Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of Signaling Molecules Involved in Vasopressin-induced Ca2+ Mobilization in Rat Hepatocyte Multiplets

In freshly isolated rat hepatocyte multiplets, Ca2+ signals in response to vasopressin are highly organized. In this study we used specific probes to visualize, by fluorescence and confocal microscopy, the main signaling molecules involved in vasopressin-mediated Ca2+ responses. V1a receptors were detected with a novel fluorescent antagonist, Rhm8 -PVA. The Gαq/Gα11, PLCβ3, PIP2, and InsP3 receptors were detected with specific antibodies. V1a vasopressin receptors and PIP2 were associated with the basolateral membrane and were not detected in the bile canalicular domain. Gαq/Gα11, PLCβ3, and InsP3 receptors were associated with the basolateral membrane and also with other intracellular structures. We used double labeling, Western blotting, and drugs (cytochalasin D, colchicine) known to disorganize the cytoskeleton to demonstrate the partial co-localization of Gαq/Gα11 with F-actin.
ESTIMATING HIERARCHICAL F‐STATISTICS

This paper presents an analysis of variance (ANOVA) approach by which estimation of F‐statistics can be made from data with an arbitrary s‐level hierarchical population structure. Assuming a complete random‐effect model, a general ANOVA procedure is developed to estimate F‐statistics as ratios of different variance components for all levels of population subdivision in the hierarchy. A generalized relationship among F‐statistics is also derived to extend the well‐known relationship originally found by Sewall Wright. Although not entirely free from the bias particular to small number of subdivisions at each hierarchy and extreme gene frequencies, the ANOVA estimators of F‐statistics consider sampling effects at each level of hierarchy, thus removing the bias incurred in the other estimators that are commonly based on direct substitution of unknown gene frequencies by their sample estimates. Therefore, the ANOVA estimation procedure presented here may become increasingly useful in analyzing complex population structure because of increasing use of the estimated hierarchical F‐statistics to infer genetic and demographic structures of natural populations within and among species.
Facilitating change in health-related behaviors and intentions: a randomized controlled trial of a multidimensional memory program for older adults†

Objectives: Many older adults are concerned about memory changes with age and consequently seek ways to optimize their memory function. Memory programs are known to be variably effective in improving memory knowledge, other aspects of metamemory, and/or objective memory, but little is known about their impact on implementing and sustaining lifestyle and healthcare-seeking intentions and behaviors. Methods: We evaluated a multidimensional, evidence-based intervention, the Memory and Aging Program, that provides education about memory and memory change, training in the use of practical memory strategies, and support for implementation of healthy lifestyle behavior changes. In a randomized controlled trial, 42 healthy older adults participated in a program (n = 21) or a waitlist control (n = 21) group. Results: Relative to the control group, participants in the program implemented more healthy lifestyle behaviors by the end of the program and maintained these changes 1 month later. Similarly, program participants reported a decreased intention to seek unnecessary medical attention for their memory immediately after the program and 1 month later. Conclusions: Findings support the use of multidimensional memory programs to promote healthy lifestyles and influence healthcare-seeking behaviors. Discussion focuses on implications of these changes for maximizing cognitive health and minimizing impact on healthcare resources.
Expression of c-myc mRNA in Hepatocellular Carcinomas, Noncancerous Livers, and Normal Livers

Objectives: c-myc is a transcription factor that regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, little is known about the clinical importance of c-myc mRNA expression in a primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated whether a correlation existed between the level of c-myc mRNA expression and the occurrence of apoptosis or proliferative activity in an HCC. Methods: The levels of c-myc mRNA expression were quantified by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and compared with immunohistochemical detection of the occurrence of spontaneous apoptosis and proliferative activity of cancer cells in 59 surgically resected HCCs. Results: The mean level of c-myc mRNA expression in 59 HCCs (1.19) was significantly suppressed compared with that in 59 noncancerous liver tissues (1.44, p < 0.0001). The level of c-myc mRNA expression was not correlated with tumor differentiation, tumor progression, proliferative activity of cancer cells, or patient survival. However, there was a significant positive correlation between the levels of c-myc mRNA expression and the occurrence of apoptosis in 59 HCCs (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Inhibition of c-myc mRNA expression may obstruct the induction of apoptosis of HCC cells and lead to uncontrolled cell growth.
Smooth pursuit dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease

Smooth ocular pursuit was measured by magnetic search coil oculography in 13 patients with Alzheimer's disease and compared with control subjects. Smooth eye movement gain was uniformly reduced in Alzheimer's disease at all target velocities for several frequencies of sinusoidal target motion, signifying impairment of steady-state gain. Normal phase relationships between the target and eyes indicated an intact predictor mechanism for smooth pursuit. When peak target velocity was held constant, pursuit gain decreased markedly in response to small increments of target acceleration, indicating involvement of an acceleration saturating nonlinear element that limits smooth pursuit. Large-amplitude saccadic intrusions, in the direction of target motion, often disrupted pursuit; smooth eye movements continued in response to target velocity despite large position errors of the fovea from its target. These disorders of smooth eye movement control can quantify motor dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.
Evolving epidemiologic characteristics of invasive group a streptococcal disease in Utah, 2002-2010.

