Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Electron microscopic studies on pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

OBJECTIVE To observe ultrastructural changes and study the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. METHODS The clinical manifestations in 9 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were selected. Transbronchial lung biopsy materials were obtained for light microscopic and electron microscopic examination. RESULTS The major morphologic changes were as follows: histologically, alveolar inflammation and interstitial fibrosis were observed. electron microscopic findings were: 1. alveolar type I cells were degenerated, broken-down and desquamated, endothelial cells were swelled, with inter cellular tight junction shortened, alveolar type II cells hyperplastic, basement membrane thinned and deformed; 2. alveolar macrophages and interstitial macrophages were hyperplastic; 3. mast cells were infiltrated and degranulated; 4. electron-dense deposits were present at alveolar wall; 5. myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, collagen and basement membrane like material were hyperplastic. CONCLUSIONS Electron microscopic observations show that the alveolar epithelial cells, endothelial cells and basement membrane are all injured, interstitial macrophages hyperplasia, mast cells infiltration and degranulation, electron-dense deposits at alveolar wall are present. These morphologic changes provide basis for formation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Regucalcin increases Ca2+‐ATPase activity in the mitochondria of brain tissues of normal and transgenic rats

The role of regucalcin, which is a regulatory protein in intracellular signaling, in the regulation of Ca2+‐ATPase activity in the mitochondria of brain tissues was investigated. The addition of regucalcin (10−10 to 10−8 M), which is a physiologic concentration in rat brain tissues, into the enzyme reaction mixture containing 25 µM calcium chloride caused a significant increase in Ca2+‐ATPase activity, while it did not significantly change in Mg2+‐ATPase activity. The effect of regucalcin (10−9 M) in increasing mitochondrial Ca2+‐ATPase activity was completely inhibited in the presence of ruthenium red (10−7 M) or lanthanum chloride (10−7 M), both of which are inhibitors of mitochondrial uniporter activity. Whether the effect of regucalcin is modulated in the presence of calmodulin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP (DcAMP) was examined. The effect of regucalcin (10−9 M) in increasing Ca2+‐ATPase activity was not significantly enhanced in the presence of calmodulin (2.5 µg/ml) which significantly increased the enzyme activity. DcAMP (10−6 to 10−4 M) did not have a significant effect on Ca2+‐ATPase activity. The effect of regucalcin (10−9 M) in increasing Ca2+‐ATPase activity was not seen in the presence of DcAMP (10−4 M). Regucalcin levels were significantly increased in the brain tissues or the mitochondria obtained from regucalcin transgenic (RC TG) rats. The mitochondrial Ca2+‐ATPase activity was significantly increased in RC TG rats as compared with that of wild‐type rats. This study demonstrates that regucalcin has a role in the regulation of Ca2+‐ATPase activity in the brain mitochondria of rats. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 795–804, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaporation-triggered microdroplet nucleation and the four life phases of an evaporating Ouzo drop

Significance The evaporation of an Ouzo droplet is a daily life phenomenon, but the outcome is amazingly rich and unexpected: Here we reveal the four different phases of its life with phase transitions in-between and the physics that govern this phenomenon. The Ouzo droplet may be seen as a model system for any ternary mixture of liquids with different volatilities and mutual solubilities. Our work may open up numerous applications in (medical) diagnostics and in technology, such as coating or for the controlled deposition of tiny amounts of liquids, printing of light-emitting diode (LED) or organic LED devices, or phase separation on a submicron scale. Evaporating liquid droplets are omnipresent in nature and technology, such as in inkjet printing, coating, deposition of materials, medical diagnostics, agriculture, the food industry, cosmetics, or spills of liquids. Whereas the evaporation of pure liquids, liquids with dispersed particles, or even liquid mixtures has intensively been studied over the past two decades, the evaporation of ternary mixtures of liquids with different volatilities and mutual solubilities has not yet been explored. Here we show that the evaporation of such ternary mixtures can trigger a phase transition and the nucleation of microdroplets of one of the components of the mixture. As a model system, we pick a sessile Ouzo droplet (as known from daily life—a transparent mixture of water, ethanol, and anise oil) and reveal and theoretically explain its four life phases: In phase I, the spherical cap-shaped droplet remains transparent while the more volatile ethanol is evaporating, preferentially at the rim of the drop because of the singularity there. This leads to a local ethanol concentration reduction and correspondingly to oil droplet nucleation there. This is the beginning of phase II, in which oil microdroplets quickly nucleate in the whole drop, leading to its milky color that typifies the so-called “Ouzo effect. ” Once all ethanol has evaporated, the drop, which now has a characteristic nonspherical cap shape, has become clear again, with a water drop sitting on an oil ring (phase III), finalizing the phase inversion. Finally, in phase IV, all water has evaporated, leaving behind a tiny spherical cap-shaped oil drop.
Health related quality of life (HRQOL) of kidney transplanted patients: variables that influence it

