Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vital exhaustion and cardiovascular disease: Are circulating fibrinogen and D-dimer levels a plausible link?

Vital exhaustion has been implicated in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. In addition, elevated levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Some studies have suggested that fibrinogen and D-dimer are associated with acute, chronic, and perceived stress. In this issue, Kudielka et al examine the relationship between circulating fibrinogen and D-dimer levels and vital exhaustion in a cross-sectional study of middle-aged teachers in Germany, to examine the plausible link between chronic stress and the development of cardiovascular disease. This commentary discusses the limited available evidence of the mechanisms responsible for the association between vital exhaustion and the development of cardiovascular disease and highlights the limitations of previous research and discusses future directions.
Glucose promotes resistance in lymphocytes against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis through signaling and metabolic pathways. Implications for Parkinson’s disease

Introduccion: la enfermedad de Parkinson (EP) es un trastorno neurologico asociado con la perdida selectiva de neuronas dopaminergicas (DAergicas). Datos clinicos sugieren que el estres oxidativo (EO) y la desregulacion del metabolismo de la glucosa (G) son eventos tempranos en la EP. Sin embargo, no existe informacion que explique la posible asociacion molecular entre el metabolismo de la glucosa, el EO y la muerte neuronal. Los linfocitos humanos comparten mecanismos de senalizacion DAergicos comunes. Mas aun, la rotenona (ROT) es un inhibidor que selectivamente induce apoptosis via EO en neuronas DAergicas y linfocitos. Para evaluar la hipotesis que el metabolismo de la G y el EO estan asociados con la toxicidad del sistema DAergicas y EP, se cultivaron linfocitos humanos con ROT en presencia o ausencia de varias concentraciones de G. Objetivo: este estudio examina la respuesta de los linfocitos a G (11, 55, 166, 277, 555 mM) en ausencia o presencia de ROT (250 microM). Metodos: se utilizaron tecnicas de microscopia de luz y fluorescencia e inmunocitoquimica para evaluar los cambios morfologicos y bioquimicos de los linfocitos. Resultados: la G 55 mM fue eficaz en suprimir la apoptosis en linfocitos inducida por ROT via activacion de 5 rutas metabolicas: (i) la via pentosa fosfato, (ii) la via glutation; (iii) los sistemas antioxidantes superoxido dismutasa (SOD) y catalasa (CAT); (iv) fosfoinositol 3 cinasa (PI3-K). Ademas, se observo por primera vez que la G rescata linfocitos de la apoptosis inducida por ROT via (v) activacion del factor nuclear kappa-B (NF- kB) y por regulacion a la baja de p53 y de la caspasa-3. Se demostro que los inhibidores de senalizacion (v.gr. LY294002) e inhibidores metabolicos (v.gr. DHEA, BSO, BCNU, MS, DCC) revierten parcialmente los efectos citoprotectores de la G 55 mM en linfocitos expuestos aROT. Conclusion: estos hallazgos sugieren que la alta concentracion de G induce simultaneamente sistemas de senalizacion y antioxidantes para asegurar la proteccion global de la celula contra condiciones estresantes en celulas DAergicas.
Reduction in the Motoneuron Inhibitory/Excitatory Synaptic Ratio in an Early‐Symptomatic Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Excitotoxicity is a widely studied mechanism underlying motoneuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Synaptic alterations that produce an imbalance in the ratio of inhibitory/excitatory synapses are expected to promote or protect against motoneuron excitotoxicity. In ALS patients, motoneurons suffer a reduction in their synaptic coverage, as in the transition from the presymptomatic (2‐month‐old) to early‐symptomatic (3‐month‐old) stage of the hSOD1G93A mouse model of familial ALS. Net synapse loss resulted from inhibitory bouton loss and excitatory synapse gain. Furthermore, in 3‐month‐old transgenic mice, remaining inhibitory but not excitatory boutons attached to motoneurons showed reduction in the active zone length and in the spatial density of synaptic vesicles in the releasable pool near the active zone. Bouton degeneration/loss seems to be mediated by bouton vacuolization and by mechanical displacement due to swelling vacuolated dendrites. In addition, chronic treatment with a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor avoided inhibitory loss but not excitatory gain. These results indicate that NO mediates inhibitory loss occurring from the pre‐ to early‐symptomatic stage of hSOD1G93A mice. This work contributes new insights on ALS pathogenesis, recognizing synaptic re‐arrangement onto motoneurons as a mechanism favoring disease progression rather than as a protective homeostatic response against excitotoxic events.
Elm trees and elm leaf beetles: patterns of herbivory

