Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A morphometric study of light-induced damage in transgenic rat models of retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE To determine relative susceptibility to, and regional variation of, light-induced retinal damage in two rhodopsin-mutant rat models of retinitis pigmentosa, using slow- and fast-degenerating lines. METHODS Transgenic S334ter (lines 4 and 9) and P23H (lines 2 and 3) rats were reared in dim cyclic light or darkness and then exposed to intense green light for 1 to 8 hours. Sections along the vertical meridian were collected for retinal morphology and photoreceptor morphometry 2 weeks later. Unexposed transgenic and normal Sprague-Dawley rats served as the control. Mean outer segment lengths and outer nuclear layer thicknesses were analyzed as a function of position along the vertical meridian and as averages across that vector. RESULTS Rapidly degenerating S334ter-4 retinas, reared in dim cyclic light, exhibited no light-induced damage, whereas retinas in the other sublines sustained damage within a sensitive region in the superior hemisphere. Light-induced damage always involved loss of outer segment membrane and photoreceptors. In some cases, the retinal pigment epithelium and inner nuclear layer were also affected. Potentiation of light-induced damage by dark-rearing was increased by at least a factor of three, and in some sublines the sensitive region was enlarged to include the entire vertical meridian. CONCLUSIONS A complex pattern of light-induced damage outcomes was identified in S334ter (sublines 4 and 9) and P23H (sublines 2 and 3) rats. The relative susceptibilities of each subline to damage by light were different, even within the same transgene, but consistent factors included a sensitive region in the superior hemisphere and potentiation by dark-rearing.
Pathology of ovarian cancer precursors

Ninety percent of ovarian cancers in the Western world are epithelial cancers derived from the surface epithelium of the ovary and its inclusion cysts. The so‐called surface epithelium in mesothelium that comes to resemble epithelium as it is reflected over the surfaces of the ovaries. At various ages, but particularly in women in the reproductive, menopausal, and postmenopausal age groups, this epithelium migrates into the ovarian stroma to form inclusion cysts. These cysts probably result from a dynamic interplay of surface epithelium and underlying ovarian stroma, but can also develop as a result of periovarian adhensions. There is abundant evidence that their formation is not related to repair of ovulation. It is generally accepted that benign and malignant ovarian epithelial tumors arise from surface epithelium and its cystic derivatives becasuse they both, but particularly the latter, have a potential to differentiate into epithelia similar to those of normal müllerian derivation (tubal, endometrial, and endocervical epithelia) and their tumors resemble those of the fallopian tube, endometrium, and endocervix. Also, both intraepithelial carcinomas and precarcinomatous lesions can be observed in the surface epithelium and its cystic derivatives. These carcinomas may arise de novo or as a transformation of pre‐existing benign tumors and non‐neoplastic lesions of similar derivation. Surface, epithelial inclusions cysts have a greater propensity to undergo neoplasis than does the surface epithelium itself. This difference has been recognized for many years because most epithelial ovarian tumors are intraparenchymal, rather than being located on the ovarian surface. More recent evidence includes the immunohistochemical demonstration of various carcinoma antingens far more frequently in inclusion cyst epithelium than in surface epithelium; and the much more frequent presence of tubal metaplasis in the cyst epithelium than in the surface epithelium. Tubal metaplasis is encountered in non‐neoplastic ovaries contralateral to ovarian carcinomas two to three times as frequently as in control ovaries, suggesting that the metaplastic epithelium is more prone to the development of carcinoma that non‐metaplastic epithelium. Carcinoma precursors occur in the ovary, as in the carvix and endometrium, but have been reported only rarely because they are easily overlooked and have not been searched for by pathologists.
Self-triggered cooperative path following control of fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Formation control of multi-robot system may involve extensive inter-robot information exchange. This paper proposes a methodology to reduce the frequency of information exchange in a formation control problem through the use of a self-triggered control strategy for cooperative path following (CPF) problems. In particular, a decentralized, self-triggered CPF controller is developed for fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, where the vehicles are tasked to follow desired geometric paths and keeping a desired formation pattern. Using the Input-to-State Stability framework, we provide guarantees of stability and convergence in the presence of event-based communication. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the efficacy of the developed strategy. It is shown that the self-triggered approach results in significant reduction of information exchange when compared to the conventional time- triggered (periodic) implementation.
Epstein–Barr Virus Modulates Host Cell MicroRNA‐194 to Promote IL‐10 Production and B Lymphoma Cell Survival