BACKGROUND Invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Recent national surveillance data report stable rates of invasive GAS disease, although these may not capture geographic variation. METHODS We performed a population-based, retrospective laboratory surveillance study of invasive GAS disease among Utah residents from 2002-2010. We used Intermountain Healthcare's electronic medical records and data warehouse to identify patients from whom GAS was isolated by culture. We defined clinical syndromes of invasive GAS disease on the basis of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. We abstracted demographic information, comorbidities, and microbiologic and laboratory findings. RESULTS From 2002-2010, we identified 1514 cases of invasive GAS disease among Utah residents. The estimated mean annual incidence rate was 6.3 cases/100,000 persons, which was higher than the national rate of 3.6 cases/100,000 (P < .01). The incidence of invasive GAS disease in Utah rose from 3.5 cases/100,000 persons in 2002 to 9.8 cases/100,000 persons in 2010 (P = .01). Among children aged <18 years, the incidence of invasive GAS increased from 3.0 cases/100,000 children in 2002 to 14.1 cases/100,000 children in 2010 (P < .01). The increase in the pediatric population was due, in part, to an increase in GAS pneumonia (P = .047). The rate of invasive GAS disease in adults aged 18-64 years increased from 3.4 cases/100 000 persons in 2002 to 7.6 cases/100,000 persons in 2010 (P = .02). Rates among those aged ≥65 years were stable. The incidence of acute rheumatic fever declined from 6.1 to 3.7 cases/100,000 (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS The epidemiologic characteristics of invasive GAS disease in Utah has changed substantially over the past decade, including a significant increase in the overall incidence of invasive disease-driven primarily by increasing disease in younger persons-that coincided temporally with a decrease in the incidence of acute rheumatic fever.
The influence of therapy on CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ regulatory T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a prospective study

Objectives: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are inversely correlated to disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, little is known concerning the influence of immunosuppressive agents on Tregs, which was the objective of this study. Method: Thirty-five patients with SLE (29 females, six males, mean age 42.4 ± 12.8 years) were included. CD4CD25highFOXP3 Tregs were prospectively assessed by flow cytometry every month for intravenous (iv) and quarterly for oral regimens. Clinical assessment was made with the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Statistical analysis was performed with a Student’s t-test; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In total, 44 cases of SLE relapse were treated with iv cyclophosphamide (CYP, n = 10), iv methylprednisolone (MP, n = 7), iv immunoglobulins (IVIGs, n = 5), oral MP (n = 8), oral MP  azathioprine (AZA, n = 8), and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, n = 6). CYP, iv MP, and IVIGs resulted in a significant increase in Tregs (4.2 ± 1.6 vs. 10.1 ± 5.7, 2.9 ± 1.3 vs. 10.6 ± 4.8, and 5.6 ± 2.7 vs. 15.2 ± 6.3 cells/mm3, respectively, p < 0.05). Oral MP, alone or combined with AZA, led to a significant increase in Tregs (7.4 ± 2.5 vs. 11.8 ± 3.8 and 5.1 ± 2.4 vs. 9.4 ± 3.6 cells/mm3, respectively, p < 0.05), as did HCQ (8.2 ± 2.4 vs. 12.8 ± 2.7 cells/mm3, p < 0.05). Time to Tregs recovery was significantly shorter with iv MP and IVIGs compared to CYP (1.4 ± 0.5, 1.6 ± 0.9, and 4.0 ± 1.5 months, respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Increase in Tregs during SLE remission is independent of the therapeutic regimen used and probably represents an epiphenomenon of disease remission. Time to Tregs restoration was significantly shorter in patients treated with iv MP and IVIGs compared to CYP pulse therapy.
Analysis of TV White Space Availability in Japan

This paper analyzes TV white space (TVWS) availability in Japan by estimating the amount and distribution of TVWSs across Japan and comparing them with those across the USA. While TVWS regulation is still under discussion in Japan, the expected availability is likely to be more encouraging than that in the USA. Japanese metropolitan areas tend to have more available channels than those in the USA. Including the Tokyo metropolitan area which is the most populated area in Japan, 84.3% of areas (66.7% of the population) may expect greater than 100-MHz TVWSs. The Tokyo metropolitan area is also relatively unaffected by restricted use of the adjacent channel or increase in separation distance.
Unitization of oil and gas fields in Brazil

