Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behaviorally Induced Heart Rate Reactivity and Atherosclerosis in Cynomolgus Monkeys

&NA; It has been suggested that individual differences in behaviorally induced cardiovascular reactivity may mediate associations between behavioral factors and atherosclerotic disease. The present study provides data relevant to this hypothesis within an animal model. Experimental animals were 26 adult, male cynomolgus monkeys that had been fed a moderately atherogenic diet for 22 months. In the weeks preceding termination of these animals, monkeys were fitted with electrocardiogram (EKG) telemetry devices and their heart rates (HRs) recorded under baseline and stressed conditions. Stress‐period HR measures were obtained during a standard challenge involving threatened capture and physical handling of the animals. At necropsy, the coronary arteries were subjected to pressure fixation and sections taken from the left main, left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary arteries. Mean intimal area measurements, calculated for each artery, were then compared between animals identified as High (n = 8) and Low (n = 8) HR reactors during stress. Results indicated that High HR reactors had significantly greater coronary artery atherosclerosis than did Low HR reactive animals, both in individual arteries and on an overall coronary index. Atherosclerosis in the thoracic aorta was found to differ similarly between High and Low HR reactors. Additional analyses revealed that High HR reactors were significantly more aggressive, more ponderous, and had greater heart weights than did Low HR reactors. Although groups did not differ in resting HRs, body weights, or lipid values, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol comprised a slightly smaller fraction of the total serum cholesterol of High, relative to Low, HR reactive monkeys. It is concluded that these findings provide initial support for the hypothesis that cardiovascular hyperresponsiveness under stress is related to the development of atherosclerosis.
A 20 μW 95 dB dynamic range 4th-order Delta-Sigma modulator with novel power efficient operational transconductance amplifier and resonator

A low power high performance Delta-Sigma modulator for portable measurement applications is presented. To reduce power consumption while maintaining high performance, a fully feedforward architecture with a comprehensive system-level design is implemented. As a key building block, a novel power efficient current mirror operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with a fast-settling less-error switched-capacitor common-mode feedback (SC CMFB) circuit is introduced, and the effects of both gain nonlinearity and 1/f noise of OTA are discussed. A new method to determine the voltage gain of an OTA is also proposed. The bottom terminal parasitic effect of poly-insulator-poly (PIP) capacitors is considered. About an extra 20% of capacitance is added to the total capacitance load. A power and area efficient resonator is adopted to realize a coefficient of 1/90 for 50% power and 75% area reduction compared with conventional designs. The chip is implemented in a low cost 0.35 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The total power consumption is 20 μW with a 1.5 V supply, and the measured dynamic range (DR) is 95 dB over a 1 kHz bandwidth. Experimental results show that a high figure-of-merit (FOM) is achieved for the designed modulator in comparison with those from the literature.
Clinical reviews in allergy and immunology

This review focuses on advances and updates in the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of food allergy over the past 3 years since our last comprehensive review. On the basis of numerous studies, food allergy likely affects nearly 5% of adults and 8% of children, with growing evidence of an increase in prevalence. Potentially rectiﬁable risk factors include vitamin D insufﬁciency, unhealthful dietary fat, obesity, increased hygiene, and the timing of exposure to foods, but genetics and other lifestyle issues play a role as well. Interesting clinical insights into pathogenesis include discoveries regarding gene-environment interactions and an increasing understanding of the role of nonoral sensitizing exposures causing food allergy, such as delayed allergic reactions to carbohydrate moieties in mammalian meats caused by sensitization from homologous substances transferred during tick bites. Component-resolved diagnosis is being rapidly incorporated into clinical use, and sophisticated diagnostic tests that indicate severity and prognosis are on the horizon. Current management relies heavily on avoidance and emergency preparedness, and recent studies, guidelines, and resources provide insight into improving the safety and well-being of patients and their families. Incorporation of extensively heated (heat-denatured) forms of milk and egg into the diets of children who tolerate these foods, rather than strict avoidance, represents a signiﬁcant shift in clinical approach. Recommendations about the prevention of food allergy and atopic disease through diet have changed radically, with rescinding of many recommendations about extensive and prolonged allergen avoidance. Numerous therapies have reached clinical trials, with some showing promise to dramatically alter treatment. Ongoing studies will elucidate improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2014;133:291-307.)
Regulation of bone mass and osteoclast function depend on the F‐actin modulator SWAP‐70

