with the exception of a single smaller chromosome in Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. From the OFAGE banding patterns of strains studied here it appears that in Saach. cerevisiae the partitioning of DNA over chromosomes in unique. But rather than the large number of chromosomes, the presence of four chromosomes with less than 500 kb of DNA is characteristic for Sacch. cerevisiae.
Indoor wireless metering networks: a collection of algorithms enabling low power, low duty cycle operations

Wireless Metering Networks (WMN), a special class of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), consisting of a large number of tiny inexpensive sensor nodes are a viable solution for many problems in the field of building automation especially if the expected lifetime of the network permits to synchronize the network maintenance with the schedule for routine maintenance of the building. In order to meet the resulting energy constraints, the nodes have to operate according to an extremely low duty cycle schedule. The existence of an energy efficient MAC Layer protocol, the adoption of a robust time synchronization mechanism and the implementation of effective network discovery and maintenance strategies are key elements for the success of a WMN project. The main goal of this work was the development of a set of algorithms and protocols which enable the low energy / low power operation in the considered family of WMNs. The development and validation of a propagation model reproducing the characteristics of the indoor radio environment was a necessary step in order to obtain appropriate instruments for the evaluation of the quality of the proposed solutions. The author suggests a simple localized heuristic algorithm which permits the integration of all sensor nodes into a tree-like failure tolerant routing structure and also provides some basic continuous adaptation capabilities of the network structure. \\ A subsequent extension of the basic algorithm makes the network able of self healing. An innovative approach to the solution of the synchronization problem based on a reformulation of the original problem into an estimation problem permitted the development of an efficient time synchronization mechanism. This mechanism, which makes an opportunistic usage of the beacon signals generated by the MAC layer protocol, permits an effective reduction of the synchronization error between directly communicating nodes and, indirectly, introduces a global synchronization among all nodes. All the proposed solutions have been developed for a specific network class. However, since the presence of a low duty cycle scheduling, the adoption of a beacon enabled MAC protocol and the presence of limited hardware resources are quite general assumptions, the author feels confident about the applicability of the proposed solution to a much wider spectrum of problems.
Functional Uncoupling of T-cell Receptor Engagement and Lck Activation in Anergic Human Thymic CD4+T Cells*

Human thymic CD1a−CD4+ T cells in the final stage of thymic maturation are susceptible to anergy induced by a superantigen, toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1). Thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts, established by stimulating human thymic CD1a−CD4+ T cells with TSST-1 in vitro, produce a low level of interleukin-2 after restimulation with TSST-1, whereas TSST-1-induced adult peripheral blood (APB) CD4+ T-cell blasts produce high levels of interleukin-2. The extent of tyrosine phosphorylation of the T-cell receptor ζ chain induced after restimulation with TSST-1 was 2–4-fold higher in APB CD4+ T-cell blasts than in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts. The tyrosine kinase activity of Lck was low in both thymic and APB CD4+ T-cell blasts before restimulation with TSST-1. After restimulation, the Lck kinase activity increased in APB CD4+ T-cell blasts but not in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts. Surprisingly, Lck was highly tyrosine-phosphorylated in both thymic and APB CD4+ T-cell blasts before restimulation with TSST-1. After restimulation, it was markedly dephosphorylated in APB CD4+ T-cell blasts but not in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts. Lck from APB CD4+T-cell blasts bound the peptide containing the phosphotyrosine at the negative regulatory site of Lck-505 indicating that the site of dephosphorylation in TSST-1-activated T-cell blasts is Tyr-505. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that colocalization of Lck and CD45 was induced after restimulation with TSST-1 in APB CD4+T-cell blasts but not in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts. Further, remarkable accumulation of Lck in the membrane raft was observed in restimulated APB CD4+ T-cell blasts but not in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts. These data indicate that interaction between Lck and CD45 is suppressed physically in thymic CD4+ T-cell blasts and plays a critical role in sustaining an anergic state.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse frequency regulates expression of pituitary follistatin messenger ribonucleic acid: a mechanism for differential gonadotrope function.