The incidence and prevalence of patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT) who receive a renal transplant are continuously increasing in Spain. At the moment, they are the main group of end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in our region (60% of total RRT patients). The aim of the present study was to assess the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of kidney transplanted patients of our region, and to identify socio‐demographic and clinical variables that influence it. The intention was also to compare the HRQOL of these patients with that of chronic haemodialysis (HD) patients and of the general population. Methods. Two hundred and ten kidney transplanted patients and 170 HD patients were evaluated using the Karnofsky performance scale (KPS), sickness impact profile (SIP), and SF‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36). Socio‐demographic and clinical data, including a comorbidity index (CI), were also collected. To compare our patients with the general population we used SF‐36 mean scores from an aleatory sample taken from our region. Results. Transplant patients had lower mean scores on SIP dimensions and higher scores on SF‐36 dimensions than chronic HD patients. In transplant patients, we found significant differences on SIP and SF‐36 scores in gender, educational level, haematocrite and haemoglobin, CI, time since transplantation, and KPS. Conclusions. The HRQOL of transplant patients is clearly better than that of chronic HD patients and similar to that of the general population. Differences in the HRQOL within transplant patients did not appear to be as a result of patient's age, but rather it would appear to be a consequence of gender, analytic figures, CI, KPS score, time with transplant, and educational level.
Norepinephrine Release in Medial Amygdala Facilitates Activation of the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Axis in Response to Acute Immobilisation Stress

Activation of the brain noradrenergic system during stress plays an important integrative function in coping and stress adaptation by facilitating transmission in many brain regions involved in regulating behavioural and physiological components of the stress response. The medial amygdala (MeA) has been implicated in modulation of stress‐induced activation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis, and MeA is a target of innervation from brainstem noradrenergic neurones. However, it is not known whether, and to what extent, activation of the ascending noradrenergic innervation of MeA might modulate stress‐induced adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion. In the first experiment in this study, we measured extracellular norepinephrine (NE) levels in MeA using in vivo microdialysis. The concentration of NE in dialysate samples collected in MeA was elevated by more than three‐fold over baseline in response to acute immobilisation stress, providing evidence of a possible modulatory role for NE in the MeA during stress. This potential role was then assessed in the second experiment by measuring changes in the elevation of plasma ACTH concentration induced by acute immobilisation stress immediately following bilateral microinjections of α1‐ or β‐adrenergic receptor antagonists directly into MeA. Compared to vehicle‐injected controls, the α1‐receptor antagonist benoxathian dose‐dependently and significantly attenuated the ACTH response to acute stress, whereas combined β1/β2‐receptor blockade in MeA had only a modest effect. These results indicate that MeA does play a role in the stress response, and support the hypothesis that stress‐induced activation of NE release in MeA, acting primarily through α1 receptors, facilitates activation of the HPA axis in response to acute stress.
The city dimension of the productivity growth puzzle:: the relative role of structural change and within-sector slowdown

Across OECD countries productivity growth has slowed, not just in recent years but over the past four decades: the so-called productivity puzzle. This paper examines the differing productivity growth paths of some 85 British cities since the beginning of the 1970s, and explores how far these paths reflect differences across cities in the pace and nature of structural change. We find that while northern cities led productivity growth over 1971–91 southern cities then led after 1991. However, at the same time, the rate of productivity growth slowed across almost all cities between these two periods. We find evidence of considerable structural convergence across cities and a general tendency for the degree of specialisation to fall. This then leads to a decomposition analysis which identifies the relative contribution of between-sector (structural change) and within-sector effects to city productivity growth. The analysis reveals that structural change – and especially the shift from manufacturing to services – has had a negative impact on productivity growth across all cities, but that within-sector productivity developments while positive and outweighing structural change effects, have also declined over the past 45 years, as well as varying across cities. These findings point to the need for further research on the causes of this slowdown in ‘within-sector ‘productivity growth and why those causes appear to differ from city to city. They also point to the need for a ‘place-based’ dimension to policies aimed at improving national productivity performance.
The United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service for parasitology: toxoplasma serology scheme