Bone remodeling involves tightly regulated bone‐resorbing osteoclasts and bone‐forming osteoblasts. Determining osteoclast function is central to understanding bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteopetrosis. Here, we report a novel function of the F‐actin binding and regulatory protein SWAP‐70 in osteoclast biology. F‐actin ring formation, cell morphology, and bone resorption are impaired in Swap‐70−/− osteoclasts, whereas the expression of osteoclast differentiation markers induced in vitro by macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (M‐CSF) and receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand (RANKL) remains unaffected. Swap‐70−/− mice develop osteopetrosis with increased bone mass, abnormally dense bone, and impaired osteoclast function. Ectopic expression of SWAP‐70 in Swap‐70−/− osteoclasts in vitro rescues their deficiencies in bone resorption and F‐actin ring formation. Rescue requires a functional pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, known to support membrane localization of SWAP‐70, and the F‐actin binding domain. Transplantation of SWAP‐70–proficient bone marrow into Swap‐70−/− mice restores osteoclast resorption capacity in vivo. The identification of the role of SWAP‐70 in promoting osteoclast function through modulating membrane‐proximal F‐actin rearrangements reveals a new pathway to control osteoclasts and bone homeostasis. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Calcium‐calmodulin signalling pathway up‐regulates glutamatergic synaptic function in non‐pyramidal, fast spiking rat hippocampal CA1 neurons

The role of Ca2+‐calmodulin (CaM) signalling cascades in modulating glutamatergic synaptic transmission on CA1 non‐pyramidal fast‐spiking neurons was investigated using whole‐cell recording and perfusion in rat hippocampal slices. Paired stimuli (PS), consisting of postsynaptic depolarization to 0 mV and presynaptic stimulation at 1 Hz for 30 s, enhanced excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) on non‐pyramidal neurons in the stratum pyramidale (SP). The potentiation was reduced by the extracellular application of d‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid (DAP‐5, 40 μm), and blocked by the postsynaptic perfusion of 1,2‐bis(2‐aminophenoxy)‐ethane‐N,N,N′,N′‐tetraacetic acid (BAPTA, 10 mm), a CaM‐binding peptide (100 μm) or CaMKII (281–301) (an autoinhibitory peptide of CaM‐dependent protein kinases, 100 μm). The application of adenophostin, an agonist of inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) that evokes Ca2+ release, into SP non‐pyramidal neurons via the patch pipette (1 μm) enhanced EPSCs and occluded PS‐induced synaptic potentiation. The co‐application of BAPTA (10 mm) with adenophostin blocked synaptic potentiation. In addition, Ca2+‐CaM (40:10 μm) induced synaptic potentiation, which occluded PS‐induced potentiation and was attenuated by introducing CaMKII (281–301) (100 μm). EPSCs were sensitive to an antagonist of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole propionic acid receptor (AMPAR). Application of Ca2+‐CaM into SP non‐pyramidal neurons induced the emergence of AMPAR‐mediated EPSCs that were not evoked by low stimulus intensity before perfusion. Ca2+‐CaM also increased the amplitude and frequency of spontaneous EPSCs. A scavenger of nitric oxide, carboxy‐PTIO (30 μm in slice‐perfusion solution), did not affect these increases in sEPSCs. The magnitude of PS‐, adenophostin‐ or Ca2+‐CaM‐induced synaptic potentiation in SP non‐pyramidal neurons increased during postnatal development. These results indicate that Ca2+‐CaM signalling pathways in CA1 SP non‐pyramidal neurons up‐regulate glutamatergic synaptic transmission probably through the conversion of inactive‐to‐active synapses.
Both IL-4 and IL-13 inhibit the TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma enhanced MDC production in a human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT cells.

BACKGROUND Macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) is a Th2 type chemokine and its receptor CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) is preferentially expressed on Th2 cells. Recent reports demonstrated that MDC is expressed not only by macrophages, dendritic cells and lymphocytes, but also by cultured human keratinocytes (KCs). However, the regulation of MDC production in KCs by various cytokines has not been well documented. OBJECTIVE In this study, we investigated how Th1/Th2 cytokines regulate MDC production in a human KC cell line, HaCaT cells. METHODS HaCaT cells were cultured with or without various cytokines for 24 h and RT-PCR was performed using these cells to evaluate MDC mRNA levels. ELISA was carried out using supernatant of HaCaT cells to calculate secreted MDC protein levels. RESULTS MDC mRNA was weakly expressed in HaCaT cells, and upon stimulation with TNF-alpha or IFN-gamma, MDC expression was strongly upregulated. The supernatant MDC levels when stimulated with TNF-alpha or IFN-gamma were significantly higher than those without stimulation, and were synergistically increased when stimulated with a combination of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma. Both interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 inhibited TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma enhanced MDC production in HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION Th2-type cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 downregulate the production of MDC, a Th2 type chemokine, by KCs. This may partially contribute to maintaining Th1/Th2 balance in inflammatory skin diseases like atopic dermatitis.
Pre-ablative predictors of atrial fibrillation recurrence following pulmonary vein isolation: the potential role of inflammation.