ABSTRACT Since the 1997 end of the monopoly on the exploration and production of oil and gas in Brazil, there has been an explosion of activity in this industry. This includes four instances of approved unitization involving Petrobras (owned by the Brazilian government) and another 12 unitization cases being evaluated by ANP, the Brazilian oil industry regulator. In most of these cases, a polarization between private oil/gas companies operating in Brazil and Petrobras was apparent. In addition, unitization is further complicated in this country because three distinct operating regimes are allowed: concession contracts, production sharing agreements, and onerous assignment. This paper evaluates these strategies according to game theory, makes policy recommendations, and also seeks to support the drafting of regulations, suggesting it would be better to aim at exploration/production to promote rapid convergence in unitization.
Developmental psychopathology: a framework for planning child mental health

The scientific study of children's development provides a framework for national planning of mental health services. Research on developmental psychopathology emphasizes the intimate connections between biological and psychological development, the role of parents and other caregivers in shaping children's competence, the social and historical context of development, the psychobiological path-ways that lead from one stage to another are marked by continuities discontinuities This developmental knowledge illuminates the sensitive points when risk is likely to be expressed, as well as optimal times for prevention and intervention. Failure in a developmental task is a risk next phase Stage and
A novel approach for classification and clustering of biomedical citations

Citation refers the information of a published paper with its author and publication details. It is used by various authors for referring the research works published in other research articles. Citations play a crucial role in several scientific publications digital libraries (DLs), like Cite Seer, arXiv e-Print, DBLP, and Google Scholar. Users usually use citations to seek out data of interest in DLs, while researchers relay on citations to see the impact of a specific article. Citation mining is the area where in the citation databases are mined for performing various mining tasks such as classification and clustering to retrieve citations efficiently and accurately. Citations have additionally been used as auxiliary support in information retrieval tasks. Citation classification is the process of classifying the citation data by means of topic, author, paper name, and journal category. Clustering involves the categorization of papers based on content similarity or functional similarity. At present the size of databases in the web is massive hence the quantity of records in a dataset will vary from some thousands to thousands of millions. Authors or scholars are spending their precious time in searching the papers especially in bio medical field. So to provide more accurate retrieval of biomedical citations we have proposed a citation mining system with a combined approach of clustering. Our experiments conducted with the citations from the web database shows an effective retrieval of biomedical citations.
Enhancing Innovation with social recommendations

Based on previous experiences in the field of Innovation Forums conducted by IBM, we develop our own system, InnoJam, within the frame of the Laboranova integrated project. These systems aim at fostering innovation in rather big groups of participants, in the case of IBM, several tens of thousands. Our approach works upon the idea of augmenting social capacities, key factors to give more value for organizations and participants in these kind of forums. It implements them by means of visualization elements and social recommendations, with producing a boost in participation always in mind.
The effect of mosapride citrate on proximal and distal colonic motor function in the guinea‐pig in vitro

Abstract Mosapride citrate (mosapride), a substituted benzamide, is a selective 5‐HT4 receptor agonist, and is known to have prokinetic properties on the stomach. However, it is unclear whether mosapride also has a prokinetic effect on the colon. We previously found that mosapride significantly shortened colonic transit time in the guinea‐pig, an animal with a distribution of colonic 5‐HT4 receptors similar to that of a human. So, we aimed to separately evaluate the effect of mosapride on proximal and distal colonic motor function in the guinea‐pig. Proximal (approximately 8 cm from the ileocolic junction) and distal colon (approximately 8 cm from the anus) were removed. Both ends of the colon were connected to a chamber containing a Krebs‐Henseleit solution. To measure colonic transit time, artificial faeces were inserted into the oral side of the lumen and moved towards the anal side by intraluminal perfusion via a peristaltic pump. A total of 6 cm of transit was observed and time was measured in 2 cm increments. A tissue bath study, using electrical stimulation, was performed to estimate the contractile activity of the circular musculature of the colon. Immunohistochemical staining for 5‐HT4 receptors was performed in the myenteric plexus and circular muscle in both proximal and distal colon, and the stained area was measured using a microscope and computer software. Mosapride enhanced contraction at 10−9 to 10−7 mol L−1, coinciding with rapid transit both in proximal and distal colon. This pattern was more prominent in proximal colon. At the high dose (10−6 mol L−1) mosapride had little or no effect on colonic contraction. This stimulatory effect was attenuated by GR113808, atropine and tetrodotoxin. In the myenteric plexus, the density of 5‐HT4 receptors was significantly greater in the proximal colon than in the distal colon, but in circular muscle the density was greater in the distal colon. Thus, mosapride accelerates transit through increased contraction in the proximal colon more than distal colon. The different distribution of neuronal and muscular 5‐HT4 receptors may support these findings. Therefore, mosapride may be a useful alternative to tegaserod and cisapride for constipation.
Essential Role of Interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-18 for Gamma Interferon Production Induced by Listeriolysin O in Mouse Spleen Cells

