Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Susceptibility of Young Adult and Old Rats to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

This study was designed to test whether old rats show signs of presbyacusis and whether they would be either similarly or more or less susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than young adult rats. Old (24 months) and young adult (3–4 months) Wistar rats were exposed to a broad-band noise of 113 dB SPL for a duration of 1 h (producing temporary threshold shifts) or 3 days (12 h noise/12 h quiet; permanent shifts). Auditory brainstem response (ABR), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were measured before and after exposure. At the initial recording (before exposure), old rats demonstrated a small mean ABR threshold elevation, a reduction in amplitude of wave I (WI), a shortening of WI latency and a prolongation of the interpeak interval between WI and WIV, as compared to the young rats. The old rats also demonstrated a small DPOAE amplitude reduction and a reduction of peak-to-peak amplitude in the TEOAE response 2 ms after stimulus, but no reduction in TEOAE energy content between 2 and 4 kHz. These are signs of presbyacusis in the old rats. The noise exposures caused elevations in ABR threshold and reductions in DPOAE amplitude and TEOAE energy content that were similar in both the old and young rats. Their recovery from the noise-induced loss was also similar. Thus, the results of this study show that old and young adult rats, at least when considering clinically relevant intensities and durations of noise exposure, are equally susceptible to the effects of the exposure.
Induction of lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor by oxidized LDL and lysophosphatidylcholine in cultured endothelial cells.

A functional change in the endothelium induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein (OxLDL) and its lipid-constituent, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), has been implicated in atherogenesis. Recently, we have cloned lectin-like OxLDL receptor (LOX-1) from bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAE). It is the major binding protein for OxLDL on the surface of BAE and is expressed in atheromatous intima of the human carotid artery as well as in intima of normal bovine aorta. In the present study, we found that OxLDL induced the expression of LOX-1 in BAE. OxLDL upregulated the level of mRNA and protein for LOX-1 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This induction was blocked by anti-LOX-1 antibody. OxLDL also increased the activity for taking up OxLDL in BAE. Similarly, a major constituent of OxLDL, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), induced expression of LOX-1 in mRNA, protein and activity level, suggesting the OxLDL induced expression of LOX-1, at least in part, mediated by LPC. Since LPC did not significantly change the half-life of LOX-1 mRNA, the upregulation seemed to occur at the transcriptional level. These results suggest that LOX-1 is upregulated by the uptake of OxLDL through LOX-1 in atheromatous tissues in vivo, which would further enhance the uptake and endothelial activation and dysfunction.
Mechanism of human MxA protein action: variants with changed antiviral properties.

Cells respond to treatment with interferons by synthesizing several induced proteins, including one or more structurally related proteins collectively called Mx. Nuclear and cytoplasmic forms of Mx have been described, some of which inhibit virus replication. Human MxA is a cytoplasmic protein that specifically inhibits the multiplication of influenza virus and vesicular stomatitis virus. Here, we describe a mutant MxA protein, MxA(R645), which inhibited influenza virus but was inactive against vesicular stomatitis virus. It differs from wild‐type MxA by a Glu to Arg substitution near the carboxy terminus. Like wild‐type MxA, and as expected for an Mx protein acting in the cytoplasm, MxA(R645) blocked influenza virus at a step after primary transcription. When moved to the nucleus of transfected cells with the help of a foreign nuclear transport signal, its mode of action changed. Like mouse Mx1, nuclear MxA(R645) interfered with primary transcription of influenza virus, which is a nuclear process. Our results thus define an MxA region that determines antiviral specificity and further demonstrate that nuclear forms of MxA can mimic the action of mouse Mx1 whose natural location is the cell nucleus.
Interleukin‐4 inhibits χ light chain expression and NFχB activation but not IχBα degradation in 70Z/3 murine pre‐B cells