Aim To examine performance in the UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UKNEQAS) for toxoplasma serology for evidence of discrepant results as compared with the predistribution and postdistribution results supplied by the toxoplasma reference laboratories. Methods Analysis of performance in the toxoplasma IgG and IgM schemes was made for the period 1994–2008 to look for trends in performance. Results For the IgG scheme, a mean of 98% of participants obtained the correct result for detection of toxoplasma-specific antibody. The most common problem was failure to detect low levels of antibody. In some cases this was the result of participants deviating from the manufacturer's instructions and using higher cut-off levels. For the IgM scheme, an average of 95% of participants obtained the correct result for toxoplasma antibody detection. The most common problem was the failure of some enzyme immunoassay kits to detect specific toxoplasma IgM antibody, which was detected by the more sensitive immunosorbent agglutination assay. Conclusions Performance standards in the UKNEQAS toxoplasma serology schemes were high. The problems encountered have highlighted the importance of detecting low levels of antibody, adhering to the kit manufacturer's instructions and selecting an appropriate assay for the clinical situation.
Homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein Are Not Markers of Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Major Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Raised concentrations of plasma homocysteine and C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with vascular disease and have also been implicated as independent risk factors for cognitive impairment in population studies. Objectives: To investigate the association of plasma homocysteine and CRP with cognition in patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Cognition was assessed in 264 patients using a standard battery of neuropsychological tests. Patients were classified as having preexisting cognitive impairment (PreCI) by reference to a healthy control group or postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) by reference to baseline test scores. Results: PreCI was present in 37.3% of patients, and POCD was present in 18.3, 12.1 and 13.6% of patients at 1 week, 3 months and 12 months postoperatively. On multivariate analysis neither homocysteine nor CRP were independently associated with cognition at any testing time but were strongly associated with age and left ventricular function. Conclusion: PreCI and POCD are present in a substantial proportion of patients undergoing CABG surgery but there is no independent association with either baseline homocysteine or CRP levels. It is possible that cognitive impairment may result from the vascular disease rather than a direct association with either homocysteine or CRP.
High-dose therapy with autologous stem cell support for lymphoma in Norway 1987-2008.

BACKGROUND High-dose therapy with autologous stem cell support (HDT) has been a treatment option for lymphomas in Norway for 25 years. The purpose of the article was to describe the use of the therapy for lymphomas for the country as a whole and by health region, and to reveal the overall survival rate. METHOD All lymphoma patients ≥ 18 years who received HDT in Norway in the period 1987-2008 are included. Patients, diagnostics and treatment are identified for each hospital. Data for the population base have been retrieved from Statistics Norway. RESULTS Altogether 726 lymphoma patients received HDT in Norway in the period 1987-2008, with an annual average of 0.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. The annual number of treatments increased until 2004 and has since been stable. The average number of treatments per 100,000 inhabitants per year was 0.94 for Northern Norway Health Region, 0.80 for South-Eastern Norway Health Region, 0.58 for Central Norway Health Region and 0.55 for Western Norway Health Region. Early mortality (death within 100 days) was 6%. Ten-year overall survival was 55% (95% CI 51-59%), and Hodgkin's lymphoma had the best survival of the lymphoma groups (p = 0.01). INTERPRETATION The annual number of HDT increased gradually until 2004. The use of the treatment varied according to the patients' place of residence at the time of diagnosis, and was most frequently used for patients belonging to Northern Norway Health Region. More than half of the lymphoma patients are alive ten years after the treatment.
Choice of law in defamation and the regulation of free speech on social media: nineteenth-century law meets twenty-first-century problems

Social media networks have democratized the power of mass communication. One less laudable consequence of this development is, however, that individuals are at a much greater risk of committing defamation than existed under traditional media, which would generally exercise editorial control. The legal problems associated with defamation on social media are made more complex by the fact that through the internet in general and social media in particular communications will readily cross borders. Where a communication crosses borders, the question of the applicable law arises – whose law should govern whether the communication gives rise to an actionable claim for defamation? This is a problem which is addressed by rules of private international law, in particular through choice of law rules. This chapter examines the rules which apply in the English courts to determine which national law governs cross-border claims in defamation, considering whether a special rule should apply for online defamation, and whether the problems raised by social media require further specialized regulation. In so doing, it also analyses why the applicable rules, which were * This chapter was originally presented at a conference on ‘The Legal Challenges of Social Media to Freedom of Expression’, held at the University of Leicester in December 2013, and thanks go to the conference organisers and participants, as well as an anonymous referee. With permission, it draws partially on work previously published by the author as ‘The Law Applicable to Cross-Border Defamation on Social Media: Whose Law Governs Free Speech in ‘Facebookistan’? ’ (2015) 7 Journal of Media Law 1 . developed in the nineteenth century, have proven so resistant to modernisation in the face of the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Prevalence and Severity of Multiple-Sclerosis-Associated Fatigue in Treated and Untreated Patients

