Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of hypohydration on postsynaptic cutaneous vasodilation and sweating in healthy men.

Hypohydration decreases cutaneous vasodilation and sweating during heat stress, but it is unknown if these decrements are from postsynaptic (i.e., sweat gland/blood vessel) alterations. The purpose of this study was to determine if hypohydration affects postsynaptic cutaneous vasodilation and sweating responses. Twelve healthy men participated in euhydrated (EU) and hypohydrated (HY) trials, with hypohydration induced via fluid restriction and passive heat stress. Changes in cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC; %max) in response to incremental intradermal infusion of the endothelium-independent vasodilator sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the endothelium-dependent vasodilator methacholine chloride (MCh) were assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry. Local sweat rate (LSR) was simultaneously assessed at the MCh site via ventilated capsule. At the end of the last dose, maximal CVC was elicited by delivering a maximal dose of SNP (5 × 10-2 M) for 30 min to both sites with simultaneous local heating (~44°C) at the SNP site. The concentration of drug needed to elicit 50% of the maximal response (log EC50) was compared between hydration conditions. The percent body mass loss was greater with HY vs. EU (-2.2 ± 0.7 vs. -0.1 ± 0.7%, P < 0.001). Log EC50 of endothelium-dependent CVC was lower with EU (-3.62 ± 0.22) vs. HY (-2.93 ± 0.08; P = 0.044). Hypohydration did not significantly alter endothelium-independent CVC or LSR (both P > 0.05). In conclusion, hypohydration attenuated endothelium-dependent CVC but did not affect endothelium-independent CVC or LSR responses. These data suggest that reductions in skin blood flow accompanying hypohydration can be partially attributed to altered postsynaptic function.
Infusion of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to the oxytocin receptor in the ventromedial hypothalamus reduces estrogen-induced sexual receptivity and oxytocin receptor binding in the female rat.

Exogenous administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin reliably facilitates sexual behavior in the female rat and exposure to estrogen increases oxytocin receptor (OTR) binding in the ventromedial nucleus (VMN) of the hypothalamus. We have used a novel approach to investigate the role of hypothalamic OTR in controlling behavior by infusing antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (oligo) to the 5'-region of the human OTR mRNA into the VMN of hormonally primed rats. Control infusions consisted of a scrambled-sequence oligo that had little or no homology to known mRNAs. OTR antisense oligo infusion significantly reduced lordosis frequency and intensity in females primed with estrogen. There was also a significantly greater number of rejection behaviors exhibited by antisense-oligo-infused estrogen-treated females versus controls and no evidence of decreased locomotion by either treatment. In contrast to the effects in estrogen-primed-females, when females were primed to be sexually receptive with estrogen plus progesterone, OTR antisense-oligo infusion had no effect on sexual behavior. The lack of effectiveness of OTR antisense oligo in females primed with progesterone may be the result of the action of this steroid on other neurotransmitter systems that also facilitate lordosis and thereby override a deficit in oxytocin binding. Alternatively, via previously described mechanisms, progesterone may enhance the effectiveness of oxytocin binding at its receptor. In vitro receptor autoradiography in estrogen-primed females indicated a 31% reduction in VMN OTR binding in the vicinity of the cannula tip in antisense-oligo-infused females compared to controls. There was no significant difference in the level of OTR binding in the central nucleus of the amygdala. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Comparative thermal unfolding study of psychrophilic and mesophilic subtilisin-like serine proteases by molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a subtilisin-like serine protease VPR from the psychrophilic marine bacterium Vibrio sp. PA-44 and its mesophilic homologue, proteinase K (PRK), have been performed for 20 ns at four different temperatures (300, 373, 473, and 573 K). The comparative analyses of MD trajectories reveal that at almost all temperatures, VPR exhibits greater structural fluctuations/deviations, more unstable regular secondary structural elements, and higher global flexibility than PRK. Although these two proteases follow similar unfolding pathways at high temperatures, VPR initiates unfolding at a lower temperature and unfolds faster at the same high temperatures than PRK. These observations collectively indicate that VPR is less stable and more heat-labile than PRK. Analyses of the structural/geometrical properties reveal that, when compared to PRK, VPR has larger radius of gyration (Rg), less intramolecular contacts and hydrogen bonds (HBs), more protein-solvent HBs, and smaller burial of nonpolar area and larger exposure of polar area. These suggest that the increased flexibility of VPR would be most likely caused by its reduced intramolecular interactions and more favourable protein-solvent interactions arising from the larger exposure of the polar area, whereas the enhanced stability of PRK could be ascribed to its increased intramolecular interactions arising from the better optimized hydrophobicity. The factors responsible for the significant differences in local flexibility between these two proteases were also analyzed and ascertained. This study provides insights into molecular basis of thermostability of homologous serine proteases adapted to different temperatures.
From usability to user experience

