Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of intraventricular hemorrhage with tissue plasminogen activator.

The patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) were treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) injected directly into the lateral ventricles, followed by ventricular drainage. All had a decreased level of consciousness before treatment (Glasgow Coma Scale score 10 +/- 3.4). A total dose between 2 and 12 mg of rt-PA (6.4 +/- 3.3) was administered. For eight patients with aneurysmal IVH, treatment with rt-PA began with two patients the same day as the aneurysm clipping, and the day after with six patients. For a patient with an excision of a ruptured arteriovenous malformation and a patient with IVH resulting from a lateral ventricular catheterization during posterior fossa tumor surgery, treatment with rt-PA started 24 hours after surgery. After an injection of rt-PA, the ventricular drain was closed for 1 hour, followed by alternate-hourly drainage and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. Five patients received a second injection of rt-PA on the second postoperative day, and one patient received a third dose on the third day. Among the eight patients given rt-PA the day after surgery, the volume of external cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage for 24 +/- 8 hours before treatment was 61 +/- 57 ml, and the mean ICP was 22 +/- 5 mm Hg during this same time. Younger age and poorer neurological condition correlated with higher ICP before treatment. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Classic Spotlight: Quorum Sensing and the Multicellular Life of Unicellular Organisms

The discovery of quorum sensing by Ken Nealson, Terry Platt, and Woody Hastings (1) foreshadowed a revolution in microbiology, transforming our thinking about microbes. The second sentence of their publication in the Journal of Bacteriology (JB) in 1970 gets directly to the point: “The matter of interest in this paper is that the growth of the bacteria and the development of luminescence do not occur in concert in liquid cultures. ” That is, they described the very rapid production of light by the organism called, at the time, Photobacterium fisheri (now called Vibrio fischeri) only after “conditioning” of the medium by the growing cells, leading to the activation of light production by an endogenously produced signal. As opposed to other activities known to increase in abundance in concert with growth of the cells, light production occurred very rapidly and not as a function of cell growth; they referred to this phenomenon as “autoinduction,” a term we still use today. Furthermore, while autoinduction was first recognized in an environmental Vibrio sp. , it was eventually recognized that this phenomenon is conserved across microbes, including pathogens. Gambello and Iglewski reported the cloning and mutant characterization of the lasR gene, a homolog of the Vibrio autoinduction regulator, in JB in 1994 (2) and proposed that its gene product, LasR, like LuxR, “also functions in a cell-density-dependent manner,” thus helping to trigger the use of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a key model pathogen for studying autoinduction. Furthermore, while autoinduction is a useful term, it helps to have a name that readily conveys this concept to a broad audience. A minireview by Fuqua, Winans, and Greenberg published in JB in 1994 (3) was first to introduce the term “quorum sensing” in print. There, the authors state that “certain bacterial behaviors can be performed efficiently only by a sufficiently large population of bacteria. We describe this minimum behavioral unit as a quorum of bacteria. ” More recently, the 1997 paper in JB by Bassler, Greenberg, and Stevens (4) articulated the concept that quorum sensing can occur between species. As stated in their article, their “studies show that V. harveyi is capable of responding . to substances produced by other species of bacteria,” an observation that triggered a second explosion of studies in this field. The implication of the work published in these papers in JB over 25 years is that bacteria could no longer be considered unicellular “loners” but instead are capable of social behaviors analogous to those observed for bees, naked mole rats, and people.
Augmentation of Reduced Folate Carrier-Mediated Folate/Antifolate Transport through an Antiport Mechanism with 5-Aminoimidazole-4-Carboxamide Riboside Monophosphate