The murine pre‐B cell line 70Z/3 responds to lipopolysaccharide by upregulating the surface expression of kappa (χ) light chain through activation of the transcription factor NFχB. Interleukin‐4 (IL‐4), a T cell cytokine, is a known inhibitor of some LPS‐mediated events. We investigated whether IL‐4 could inhibit the up‐regulation of χ light chain and activation of NFχB by LPS in 70Z/3. IL‐4 partially inhibited both the LPS‐induced expression of χ light chain and also the activation of NFχB as judged by an NFχB reporter gene assay. Additionally, electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed this effect on LPS‐induced NFχB DNA binding activity in the nucleus. Surprisingly, proteolytic degradation of IχBα (MAD3), a prerequisite for NFχB activation, was unaffected by IL‐4, implying that this cytokine inhibits some subsequent undefined event in the activation of NFχB. IL‐4 was also found partially to inhibit NFχB activity induced by tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐1‐beta (IL‐1β). These results indicate that there may be a common mechanism for the well‐documented anti‐inflammatory effects of IL‐4 and that this mechanism involves the transcription factor NFχB.
Estimating post-traumatic stress disorder in the community: lifetime perspective and the impact of typical traumatic events – Corrigendum

There was an error in the first sentence of the ‘Data analysis ’ section on page 891, in the paper by Breslau et al. (2004), for which the authors apologize. It was stated that ‘each random event was weighted by the inverse of the number of events reported’, which was not the case. The correct version of the sentence is given below: In addition to the standard population survey weights, described above, each random event was weighted by the number of events reported by the respondent, to adjust for variation in the selection probabilities of events due to differences in number of events across respondents.
Stress-induced phase transition in ferroelectric domain walls of BaTiO3

The seminal paper by Zhirnov (1958 Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 35 1175–80) explained why the structure of domain walls in ferroelectrics and ferromagnets is drastically different. Here we show that the antiparallel ferroelectric walls in rhombohedral ferroelectric BaTiO3 can be switched between the Ising-like state (typical for ferroelectrics) and a Bloch-like state (unusual for ferroelectric walls but typical for magnetic ones). Phase-field simulations using a Ginzburg–Landau–Devonshire model suggest that this symmetry-breaking transition can be induced by a compressive epitaxial stress. The strain-tunable chiral properties of these domain walls promise a range of novel phenomena in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films.
Extensive clinical experience: nonclassical 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

CONTEXT Nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) owing to steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency (NC21OHD) is the most frequent of all autosomal recessive genetic diseases, occurring in one in 100 persons in the heterogeneous New York City population. NC21OHD occurs with increased frequency in certain ethnic groups, such as Ashkenazi Jews, in whom one in 27 express the disease. NC21OHD is underdiagnosed in both male and female patients with hyperandrogenic symptoms because hormonal abnormalities in NC21OHD are only mild to moderate, not severe as in the classical form of CAH. Unlike classical CAH, NC21OHD is not associated with ambiguous genitalia of the newborn female. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The hyperandrogenic symptoms include advanced bone age, early pubic hair, precocious puberty, tall stature, and early arrest of growth in children; infertility, cystic acne, and short stature in both adult males and females; hirsutism, frontal balding, polycystic ovaries, and irregular menstrual periods in females; and testicular adrenal rest tissue in males. CONCLUSIONS The signs and symptoms of hyperandrogenism are reversed with dexamethasone treatment.
Plesiomonas shigelloides Revisited

