Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spinal cord lamina V and lamina VII interneuronal projections to sympathetic preganglionic neurons

This light and electron microscopic study sought to localize spinal cord interneurons that contribute to the normal and abnormal physiological regulation of spinal sympathetic preganglionic function. Sympathetic preganglionic neurons in caudal C8 through T4 of rat spinal cord were retrogradely labeled with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and/or cholera β subunit (CTβ) following injections into the superior cervical ganglion (SCG). With two exceptions, the observed locations of retrogradely VVGA‐ and CTβ‐labeled sympathetic preganglionic neurons were as expected from previous studies. The exceptions were restricted populations of cells in caudal C8 and rostral T1 spinal segments. These neurons were classified as ventrolateral (vlSPN) and ventromedial (vmSPN) sympathetic preganglionic neurons; their somata and dendrites encircled dorsolateral lamina IX motoneurons. Only WGA was transported transneuronally following the retrograde labeling of sympathetic preganglionic neurons. Transneuronally WGA‐labeled spinal interneurons were located principally in the reticulated division of lamina V and dorsolateral lamina VII. A strict segmental organization was observed. All transneuronally labeled interneurons were ipsilateral to, and coextensive with, retrogradely WGA‐labeled sympathetic preganglionic neurons. Electron microscopic observations suggested that retrograde transsynaptic passage of WGA occurred within the sympathetic preganglionic neuropil and showed further that similar classes of organelles were WGA immunoreactive in retrogradely labeled sympathetic preganglionic neurons and in transneuronally labeled lamina V and lamina VII neurons: (1) cisternae and vesicles at the trans face of the Golgi apparatus, (2) large endosomes/dense bodies, and (3) multivesicular bodies. The data are consistent with two hypotheses: (1) Somatic and visceral primary afferent inputs to thoracic spinal cord modify segmental sympathetic preganglionic function through activation of a disynaptic pathway involving lamina V and/or lamina VII interneurons, and (2) long‐loop propriospinal pathways access sympathetic preganglionic neurons through symmetrical, segmental interneuronal circuitry. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Introduction of superhelical turns into DNA by adenoviral core proteins and chromatin assembly factors

The interaction in vitro between adenoviral histone-like proteins and DNA in the presence of chromatin assembly factors was investigated. Viral core protein VII or its precursor pVII was incubated with DNA in the presence of an extract of HeLa cell chromatin, which mediates nucleosome assembly from histones and DNA. We have demonstrated that either protein can introduce superhelical turns into relaxed closed-circular DNA and that the presence of chromatin extract is necessary for the supertwisting effect. A greater density of superhelical turns was produced by pVII than by VII, but neither protein-DNA interaction resulted in the "physiological" amount of supertwisting produced by histones. The inhibition of histone-induced supercoiling by both proteins and the protection of turns in supertwisted starting material are also described. The nucleosome assembly factor, nucleoplasmin, fails to mediate the introduction of superhelical turns by VII or pVII.
Prevention of Innominate Bone Separation During Pregnancy in the Mouse.∗

Summary The innominate bones in virgin mice of the Brown-belt strain were tied together at the pubic symphysis with silk thread. This was done to prevent innominate bone separation and concomitant enlargement of the birth canal during pregnancy. The females were then mated. Each pregnant mouse gave birth to normal living young at the usual time even though its birth canal was not enlarged during pregnancy by innominate bone separation at the symphysis. All of the pelvic joints became flexible, including the symphysis. Although the tied innominate bones remained closely approximated at the symphysis the pre-pregnancy symphysial cartilage was replaced by ligamentous tissue.
Serum Chromium , Molybdenum , Zinc and Magnesium Levels in Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Sagamu , South West Nigeria

Emerging evidence suggests that the metabolism of several trace elements is altered in diabetes mellitus and that these metals might have specific roles in the pathogenesis and progress of this disease because of their diverse metabolic characteristics and functions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between diabetes mellitus and the plasma level of essential trace elements, Chromium (Cr), Magnesium (Mg), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn) in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. A total of 148 subjects consisting of 98 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 50 non-diabetic control subjects were recruited. The element concentrations were measured by means of an atomic absorption spectrophotometer after wet-acid digestion. Results reveal that diabetic status is associated with alterations of levels of analyzed trace metals. Significant (p<0.001) elevation of plasma glucose was associated with marked decreases in chromium (p<0.01) and zinc (p<0.05) with significant (p<0.001) increases in magnesium and molybdenum (p<0.001) levels when compared with the control. Prevalence of reduced levels of Zn was 65.34, Mg 18.22, Mo 12.87 and Cr 79.2% in diabetes patients compared with Zn 22.36, Mg 16.78, Mo 11.83 and Cr 22.00% respectively in the control subjects. The plasma level of glucose was negatively correlated with the levels of Zn, Cr, Mo and Mg of diabetic subjects. A positive correlation between zinc (r = 0.65, p<0.01), molybdenum (r = 0.57, p<0.01) and magnesium as well as between zinc and chromium (r = 0.53, p<0.01) was observed in diabetic patients. Overall, deficiency of both chromium and zinc co-exist in the diabetes mellitus patients studied and was associated with marked raised molybdenum with slightly raised magnesium.
Changes in Transforming Growth Factor β1 Gene Expression and Immunoreactivity Levels during Development of Chronic Radiation Enteropathy

