Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy balance in rats given chronic hormone treatment

1. Sprague–Dawley rats were injected for 16 d with long-acting insulin, and energy balance was calculated using the comparative carcass technique. Two experiments were carried out with females (starting weights 150 and 90 g respectively), and one with males (starting weight 150 g). In a fourth experiment, cytochrome c oxidasc (EC 1.9.3.1) activity was measured as an indicator of the capacity for substrate oxidation. 2. Insulin increased weight gain by up to 57% (P < 0.01 for all studies). Metabolizable energy intake (kJ/d) was also consistently higher in the treated groups, by up to 34% (P < 0.01 for all studies). The excess weight gained by the insulin-treated rats was predominantly due to fat deposition. 3. Energy expenditure, calculated as the difference between metabolizable intake and carcass energy gain. was expressed on a whole-body basis, or relative to either metabolic body size (kg body-weight0.75) or fat-free mass. Insulin consistently raised energy expenditure, regardless of the method of expression, but this change reached statistical significance in only two of the nine comparisons. 4. Cytochrome c oxidase activity was not affected by insulin treatment in either interscapular brown adipose tissue or gastrocnemius muscle. In liver, total enzyme activity (U/tissue) was increased from 2928 (se 162) in the controls to 3940 (se 294) in the treated group (P < 0.02), but specific activity (U/mg protein) was unchanged. 5. It is concluded that, despite causing substantial hyperphagia, insulin treatment only slightly increases energy expenditure in rats. The costs of increased tissue deposition may account for this change.
On enhancing the field in the vicinity of a metamaterial wedge with use of an auxiliary dielectric tip

Numerous components used in experimental and actual devices, processing the light or electromagnetic fields in the nanoscale, have a wedge shape. Since increased power concentration is always desirable in optical signals and field distributions, it is worth trying to enhance the electrostatic intensity in the vicinity of those wedges. In this work, such a purpose is served by another wedge, an auxiliary dielectric nanotip, posed “nose-to-nose” with the primary metamaterial wedge to form an asymmetric “bowtie” configuration. We define a quality factor expressing how amplified is the field into the primary wedge compared to the case that the secondary component is absent. This quantity is represented with respect to the parameters of the nanotip (permittivity, angular extent) and significant peaks, corresponding to maximum power into the primary component, are observed and discussed.
Inhibition of Semaphorin 7 A leads to decreased tumor growth and 1 metastasis of mammary tumor cells

