Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electron microscopic studies on isoproterenol-induced myocardial lesion in rats.

A fine structural investigation was performed on the myocardial lesion induced by high doses of isoproterenol in rats. The findings in the myocardial cells at the early stage consisted of swelling of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria and depletion of glycogen granules. The results suggest that isoproterenol primarily affects endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, leading to the impairment of their membranes and metabolism, About 8min. after isoproterenol, electron dense bodies were found in mitochondria, suggesting an accumulation of calcium. Fibroblastic infiltration was noted in damaged myocardial area 6 hours after isoproterenol, and after 24 hours in some cases there occasionally appeared young myocytes which were possibly originated in surviving myocardial cells. Propranolol significantly delayed an appearance of abnormalities in endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria at the early stage, but it had little influence on the improvement of isoproterenol-induced myocardial damages at the later stage.
Why is There No Partisan Competition in City Council Elections? The Role of Election Law

Despite the attention given to the anticompetitive effects of gerrymandering on national and state elections, little notice is paid to the least competitive legislative elections in America: its city council elections. In cities with partisan elections, individual competitive seats are rarer than at the national level and there is almost never competition for partisan control of councils. Nonpartisan city council elections are even worse, with virtually undefeatable incumbents and no policy competition of any kind. The dominant explanation in the political science literature for this phenomenon is that the lack of partisan competition in local elections is a result of the issues at play in local politics. Local politics, the argument goes, is not ideological - it is only about the competence with which public goods are provided and the allocation of these goods to different groups. This claim cannot stand up to scrutiny. Debates over issues like policing strategy and urban development are ideological, and voters do have beliefs about them, but there is still no partisan competition.This paper argues that the explanation for the lack of partisan competition in city council elections lies in the laws governing these elections. Several laws - by my definition "unitary party rules" - serve to ensure that the national parties are on the ballot in local elections and that candidates, activists and voters do not defect from dominant national parties during local elections. When combined with the little information available about individual council candidates, the existence of the national party heuristic on local ballots crowds out other information and the laws create severe barriers to entry for potential local parties. The result is that the vote in city council elections directly tracks the vote in national elections, despite strong empirical evidence that voters have very different beliefs about local and national issues. In cities in which one party dominates at the national level, there is no competition. Thus, local legislatures are extremely unrepresentative of voter preferences and have little democratic legitimacy. Repealing the unitary party rules would spur a rearrangement of the two-party system at the local level and create party competition at the local level.
Targeting cyclooxygenase-2 with sodium butyrate and NSAIDs on colorectal adenoma/carcinoma cells.

AIM The protective effects of sodium butyrate and NSAIDs (especially the highly selective COX-2 inhibitors) have attracted considerable interest recently. In this study, primary adenoma cells and HT-29 were used to investigate whether the above drugs would be effective for reducing proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Additionally, it was investigated whether NSAIDs would strengthen the effects of sodium butyrate and its possible mechanisms. METHODS In vitro primary cell culture of colorectal adenomas and HT-29 were used for this investigation. PGE2 isolated from HT-29 cell culture supernatants was investigated by ELISA. MTT was employed to detect the anti-proliferative effects on both adenoma and HT-29 culture cells. FCM was used for apoptosis rate and cell cycle analysis. The morphology of apoptotic cells was investigated by means of electromicroscopy. RESULTS Sodium butyrate could stimulate the secretion of PGE2, while NSAIDs inhibited it to below 30 pg/10(6) cells. Both butyrate and NSAIDs could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. The effects were time- and dose-dependent (P<0.05). Aspirin and NS-398 could enhance the effects of sodium butyrate. The effects were stronger while sodium butyrate was used in combination with NS-398 than it was used in combination with aspirin. CONCLUSION Butyrate and NSAIDs could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis respectively. NSAIDs could enhance the effects of sodium butyrate by down-regulating COX-2 expression. Selective COX-2 inhibitor is better than traditional NSAIDs.
INTOXICAÇÃO MEDICAMENTOSA COM FOCO NOS EFEITOS DO PARACETAMOL

