Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modulation of plasma glucose levels by thyrotropin-releasing hormone administered intracerebroventricularly in the rat.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), but not histidyl-proline diketopiperazine (cyclo[His-Pro]), induced transient hyperglycemia associated with hyperglucagonemia and marked hyperinsulinemia when placed intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) in anesthetized rats. This TRH-induced hyperglycemia was prevented by acute adrenalectomy. However, adrenalectomy did not prevent TRH-induced hyperinsulinemia or hyperglucagonemia. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, i.c. v. administration of TRH caused progressive and pronounced hyperglycemia. i.c. v. TRH-induced hyperinsulinemia was abolished by vagotomy and by systemic administration of hexamethonium or atropine. These results suggest that TRH induces hyperglycemia mediated by stimulation of the sympathetico-adrenal system and hyperinsulinemia by stimulation of the vagus nerve, and that the rapid decline of plasma glucose levels following transient hyperglycemia is due to hyperinsulinemia.
Welfare costs and benefits of non-tariff measures in trade: a conceptual framework and application

Abstract This paper provides a systematic welfare-based approach to analyze the impact of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on trade and welfare in the presence of market imperfections. It focuses on standard-like measures such as technical barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. The approach overcomes the shortcomings of the mainstream approach based on the analysis of foregone trade caused by trade costs. The latter ignores market imperfections, and welfare is found to increases when NTMs are reduced and trade expands. We explain how to account for external effects and market failures in trade-focused welfare analysis, leading to a more balanced overall assessment of measures despite a potential reduction of trade flows. The relationships between trade, welfare, and NTMs are complex, and generalizations are best avoided. Very often, the optimum NTM is not the absence of regulation. An application to shrimp trade illustrates the feasibility of the proposed approach. The illustration shows that the reinforcement of a food safety standard can be socially preferable to the status-quo situation, both domestically and internationally.
Bone Marrow Angiogenesis and Plasma Cell Angiogenic and Invasive Potential in Patients with Active Multiple Myeloma

Factor VIII-related antigen-positive microvessel areas were measured by both immunohistochemistry and computerized image analysis in patients with active multiple myeloma (MM), nonactive MM and monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS). A 5- to 6-fold larger area was found in patients with active MM compared to the other two groups. The conditioned medium (CM) of their bone marrow plasma cells stimulated endothelial cell proliferation and chemotaxis, monocyte chemotaxis and angiogenesis in vivo [chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) system] more strongly and frequently than the CM of patients with nonactive MM and MGUS. An immunoassay of plasma cell lysates gave significantly higher levels of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in patients with active MM than in the other two groups, and a neutralizing anti-FGF-2 antibody inhibited by 54–68% the biological activity exerted by the CM in vitro and in the CAM. In situ hybridization of bone marrow plasma cells and gelatin zymography of CM showed that patients with active MM express higher levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) mRNA and protein than those with nonactive MM and MGUS, whereas MMP-9 expression and secretion overlapped in all groups. Overall data suggest that patients with active MM represent the vascular phase of plasma cell tumors that is triggered by bone marrow plasma cells, at least partly, through FGF-2 and MMP-2. Both angiogenesis and MMP-2 secretion can account for intramedullary and extramedullary spreading of plasma cells during the active MM.
Integrating the Perceived Neighborhood Environment and the Theory of Planned Behavior When Predicting Walking in a Canadian Adult Sample

Purpose. To integrate the characteristics of the perceived environment with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to determine (1) whether the TPB mediates relations among environmental characteristics and walking, and (2) whether the environment moderates TPB-walking relations. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. South Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Subjects. Random sample of 351 adults (36% response rate). Measures. Participants completed measures of the perceived neighborhood environment, the TPB, and walking behavior that was assessed using an adapted Godin leisure time questionnaire. Results. Results using structural equation modeling indicated that the TPB mediated the environment-walking relationship. Specifically, retail land-mix use and neighborhood aesthetics were associated with walking through affective and instrumental attitudes. Results using moderated regression analyses showed that recreation land-mix use moderated the intention-behavior relationship, with those individuals who perceived closer access to recreation facilities having a larger intention-behavior relationship. A significant moderating effect for crime on the instrumental attitude-intention relationship was also identified, but the effect size was small to trivial. Conclusions. These results suggest that the perceived neighborhood may influence walking through attitudes and may also influence the intention-behavior gap. Prospective studies using objective walking and environment data are required to improve the veracity of the findings and to identify possible causal relationships.
Oral anticoagulant re-initiation following intracerebral hemorrhage in non-valvular atrial fibrillation: Global survey of the practices of neurologists, neurosurgeons and thrombosis experts

Background While oral anticoagulants (OACs) are highly effective for ischemic stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains the most feared complication of OAC. Clinical controversy remains regarding OAC resumption and its timing for ICH survivors with atrial fibrillation because the balance between risks and benefits has not been investigated in randomized trials. Aims/Hypothesis To survey the practice of stroke neurologists, thrombosis experts and neurosurgeons on OAC re-initiation following OAC-associated ICH. Methods An online survey was distributed to members of the International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Canadian Stroke Consortium, NAVIGATE-ESUS trial investigators (Clinicatrials.gov identifier NCT02313909) and American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Demographic factors and 11 clinical scenarios were included. Results Two hundred twenty-eight participants from 38 countries completed the survey. Majority of participants were affiliated with academic centers, and >20% managed more than 15 OAC-associated ICH patients/year. Proportion of respondents suggesting OAC anticoagulant resumption varied from 30% (for cerebral amyloid angiopathy) to 98% (for traumatic ICH). Within this group, there was wide distribution in response for timing of resumption: 21.4% preferred to re-start OACs after 1–3 weeks of incident ICH, while 25.3% opted to start after 1–3 months. Neurosurgery respondents preferred earlier OAC resumption compared to stroke neurologists or thrombosis experts in 5 scenarios (p<0.05 by Kendall’s tau). Conclusions Wide variations in current practice exist among management of OAC-associated ICH, with decisions influenced by patient- and provider-related factors. As these variations likely reflect the lack of high quality evidence, randomized trials are direly needed in this population.
Efficacy of long-term administration of isosorbide for Ménière's disease.

The long-term therapeutic efficacy of isosorbide, an oral hyperosmotic diuretic, was clinically evaluated in 30 patients (14 males and 16 females) who were followed up in our clinic for more than 2 years. The patients ranged in age from 14 to 73 years, with a mean age of 49.2 years. Isosorbide was given orally, continuously or intermittently, for 27-297 weeks, depending on each patient's condition. The efficacy of the drug was determined according to the evaluation criteria of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (AAOO) and the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) for Ménière's disease. Definitive episodes were successfully controlled in 15 of the 20 patients (75%) who received isosorbide continuously according to both the AAOO and the AAO-HNS criteria. Of the 10 patients who were given the drug intermittently, definitive episodes were successfully controlled in 6 patients (60%) according to the AAOO and in 7 patients (70%) according to the AAO-HNS criteria. During the treatment periods, hearing improved in 6 patients (20%), and tinnitus subjectively lessened in 15 patients (50%). Although some patients complained of abdominal discomfort, the side effects of this drug were minimal. Among the patients who responded well to the treatment, the doses of isosorbide could be tapered to a daily dose of 30 ml, less than one half of the usual daily of this drug. The results suggest that most patients should be asked to continue this medical treatment for at least several months before a decision can be made regarding whether the medical response is good or poor. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Coordination of stress, Ca2+, and immunogenic signaling pathways by PERK at the endoplasmic reticulum

Abstract The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the main coordinator of intracellular Ca2+ signaling, protein synthesis, and folding. The ER is also implicated in the formation of contact sites with other organelles and structures, including mitochondria, plasma membrane (PM), and endosomes, thereby orchestrating through interorganelle signaling pathways, a variety of cellular responses including Ca2+ homeostasis, metabolism, and cell death signaling. Upon loss of its folding capacity, incited by a number of stress signals including those elicited by various anticancer therapies, the unfolded protein response (UPR) is launched to restore ER homeostasis. The ER stress sensor protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK) is a key mediator of the UPR and its role during ER stress has been largely recognized. However, growing evidence suggests that PERK may govern signaling pathways through UPR-independent functions. Here, we discuss emerging noncanonical roles of PERK with particular relevance for the induction of danger or immunogenic signaling and interorganelle communication.
Disentangling causation: complex roles of coral‐associated microorganisms in disease

Rapidly changing climate regimes combined with other anthropogenic pressures are implicated in increased disease epizootics among reef building corals, resulting in changing habitat structure. These accumulated stressors directly contribute to disease outbreaks by compromising the coral host immune system, modulating virulence of microbial pathogens and/or disrupting the balance within the microbiome of the holobiont. Disentangling coral disease causation has been challenging, and while progress has been made for certain diseases in terms of the roles the associated microorganisms play, it is evident that like in other marine or terrestrial systems, compromised host health cannot always be attributed to a single causative agent. Here, we summarize the current state in knowledge of microbial induced coral diseases, and discuss challenges and strategies to further disentangle disease causation. With the major environmental pressures coral reefs face over the next century, understanding interactions between host, environmental and microbial causative agent(s) that lead to disease, is still a priority to enable development of effective strategies for building resilience into coral populations.
Barriers to Engagement in a Workplace Weight Management Program: A Qualitative Study

