Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attitudes of veterinary medical students, house officers, clinical faculty, and staff toward pain management in animals.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether animal factors and level of professional veterinary medical training were associated with attitudes toward pain management in animals. DESIGN Exploratory, descriptive survey. SAMPLE POPULATION Students in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences professional veterinary medical curriculum (approx 540) and clinical faculty (approx 50), house officers (approx 25), and support staff (approx 100) in the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. PROCEDURE A descriptive survey including demographic, descriptive, and case-based questions was distributed to participants. Participation was voluntary and survey results were anonymous. RESULTS 357 of 720 surveys were completed and returned (31 by faculty, 29 by staff, 18 by house officers, and 279 by students). There was a high degree of concordance among survey participants regarding the overall importance of treating pain in animals. The extent to which pain should be alleviated and animal factors, such as breed, behavior, and clinical circumstances, accounted for much of the discordance among survey groups. Fourth-year veterinary students indicated that they were occasionally less likely to treat animals for pain than were second- or third-year veterinary students. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS The diversity of opinions regarding the necessity or desirability of treating pain in animals, the apparent decrease in the likelihood of senior veterinary students to treat animals for pain under certain circumstances, and evidence of knowledge deficits regarding analgesic treatments among all groups contribute to the likelihood that pain in animals will neither be consistently recognized nor appropriately treated.
The transformation of the nuclear nanoarchitecture in human field carcinogenesis

Morphological alterations of the nuclear texture are a hallmark of carcinogenesis. At later stages of disease, these changes are well characterized and detectable by light microscopy. Evidence suggests that similar albeit nanoscopic alterations develop at the predysplastic stages of carcinogenesis. Using the novel optical technique partial wave spectroscopic microscopy, we identified profound changes in the nanoscale chromatin topology in microscopically normal tissue as a common event in the field carcinogenesis of many cancers. In particular, higher-order chromatin structure at supranucleosomal length scales (20–200 nm) becomes exceedingly heterogeneous, a measure we quantify using the disorder strength (Ld) of the spatial arrangement of chromatin density. Here, we review partial wave spectroscopic nanocytology clinical studies and the technology's promise as an early cancer screening technology.
A Longitudinal Study of Leptin During Development in the Male Rhesus Monkey: The Effect of Body Composition and Season on Circulating Leptin Levels1

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in serum leptin concentrations during development and to correlate those changes with sexual development in male rhesus monkeys housed under natural environmental conditions. Blood samples were drawn from 8 control animals approximately every other month from 10 to 30 mo of age and thereafter monthly through 80 mo of age. Leptin levels declined through the juvenile period until the onset of puberty and were negatively correlated with body weight. Seven of the eight animals became sexually mature during the breeding season of their fourth year of life. Puberty was delayed in the other animal until the subsequent breeding season. There were no significant fluctuations in leptin levels prior to or in association with the pubertal rise in LH and testosterone (T) secretion. During the peripubertal period, levels of leptin varied between 2 and 3 ng/ml. The animal that exhibited delayed puberty had the lowest body weight and highest leptin levels during this period. With the achievement of sexual maturity, leptin levels varied seasonally, with peak levels in the late winter (Jan–Mar) and a nadir in the late summer (Aug–Sept). A late winter rise in leptin was also evident in most of the animals during Years 2 and 3, but not during Year 4. In the fall of Years 5 and 6, the seasonal rise in leptin concentrations lagged 3–4 mo behind the seasonal increase in LH and T. In the fall of Year 5, but not thereafter, leptin levels were positively related to percent body fat and negatively correlated with lean body mass. The data do not support the hypothesis that increasing leptin concentrations trigger the onset of puberty in the male rhesus monkey. During the juvenile period and after sexual maturation, but not during the peripubertal period, leptin secretion varied with season in the animals; but the environmental factors that cue or drive this rhythm remain to be determined.
Fixed-dose combination therapy of nebivolol and valsartan for the treatment of hypertension

ABSTRACT Recent large clinical trials have refuted earlier suggestions from the Joint National Committee 8 committee that less aggressive targets for blood pressure control were all that could be justified in most hypertensive patients. It now does appear that in fact “lower is better,” with blood pressure targets < 120/80 mm Hg appropriate for many hypertensive patients. Two drug combinations are often indicated as initial therapy if a 20/10 mm Hg or greater blood pressure reduction is necessary to reach target. Combinations consisting of β-blockers and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors have previously been deemed “less effective,” based on partially overlapping mechanisms of action and limited clinical trial evidence. Nebivolol is a vasodilating β1-selective blocker and β3- adrenoceptor agonist; β3-adrenoceptor activation increases nitric oxide concentrations and thus explains the vasodilatory effect. A recent 8-week randomized trial (N=4,161) in individuals with stage 1-2 hypertension demonstrated that single-pill fixed dose combinations (FDC) of nebivolol and valsartan, an angiotensin II subtype 1 receptor blocker, were more effective in reducing blood pressure than the corresponding monotherapies, with comparable tolerability. In addition, an ABPM-biomarkers substudy from that trial (n=805) demonstrated that the FDC prevented a valsartan-induced increase in plasma renin activity, and that the nebivolol/valsartan 20/320 mg/day dose reduced plasma aldosterone concentration significantly more than valsartan 320 mg/day. This article will describe the properties of nebivolol that make it unique and separate it from other β-blockers, and will further support the pharmacological advantages of this particular combination.
A Binding Protein for Fatty Acids in Cytosol of Intestinal Mucosa, Liver, Myocardium, and Other Tissues

A protein of molecular weight ∼ 12,000 which binds long-chain fatty acids and certain other lipids has been identified in cytosol of intestinal mucosa, liver, myocardium, adipose tissue, and kidney. Binding is noncovalent and is greater for unsaturated than for saturated and medium-chain fatty acids. This protein appears to be identical with the smaller of two previously described cytoplasmic anion-binding proteins. Binding of long-chain fatty acids by this protein is greater than that of other anions tested, including sulfobromophthalein, and does not depend on negative charge alone. The presence of this binding protein may explain previously observed differences in intestinal absorption among fatty acids, and the protein may participate in the utilization of long-chain fatty acids by many mammalian tissues.
Impact of electronic-cigarette refill liquid on rat testis

Abstract Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are becoming the fashionable alternative to decrease tobacco smoking, although their impact on health has not been fully assessed yet. The present study was designed to compare the impact of e-cigarette refill liquid (e-liquid) without nicotine to e-liquid with nicotine on rat testis. For this purpose, e-liquid with nicotine and e-liquid without nicotine (0.5 mg/kg of body weight) were administered to adult male Wistar rats via the intraperitoneally route during four weeks. Results showed that e-liquid with or without nicotine leads to diminished sperm density and viability, such as a decrease in testicular lactate dehydrogenase activity and testosterone level. Furthermore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis identified a reduction in cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450 scc) and 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17βHSD) mRNA level, two key enzymes of steroidogenesis. Following e-liquid exposure, histopathological examination showed alterations in testis tissue marked by germ cells desquamation, disorganization of the tubular contents of testis and cell deposits in seminiferous tubules. Finally, analysis of oxidative stress status pointed an outbreak of antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and gluthatione-S-transferase, as well as an important increase in sulfhydril group content. Taken together, these results indicate that e-liquid per se induces toxicity in Wistar rat testis, similar to e-liquid with nicotine, by disrupting oxidative balance and steroidogenesis.
Axin and Frat1 interact with Dvl and GSK, bridging Dvl to GSK in Wnt‐mediated regulation of LEF‐1

Wnt proteins transduce their signals through dishevelled (Dvl) proteins to inhibit glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK), leading to the accumulation of cytosolic β‐catenin and activation of TCF/LEF‐1 transcription factors. To understand the mechanism by which Dvl acts through GSK to regulate LEF‐1, we investigated the roles of Axin and Frat1 in Wnt‐mediated activation of LEF‐1 in mammalian cells. We found that Dvl interacts with Axin and with Frat1, both of which interact with GSK. Similarly, the Frat1 homolog GBP binds Xenopus Dishevelled in an interaction that requires GSK. We also found that Dvl, Axin and GSK can form a ternary complex bridged by Axin, and that Frat1 can be recruited into this complex probably by Dvl. The observation that the Dvl‐binding domain of either Frat1 or Axin was able to inhibit Wnt‐1‐induced LEF‐1 activation suggests that the interactions between Dvl and Axin and between Dvl and Frat may be important for this signaling pathway. Furthermore, Wnt‐1 appeared to promote the disintegration of the Frat1–Dvl–GSK–Axin complex, resulting in the dissociation of GSK from Axin. Thus, formation of the quaternary complex may be an important step in Wnt signaling, by which Dvl recruits Frat1, leading to Frat1‐mediated dissociation of GSK from Axin.
Predicting and monitoring cancer treatment response with diffusion‐weighted MRI

An imaging biomarker that would provide for an early quantitative metric of clinical treatment response in cancer patients would provide for a paradigm shift in cancer care. Currently, nonimage based clinical outcome metrics include morphology, clinical, and laboratory parameters, however, these are obtained relatively late following treatment. Diffusion‐weighted MRI (DW‐MRI) holds promise for use as a cancer treatment response biomarker as it is sensitive to macromolecular and microstructural changes which can occur at the cellular level earlier than anatomical changes during therapy. Studies have shown that successful treatment of many tumor types can be detected using DW‐MRI as an early increase in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Additionally, low pretreatment ADC values of various tumors are often predictive of better outcome. These capabilities, once validated, could provide for an important opportunity to individualize therapy thereby minimizing unnecessary systemic toxicity associated with ineffective therapies with the additional advantage of improving overall patient health care and associated costs. In this report, we provide a brief technical overview of DW‐MRI acquisition protocols, quantitative image analysis approaches and review studies which have implemented DW‐MRI for the purpose of early prediction of cancer treatment response. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lack of specificity of antibodies raised against CLN3, the lysosomal/endosomal transmembrane protein mutated in juvenile Batten disease

Juvenile CLN3 (Batten) disease, a fatal, childhood neurodegenerative disorder, results from mutations in the CLN3 gene encoding a lysosomal/endosomal transmembrane protein. The exact physiological function of CLN3 is still unknown and it is unclear how CLN3 mutations lead to selective neurodegeneration. To study the tissue expression and subcellular localization of the CLN3 protein, a number of anti-CLN3 antibodies have been generated using either the whole CLN3 protein or short peptides from CLN3 for immunization. The specificity of these antibodies, however, has never been tested properly. Using immunoblot experiments, we show that commercially available or researcher-generated anti-CLN3 antibodies lack specificity: they detect the same protein bands in wild-type (WT) and Cln3−/− mouse brain and kidney extracts prepared with different detergents, in membrane proteins isolated from the cerebellum, cerebral hemisphere and kidney of WT and Cln3−/− mice, in cell extracts of WT and Cln3−/− mouse embryonic fibroblast cultures, and in lysates of BHK cells lacking or overexpressing human CLN3. Protein BLAST searches with sequences from peptides used to generate anti-CLN3 antibodies identified short motifs present in a number of different mouse and human proteins, providing a plausible explanation for the lack of specificity of anti-CLN3 antibodies. Our data provide evidence that immunization against a transmembrane protein with low to medium expression level does not necessarily generate specific antibodies. Because of the possible cross-reactivity to other proteins, the specificity of an antibody should always be checked using tissue samples from an appropriate knock-out animal or using knock-out cells.
Professor Tanda: greener gaming & pervasive play

This study examines the development of a mobile phone-based pervasive game that related its user's environmental footprint. It discusses the design challenges, development and evaluation of the prototype game in order to identify the key strategies and mechanisms that relate to the production of pervasive systems for mass participation. Designing the user experience for such systems is particularly difficult, as the game had to educate and entertain without patronizing or preaching to the user. A prototype system was developed and trialed in order to identify and understand how users related to the experience and how the game may be further developed. We found that character-led tailored physical activities were generally found to be the most enjoyable, while players wanted more interaction with each other and more score-based content. Creating interdependent question sets and orchestrating the game arduous process. In the future a fully automated system will be key to its use.
Exploring the Correlation Between Knowledge Management Maturity and Intellectual Capital Efficiency in Mainland Chinese Listed Companies

In today's knowledge-based society, discussion on intellectual capital (IC) has become intertwined with knowledge management (KM). KM may be viewed as the activities and processes to create and maximise IC. It may be possible to suggest that an organisation's level of knowledge utilisation is associated with its level of intellectual capital. The purpose of this research was to explore whether there is an association between KM maturity level, as a proxy of assessing the level of KM efficacy and IC utilisation efficiency in companies listed on CSI 100 (China Securities Index Co., Ltd.) in mainland China. A self-assessment of KM maturity level, developed based on the KM self-assessment framework proposed by Collison and Parcell, was used to gauge the knowledge utilisation of an organisation. The intellectual capital efficiency coefficient (ICE), component of the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC™), was used to assess the efficiency of intellectual capital. Overall, 26 questionnaires were collected from the surveyed organisations to evaluate their level of KM, which accounted for 25% of the sample. Finally, correlation analysis with SPSS was performed to examine if there was a correlation between ICE and the maturity level of KM in the sampled companies in mainland China. The results showed that the association between the two variables was not statistically significant. In fact, no conclusive evidence was found to support an association between efficiency of utilising intellectual capital, and KM maturity score. The lack of an association may suggest that there may be other intervening variables yet to be identified in the relationship between KM and IC. This study is an attempt to explore the above assertion and to conduct empirical studies in studying their applicability in China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. While we are not seeking to generalise the results, it may serve as a good reference for further studies in examining the intricate "relationship" between IC and KM, that is, linking a process view of KM to the measurement of value creating intangibles of a corporation epitomised by IC.
Alexithymia: A Right Hemisphere Dysfunction Specific to Recognition of Certain Facial Expressions?

