Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arecanut, Areca catechu L. as such is not carcinogenic in normal dose if chewed without tobacco: compilation of research work

Review of literature on the health effects of arecanut chewing shows that it is not carcinogenic in normal dose. It was reported that an adult human being masticate up to 0.5g of arecanut/kg bw/day. Animal studies have revealed that feeding of processed arecanut (dried or boiled) at 1.0g/kg body weight/day and pan masala up to 1.67g/kg bw/day were safe for mice. Arecanut paste when applied to bare skin at 1.5g /kg bw/day was safe for hamsters. Feeding of arecoline, the physiologically most active chemical compound of arecanut, was found safe for mice at 100mg/kg bw/day. The LD50 value for arecanut extract was reported to be >15,000mg/kg bw for rats. The betel quid at a concentration of 0.1ml of 2% solution without tobacco was also found safe for mice. The arecanut and betel quid extracts without tobacco were even reported to retard the development of tumors in mice and cure breast cancer cells, gastric cancer cells and liver cancer cells in human being. Several population studies carried out in India and abroad on the effects of chewing betel quid without tobacco did not show any significant harmful effects on human health. It is really sad to note that such reports were sidelined by most of the researchers and reviewers.
Comparison among several fiber coating for a solid phase microextraction (SPME) based electronic nose applied to wine discrimination

A comparison among several types of fiber coatings for solid-phase micro-extraction applied to an electronic nose is performed. Four different types of fiber coating have been used: 100 mum polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), 65 mum polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), 85 mum polyacrilate and 75 mum carboxen/polydimetilsiloxane (CAR/PDMS). The cell containing a tin dioxide multisensor was mounted inside the chromatograph oven connected to the gas chromatograph injector, by replacing the chromatographic column. Samples of five different wines elaborated with the majority varieties of the origin denomination (O.D.) "Vinos de Madrid" have been used for testing the discrimination capability of the system. Multivariate analyses as principal component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural networks (ANN) have been applied to the data to discriminate among the different wine samples
Comparison of soybean oil-based versus olive oil-based lipid emulsions in patients requiring parenteral nutrition

SUMMARY Purpose: Malnutrition has a great importance and frequently encountered in hospitalized patients. Herein, the effects of olive oil-based and soybean oil-based fat emulsions on improvement of malnutrition status were compared together with evaluaten of biochemical parameters and hospital stay and mortality in hospitalized patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN). Material and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled adult patients who were hospitalized longer than 24 hours, and considered as malnourished and supplied with parenteral nutrition were included in the study. Nutritional supplementation was applied by his/her clinician and they were followed up by hospital nutrition team without interfering the nutrition supplementation. Results: A total of 605 patients received soybean oil-based (n=408) and olive oil-based (n=197) lipid emulsions. The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the soybean based oil-PN group than that of olive oil-based PN group (14.2±10.7 and 11.5±8.2 days, respectively; p<0.01). The mortality rates for soybean based oil-PN and olive oil-based PN group were 21.8 % and 22.8 %, respectively. The percent change in NRS-2002 score and body mass index were not different significantly. The percent change in albumin level was 7.0 % and 6.7 %, respectively without significant difference between groups. The percent change in prealbumin level in the soybean oil PN group were 3.4 % and was 15.2 % in olive oil PN group without significant difference. Conclusion: We found similar results between two groups in terms of serum albumin and prealbumin levels and mortality rates. Olive oil-based PN was associated with shorter duration of hospital stay than soybean oil-based PN.
Characteristic Analysis of Interior Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Machine With Fractional-Slot Concentrated Winding Considering Nonlinear Magnetic Saturation

This paper presents the characteristic analysis of interior permanent-magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) considering magnetic saturation. In IPMSM with magnetic saturation, the individual flux from the permanent magnet (PM) and current exists, and the linear combination is not maintained. A nonlinear finite-element analysis, wherein the PMs and current are excited simultaneously, is performed. Then, the flux linkage data in each armature current and current angle are recorded, which are calculated by using the dynamic equation. Based on the analyzed results from electromagnetic field characteristic analysis, the equivalent circuit parameters are derived, and the modeling of both IPMSM and controller system is performed to predict its operating characteristics. Finally, the analysis results of the designed IPMSM are compared with measured results, and the validity of the analysis considering magnetic saturation of the IPMSM is confirmed.
Compensatory Regulation of Two Closely Related Hemoglobin Loci in CHIRONOMUS TENTANS.

Regulatory mutants in the hemoglobin system of Chironomus larvae can be detected by shifts in the relative quantity of specific components among the 10-12 mixed monomers. One such mutant, at or near a hemoglobin structural locus in the right tip of chromosome 3, greatly increases the quantity of that minor hemoglobin and greatly diminishes the quantity of the hemoglobin normally most abundant. Heterozygotes for the mutant are quantitatively intermediate, suggesting a transcriptional basis. -Structural similarities of the two hemoglobins indicate a close evolutionary relationship, and their interdependent but non-coordinate regulation is interpreted as competition for a common factor which functions in transcription. If evolutionary duplication of both structural genes and promotors is assumed, this factor may be a sigma subunit of RNA polymerase which recognizes similar but non-identical promotor regions. Parallels in the compensatory control of human hemoglobins are described.
Plasticity in Pro- and Anti-tumor Activity of Neutrophils: Shifting the Balance

Over the last decades, cancer immunotherapies such as checkpoint blockade and adoptive T cell transfer have been a game changer in many aspects and have improved the treatment for various malignancies considerably. Despite the clinical success of harnessing the adaptive immunity to combat the tumor, the benefits of immunotherapy are still limited to a subset of patients and cancer types. In recent years, neutrophils, the most abundant circulating leukocytes, have emerged as promising targets for anti-cancer therapies. Traditionally regarded as the first line of defense against infections, neutrophils are increasingly recognized as critical players during cancer progression. Evidence shows the functional plasticity of neutrophils in the tumor microenvironment, allowing neutrophils to exert either pro-tumor or anti-tumor effects. This review describes the tumor-promoting roles of neutrophils, focusing on their myeloid-derived suppressor cell activity, as well as their role in tumor elimination, exerted mainly via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. We will discuss potential approaches to therapeutically target neutrophils in cancer. These include strategies in humans to either silence the pro-tumor activity of neutrophils, or to activate or enhance their anti-tumor functions. Redirecting neutrophils seems a promising approach to harness innate immunity to improve treatment for cancer patients.
Anatomy of the stomatogastric nervous system associated with the foregut in Drosophila melanogaster and Calliphora vicina third instar larvae

The stomatogastric nervous system (SNS) associated with the foregut was studied in 3rd instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster and Calliphora vicina (blowfly). In both species, the foregut comprises pharynx, esophagus, and proventriculus. Only in Calliphora does the esophagus form a crop. The position of nerves and neurons was investigated with neuronal tracers in both species and GFP expression in Drosophila. The SNS is nearly identical in both species. Neurons are located in the proventricular and the hypocerebral ganglion (HCG), which are connected to each other by the proventricular nerve. Motor neurons for pharyngeal muscles are located in the brain not, as in other insect groups, in the frontal ganglion. The position of the frontal ganglion is taken by a nerve junction devoid of neurons. The junction is composed of four nerves: the frontal connectives that fuse with the antennal nerves (ANs), the frontal nerve innervating the cibarial dilator muscles and the recurrent nerve that innervates the esophagus and projects to the HCG. Differences in the SNS are restricted to a crop nerve only present in Calliphora and an esophageal ganglion that only exists in Drosophila. The ganglia of the dorsal organs give rise to the ANs, which project to the brain. The extensive conformity of the SNS of both species suggests functional parallels. Future electrophysiological studies of the motor circuits in the SNS of Drosophila will profit from parallel studies of the homologous but more accessible structures in Calliphora. J. Morphol. , 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Humidity and respiratory virus transmission in tropical and temperate settings

SUMMARY Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are similarly structured viruses with similar environmental survival, but different routes of transmission. While RSV is transmitted predominantly by direct and indirect contact, influenza is also transmitted by aerosol. The cold, dry conditions of temperate winters appear to encourage the transmission of both viruses, by increasing influenza virus survival in aerosols, and increasing influenza and RSV survival on surfaces. In contrast, the hot, wet conditions of tropical rainy seasons appear to discourage aerosol transmission of influenza, by reducing the amount of influenza virus that is aerosolized, and probably also by reducing influenza survival in aerosol. The wet conditions of tropical rainy seasons may, however, encourage contact transmission of both viruses, by increasing the amount of virus that is deposited on surfaces, and by increasing virus survival in droplets on surfaces. This evidence suggests that the increased incidence of influenza and RSV in tropical rainy seasons may be due to increased contact transmission. This hypothesis is consistent with the observation that tropical rainy seasons appear to encourage the transmission of RSV more than influenza. More research is required to examine the environmental survival of respiratory viruses in the high humidity and temperature of the tropics.
Ultrasound-Guided Low-Dose Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block Reduces the Incidence of Hemidiaphragmatic Paresis

Background and Objectives: Interscalene brachial plexus block is associated with 100% incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis as a result of phrenic nerve block. We examined whether an ultrasound (US)-guided interscalene brachial plexus block performed at the level of root C7 versus a nerve stimulation interscalene brachial plexus block, both using 10 mL of ropivacaine 0.75%, resulted in a lower incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis. Methods: In a prospective randomized controlled trial, 30 patients scheduled for elective shoulder surgery under combined general anesthesia and interscalene brachial plexus block were included. Interscalene brachial plexus block using the same dose was performed using either US or nerve stimulation guidance of ropivacaine for both groups. General anesthesia was standardized. Ventilatory function was assessed using spirometry, and movement of the hemidiaphragm was assessed by US. Results: Two patients in the US group showed complete paresis of the hemidiaphragm, but in the nerve stimulation group, 12 patients showed complete and 2 patients had partial paresis of the hemidiaphragm (13% versus 93%, respectively; P < 0.0001). Ventilatory function (forced expiratory volume at 1 second, forced vital capacity, and peak expiratory flow) was significantly reduced in the nerve stimulation group compared with the US-guided group (P < 0.05). One block failure occurred in the nerve stimulation group compared with none in the US group. No adverse effects occurred in either group. Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block performed at the level of root C7 using 10 mL of ropivacaine 0.75% reduces the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis.
Predictors of trait aggression in bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVES Although aggressive behavior has been associated with bipolar disorder (BD), it has also been linked with developmental factors and disorders frequently found to be comorbid with BD, making it unclear whether or not it represents an underlying biological disturbance intrinsic to bipolar illness. We therefore sought to identify predictors of trait aggression in a sample of adults with BD. METHODS Subjects were 100 bipolar I (n = 73) or II (n = 27) patients consecutively evaluated in the Bipolar Disorders Research Program of the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Payne Whitney Clinic. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID-I) and Cluster B sections of the SCID-II. Mood severity was rated by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Histories of childhood maltreatment were assessed via the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), while trait aggression was measured by the Brown-Goodwin Aggression Scale (BGA). RESULTS In univariate analyses, significant relationships were observed between total BGA scores and CTQ total (r = 0.326, p = 0.001), childhood emotional abuse (r = 0.417, p < 0.001), childhood physical abuse (r = 0.231, p = 0.024), childhood emotional neglect (r = 0.293, p = 0.004), post-traumatic stress disorder (t = -2.843, p = 0.005), substance abuse/dependence (t = -2.914, p = 0.004), antisocial personality disorder (t = -2.722, p = 0.008) and borderline personality disorder (t = -5.680, p < 0.001) as well as current HDRS (r = 0.397, p < 0.001) and YMRS scores (r = 0.371, p < 0.001). Stepwise multiple regression revealed that trait aggression was significantly associated with: (i) diagnoses of comorbid borderline personality disorder (p < 0.001); (ii) depressive symptoms (p = 0.001); and (iii) manic symptoms (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Comorbid borderline personality disorder and current manic and depressive symptoms each significantly predicted trait aggression in BD, while controlling for confounding factors. The findings have implications for nosologic distinctions between bipolar and borderline personality disorders, and the developmental pathogenesis of comorbid personality disorders as predisposing to aggression in patients with BD.
An Accurate Subpixel Shift Registration inNoisy Image Using a Kernel RegressionMethod

In th is paper, a new accurate subpixel registration for pure shift estimation is proposed. The noise effect, which d isturbs the quality of registration process , is taken into account. The kernel reg ression method which represents the field of nonparametric statistics is used as a tool for the estimat ion process due to its powerful capabilit ies in the field of both denoising and interpolation. The kernel regression depends on studying a local region intensities distribution and gradients. By applying gradient descent method, the global translation parameters can be estimated. Experimental results show that our proposed method can estimate the translation parameters accurately. Furthermore, our method performs well in noisy images.
Une plate-forme pour l"enseignement et le prototypage d"architectures reconfigurables

Labomat 3 est une plate-forme recon gurable développée dans notre laboratoire. Elle est utilisée à la fois pour l'enseignement et pour la recherche. Cette carte est composée d'un microprocesseur connecté à deux circuits FPGA moyen de gamme et est munie d'un système d'exploitation temps réel sur lequel peut tourner une machine virtuelle Java. Labomat 3 est également équipée d'interfaces de communication évoluées (dont Ethernet 10Base-T et TCP/IP). L'association de ces caractéristiques fait de Labomat 3 un outil unique pour l'enseignement. Cet article présente également trois domaines d'applications : conception de systèmes logiques, architecture des ordinateurs et codesign.
CYTOTOXIC TYPING ANTISERA FOR MARROW GRAFTING IN LITTERMATE DOGS

SUMMARY Immunization of dogs with buffy coat cells from unrelated dogs consistently produced cytotoxic antisera which gave strong reactions but were too complex for suitable analysis. Cross immunization of littermate pairs produced cytotoxic antisera only infrequently, and these antisera gave weaker reactions. Four antisera were obtained by sibling immunization. They showed limited specificity as determined by cross absorption studies and typing of canine families. Genetic studies indicated that these antisera recognized independent antigens of dominant inheritance. Testing of lymphocytes from 62 unrelated dogs with these four antisera gave positive reactions with frequencies of 0.55, 0.53, 0.31, and 0.26. In order to evaluate the usefulness of these sera for histocompatibility typing, six litters were typed with the four antisera. A donor was selected from each litter, and an aliquot of marrow was infused into a matched and into a mismatched sibling following 1500r of whole-body irradiation. None of the mismatched recipients lived longer than 14 days. All of the matched recipients lived beyond 40 days, and 4 of the 6 lived more than 100 days. It was concluded that cross immunization of litter mates produced reasonably specific typing sera. These sera were of value in selecting donor-recipient pairs of canine siblings for marrow grafting.
Knocking out IL‐6 by vaccination

Inappropriate expression of IL‐6 plays a role in various inflammatory conditions, degenerative diseases, and cancers. Several model systems have been developed that can specifically block IL‐6‐receptor interactions. Here we present a simple and highly effective approach based on vaccination with a pool of specifically mutated IL‐6 analogues to induce a neutralizing IL‐6 antibody responsein mice. Judged by the ability of the analogues to bind to heterologous anti‐IL‐6 antibodies and cellular IL‐6 receptors the IL‐6 analogues seemed to have a three‐dimensional structure comparable to that of wild‐type IL‐6. Injection of them broke self‐tolerance and induced an immune response to IL‐6, presumably because of the amino acid differences between the analogues and wild‐type IL‐6. This resulted in a long‐lasting anti‐IL‐6 antibody‐mediated IL‐6 deficiency that blocked experimentally induced IL‐6‐mediated pathology.
Alzheimer's disease and coffee: a quantitative review

Abstract Purpose: To estimate the pooled risk of coffee consumption for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Material and methods: We have reviewed all observational studies that evaluated the association between AD risk and coffee consumption. Four studies were identified: two case-control studies and two cohorts. These studies were carried out between 1990 and 2002. Results: There was an obvious protective effect of coffee consumption in the pooled estimate [risk estimate: 0.73 (95% confidence interval: 0.58–0.92)]. However, the homogeneity test was highly significant (p<0.01), indicating heterogeneity across the pooled studies. Pooled analysis applying the random effect model was 0.79 with 95% confidence interval overlapping unity (95% confidence interval: 0.46–1.36). Three studies assessed coffee consumption by interview questionnaire. The risk of AD in coffee consumers versus non-consumers in studies that used interview questionnaire had a pooled risk estimate of 0.70 with 95% confidence interval 0.55–0.90. Conclusion: Although our pooled estimates show that coffee consumption is inversely associated with the risk of AD, the four studies had heterogeneous methodologies and results. Further prospective studies evaluating the association between coffee consumption and AD are strongly needed.
Tunnel Vision Induced by a Foveal Load Manipulation

In a tachistoscopic dual-task study, the foveal load of a primary task was varied, and subjects were required to report the orientation of a simultaneously presented peripheral line that could occur at anyone of six retinal locations (3, 6, or 9 deg from central fixation in either the left or right visual field). Overall peripheral (secondary) task accuracy was significantly superior for subjects given a low foveal load that required naming a letter drawn from a set of two alternatives as compared with the accuracy of subjects who had to choose a foveal response from among six alternatives. Foveal load interacted strongly with retinal eccentricity. Accuracy of peripheral line-orientation discrimination deteriorated much more rapidly with increases in retinal eccentricity for the high-foveal-load group than for the lowfoveal-load group. These results are discussed in terms of a tunnel-vision model.
Myogenic tone and reactivity: definitions based on muscle physiology.

This paper suggests definitions of myogenic tone and reactivity in blood vessels on the basis of general muscle physiology and discusses some aspects of the cellular mechanisms involved. Tone is defined as a sustained state of contraction in a muscle. The word says nothing about the exact cellular events except that it is an active process in the contractile proteins. Myogenic implies that the stimulus for the tone originates in the muscle itself without involving nerves, hormones or specific autacoids. When working with isolated vascular smooth muscle we conclude that it has myogenic tone if we can demonstrate contractile force in standard physiological salt solution without the addition of vasoconstrictor agents or abnormal ion concentrations. Tone can occur in any type of muscle, principally through two different patterns of cellular activity: (1) The individual cells or motor units all contract in a tonic way, either by graded depolarization and contracture or by frequent action potentials and fused tetanus; and (2) the muscle as a whole shows tone as an integrated result of asynchronous phasic contractions in its separate units. These principles are discussed below in relation to vascular tone in various parts of the circulation. Myogenic reactivity in a blood vessel is defined as the ability of the vascular smooth muscle to contract in response to stretch or to an increase in transmural pressure. Many different components of the cellular machinery of the smooth muscle may respond to the applied force but the present discussion is concerned with excitation of the cell membrane by stretch (mechano-electrical coupling). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Surface hydrophobicity of plasmid‐carrying virulent Shigella flexneri and their avirulent variants

Five pairs of strains of S. flexneri each differing in the colour of their colonies after growth on Congo red agar have been tested for their ability to cause keratoconjunctivitis in the guinea pig eye, for the presence of the 140 Md virulence plasmid, for the presence of the virulence marker antigen, and for their ability to adsorb to hydrophobic surfaces (cellulose nitrate filters and Phenyl Sepharose). The results suggest that the presence of the 140 Md virulence plasmid provides the bacterial surface with a rather high degree of hydrophobicity; exceptions have been found.