5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR), an agent with diverse pharmacological properties, augments transport of folates and antifolates. This report further characterizes this phenomenon and defines the mechanism by which it occurs. Exposure of HeLa cells to AICAR resulted in augmentation of methotrexate, 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate initial rates and net uptake in cells that express the reduced folate carrier (RFC). This did not occur in cells that express only the proton-coupled folate transporter and accumulated folates by this mechanism. Transport stimulation correlated with the accumulation of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide monophosphate (ZMP), the monophosphate derivative of AICAR, within cells as established by liquid chromatography. When ZMP formation was blocked with 5-iodotubercidin, an inhibitor of adenosine kinase, folate transport stimulation by AICAR was absent. When cells first accumulated ZMP and were then exposed to 5-iodotubercidin or AICAR-free buffer, the ZMP level markedly decreased and folate transport stimulation was abolished. Extracellular ZMP inhibited RFC-mediated folate influx, and the presence of intracellular ZMP correlated with inhibition of folate efflux. The data indicate that intracellular ZMP trans-stimulates folate influx and inhibits folate efflux, which, together, produce a marked augmentation in the net cellular folate level. This interaction among ZMP, folates, and RFC, a folate/organic phosphate antiporter, is consistent with a classic exchange reaction. The transmembrane gradient for one transport substrate (ZMP) drives the uphill transport of another (folate) via a carrier used by both substrates, a phenomenon intrinsic to the energetics of RFC-mediated folate transport.
Evidence for estrogenic regulation of gonadotropin‐releasing hormone neurons by glutamatergic neurons in the ewe brain: An immunohistochemical study using an antibody against vesicular glutamate transporter‐2

Gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion is controlled by various factors, including the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Estrogen (E) regulates GnRH secretion by means of E‐responsive cells in the brain that relay the feedback effects to the preoptic area (POA). We used an antibody to vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2) to label glutamatergic neurons in the areas of the ewe brain that control GnRH secretion. VGluT2‐immunoreactive cells were observed in the arcuate nucleus (ARC)/ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) complex, POA, bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BnST), and A1 and A2 cell groups in the brainstem. In three ewes, E receptor‐α was detected in 52–61% of glutamatergic neurons in ARC/VMH, 37–52% of neurons in the POA, and 37–58% of neurons in the BnST. E injection (i.m. or i.v.) increased the percentage of glutamatergic cells that expressed Fos protein in the ARC (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). In six ewes, injection of the retrograde tracer Fluoro‐Gold into the POA labeled cells in the ARC and 6–29% of these were also VGluT2‐immunoreactive. Double‐labeling of varicosities in the POA showed colocalization of VGluT2 in 12.5 ± 3% of dopamine β‐hydroxylase–immunoreactive terminals, indicating that a subset of glutamatergic inputs could arise from brainstem noradrenergic neurons cells. In the POA, 60% of GnRH neurons had close appositions that were VGluT2‐immunoreactive. We conclude that E‐responsive glutamatergic neurons arising from the brainstem, the BnST, and ARC/VMH provide input to the POA and may be involved in the regulation of GnRH secretion. J. Comp. Neurol. 465:136–144, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optimal skin impedance promotes perception of ultrasonic switches