Chronic intestinal radiation injury is associated with locally increased TGF-beta1 immunoreactivity that correlates with morphological alterations. However, the underlying mechanisms are not known. This study examined changes in intestinal TGF-beta1 immunoreactivity, steady-state TGF-beta1 mRNA levels, and cellular localization of TGF-beta1 mRNA during development of chronic radiation enteropathy in a rat model. A loop of small bowel was fixed inside the scrotum of orchiectomized male rats. The intestine was subsequently exposed locally to 0, 12 or 21 Gy X radiation. Intestine was procured at 24 h and 2, 6 and 26 weeks and subjected to histopathological analysis, quantitative immunohistochemistry with computerized image analysis, assessment of steady-state TGF-beta1 mRNA levels with quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and identification of cell types expressing TGF-beta1 mRNA with in situ hybridization. Intestine from the 21-Gy group exhibited more histopathological injury and increased TGF-beta immunoreactivity 2-26 weeks after irradiation compared to the 12-Gy group and sham-irradiated controls. TGF-beta1 mRNA in irradiated intestine increased up to six times relative to controls at 24 h and 2 weeks, was less at 6 weeks, and did not differ from controls at 26 weeks. In situ hybridization detected TGF-beta1 mRNA in epithelial and Paneth cells in control intestine. Irradiated intestine exhibited additional TGF-beta1 mRNA in inflammatory and fibroblast-like cells. We conclude that there is a radiation-induced shift in the cellular sources of TGF-beta1, and that Tgfb1 gene expression is increased mainly during the early phases of radiation enteropathy, preceding the increase in immunoreactivity and histopathological injury. Translational or post-translational mechanisms are likely involved in sustaining increased TGF-beta1 immunoreactivity levels during the chronic phase of radiation enteropathy.
The sole cysteine residue (Cys301) of tetrathionate hydrolase from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans does not play a role in enzyme activity

Cysteine residues are absolutely indispensable for the reactions of almost all enzymes involved in the dissimilatory oxidation pathways of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds. Tetrathionate hydrolase from the acidophilic iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (Af-Tth) catalyzes tetrathionate hydrolysis to generate elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, and sulfate. Af-Tth is a key enzyme in the dissimilatory sulfur oxidation pathway in this bacterium. Only one cysteine residue (Cys301) has been identified in the deduced amino acid sequence of the Af-Tth gene. In order to clarify the role of the sole cysteine residue, a site-specific mutant enzyme (C301A) was generated. No difference was observed in the retention volumes of the wild-type and mutant Af-Tth enzymes by gel-filtration column chromatography, and surprisingly the enzyme activities measured in the cysteine-deficient and wild-type enzymes were the same. These results suggest that the sole cysteine residue (Cys301) in Af-Tth is involved in neither the tetrathionate hydrolysis reaction nor the subunit assembly. Af-Tth may thus have a novel cysteine-independent reaction mechanism. Graphical Abstract The sole cysteine residue (Cys301) in Af-Tth is not involved in neither the tetrathionate hydrolysis reaction nor subunit assembly.
Gateway-Initiated Dual-Stack Lite Deployment

Gateway-Initiated Dual-Stack Lite (GI-DS-Lite) is a variant of Dual- Stack Lite (DS-Lite) applicable to certain tunnel-based access architectures. GI-DS-Lite extends existing access tunnels beyond the access gateway to an IPv4-IPv4 NAT using softwires with an embedded Context Identifier that uniquely identifies the end-system to which the tunneled packets belong. The access gateway determines which portion of the traffic requires NAT using local policies and sends/ receives this portion to/from this softwire. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
A novel single layer frequency selective surface design for ultra-wide band antenna gain enhancement

In this study, a novel single layer band stop Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) for gain enhancement of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) antenna is presented. The proposed FSS unit cell consists of a conventional square loop (CSL), a ring and cross dipole elements and printed on a single side of 15mm χ 15mm dielectric substrate. The −10dB frequency band relies on 3.02GHz and 11.79GHz and fractional bandwidth is %128. Also, effects of the unit cell parameters over the transmission performances are investigated and conclusions are presented. In order to showgain enhancement performance, the FSS with the designed high gain UWB antenna were simulated by CST MWS. The antenna with FSS has a maximum gain of 14dB. The FSS shows a linear reflection phase variation within the operation range and can be good candidate for enhancing the printed antennas gain.
The Gastrointestinal Tract: The Canary of the Body?

Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, the survival of patients admitted to a critical care unit remains disappointingly low. Too many patients die each year as a result of irreversible organ failure, and too many survivors suffer prolonged disabilities. At least some of this organ damage can be attributed to the development of tissue hypoxia and is potentially preventable. This remains one of the major challenges for critical care physicians. See also p 1203. The process of oxygen delivery from the environment to the tissue is complex. The first step in the process, oxygenation of the arterial blood, is well understood and can usually be adequately achieved, even in the sickest patient. The development of techniques to improve oxygenation of the arterial blood was clearly dependent on the development of effective ways to monitor the arterial PO2. Repeated measurement of arterial blood gases is routine in critically ill patients, and
Deep Venous Thrombosis Prophylaxis in Body Contouring: 105 Consecutive Patients

AbstractBody contouring has a higher rate of thromboembolism than traditional plastic surgery procedures. Although risk stratification protocols exist, few offer specific therapeutic guidelines for deep venous thrombosis prevention. This single surgeon series classifies 105 consecutive patients into low, moderate, high, and highest risk groups. The respective thromboembolism prevention treatment included pneumatic compression devices alone, postoperative low-dose unfractionated heparin (LDUH), preoperative and 2 doses of postoperative LDUH, and preoperative and postoperative LDUH/low-dose molecular weight heparin for 7 days. Complications included 1 reoperation for bleeding. There were no clinically detected deep venous thromboses. In conclusion, this treatment algorithm for thromboembolism prevention results in a low rate of bleeding and thrombosis. Further studies are warranted to determine optimal timing and duration of chemoprophylaxis in plastic surgery patients.
Chromatin and cancer: Causes and consequences

In this review, we discuss recent evidence implicating chromatin structure in the etiology of cancer. In particular, we present evidence indicating that inappropriate regulation of chromatin structure inhibits normal cell differentiation pathways and stimulates uncontrolled cell proliferation, with the outcome being oncogenesis. Such inappropriate chromatin structures arise as a consequence of (i) chromosomal rearrangements that fuse gene‐specific activators with global co‐regulators, drastically altering activator function; (ii) hypermethylation of tumor suppressor gene promoters, resulting in their inactivation; or (iii) mistargeted nuclear compartmentalization of growth‐control genes and their regulators, resulting in the up‐ or down‐regulation of such genes. How does chromatin silence genes? Recent results from model in vivo systems argues that chromatin can repress transcription at two levels: (i) by sterically interfering with the binding of transcription factors to the promoter, thereby blocking initiation; and (ii) at a step subsequent to the binding of activators and recruitment of the preinitiation complex. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 35:61–68, 2000. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Omnidirectional scene illuminant estimation using a multispectral imaging system

A method is developed for estimating an omnidirectional distribution of the scene illuminant spectral distribution, including spiky fluorescent spectra. First, we show a measuring apparatus, consisting of the mirrored ball system and the imaging system using a LCT filter (or color filters), a monochrome CCD camera, and a personal computer. Second, the measuring system is calibrated and images representing the omnidirectional light distribution are created. Third, we present an algorithm for recovering the illuminant spectral-power distribution from the image data. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated in an experiment on a classroom scene with different illuminant sources such as fluorescent light, incandescent light, and daylight. The accuracy of the estimated scene illuminants is shown in the cases of the 6-channel multi-band camera, 31-channel spectral camera, and 61-channel spectral camera.
Purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of incident disability among community-dwelling older persons.

BACKGROUND Purpose in life is thought to be associated with positive health outcomes in old age, but its association with disability is unknown. OBJECTIVE Test the hypothesis that greater purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of incident disability, including impairment in basic and instrumental activities of daily living and mobility disability, among community-based older persons free of dementia. DESIGN Participants were from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a large longitudinal clinical-pathologic study of aging. SETTING Retirement communities, senior housing facilities, and homes across the greater Chicago metropolitan area. MEASUREMENTS All participants underwent baseline assessment of purpose in life and detailed annual clinical evaluations to document incident disability. RESULTS The mean score on the purpose in life measure at baseline was 3.6 (standard deviation = 0.5, range: 2-5). In a series of proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, and education, greater purpose in life was associated with a reduced risk of disability in basic activities of daily living (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [C1] = 0.45-0.81), instrumental activities of daily living (HR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.40-0.78), and mobility disability (HR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.44-0.84). These associations did not vary along demographic lines and persisted after the addition of terms to control for global cognition, depressive symptoms, social networks, neuroticism, income, physical frailty, vascular risk factors, and vascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS Among community-based older persons without dementia, greater purpose in life is associated with maintenance of functional status, including a reduced risk of developing impairment in basic and instrumental activities of daily living and mobility disability.
Evolution of Hominin Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism: From Africa to the New World