Atualmente a sociedade ve a automedicacao como a solucao para alivio imediato de alguns sintomas, no entanto, o uso indevido de medicamentos pode levar a algumas consequencias a saude, como a intoxicacao medicamentosa. Uma das classes mais propicias a este quadro, sao os analgesicos e, dentre estes o Paracetamol, o qual e um dos medicamentos de venda livre mais utilizado no Brasil. No entanto, ha pouca diferenca entre as doses toxicas e terapeuticas deste composto, esta informacao e pouco difundida para a populacao, colocando o Paracetamol entre os compostos que mais acarretam em intoxicacoes medicamentosas. Por esta razao o objetivo do presente estudo foi, atraves de um levantamento bibliografico, demonstrar a importância do farmaceutico em orientar os pacientes sobre os riscos da automedicacao e, orientar os mesmos sobre o uso indiscriminado do Paracetamol. Com os dados obtidos, evidenciou-se a importância da presenca do farmaceutico, pois este tem o papel de explicar ao paciente, qual a posologia correta para o uso racional de medicamentos. Alem disso, o farmaceutico tem a responsabilidade de prestar a assistencia ao paciente, informando e orientando sobre as doses recomendadas, tempo de duracao do tratamento, efeitos adversos e possiveis interacoes com outros medicamentos ou alimentos, com isso ocasionando na diminuicao de intoxicacoes medicamentosas. Para auxiliar estes profissionais a diminuir tal quadro, e imprescindivel a divulgacao de informacoes para a populacao, atraves de folhetos informativos, meio pelo qual o paciente pode ter acesso a informacao a qualquer momento.
Grados de libertad de imágenes ópticas en la aproximación de Born

Una nueva formulacion del problema de dispersion inversa (inverse scattering problem) es derivada de la aproximacion de Born la cual esta basada en el uso de campos multipolares en la definicion de la matriz de dispersion (scattering matriz). Dicha formulacion es utilizada para derivar el contenido informatico del campo radiado o equivalentemente, el numero de grados de libertad del objeto o imagen a ser reconstruida, dentro del marco de la aproximacion de Born. La teoria es desarrollada para campos escalares, pero todos los resultados principales se aplican directamente al caso electromagnetico vectorial.
Ribosomal DNA and cellular senescence: new evidence supporting the connection between rDNA and aging.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a powerful model system to understand the molecular basis of aging. It has been known for over 50 years that yeast cells have a finite replicative capacity and develop an aging phenotype, and much recent research has focused on the molecular changes that underlie this replicative senescence. A common thread in many yeast replicative aging studies is the involvement of the ribosomal DNA gene repeats (rDNA), beginning with the discovery that the rDNA silencing gene, SIR2, regulates life span. In 2008, a novel aging hypothesis, termed the rDNA theory of aging, was presented where the high level of genomic instability at the rDNA repeats was proposed to dominate global genome stability and determine the life span. Here, we review the rDNA theory of aging and discuss a number of recent studies that provide important new data on the roles of the rDNA in yeast replicative aging. Based on these recent results, we propose an integrative model of the rDNA theory of aging that encompasses genomic instability, chromatin relocalization following DNA repair, and replication stress in a self-reinforcing cyclical pathway that is primarily manifested at the rDNA repeats and results in the aging phenotype.
DNA Interstrand Cross-Link Repair in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Cycle: Overlapping Roles for PSO2 (SNM1) with MutS Factors and EXO1 during S Phase

ABSTRACT Pso2/Snm1 is a member of the β-CASP metallo-β-lactamase family of proteins that include the V(D)J recombination factor Artemis. Saccharomyces cerevisiae pso2 mutants are specifically sensitive to agents that induce DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). Here we establish a novel overlapping function for PSO2 with MutS mismatch repair factors and the 5′-3′ exonuclease Exo1 in the repair of DNA ICLs, which is confined to S phase. Our data demonstrate a requirement for NER and Pso2, or Exo1 and MutS factors, in the processing of ICLs, and this is required prior to the repair of ICL-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that form during replication. Using a chromosomally integrated inverted-repeat substrate, we also show that loss of both pso2 and exo1/msh2 reduces spontaneous homologous recombination rates. Therefore, PSO2, EXO1, and MSH2 also appear to have overlapping roles in the processing of some forms of endogenous DNA damage that occur at an irreversibly collapsed replication fork. Significantly, our analysis of ICL repair in cells synchronized for each cell cycle phase has revealed that homologous recombination does not play a major role in the direct repair of ICLs, even in G2, when a suitable template is readily available. Rather, we propose that recombination is primarily involved in the repair of DSBs that arise from the collapse of replication forks at ICLs. These findings have led to considerable clarification of the complex genetic relationship between various ICL repair pathways.
High-Affinity Epibatidine Binding of Functional, Human α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Stably and Heterologously Expressed de Novo in Human SH-EP1 Cells