The rate of attack on elm seedlings by the Elm Leaf Beetle is affected by the seedlings position relative to adult elms. Those seedlings directly under adult trees suffer 580 times the insect attack from the beetles as seedlings not directly under adult elms. Excluding seedlings under adult elms, the number of egg masses found on an elm plant is directly proportional to its size. It was found that below a certain size seedlings were completely free from beetle attack.
Hearing in cleft palate patients.

Permanent hearing loss is present in more than 50% of the adult cleft palate population. Serous otitis media related to eustachian-tube dysfunction is present from birth in over 90% of infants with cleft palates and leads to middle ear changes responsible for permanent hearing loss in adulthood. Early and successful closure of the cleft palate is associated with decreased adult hearing loss and secondary surgery for hypernasal cleft palate is also associated with a decreased incidence. Hard-of-hearing patients have a tendency to remain more hypernasal than their normal-hearing peers and are less likely to respond to conventional speech therapy.
Advancements in Reproductive Technology in Cattle

Animal Biotechnology represents an expanding collection of rapidly developing disciplines in science and information technologies. The bovine provides many opportunities to utilize these disciplines and evolving competencies. Commercialization of biotechnology in cattle is presently taking two pathways. The first application involves the use of animals for biomedical purposes. Very few companies have developed all of the core competencies and intellectual properties to complete the bridge from lab bench to product. The second pathway of application is for the production of animals used for food and fiber. Artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, cloning, transgenics, and genomics all are components of the tool box for present and future applications. Individually, these are powerful tools capable of providing significant improvements in productivity. Combinations of these technologies coupled with information systems and data analysis, will provide even more significant changes in the next decade. Any strategies for the commercial application of animal biotechnology must include a careful review of regulatory and social concerns. Careful review of industry infrastructure is also important. Our colleagues in plant biotechnology have helped highlight some of these pitfalls and provide us with a retrospective review. In summary, today we have core competencies which provide a wealth of opportunities for the members of society, commercial companies, and cattle producers. Successful commercialization will benefit all of the above stakeholders, and provide a safe and efficient supply of food and pharmaceuticals.
Enhancing Luminance of CCFL-Based Lighting Systems Using Low-Frequency Driving Techniques

This paper proposes the luminance enhancement with low-frequency driving techniques for cold cathode fluorescent lamp (FL) (CCFL)-based lighting systems. The driver architecture features a full-bridge phase-shift inverter with a resonant tank and a three-winding step-up transformer to reduce leakage current, remove parasitic capacitance, enhance optical efficiency, balance and increase lamp uniformity, and achieve two-terminal high-voltage low-frequency driving of CCFLs. The low-frequency control of the driving technique is implemented in a field-programmable gate array controller to achieve luminance enhancement. The control strategy starts igniting the lamp with a high frequency and then reduces to low frequency in order to facilitate the linear increment of lamp brightness. Through the employment of this proposed approach, since the primary current of the transformers is only required, the circuit implementation can be completed with ease. Experimental results show that the proposed technique and control strategy help enhance luminance efficiency and reduce leakage current, demonstrating the practicality for the application considered.
Clonazepam in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: an update

