Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Fexofenadine on Pruritus in a Mouse Model (HR-ADf) of Atopic Dermatitis

Fexofenadine, a histamine H1-receptor antagonist, is approved for the treatment of pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis. The effects of fexofenadine on scratching behaviour, and plasma levels of histamine and eotaxin were assessed in a new model of atopic dermatitis. Mice fed a diet low in Mg2+ and Zn2+ (special diet S) were compared with mice on a normal diet (N) or diet S plus fexofenadine HCl for weeks 0-10 (S + F0-10), 0-5 (S + F0-5) or 6-10 (S + F6-10) (seven mice per group). Compared with group N, group S mice showed significantly greater scratching frequency, and plasma histamine and eotaxin concentrations; these three variables were significantly lower in group S + F0-10 than in group S. Scratching frequency increased when fexofenadine was discontinued. Fexofenadine significantly reduced mast cell and eosinophil numbers. Histamine may be important in the pathological changes seen in this model of atopic dermatitis, suggesting that it might aid future development of antihistamines for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Ruminal cellulolytic bacteria and protozoa from bison, cattle-bison hybrids, and cattle fed three alfalfa-corn diets

Ruminal cellulolytic bacteria and protozoa and in vitro digestibility of alfalfa fiber fractions were compared among bison, bison hybrids, and crossbed cattle (five each) when they were fed alfalfa and corn in a ratio of 100:0, 75:25, and 50:50, respectively. The total number of viable bacteria (2.16 x 10(9) to 5.44 x 10(9)/ml of ruminal fluid) and the number of cellulolytic bacteria (3.74 x 10(7) to 10.9 x 10(7)/ml) were not different among groups of animals fed each diet. The genera of protozoa in all of the animal groups were similar; however, when either the 100:0 or 50:50 diet was used the percentage of Entodinium sp. was lower and the percentage of Diplodiniinae was higher (P less than 0.05) in bison than in bison hybrids or cattle. Bacteroides succinogenes made up the largest number of cellulolytic isolates from bison (58 and 36%, respectively, on the 100:0 and 75:25 diets), which were more numerous (P less than 0.05) than those from bison hybrids (36 and 12%) and cattle (33 and 18%). This was offset by a lower number of cellulolytic Butyrivibrio isolates. The numbers of Ruminococcus albus and R. flavefaciens isolates, in general, were similar among the bovid species, although R. flavefaciens generally made up less than 10% of the cellulolytic isolates. In vitro digestibility coefficients were greater (P less than 0.05) for the bison when the 75:25 diet was used and similar for the other two diets. The concentration of ruminal volatile fatty acids was larger (P less than 0.05) in bison than in bison hybrids and cattle when the 50:50 diet was used. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Screening for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: a value of genetic testing.

They presented a case of sudden death due to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) based on autopsy findings. In lethal cases due to ARVC, they also suggested taking genetic testing as a regular examination to identify their family members who are at risk of ARVC, and seek treatment early. This case gives detailed information and highlights the structural abnormalities and management of the ARVC.
Analgesic Effects of Preoperative Peripheral Nerve Block in Patients With Trigeminal Neuralgia Undergoing Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation of Gasserian Ganglion

AbstractTrigeminal neuralgia is the worst pain that human beings have ever experienced. Surgery might be the only solution for some patients because no other way can relieve their severe pain. They experience intolerable pain before operation and during radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the gasserian ganglion. The aim of the current study was to prospectively evaluate the preoperative and perioperative analgesic effects of preoperative single peripheral nerve block. Sixty patients with classic trigeminal neuralgia who were scheduled to undergo radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the gasserian ganglion were randomly divided into a control group (n = 30) and a nerve block group (n = 30). Patients in the nerve block group were treated with single peripheral nerve block using 1% lidocaine and betamethasone on the day of admission. Average pain, worst pain, quality of sleep, and analgesia satisfaction were evaluated before surgery. The incidence and intensity of perioperative episodic pain were determined before the needle reached the gasserian ganglion. Compared with the control group, a single peripheral nerve block significantly attenuated average pain (P < 0.01) and worst pain (P < 0.01), ameliorated the quality of sleep (P < 0.01), and increased analgesia satisfaction (P < 0.01). Moreover, patients in the nerve block group experienced a decrease in incidence (P < 0.01) and intensity (P < 0.01) of episodic pain during surgery as compared with the participants in the control group. These results demonstrate that a single peripheral nerve block may be an effective way to relieve preoperative and perioperative intolerable pain of trigeminal neuralgia.
New Skyrme interaction for normal and exotic nuclei