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a γ‐herpesvirus that is linked to the development of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in solid organ recipients. We previously demonstrated that EBV+ B cell lymphoma cell lines isolated from patients with PTLD produce human IL‐10 as an autocrine growth factor. However, little is known regarding IL‐10 regulation in B cells. Here we show that EBV infection markedly alters the expression of host B cell microRNA, a class of small noncoding RNA that is an important regulator of transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene expression. Gene arrays reveal unique microRNA profiles in EBV+ B cell lymphoma lines from patients with PTLD, compared to normal B cells or in vitro generated EBV+ lymphoblastoid cell lines. We show that microRNA‐194 expression is uniquely suppressed in EBV+ B cell lines from PTLD patients and that the 3'untranslated region of IL‐10 is targeted by microRNA‐194. Overexpression of microRNA‐194 attenuates IL‐10 production and increases apoptosis of EBV+ B cell lymphoma lines. Together, these data indicate that EBV co‐opts the host B cell microRNA network and specifically suppresses microRNA‐194 to override control of IL‐10 expression. Thus, modulation of microRNA‐194 may constitute a novel approach to inhibiting proliferation of EBV+ B cell lymphomas in PTLD.
Pharmacological Evacuation of the Stomach with Metoclopramide

Children admitted for emergency operations because of trauma run a high risk of chemical aspiration pneumonitis syndrome. Fifty‐eight children admitted for closed reduction of fractures and suturing of wounds were studied in a double‐blind manner in order to see if metoclopramide could be of value in decreasing the risk of aspiration during anaesthesia. Metoclopramide given before anaesthesia proved to enhance gastric evacuation and could thus be of value in these situations. In addition, the study showed that the time from last oral intake until start of anaesthesia is of less importance than the type of trauma in prolonging the gastric emptying time and thus increasing the risk of vomiting and aspiration of vomitus into the lungs during anaesthesia.
Shared antigenicity and immunogenicity of type 4 pilins expressed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Moraxella bovis, Neisseria gonorrhoaea, Dichelobacter nodosus, and Vibrio cholerae

Immunoblotting with polyclonal rabbit antibodies raised against pilins expressed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Moraxella bovis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Dichelobacter nodosus, and Vibrio cholerae was used to demonstrate that these polypeptides display conserved antigenic and, in most cases, immunogenic determinants. These determinants appear to be localized to the highly homologous amino-terminal domains (residues 1 to 25).
Characterization of symmetric M-matrices as resistive inverses

We aim here at characterizing those nonnegative matrices whose inverse is an irreducible Stieltjes matrix. Specifically, we prove that any irreducible Stieltjes matrix is a resistive inverse. To do that we consider the network defined by the off-diagonal entries of the matrix and we identify the matrix with a positive definite Schrodinger operator which ground state is determined by the its lowest eigenvalue and the corresponding positive eigenvector. We also analyze the case in which the operator is positive semidefinite which corresponds to the study of singular irreducible symmetric M-matrices. The key tool is the definition of the effective resistance with respect to a nonnegative value and a weight. We prove that these effective resistances verify similar properties to those satisfied by the standard effective resistances which leads us to carry out an exhaustive analysis of the generalized inverses of singular irreducible symmetric M-matrices. Moreover we pay special attention on those generalized inverses identified with Green operators, which in particular includes the analysis of the Moore-Penrose inverse.
The Conditional Indirect Effect Model of Women's Union Participation: The Moderating Effect of Perceived Union Tolerance for Sexual Harassment

ABSTRACT We tested a theoretically trimmed model of union participation presented by Tetrick, Shore, McClurg, and Vandenberg (2007), in which perceived union instrumentality is expected to influence participation through perceived union support. This testing was accomplished as a precursor to testing a conditional indirect effect model of women's participation—in which perceived union tolerance for sexual harassment was expected to moderate the influence of perceived support on willingness to participate in union activities. In a sample of 326 women from multiple unions, we found support for the conditional model; the influence of perceived instrumentality on willingness to participate through perceived support was moderated by perceived tolerance for harassment; specifically, the influence through perceived support was weak when perceived tolerance was high. The implications of our results are discussed in reference to need support and women's participation.
Fatty acid synthase inhibition with Orlistat promotes apoptosis and reduces cell growth and lymph node metastasis in a mouse melanoma model

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is the enzyme responsible for the endogenous synthesis of the saturated fatty acid palmitate. In contrast to most normal cells, malignant cells depend on FASN activity for growth and survival. In fact, FASN is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers including cutaneous melanoma, in which its levels of expression are associated with a poor prognosis and depth of invasion. Here, we show that the specific inhibition of FASN activity by the antiobesity drug Orlistat or siRNA is able to significantly reduce proliferation and promote apoptosis in the mouse metastatic melanoma cell line B16‐F10. These results prompted us to verify the effect of FASN inhibition on the metastatic process in a model of spontaneous melanoma metastasis, in which B16‐F10 cells injected in the peritoneal cavity of C57BL/6 mice metastasize to the mediastinal lymph nodes. We observed that mice treated with Orlistat 48 hr after the inoculation of B16‐F10 cells exhibited a 52% reduction in the number of mediastinal lymph node metastases, in comparison with the control animals. These results suggest that FASN activity is essential for B16‐F10 melanoma cell proliferation and survival while its inactivation by Orlistat significantly reduces their metastatic spread. The chemical inhibition of FASN activity could have a potential benefit in association with the current chemotherapy for melanoma. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Masking with interaurally delayed stimuli: the use of "internal" delays in binaural detection.

