Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
31P localized spectroscopy of fetal brain in utero

31‐Phosphorus (31P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of fetal brain in utero was obtained entirely noninvasively in rat utilizing image selected in vivo spectroscopy (ISIS). The results were in excellent agreement with the data obtained using the surface coil method in the late stage fetus, namely, high phosphomonoester (PME), low phosphocreatine (PCr), and high intracellular pH. Localized spectroscopy provides unprecedented opportunities for the investigation of fetal brain metabolism in utero.
Integrable systems in n-dimensional conformal geometry

In this paper we show that if we write down the structure equations for the flow of the parallel frame of a curve embedded in a flat n-dimensional conformal manifold, this leads to two compatible Hamiltonian operators. The corresponding integrable scalar–vector equation is where is the standard Euclidean inner product of the vector with itself. These results are similar to those we obtained in the Riemannian case, implying that the method employed is well suited for the analysis of the connection between geometry and integrability.
Factors Associated with Women's Attitude towards Spousal Abuse: The Case of Zambia

Gender based violence (GBV) is a worldwide scourge and spousal battering has been found to be a common form of GBV. The objective of this paper was to examine the attitudes of women towards spousal battering and to assess the association between women's attitudes and the likelihood of being abused. The paper utilizes secondary data from the 2007 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS). Results show that the younger women were more likely to justify wife beating when compared to older women (P < 0.05). Women from urban areas (68%) with middle income background (71%) were more likely to agree that wife beating is justified compared to rural women (56%) and women with a higher income background (51%). Women who had attained secondary level of education were 1.3 times more likely to report that wife beating was justified compared to those from higher levels of education. Women whose husbands drunk alcohol were 1.2 times more likely to report that wife beating was justified compared to those women whose husbands never drunk alcohol. The results from the analysis suggests that age, marital duration, place of residence, wealth index, partner's wife and husband's educational level, number of children and husband's alcohol consumption contributed to justification of spousal battering. Gender based violence (GBV) is a worldwide scourge which literally happens everywhere, including in the Western world, where human rights are exercised more widely than in the non-Western countries. The World Health Organization (1) reports that "violence is the result of the complex interplay of individual, social, cultural and environmental factors". Social norms and the environment may condone or help perpetuate violence. Studies show that the acceptance rates of wife-beating range from 70% of men and 90% of women in rural Uganda (2), to 53% of women in Zimbabwe (3), 56% of women in India (4), 66.4% of women in Nigeria (5) and 60% of Palestinian men and 61% of Palestinian women living in Jordan (6). In a study of men and women in Uganda, younger age was associated with the acceptance of wife beating, and in all situations, women were more
Role of Ca2+ Transporters and Channels in the Cardiac Cell Volume Regulation

Abstract: Na+/K+ pump is one of key mechanisms to maintain cell volume. When it is inhibited, cells are at risk of swelling. However, in guinea pig ventricular myocytes, the cell area as an index of cell volume was almost constant during 90 min Na+/K+ pump blockade with 40 μM ouabain despite the marked membrane depolarization. In this study, involvements of Ca2+ transporters and channels in the cardiac cell volume regulation were proposed by conducting the computer simulation in parallel with the experimental validation.
Chronic Insomnia

Chronic insomnia afflicts millions of people in the United States. It is associated with decreased quality of life, accidents, several comorbid conditions, increased morbidity, and substantial direct and indirect costs. Chronic insomnia is a multifactorial and individualized disorder. Its etiology may be cognitive or physiologic in nature (or both), and is more often than not associated with a comorbid condition, complicating its recognition, evaluation, and treatment. Effective nonpharmacotherapeutic (cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia) and pharmacotherapeutic (hypnotic medications) treatment modalities are available. Treatment of chronic insomnia can make a significant improvement in quality of life, and may also be associated with an improvement in comorbid conditions.
Temozolomide plus thalidomide in patients with advanced melanoma: results of a dose-finding trial.