A new set of Skyrme parameters is obtained from a fit to the binding energies, rms charge radii, and single-particle energies of both normal and exotic spherical nuclei. Nuclear matter and neutron matter properties are used to put constraints on the parameters which are not well determined from the nuclear data. Special problems with the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly and the spin-orbit interaction are discussed. @S0556-2813 ~98! 02107-4#
Characterization of the Interaction between Hantavirus Nucleocapsid Protein (N) and Ribosomal Protein S19 (RPS19)*

Hantaviruses, members of the Bunyaviridae family, are negative-stranded emerging RNA viruses and category A pathogens that cause serious illness when transmitted to humans through aerosolized excreta of infected rodent hosts. Hantaviruses have evolved a novel translation initiation mechanism, operated by nucleocapsid protein (N), which preferentially facilitates the translation of viral mRNAs. N binds to the ribosomal protein S19 (RPS19), a structural component of the 40 S ribosomal subunit. In addition, N also binds to both the viral mRNA 5′ cap and a highly conserved triplet repeat sequence of the viral mRNA 5′ UTR. The simultaneous binding of N at both the terminal cap and the 5′ UTR favors ribosome loading on viral transcripts during translation initiation. We characterized the binding between N and RPS19 and demonstrate the role of the N-RPS19 interaction in N-mediated translation initiation mechanism. We show that N specifically binds to RPS19 with high affinity and a binding stoichiometry of 1:1. The N-RPS19 interaction is an enthalpy-driven process. RPS19 undergoes a conformational change after binding to N. Using T7 RNA polymerase, we synthesized the hantavirus S segment mRNA, which matches the transcript generated by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in cells. We show that the N-RPS19 interaction plays a critical role in the translation of this mRNA both in cells and rabbit reticulocyte lysates. Our results demonstrate that the N-mediated translation initiation mechanism, which lures the host translation machinery for the preferential translation of viral transcripts, primarily depends on the N-RPS19 interaction. We suggest that the N-RPS19 interaction is a novel target to shut down the N-mediated translation strategy and hence virus replication in cells.
Genetic and phenotypic effects of chromosome segments introgressed from Gossypium barbadense into Gossypium hirsutum

MBI9915 is an introgression cotton line with excellent fiber quality. It was obtained by advanced backcrossing and continuous inbreeding from an interspecific cross between the upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cultivar CCRI36 as the recurrent parent and the sea island cotton (G. barbadense) cultivar Hai1, as the donor parent. To study the genetic effects of the introgressed chromosome segments in G. hirsutum, an F2 secondary segregating population of 1537 individuals was created by crossing MBI9915 and CCRI36, and an F2:3 population was created by randomly selecting 347 individuals from the F2 generation. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and interaction for fiber length and strength were identified using IciMapping software. The genotype analysis showed that the recovery rate for MBI9915 was 97.9%, with a total 6 heterozygous segments and 13 homozygous segments. A total of 18 QTLs for fiber quality and 6 QTLs for yield related traits were detected using the two segregating generations. These QTLs were distributed across 7 chromosomes and collectively explained 0.81%–9.51% of the observed phenotypic variations. Six QTLs were consistently detected in two generations and 6 QTLs were identified in previous studies. A total of 13 pairs of interaction for fiber length and 13 pairs of interaction for fiber strength were identified in two generations. Among them, 3 pairs of interaction for fiber length and 3 pairs of interaction for fiber strength could be identified in all generations; 4 pairs of interactions affected fiber length and fiber strength simultaneously. The results clearly showed that 5 chromosome segments (Seg-5-1, Seg-7-1, Seg-8-1, Seg-20-2 and Seg-20-3) have important effects on fiber yield and quality. This study provides the useful information for gene cloning and marker-assisted breeding for excellent fiber related quality.
Review: The management of acute myocardial infarction in patients with diabetes mellitus