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Solid tumors can hijack many of the same programs used in neurogenesis to enhance tumor growth and metastasis, thereby generating a plethora of neurogenesis-related molecules including semaphorins. Among them, we have identified Semaphorin7A (SEMA7A) in breast cancer. In this study we investigated effects of inhibiting Semaphorin 7A in a model of metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: SEMA7A expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR in breast cancer and mammary cells. We performed SEMA7A shRNA knock-down in the 4T1 tumor cells and cells were analyzed for gene expression, migration and ki67 proliferation. Stiffness of cells was measured by Atomic Force Microscopy. Wild-type and SEMA7A deficient mice were inoculated with wild-type or SEMA7A silenced 4T1 cells and assayed for tumor growth and metastasis. RESULTS: SEMA7A is highly expressed in both metastatic human and murine breast cancer cells. We show that both TGF-1 and hypoxia elicits the production of SEMA7A in mammary cells. Further, PI3K/AKT and HIF-1 inhibitors decreased SEMA7A expression in mammary tumor cells. SEMA7A shRNA silencing in 4T1 cells resulted in decreased mesenchymal markers MMP-3, MMP-13, Vimentin and TGF-1. SEMA7A silenced cells show increased stiffness with reduced migratory and proliferative potential. In vivo, SEMA7A silenced 4T1 tumor bearing mice showed decreased tumor growth and metastasis. Genetic ablation of host-derived SEMA7A synergized to further decrease the growth and metastasis of 4T1 cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest novel functional roles for SEMA7A in breast cancer and that SEMA7A could be a novel therapeutic target to limit tumor growth and metastasis.
Tissue Doppler imaging for the detection and quantitation of myocardial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is rapidly increasing. Myocardial dysfunction may be a consequence of diabetic cardiomyopathy and it contributes to the poor prognosis of diabetic patients. Aims This study was designed to test whether tissue Doppler imaging might be a suitable tool for early detection of myocardial dysfunction in diabetic patients. Methods Forty-three diabetic patients and 33 non-diabetic controls, including age-matched subgroups without evidence of coronary artery disease (n=12), were recruited if they had normal LV-function by standard 2-D echocardiography and no clinical signs of heart failure. They were investigated with tissue Doppler imaging at rest and during pharmacological stress with dipyridamole and/or dobutamine. Myocardial function was calculated as the mean value from six basal myocardial segments for peak velocity at systole (Vs), early diastole (Ve) and atrial contraction (Va). Results Compared to controls, diabetic patients had compromised Ve at rest (8.5. ± 1.7 vs. 9.6 ± 1.9 cm/sec, p<0.02), as did the subgroups without coronary artery disease (9.3 ± 1.7 vs. 10.7 ± 1.5 cm/sec, p<0.05). Dobutamine stress resulted in lower Vs (10.7 ± 2.7 vs. 13.6 ± 3.4 cm/sec, p<0.05) and Ve (10.0 ± 2.1 vs. 13.1 ± 3.8 cm/sec, p<0.05) in the diabetic patients, demonstrating an impaired increase of Vs, Vd and Va (p<0.05, p<0.0003 and p<0.03, respectively). An inverse correlation was observed between Ve and age in both control and diabetic individuals. Thus, abnormal values were defined in relation to age. Conclusions Diastolic and systolic myocardial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes may be identified by quantitative tissue Doppler imaging before the onset of clinical signs of heart failure and before the appearance of traditional echocardiographic indices of systolic myocardial dysfunction.
An efficient Coulomb descriptor for convex shapes

This paper investigates Coulomb shape descriptor and its suitability to describe the convex shapes efficiently. Coulomb descriptor is region-based. Coulomb shape features, include; pair-wise pixel force F, region electrical potential E, and its voltage V. This paper also studies the effect of each parameter on the accuracy of shape description. The experimental results are restricted to convex shapes. We showed that these parameters are equivalent to: compactness, skewness and elongation, but it doesn't exactly. F is a measure which how much the shape is away from a circle, and E is a balancing measure of the shape. We knew that V is reverse proportional to F. And the results also showed the reliability of Coulomb shape descriptor compared to conventional parameters, such as compactness, skewness, and elongation.
Failure of 500 mg ciprofloxacin therapy in male urethral gonorrhoea

depression is detected and treated), but it is also well known that some doctors find it is easier to emphasise "somatic" reasons to keep problems connected with the treatment of suicidal patients away from themselves. The problems of countertransference with those patients have been described widely. " Like Davis and Kosky we think that it is necessary to investigate hospital records, not only the officially published data, to estimate the incidence of suicide attempters. However, while this can show changes in a particular institution over time, basically it is an institution-centred approach . To some degree such research will reflect the rate of suicide attempts in the catchment area, but it is not the same as the rate in a geographically defined area, as the title of the paper suggests. From our findings in Vienna we conclude that official data cannot be used alone, as has been done by the authors in Perth. (They mention themselves that some of their data now are out of date.) As they could not prove that the registration (and therefore the suggested percentage of missing suicide attempts) in Perth was the same in 1971 and 1986, we think that it is not possible to draw conclusions from those data about changes of rates, or the distribution of age groups or sexes. E Etzersdorfer, MD J Wancata, MD Psychiatric Clinic, University of Vienna Wahnnger GOrtel 18-20 A·l090 Vienna. Austria G Sonneck, MD Professor and Head Institute of Medical Psychology. University of Vienna Severingasse 9 A-l090 Vienna. Austria
Single image summarization of 3D animation using depth images

