Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross‐trait familial resemblance for resting blood pressure and body composition and fat distribution: The HERITAGE family study

Cross‐trait familial resemblance between resting blood pressure (BP) and body composition and fat distribution was examined in 98 Caucasian families participating in the HERITAGE Family Study by using a multivariate familial correlation model assessing both intraindividual and interindividual cross‐trait correlations. The 520 family members were sedentary at baseline examination, and both resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP were cross‐analyzed with each of the following 10 indications of body composition and fat distribution: percent body fat (%BF), abdominal visceral fat (AVF), body mass index (BMI), fat‐free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), sum of eight skinfolds (SF), total abdominal fat (TAF), ratio of trunk‐to‐extremity skinfolds (TER), waist circumference (WAIST), ratio of waist‐to‐hip circumferences (WHR). Five of the variables were also corrected for fat mass (AVFf, TAFf, TERf, WAISTf, WHRf) to index these measures independent of total degree of adiposity. In general, the results suggested strictly intraindividual cross‐trait resemblance, with occasional spouse cross‐trait resemblance, but few or no sibling or parent–offspring cross‐trait correlations. This pattern is largely consistent with nongenetic specific environmental determinants for the BP–body composition and fat distribution covariation, with possibly some common environmental influence between spouses and negligible genetic effects. The only findings suggesting any familial cross‐trait resemblance were significant sibling correlations for DBP‐FFM and DBP‐WHR, although the parent–offspring correlation was not significant. These findings suggest that the observed BP–body composition and fat distribution cross‐trait correlations in these sedentary families are probably not due to multifactorial effects such as polygenic and/or common familial environmental effects. Whether or not other factors such as nonadditive effects are involved warrants further investigation using other methods. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:32–41, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bipolar depression: clinically missed, pharmacologically mismanaged

Bipolar affective disorders are common and frequently debilitating mental illnesses. Diagnostic criteria mean they are defined by the presence of pathological mood elevation, but research shows greater disease burden is inflicted by depressive phases (bipolar depression) both in terms of duration and impact of symptoms. Despite this there is consistent evidence for the underdiagnosis of bipolar depression and its misdiagnosis as a unipolar disorder, with significant subsequent impact on medication management. There is currently less robust evidence for the appropriate pharmacological approach in such individuals than in unipolar depression, and fewer guidelines for clinicians. Despite this there is clear and growing evidence that ‘treatment as usual’ of depressive symptomatology is ineffective at best, harmful at worst, and that there is little role for the use of antidepressants. Both mood stabilizers and antipsychotics demonstrate efficacy, and whilst there are emerging data on intraclass differences, more research is needed, particularly concerning bipolar II disorder. Present treatment strategies are limited by insufficient large randomized control trials, an inadequate understanding of the neuropathology of bipolar illnesses and a lack of tailored medications. Better clinical training, understanding and recognition of this common condition are essential.
Uncorrelated changes of subunit stability can generate length-dependent disassembly of treadmilling filaments

Unregulated polymer assembly typically leads to exponential length distributions. In living cells, though, the length distribution of cytoskeletal filaments often shows a sharp maximum at a finite value. We discuss a simple mechanism for length regulation that is based on generating an effectively length-dependent disassembly rate by locally acting cytoskeletal proteins. We analyze steady-state distributions by stochastic simulations and develop a method to analytically characterize the typical filament length. We find three different types of behavior: (1) unbounded filament growth, (2) exponential distributions and (3) unimodal distributions, which can be very sharp with a standard deviation much smaller than the mean filament length. We discuss possible implications of our results for subcellular processes.
A neutralizing VEGF antibody prevents glomerular hypertrophy in a model of obese type 2 diabetes, the Zucker diabetic fatty rat.