ABSTRACT The mechanism of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production induced by listeriolysin O (LLO), a cytolytic virulence factor of Listeria monocytogenes, was analyzed with special reference to the involvement of macrophage-derived cytokines in spleen cells of mice. LLO purified from the culture supernatant of L. monocytogenes was capable of inducing a high level of IFN-γ when its cytolytic activity was blocked by cholesterol treatment. The IFN-γ-inducing ability of LLO was not dependent on possibly contaminating lipopolysaccharide. Depletion of CD11b+ cells resulted in a profound decrease in IFN-γ production in response to LLO stimulation. Negative selection also suggested the contribution of DX5+ cells in IFN-γ production. Reverse transcription-PCR revealed that expression of interleukin-12 (IL-12) p35 and p40 was induced by LLO but that the IL-18 mRNA level in the CD11b+ fraction of spleen cells was unchanged. There was no change in the expression of the IFN-γ-inducing cytokine genes in the CD11b− fraction. Neutralization of IL-12 and IL-18 in culture abolished the IFN-γ production almost completely. Spleen cells from IL-12- or IL-18-deficient mice never produced IFN-γ after stimulation with LLO. These results clearly indicated that LLO, a well-known virulence factor of L. monocytogenes, is capable of inducing IFN-γ from NK cells through induction of IL-12 and IL-18 from macrophages. LLO appeared to play essential roles, not only as a bacterial virulence factor but also as a bacterial modulin in the immune response of the host.
Xueshuantong improves cerebral blood perfusion in elderly patients with lacunar infarction

A total of 64 patients with acute lacunar infarction were enrolled within 24 hours of onset. The patients received conventional therapy (antiplatelet drugs and hypolipidemic drugs) alone or conventional therapy plus 450 mg Xueshuantong once a day. The main ingredient of the Xueshuantong lyophilized powder used for injection was Panax notoginseng saponins. Assessments were made at admission and at discharge using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, the Activity of Daily Living and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Additionally, the relative cerebral blood flow, relative cerebral blood volume and relative mean transit time in the region of interest were calculated within 24 hours after the onset of lacunar infarction, using dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance perfusion imaging technology. Patients underwent a follow-up MRI scan after 4 weeks of treatment. There was an improvement in the Activity of Daily Living scores and a greater reduction in the scores on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale in the treatment group than in the control group. However, the Mini-Mental State Examination scores showed no significant differences after 4 weeks of treatment. Compared with the control group, the relative cerebral blood flow at discharge had increased and showed a greater improvement in the treatment group. Furthermore, there was a reduction in the relative mean transit time at discharge and the value was lower in the treatment group than in the control group. The experimental findings indicate that Xueshuantong treatment improves neurological deficits in elderly patients with lacunar infarction, and the mechanism may be related to increased cerebral perfusion.
Neuroprotective effects of resident microglia following acute brain injury

Microglia quickly react to various neurodegenerative processes by producing cytokines and eliminating cellular debris via phagocytosis. These events are also associated with an increased proliferation of microglia, which derive from resident progenitors and those present in the bone marrow. However, it is not clear whether the innate immune response by resident or newly differentiated microglia is beneficial or detrimental to the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of an altered immune response following acute excitotoxicity. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or kainic acid (KA) was administered in the brain of various groups of mice, and the extent of neurodegeneration, myelin damage, and inflammation was evaluated within a period of 2 weeks. We used synthetic glucocorticoid (GC), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)‐deficient mice to suppress nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) signaling and transgenic mice that express the thymidine kinase (TK) protein under the control of the CD11b promoter to determine the role of proliferating and infiltrating microglia in acute models of brain injury. Neurodegeneration was more extensive in GC‐treated and MyD88‐deficient mice, suggesting that NF‐κB signaling and microglia activation are potent neuroprotective mechanisms in the presence of SNP. KA was also highly toxic to neurons of the amygdala in MyD88 knockout mice but not in their WT littermates. Although bone marrow‐derived cells are clearly attracted to neurodegenerative areas, preventing their infiltration and differentiation did not affect the extent of SNP‐related damage. These data indicate that MyD88/NF‐κB signaling in resident non‐proliferating microglia plays a critical role by restricting damage during acute excitotoxicity. J. Comp. Neurol. 504:716–729, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Suboptimal Sequential Decision Schemes With On-Line Feature Ordering

Sequential decision algorithms with on-line feature ordering and a limited look-ahead approximation are considered. The algorithms can be used with or without contextual constraints for multicategory pattern recognition problems. Computational complexity due to on-line ordering of features is analyzed and related to system performance. Computer simulated results are obtained using a standard data set (Munson's multiauthor handprinted character files) and a careful test procedure.