Usability and user experience (UX) are considered as key quality determinants of any product, system or service intended for human use, which in turn can be considered as product, system or service success or failure indicators. At the same time, people regularly get confused between the two terms usability and user experience because they are strongly related to each other. In this paper, we first present a collection of usability and user experience definitions from previous studies. Then we provide a survey of different viewpoints about the interrelated relationship between them with the aim to answer the following questions: “Is User Experience part of Usability satisfaction? ” or “Is Usability a part of User Experience? ”
Cellular and humoral immunity to the 60-kD heat shock protein in inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND Mycobacteria have been considered a possible etiological agent in Crohn's disease. Since cross-reactivity between epitopes of mycobacterial and self-heat shock protein might represent a potential disease mechanism, we determined the cellular and humoral immune responses to the mycobacterial and the human 60-kD heat shock protein, as well as various control antigens. METHODS We studied samples from 19 patients with Crohn's disease, 12 patients with ulcerative colitis, and from 19 healthy individuals. T cell responses were studied using a standard proliferation assays to purified recombinant mycobacterial and human 60-kD heat shock protein. Antibody levels were measured by establishing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to recombinant purified 60-kD heat shock protein. RESULTS The proliferative responses to the mycobacterial and the human 60-kD heat shock protein were closely correlated, but the cellular immune response to both antigens was not significantly different between the two patient groups and healthy controls. In addition, antibody levels to heat shock protein were also not significantly different between the three groups. CONCLUSIONS These results argue strongly against a role for mycobacterial heat shock protein in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease. However, in view of previous data demonstrating overexpression of 60-kD heat shock protein in inflammatory Crohn's disease tissue, this considerable cellular and humoral autoreactivity suggests an important immunoregulatory role for the 60-kD heat shock protein.
Thrombin Generation Biomarkers Decline With Parenteral Anticoagulation—An Overlooked Means of Anticoagulation Monitoring?

Anticoagulation therapy is administered to patients to prevent or stop thrombin generation in vivo. Although plasma tests of in vivo thrombin generation have been available for more than 2 decades, they are not routinely used in clinical trials or practice to monitor anticoagulation therapy. We observed a fall in one such marker, the D-dimer antigen, in patients receiving anticoagulation therapy. We therefore conducted a systematic review of the medical literature to document the change in serum biomarkers of thrombin generation following the initiation of anticoagulation therapy. Using a defined search strategy, we screened PubMed and Embase citations and identified full-length articles published in English. Eighteen articles containing serial changes in 1 of 3 markers of thrombin generation (D-dimer antigen, thrombin–antithrombin complexes, and prothrombin fragment 1+2 antigen levels) in the 14 days following the initiation of anticoagulation were identified. Even though the assays used varied considerably, each of the 3 markers of thrombin generation declined in the initial period of anticoagulation therapy, with changes evident as early as 1 day after beginning therapy. These observations provide a rationale for further exploration of these markers as measures of the adequacy of anticoagulation using classic as well as novel anticoagulants. Particular patient groups that would benefit from additional means of monitoring anticoagulation therapy are discussed.
Ovarian cancer risk, ALDH2 polymorphism and alcohol drinking: Asian data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium

The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) polymorphism rs671 (Glu504Lys) causes ALDH2 inactivation and adverse acetaldehyde exposure among Asians, but little is known of the association between alcohol consumption and rs671 and ovarian cancer (OvCa) in Asians. We conducted a pooled analysis of Asian ancestry participants in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. We included seven case‐control studies and one cohort study comprising 460 invasive OvCa cases, 37 borderline mucinous OvCa and 1274 controls of Asian descent with information on recent alcohol consumption. Pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for OvCa risk associated with alcohol consumption, rs671 and their interaction were estimated using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. No significant association was observed for daily alcohol intake with invasive OvCa (OR comparing any consumption to none = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.58‐1.18) or with individual histotypes. A significant decreased risk was seen for carriers of one or both Lys alleles of rs671 for invasive mucinous OvCa (OR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.20‐0.97) and for invasive and borderline mucinous tumors combined (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.26‐0.89). No significant interaction was observed between alcohol consumption and rs671 genotypes. In conclusion, self‐reported alcohol consumption at the quantities estimated was not associated with OvCa risk among Asians. Because the rs671 Lys allele causes ALDH2 inactivation leading to increased acetaldehyde exposure, the observed inverse genetic association with mucinous ovarian cancer is inferred to mean that alcohol intake may be a risk factor for this histotype. This association will require replication in a larger sample.
PHARMACODYNAMIC INTERACTION OF GREEN TEA EXTRACT WITH HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE AGAINST ISOPROTERENOL INDUCED MYOCARDIAL DAMAGE IN RATS

To evaluate the pharmacodynamic interaction of green tea extract with hydrochlorothiazide against isoproterenol induced myoca rdial infarction wistar albino rat of eit her sex were prophylactically treated with hydrochlorothiazide (10 mg/kg for 7 days), low and high dose of green tea extract (100 and 500 mg/kg for 3 weeks) and the ir combination by oral route. To induce the toxicity apart from normal control all other gro up subjected to isoproterenol (150 mg/kg, s.c ) for two consecutive days. The effect of prophylactic treatment was analyzed by estimation of electrocardiographic changes, serum biomarker levels, antioxidant level in tissue and histopathological report. Gree n tea in both high and low dose and their combination groups with hydrochlorothiazide significantly reduced the serum biomarker levels, increased antioxidant levels in tissue, restored the electrocardiographic changes compared to iso proterenol only treated group. The combination group showed substantial amount of restoration of all the parameters compared to hydrochlorothiazide alone treate d group. To conclude the combination of green tea extract with hydrochlorothiazide reduced the side effect and found to be effective against myocardial stress.
Molecular Biological Aspects of Inhibitor Development

Mutation genotype studies have led to a number of interesting observations about the role of the different types of mutations in inhibitor development. Searchable information on mutations, phenotype data, models, etc., are available on the internet at http://europium.mrc. rpms.ac. uk. A relatively high incidence of inhibitors occurs in patients with deletion mutations. Stop mutations are also associated with a high incidence of inhibitors, although there is anomalous distribution of the inhibitors associated with different stop codons. Inhibitors have been associated with a small number of missense mutations. Missense mutations are of great interest from the structure/function viewpoint; in many instances, a missense mutation which results in reduced function of a circulating protein can be mapped onto a model structure and inferences can be made about the effects on the functionality of the protein. A model of the A domains of FVIII is available, but as yet, no structure is available on which to model the C domain of FVIII. Stop codons appear to have a different incidence of inhibitor formation compared to other types of mutations. It is concluded that while genotype mutation studies have led to a number of interesting observations about the role of the different types of mutations in inhibitor development, though more questions have been raised than answers provided to date.
Advances in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: Benefits of Dual Cholinesterase Inhibition

