Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phosphorylation Enhances Mitochondrial Targeting of GSTA4-4 through Increased Affinity for Binding to Cytoplasmic Hsp70*

Recently we showed that three different isoforms of cytosolic glutathione S-transferases (GST), including GSTA4-4, are also localized in the mitochondrial compartment. In this study, we have investigated the mechanism of mouse GSTA4-4 targeting to mitochondria, using a combination of in vitro mitochondrial import assay and in vivo targeting in COS cells transfected with cDNA. Our results show that the mitochondrial GSTA4-4 is more heavily phosphorylated compared with its cytosolic counterpart. Protein kinase activators (cAMP, forskolin, or phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate) markedly increased GSTA4-4 targeting to mitochondria, whereas kinase inhibitors caused its retention in the cytosol. Immunoinhibition and immunodepletion studies showed that the Hsp70 chaperone is required for the efficient translation of GSTA4-4 as well as its translocation to mitochondria. Co-immunoprecipitation studies showed that kinase inhibitors attenuate the affinity of GSTA4-4 for cytoplasmic Hsp70 suggesting the importance of phosphorylation for binding to the chaperone. Mutational analysis show that the putative mitochondrial targeting signal resides within the C-terminal 20 amino acid residues of the protein and that the targeting signal requires activation by phosphorylation at the C-terminal-most protein kinase A (PKA) site at Ser-189 or protein kinase C (PKC) site at Thr-193. We demonstrate for the first time that PKA and PKC modulate the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial pools of GSTA4-4.
Evaluation of equations for measuring eGFR based on serum creatinine and 6 cystatin C values in top level rugby players

Equations to estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have recently been advocated over serum creatinine values as a means to more accurately assess kidney function. The Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation requires a body weight parameter, whereas the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study and Mayo Clinic Quadratic Equation (MCQE) formulae do not. We measured the serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations in male athletes belonging to the Italian National Rugby team. Blood was obtained before the start of training and during competitive season. The serum creatinine level was measured by Jaffe and enzymatic reactions, cystatin C by nefelometry. The same parameters were measured in a control group of male, sedentary and overweight subjects. The concentrations of cystatin C were always into the reference ranges. The concentrations of creatinine were often higher than reference interval. The use of enzymatic method did not improve the specificity. The equations based on cystatin C and creatinine were not correlated. The two equations based on cystatin C were correlated. Two equations based on creatinine values were correlated (MDRD and MCQE); they were not correlated with CG. 29 level athletes, characterized from a high release of creatinine. The use of equations should be accurately evaluated: the CG equation can overestimate the eGFR, the MDRD and MCQE formulae systematically underestimates it. The use of equations to estimate GFR in the general population needs examination of their behaviour in subjects having atypical anthropomorphic characteristics.
Work engagement: On how to better catch a slippery concept

In our response to the lead article (Bakker, Leiter, & Albrecht, 2011 this issue), we focus on five conceptual issues in order to better catch the slippery concept of work engagement: (1) “What's in the name” of engagement? (2)What is its relationship with burnout? (3) How to differentiate work engagement from task engagement? (4) How to distinguish between collective and individual work engagement? (5) What are the dark sides of work engagement? In doing so, we hope to contribute to a better conceptualization of work engagement and to a more fruitful future research agenda.
Antioxidative and Antihypertensive Effects of Welsh Onion on Rats Fed with a High-Fat High-Sucrose Diet

The effects of Welsh onion on the development of hypertension and autoxidation were studied in 6-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were fed with a control diet or a high-fat high-sucrose (HFS) diet with or without 5% Welsh onion (green-leafy type or white-sheath type) for 4 weeks. The systolic blood pressure was elevated and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in plasma were increased in the rats fed with the HFS diet without Welsh onion. The rats fed with the HFS diet containing Welsh onion, especially the green-leafy type, had lower blood pressure. They also had a higher level of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites in both the urine and plasma, lower activity of NADH/NADPH oxidase in the aorta, and suppressed angiotensin II production. The effect of white Welsh onion on decreasing the blood pressure was not significant, although the effects on increasing NO metabolites in the urine and decreasing NADH oxidase activity in the aorta were significant. The TBARS value in the plasma was lowered in the rats fed with either green or white Welsh onion, but the in vitro radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidative activities were much higher with green Welsh onion than with the white type. These results suggest that the green-leafy Welsh onion, but not the white type, reduced superoxide generation by suppressing the angiotensine II production and then the NADH/NADPH oxidase activity, increasing the NO availability in the aorta, and consequently lowering the blood pressure in the rats fed with the HFS diet. The radical scavenging and reducing antioxidative activities of green Welsh onion may also be effective in decreasing superoxide.
Families Living With Autism Spectrum Disorder

There is currently a limited understanding of adolescent sibling relationships where Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is present. This research gap remains despite preliminary findings suggesting that neurotypically developing (NTD) siblings undertake extra caregiving responsibilities and experience differential treatment from family members. Using a Family Systems approach, this qualitative study investigated NTD adolescent sisters’ roles and responsibilities for their younger adolescent brother with ASD from the perspectives of 11 family members (including NTD sisters, brothers with ASD, mothers, and fathers). Findings indicate the sisters undertook various caregiving roles and responsibilities, particularly at school, which had both positive and negative influences on the family system. Additionally, sisters perceived they undertook unfair household responsibilities, received reduced parental attention, and desired both distance from and engagement with their families. These perceptions varied amongst other family members. Implications of these findings and strategies for best supporting adolescent NTD siblings are discussed.
Exploring manual asymmetries during grasping: a dynamic causal modeling approach

Recording of neural activity during grasping actions in macaques showed that grasp-related sensorimotor transformations are accomplished in a circuit constituted by the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus (AIP), the ventral (F5) and the dorsal (F2) region of the premotor area. In humans, neuroimaging studies have revealed the existence of a similar circuit, involving the putative homolog of macaque areas AIP, F5, and F2. These studies have mainly considered grasping movements performed with the right dominant hand and only a few studies have measured brain activity associated with a movement performed with the left non-dominant hand. As a consequence of this gap, how the brain controls for grasping movement performed with the dominant and the non-dominant hand still represents an open question. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment has been conducted, and effective connectivity (dynamic causal modeling, DCM) was used to assess how connectivity among grasping-related areas is modulated by hand (i.e., left and right) during the execution of grasping movements toward a small object requiring precision grasping. Results underlined boosted inter-hemispheric couplings between dorsal premotor cortices during the execution of movements performed with the left rather than the right dominant hand. More specifically, they suggest that the dorsal premotor cortices may play a fundamental role in monitoring the configuration of fingers when grasping movements are performed by either the right and the left hand. This role becomes particularly evident when the hand less-skilled (i.e., the left hand) to perform such action is utilized. The results are discussed in light of recent theories put forward to explain how parieto-frontal connectivity is modulated by the execution of prehensile movements.
Simple energy based controllers with nonlinear coupled-dissipation terms for overhead crane systems

Two different control schemes suitable for closed-loop and open-loop operation of an overhead crane system are proposed. The first controller is a passivity based closed-loop PD controller suitably extended by a coupled-dissipation nonlinear term in order to provide substantial reduction of load oscillations. As it is proven in the paper, this additional controller increases the damping of the system and ensures asymptotic stability. Due to its very simple structure the coupled-dissipation controller is also used as a hidden controller part for the open-loop system operation. Both the closed-loop and open-loop controllers are evaluated through simulation results that verify their effectiveness on improving the system performance.
Prevention of relapse following cognitive therapy vs medications in moderate to severe depression.

BACKGROUND Antidepressant medication prevents the return of depressive symptoms, but only as long as treatment is continued. OBJECTIVES To determine whether cognitive therapy (CT) has an enduring effect and to compare this effect against the effect produced by continued antidepressant medication. DESIGN Patients who responded to CT in a randomized controlled trial were withdrawn from treatment and compared during a 12-month period with medication responders who had been randomly assigned to either continuation medication or placebo withdrawal. Patients who survived the continuation phase without relapse were withdrawn from all treatment and observed across a subsequent 12-month naturalistic follow-up. SETTING Outpatient clinics at the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University. PATIENTS A total of 104 patients responded to treatment (57.8% of those initially assigned) and were enrolled in the subsequent continuation phase; patients were initially selected to represent those with moderate to severe depression. INTERVENTIONS Patients withdrawn from CT were allowed no more than 3 booster sessions during continuation; patients assigned to continuation medication were kept at full dosage levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Relapse was defined as a return, for at least 2 weeks, of symptoms sufficient to meet the criteria for major depression or Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores of 14 or higher during the continuation phase. Recurrence was defined in a comparable fashion during the subsequent naturalistic follow-up. RESULTS Patients withdrawn from CT were significantly less likely to relapse during continuation than patients withdrawn from medications (30.8% vs 76.2%; P = .004), and no more likely to relapse than patients who kept taking continuation medication (30.8% vs 47.2%; P = .20). There were also indications that the effect of CT extends to the prevention of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS Cognitive therapy has an enduring effect that extends beyond the end of treatment. It seems to be as effective as keeping patients on medication.
Feasibility of using MRI alone for 3D radiation treatment planning in brain tumors.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to establish whether radiation treatment planning using MRI alone could replace CT-based planning for brain tumors while retaining the dosimetric accuracy. This would help to provide a single imaging modality for both target delineation as well as treatment planning, thus saving time and resources. METHODS Twenty-five patients with brain tumors were scanned on a spiral CT scanner and 1.5 T MRI scanner. Three treatment plans were generated for all patients. The first plan was generated using the CT scan images with inhomogeneity correction (CT + IC); the second plan used the CT scan without inhomogeneity correction (CT-IC) and the third plan was generated using the MRI scan (MRI alone). RESULTS The maximum distortion in the MRI phantom study was less than 1 mm. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the target coverage parameters analysed in this study. Similarly, the maximum antero-posterior and lateral dimensions for the CT-based and MRI-based planning did not show any statistical difference. CONCLUSION MRI-based treatment planning for brain lesions is feasible and gives equivalent dosimetric results compared to CT-based treatment planning.
Analyzing Refugee Migration Patterns Using Geo-tagged Tweets

Over the past few years, analysts have begun to materialize the “Citizen as Sensors” principle by analyzing human movements, trends and opinions, as well as the occurrence of events from tweets. This study aims to use geo-tagged tweets to identify and visualize refugee migration patterns from the Middle East and Northern Africa to Europe during the initial surge of refugees aiming for Europe in 2015, which was caused by war and political and economic instability in those regions. The focus of this study is on exploratory data analysis, which includes refugee trajectory extraction and aggregation as well as the detection of topical clusters along migration routes using the V-Analytics toolkit. Results suggest that only few refugees use Twitter, limiting the number of extracted travel trajectories to Europe. Iterative exploration of filter parameters, dynamic result mapping, and content analysis were essential for the refinement of trajectory extraction and cluster detection. Whereas trajectory extraction suffers from data scarcity, hashtag-based topical clustering draws a clearer picture about general refugee routes and is able to find geographic areas of high tweet activities on refugee related topics. Identified spatio-temporal clusters can complement migration flow data published by international authorities, which typically come at the aggregated (e.g., national) level. The paper concludes with suggestions to address the scarcity of geo-tagged tweets in order to obtain more detailed results on refugee migration patterns.
The Influence of Leisure Preference, Life Priority and Making Time on Regular Participation in Leisure Time Physical Activity

Abstract Using an attitude‐behaviour theory approach this study examined the direct and indirect influence of preference, life priority and time allocation on regular participation in leisure‐time physical activity (LTPA). The cross‐sectional study used self‐report questionnaires to collect data from a random sample of 250 people aged 19 to 87 years living in an Australian city. The findings suggest that people's regular participation in LTPA is not directly influenced by their preference for it. Rather, making LTPA a high life priority and allocating time for LTPA are intervening factors that explain the relationship. The outcomes emphasise the importance of encouraging the formation of a preference for physical activity in young children. They suggest all levels of government and the leisure profession emphasise work/life balance by prioritising LTPA, educating people about time management and helping them to develop time management skills.
An Integrated Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Interaction in Conventional and Distance Learning Environments

As increasing numbers of educational institutions implement distance learning (DL) programs, educators need to know how teaching and learning processes change when teachers and learners are no longer in the same place at the same time. Understanding the theoretical and practical implications of these changes can help teachers to compensate learners for the limitations that often characterize a DL environment. In this article, we describe how we used content analysis to identify how university lecturers' verbal and nonverbal dialogue patterns changed when they taught in both conventional and DL environments. Data, indicating significant cross-context changes in teacher-student interaction patterns, validate Moore's (1972, 1993) transactional distance theory. This theory predicts that the increased psychological and communicative space, which needs to be crossed in a DL environment, has a potentially negative effect on teaching and learning. Empirical evidence of changes in specific categories of interaction also expands the conceptualization of the dialogue variable in Moore's theory. The focus of this article on verbal dialogue and nonverbal interactions was intended to clarify possible causes and effects of increased transactional distance in a DL environment. Our integrated analysis of verbal and nonverbal interactions was intended to identify types of compensatory strategies adopted by teachers in an attempt to reduce transactional distance. Teachers could use these results to manage the dialogue variable more effectively in both DL and conventional learning environments.
Shifting age-parity distribution of births and the decrease in infant mortality.