We propose a new image‐space technique to summarize a 3D animation sequence into a single image by using the depth information of the animation. The proposed method extracts important frames from the animation sequence, where the important frames are representative of the sequence and keep the complexity of a composed image as simple as possible. Assuming that the input sequence consists of a set of images with depth information, we construct a composite depth image and its gradient image. We evaluate the importance of each frame by its amount of contribution to the gradient of the composite depth image. The frames of higher importance are located more likely at which the motion of a moving object reaches the extreme positions, the fastest speed, and the slowest speed in image space. From the most important frames to the least ones, we recursively compose the important frames into a single composite image while keeping the complexity of the composite image by evaluating the amount of self‐overlap. The threshold value for the amount of overlap allows a user to control interactively the visual complexity of the composed image. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maternal Periodontal Infections, Prematurity, and Growth Restriction

Introduction Each year, among the half a million babies born in the United States, about one in ten births arrive too early and too small. Preterm (PT) birth (delivery at less than 37 weeks gestation), represents the major cause of neonatal mortality and, among survivors, a major contributor to long-term disability. There are tremendous ethnic and population disparities in the prevalence of preterm birth and attendant neonatal complications. For example, compared with Whites or Hispanics, pregnant African American women experience a rate of premature delivery approximately two-to three-fold higher. Despite advances inmaternal prenatal care and increased public awareness, the incidence of preterm birth has not decreased over the last 40 years. It has been suggested that the inability of the healthcare system to decrease the occurrence of these unfavorable pregnancy outcomes is likely due to the fact that we have not as yet identified all of the contributing causes of preterm birth and therefore fail to appropriately target and manage relevant risk factors. Thus far, smoking and alcohol consumption are generally accepted as two major modifiable risk factors. Other potential risk factors appear to be less informative from a clinical management standpoint, since they may not be easily amenable to clinical intervention. Some of these reported risk factors include parity (that is, the number of previous births, since the rate is higher among first births), short cervical length, short maternal stature, low maternal weight, high physical and psychological stress, low socioeconomic status and education, poor maternal nutrition, and infections of the reproductive tract. These factors are not consistently confirmed by epidemiological studies and prospective treatment studies targeting some of these risk factors have been equivocal. Currently, the best single predictor of risk for preterm birth amongmultiparous pregnant women is whether the mother has already Correspondence: Steven Offenbacher, DDS, PhD, MMSc, Distinguished Professor of Periodontal Medicine Director, Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases, UNC School of Dentistry, CB #7455, DRC Room 222, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 275997455. E-mail: steve_offenbacher@dentistry.unc. edu
Molecular cloning and analysis of the scon-2 negative regulatory gene of Neurospora crassa

The sulfur regulatory system of Neurospora crassa is composed of a group of highly regulated structural genes (e.g., the gene encoding arylsulfatase) that are under coordinate control of scon+ (sulfur controller) negative and cys-3+ positive regulatory genes. In scon-1 (previously designated sconC) and scon-2 mutants, there is constitutive expression of sulfur structural genes regardless of the sulfur level available to the cells. The scon-2+ gene was cloned by sib selection screening of a cosmid-based gene library. The screening was based on the use of chromate, a toxic sulfate analog, which is transported into scon-2 cells grown on high sulfur but is not transported into cells that have regained normal sulfur regulation. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was used to confirm that the cloned segment mapped to the proper chromosomal location. In wild-type cells, Northern (RNA) blot analysis showed that a 2.6-kilobase scon-2+ transcript was present at a substantial level only under sulfur-derepressing conditions. Kinetic analysis showed that scon-2+ mRNA content increased as the cells became sulfur starved. Further, scon-2+ RNA was detectable in a nuclear transcription assay only under derepressing conditions. In scon-1, the levels of scon-2+ mRNA were found to be constitutive. In the cys-3 regulatory mutant, there was a reduced level of scon-2+ transcript. cys-3+ and ars-1+ mRNAs were present under both derepressing and repressing conditions in the scon-2 mutant. Repeat-induced point mutation-generated scon-2 mutants were identical in phenotype to the known mutant.
Natural History of Low Back Pain: A Longitudinal Study in Nurses