An updated overview over the past decade is provided with respect to the use of clonazepam in a variety of psychiatric disorders. The efficacy of clonazepam monotherapy for the short-term treatment of panic disorder (PD) was fully established in two large pivotal multicentre studies in the late 1990s in a total of >800 patients. Other studies support a role for clonazepam, in association with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), to accelerate treatment response in PD. Although some longitudinal data suggest an ability to maintain improvement without tolerance for up to 3 years, long-term controlled studies of clonazepam in PD are lacking. Studies have shown that clonazepam can also block CO2-induced panic and improve certain aspects of quality of life in PD. Clonazepam has shown some efficacy in social phobia; however, because this evidence is based on few studies, further studies are warranted before definitive conclusions can be drawn. Finally, evidence for the use of clonazepam in acute mania and as augmentation therapy with SSRIs to accelerate response in depression is examined. The long half-life and higher potency of clonazepam may allow easier discontinuation with fewer withdrawal symptoms compared to other benzodiazepines and studies using a slow clonazepam taper appear promising.
Network structure and reactions to primary deviance of mental patients.

A network approach to understanding mental illness is offered as an alternative to the psychiatric model and to societal reaction theory. Forty-seven social networks which had recently committed members to a mental hospital are examined by interviews with 199 network members. Patients are classified according to their status resources and the type of symptoms for which they were committed. Network properties include density, openness, ties among members, and instrumental role structure. Network differences are found to be associated with how patients' initial unusual behaviors are defined, and the speed with which hospitalization occurs. Properties of social networks, rather than status resources or symptoms, provide better understanding of response to initial acts of deviance and actions leading to hospitalization.
Sources and Effects of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Southern California Coastal Waters INTEGRATED COASTAL EFFECTS STUDY: SYNTHESIS OF FINDINGS

ySouthern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, California, USAzUniversity of California, Riverside, California, USA§California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California, USAkSanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Whittier, California, USA(Submitted 10 February 2012; Returned for Revision 2 April 2012; Accepted 23 July 2012)Abstract—Municipal wastewater discharges constitute a major source of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) to coastal waters,yetuncertaintyexistsregardingtheirlinkagetoadversebiologicaleffectssuchasendocrinedisruption.LimitedinformationisavailableconcerningthetypesandfateofCECsdischargedtotheSouthernCaliforniaBight(SCB)frommunicipalwastewaterandtheirpotentialfor ecological impacts. The present study investigated the impacts of CECs from ocean wastewater discharges on SCB ﬁsh. Concentrations of CECs were measured in efﬂuents from four major municipal wastewater dischargers. Seawater, sediment, andhornyheadturbot(Pleuronichthysverticalis)fromthedischargesitesandareferenceareawerecollected andanalyzedforchemical andbiological indicators. Low concentrations of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial and commercial compounds weremeasured in efﬂuent. Some CECs were also detected in sediment, seawater, and ﬁsh livers near the outfalls, conﬁrming exposure toCECs. Fish plasma hormone analyses suggested the presence of physiological effects, including a reduced stress response, alteredestrogen synthesis or estrogenic exposure, and reduced thyroxine. Most ﬁsh responses were found at all sites and could not be directlyassociatedwith efﬂuentdischarges. However,concentrations ofthyroxine wereloweratalldischargesites relativetothereference, andestradiolconcentrationswereloweratthreeofthefouroutfallsites. Thephysiologicalresponsesfoundwerenotassociatedwithadverseimpactsonﬁshreproductionorpopulations. Interpretationofmolecularandphysiologicalmeasurementsinﬁeldorganismssuchasthoseusedinthepresentstudyischallengingbecauseofalackofinformationonbaselineconditionsanduncertainlinkagestoapicalendpointssuch as survival and reproduction. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:2711–2722. # 2012 SETACKeywords—Contaminants of emerging concern Seawater Efﬂuent Fish Biological responsesINTRODUCTION
PECTIN METHYLESTERASE 34 Contributes to Heat Tolerance through Its Role in Promoting Stomatal Movement 1 [ OPEN ]