Detectability of 500-Hz tones was measured in the presence of broadband masking noise using three types of binaural conditions. In the first, the masker was presented diotically and the tone was interaurally delayed. In the second, the masker was interaurally delayed and the 500-Hz tone was presented either in phase (S0) or out of phase (S pi). In the third, the masker consisted of the sum of two independent noises having interaural delays of equal magnitude and opposite sign. The signal was, once more, presented either in phase (S0) or out of phase (S pi). Comparisons among the data and quantitative analyses assuming the use of compensatory "internal delays" suggested that internal delays are operative and compensate accurately for external delays of up to approximately 750 microseconds. The analyses also indicated that larger internal delays (i.e., up to 2 to 3 ms) are probably also operative. However, performance using such large internal delays appears to be degraded in accord with the hypothesis that their application introduces "noise" in the internal representation of the stimuli.
Treatment of Bipolar Depression: A Survey of Canadian Psychiatrists

Objective This study was conducted to examine how Canadian psychiatrists manage bipolar depression. Method A questionnaire specific to the treatment of bipolar depression was mailed to 1639 active members of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. Results Seven hundred and sixty-six completed questionnaires were returned (46.7%). Most psychiatrists indicated that a combination of psychotherapy and somatic therapy was their preferred approach. For bipolar disorder, depressed, lithium carbonate and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the preferred treatment strategies. For substitution, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were the favoured choice. Lithium carbonate was the preferred choice for augmentation and addition. Conclusion These findings indicate that a combination of psychotherapy and somatic therapy is the preferred treatment approach for bipolar depression. Lithium carbonate and SSRIs are the favoured somatic therapies.
Radioisotopic Imaging of Neuroinflammation

Inflammatory responses are closely associated with many neurologic disorders and influence their outcome. In vivo imaging can document events accompanying neuroinflammation, such as changes in blood flow, vascular permeability, tightness of the blood-to-brain barrier, local metabolic activity, and expression of specific molecular targets. Here, we briefly review current methods for imaging neuroinflammation, with special emphasis on nuclear imaging techniques.
Cytosolic phospholipase A2α inhibition prevents neuronal NMDA receptor‐stimulated arachidonic acid mobilization and prostaglandin production but not subsequent cell death

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes encompass a superfamily of at least 13 extracellular and intracellular esterases that hydrolyze the sn‐2 fatty acyl bonds of phospholipids to yield fatty acids and lysophospholipids. The purpose of this study was to characterize which phospholipase paralog regulates NMDA receptor‐mediated arachidonic acid (AA) release. Using mixed cortical cell cultures containing both neurons and astrocytes, we found that [3H]‐AA released into the extracellular medium following NMDA receptor stimulation (100 μM) increased with time and was completely prevented by the addition of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK‐801 (10 μM) or by removal of extracellular Ca2+. Neither diacylglycerol lipase inhibition (RHC‐80267; 10 μM) nor selective inhibition of Ca2+‐independent PLA2 [bromoenol lactone (BEL); 10 μM] alone had an effect on NMDA receptor‐stimulated release of [3H]‐AA. Release was prevented by methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate (MAFP) (5 μM) and AACOCF3 (1 μM), inhibitors of both cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2) and Ca2+‐independent PLA2 isozymes. This inhibition effectively translated to block of NMDA‐induced prostaglandin (PG) production. An inhibitor of p38MAPK, SB 203580 (7.5 μM), also significantly reduced NMDA‐induced PG production providing suggestive evidence for the role of cPLA2α. Its involvement in release was confirmed using cultures derived from mice deficient in cPLA2α, which failed to produce PGs in response to NMDA receptor stimulation. Interestingly, neither MAFP, AACOCF3 nor cultures derived from cPLA2α null mutant animals showed any protection against NMDA‐mediated neurotoxicity, indicating that inhibition of this enzyme may not be a viable protective strategy in disorders of the cortex involving over‐activation of the NMDA receptor.
Network-aware multicasting for video-on-demand services