PURPOSE To establish a safe and tolerated regimen of an oral cytotoxic agent, temozolomide, and a cytostatic agent, thalidomide, in patients with unresectable stage III or IV malignant melanoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma without brain metastases were entered successively onto four treatment cohorts: level 1, temozolomide 50 mg/m(2)/d for 6 weeks followed by a 4-week break; levels 2, 3, and 4, temozolomide 75 mg/m(2)/d for 6 weeks followed, respectively, by breaks of 4, 3, and 2 weeks. Thalidomide was started at 200 mg/d, and escalated to a maximum dose of 400 mg/d. Safety was assessed at weeks 2 and 4 and every 4 weeks thereafter; tumor response was evaluated every 8 to 10 weeks. RESULTS Twelve patients were enrolled, three on each cohort. Therapy was generally well tolerated on all of the treatment schedules. Thalidomide at a dose of 400 mg/d was well tolerated in patients younger than 70, and 200 mg/d was well tolerated in older patients. The most common adverse events were grade 2 or 3 constipation and neuropathy, which were attributed to thalidomide. Five major responses (one complete, four partial) were documented, all at dose levels 2 to 4. Three of the five responding patients were in the over-70 age group. The median duration of response was 6 months (range, 4 to 17+ months), and the median overall survival was 12.3 months (range, 4 to 19+ months). CONCLUSION The combination of temozolomide and thalidomide was well tolerated and had antitumor activity in patients with advanced melanoma, including elderly patients over 70 years old.
he prevalence of Giardia infection in dogs and cats , a ystematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies rom stool samples

Giardia has a wide range of host species and is a common cause of diarrhoeal disease in humans and animals. Companion animals are able to transmit a range of zoonotic diseases to their owners including giardiasis, but the size of this risk is not well known. The aim of this study was to analyse giardiasis prevalence rates in dogs and cats worldwide using a systematic search approach. Meta-analysis enabled to describe associations between Giardia prevalence and various confounding factors. Pooled prevalence rates were 15.2% (95% CI 13.8–16.7%) for dogs and 12% (95% CI 9.2–15.3%) for cats. However, there was very high heterogeneity between studies. Meta-regression showed that the diagnostic method used had a major impact on reported prevalence with studies using ELISA, IFA and PCR reporting prevalence rates between 2.6 and 3.7 times greater than studies using microscopy. Conditional negative binomial regression found that symptomatic animals had higher prevalence rates ratios (PRR) than asymptomatic animals 1.61 (95% CI 1.33–1.94) in dogs and 1.94 (95% CI 1.47–2.56) in cats. Giardia was much more prevalent in young animals. For cats >6 months, PRR = 0.47 (0.42–0.53) and in dogs of the same age group PRR = 0.36 (0.32–0.41). Additionally, dogs kept as pets were less likely to be positive (PRR = 0.56 (0.41–0.77)) but any difference in cats was not significant. Faecal excretion of Giardia is common in dogs and slightly less so in cats. However, the exact rates depend on the diagnostic method used, the age and origin of the animal. What risk such endemic colonisation poses to human health is still unclear as it will depend not only on prevalence rates but also on what assemblages are excreted and how people interact with their pets. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC Y-NC-N B
Nonsteroidal Anti‐Inflammatory Drugs Increase Tumor Necrosis Factor Production in the Periphery but Not in the Central Nervous System in Mice and Rats

Abstract: Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which inhibit prostaglandin (PG) synthesis, augment production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in most experimental models. We investigated the effect of two NSAIDs, indomethacin and ibuprofen, on the production of TNF in the CNS induced by intracerebroventricular injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Indomethacin and ibuprofen, administered intraperitoneally, augmented (three‐ to ninefold) the levels of TNF in serum and peripheral organs of mice injected intraperitoneally with LPS and in rats with adjuvant arthritis (up to a sevenfold increase). However, NSAIDs (intraperitoneally or intracerebroventricularly) did not increase brain TNF production induced by intravenous LPS. In fact, indomethacin decreased (1.4–1.8‐fold) TNF levels in the spinal cord of rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and in the cortex of rats with focal cerebral ischemia. Systemic administration of iloprost inhibited serum TNF levels after intraperitoneal LPS, whereas intracerebroventricular injection of iloprost or PGE2 did not inhibit brain TNF induced by intracerebroventricular LPS. Both peripheral and central TNF productions were inhibited by cyclic AMP level‐elevating agents or dexamethasone. Thus, a PG‐driven negative feedback controls TNF production in the periphery but not in the CNS.
Perisynaptic Schwann Cells at the Neuromuscular Junction: Nerve- and Activity-Dependent Contributions to Synaptic Efficacy, Plasticity, and Reinnervation

Glial cells are increasingly recognized for their important contributions to CNS and PNS synaptic function. Perisynaptic Schwann cells, which are glial cells at the neuromuscular junction, have proven to be an exceptionally useful model for studying these roles. Recent studies have shown that they detect and reciprocally modulate synaptic efficacy in an activity-dependent manner in the short term. In addition, perisynaptic Schwann cells guide reinnervating nerve sprouts after deinnervation, and many important parameters of this are dependent on synapse activity. Thus, it is hypothesized that perisynaptic Schwann cells are key integrators in a continuum of synaptic efficacy, stability, and plasticity at the neuromuscular junction, which is important for maintaining and restoring synaptic efficacy. NEUROSCIENTIST 9(2): 144–157, 2003.
Estimación de beneficios en espacios de uso recreativo na provincia de Pontevedra