Study Design. Longitudinal study. Objectives. To assess the natural history of low back pain. Summary of Background Data. Most episodes of low back pain resolve or improve within a few weeks, but chronic or recurrent symptoms are common. Previous studies of natural history have usually relied on people's long‐term recall of symptoms, or they have been limited to patients seeking clinical care. Methods. Nurses (1,165 women) completed a baseline questionnaire and up to eight follow‐up questionnaires 3 months apart. Each questionnaire asked whether they had experienced low back pain in the past month. One‐month prevalences of pain at specified follow‐ups were calculated according to histories of pain reported on earlier questionnaires. Results. The 1‐month prevalence of low back pain at individual follow‐ups ranged from 16% to 19%. Of 906 women who completed the baseline questionnaire and at least three follow‐up questionnaires, 38 (4.2%) reported pain every time they returned a questionnaire, and 190 (21.0%) reported pain on at least three occasions. The presence or absence of low back pain at baseline was highly predictive of future pain throughout follow‐up. The longer that back pain was consistently reported, the more likely it was to be present at the next follow‐up. Later risk was lowest in women who reported no back pain at baseline or either of the first two follow‐ups. Back pain carried a worse prognosis if it was disabling or associated with sciatica. Conclusions. Our results confirm the importance of back pain duration and the occurrence of associated disability and sciatica as predictors of future symptoms, and allow more reliable quantification of the natural history of back pain in women of working age. In the absence of other information, the differentials in risk associated with a person's history of back pain appear to remain constant for a period of at least 2 years.
A Review of Computer-Based Interventions Used in the Assessment, Treatment, and Research of Drug Addiction

Computer-based interventions are cost-efficient methods that may result in greater access to drug addiction treatment. We review recent findings from our laboratory where computer-based interventions have produced outcomes that are comparable to therapist-delivered interventions. We also examine how computer-based interventions targeting substance abuse disorders relate to cognitive functioning. This review will suggest that not only are computer-based interventions cost-efficient and accessible but that they are also effective methods for the motivation, engagement, and treatment of drug-dependent individuals. Moreover, computer-based interventions are compatible with a recently proposed biological mechanism implicated as the basis for drug addiction.
Local labor unions' positions on worksite tobacco control.

OBJECTIVES This report describes local unions' positions on tobacco control initiatives and factors related to these positions. METHODS A national random sample of local union leaders was surveyed by telephone. RESULTS Forty-eight percent of local unions supported worksite smoking bans or restrictions, and only 8% opposed both a ban and a restriction. CONCLUSIONS Support for tobacco control initiatives among local unions was higher than might be expected on the basis of previous evidence. Engaging unions in smoking policy formation is likely to contribute to the larger public health goal of reducing smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke among workers.
The natural history of reproduction in Solanum and Lycianthes (Solanaceae) in a subtropical moist forest

Introduction 125 Methods 127 Study site 127 Taxa studied 127 Floral phenology 127 Flower and fruit production 129 Flower visitors 129 Pollen load analysis 129 Results 129 Floral phenology 129 Flower production 131 Fruit production 131 Flower visitors 131 Pollen load analysis 133 Discussion 133 Floral phenology 133 Flower production 133 Fruit production 135 Flower visitors 135 References 136 The phenology and pollination of seven understory species of buzz-pollinated Solanaceae ( Solanum erythrotrichum , S. lanceifolium , S. rudepannum , S. cordovense , S. nudum , Lycianthes hypoleuca and L. gorgonea ) were investigated at the end of the dry season in the subtropical moist forest at the Las Cuevas Research Station, Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Cayo District, western Belize. Three phenological phenomena were tracked: the opening and closing of flowers, flower production and fruit production. The large short-lived white flowers of S. lanceifolium , S. rudepannum , Lycianthes hypoleuca and L. gorgonea opened around sunrise and closed at sunset. The purple flowers of S. erythrotrichum and the small white flowers of S. nudum and S. cordovense opened more or less randomly. All seven study species flowered at least once during the months of May, June and July; there was substantial overlap in the flowering of some species. Four species, S. rudepannum , S. cordovense , S. lanceifolium and S. erythrotrichum , developed mature fruit during the monitoring period while the remaining species possessed immature fruit at the termination of the study. Thus, it appeared that these seven solanaceous species would provide a fairly constant supply of mature fruit during the rainy season. During observations of pollinators, 17 different bees in the families Colletidae, Halictidae and Apidae were found to visit the buzz-pollinated flowers of Solanum and Lycianthes . Analysis of the pollen loads revealed that bees were highly constant to Solanaceae although it was not possible to determine their constancy to particular species. Very few visits were observed to S. cordovense and L. gorgonea .
10-Gb/s WDM-PON Based on Low-Bandwidth RSOA Using Partial Response Equalization