Follistatin (FS) is a monomeric glycoprotein that selectively inhibits both secretion of FSH and expression of FSH beta messenger RNA (mRNA), presumably via its ability to bind activin. FS mRNA and protein are present in the gonadotrope, suggesting a local action in regulating FSH beta. Pituitary FS mRNA increases after gonadectomy and at the midcycle gonadotropin surge of the estrous cycle, times of increased GnRH secretion. Thus, the purpose of the present studies was to assess the role of GnRH secretion on the regulation of pituitary FS. To confirm GnRH regulation of FS and to study the role of gonadal steroids, adult male rats were gonadectomized (2-36 h), with some animals receiving either testosterone (T) replacement, LRF-147 (a GnRH antagonist, AC-DTrp1-pCl-DPhe2-DTrp3-Ser4-Tyr5-DArg6-L eu7-Arg8-Pro9-DAla10), or both for 36 h (from the time of castration). Pituitary FS mRNA increased rapidly after castration, with levels rising 3-fold by 12 h and 4-fold by 36 h when compared to intact animals (P < 0.05). This rise was completely abolished by administration of LRF-147 and prevented by T replacement. Because GnRH pulse frequency can selectively regulate FSH beta mRNA expression, we next examined the effect of GnRH pulse interval (8-480 min) on FS mRNA expression. Fast frequency GnRH pulses (8 min), which did not increase FSH beta mRNA, were associated with an increase in FS mRNA (2.5-fold). The 30-min interval increased FS and gonadotropin subunit mRNAs. Slower pulse frequencies (> or = 120 min), which selectively stimulated a rise in FSH beta mRNA, did not increase FS mRNA. These results indicate that pituitary FS mRNA is regulated by GnRH. In addition, GnRH frequency modulation of pituitary FS provides a mechanism whereby a single hypothalamic GnRH can differentially regulate the gonadotropins, LH and FSH.
Laparoscopic pyeloplasty: the updated McMaster University experience.

OBJECTIVE The open Anderson-Hynes procedure has an overall success rate of 90% for ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) was developed to reduce morbidity and hospital stay while preserving the excellent results. We report on the results of our experience with laparoscopic pyeloplasty. METHODS Between January 2001 and May 2006, 77 consecutive patients underwent LP performed by one of 4 surgeons at our institution. Patients were reassessed with ultrasound (U/S) or intravenous pyelogram (IVP) at 6 weeks. Diuretic renal scan and U/S or IVP were performed at 6 months, and subsequent follow-up included a U/S or IVP as well as clinical assessment. Patients were assessed for pain and hydronephrosis on radiologic imaging, clearance on diuretic renal scan (T(1/2)) and differential renal function. RESULTS We evaluated 73 patients. The mean patient age was 38 years (range 16-71 yr), the mean operating time was 218 minutes (range 110-409 min), and the mean blood loss was 57 mL (range 25-250 mL). Mean hospital stay was 3.0 days (range 2-7 d). The success rate was 90.4%, and failures were mainly due to poor function after surgery (3 patients). Pyelolithotomy was performed concomitantly on 6 patients, which on average extended operative time by 36 minutes. CONCLUSION Our success rates are consistent with the LP experience of other centres and are comparable with rates for the open technique. Patients had short hospital stays, and complications were negligible. With experienced surgeons, LP should be the first-line treatment for ureteropelvic junction obstruction.
Prognostic value of on admission arterial PCO2 in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