BACKGROUND Antagonism of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has improved the outcome in experimental nephropathies of various origins, including diabetic nephropathy in a type 1 diabetic rat model and a type 2 diabetic mouse model. Neutralizing VEGF antibodies prevented glomerular hypertrophy in these models. We examined the renal effects of VEGF blockade in an obese rat model of type 2 diabetic nephropathy and investigated the mechanism underlying the inhibition of glomerular hypertrophy. METHODS Twenty female Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, fed a high-fat diet and aged 10 weeks, were treated with VEGF antibodies or an irrelevant isotype-matched IgG. Ten heterozygous (fa/+) littermates served as additional non-diabetic, lean controls. Urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and creatinine clearance (CrCl) were assessed at baseline, and at 3 and 5 weeks. Kidney weight and glomerular volume were determined at the end of the study. Glomerular apoptosis was examined with anti-active caspase-3 immunohistochemistry. RESULTS All obese animals had established diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and normal blood pressure, which were not influenced by VEGF antibody treatment. ZDF control rats had increased UAE, CrCl, kidney weights and glomerular volumes compared with non-diabetic, lean control rats. VEGF antibody treatment prevented the glomerular hypertrophy, but did not affect UAE, CrCl and kidney weight. Glomerular anti-active caspase-3 immunostaining was not different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS Inhibition of VEGF prevented early glomerular hypertrophy in ZDF rats with established diabetes. Increased apoptosis of glomerular endothelial cells does not appear to underly the inhibition of glomerular growth.
Efficient and simple production of transgenic mice and rabbits using the new DMSO‐sperm mediated exogenous DNA transfer method

A high efficient and simple transgenic technology on mice and rabbits to transfect spermatozoa with exogenous DNA/DMSO complex to obtain transgenic offspring, which is namely called DMSO‐sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT). Mouse sperm could be either directly transfected via injection into testis or cultured in vitro with the plasmed DNA containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) that could be expressed in the embryos and offspring. Then, 36 living transgenic rabbits were produced using the same technology, and the transgenic ratio of 56.3% was detected using PCR and Southern blot. As the controls, the transgenic ratios of 39.6% and 47.8% have also been tested using the liposomes mediated technology of Tfx™‐50 Reagent or Lipefectamin™‐2000, respectively. The results show that the female transgenic rabbits, as the mammary gland bioreactor models, could express the human tissue plasminogen activator mutant (htPAm) in their mammary cells when they are adult. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Global motion estimation from semi-dynamic video using motion sensors

Global motion estimation (GME) techniques have been developed and usually applied on video where motion takes place often. Although these methods produce accurate results where frequent motion occurs, they turn out to be inefficient if motion is not so often in the video, as in semi-dynamic video. In this paper, we propose motion sensors that indicate the existence of motion and yield a quick approximation to the motion when motion exists thus removing the computations of the hierarchical evaluation of low-pass filtered images as in iterative descent methods.
SNLS3: CONSTRAINTS ON DARK ENERGY COMBINING THE SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY THREE-YEAR DATA WITH OTHER PROBES

We present observational constraints on the nature of dark energy using the Supernova Legacy Survey three-year sample (SNLS3) of Guy et al. and Conley et al. We use the 472 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in this sample, accounting for recently discovered correlations between SN Ia luminosity and host galaxy properties, and include the effects of all identified systematic uncertainties directly in the cosmological fits. Combining the SNLS3 data with the full WMAP7 power spectrum, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red galaxy power spectrum, and a prior on the Hubble constant H0 from SHOES, in a flat universe we find Ωm = 0.269 ± 0.015 and w = −1.061+0.069− 0.068 (where the uncertainties include all statistical and SN Ia systematic errors)—a 6.5% measure of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w. The statistical and systematic uncertainties are approximately equal, with the systematic uncertainties dominated by the photometric calibration of the SN Ia fluxes—without these calibration effects, systematics contribute only a ∼2% error in w. When relaxing the assumption of flatness, we find Ωm = 0.271 ± 0.015, Ωk = −0.002 ± 0.006, and w = −1.069+0.091− 0.092. Parameterizing the time evolution of w as w(a) = w0 + wa(1 − a) gives w0 = −0.905 ± 0.196, wa = −0.984+1.094− 1.097 in a flat universe. All of our results are consistent with a flat, w = −1 universe. The size of the SNLS3 sample allows various tests to be performed with the SNe segregated according to their light curve and host galaxy properties. We find that the cosmological constraints derived from these different subsamples are consistent. There is evidence that the coefficient, β, relating SN Ia luminosity and color, varies with host parameters at >4σ significance (in addition to the known SN luminosity–host relation); however, this has only a small effect on the cosmological results and is currently a subdominant systematic.
A Review of the Mechanisms of Faecal Coliform Removal from Algal and Duckweed Waste Stabilization Pond Systems

The use of eco-technologies for wastewater treatment such as algal and duckweed-based pond systems is becoming popular in developing countries owing to its affordability and efficiency of pathogen removal in warm climates. The pathogen removal mechanisms of these treatment systems however is still not clearly understood and existing knowledge is also scattered in journals and books of different disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise review of knowledge acquired in recent times on faecal coliform removal mechanisms in algal and duckweed ponds in a comparative way while identifying knowledge gaps that still exist. This review pays particular attention to little known removal mechanisms such as the role of algal biomass, attachment and sedimentation of faecal coliforms and the role of predation by macro-invertebrates and protozoans. Recent experiments showed that algal ponds, in comparison with duckweed ponds, are more efficient in faecal coliform removal due to the high pH and oxygenation that occur in the former and the rate of inactivation of faecal coliforms increases with increased algal biomass till a certain optimum concentration after which it decreases. This optimal algal concentration for maximum destruction of faecal coliforms can be affected by the quality and strength of the wastewater. Algae also appeared to have a destructive effect on faecal coliforms even in darkness, a phenomenon that may be the effect of toxic substances from the algae. Results also show that the role of invertebrates, particularly macro-invertebrates may be more important in duckweed pond systems. Removal of faecal coliforms through attachment and sedimentation in both duckweed and algal ponds appear to be dependent largely on concentrations of faecal coliforms present and to some extent on suspended plant and particulate matter concentrations. Wide variations in removal efficiencies were however observed. We conclude that the wide variations in removal efficiencies can be addressed by standardizing operating conditions of treatment systems. Further work is necessary to identify the substances produced by algae which appeared to be toxic to faecal coliforms as well as establishing the relative importance of predation by protozoans and macro-invertebrates in the removal of faecal coliforms.
Research of predictive maintenance for deteriorating system based on semi-markov process

The paper proposes a predictive maintenance model for the deteriorating system with semi-Markov process, and presents a method to determine the best inspection and maintenance policy together. Furthermore, the phase-type (PH) algorithm is put forward to measure the transition probability matrix analytical tractability. The results of numerical simulation show that the model and algorithm are effective in improving maximal availability while optimizing the inspection rate. And it is also found that when the deterioration is the same at each failure stage, the optimal policy obtained by semi-Markov decision process with the phase-type approach (PSMDP) is a dynamic threshold scheme whose threshold value relates to the inspection rate.
Abdominal surgery, pain and anxiety: preoperative nursing intervention.

AIM This paper reports a study examining the effects of preoperative nursing intervention for pain on abdominal surgery preoperative anxiety and attitude to pain, and postoperative pain. METHOD In a randomized controlled study conducted between January and August 2001, patients undergoing abdominal surgery in a medical center in southern Taiwan were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 32) or control group (n = 30). The experimental group received routine care and preoperative nursing intervention for pain, while the control group received routine care only. A structured questionnaire including an anxiety scale, pain attitude scale, and Brief Pain Inventory was used to assess the results. RESULTS Participants in the experimental group experienced a significant decrease in preoperative anxiety and a significant improvement in preoperative pain attitude. They also had statistically significantly lower postoperative pain intensity for 4 hours after surgery and lower highest pain intensity within the first 24 hours after surgery. Perceived pain interference during position changes, deep breathing/coughing, and moments of emotion in the experimental group was statistically significantly lower than that of the control group in the same situations. The experimental group also started out-of-bed activities 1.5 days earlier. CONCLUSION Preoperative nursing intervention for pain has positive effects for patients undergoing abdominal surgery. The intervention used in this study could serve as a guide for nurses to improve the pain care of these patients.
Pure alexia could not be a disconnection syndrome