Human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α7 subunits were stably and heterologously expressed in native nAChR-null SH-EP1 human epithelial cells. Immunofluorescence staining shows α7 subunit protein expression in virtually every transfected cell. Microautoradiographic analysis identifies 125I-labeled α-bungarotoxin (I-Bgt) binding sites corresponding to human α7 (hα7)-nAChRs on the surface of most cells. I-Bgt binds to hα7-nAChRs in membrane fractions with a typical apparent KD value of ∼5 nM and Bmax value of ∼1 pmol/mg membrane protein, and 62% of these sites are expressed on the cell surface. Function of heterologously expressed hα7-nAChRs is evident as rapid, transient inward current responses to (–)-nicotine. Nicotine treatment of transfected cells produces dose- and time-dependent increases (up to ∼100%) in numbers of I-Bgt binding sites. Epibatidine is a useful ligand for studies of nAChRs containing α3 or α4 subunits (KD values of about 100 or 10 pM, respectively). hα7-nAChRs expressed in transfected SH-EP1 cells also exhibit picomolar affinity binding of 3H-labeled epibatidine (KD value of ∼0.6 nM). Studies of several forms of native or heterologously expressed rat or human α7-nAChRs confirm high-affinity and mutually exclusive interaction with both epibatidine and α-bungarotoxin. Rank order potencies for drugs acting to compete for binding of either radioligand are similar (methyllycaconitine > dimethylphenyl-piperazinium > nicotine ∼ cytisine > carbamylcholine ∼ d-tubocurarine). These results demonstrate that transfected SH-EP1 cells are excellent models for studies of heterologously expressed, human α7-nAChRs that exhibit ligand binding and functional properties like native α7-nAChRs and that epibatdine is useful as a probe for human α7-nAChRs.
A Hybrid Flash File System Based on NOR and NAND Flash Memories for Embedded Devices

This paper presents a hybrid flash file system (HFFS) based on both NOR flash and NAND flash memory. In a conventional NAND flash-based flash file system, there is a trade-off between life span and durability in the frequent writing of small amounts of data. Because NAND flash supports only a page-level I/O, at least one page is wasted in the synchronous writing of small amounts of data. The wasting of pages reduces the utilization and life span of the NAND flash. To alleviate the utilization problem, some NAND flash-based flash file systems write small amounts of data asynchronously with RAM buffers, though buffering in RAM decreases the durability of the system. Our HFFS eliminates the trade-off between life span and durability. It synchronously stores data as a log in the NOR flash, whenever we append small amounts of data to a file. The merged logs are then flushed to the NAND flash in a page-aligned fashion. The implementation of our HFFS is based on our previous NAND flash-based file system, called CFFS, The experimental results reveal that our HFFS provides a longer life span than a conventional NAND flash-based synchronous flash file system with a similar level of durability.
ABSORPTION AND EXCRETION OF DRUGS. XX. SOME PHARMACOKINETIC ASPECTS OF ABSORPTION AND EXCRETION OF SULFONAMIDES. (2). ABSORPTION FROM RAT SMALL INTESTINE.