Ultrasonic friction reduction is one potential technology for bringing tangibility to flat touchscreens. We previously established that this approach can be used to create an artificial sensation of pressing a mechanical switch by varying the coefficient of friction, which depends on the force applied by the user. This sensation proves effective majority of, but a non-negligible fraction reported feeling only weak sensations or none at all. In the present study, we examined the factors possibly involved in producing a vivid perception of a stimulus by measuring the mechanical impedance of the fingertip as an index to the frictional behavior, and performing psychophysical experiments. Subjects who experienced weaker sensations were found to have a weaker susceptibility to friction modulation, which may in turn be attributable to either a larger or a smaller than average/normal impedance; whereas those with a mechanical impedance of around 55 N.s/m clearly perceived the ultrasonic switch. Measuring and factoring the users impedance in real time could therefore provide a useful means of improving the rendering of ultrasonic surface haptic devices.
Radiation and repeated transoceanic dispersal of Schoeneae (Cyperaceae) through the southern hemisphere.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY The broad austral distribution of Schoeneae is almost certainly a product of long-distance dispersal. Owing to the inadequacies of existing phylogenetic data and a lack of rigorous biogeographic analysis, relationships within the tribe remain poorly resolved and its pattern of radiation and dispersal uncertain. We employed an expanded sampling of taxa and markers and a rigorous analytic approach to address these limitations. We evaluated the roles of geography and ecology in stimulating the initial radiation of the group and its subsequent dispersal across the southern hemisphere. METHODS A dated tree was reconstructed using reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with a polytomy prior and molecular dating, applied to data from two nuclear and three cpDNA regions. Ancestral areas and habitats were inferred using dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis models. KEY RESULTS Schoeneae originated in Australia in the Paleocene. The existence of a "hard" polytomy at the base of the clade reflects the rapid divergence of six principal lineages ca. 50 Ma, within Australia. From this ancestral area, Schoeneae have traversed the austral oceans with remarkable frequency, a total of 29 distinct dispersal events being reported here. Dispersal rates between landmasses are not explicable in terms of the geographical distances separating them. Transoceanic dispersal generally involved habitat stasis. CONCLUSIONS Although the role of dispersal in explaining global distribution patterns is now widely accepted, the apparent ease with which such dispersal may occur has perhaps been under-appreciated. In Schoeneae, transoceanic dispersal has been remarkably frequent, with ecological opportunity, rather than geography, being most important in dictating dispersal patterns.
Voting over taxes with endogenous altruism

El comportamiento de los agentes en sus decisiones individuales afecta directa e indirectamente a la sociedad de la cual forman parte. En este trabajo se examina el efecto de las decisiones individuales sobre los programas de impuestos sobre la renta en una sociedad en la cual los individuos pueden decidir segun diversos grados de altruismo. En la literatura tradicional, los analisis en torno a este tema se han centrado en el estudio del comportamiento de individuos denominados "egoistas". Este trabajo pretende profundizar en el caso de individuos "altruistas", y en las dificultades y problematica especifica de este enfoque, comenzando en primer lugar por delimitar la propia caracterizacion del concepto de comportamiento altruista. Con motivo de precisar un modelo mas determinado del comportamiento de los denominados "individuos altruistas", se ha tomado prestado como herramienta de analisis el modelo de formacion endogena de estimaciones interpersonales, desarrollado por Esteban y Kranich (2001). En el estudio de los efectos del comportamiento de estos individuos altruistas sobre la sociedad se han considerado dos tipos de equilibrio estacionario: uno, en el cual no existe excluxion social y el altruismo esta inversamente relacionado con la renta; y otro, en el cual la sociedad se estratifica en dos o tres grupos: el primero, de alta productividad, o de ganadores; el segundo, de productividad baja o de perdedores; y probablemente, un tercero, de productividad intermedia entre los dos extremos anteriores. El objeto de este trabajo es la aplicacion del mencionado modelo de Esteban y Kranich (2001) bajo estos supuestos y estos tres tipos de agentes, y el analisis de los efectos sobre la sociedad de un incremento en la imposicion sobre la renta y los posibles escenarios alternativos resultantes
Primary Prevention Programs to Reduce Heart Disease Risk in Women

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. Despite this statistic, many women do not perceive heart disease as a priority health concern. Recognizing that prevention begins in the community, the American Hospital Association launched a national fellowship program in 1998 to improve cardiovascular health. This article describes a practice innovation designed by a clinical nurse specialist who participated as a 1999-2000 cardiovascular fellow. The Women’s Prevention Center, a community-based clinic within the walls of a heart hospital, provides a personalized cardiovascular assessment for women, including both heart history and assessment of physical parameters (eg, blood pressure, fasting glucose, lipid panel, waist-hip ratio). From this assessment, women are counseled on strategies to modify their individual risk factors, such as smoking cessation, heart-healthy nutrition and exercise, and are assisted in developing realistic lifestyle or medical management goals. After the initial assessment, outcomes are measured at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups to determine both individual success with behavior changes and program effectiveness.
The effect of cadence on the muscle‐tendon mechanics of the gastrocnemius muscle during walking