The most prominent features of alexithymic people are a demonstrated reduction in the ability to identify and to describe their own feelings. In recent years, these characteristics have been related to a functional disturbance of the right cerebral hemisphere. This should result in a number of other observable effects. The present study investigated whether high and low alexithymics from a nonclinical population differed in the degree of leftward perceptual bias on chimeric tasks. The chimeras consisted of pictures of faces made of up conjoined emotive and nonemotive halves as well as asymmetrically distributed stars. Differences between high and low alexithymics in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion of whole faces were also examined. High scorers on a test of alexithymia showed overall less leftward perceptual bias than low scores on the chimeric tasks and poorer recognition of facial expressions of whole faces. There was little evidence that the reduced left bias was specific to processing of emotional expressions only, or that differences in processing of facial expressions were emotion specific. These results are argued to support the right hemisphere dysfunction model of alexithymia.
A method for wind vector retrieval over the ocean surface using polarimetric SAR data

The new method for wind speed retrieval using the SAR spectrum is proposed. Wind speed and direction are estimated using the SAR spectrum peak corresponding to the dominant wavelength of wind waves. The numerical simulation with the quasilinear SAR imaging model was performed to illustrate the algorithm. Ambiguity +/-180° is avoided by calculating the correlation coefficient between signals at VV and VH polarizations.
FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF HERBAL GEL CONTAINING BOSWELLIA SERRATA , CURCUMA LONGA EXTRACT AND OIL OF WINTERGREEN FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

The present research has been undertaken with the aim to formulate and evaluate the herbal gel containing Boswellia serrata extract, Curcuma longa extract, and Oil of Wintergreen. The gel formulation was designed by using alcoholic extract of Boswellia serrata, Curcuma longa, and evaluated using physiological measurements. The gel was prepared by using various natural and synthetic polymer bases (Pluronic F-127, HPMC, Sodium CMC, and Carbopol 934) and natural polymer bases(Pectin, Sodium alginate, Carrageenan, Xanthum gum,and Guar gum) . Among them Carbopol 934 and Carrageenan based gels has given better gel formation. The gel was prepared by using Carbopol 934, Boswellia serrata extract, Curcuma longa extract, Oil of Wintergreen Methyl paraban, Propyl paraben and required amount of distilled water. Then skin pH (6.8-7) was maintained by drop wise addition of tri-ethanolamine. The physiochemical parameters of formulations (pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability etc.) were determined. The results showed that the Carbopol 934 has better gel properties than other formulation.
PTF1 Is an Organ-Specific and Notch-Independent Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Complex Containing the Mammalian Suppressor of Hairless (RBP-J) or Its Paralogue, RBP-L

ABSTRACT PTF1 is a trimeric transcription factor essential to the development of the pancreas and to the maintenance of the differentiated state of the adult exocrine pancreas. It comprises a dimer of P48/PTF1a (a pancreas and neural restricted basic helix-loop-helix [bHLH] protein) and a class A bHLH protein, together with a third protein that we show can be either the mammalian Suppressor of Hairless (RBP-J) or its paralogue, RBP-L. In mature acinar cells, PTF1 exclusively contains the RBP-L isoform and is bound to the promoters of acinar specific genes. P48 interacts with the RBP subunit primarily through two short conserved tryptophan-containing motifs, similar to the motif of the Notch intracellular domain (NotchIC) that interacts with RBP-J. The transcriptional activities of the J and L forms of PTF1 are independent of Notch signaling, because P48 occupies the NotchIC docking site on RBP-J and RBP-L does not bind the NotchIC. Mutations that delete one or both of the RBP-interacting motifs of P48 eliminate RBP-binding and are associated with a human genetic disorder characterized by pancreatic and cerebellar agenesis, which indicates that the association of P48 and RBPs is required for proper embryonic development. The presence of related peptide motifs in other transcription factors indicates a broader Notch-independent function for RBPJ/SU(H).
Qualidade na industria brasileira de fundição de aluminio : setor automotivo

A industria de fundicao de aluminio brasileira ocupa destacada posicao no mercado nacional. Devido as vantagens que este tipo de materia-prima apresenta em relacao a outros materiais, o uso do aluminio por parte das industrias transformadoras, representadas, neste caso, pelas autopecas, vem merecendo destaque. Entretanto, o aumento da concorrencia internacional e as medidas adotadas pelo governo brasileiro alteraram profundamente as relacoes ate entao vigentes. Os objetivos desta dissertacao, portanto, foram: analisar o panorama atual das industrias de fundicao de aluminio fornecedoras para a cadeia automotiva, no que diz respeito a sistemas de gestao da qualidade e, em seguida, propor algumas diretrizes que sirvam como orientacao a introducao e manutencao de programas de gerenciamento da qualidade. A metodologia utilizada foi a de estudos de caso em algumas empresas com destacada representatividade no setor. Os resultados obtidos comprovam que a gestao da qualidade tem se tornado fundamental para a competitividade das empresas Abstract