Diabetic subjects are more likely to experience a myocardial infarction and have worse outcomes compared to non-diabetic subjects. The underlying pathophysiology of the atherosclerotic process is not significantly different in diabetic subjects, but the prothrombotic and procoagulant state with which diabetes is associated is thought to contribute to the higher incidence of and worse prognosis after myocardial infarction. Difficulties of re-establishing vessel patency by thrombolytic or mechanical means contribute to the high morbidity and mortality. The diffuse nature of arterial disease with accompanying metabolic derangement contribute to impaired compensatory mechanisms, increased infarct size and a disproportionately more substantial impairment of left ventricular function. The newer adjuvant antithrombotic and anticoagulant agents have particular roles in management therefore and careful modulation of glucose metabolism in the acute and follow-up phase of an infarct may favourably influence outcome.
Patients' satisfaction with health care services provided in the city of Johannesburg municipality clinics

The study aimed at describing patients’ satisfaction with health care services provided in the city of Johannesburg. The research sample consisted of adult male and female patients who visited region E clinics for health services. Questionnaires were used to collect data and descriptive statistics for data analysis. Findings indicated that patients were generally satisfied with health care services provided. Recommendations included ongoing staff training to improve quality of health care and public information and education campaigns to foster community awareness and understanding of health services, develop a sense of ownership thereof, and encourage positive participation. Key terms: Accessibility; complaint procedure courtesy; consultation; information and transparency and quality of health care redressing the wrongs; value for money.
Complex quadrature mirror filters

This paper introduces a technique for the decomposition of a signal into N adjacent sub-bands uniformly spaced in the frequency domain. Each subband is in turn converted into two channels in quadrature subsampled by 1/2 N. It is then shown how the original input signal may be perfectly reconstructed from the 2 N channels, and a practical implementation is suggested. Potential applications to speech compression are discussed.
SUMOylation and deSUMOylation at a glance

Small ubiquitin-related modifiers (SUMOs) are ubiquitin-like polypeptides that become covalently conjugated to cellular proteins in a manner similar to ubiquitylation ([Johnson, 2004][1]). More than 1000 proteins have been identified as potential SUMO-conjugation (SUMOylation) targets ([Hochstrasser
Identifying management procedures to deal with connection of Electric Vehicles in the grid

This paper describes a research developed to identify management procedures to deal with the charging of Electric Vehicles (EVs) batteries in scenarios characterized by a large scale deployment of this new kind of load. Three approaches were studied: dumb charging, dual tariff policy and smart charging. To assess the efficacy of such procedures, the grid integration of EVs was pushed to its limit for each of the adopted charging management approaches. A Medium Voltage (MV) grid, representative of a residential area distribution grid in Portugal, was used as testing environment. Several shares of EVs technologies were considered for different integration scenarios. Voltage profiles and branch congestion levels were evaluated, for the peak load hour, for grid technical limits checking. Losses were also evaluated for a typical daily load profile.
Interleukin-10 does not directly affect the constitutive rate of human neutrophil or eosinophil apoptosis.