Humans naturally select a cadence that minimizes metabolic cost at a constant walking velocity. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of cadence on the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle and tendon interaction, and examine how this might influence lower limb energetics. We hypothesized that cadences higher than preferred would increase MG fascicle shortening velocity because of the reduced stride time. Furthermore, we hypothesized that cadences lower than preferred would require greater MG fascicle shortening to achieve increased muscle work requirements. We measured lower limb kinematics and kinetics, surface electromyography of the triceps surae and MG fascicle length, via ultrasonography, during walking at a constant velocity at the participants' preferred cadence and offsets of ±10%, ±20%, and ±30%. There was a significant increase in MG fascicle shortening with decreased cadence. However, there was no increase in the MG fascicle shortening velocity at cadences higher than preferred. Cumulative MG muscle activation per minute was significantly increased at higher cadences. We conclude that low cadence walking requires more MG shortening work, while MG muscle and tendon function changes little for each stride at higher cadences, driving up cumulative activation costs due to the increase in steps per minute.
Gene Regulation Network Based Analysis Associated with TGF-βeta Stimulation in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Background Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is over-expressed in a wide variety of cancers such as lung adenocarcinoma. TGF-β plays a major role in cancer progression through regulating cancer cell proliferation and remodeling of the tumor micro-environment. However, it is still a great challenge to explain the phenotypic effects caused by TGF-β stimulation and the effect of TGF-β stimulation on tumor micro-environment. Objectives To address this issue, in the present study we used two time-course microarray data in human lung adenocarcinoma cells and applied bioinformatics methods to explore the gene regulation network responding to TGF-β stimulation in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Materials and Methods The time-dependent reverse-engineering method, protein-protein interaction network analyses, and calculation of the similarity measures between the links were used to construct gene regulatory network and to extract gene clusters. Results Utilizing the constructed gene regulation network, we predicted NEFL and LUC7A show the opposite and the same change with C21orf90 if HAND2 is knocked-out after treatment with TGF-β1 for 4 hours and for 12 hours respectively. FGG and HSPC009 are predicted to display the opposite change with NEFL if CSMD1 is knocked out after treatment with TGF-β1 for 12 hours. Additionally, by integrating two datasets, we specially identified several nested clusters which included those genes regulated by TGF-β stimulation in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Conclusions Our analysis can help a better understanding regarding how TGF-β stimulation causes the expression change of a number of the genes and provide a novel insight into TGF-β stimulation effect on lung adenocarcinoma cells.
A compact gamma camera for biological imaging

A compact detector, sized particularly for imaging a mouse, is described. The active area of the detector is approximately 46 mm /spl times/ 96 mm. Two flat-panel Hamamatsu H8500 position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs) are coupled to a pixellated NaI(Tl) scintillator which views the animal through a copper-beryllium (CuBe) parallel-hole collimator specially designed for /sup 125/I. Although the PSPMTs have insensitive areas at their edges and there is a physical gap, corrections for scintillation light collection at the junction between the two tubes results in a uniform response across the entire rectangular area of the detector. The system described has been developed to optimize both sensitivity and resolution for in-vivo imaging of small animals injected with iodinated compounds. We demonstrate an in-vivo application of this detector, particularly to SPECT, by imaging mice injected with approximately 10-15 /spl mu/Ci of /sup 125/I.
CONTRASTING PATTERNS OF QUANTITATIVE AND NEUTRAL GENETIC VARIATION IN LOCALLY ADAPTED POPULATIONS OF THE NATTERJACK TOAD, BUFO CALAMITA