Pectin, a major component of the primary cell wall, is synthesized in the Golgi apparatus and exported to the cell wall in a highly methylesterified form, then is partially demethylesterified by pectin methylesterases (PMEs; EC 3.1.1.11). PME activity on the status of pectin methylesterification profoundly affects the properties of pectin and, thereby, is critical for plant development and the plant defense response, although the roles of PMEs under heat stress (HS) are poorly understood. Functional genome annotation predicts that at least 66 potential PME genes are contained in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Thermotolerance assays of PME gene T-DNA insertion lines revealed two null mutant alleles of PME34 (At3g49220) that both consistently showed reduced thermotolerance. Nevertheless, their impairment was independently associated with the expression of HS-responsive genes. It was also observed that PME34 transcription was induced by abscisic acid and highly expressed in guard cells. We showed that the PME34 mutation has a defect in the control of stomatal movement and greatly altered PME and polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15) activity, resulting in a heat-sensitive phenotype. PME34 has a role in the regulation of transpiration through the control of the stomatal aperture due to its cell wall-modifying enzyme activity during the HS response. Hence, PME34 is required for regulating guard cell wall flexibility to mediate the heat response in Arabidopsis.
Patient with Markedly Elevated CA 19-9 Not Associated with Malignancy

A 66-year-old white male presented with jaundice, pruritus, and a 30-pound weight loss over two months. Physical examination revealed scleral icterus. Laboratory evaluation revealed ALT 161 U/L, AST 290 U/L, alkaline phosphatase 2004 U/L, GGT 2,552 U/L, total bilirubin 10.2 mg/dL, and a carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) level of 4,374 U/mL. Initial endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was unsuccessful due to ulceration in the duodenum healed with esomeprazole therapy. Subsequent ERCP showed a possible filling defect in the common bile duct treated with sphincterotomy and balloon sweeping of the common bile duct. Symptoms and jaundice resolved five months after initial presentation with normal labs and studies. While elevated CA 19-9 levels occur in most patients with carcinoma of the pancreas, it can also be elevated in patients with extrapancreatic malignancies and acute cholangitis. This case illustrates the fact that a markedly elevated CA 19-9 can be secondary to causes other than carcinoma.
Recent progress in terahertz MMICs and packages for terahertz wireless communications at 300 GHz

With the introduction of new mobile devices and new multimedia services working in wireless environments in the middle of 2000s, there has been abrupt change in how to consume multimedia services, resulting in the great impact on the related industries in last decade. Users are consuming much more digital information and many more services in wireless environment. Popularity of mobile digital devices such as smartphones, digital cameras and camcorder makes users who used to passively consume multimedia contents provided by service providers play dominant role in the circulation and distribution of the digital information. People are taking pictures and video clips and sharing them into the Internet via their own mobile phones and thus data traffic from the mobile devices is explosively increasing day by day. Those users are demanding new ways to manage and share their data on PCs and mobile devices more easily and quickly.
The decline in energetic metabolism with aging of the erythrocyte and its relationship to cell death

Human erythrocytes were separated by buoyant density ultracentrifugation into fractions of progressively increasing mean cell age to measure the changes in glycolytic activity that occur during their 120‐day life‐span. The maximal activities of all glycolytic enzymes were shown to decline exponentially with cell age. Only three glycolytic enzymes exhibited a marked rate of decline with a t1/2 shorter than the cell life‐span: hexokinase, aldolase, and pyruvate kinase.
Truck drivers and heart disease in the United States, 1979-1990.