Rat small intestine was recirculated in situ with seventeen kinds of sulfonamide and five N4-acetyl derivatives, and absorption rate of the unionized drug was determined. The kinetical model proposed for the absorption of the drug from rat stomach also accounts for the absorption from rat small intestine, though the organic solvents that give suitable P are different.
Conjugal Transfer in Lactic Streptococci of Plasmid-Encoded Insensitivity to Prolate- and Small Isometric-Headed Bacteriophages

Eight of 40 strains of Streptococcus lactis and S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis were able to conjugally transfer a degree of phage insensitivity to Streptococcus lactis LM0230. Transconjugants from one donor strain, S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis 4942, contained a 106-kilobase (kb) cointegrate plasmid, pAJ1106. The plasmid was conjugative (Tra+) and conferred phage insensitivity (Hsp) and lactose-fermenting ability (Lac) in S. lactis and Streptococcus cremoris transconjugants. The phage resistance mechanism was effective against prolate- and small isometric-headed phages at 30°C. In S. lactis transconjugants, the phage resistance mechanism was considerably weakened at elevated temperatures. A series of deletion plasmids was isolated from transconjugants in S. cremoris 4854. Deletion plasmids were pAJ2074 (74 kb), Lac+, Hsp+, Tra+; pAJ3060 (60 kb), Lac+, Hsp+; and pAJ4013 (13 kb), Lac+. These plasmids should facilitate mapping Hsp and tra genes, with the aim of constructing phage-insensitive strains useful to the dairy industry.
Argon: the 'lazy' noble gas with organoprotective properties.

Argon’s biological activity was ﬁrst described bydeepseadiversinthe1930s.Theiraimwastoinvestigategases present in the atmosphere for their suitabilityas respiratory gases at depth. In adventurous self-experiments, they were able to show that – underhyperbaric conditions – the narcotic effect of argonwas greater than nitrogen. Yet, there was no differencedetectable between argon and nitrogen with respectto respiratory resistance or psychological effects atatmospheric pressures.
Constant IFNγ mRNA to protein ratios in cord and adult blood T cells suggests regulation of IFNγ expression in cord blood T cells occurs at the transcriptional level

Low levels of IFNγ produced by umbilical cord blood (UCB) T lymphocytes upon activation may be due to the need for a high threshold of activation or to intrinsic blocking transcription/translation. We examined IFNγ mRNA accumulation and protein expression in pharmacologically stimulated human UCB and adult blood (AB) T cells. Our data indicate that both IFNγ mRNA accumulation and protein synthesis were significantly lower in stimulated UCB T cells than the AB T cells. Since the RNA dependent kinase PKR, an inhibitor of translation, can be activated by low levels of IFNγ mRNA, we measured its involvement. Treatment with 2‐amino‐purine, an inhibitor of PKR, did not enhance IFNγ protein expression in UCB T cells. Furthermore, our studies indicated that IFNγ promoter hypermethylation does not appear to regulate IFNγ expression either, as treatment with the demethylating agent, 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine, did not lead to a significant increase in IFNγ mRNA accumulation in UCB T cells. What is readily evident from our studies is that the IFNγ mRNA to protein ratio was similar in UCB and AB T cells and it was not altered by any of the treatments used. These results therefore suggests that IFNγ expression in UCB T cells is suppressed at the transcriptional level by an unknown mechanism(s).
Graph topology plays a determinant role in the evolution of cooperation

We study the evolution of cooperation in communities described in terms of graphs, such that individuals occupy the vertices and engage in single rounds of the Prisoner's Dilemma with those individuals with whom they are connected through the edges of those graphs. We find an overwhelming dominance of cooperation whenever graphs are dynamically generated through the mechanisms of growth and preferential attachment. These mechanisms lead to the appearance of direct links between hubs, which constitute sufficient conditions to sustain cooperation. We show that cooperation dominates from large population sizes down to communities with nearly 100 individuals, even when extrinsic factors set a limit on the number of interactions that each individual may engage in.
Large patches of Bowen's disease treated by topical aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy

Large patches of Bowen's disease (intraepidermal carcinoma in situ) can be difficult to treat by conventional methods. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses the combination of a photosensitizer, which preferentially accumulates in malignant cells, and photoactivation by visible light to kill the malignant cells, 5‐aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) PDT uses excess exogenous ALA, which produces, via the haem synthesis pathway, a build up of the photosensitizer protoporphyrin IX. We describe the use of topical ALA PDT to treat three patients with three especially large patches of Bowen's disease. Following two treatments all three lesions achieved a complete clinical and histological response with a good cosmetic result. ALA PDT is a simple, effective and well tolerated treatment for large patches of Bowen's disease.
Cervical Cancer Screening Adherence Among Somali Immigrants and Refugees to the United States