SUMMARY After many years in the family Vibrionaceae, the genus Plesiomonas, represented by a single species, P. shigelloides, currently resides in the family Enterobacteriaceae, although its most appropriate phylogenetic position may yet to be determined. Common environmental reservoirs for plesiomonads include freshwater ecosystems and estuaries and inhabitants of these aquatic environs. Long suspected as being an etiologic agent of bacterial gastroenteritis, convincing evidence supporting this conclusion has accumulated over the past 2 decades in the form of a series of foodborne outbreaks solely or partially attributable to P. shigelloides. The prevalence of P. shigelloides enteritis varies considerably, with higher rates reported from Southeast Asia and Africa and lower numbers from North America and Europe. Reasons for these differences may include hygiene conditions, dietary habits, regional occupations, or other unknown factors. Other human illnesses caused by P. shigelloides include septicemia and central nervous system disease, eye infections, and a variety of miscellaneous ailments. For years, recognizable virulence factors potentially associated with P. shigelloides pathogenicity were lacking; however, several good candidates now have been reported, including a cytotoxic hemolysin, iron acquisition systems, and lipopolysaccharide. While P. shigelloides is easy to identify biochemically, it is often overlooked in stool samples due to its smaller colony size or relatively low prevalence in gastrointestinal samples. However, one FDA-approved PCR-based culture-independent diagnostic test system to detect multiple enteropathogens (FilmArray) includes P. shigelloides on its panel. Plesiomonads produce β-lactamases but are typically susceptible to many first-line antimicrobial agents, including quinolones and carbapenems.
The fate of gonococci in polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

Summary The fate of three freshly isolated strains of N. gonorrhoeae following phagocytosis by human or guinea-pig polymorphs was studied in vitro. Less than 1 per cent. of gonococci phagocytosed by the guinea-pig cells survived at 100 min., but some 20 per cent. of gonococci associated with the human polymorphs were not killed even after 3 hr. The persisting gonococci were destroyed when the polymorphs were exposed to penicillin and this indicates that the surviving bacteria lay outside the polymorph membrane. Cationic proteins prepared by fractional ethanol precipitation of acid extracts of the granules from human and guinea-pig polymorphs rapidly destroyed gonococci in vitro and, presumably, are partly responsible for the ability of polymorphs to kill gonococci. Although these findings require confirmation in studies with gonococci grown in vivo, they strongly suggest that man's susceptibility to gonorrhoea is not explained simply by the survival of gonococci in polymorphs.
Regulatory Constraints to Agricultural Productivity

The economic thinking around the role of agriculture for development has evolved since the 1950s. Over the past decades, the agriculture sector has been rediscovered as a sector with great potential for triggering growth, reducing poverty and inequality, providing food security, and delivering environmental services. This paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of agricultural development by investigating the role played by laws and regulations. First, the paper proposes new measures of regulatory quality and regulatory efficiency in agriculture. Second, the paper employs cross-section data to test the relationship of the proposed measures with agricultural performance. The results indicate that agricultural productivity is on average higher where transaction costs imposed by regulations are lower and where countries adhere to more regulatory good practices. This relationship is stronger when low transaction costs and regulatory good practices are combined.
THAW: tangible interaction with see-through augmentation for smartphones on computer screens

In this paper, we present a novel interaction system that allows a collocated large display and small handheld devices to seamlessly work together. The smartphone acts both as a physical interface and as an additional graphics layer for near-surface interaction on a computer screen. Our system enables accurate position tracking of a smartphone placed on or over any screen by displaying a 2D color pattern that is captured using the smartphone's back-facing camera. The proposed technique can be implemented on existing devices without the need for additional hardware.
ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation-executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines (Writing Committ

Patients With Atrial Fibrillation—Executive Summary A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2001 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation) Developed in Collaboration With the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Rhythm Society
Modélisation 3D d'objets par un capteur visuel déplacé par un opérateur. (3D Modeling of objects from a visual sensor moved by an operator)

Nous evoquons dans cet article, la problematique de la modelisation 3D d'un objet par un capteur visuel deplace manuellement par un operateur. L'objet est pose sur un plan : l'operateur deplace le capteur sur une demi-sphere centree sur l'objet. Plusieurs fonctions doivent etre developpees pour construire un modele par ce procede : acquisitions 2D et 3D, estimation des deplacements du capteur a partir des points suivis dans la sequence d'images 2D et recalage des donnees 3D acquises en chaque point-devue 3D, contruction du maillage et placage de texture. Cet article focalise sur le lien suivi-recalage lorsque le capteur est deplace en continu, avec deux approches, recalages par ICP ou SLAM.
Acute Exercise Improves Mood and Motivation in Young Men with ADHD Symptoms.