Cholinesterase inhibitors have produced the best evidence of clinical efficacy for treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Many of these drugs selectively inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but agents that also target butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) may provide added benefits. As AD progresses, ACh regulation may become increasingly dependent on BuChE and dual inhibitors may provide more sustained efficacy than AChE-selective agents. Dual inhibition may also help to slow the formation of amyloidogenic compounds, providing an important disease-modifying mechanism. Rivastigmine is a dual inhibitor that has demonstrated benefits across the spectrum of AD severity and across the cognitive, functional and behavioural domains of AD. It is a priority for future clinical trials to determine whether agents with dual inhibition properties have greater clinical efficacy.
Late Complications of Ureteral Stents

Objective: To review morbidity and late complications of ureteral stent insertion and to specifically evaluate hydronephrosis as a radiologic finding of obstruction in the presence of an indwelling ureteral stent.Methods: In this prospective study, we evaluated 110 stented kidneys in a group of 90 patients. Of 110 stents, 52 were left in place for 3 months, 23 for 6 months, 11 for 9 months, and 24 for up to 12 months. With the stent in place, patients were followed by plain abdominal X–ray 1 and 30 days after stenting. Further follow–up was performed through ultrasound and plain film every 3 months until scheduled date for stent removal or the appearance of complications.Results: In 11 of 110 cases (10%) there was stent fragmentation and in 9 (8.2%) stent migration. In 10 cases (9.1%), there was no change in the severity of the hydronephrosis, but because of flank pain or urinary tract infection with fever, the stents had to be removed. In 6 cases (5.4%) hydronephrosis developed or worsened after stenting. Of the 110 ureteral stents, 32.7% had to be removed because of late complications.Conclusions: Although ureteral stenting is undoubtedly an important procedure for the release of ureteral obstruction, the indications for stent insertion should be carefully considered in each patient. Late complications of ureteral stents are frequent and appear in one third of the patients. Close follow–up of stented patients is valuable in early detection of morbidity or complications, and in such cases the stent should be removed or exchanged as soon as possible.
Exogenous induction of unphosphorylated PTEN reduces TGFβ‐induced extracellular matrix expressions in lung fibroblasts

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) plays an important role in regulating aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM) production from alveolar/epithelial cells (AECs) and fibroblasts in pulmonary fibrosis. Although the tumor suppressor gene phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN) can negatively control many TGFβ‐activated signaling pathways via the phosphatase activity, hyperactivation of the TGFβ‐related signaling pathways is often observed in fibrosis. Loss of PTEN expression might cause TGFβ‐induced ECM production. In addition, TGFβ was recently shown to induce loss of PTEN enzymatic activity by phosphorylating the PTEN C‐terminus. Therefore, we hypothesized that exogenous transfer of unphosphorylated PTEN (PTEN4A) might lead to reduce TGFβ‐induced ECM expression in not only epithelial cells but also fibroblasts. Adenovirus‐based exogenous PTEN4A induction successfully reduced TGFβ‐induced fibronectin expression and retained β‐catenin at the cell membrane in human epithelial cells. Exogenous unphosphorylated PTEN also attenuated TGFβ‐induced ECM production and inhibited TGFβ‐induced β‐catenin translocation in a human fibroblast cell line and in mouse primary isolated lung fibroblasts. Conversely, TGFβ‐induced α‐smooth muscle actin expression did not seem to be inhibited in these fibroblasts. Our data suggest that exogenous administration of unphosphorylated PTEN might be a promising strategy to restore TGFβ‐induced loss of PTEN activity and reduce aberrant TGFβ‐induced ECM production from epithelial cells and fibroblasts in lung fibrosis as compared with wild‐type PTEN induction.
Thin high numerical aperture metalens.