AIMS An increasing body of evidence has demonstrated the essential role of inflammation in the genesis and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether success or failure of electrical pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with AF is related with the presence of a pre-ablative inflammatory state as determined by known clinical parameters and conventional markers of inflammation including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, white blood cell (WBC) count, and fibrinogen. METHODS AND RESULTS Seventy-two patients with paroxysmal (64%) or persistent AF (36%) underwent successful electrical PVI. The mean duration of arrhythmia was 5.5 +/- 2.9 years. After a mean follow-up period of 12.5 +/- 5.7 months, 44 patients (61%) were in sinus rhythm. In univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, hypertension, body mass index (BMI), left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left atrial diameter (LAD), WBC count, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were significantly associated with AF recurrence (P < 0.05). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, hypertension [hazard ratio (HR) 3.127; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.269-7.706, P = 0.013], LAD (HR 1.077; 95% CI 1.014-1.144, P = 0.015), and WBC count (HR 1.423; 95% CI 1.067-1.897, P = 0.016) were independent pre-ablative predictors of AF recurrence following PVI. CONCLUSION Conventional markers of the inflammatory cascade such as WBC count and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein as well as elements of the metabolic syndrome such as hypertension and increased BMI were significantly associated with AF recurrence. The impact of a pre-ablative inflammatory state in the overall success rate of PVI needs further elucidation.
Influence of obesity in central blood pressure

Background: Obesity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has become a major concern in healthcare due to its high prevalence worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of BMI on central blood pressure (BP) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in normotensive and hypertensive patients. Patients and methods: Normotensive and hypertensive adult patients who attended the outpatient clinic of cardiovascular risk were included. Peripheral BP was obtained in the brachial artery by using an oscillometric device (OMRON M-6). Central aortic BP waveform was reconstructed from the radial artery pressure waveforms (SphygmoCor, AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia) and central BP was calculated. Carotid–femoral PWV was measured by an automatic device (Complior, Artech, France). Results: We examined a total of 351 patients [50.7% women; 77 patients normal-weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2)], 274 patients overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2). Central SBP showed a positive association with male sex and mean BP, but a negative association with overweight/obesity. PWV was positively associated with age, male sex, central BP, peripheral BP and BP treatment, whereas BMI of at least 25 kg/m2 led to a decrease in PWV in patients with the same central SBP levels. Likewise, PWV was lower in the overweight/obese group compared to the normal-weight group at the same central SBP. Conclusion: Overweight and obesity tend to have lower central SBP as compared to lean patients, mainly in women. Further research is required to assess the interaction between body weight and vascular dynamics and their clinical implications.
ADHD boys in young adulthood: psychosocial adjustment.

OBJECTIVE To prospectively examine psychosocial functioning in young adulthood in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD This 10-year prospective study compared psychosocial functioning in 18 young adult men in whom ADHD had been diagnosed in childhood and 18 male controls who had never been psychiatrically ill. Subjects' average age was 21 years at follow-up. Interviews assessed subjects' educational, occupational, residential, and marital status; utilization of mental health services; and psychological status. RESULTS Young adults with ADHD were significantly more likely than controls to be using mental health services, to report psychological problems, and to have fathered children. In addition, a trend indicated that young men with ADHD were more likely to have dropped out of high school but subsequently attained a graduate equivalency diploma. There was also a trend for young adults with ADHD to report a greater history of trouble with the law; however, the groups did not differ on current legal problems. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these young adults with ADHD appear to have overcome educational and legal difficulties experienced during high school. However, continued problems in psychological functioning appear to persist into young adulthood.
Elucidating severe urban haze formation in China

Significance We illustrate the similarity and difference in particulate matter (PM) formation between Beijing and other world regions. The periodic cycle of PM events in Beijing is regulated by meteorological conditions. While the particle chemical compositions in Beijing are similar to those commonly measured worldwide, efficient nucleation and growth over an extended period in Beijing are distinctive from the aerosol formation typically observed in other global areas. Gaseous emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides from urban transportation and sulfur dioxide from regional industry are responsible for large secondary PM formation, while primary emissions and regional transport of PM are insignificant. Reductions in emissions of the aerosol precursor gases from transportation and industry are essential to mediate severe haze pollution in China. As the world’s second largest economy, China has experienced severe haze pollution, with fine particulate matter (PM) recently reaching unprecedentedly high levels across many cities, and an understanding of the PM formation mechanism is critical in the development of efficient mediation policies to minimize its regional to global impacts. We demonstrate a periodic cycle of PM episodes in Beijing that is governed by meteorological conditions and characterized by two distinct aerosol formation processes of nucleation and growth, but with a small contribution from primary emissions and regional transport of particles. Nucleation consistently precedes a polluted period, producing a high number concentration of nano-sized particles under clean conditions. Accumulation of the particle mass concentration exceeding several hundred micrograms per cubic meter is accompanied by a continuous size growth from the nucleation-mode particles over multiple days to yield numerous larger particles, distinctive from the aerosol formation typically observed in other regions worldwide. The particle compositions in Beijing, on the other hand, exhibit a similarity to those commonly measured in many global areas, consistent with the chemical constituents dominated by secondary aerosol formation. Our results highlight that regulatory controls of gaseous emissions for volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides from local transportation and sulfur dioxide from regional industrial sources represent the key steps to reduce the urban PM level in China.
The Direct Impact of Climate Change on Regional Labor Productivity