IL-10 is a cytokine which is produced by most inflammatory cells and has been implicated as a potent anti-inflammatory regulator of the immune response [ l , 21. In addition, IL-10 suppresses proinflammatory cytokine biosynthesis and release (e.g., TNF-a) from inflammatory cells including neutrophils and eosinophils and reduces LPSinduced eosinophil survival [3,4]. The rate of eosinophil and neutrophil apoptosis can be modulated by cytokines such as GMCSF and TNF-a [5-7l. Thus IL-10 may be involved in the control of apoptosis, by directly acting on these cells via inhibition of cytokine synthesis or indirectly by influencing cytokine secretion from other inflammatory cells; alternatively it may act in concert with other modulators of apoptosis. This study investigated the direct effect of IL-10 on neutrophil and eosinophil apoptosis. Human neutrophils or eosinophils were isolated from the peripheral blood of health donors. Harvested cells were suspended in Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium supplemented with 10% autologous serum as previously described [8]. Granulocytes were incubated at a density of 2 x 106/ml in 96-well flat-bottomed plates at 37 OC in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. Cells were cultured with IL-10 at concentrations of 1,5 or 10 ng/ml or in medium alone. Cytocentrifuge preparations (in triplicate) were made of harvested cells and assessed for apoptosis (YO mean f SEM). Cells with one or more darkly stained pyknotic nuclei were considered apoptotic. At least 5 fields of view (over 500 cells) were counted per cytospin. Cell viability was assessed by hypan blue exclusion. To demonstrate that the IL-10 used in this study was biologically active, we investigated the effects of this cytokme on the production of TNF-a by human blood-derived monocytes and macrophages.
Metabolism in hematologic malignancy

The authors used isotopic infusions of 6‐3H‐glucose, U‐14C‐glucose, and 14C‐urea and calorimetry to investigate energy expenditure and metabolic profiles in 19 patients with hematologic malignancy. The average age of these patients was 62 years. Eleven patients had either leukemia or myeloproliferative disorders (LEMP). The rest had lymphoma (LYMPH). The Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in the LYMPH patients was 1015 ± 115 kcal/24 hr. This value in the LEMP group was significantly elevated at 2083 ± 270 kcal/24 hr (P < 0.025) despite similar weights and ages between the two groups. Net Protein Catabolism (NPC) in the LYMPH group was 82 ± 29 mg/kg. hr. In contrast the value in the LEMP group was more than doubled at 174 ± 30 mg/kg. hr (P < 0.05). Glucose production in the LYMPH group was 14.1 ± 2.7 μmol/kg. min, and the percent of glucose uptake oxidized in the LYMPH group was 37% ± 9%. In contrast, glucose production in the LEMP group was significantly elevated (P < 0.025) at 41.0 ± 8.1 μmol/kg. min, and the percent of glucose uptake oxidized was significantly depressed (P < 0.05) at 20% ± 4% compared with the value in the LYMPH group. Glucose recycling in the LYMPH group was 9.0% ± 6%. In the LEMP group the rate of recycling was significantly elevated at 60.3% ± 4.8% (P < 0.005). The percent suppression of endogenous glucose turnover during glucose infusion in the LYMPH group was 96% ± 4%. The value for the LEMP patients was significantly less at 30.2% ± 5% (P < 0.0005). The serum cortisol concentration in the LYMPH patients was 285 ± 74 nmol/l. The value in the LEMP patients was significantly higher (P < 0.005) at 579 ± 22 nmol/l. The authors concluded that hematologic malignancy is not a homogeneous group when evaluated metabolically. Lymphoma patients are similar metabolically to normal volunteers, but LEMP patients form a distinct group with major abnormalities in both glucose and protein kinetics and energy expenditure.
Effects of red cell aggregation on the venous microcirculation.