Somali women have lower cervical cancer screening (CCS) rates than non-Somali women in the United States. We examined clinical and administrative data associated with CCS adherence among Somali women seen at a large primary care practice over 2 years. Fifty-one percent of 310 women were adherent to CCS, and adherence was associated with more overall health care system visits. Patients saw male providers 65.8% of the time; however, only 20.4% of the CCS tests were performed by male providers. Future interventions that enhance cancer prevention, health literacy, and patient–provider gender concordance may improve rates of CCS among Somali women.
Phylogenetically widespread multiple paternity in New World natricine snakes

—We used microsatellite DNA markers to identify the extent to which multiple paternity within litters occurs among species of New World natricine snakes. We selected seven species to represent the three major clades of Natricinae and all three subclades of the gartersnake clade. Microsatellite DNA genotyping of dams and litters confirmed multiple paternity within litters of six species, including Thamnophis radix, T. sauritus, Storeria dekayi, S. occipitomaculata, Nerodia rhombifer, and Regina septemvittata. Multiple paternity was not evident in one litter of nine Thamnophis melanogaster. Together with published data documenting multiple paternity in T. bulteri, T. elegans, T. sirtalis, and N. sipedon, these results confirm the phylogenetically widespread occurrence of multiple paternity among New World natricines, emphasizing the need to consider phylogenetic (historical) explanations when analyzing snake mating systems.
The Neological Functions of Disease Euphemisms in English and French: Verbal Hygiene or Speech Pathology?

According to Allan & Burridge [1991: 11], “[a] euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one’s own face or, through giving offence, that of the audience, or some third party. ” The word “alternative” seems to imply that there is always a choice for speakers, according to the situation of utterance, the interlocutor(s), the register, etc. Yet, in some cases, there does not seem to be much choice, and some euphemisms are completely lexicalized as they have imposed themselves as the only acceptable ways to refer to a given referent or a given notion. This may be the case for politically-correct terms for instance, or for euphemisms referring to notions that are deemed too shocking or painful to be directly mentioned, such as diseases. This article aims to discuss the aspects of word-formation process in the euphemistic lexicon of physical and mental illnesses in English and in French, by resorting to a comparative analysis. I will try and show that if some euphemistic neologisms are generated to circumvent the taboo surrounding diseases and illnesses, some others act as real terminological creations and enable to play a role in structuring the domain.
Harnessing Genetic Diversity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Fermentation of Xylose in Hydrolysates of Alkaline Hydrogen Peroxide-Pretreated Biomass

ABSTRACT The fermentation of lignocellulose-derived sugars, particularly xylose, into ethanol by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is known to be inhibited by compounds produced during feedstock pretreatment. We devised a strategy that combined chemical profiling of pretreated feedstocks, high-throughput phenotyping of genetically diverse S. cerevisiae strains isolated from a range of ecological niches, and directed engineering and evolution against identified inhibitors to produce strains with improved fermentation properties. We identified and quantified for the first time the major inhibitory compounds in alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP)-pretreated lignocellulosic hydrolysates, including Na+, acetate, and p-coumaric (pCA) and ferulic (FA) acids. By phenotyping these yeast strains for their abilities to grow in the presence of these AHP inhibitors, one heterozygous diploid strain tolerant to all four inhibitors was selected, engineered for xylose metabolism, and then allowed to evolve on xylose with increasing amounts of pCA and FA. After only 149 generations, one evolved isolate, GLBRCY87, exhibited faster xylose uptake rates in both laboratory media and AHP switchgrass hydrolysate than its ancestral GLBRCY73 strain and completely converted 115 g/liter of total sugars in undetoxified AHP hydrolysate into more than 40 g/liter ethanol. Strikingly, genome sequencing revealed that during the evolution from GLBRCY73, the GLBRCY87 strain acquired the conversion of heterozygous to homozygous alleles in chromosome VII and amplification of chromosome XIV. Our approach highlights that simultaneous selection on xylose and pCA or FA with a wild S. cerevisiae strain containing inherent tolerance to AHP pretreatment inhibitors has potential for rapid evolution of robust properties in lignocellulosic biofuel production.