The infant mortality rate in the United States has declined since 1960. From 1960 to 1965 the decline was negligible and was a cause for alarm. Most of the decline has occurred since 1965. During the period 1965 to 1970 the rate dropped from about 25 to about 20 deaths per 1000 live births. Data through 1972 indicate that it is continuing to fall at the same rate. One possible explanation for the fall in infant mortality rate is related to the falling birth rate observed during the late 1960s. The decline in the overall infant mortality rate could have been caused by births proportionately shifting from high mortality risk age and birth order cells to lower risk cells. This explation thus attributes the reduction in mortality rate to "family planning. " (Note: not family planning services necessarily but individual decisions and behavior). We will show that the changing age-birth order distribution of births since 1965 does account for about 27 per cent of the reduction in the United States infant mortality rate that has occurred. (excerpt)
The effects of focal ischemia and reperfusion on the glutathione content of mitochondria from rat brain subregions

Glutathione is a key cellular antioxidant that is contained in both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial compartments. Previous investigations indicate that depletion of the mitochondrial pool of glutathione can greatly reduce cell viability. In the present investigation, the effect of focal cerebral ischemia on total (reduced plus oxidized) glutathione in mitochondria was assessed using a rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Total glutathione was substantially decreased in mitochondria prepared from severely ischemic focal tissue in both the cerebral cortex and striatum at 2 h of vessel occlusion and persisted for at least the first 3 h of reperfusion. The loss of mitochondrial glutathione was not associated with decreases of the total tissue glutathione content and was not due to the formation of mixed disulfides with mitochondrial proteins. Thus, an imbalance between uptake and release from the mitochondria in the ischemic tissue provides the most likely explanation for the loss. Decreases in glutathione also developed in mitochondria from the moderately ischemic perifocal tissue when the period of arterial occlusion was extended to 3 h. The presence of mitochondrial glutathione depletion during ischemia showed an apparent close association with the subsequent development of tissue infarction. These findings are consistent with a role for the glutathione depletion in determining the susceptibility of brain tissue to focal ischemia.
The Role of Fatty Acid and of Hormones in the Determination of Myocardial Carbohydrate Metabolism in Healthy Fasting Men

Abstract. In earlier studies myocardial extraction (MEx) of lipid and carbohydrate substrates was measured in 25 healthy, fasting men under different conditions (rest, exercise, sodium nicotinate infusion). It was found that, at rest, MEx of glucose, lactate, pyruvate and FFA were positively correlated to their respective arterial concentrations. During exercisesuch correlations were found for lactate, pyruvate and FFA. Furthermore MEx, at rest and at exercise, of glucose, lactate and pyruvate were negatively correlated to arterial FFA levels or to MEx of FFA. In the present investigation the role of various hormones in regulating MEx of carbohydrate substrates was analysed by determination of arterial concentrations of hormones in the earlier studies. MEx of glucose was not significantly correlated to arterial concentrations of either insulin, growth hormone or glucocorticoid. MEx of the other two carbohydrate substrates showed weak correlations to growth hormone levels. Furthermore, since the interrelationships which exist in vivo between MEx of a substrate and (1) arterial concentration of the substrate, (2) hormones and (3) extraction of other substrates are complex, simple correlation analysis between these variables may be inadequate. For this reason the relationship of MEx of carbohydrate substrates to the above mentioned factors was examined by multiple regression analysis in order to discover to which factors the extraction was significantly and independently related. This analysis showed that MEx of glucose at rest was negatively related to MEx of FFA and to concentration of glucocorticoid, but positively to insulin levels and not related to arterial glucose concentration. The multiple regression equations suggested that MEx of FFA might affect MEx of carbohydrate substrates in part through inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase. Multiple regression analysis has thus permitted the demonstration of the relevance of certain control mechanisms postulated from studies with the isolated perfused heart to the situation in vivo where complex interrelationships often invalidate simple correlations. For example, the dependence of MEx of glucose on FFA extraction, insulin and glucocorticoid is quite consistent with the effects of these factors, one by one, observed tn vitro. The multiple regression equation also gave quantitative estimates. Thus for a 10 per cent increase in either FFA extraction, insulin or glucocorticoid concentrations the equation indicated that such a change in one of the independent variables would alter MEx of glucose by –17%, +24% or –13% respectively.