Fatigue is one of the most frequent and most disabling symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated the possible association of the MS-related fatigue syndrome with the available disease-modifying therapies and the main disease characteristics in a cross-sectional study on 320 consecutive patients. The prevalence of severe fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale score ≧5) was 50%. In a multivariate regression model controlling for age, disease subtype, duration and disability we did not find a significant association between the use of immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory drugs compared to no treatment (OR = 1.34, p = 0.38 for immunosuppressants; OR = 0.95, p = 0.85 for immune-modulating agents). Although all used disease-modifying agents successfully reduce disease activity and inflammation, they do not appear to exhibit a significant effect on MS-related fatigue.
The Concept of Leadership in the Health Care Sector

The health care sector is characterised by constant reforms aimed at the efficient delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality care. Effective leadership is required to lead and drive changes at all levels of the health system to actualise the goals of the ongoing reforms in health care organisations. Leadership in the health care sector is spread across management and clinical workforces, creating peculiar challenges. The chapter examines the concept of leadership in the health care sector within the context of the recent drive by health care organisations to identify essential competencies and training required by health management and leadership workforces for effective performance in roles. It concludes that further research is needed to build the evidence on the relationships between targeted training and professional development interventions, individual competence of leaders from health management and clinical backgrounds and organisational performance.
Efficient Transport and Accumulation of Vitamin C in HL-60 Cells Depleted of Glutathione*

Human myeloid leukemia cells (HL-60) transport only the oxidized form of vitamin C (dehydroascorbic acid) and accumulate the vitamin in the reduced form, ascorbic acid. We performed a detailed study of the role of glutathione in the intracellular trapping/accumulation of ascorbic acid in HL-60 cells. Uptake studies using HL-60 cells depleted of glutathione by treatment with L-buthionine-(S,R) sulfoximine and diethyl maleate, revealed no changes in the cells' ability to transport dehydroascorbic acid and accumulate ascorbic acid. Similar transport and accumulation rates were obtained using HL-60 cells containing intracellular glutathione concentrations from 6 mM to 1 μM. HL-60 cells, containing as little as 5 μM glutathione, were able to accumulate up to 150 mM ascorbic acid intracellularly when incubated with dehydroascorbic acid. Glutathione was capable of reducing dehydroascorbic acid by a direct chemical reaction, but only when present in a greater than 10-fold stoichiometric excess over dehydroascorbic acid. The accumulation of ascorbic acid by HL-60 cells was strongly temperature-dependent and was very inefficient at 16°C. On the other hand, the direct chemical reduction of dehydroascorbic acid by excess glutathione proceeded efficiently at temperatures of 16°C. Our data indicate that glutathione-dependent reductases in HL-60 cells are not responsible for the ability of these cells to accumulate millimolar concentrations of ascorbic acid. These findings indicate that alternative enzymatic mechanisms are involved in the cellular reduction of dehydroascorbic acid.
Compartmentalization of GABAergic Inhibition by Dendritic Spines

Dendritic Precision Strikes The effects of excitatory synaptic inputs are considered to be highly compartmentalized because of the biophysical properties of dendritic spines. Individual inhibitory synapses, however, are thought to affect dendritic integration in a more extended spatial region. Combining optogenetic stimulation of dendrite-targeting γ-aminobutyric acid—mediated interneurons with two-photon calcium imaging in postsynaptic pyramidal cell dendrites, Chiu et al. (p. 759) challenge this latter view. The findings suggest that the effect of an inhibitory synapse can be as compartmentalized as that of an excitatory synapse, provided that the synapses are localized on spine heads. Inhibitory synapses can control individual dendritic spines independently from their neighbors. γ-aminobutyric acid–mediated (GABAergic) inhibition plays a critical role in shaping neuronal activity in the neocortex. Numerous experimental investigations have examined perisomatic inhibitory synapses, which control action potential output from pyramidal neurons. However, most inhibitory synapses in the neocortex are formed onto pyramidal cell dendrites, where theoretical studies suggest they may focally regulate cellular activity. The precision of GABAergic control over dendritic electrical and biochemical signaling is unknown. By using cell type-specific optical stimulation in combination with two-photon calcium (Ca2+) imaging, we show that somatostatin-expressing interneurons exert compartmentalized control over postsynaptic Ca2+ signals within individual dendritic spines. This highly focal inhibitory action is mediated by a subset of GABAergic synapses that directly target spine heads. GABAergic inhibition thus participates in localized control of dendritic electrical and biochemical signaling.