ABSTRACT Global climate change will increase outdoor and indoor heat loads, and may impair health and productivity for millions of working people. This study applies physiological evidence about effects of heat, climate guidelines for safe work environments, climate modeling, and global distributions of working populations to estimate the impact of 2 climate scenarios on future labor productivity. In most regions, climate change will decrease labor productivity, under the simple assumption of no specific adaptation. By the 2080s, the greatest absolute losses of population-based labor work capacity (in the range 11% to 27%) are seen under the A2 scenario in Southeast Asia, Andean and Central America, and the Caribbean. Increased occupational heat exposure due to climate change may significantly impact on labor productivity and costs unless preventive measures are implemented. Workers may need to work longer hours, or more workers may be required, to achieve the same output and there will be economic costs of lost production and/or occupational health interventions against heat exposures.
Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis

Soon after Roentgen's discovery, the ‘new’ rays were used to produce stereoscopic images or used for spatial reconstruction of positions of foreign bodies. However, no systematic use of roentgen stereo measurements seems to have occurred until the 1970's, although many attempts have been made before. Since 1972, a system for roentgen stereophotogrammetry has been in use at the University Hospital in Lund. The system has been named RSA, roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis. It is a complete system, including instrumentation for implanting tantalum landmarks, devices for calibration of the stereo roentgen set-up, and comprehensive software. Using different calibration set-ups, any part of the body can be investigated under different conditions using standard roentgen equipment. The computer programs make it possible to calculate spatial landmark coordinates from measured film coordinates, and further to calculate growth, and volume changes or kinematic variables in well-defined and generally used terms. After the basic principles have been established, a survey of applications grouped according to anatomic regions follows. Special emphasis is laid on total hip and knee replacement, which besides complex craniofacial and spinal disorders, are the most rewarding fields of study.
Prevalence of Major Anatomic Variations in Oral Clefts

Background: The authors describe morphologic variations of oral clefts in a large population-based sample, especially variations in severity and laterality. The authors present 3616 cleft cases treated in Norway for oral clefts between 1967 and 1998. Methods: Classification of cleft morphology was based on clefting in 9 anatomical focal areas. A three-digit coding system provides a total of 63 possible cleft combinations. Their distribution in the population is presented as a whole and stratified by the baby's sex and the presence of accompanying malformations. The relative proportion of cleft types is illustrated in modified striped Y Kernahan diagrams. Results: Clefts of the lip or palate are more severe when both cleft types are present. Among babies with cleft lip, 18 percent of lips were severe (i.e., complete cleft of the primary palate) in the absence of cleft palate, compared with 81 percent severe when cleft palate was also present. Similarly, among babies with cleft palate, 40 percent were severe (complete cleft of the secondary palate) in the absence of cleft lip, compared with 93 percent when cleft lip was also present. The more severe the cleft lip, the more likely that the baby had an accompanying cleft palate. Girls were more likely to have severe clefts, as were patients who had other types of congenital disabilities. Although cleft lip was more frequent on the left side, clefts were not more severe on the left side. In bilateral cleft lip, the severity was similar on both sides. Conclusion: The authors' data provide a population-based reference for common and rare variants of oral clefts.
Population Genetic Structure of Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Hemiptera: Miridae) in the Cotton-Growing Regions of the United States

ABSTRACT The cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an economically important insect pest of cotton in the United States. However, reports of cotton fleahopper infestation and its management in cotton fields are restricted primarily to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The objective of this study was to understand the genetic diversity of cotton fleahopper populations infesting cotton in the cotton-growing areas of the United States. Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were used to detect genetic diversity and to characterize geographic genotypes across the distribution of the cotton fleahopper in the United States. We used 172 individuals and 559 amplified fragment length polymorphism loci in this study and found significant, but low, level of genetic differentiation among geographic populations (FST = 0.02; P < 0.0001). Molecular fingerprints of cotton fleahopper populations were partitioned into three broad regional genetic populations with a western, central, and eastern distribution. The western (Arizona) and eastern (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina) populations are genetically distinct, whereas the central (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama) population represents an admixed population, which include both western and eastern populations. These results suggest considerable gene flow among the populations within regions but restricted gene flow among populations from eastern and western region.