Purpose: To investigate (1) why some participants in a workplace weight management program were more engaged in the program, (2) specific barriers and facilitators for engagement and weight loss, and (3) suggest how workplaces may better engage employees in these programs to improve their effectiveness. Design: Qualitative study (8 focus groups). Setting: A large academic university and medical system. Participants: Twenty-six (5%) of the 550 employees who participated in a weight management program as part of the Steps to Health study. Measures: A trained moderator guided the audio-recorded focus groups. Analysis: Transcripts were analyzed using the directed content analysis approach. Results: Participants faced numerous barriers to engagement in workplace weight management programs, both within and outside the workplace. Participants viewed the coaches positively and reported that the coaches had a strong influence on their engagement in the program. Participants suggested increased frequency and variety of contact by coaches, on-site group exercise classes, and tailored educational materials. Conclusion: Workplace weight management programs may be improved by being more flexible around participants’ schedules and changing needs, by increasing access to affordable, convenient exercise facilities, and by implementing institutional changes that encourage healthy eating and physical activity during the workday. Employers should measure program engagement and solicit participant feedback to ensure that the programs are appropriate and delivered in an optimal manner.
When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health

There is widespread concern that major cities and their inhabitants are highly vulnerable to transit strikes. Governments in many countries have addressed this concern by limiting the right of transit workers to strike. Whether or not this can be justified depends, in turn, on whether strikes by transit workers implicate the safety or health of urban populations and impose disproportionate costs on non-involved third parties. We use time series and cross-sectional variation in powerful registry data in order to quantify the effects of public transit strikes in five population-relevant domains: traffic volumes, travel times, accident risk, pollution emissions, and health. The context of our study are the five largest cities in Germany, allowing us to exploit 71 public transit strikes over the period from 2002 to 2011. Generalized difference-in-differences models suggest that strikes lead to a significant increase in car traffic, congestion, accident risk and air pollution. There is also evidence for a substantial increase in accident-related injuries and pollution-related health problems. The third party congestion costs of public transit strikes exceed the private costs of struck employers by at least a factor of four.
Dual polarized dual band CPW fed antennafor bluetooth and WLAN applications

This paper presents a dual polarized dual band Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) fed antenna for Bluetooth (2.4GHz) and WLAN (5.2GHz) applications. A resonance is obtained at 2.46GHz with 36.58% impedance bandwidth (|S11| ≤ −10dB) and exhibits linear polarization (LP). Another resonance is achieved at 5GHz with circular polarization (CP) having 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 340MHz. The proposed structure exhibits stable radiation patterns with low cross polarization suitable for practical wireless applications. A prototype of the proposed structure is fabricated and measured results are in accord with the simulated results.
Changes in Health Insurance Coverage Associated With the Affordable Care Act Among Adults With and Without a Cancer History: Population-based National Estimates

Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) improved health care coverage accessibility by expanding Medicaid eligibility, creating insurance Marketplaces, and subsidizing premiums. We examine coverage changes associated with ACA implementation, comparing adults with and without a cancer history. Methods: We included nonelderly adults from the 2012 to 2015 National Health Interview Survey. Using information on state Medicaid policies (2013), expansion decisions (2015), family structure, income, insurance offers, and current coverage, we assigned adults in all 4 years to mutually exclusive eligibility categories including: Medicaid-eligible pre-ACA; expansion eligible for Medicaid; and Marketplace premium subsidy eligible. Linear probability regressions estimated pre-post (2012–2013 vs. 2014–2015) coverage changes by eligibility category, stratified by cancer history. Results: The uninsured rate for cancer survivors decreased from 12.4% to 7.7% (P<0.001) pre-post ACA implementation. Relative to income >400% of the federal poverty guideline, the uninsured rate for cancer survivors decreased by an adjusted 8.4 percentage points [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3–15.6] among pre-ACA Medicaid eligible; 16.7 percentage points (95% CI, 9.0–24.5) among expansion eligible, and 11.3 percentage points (95% CI, −0.8 to 23.5, with a trend P=0.069) for premium subsidy eligible. Decreases in uninsured among expansion-eligible adults without a cancer history [9.7 percentage points (95% CI, 7.4–12.0), were smaller than for cancer survivors (with a trend, P=0.086)]. Despite coverage gains, ∼528,000 cancer survivors and 19.1 million without a cancer history remained uninsured post-ACA, yet over half were eligible for Medicaid or subsidized Marketplace coverage. Conclusions: ACA implementation was associated with large coverage gains in targeted expansion groups, including cancer survivors, but additional progress is needed.
Effects of medium chain length triglyceride (MCT) on serum lipids and lipoproteins in familial hyperchylomicronemia (dietary fat-induced lipemia) and dietary carbohydrate-accentuated lipemia.