An extended reach 10-Gb/s wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON) system based on a low-bandwidth reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) is demonstrated using a novel partial response equalization (PRE) scheme. The proposed technique has good performance-complexity tradeoff compared to traditional equalization methods. The intrinsic feature of the signal directly modulated by RSOA and the impact of dispersion on the modulated signal are investigated. The result shows that the shape of the RF spectrum of the received signal can be predicted. Moreover, one target response can be applied for a wide range of transmission distances by properly setting the equalizer parameters. It is confirmed experimentally and via simulation that the proposed system can achieve good performance over 0 to 75 km fiber link using PRE with the same setup.
Fabry-Pérot-like resonance of a subwavelength single slit for measurement of permittivities of microcrystalline liquids/gases

Permittivity is an important parameter to describe the electromagnetic properties of materials. When the plane wave impinges on a subwavelength single slit, it goes back and forth between the incident end and the outgoing end, which can be modeled as a Fabry-Pérot-like cavity. The transmission can be expressed by a simple Fabry-Pérot equivalent formula and all the details of the observed transmission spectra can be explained with the characteristics of the Fabry-Pérot resonance. And the efficiency of the F-P resonance is quite sensitive to the microcrystalline dielectric material filled in the slit. Therefore, permittivity of the microcrystalline dielectric in the slit can be obtained by measuring the positions of these resonant peaks, thus to determine the ingredient of the dielectric, which provides a new reference method for nano-metric sensors.
The iddm 4 Locus Segregates With Diabetes Susceptibility in Congenic WF . iddm 4 Rats

Viral antibody–free BBDR and WF rats never develop spontaneous diabetes. BBDR rats, however, develop autoimmune diabetes after perturbation of the immune system, e.g., by viral infection. We previously identified a disease-susceptibility locus in the BBDR rat, iddm4, which is associated with the development of autoimmune diabetes after treatment with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid and an antibody that depletes ART2 regulatory cells. We have now developed lines of congenic WF.iddm4 rats and report that in an intercross of N5 generation WF.iddm4 rats, 70% of animals either homozygous or heterozygous for the BBDR origin allele of iddm4 became hyperglycemic after treatment to induce diabetes. Fewer than 20% of rats expressing the WF origin allele of iddm4 became diabetic. Testing the progeny of various recombinant N5 WF.iddm4 congenic rats for susceptibility to diabetes suggests that iddm4 is centered on a small segment of chromosome 4 bounded by the proximal marker D4Rat135 and the distal marker D4Got51, an interval of <2.8 cM. The allele at iddm4 has 79% sensitivity and 80% specificity in prediction of diabetes in rats that are segregating for this locus. These characteristics suggest that iddm4 is one of the most powerful non–major histocompatibility complex determinants of susceptibility to autoimmune diabetes described to date. Diabetes 51:3254–3262, 2002
Erythropoietin up-regulates SOCS2 in neuronal progenitor cells derived from SVZ of adult rat

We examined the effects of EPO on expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) and found that treatment of neural progenitor cells derived from the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) with recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) stimulated progenitor cell differentiation into neurons, but not astrocytes. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that SOCS2 mRNA levels were increased in the progenitor cells treated with rhEPO. Immunostaining showed that neurons but not astrocytes were SOCS2 immunoreactive. Incubation of the progenitor cells with rhEPO in the presence of a neutralizing antibody against EPO abolished the effects of EPO on neuronal differentiation and expression of SOCS2. Our data suggest that up-regulation of SOCS2 in neuronal progenitor cells derived from the adult SVZ may regulate EPO enhanced neuronal differentiation.