It has been shown in previous studies on perfused skeletal muscle that venous resistance and blood flow are inversely related with resistance increasing as flow falls below normal levels and decreasing during hyperemia. In one of these studies (Fig. 1) we showed that when the muscle was perfused with a non-aggregating red cell suspension of the same hematocrit as normal blood the venous resistance fell by at least 50% and the effect of flow on resistance was greatly decreased. The study cited above confirms and extends an earlier study [6] in which an inverse relation between blood flow rate and venous vascular resistance was observed. From a physiological standpoint, such a relationship is of interest because it would provide a means of automatically adjusting venous vascular resistance as blood flow changes and therefore tend to maintain capillary hydrostatic pressure constant under varying flow conditions. This is especially important in skeletal muscle where flow may readily change by a factor of five or ten in going from rest to exercise.
TOPICS IN STATISTICAL PHYSICS AND PROBABILITY THEORY

We discuss some basic facts regarding Gibbs measures on the infinite lattice Zd. Our discussion is restricted to an explicit case with nearest-neighbor interactions but the reader should note that the general theory allows much more flexibility; see Friedli and Velenik [3, Chapter 6] for additional details. Preliminaries. Let (S,S, λ) be a measure space (λ is a positive measure, either finite or infinite). We assume that S is a Polish space (metric, separable and complete) with S its Borel sigma algebra (this is convenient in order to define Gibbs measures through regular conditional probabilities as we do, though it is possible to develop the theory under weaker assumptions). Fix an integer d > 1. We will consider various probability measures on the measurable space
Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis

Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis is a serious disease entity which, based on the pathogenesis and in view of the individual patient’s prognosis, must be divided into a primary and a secondary form. Primary upper extremity deep venous thrombosis is, when related to effort, a rather benign disease with excellent prognosis quoad vitam, carrying only a minor potential of developing disabling post-thrombotic syndrome. If primary upper extremity deep venous thrombosis occurs without any obvious cause, screening for underlying malignancy is recommended. Secondary upper extremity deep venous thrombosis typically occurs in older patients with severe comorbidities, mainly related to indwelling central venous catheters and cancer. As a consequence of the underlying diseases, prognosis of secondary upper extremity deep venous thrombosis is poor. Despite a lack of high-quality validation data, ultrasonography is regarded the first-line imaging technique, since it is a non-invasive method without exposure to radiation. In case of a non-diagnostic result of ultrasonography, other imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography may be applied. Regardless of the etiology, the cornerstone of therapy is anticoagulant treatment with low molecular weight heparin or unfractionated heparin and vitamin K antagonists in order to prevent thrombus progression and pulmonary embolism. Owing to a lack of evidence, the optimal duration of anticoagulant treatment remains unclear. The additional benefit of compression therapy as well as of more aggressive therapeutic approaches such as thrombolysis, angioplasty and surgical decompression of the thoracic outlet needs to be investigated in randomized trials.
Microstructural Features and Functional Properties of Bilayered BaTiO3/BaTi1−xZrxO3 Ceramics

Validity of mixture rule for dielectrics in series configuration and the correlation between microstructure and electrical properties in bilayered BaTiO3/BaTi1−xZrxO3 ceramics were studied. Samples were obtained from BaTi1−xZrxO3 (BTZx) nanopowder synthesized by the polymeric precursor technique and had their microstructure, dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties investigated. These bilayered ceramics' properties were compared to the properties of homogeneous BTZx samples. And, also, the formers' electrical permittivities were compared with the predictions of the simple mixture rule. According to the results, the microstructures of the layers do not differ from the microstructure of the corresponding homogeneous BTZx ceramic. And pyroelectric coefficient measurements show that the electrical properties of the interface do not contribute to the functional properties of the bilayered samples. Nevertheless, on increasing Zr4+, the agreement between the experimental and the predicted permittivity of the bilayered ceramics is gradually reduced, mainly at temperatures where the permittivity is governed by the response of the layer containing Zr4+. As a mechanical joint between the layers, the interface induces stresses during sintering due to thermal mismatch between compositions, thereby affecting the bilayers' electrical properties. Our results show that interface's mechanical effects compromise the functional properties of layered ferroelectric ceramics.