Este artigo presenta resultados de valoracion e avaliacion de distintos espacios con uso recreativo na provincia de Pontevedra. Para tres casos, o Parque Natural do Monte Aloia (MA) no Concello de Tui, o Monte Santa Tegra (MST) no Concello da Guarda e as Pozas de Mougas (PM) no Concello de Oia, calculamo-lo beneficio de uso recreativo. Para o Parque Natural das Illas Cies (IC) estimase o valor que ten para os visitantes e para os non-visitantes a sua conservacion. No Concello de Vigo obtense o valor de dous grandes parques urbanos (O Castro e Castrelos) e dos parques forestais distribuidos polas parroquias rurais. Os parques urbanos son valorados a partir da estimacion da funcion de prezos hedonicos e os outros mediante o metodo de valoracion continxente.
Working together: interactions between vaccine antigens and adjuvants

The development of vaccines containing adjuvants has the potential to enhance antibody and cellular immune responses, broaden protective immunity against heterogeneous pathogen strains, enable antigen dose sparing, and facilitate efficacy in immunocompromised populations. Nevertheless, the structural interplay between antigen and adjuvant components is often not taken into account in the published literature. Interactions between antigen and adjuvant formulations should be well characterized to enable optimum vaccine stability and efficacy. This review focuses on the importance of characterizing antigen–adjuvant interactions by summarizing findings involving widely used adjuvant formulation platforms, such as aluminum salts, emulsions, lipid vesicles, and polymer-based particles. Emphasis is placed on the physicochemical basis of antigen–adjuvant associations and the appropriate analytical tools for their characterization, as well as discussing the effects of these interactions on vaccine potency.
An ATP-Sensitive Cl− Channel Current That Is Activated by Cell Swelling, cAMP, and Glyburide in Insulin-Secreting Cells

Although chloride ions are known to modulate insulin release and islet electrical activity, themechanism or mechanisms mediating these effects are unclear. However, numerous studies of islet Cl− fluxes have suggested that Cl− movements and glucose and sulfonylurea sensitive and are blocked by stilbene-derivative Cl− channel blockers. We now show for the first time that insulin-secreting cells have a Cl− channel current, which we term ICl,islet· The current is activated by hypotonic conditions, 1–10 μmol/l glyburide and 0.5 mmol/l 8-bromoadenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate sodium. ICl,islet is mediated by Cl− channels, since replacing [Cl−]o with less permeant aspartate reduces current amplitude and depolarizes its reversal potential. In addition, 100 μmol/l 4,4′-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (DIDS) or glyburide, which blocks the Cl− channels of other cell types, block ICl,islet· Reducing [ATP]i reduces the amplitude of the current, suggesting thatit may be under metabolic control. The current is time-independent and shows strong outward-rectification beyond ∼0 mV. At potentials associated with the silent phase of islet electrical activity (approximately −65 mV), ICl,islet mediates a large inward current, which would be expected to depolarize islet membrane potential. Thus, activation of this novel current byincreased intracellular cAMP, sulfonylureas, or ATP may contribute to the well-known depolarizing effects of these agents.
Roles of Topoisomerases in Maintaining Steady-state DNA Supercoiling in Escherichia coli *

DNA supercoiling is essential for bacterial cell survival. We demonstrated that DNA topoisomerase IV, acting in concert with topoisomerase I and gyrase, makes an important contribution to the steady-state level of supercoiling in Escherichia coli. Following inhibition of gyrase, topoisomerase IV alone relaxed plasmid DNA to a final supercoiling density (ς) of −0.015 at an initial rate of 0.8 links min−1. Topoisomerase I relaxed DNA at a faster rate, 5 links min−1, but only to a ς of −0.05. Inhibition of topoisomerase IV in wild-type cells increased supercoiling to approximately the same level as in a mutant lacking topoisomerase I activity (to ς = −0.08). The role of topoisomerase IV was revealed by two functional assays. Removal of both topoisomerase I and topoisomerase IV caused the DNA to become hyper-negatively supercoiled (ς = −0.09), greatly stimulating transcription from the supercoiling sensitive leu-500promoter and increasing the number of supercoils trapped by λ integrase site-specific recombination.
Entropy of Random Walk Range Itai Benjamini