PURPOSE Little is known about whether acute exercise affects signs or symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. This experiment sought to determine the effects of a single bout of moderate-intensity leg cycling exercise on measures of attention, hyperactivity, mood, and motivation to complete mental work in adult men reporting elevated ADHD symptoms. METHODS A repeated-measures crossover experiment was conducted with 32 adult men (18-33 yr) with symptoms consistent with adult ADHD assessed by the Adult Self-Report Scale V1.1. Measures of attention (continuous performance task and Bakan vigilance task), motivation to perform the mental work (visual analog scale), lower leg physical activity (accelerometry), and mood (Profile of Mood States and Addiction Research Center Inventory amphetamine scale) were measured before and twice after a 20-min seated rest control or exercise condition involving cycling at 65% V˙O2peak. Condition (exercise vs rest) × time (baseline, post 1, and post 2) ANOVA was used to test the hypothesized exercise-induced improvements in all outcomes. RESULTS Statistically significant condition-time interactions were observed for vigor (P < 0.001), amphetamine (P < 0.001), motivation (P = 0.027), and Profile of Mood States depression (P = 0.027), fatigue (P = 0.030), and confusion (P = 0.046) scales. No significant interaction effects were observed for leg hyperactivity, simple reaction time, or vigilance task performance (accuracy, errors, or reaction time). CONCLUSION In young men reporting elevated symptoms of ADHD, a 20-min bout of moderate-intensity cycle exercise transiently enhances motivation for cognitive tasks, increases feelings of energy, and reduces feelings of confusion, fatigue, and depression, but this has no effect on the behavioral measures of attention or hyperactivity used.
IL-6 Type Cytokine Receptor Complexes: Hexamer, Tetramer or Both?

Abstract The typical protein fold of most cytokines is a bundle of four antiparallel helices. This ‘four-helical bundle fold’ seems to be unique to cytokines and has not been detected in other proteins. Cytokine receptors, however, can be classified as a subfamily of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Cytokines using the same receptor subunits are grouped into cytokine families. The interleukin-6 (IL-6) type cytokine family comprises six members. IL-6 type cytokines may interact with three receptor subunits instead of the usual two subunits. A tetramer would be the simplest model to describe such a receptor complex, but present orthodoxy describes the active complexes of IL-6 and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) as hexamers. Here, we summarize the structural and biochemical information on IL-6 type cytokines and discuss interactions between cytokine and individual receptor subunits at alternative positions. Contradictory results regarding the stoichiometry and assembly of signaling receptor complexes are rationalized by a new, unique model. The model stipulates that a ligand-induced transition from an active tetrameric to an inactive hexameric complex serves as a molecular switch that turns off cytokine signals in the presence of supraoptimal cytokine concentrations.
Predicting mortality in intensive care unit patients with stroke.

Dr. Rordorf and colleagues (1) correlated the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score with the mortality among patients with ischemic strokes admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Although the APACHE score is among the most widely used predictive indices in intensive care medicine, it has been little used by neurosurgeons and neurologists. Neurosurgeons rely on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to stratify their patients into prognostic groups, whereas neurologists prefer to localize the site and extent of brain injury, the severity of the clinical deficits, the depth of coma, and the irreversibility of brain damage in assessing prognosis. In acute stroke management, neurologists have focused on the need to establish and apply rating scales that predict intermediate and long term neurologic outcome; little attention is given to variables that predict mortality in the intensive care setting.
Title Energy and economic implications of anaerobic digestionpasteurisation regulations in Ireland