We designed, fabricated, and characterized a thin metalens in an amorphous silicon film of diameter 30 µm, focal length equal to the incident wavelength 633 nm. The lens is capable of simultaneously manipulating the state of polarization and phase of incident light. The lens converts a linearly polarized beam into radially polarized light, producing a subwavelength focus. When illuminated with a linearly polarized Gaussian beam, the lens produces a focal spot whose size at full-width half-maximum intensity is 0. 49λ and 0. 55λ (λ is incident wavelength). The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical simulation, with the simulated focal spot measuring 0. 46λ and 0. 52λ. This focal spot is less than all other focal spots obtained using metalenses.
UM OLHAR PARA O FUTURO DA ARQUITETURA DE GPU

Este artigo apresenta a definicao, planejamento, operacao, analise e resultados de um experimento controlado in-vitro, localizado no contexto de seguranca da informacao, nomeadamente, sobre o desempenho do algoritmo de criptografia simetrica chamado AES-128-ECB. O experimento e para quantificar o tempo de execucao, com a premissa de ser avaliado com dois paradigmas diferentes de execucao, isto e, o algoritmo e avaliado com o paradigma sequencial classico (CPU) e contraste com o paradigma paralelo (GPU).
Postnatal Development of Glutamate Receptor-Mediated Responses in the Neostriatum

Three experimental approaches were used to examine the maturation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the neostriatum and compare their developmental profile to that of the non-NMDA receptors [α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) and kainate (KA)]. The first, and least conventional approach utilized infrared videomicroscopy to measure NMDA-induced swelling in single cells in a brain slice. The results demonstrated that NMDA receptors display an incremental pattern of postnatal development with no responses at postnatal day (PND) 3, weak responses at PND 7, the largest responses by PND 14 and slight decreases at PNDs 21 and 28. At PNDs 3 and 7, KA-induced cell swelling was proportionately greater than NMDA-induced cell swelling suggesting earlier maturation of this non-NMDA receptor subtype. The second approach used whole-cell patch clamp analysis to examine NMDA currents and compare their maturation to AMPA/KA-induced currents. Though the data are still preliminary, a very similar developmental pattern emerged. NMDA-induced currents were small and developed slowly after PND 7. In contrast, AMPA/KA-induced currents were larger and appeared to develop earlier. Finally, dizocilpine (MK-801) binding was measured in homogenates of neostriatal tissue. The ontogeny of binding resembled a step function with increases between PNDs 3 and 7 and PNDs 14 and 21. Binding peaked at PND 28 and then declined slightly in the adult (PND 60). The affinity of MK-801 for the receptor did not change during postnatal development. These findings demonstrate the pattern of functional development of glutamate receptors in the neostriatum. The NMDA receptor subtype displays minimal functional development until PND 14. In contrast, neostriatal AMPA/KA receptor function appears to precede NMDA receptor function.
Assignment of the porcine FUS1 gene to SSC13q21→q22 by somatic cell and radiation hybrid panel mapping

FUS1 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene organized in a 370 kb region which contains a set of 19 genes. The human FUS1 genomic sequence spans 3.3 kb containing 3 exons (NM_007275; Lerman and Minna, 2000). Overexpression of the FUS1 gene leads to G1 arrest and growth inhibition of lung cancer cells (Kondo et al., 2001). The human and the murine FUS1 genes were assigned to chromosome HSA3p21.3 and MMU9F1, respectively. The sequence characterization of a porcine PAC clone revealed the identical gene cluster for pigs and human with respect to genes FUS1–HYAL2–HYAL1– FUS2–HYAL3. The porcine HYAL3 gene has recently been mapped to SSC13q21→q22 by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and radiation hybrid panel analysis while the somatic cell hybrid panel analysis resulted in the localization of the gene to SSC13q42→ (1/2q46) (Gatphayak et al., 2003). Considering the gene order in the cluster, the latter assignment is in accordance with the mapping of the porcine HYAL1 gene – which was provisionally called LUCA1 (for LUng CAncer) – to SSC13q23→ (1/2)q41 by Lahbib-Mansais et al. (1999) also using the somatic cell hybrid panel. Here we report the mapping of the porcine FUS1 gene by somatic cell and radiation hybrid panel and provide enhanced knowledge about the localization of the gene cluster. Methods and materials