BACKGROUND There is little data about the correlation between the outcome of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and the hypercapnic type respiratory failure. In this study we prospectively investigated the prognostic significance of first arterial CO2 tension in patients hospitalized with CAP. METHODS In this prospective study patients with CAP, admitted to a general hospital were included. PaCO2 was measured for each subject in an arterial blood sample drawn in the first 2 hours and its correlations with three major outcomes were evaluated: intensive care unit (ICU) admission, duration of admission and mortality in 30 days. RESULTS A total of 114 patients (mean age: 60.9±18.3; male: 51.8%) diagnosed with CAP were included. Significant relationship was not found between PaCO2 and mortality (P=0.544) or ICU admission (P=0.863). However advanced age, associated CHF, high BUN levels, high CURB-65 scores, associated pleural effusion in chest X-ray and being admitted to the ICU (P=0.012, 0.004, 0.003, <0.001, 0.045 and <0.001 respectively) were all significant prognostic factors of higher mortality risks. Prognostic factors for ICU admission were a history of malignancy (P=0.004), higher CURB-65 (P<0.001) scores and concomitant pleural effusion (P=0.028) in chest X-ray. Hypercapnic patients hospitalized for longer duration compared with normocapnic subjects. Furthermore, patients with lower pH (P=0.041) and pleural effusions (P=0.002) were hospitalized longer than the others. CONCLUSIONS There was less prominent prognostic value regarding on-admission PaCO2 in comparison to other factors such as CURB-65. Considering the inconsistent results of surveys conducted on prognostic value of PaCO2 for CAP outcomes, further investigations are required to reach a consensus on this matter.
Slip ratio estimation and regenerative brake control without detection of vehicle velocity and acceleration for electric vehicle at urgent brake-turning

In slip ratio control systems, it is necessary to detect vehicle velocity in order to detect the slip ratio. However, it is very difficult to measure the vehicle velocity directly. Then, we have proposed an estimation method and control method of slip ratio without detecting both the vehicle velocity and the acceleration. In this paper, we carry out simulations and experiments of the estimation method and the control method in turning motion with an electric vehicle. The vehicle motion is stable with the slip ratio control. We verify practical effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Type I Interferons Are Essential in Controlling Neurotropic Coronavirus Infection Irrespective of Functional CD8 T Cells

ABSTRACT Neurotropic coronavirus infection induces expression of both beta interferon (IFN-β) RNA and protein in the infected rodent central nervous system (CNS). However, the relative contributions of type I IFN (IFN-I) to direct, cell-type-specific virus control or CD8 T-cell-mediated effectors in the CNS are unclear. IFN-I receptor-deficient (IFNAR−/−) mice infected with a sublethal and demyelinating neurotropic virus variant and those infected with a nonpathogenic neurotropic virus variant both succumbed to infection within 9 days. Compared to wild-type (wt) mice, replication was prominently increased in all glial cell types and spread to neurons, demonstrating expanded cell tropism. Furthermore, increased pathogenesis was associated with significantly enhanced accumulation of neutrophils, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2, and IFN-γ within the CNS. The absence of IFN-I signaling did not impair induction or recruitment of virus-specific CD8 T cells, the primary adaptive mediators of virus clearance in wt mice. Despite similar IFN-γ-mediated major histocompatibility complex class II upregulation on microglia in infected IFNAR−/− mice, class I expression was reduced compared to that on microglia in wt mice, suggesting a synergistic role of IFN-I and IFN-γ in optimizing class I antigen presentation. These data demonstrate a critical direct antiviral role of IFN-I in controlling virus dissemination within the CNS, even in the presence of potent cellular immune responses. By limiting early viral replication and tropism, IFN-I controls the balance of viral replication and immune control in favor of CD8 T-cell-mediated protective functions.
An algorithm for affine transformation of binary images stored in pxy tables by run format

The algorithm for an affine transformation (such as magnification, reduction, or rotation of a binary image) using a run format and a combination of a skew transformation and a transposition has been known. A transposition using this conventional algorithm requires a relatively large amount of computation time, although its skewing operation is simple and fast. This paper proposes an efficient method of transposition of an image represented by a run format, and its applications to an affine transformation (e.g., rotation, magnification, and reduction of an image). The proposed method uses a simple run data format “pxy tables,” in which the start coordinate of black and white runs are stored alternatively in a one-dimensional array. An experimental comparison of the proposed method with a conventional method shows that the computation time per run of the former is constant, while that of the latter increases with the length of the black runs. In other words, the computation time of an affine transformation of a binary image by using the proposed method is approximately proportional to the number of runs alone.