The use of anaerobic digestion for the treatment of organic wastes is spreading throughout Europe. A number of restrictions on organic wastes which can be treated in anaerobic digestion facilities and the subsequent handling of the digested material are specified in European legislation. Regulation 1774/2002/EC as amended states that after reduction the material must be heated to either 70 °C or 90 °C for a minimum of 60 min. An alternative Irish national standard of 60 °C for 48 h twice has been introduced in place of the EU standard. Anaerobic digestion systems are successful only if they produce a significant energy output. The aim of this research was therefore to examine both the EU and Irish national standards as well as a number of alternative treatment scenarios to determine their respective pasteurisation efficiency and energetic requirement. Post-digestion pasteurisation above 60 °C was found to satisfactorily remove all viable E. coli bacteria from the test feedstock. It was determined that the most energy and economically efficient heat treatments were 60 °C for 1 h, 70 °C for 1 h (EU standard), and 80 °C for 30 min. The Irish national standard was found to be prohibitively energy inefficient and expensive.
Steady‐state pharmacokinetics of indinavir in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma among adults with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection

To characterize steady‐state indinavir pharmacokinetics in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma, 8 adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus underwent intensive cerebrospinal fluid sampling while receiving indinavir (800 mg every 8 hours) plus nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Nine and 11 serial cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples, respectively, were obtained from each subject. Free indinavir accounted for 94.3% of the drug in cerebrospinal fluid and 41.7% in plasma. Mean values of cerebrospinal fluid peak concentration, concentration at 8 hours, and area under the concentration‐time profile calculated over the interval 0 to 8 hours [AUC(0‐8)] for free indinavir were 294 nmol/L, 122 nmol/L, and 1616 nmol/L · h, respectively. The cerebrospinal fluid‐to‐plasma AUC(0‐8) ratio for free indinavir was 14.7% ± 2.6% and did not correlate with indexes of blood‐brain barrier integrity or intrathecal immune activation. Indinavir achieves levels in cerebrospinal fluid that should contribute to control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in this compartment. The cerebrospinal fluid‐to‐plasma AUC(0‐8) ratio suggests clearance mechanisms in addition to passive diffusion across the blood‐cerebrospinal fluid barrier, perhaps by P‐glycoprotein–mediated efflux. (Clin Pharmacol Ther 2000;68:367‐74.)
Recycling and incineration, contradiction or coexistence?

Many times when discussing the implementation and optimisation of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in countries and regions all over the world, one faces arguments like ‘the proposed technological and organisational solutions are too expensive’, or ‘incineration of waste kills recycling and is detrimental to the human health’, and so on. These arguments reflect a black-and-white thinking and a partial view of the situation, and overlook technological advances during the last decades, as well as the globalisation of waste management and its changing role in becoming a resource-supplying sector.
Geranylgeranylacetone induces heat shock proteins in cultured guinea pig gastric mucosal cells and rat gastric mucosa.

BACKGROUND & AIMS An antiulcer drug, geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), rapidly induces resistance of gastric mucosal cells to irritants in vivo and in vitro. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of this action. METHODS Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were detected by immunoblotting with antibody against HSP90, HSP70, heat shock cognate protein 70, or HSP60. HSP70 messenger RNA level was measured by Northern hybridization with an HSP70 complementary DNA probe. Activation of the heat shock factor was detected by gel mobility shift assay with the heat shock element oligonucleotide. RESULTS GGA induced resistance of cultured guinea pig gastric mucosal cells against ethanol-induced exfoliation and damage within 30 minutes, proportionally to the induction of the HSPs. This protection was blocked by cycloheximide but not by indomethacin. GGA caused rapid activation of heat shock factor 1 and expression of HSP70 messenger RNA in the cells. Intragastric administration of GGA to rats induced HSPs in gastric mucosa. The administration of GGA additionally enhanced the heat shock response and reduced ulcer formation in rats subjected to restraint and water-immersion stress. CONCLUSIONS GGA may induce transcriptional activation of HSP genes, and this novel action may increase gastric mucosal defense at conditions of stress.