Abstract Three siblings with familial hyperchylomicronemia (dietary fat-induced lipemia) and two subjects with "carbohydrate-accentuated" lipemia were studied during periods of strictly controlled diets. Corn oil, coconut oil, mixed, naturally occurring dietary fats, and medium chain triglycerides (MCT) consisting of 98 per cent C 8 and C 10 fatty acids, were fed in amounts contributing 40 per cent to 70 per cent of calories. In the siblings with hyperchylomicronemia (due to prolonged retention, of chylomicrons in the blood beacuse of a defective lipoprotein lipase system), marked reduction in serum triglyceride levels occurred when MCT was the sole source of dietary fat. Simultaneously with the reduction in serum triglyceride levels, there was an increase, both relative and absolute, in the amount of very low-density lipid (d f 20 to 400 lipoproteins rather than as chylomicron (S f > 5,000) lipid. When a fat-free diet was provided two of the siblings with hyperchylomicronemia, serum triglyceride levels were as low as, or lower than, those observed when MCT was the sole source of fat. The data provide additional evidence that the hyperglyceridemia in these subjects is due to excessive chylomicronemia, and that C 8 and C 10 fatty acids are not utilized for chylomicron triglyceride synthesis in the intestine to any appreciable degree. The feeding of formula diets containing MCT as the sole source of fat to the subjects with dietary carbohydrate—accentuated lipemia did not lower serum triglyceride levels, in comparison with corn oil or coconut oil. Lower serum triglyceride levels were observed when these subjects were fed diets in which 70 per cent rather than 40 per cent of the calories came from fat, regardless of the nature of the fat. MCT appeared less effective than corn oil or coconut oil in this respect. Serum cholesterol levels varied with triglyceride levels and were lowest when the sole source of dictary fat was corn oil.
The Clinical Features of Ischemic Stroke Patients for Whom Smoking Was Considered the Sole Risk Factor for Ischemic Stroke

Objective The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical features of ischemic patients for whom cigarette smoking was the sole risk factor for ischemic stroke. Methods Among the 1,329 patients (male, n=833; female, n=496) with acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to our hospital between April 2005 and September 2016, 346 (26%) were smokers [male, n=308 (36.9%); female, 38 (7.6%)]. In 42 (3.1%; male, n=41; female, n=1) cases, cigarette smoking was considered to be the sole risk factor for ischemic stroke. Data regarding gender, age, the clinical type of ischemic stroke, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at the admission, the modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores before the onset and at discharge, the progression of symptoms, and the recurrence of infarction were investigated. Results The mean age of the 42 patients was 63.2±12.4 years (range, 26-86 years). The clinical types of ischemic stroke included atherothrombosis (n=19), lacunar (n=17), other type (n=2) and undetermined type (n=4). The median NIHSS score at the time of admission for ischemic stroke was 2 (interquartile range: IQR 1-4.25). The median mRS scores before the onset and at the discharge were 0 (IQR 0-0) and 1 (IQR 0-2), respectively. One patient had symptoms of progression; no patients had recurrence of infarction. Conclusion Our findings suggest that cigarette smoking alone may induce ischemic stroke; moreover, patients for whom smoking was the sole risk factor for ischemic stroke showed milder symptoms in comparison to patients with other risk factors; however, ischemic stroke was induced from youth. Since cigarette smoking has detrimental effects on the central nervous system, we suggest that people be encouraged to quit smoking in order to maintain good health.
Study of the dynamics of catabolite repression : from mathematical models to experimental data. (Etude de la dynamique des mécanismes de la répression catabolique : des modèles mathématiques aux données expérimentales)

Carbon Catabolite Repression (CCR) is a wide-spread mode of regulation in bacteria by which the enzymes necessary for the uptake and utilization of some carbon sources are repressed in presence of a preferred carbon source, e.g., glucose in the case of Escherichia coli . We propose a joint mathematical and experimental approach to separate and evaluate the importance of the different components of CCR. In particular, we show that both cyclic AMP and the global physiology of the cell play a major role in the regulation of the cAMP-dependent genes affected by CCR. We also present methodological improvements for the study of gene regulatory networks in general. In partic- ular, we examine the applicability of the Quasi-Steady-State-Approximation to reduce mathematical gene expression models, and provide robust meth- ods for the robust estimation of growth rate, promoter activity, and protein concentration from noisy kinetic reporter experiments.