Abstract The relative importance of natural selection and genetic drift in determining patterns of phenotypic diversity observed in nature is still unclear. The natterjack toad (Bufo calamita) is one of a few amphibian species capable of breeding in saline ponds, even though water salinity represents a considerable stress for them. Results from two common-garden experiments showed a pattern of geographic variation in embryonic salinity tolerance among populations from either fresh or brackish environments, consistent with the hypothesis of local adaptation. Full-sib analysis showed increased variation in survival among sibships within population for all populations as osmotic stress was increased (broad-sense heritability increased as salinity raised). Nevertheless, toads native to the brackish water environment had the highest overall survival under brackish conditions. Levels of population genetic differentiation for salinity tolerance were higher than those of neutral genetic differentiation, the latter obtained through the analysis of eight microsatellite loci. Microsatellite markers also revealed little population differentiation, lack of an isolation-by-distance pattern, and moderate gene flow connecting the populations. Therefore, environmental stress tolerance appears to have evolved in absence of geographic isolation, and consequently we reject the null hypothesis of neutral differentiation.
Prolonged Reaction Time in Patients with Chronic Lateral Instability of the Ankle

Impaired proprioception has been suggested as one cause of chronic lateral instability of the ankle. We sub jected 15 ankles in 13 patients with symptoms of chronic lateral instability to sudden angular displacement. The reaction times in the peroneus longus and the tibialis anterior muscles were recorded and compared with those from 15 control ankles. Significantly longer ipsi lateral reaction time was recorded in the patients (65 ms) compared with the controls (49 ms). We concluded that delayed proprioceptive response to sudden angular displacement of the ankle may predispose an individual to or be a cause of chronic lateral instability of the ankle.
Expression profiling of vitamin D treated primary human keratinocytes

Vitamin D has attracted much attention by its ability to stop cell proliferation and induce differentiation, which became of particular interest for the treatment of cancer and psoriasis. We performed an expression profile of 12 hours and 24 hours 1α,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25(OH)2D3) treated primary human keratinocytes, to determine the changes in gene expression induced by the steroid in order to improve our understanding of the biological activity of 1α,25(OH)2D3. This we expect to be useful for establishing a test system for vitamin D analogs or might open new therapeutic targets or uses for the hormone. For the filter array experiments a non‐redundant set of 2135 sequence verified EST clones was used. The normalized raw data of 2 filters per time point were combined and subjected to SAM analysis to further increase the statistical significance. 86 positive and 50 negative genes were identified after 12 h. The numbers went down to 43 positive and 1 negative gene after 24 h of treatment. Fifteen genes are up‐regulated over a longer period of time (12 h and 24 h). Results were verified by real‐time PCR and/or Northern blots. Targets identified are involved in intracellular signaling, transcription, cell cycle, metabolism, cellular growth, constitution of the extracellular matrix or the cytoskeleton and apoptosis, immune responses, and DNA repair, respectively. Expression profiles showed an initial stop of proliferation and induction of differentiation, and resumed proliferation after prolonged incubation, most likely due to degradation of the hormone. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 574–592, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Applying the Flanker Task to Political Psychology: A Research Note

One of the two stated objectives of the new “Research Note” section of Political Psychology is to present short reports that highlight novel methodological approaches. Toward that end, we call readers' attention to the “flanker task,” a research protocol widely employed in the study of the cognitive processes involved with detection, recognition, and distraction. The flanker task has increasingly been modified to study social traits, and we believe it has untapped value in the area of political psychology. Here we describe the flanker task—discussing its potential for political psychology—and illustrate this potential by presenting results from a study correlating political ideology to flanker effects.
Epigram reloaded: a standalone typechecker for ETT

Epigram, a functional programming environment with dependent types, interacts with the programmer via an extensible high level language of programming constructs which elaborates incrementally into Epigram’s Type Theory, ETT, a rather spartan λ-calculus with dependent types, playing the rôle of a ‘core language’. We implement a standalone typechecker for ETT in Haskell, allowing us to reload existing libraries into the system safely without re-elaboration. Rather than adopting a rewriting approach to computation, we use a glued representation of values, pairing first-order syntax with a functional representation of its semantics, computed lazily. This approach separates β-reduction from βηconversion. We consequently can not only allow the η-laws for λ-abstractions and pairs, but also collapse each of the unit and empty types.