We study the entropy of the set traced by an n-step simple symmetric random walk on Z. We show that for d ≥ 3, the entropy is of order n. For d = 2, the entropy is of order n/ log n. These values are essentially governed by the size of the boundary of the trace.
Mechanisms of confabulation

Patients who exhibited frank confabulation were examined with four tests designed to elucidate the nature of confabulation in a structured situation, test the ability of confabulators to use cues, and examine the degree to which certain cognitive deficits are associated with confabulation. Two groups of confabulators emerged: mild and severe. Severity of confabulation was associated with perseveration, impaired self-monitoring facility, and failure to inhibit incorrect responses. Attenuation of these cognitive deficits with resolution of confabulation in a single patient suggested that the two levels of confabulation represented different levels of impairment of the same disorder.
Morphogenesis of the Medial Region of the Developing Mandible Is Regulated by Multiple Signaling Pathways

Experimental evidence indicates that the mandibular primordia are specified as at least two independent functional regions: two large lateral (proximal) regions where morphogenesis is dependent on FGF-8 signaling, and a small medial region where morphogenesis is independent of FGF-8 and dependent on other signals. The patterns of expression of multiple signaling molecules and regulatory genes in the epithelium and mesenchyme of the medial region suggest that the regulatory hierarchies controlling morphogenesis of the medial region of the developing mandible are complex and involve multiple pathways. Recent genetic studies indicate that the ‘ET-1-dHAND-Msx1 pathway’ constitutes one of the genetic pathways involved in outgrowth and morphogenesis of the medial region. Functional studies in chick mandible suggest that FGFs (other then FGF-8) and BMPs are also part of signaling pathways that regulate morphogenesis of the medial region. These studies suggest that in the medial region of the developing mandible, FGF-mediated signaling is involved in growth-promoting interaction, whereas BMP-mediated signaling is involved in chondrogenesis.
Expression of a Wild-type CFTR Maintains the Integrity of the Biosynthetic/Secretory Pathway in Human Cystic Fibrosis Pancreatic Duct Cells

The structural integrity of the Golgi complex is essential to its functions in the maturation, sorting, and transport of plasma membrane proteins. Previously, we demonstrated that in pancreatic duct CFPAC-1 cells, which express δF508 CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator), the intracellular trafficking of carbonic anhydrase IV (CA IV), a membrane protein involved in HCO3 − secretion, was impaired. To determine whether these abnormalities were related to changes in the Golgi complex, we examined the ultrastructure and distribution of Golgi compartments with regard to the microtubule cytoskeleton in CFPAC-1 cells transfected or not with the wild-type CFTR. Ultrastructural and immunocytochemical analysis showed that in polarized CFPAC-1 cells, Golgi stacks were disconnected from one another and scattered throughout the cytoplasm. The colocalization of CA IV with markers of Golgi compartments indicated the ability of stacks to transfer this enzyme. This Golgi dispersal was associated with abnormal microtubule distribution and multiplicity of the microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs). In reverted cells, the normalization of Golgi structure, microtubule distribution, and MTOC number was observed. These observations suggest that the entire biosynthetic/secretory pathway is disrupted in CFPAC-1 cells, which might explain the abnormal intracellular transport of CA IV. Taken together, these results point to the fact that the expression of δF508 CFTR affects the integrity of the secretory pathway.
Meeting the challenges of disability and HIV in East Africa.

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Age-Dependent Changes of Cardiac Neuronal Noradrenaline Reuptake Transporter ( Uptake 1 ) in the Human Heart

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to elucidate whether the neuronal noradrenaline reuptake transporter (uptake1) undergoes age-dependent regulation in the human heart. BACKGROUND Aging is associated with various alterations in cardiovascular function. METHODS We determined uptake1 density (by [ H]-nisoxetine binding to membranes) and activity (by accumulation of [H]-noradrenaline into tissue slices) in the right atria (RA) of 42 patients (age range 3 months to 76 years) undergoing open-heart surgery without apparent heart failure. Moreover, the effects of 1 mol/l desipramine on the noradrenaline-induced positive inotropic effect were assessed in the isolated, electrically driven RA trabeculae of these patients. RESULTS There was a significant negative correlation between RA uptake1 density and age; moreover, RA uptake1 activity was significantly reduced in elderly patients. Desipramine (1 mol/l) significantly shifted noradrenaline concentration-response curves to the left; this shift was significantly more pronounced in younger patients than in older patients. CONCLUSIONS With increasing age, human myocardial uptake1 activity decreases, possibly because of age-dependent downregulation of uptake1 density. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2002;40:1459–65) © 2002 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation