Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of chronic blockade of angiotensin II-receptor subtypes on aortic compliance in rats with myocardial infarction.

This study was undertaken to investigate changes in aortic geometry and compliance after long-term blockade of angiotensin receptors type 1 (AT1) and AT2 receptors under basal conditions and after myocardial infarction (MI). Sham-operated (sham) or MI rats received either no treatment, AT1 antagonist GR138950C (GR; 2 mg/kg/day i.v.), or AT2 antagonist PD123319 (PD; 3 mg/kg/day s.c.). After 3 weeks, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was measured. Thoracic aorta diastolic diameter (D[dia]), compliance coefficient (CC), and distensibility coefficient (DC) were determined noninvasively in anesthetized rats by using ultrasound and wall tracking. After the rats were killed, histologic measurements were made on aortic cross sections. In sham rats, MAP was reduced by GR treatment (76 +/- 6 vs. 106 +/- 5 mm Hg), but not by PD. D(dia) was reduced in both GR-treated (1.74 +/- 0.08 vs. 2.09 +/- 0.05 mm) and PD-treated (1.83 +/- 0.05 vs. 2.09 +/- 0.05 mm) sham rats. CC and DC were not modified by either treatment. Although media cross-sectional area was not affected by either GR or PD treatment in sham rats, media thickness and media/lumen ratio were increased in both cases. Induction of MI had no effect on aortic structure, geometry, or mechanics; however, treatment with either GR or PD improved DC versus untreated MI rats. We conclude that AT1 and AT2 receptors are involved in angiotensin II-mediated effects on aortic geometry and mechanics under both basal conditions and after MI. Whereas blockade of AT1 receptors most likely influences vascular properties through a depressor mechanism, AT2 receptors induce pressure-independent remodeling.
Oxidative stress in zebrafish embryos induced by short‐term exposure to bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and their mixture

Bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) are well‐known endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) present in the aquatic environment, but little is known about their oxidative stress effects on fish embryos. In the present study, we examined the oxidative stress indices and antioxidant parameters of zebrafish embryos after a short‐term exposure to various concentrations of BPA, NP, and their mixture (BPA‐NP) for 4 h postfertilization (hpf) to 168 hpf. Exposure to the chemicals was found to enhance the production of hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxidation in a concentration‐dependent manner. The content of total glutathione (TG), reduced glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSH), as well as the activity of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione‐S‐transferase were all significantly inhibited after exposure to BPA, NP, and BPA‐NP, indicating the occurrence of oxidative stress. Coexposure to BPA‐NP resulted in an additive effect on some antioxidant parameters. In addition, the alkaline phosphatase activity was also significantly inhibited after exposure to BPA, NP, and their mixtures. Our results demonstrated that BPA, NP, and BPA‐NP in aquatic systems can affect antioxidant responses in zebrafish embryos. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2335–2341. © 2011 SETAC
Fructans, But Not the Sucrosyl-Galactosides, Raffinose and Loliose, Are Affected by Drought Stress in Perennial Ryegrass

The aim of this study was to evaluate the putative role of the sucrosyl-galactosides, loliose [α-d-Gal (1,3) α-d-Glc (1,2) β-d-Fru] and raffinose [α-d-Gal (1,6) α-d-Glc (1,2) β-d-Fru], in drought tolerance of perennial ryegrass and to compare it with that of fructans. To that end, the loliose biosynthetic pathway was first established and shown to operate by a UDP-Gal: sucrose (Suc) 3-galactosyltransferase, tentatively termed loliose synthase. Drought stress increased neither the concentrations of loliose and raffinose nor the activities of loliose synthase and raffinose synthase (EC 2.4.1.82). Moreover, the concentrations of the raffinose precursors, myoinositol and galactinol, as well as the gene expressions of myoinositol 1-phosphate synthase (EC 5.5.1.4) and galactinol synthase (EC 2.4.1.123) were either decreased or unaffected by drought stress. Taken together, these data are not in favor of an obvious role of sucrosyl-galactosides in drought tolerance of perennial ryegrass at the vegetative stage. By contrast, drought stress caused fructans to accumulate in leaf tissues, mainly in leaf sheaths and elongating leaf bases. This increase was mainly due to the accumulation of long-chain fructans (degree of polymerization > 8) and was not accompanied by a Suc increase. Interestingly, Suc but not fructan concentrations greatly increased in drought-stressed roots. Putative roles of fructans and sucrosyl-galactosides are discussed in relation to the acquisition of stress tolerance.
Secretion of cardiac plasminogen activator during hypoxia-induced right ventricular hypertrophy.

In the circulation, fibrinolytic activity is determined to a large degree by the relative levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and its major inhibitor (PAI-1). Vascular beds in different organs secrete tPA and PAI-1 into the circulation, and the total secretory rate of each protein is balanced by its half-life in the bloodstream. We are testing the hypothesis that in the heart, ventricular hypertrophy will alter the rates of formation of tPA and/or PAI-1 and the rates of their release into the cardiac vasculature. In this study, we have examined the effects of continuous hypoxia on PA activity in extracts of rat heart ventricles, on the activity secreted into the cardiac vasculature of perfused hearts, and on the levels of mRNAs for tPA and PAI-1. Rats were subjected to hypobaric hypoxia at 0.5 atm for 1-21 days. The treatment caused polycythemia within 1-3 days, and right ventricular hypertrophy by 3 days. PA activity in extracts of both right and left ventricles was significantly elevated after 3 days of hypoxia, continued to increase for 4 additional days, and remained elevated for 3 weeks. The actions of inhibitors of urokinase and tPA indicated that the PA activity in heart extracts was exclusively tPA. Fibrin zymography confirmed that result. The mRNAs for tPA and for PAI-1 were elevated after 1 day of hypoxia and then returned to near control levels on days 2 and 3. After 7 days, hearts from hypoxic rats secreted more tPA activity into perfusates than did hearts from controls. The difference in secretory rates was proportional to the differences in the levels of tPA in the corresponding heart extracts.
Pathways linking temperament and depressive symptoms: A short-term prospective diary study among adolescents

The current study examined mechanisms through which trait negative affectivity (NA) and effortful control (EC) prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in a community sample of 110 adolescents (mean age=16.40 years) in a 9-week, multi-wave diary study. We hypothesised youth with high NA and low EC would experience greater increases in depressive symptoms because they generate more maladaptive cognitive responses to stress. NA predicted greater event-specific rumination and negative cognitive style across the study period. After controlling for trait cognitive vulnerabilities, only event-specific rumination mediated the effect of NA on subsequent depressive symptoms, suggesting that high-NA youth are more likely to ruminate about stressful events, which then predicts increases in depressive symptoms. EC did not moderate the effects of NA on either depressive symptoms or cognitive responses to stress. Results are discussed in terms of vulnerability-stress models linking temperament and depressive symptoms in adolescence.
SELECTIVE DEPRESSION OF SYNAPTIC EXCITATION IN CAT SPINAL NEURONES BY BACLOFEN: AN IONTOPHORETIC STUDY

1 The effects of baclofen have been examined on responses of neurones in the spinal cord of the anaesthetized cat to stimulation of appropriate synaptic pathways, acetylcholine and a range of amino acid excitants. Baclofen and excitant substances were administered by standard microiontophoretic techniques. 2 Small ejecting currents of baclofen (<10 na) depressed non‐cholinergic, excitatory, synaptic responses evoked by stimulation of dorsal roots or muscle or cutaneous afferents. Excitatory monosynaptic responses were particularly sensitive to the depressant action of baclofen. 3 Spontaneous firing in neurones was sometimes reduced in parallel with synaptic excitatory responses, but synaptically evoked inhibition was unaffected and ventral root evoked excitation of Renshaw cells was either unaffected or enhanced by baclofen. 4 Ejecting currents of baclofen which markedly depressed excitatory synaptic responses either had no effect or minimal depressant effects on responses induced by iontophoretically administered acetylcholine and excitant amino acids. However, relatively large currents of baclofen (e.g. 20 to 40 na) reduced excitatory responses to exogenously administered excitants. 5 It is suggested that baclofen depresses (a) synaptic response by an action on excitatory nerve terminals and (b) responses to exogenous excitants via a postsynaptic action. 6 Comparison of baclofen with a number of other substances indicates that the depression of noncholinergic, excitatory, synaptic responses is unlikely to involve an interaction of this agent with receptors for monoamines, 5‐hydroxytryptamine or the inhibitory amino acids, γ‐aminobutyric acid and glycine.
Gestão participativa em unidades ce Conservação no Brasil: interpretando a APA Petrópolis

Unidade de Conservacao sao areas com limites definidos cuja funcao e a conservacao da biodiversidade. A gestao participativa nestas areas e garantida atraves da Lei do SNUC e do decreto 4.340/2002 que possui um capitulo exclusivamente sobre Conselhos de Unidades de Conservacao. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a gestao participativa em Unidades de conservacao a partir de um estudo de caso, o da APA Petropolis. O presente trabalho e dividido em tres capitulos, sendo que o primeiro trata do processo de mobilizacao para a criacao do Conselho da APA Petropolis, neste capitulo foi analisado o periodo desde o inicio da mobilizacao para construcao da governanca, passando pela criacao do Conselho em 1997 ate a oficializacao do Conselho em 2000. O capitulo II trata da participacao e da representatividade deste Conselho, neste capitulo foram realizadas tres analises, a primeira considerou os criterios estabelecidos pela Lei 9.985/2000 e do Decreto 4.340/ 2002. A segunda analise foi feita atraves de categorias estabelecidas para a realizacao deste trabalho, sao estas: Numero de reunioes por ano; numero de participantes nas reunioes; composicoes do Conselho; evolucao do numero de instituicoes; relacao do numero de instituicoes pela populacao; relacao do numero de instituicoes pelas areas dos municipios pertencentes a Unidade; instituicoes nao pertencentes ao Conselho que assistiram as reunioes. E por fim a terceira analise do capitulo e centrada em um dos criterios estabelecidos por outros tres autores em 2003, criterios estes que foram baseados nos principios de uma lista de boa governanca do Programa das Nacoes Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD). No capitulo III foram analisadas as acoes implementadas no âmbito do Conselho, assim como os projetos e a forma como se da a comunicacao do Conselho com a populacao. Com isto o Conselho da APA Petropolis atendeu aos criterios estabelecidos pelo SNUC, apresentou boa representatividade, com participacao forte da Sociedade Civil, porem necessitando incentivo a presenca das instituicoes. E apresentou tambem no periodo de estudo uma boa comunicacao com a populacao.
Testing the new Fama and French factors with illiquidity: A panel data investigation

Nous investiguons les cinq nouveaux facteurs de Fama et French (2015, 2016) rehausses d’une mesure de liquidite bien connue (Pastor and Stambaugh, 2003) a l’aide d’une version du GMM qui recourt a des instruments robustes, cela dans le cadre d’une analyse en panel. Lorsque nous recourons a l’estimateur OLS, notre version du modele de Fama-French semble avoir un pouvoir explicatif en regard des rendements d’un portefeuille a douze secteurs. Cependant, notre etude en panel suggere que le seul facteur significatif est la prime de risque du marche. Dependamment de la technique utilisee, nous trouvons que les erreurs de mesure peuvent etre a la source de ce resultat, ce qui tend a appuyer le modele elargi de Fama-French. Comme test de robustesse, nous experimentons egalement avec d’autres mesures de liquidite, telles que le ratio d’Amihud (2002) et la prime a terme, ainsi qu’avec des facteurs relies aux marches obligataires. Les resultats sont plutot inchanges pour nos 12 portefeuilles. Nous testons egalement notre modele elargi sur des portefeuilles geres – i.e., des fonds de couverture (hedge funds). Ces portefeuilles semblent mieux adaptes au modele elargi de Fama-French qui inclut des mesures de liquidites, et plus specialement lorsque l’on introduit la crise des subprimes. Les nouveaux facteurs de Fama-French semblent egalement etre tres sensibles a nos mesures d’illiquidite.
J774A.1 macrophage cell line produces PDGF‐like and non‐PDGF‐like growth factors for bone cells

In light of evidence that macrophages participate in the local regulation of bone remodeling, we have examined the production of peptide stimulators of bone cell growth and specialization by the J774A.1 macrophage cell line. Cultured J774A.1 cells secrete growth‐promoting activities which have an affinity for heparin. The first partially purified materia), termed HEP I, appears to contain platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐like activity. It has a molecular weight of about 30,000 daltons, inhibits the binding of labeled PDGF to its receptors, reacts with polyclonal anti‐human PDGF antibody, and exhibits mitogenic activity for osteoblasts, which is partially blocked by anti‐PDGF antisera. Like PDGF, HEP I is active in a wide variety of mesenchyme‐derived cells, including osteoblasts, chondrocytes, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, 3T3 cells and NRK cells. The J774A.1 cells contain mRNA, which hybridizes to a v‐sis DNA probe, suggesting that they express the c‐sis gene, which contains the code for a PDGF‐like protein. The second factor, HEP II, has an approximate molecular weight of 20,000 daltons and possesses substantial mitogenic activity for osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and smooth muscle cells, but is not mitogenic for fibroblasts, 3T3 cells, and NRK cells. HEP II appears to be a unique bone cell mitogen, which is distinct from the growth factors presently known. Neither HEP I nor HEP II contained interleukin 1, a macrophage product known to promote bone resorption and perhaps the growth and activity of osteoblasts.
AFSEM: Advanced frequent subcircuit extraction method by graph mining approach for optimized cell library developments

The optimization of cells and cell combinations used in design is critical to enhance the performance. If frequently used cell combinations are known in advance, a new cell development can be significantly optimized using the cell combinations for chip design. However, extracting frequent cell combinations is an NP hard problem. We propose a new framework, referring as AFSEM, to extract frequent cell combinations for design optimization. To solve this problem, we use a frequent subgraph mining method which is a process of discovering subgraphs. We present an advanced graph modeling and optimized frequent subgraph mining platform for a practical use. The experimental results with various designs demonstrate that the proposed method can discover various types of subcircuits for design optimization with various runtime optimization methods.
Environmental, Policy, and Cultural Factors Related to Physical Activity in a Diverse Sample of Women: The Women's Cardiovascular Health Network Project–Introduction and Methodology

SUMMARY Ethnic minority and low-income populations have some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the highest rates of physical inactivity, an independent risk factor for CVD. Ethnic minority and low-income women are especially at risk. Because programs designed to increase physical activity have the potential to reduce CVD rates in specific populations, research in this area is expanding. As part of the Women's Cardiovascular Health Network funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the goal of this multi-site project is to identify factors, particularly environmental, policy, and cultural factors, that may influence physical activity among ethnic minority and low–income women ages 20–50 years. To achieve this goal, 42 focus groups were conducted in various locations throughout the United States with African American, American Indian, Latina and White women. Groups represented both urban and rural living environments. This article explains the basis for this project and the methodology used. Other articles in this series explain the results from the focus groups in detail.
From polarization to reluctant acceptance–bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and the post-normalization of the climate debate

ABSTRACT The paper covers the public debate on BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) between 2008 and 2018. Through a qualitative analysis of around 800 feature articles, editorials, and opinion pieces published in English, German, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian in news media and debates sections of scientific media, we highlight conspicuous aspects of the debate and relate them to the theoretical concept of post-normal science. We find that the debate is characterized by an emphasis on values, scientific uncertainty and the integrity of science, premised on a pervading sense of urgency. To a significant extent, the debate can be understood as a “normal” view of science questioning what it perceives to be unscientific model-based climate scenarios, and the scenarios, in turn, can be seen as a response to post-normal circumstances. The urgency permeating the debate provides conditions for open debate about ethical and epistemological uncertainty. The debate goes through a period of polarization – corroborating findings from previous studies on the climate science debate after COP21 – between an intense critique of BECCS inclusion in climate scenarios and reluctant acceptance thereof. Towards the end of the studied period, emphasis shifts towards reluctant acceptance, indicating that post-normal debate may only occur as a temporary state always tending towards new consensus.
Tau immunohistochemistry in acute brain injury

Epidemiological studies have identified a history of head injury as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. However, the neuropathological mechanism underlying this relationship is as yet unclear. Neuronal cytoskeletal changes in the form of neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads have recently been demonstrated in young men who had sustained repetitive head injury and subsequently died in their 20s. In addition, recent experimental studies have found accumulation of tau within neuronal somata and damaged axons following diffuse brain injury. We hypothesized that tau‐immunoreactive tangles may be present in the brains of patients who died after a single acute blunt head injury. A total of 45 cases of fatal head injury were immunostained for tau. They comprised nine groups (n = 5 for each group) separated by age (0–19 years, 20–50 years, 50 + years) and survival time (< 24 h, 24 h−1 week, 1 week−1 month) and were compared with age‐matched controls. Subtle alterations in tau immunoreactivity, for example, in oligodendrocytes, were present in some head injury cases but not controls. However, neurofibrillary tangles did not appear more prevalent after traumatic brain injury (TBI) when compared with age‐matched controls. Although alterations in tau immunoreactivity may occur which warrant further study, neurofibrillary tangles were not more prevalent after a single fatal episode of TBI.
Distribution of Porphyromonas gingivalisStrains with fimA Genotypes in Periodontitis Patients

ABSTRACT Fimbriae (FimA) of Porphyromonas gingivalis are filamentous components on the cell surface and are thought to play an important role in the colonization and invasion of periodontal tissues. We previously demonstrated that fimA can be classified into four variants (types I to IV) on the basis of the nucleotide sequences of the fimA gene. In the present study, we attempted to detect the four different fimA genes in saliva and plaque samples isolated from patients with periodontitis using the PCR method. Four sets of fimA type-specific primers were designed for the PCR assay. These primers selectively amplified 392-bp (type I), 257-bp (type II), 247-bp (type III), and 251-bp (type IV) DNA fragments of the fimA gene. Positive PCR results were observed with reference strains of P. gingivalis in a type-specific manner. All other laboratory strains of oral and nonoral bacteria gave negative results. The sensitivity of the PCR assay for fimAtype-specific detection was between 5 and 50 cells of P. gingivalis. Clinical samples were obtained from saliva and subgingival plaque from deep pockets (≥4 mm) of 93 patients with periodontitis. Bacterial genomic DNA was isolated from the samples, and the targeted fragments were amplified by PCR. The presence of P. gingivalis was demonstrated in 73 patients (78.5%), and a singlefimA gene was detected in most patients. The distribution of the four fimA types among the P. gingivalis-positive patients was as follows: type I, 5.4%; type II, 58.9%; type III, 6.8%; type IV, 12.3%; types I and II, 6.8%; types II and IV, 2.7%; and untypeable, 6.8%. P. gingivalis with type II fimA was detected more frequently in the deeper pockets, and a significant difference of the occurrence was observed between shallow (4 mm) and deep (≥8 mm) pockets. These results suggest that P. gingivalis strains that possess type II fimA are significantly more predominant in periodontitis patients, and we speculate that these organisms are involved in the destructive progression of periodontal diseases.