BACKGROUND Studies of truck drivers and cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction, or ischemic heart disease (IHD) are limited, although studies of other professional drivers reported increased risk. METHODS US mortality data from 1979 to 1990 for ages 15-90 were used to calculate proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) for heart disease and lung cancer for short and long haul truck drivers. Analysis was performed for Black (998 short haul and 13,241 long haul) truck drivers and White (4,929 short and 74,315 long haul) truck drivers separately. RESULTS The highest significantly elevated proportionate heart disease (IHD, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and other forms of heart disease) and lung cancer mortality was found for White and Black male long haul truck drivers age 15-54. Mortality was not significantly elevated for short haul truck drivers of either race or gender, nor for truck drivers who died after age 65, except for lung cancer among White males. An indirect adjustment suggested that smoking could explain the excess IHD mortality, but no direct data for smoking or the other known risk factors for heart disease were available and occupational exposures were not measured. CONCLUSIONS The highest significant excess proportionate mortality for lung cancer, IHD and AMI was found for long haul truck drivers who were under age 55 at death. A cohort or longitudinal study of heart disease among long haul truck drivers, that obtains data for occupational exposures as well as lifestyle risk factors, could help explain inconsistencies between the findings of this and previous studies.
An unusual case of Grey Turner's sign.

A 62-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presented with abdominal pain and ascites. Paracentesis showed more than 100,000 red blood cells without any evidence of infection. Two days later, the patient’s hemoglobin level dropped and ecchymosis appeared on the flanks (Picture 1). Computed tomography revealed a ruptured hepatoma (arrow, Picture 2) and hemoperitoneum without evidence of retroperitoneal bleeding. Angiography did not reveal active bleeding; however, the suspected vessels were embolized. Flank bruising, Grey-Turner’s sign, usually signifies a retroperitoneal hemorrhage, although it has been reported to occur without bleeding as well. Grey-Turner’s sign is associated with acute pancreatitis, ectopic pregnancy, perforated duodenal ulcers, portal hypertension and splenic rupture. We found one case report describing the initial presentation of a ruptured HCC with Grey-Turner’s sign (1). Our case is the second case. Although rare, 1.6% of patients with HCC may present with spontaneous rupture leading to hemoperitoneum formation (2). Therefore, Grey-Turner sign in HCC patients may indicate hemoperitoneum caused by a ruptured hepatoma.
Power Efficient Hierarchical Scheduling for DSP Transformations

In this paper, the problem of scheduling the computation of partial products in transformational Digital Signal Processing (DSP) algorithms, aiming at the minimization of the switching activity in data and address buses, is addressed. The problem is stated as a hierarchical scheduling problem. Two different optimization algorithms, which are based on the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), are defined. The proposed optimization algorithms are independent on the target architecture and can be adapted to take into account it. Experimental results obtained from the application of the proposed algorithms in various widely used DSP transformations, like Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), show that significant switching activity savings in data and address buses can be achieved, resulting in corresponding power savings. In addition, the differences between the two proposed methods are underlined, providing envisage for their suitable selection for implementation, in particular transformational algorithms and architectures.
Endophytic fungi for producing bioactive compounds originally from their host plants

Plant endophytic fungi are an important and novel resource of natural bioactive compounds with their potential applications in agriculture, medicine and food industry. In the past two decades, many valuable bioactive compounds with antimicrobial, insecticidal, cytotoxic and anticancer activities have been successfully discovered from the endophytic fungi. During the long period of co-evolution, a friendly relationship was formed between each endophyte and its host plant. Some endophytes have the ability to produce the same or similar bioactive compounds as those originated from their host plants. This chapter mainly reviewed the research progress on the endophytic fungi for producing plant-derived bioactive compounds such as paclitaxel, podophyllotoxin, camptothecine, vinblastine, hypericin and diosgenin etc. The relations between the endophytic fungi and their host plants, some available strategies for efficiently promoting production of these bioactive compounds, as well as their potential applications in the future are also discussed. It is beneficial for us to better understand and take advantage of plant endophytic fungi.
State and disturbance estimation for a road vehicle via IMM filtering

A new Interacting Multiple Model filter with two modes is introduced for estimating the vehicle yaw-rate, lateral velocity, road bank angle and crosswind force. One mode corresponds to a steering input, and the second to an external disturbance input. With moderate sensor demands, the presented estimator is shown to perform accurately in simulations, and outperforms a conventional Luenberger estimator.