In this paper, we propose a network-aware multicast scheme to supply instantaneous VOD (video-on-demand) services. Being different from traditional VOD systems, this system is implemented based on peer-to-peer grid. By taking advantage of the large storage and the powerful processing capability in client-side devices, the user host serves as both a client and a non-dedicated video server. The system capability is enhanced due to the contribution of user hosts. Peer groups are formed as a collection of peers that share similar interest, and workload may be fairly apportioned among autonomous groups. In this VOD system, the adaptive video delivery mainly employs a new dynamic buffering algorithm and an improved video multicast strategy to achieve an optimal utilization of system resources, and the network-aware adaptation makes the system more robust. In cooperating with each other, the relevant servers can supply instantaneous video services for local users.
Experimental Endometriosis

Abstract: Endometriosis is a complex disease that can develop as a consequence of retrograde menstruation, occurring in association with the cyclic loss of endometrial tissue in primates and humans. In addition, progression of disease parallels a woman's exposure to ovarian steroids, rarely occurring prior to menarche and generally resolving following menopause. Because of the cost of developing primate models to study endometriosis, numerous small animal models have been established to approach various elements related to the pathophysiology of this disease. Our laboratory has developed an experimental endometriosis model using nude mice as a xenographic host for human tissues. Our goal is to approach the basic cellular mechanisms of estrogen and progesterone action that link these hormones to the development or prevention of endometriosis. In our initial studies, we have sought to understand steroid‐associated regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) with regard to the development of experimental endometriosis. Using both short‐term organ cultures and nude mice as xenographic hosts of human tissue, we have demonstrated a critical role of progesterone and progesterone‐associated cytokines in preventing the initial establishment of experimental disease. Women with endometriosis appear to lack normal endometrial responsiveness to progesterone, resulting in altered expression of several MMPs and an enhanced ability of these tissues to establish ectopic lesions in nude mice. Developing a better understanding of the impairments in the normal endometrial physiology of women with endometriosis should aid in the development of better treatment or diagnostic strategies.
Prolactin levels in olanzapine treatment correlate with positive symptoms of schizophrenia: results from an open-label, flexible-dose study.

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the treatment effect of olanzapine and the serum prolactin level in schizophrenia and to investigate the factors that may act as predictors of response for olanzapine treatment. METHOD Sixty patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia were included in the study. None of the patients were drug-naive, and they were given olanzapine in a flexible dose of 10-30 mg/day for 3 months after a 7-day drug washout period. Serum prolactin levels were measured at baseline (after drug washout) and at months 1, 2, and 3 during olanzapine treatment. A psychiatrist performed monthly ratings of symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Manual (PANSS Manual). The Generalized Estimating Equations-I was used for data correlation analysis. Data were gathered from July 2005 to July 2006. RESULTS In general, the serum prolactin level was decreased in schizophrenia patients with olanzapine treatment, although the difference is not statistically significant (p = .974, p = .246, and p = .363 for the first, second, and third months, respectively). There was a close relationship between the improvement in positive symptoms and the change in serum prolactin levels before and after olanzapine treatment (p = .002). Moreover, the serum prolactin level also had a positive association with female gender (p = .008). The present study demonstrated no significant correlation between serum prolactin level, MAOA polymorphism, and DRD4 genotype. CONCLUSION This finding suggests that the serum prolactin level may be a useful biological marker to predict the effectiveness of antipsychotics in schizophrenia.
Efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil in adult refractory auto‐immune cytopenias: a single center preliminary study

Abstract: Treatment of auto‐immune cytopenia refractory to front line therapy with intravenous immunoglobulins and steroids is a matter of concern. We assessed the efficacy and safety of mycophenolate mofetil in a prospective open preliminary study. Study design: Adult patients with steroid refractory auto‐immune cytopenias were included. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was added to treatment given at the time of inclusion, and efficacy was evaluated in term of improvement of platelet/haemoglobin levels and in term of reduction of previously given drugs, if any. All auto‐immune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP) patients had serologic assessment for associated auto‐antibodies at the time of inclusion. Cytopenias associated with other auto‐immune diseases, lymphoproliferative diseases or HIV infection were excluded. Results: From November 1999 through November 2003, 13 patients were included (nine AITP, three auto‐immune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA), one Evans’ syndrome; four males, nine females; age: 35–72 yr). For AITP patients, an overall response of 78% was observed. Retrospective analysis showed no significant difference between patients having a short disease duration (<1 yr) and longer disease duration; between patients who previously received more or less than three treatments; and between patients for whom MMF was started as monotherapy or in association with prednisone, However, all AITP patients presenting associated auto‐antibodies responded to MMF, while only 50% of patients without associated antibodies were responders. All patients presenting AIHA and Evans’ syndrome were responders. The drug was well tolerated, with no significant side effects reported. The cumulative data suggest a potential place for MMF in the treatment arsenal of refractory cytopenias.