Background The metabolic conversion of dietary omega-3 and omega-6 18 carbon (18C) to long chain (> 20 carbon) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) is vital for human life. Fatty acid desaturase (FADS) 1 and 2 catalyze the rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of LC-PUFAs. The FADS region contains two haplotypes; ancestral and derived, where the derived haplotypes are associated with more efficient LC-PUFA biosynthesis and is nearly fixed in Africa. In addition, Native American populations appear to be nearly fixed for the lesser efficient ancestral haplotype, which could be a public health problem due to associated low LC-PUFA levels, while Eurasia is polymorphic. This haplotype frequency distribution is suggestive of archaic re-introduction of the ancestral haplotype to non-African populations or ancient polymorphism with differential selection patterns across the globe. Therefore, we tested the FADS region for archaic introgression or ancient polymorphism. We specifically addressed the genetic architecture of the FADS region in Native American populations to better understand this potential public health impact. Results We confirmed Native American ancestry is nearly fixed for the ancestral haplotype and is under positive selection. The ancestral haplotype frequency is also correlated to Siberian populations’ geographic location further suggesting the ancestral haplotype’ s role in cold weather adaptation and leading to the high haplotype frequency within Native American populations’. We also find that the Neanderthal is more closely related to the derived haplotypes while the Denisovan clusters closer to the ancestral haplotypes. In addition, the derived haplotypes have a time to the most recent common ancestor of 688,474 years ago which is within the range of the modern-archaic hominin divergence. Conclusions These results support an ancient polymorphism forming in the FADS gene region with differential selection pressures acting on the derived and ancestral haplotypes due to the old age of the derived haplotypes and the ancestral haplotype being under positive selection in Native American ancestry populations. Further, the near fixation of the less efficient ancestral haplotype in Native American ancestry suggests the need for future studies to explore the potential health risk of associated low LC-PUFA levels in Native American ancestry populations.
Standardizing Care for High-Risk Patients in Spine Surgery: The Northwestern High-Risk Spine Protocol

Study Design. Review article of current literature on the preoperative evaluation and postoperative management of patients undergoing high-risk spine operations and a presentation of a multidisciplinary protocol for patients undergoing high-risk spine operation. Objective. To provide evidence-based outline of modifiable risk factors and give an example of a multidisciplinary protocol with the goal of improving outcomes. Summary of Background Data. Protocol-based care has been shown to improve outcomes in many areas of medicine. A protocol to evaluate patients undergoing high-risk procedures may ultimately improve patient outcomes. Methods. The English language literature to date was reviewed on modifiable risk factors for spine surgery. A multidisciplinary team including hospitalists, critical care physicians, anesthesiologists, and spine surgeons from neurosurgery and orthopedics established an institutional protocol to provide comprehensive care in the pre-, peri-, and postoperative periods for patients undergoing high-risk spine operations. Results. An example of a comprehensive pre-, peri-, and postoperative high-risk spine protocol is provided, with focus on the preoperative assessment of patients undergoing high-risk spine operations and modifiable risk factors. Conclusion. Standardizing preoperative risk assessment may lead to better outcomes after major spine operations. A high-risk spine protocol may help patients by having dedicated physicians in multiple specialties focusing on all aspects of a patients care in the pre-, intra-, and postoperative phases.
Integration of new biological and physical retrospective dosimetry methods into EU emergency response plans – joint RENEB and EURADOS inter-laboratory comparisons

Abstract Purpose: RENEB, ‘Realising the European Network of Biodosimetry and Physical Retrospective Dosimetry,’ is a network for research and emergency response mutual assistance in biodosimetry within the EU. Within this extremely active network, a number of new dosimetry methods have recently been proposed or developed. There is a requirement to test and/or validate these candidate techniques and inter-comparison exercises are a well-established method for such validation. Materials and methods: The authors present details of inter-comparisons of four such new methods: dicentric chromosome analysis including telomere and centromere staining; the gene expression assay carried out in whole blood; Raman spectroscopy on blood lymphocytes, and detection of radiation-induced thermoluminescent signals in glass screens taken from mobile phones. Results: In general the results show good agreement between the laboratories and methods within the expected levels of uncertainty, and thus demonstrate that there is a lot of potential for each of the candidate techniques. Conclusions: Further work is required before the new methods can be included within the suite of reliable dosimetry methods for use by RENEB partners and others in routine and emergency response scenarios.