Alexia without agraphia (pure alexia) is considered one of the classic disconnection syndromes. Patients are unable to recognize visual letter or word symbols, but retain the ability to write and often have right homonymous hemianopia.1 Pure alexia without a visual defect is a rare variant.1-3 Few reports show pathologic verification of the correlation of the lesions location or clinical-neuroimaging. We describe a patient with pure alexia without hemianopia as the first published example caused by a spontaneous hematoma involving extrastriate visual cortex of the left occipital lobe, demonstrated on MRI and single-photon emission computed tomography(SPECT). Case report. A 40-year-old right-handed man with a history of minimal change glomerulonephritis and long-standing hypertension was otherwise well until the day of admission, when he had an acute occipital headache and inability to read. Aside from a blood pressure of 150/95 mm Hg, the general examination on admission was unremarkable. Neurologic examination revealed him to be oriented clearly and alert with fluent speech. He could name, repeat, and comprehend appropriately. He was able to write …
Unified psychology.

The authors describe an approach to psychology they refer to as unified psychology, which is the multiparadigmatic, multidisciplinary, and integrated study of psychological phenomena through converging operations. In this article, they unpack this definition and explore some of its implications. First, they review some previous efforts to conceive of a unified psychology and consider objections to such an undertaking. Second, they discuss the importance of converging operations for psychology. Third, they consider the need for multidisciplinary and integrated study of psychological phenomena that focuses on the phenomena rather than on particular lines of disciplinary inquiry. Fourth, they ponder the problem of investigators' becoming locked into a single paradigm with its attendant set of presuppositions about psychological theory and research. Fifth, they outline some possible objections to their proposal and respond to them. Finally, they discuss some implications of their views.
Genetic aspects of preadolescent schizophrenia.

The investigative data available at this time may be summarized as follows: 1. In comparing the family backgrounds of preadolescent schizophrenia case (52 twins and 50 singletons under age 15) with those of a comparable adult sample (691 twin index cases), no significant inter-group differences have been found either with respect to twin concordance rates or with respect to the schizophrenia rates for the parents (12.5% and 9.2%) and sibs (12.2%) and 14.3%) of the index cases. Fathers and mothers contribute equally to the parental schizophrenia rate, while two-egg and one-egg co-twins of schizophrenic index cases differ as much in concordance for preadolescent schizophrenia (17.1% and 70.6%) as they do with regard to adult schizophrenia (14.7% and 85.8%) . These findings indicate an early effect in childhood schizophrenia of the same genotype (gene-specific deficiency state) assumed to be responsible for the basic symptoms of adult schizophrenia. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the ps.
bHLH Transcription Factor Olig1 Is Required to Repair Demyelinated Lesions in the CNS

Olig1 and Olig2 are closely related basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors that are expressed in myelinating oligodendrocytes and their progenitor cells in the developing central nervous system (CNS). Olig2 is necessary for the specification of oligodendrocytes, but the biological functions of Olig1 during oligodendrocyte lineage development are poorly understood. We show here that Olig1 function in mice is required not to develop the brain but to repair it. Specifically, we demonstrate a genetic requirement for Olig1 in repairing the types of lesions that occur in patients with multiple sclerosis.
Wegener’s Granulomatosis Presenting with Bilateral Excavated Nodules

Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG) is a systemic inflammatory disease whose histopathologic features often include necrosis, granuloma formation, and vasculitis of small-to-medium-sized vessels. We report a new case of Wegener’s granulomatosis occurring in a 41-year-old man who was admitted for respiratory symptoms, fever, asthenia, night sweats and weight loss since one month. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed multiple bilateral pulmonary excavated lesions. A trransparietal lung biopsy was performed. Histological examination showed an area of necrosis, surrounded by a palisade of histiocytes. Some of the histiocytes were multinucleated and formed true granulomas within the wall of the adjacent pulmonary artery. Serology was strongly positive for ANCA. A diagnosis of Wegener granulomatosis was conducted and the patient was started on cyclophosphamide and methylprednisolone as an initial treatment, with a favorable evolution.
Maturation of Little Skate and Winter Skate in the Western Atlantic from Cape Hatteras to Georges Bank

Abstract We estimated the length and age of maturation in little skate Leucoraja erinacea and winter skate L. ocellata based on samples of 1,884 little skate and 1,153 winter skate ovaries collected from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Georges Bank. Two levels of maturity were recognized: onset maturity, which marks the onset of the allocation of energy from somatic growth to reproduction; and “functional” maturity, which marks the point when mature oocytes are released. Size at maturation increased with latitude in little skate, 50% onset maturity occurring at 42.5, 43.0, and 46.5 cm (total length) and 50% functional maturity at 43, 44, and 46 cm for the mid-Atlantic, southern New England–Georges Bank, and Gulf of Maine regions, respectively. Based on age estimates from previously published work, the age at which little skate achieve functional maturation ranged between 7.0 and 7.5 years for the U.S. northeast coast. In winter skate, no statistically significant regional differences in maturation rates were found. Size at 50% onset maturity was estimated to be 66 cm and at 50% functional maturity 76 cm for the U.S. northeast coast. In winter skate, onset maturity occurred at 9.5 years and functional maturity at 12.5 years. Thus, functional maturity in this species occurred 3 years after the onset of maturation, indicating that the species has a long adolescence before contributing offspring to the population.
Potential risks associated with lagging strand synthesis in eukaryotes

In eukaryotic cells, DNA replication starts at many origins in each chromosome during S phase of cell cycle. Each origin is activated at different time points in S phase, which takes place once and only once per cell cycle. In yeast and most likely higher eukaryotes, the origin-recognition complex (ORC) and several other initiation factors play a pivotal role in activation and regulation of replication origins. Briefly, the ORC-bound origins are sequentially activated and deactivated along the progression of cell cycle. The prereplicative complex (pre-RC) is formed by loading the replicative helicase MCM complex onto the ORC-bound origins with the aid of Cdc6 and Cdt1. This complex is activated by S-phase cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks) when cells enter S phase. The elevated levels of Cdk activities lead to removal of some initiation proteins such as Cdc6 by proteolysis, allowing the pre-RC to be further activated for subsequent DNA synthesis. The irreversible removal of initiation factors is a major mechanism to ensure DNA to be replicated once and only once per cell cycle. The assembly of replication initiation complex and its activation are well reviewed in many literatures (Sclafani & Holzen, 2007; Remus & Diffley, 2009; Araki, 2010). Activation of origins leads to the establishment of bidirectional replication forks for the DNA synthesis of leading and lagging strands.
Induction of CD8+ T cells using heterologous prime‐boost immunisation strategies

Summary: One of the current challenges in vaccine design is the development of antigen delivery systems or vaccination strategies that induce higb protective levels of CD8+ T cells. These cells are crucial for protection against certain tumours and intracellular pathogens such as the liver‐stage parasite of malaria, A liver‐stage malaria vaccine should therefore include CD8+ T‐cell‐inducing components. This review provides an overview of prime‐boost immunisation strategies that result in protective CD8’ T‐cell responses against malaria with an emphasis on work from our laboratory. Possible mechanisms explaining why heterologous prime‐boost strategies, in particular boosting with replication‐impaired recombinant poxviruses, are so effective are discussed.