Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of cadherin/catenin complex formation: novel protein interactions and pathways of complex assembly

Calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion is mediated by the cadherin family of cell adhesion proteins. Transduction of cadherin adhesion into cellular reorganization is regulated by cytosolic proteins, termed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenin (plakoglobin), that bind to the cytoplasmic domain of cadherins and link them to the cytoskeleton. Previous studies of cadherin/catenin complex assembly and organization relied on the coimmunoprecipitation of the complex with cadherin antibodies, and were limited to the analysis of the Triton X-100 (TX- 100)-soluble fraction of these proteins. These studies concluded that only one complex exists which contains cadherin and all of the catenins. We raised antibodies specific for each catenin to analyze each protein independent of its association with E-cadherin. Extracts of Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells were sequentially immunoprecipitated and immunoblotted with each antibody, and the results showed that there were complexes of E-cadherin/alpha-catenin, and either beta-catenin or plakoglobin in the TX-100-soluble fraction. We analyzed the assembly of cadherin/catenin complexes in the TX-100- soluble fraction by [35S]methionine pulse-chase labeling, followed by sucrose density gradient fractionation of proteins. Immediately after synthesis, E-cadherin, beta-catenin, and plakoglobin cosedimented as complexes. alpha-Catenin was not associated with these complexes after synthesis, but a subpopulation of alpha-catenin joined the complex at a time coincident with the arrival of E-cadherin at the plasma membrane. The arrival of E-cadherin at the plasma membrane coincided with an increase in its insolubility in TX-100, but extraction of this insoluble pool with 1% SDS disrupted the cadherin/catenin complex. Therefore, to examine protein complex assembly in both the TX-100- soluble and -insoluble fractions, we used [35S]methionine labeling followed by chemical cross-linking before cell extraction. Analysis of cross-linked complexes from cells labeled to steady state indicates that, in addition to cadherin/catenin complexes, there were cadherin- independent pools of catenins present in both the TX-100-soluble and - insoluble fractions. Metabolic labeling followed by chase showed that immediately after synthesis, cadherin/beta-catenin, and cadherin/plakoglobin complexes were present in the TX-100-soluble fraction. Approximately 50% of complexes were titrated into the TX-100- insoluble fraction coincident with the arrival of the complexes at the plasma membrane and the assembly of alpha-catenin. Subsequently, > 90% of labeled cadherin, but no additional labeled catenin complexes, entered the TX-100-insoluble fraction. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
The Process of Prioritisation: Thoughts on Identifying Research Priorities in Hand Therapy

The research-practice divide has long been debated and problems identified regarding the relevance of academic research to everyday clinical issues. The problem of providing evidence directly pertinent and applicable to practice has, in part, been addressed by increasing user involvement in the planning, analysis, application and dissemination of research. So, it has become common in professional groups to explore research priorities with the membership to ensure that current issues are researched with an expectation that the findings will be welcomed and more easily integrated into practice. This paper explores the process whereby these prioritisation exercises have been undertaken and considers the factors which might be driving the choice of topics to be prioritised for research. The aim is to generate a debate about how the identification of relevant research priorities can be better planned to reflect the needs of an informed and involved user group.
Characterization of chitosan–gelatin scaffolds for dermal tissue engineering

Porous scaffolds for dermal tissue engineering were fabricated by freeze‐drying a mixture of chitosan and gelatin (CG) solutions. Different crosslinking agents including glutaraldehyde, 1‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐3‐ethyl‐carbodimide hydrochloride (EDC), and genipin were used to crosslink the scaffolds and improve their biostability. The porous structure and mechanical properties were determined for the scaffolds. The proliferation of human fibroblasts in the scaffolds was analyzed. It was found that EDC crosslinked scaffolds had the greatest amount of cells after four days. EDC crosslinked CG scaffolds had tensile modulus in a dry state and compressive modulus in a wet state similar to commercial collagen wound dressing. They also showed appropriate pore size, high water absorption, and good dimensional stability during cell culture. When human fibroblasts were seeded on acellular porcine dermis (APD), acellular human dermis (AHD), and CG scaffolds for 3D cell culture, they were well‐distributed in the centre of the CG scaffolds but stayed only on the superficial layer of APD or AHD after seven days. A gelatin‐based bioglue was applied to the CG scaffolds where the keratinocytes were seeded to mimic epidermal structure. After 14 days, the bioglue degraded and keratinocytes grew to form monolayers on the scaffolds. This study showed that CG scaffolds crosslinked by EDC and seeded with human fibroblasts could serve as dermal constructs, while the bioglue coating seeded with keratinocytes could serve as an epidermal construct. Such a combination could help regenerate skin with integrated dermal and epidermal layers and a have potential use in tissue‐engineered skin. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Probation officers and the work environment : coping well with change

This was a qualitative, exploratory study that focused on three research questions: 1) what is the lived experience of experienced probation officers who are coping well with change, 2) what are the self-sustaining strategies probation officers use to cope well with on-going change in their work life, what hindered them from doing well, and were there things that would have been helpful but were unavailable, and 3) whether the research interview itself had an impact on probation officers’ sense of well being. This study used a descriptive phenomenological approach to gather information about probation officers’ experiences of career and change, and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) (Flanagan, 1954) to elicit helping and hindering incidents and wish list items. A quantitative component was embedded in the form of a pre-and-post scaling question to determine if the interview process itself had an impact on the participants. Data from the phenomenological portion of the study elicited major themes for each of the relevant questions and established the contextual framework for the CIT component of the study. Data from the CIT portion of the study elicited ten helping, hindering and wish list categories. These ten categories represent the strategies that probation officers utilize in order to cope well with change. Data from the quantitative component of the study indicated that the research interview had minimal impact on participants. Implications for further research and theory development along with suggestions for workers, organizations, and counsellors are discussed.
Range search on multidimensional uncertain data

In an uncertain database, every object <i>o</i> is associated with a probability density function, which describes the likelihood that <i>o</i> appears at each position in a multidimensional workspace. This article studies two types of range retrieval fundamental to many analytical tasks. Specifically, a nonfuzzy query returns all the objects that appear in a search region <i>r</i><sub><i>q</i></sub> with at least a certain probability <i>t</i><sub><i>q</i></sub>. On the other hand, given an uncertain object <i>q</i>, fuzzy search retrieves the set of objects that are within distance ϵ<sub><i>q</i></sub> from <i>q</i> with no less than probability <i>t</i><sub><i>q</i></sub>. The core of our methodology is a novel concept of “probabilistically constrained rectangle”, which permits effective pruning/validation of nonqualifying/qualifying data. We develop a new index structure called the U-tree for minimizing the query overhead. Our algorithmic findings are accompanied with a thorough theoretical analysis, which reveals valuable insight into the problem characteristics, and mathematically confirms the efficiency of our solutions. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed techniques with extensive experiments.
Diastolic Myocardial Wall Stiffness and Ventricular Relaxation during Partial and Complete Coronary Occlusions in the Conscious Dog

Seven dogs were instrumented with a left ventricular micromanometer, pairs of ultrasonic crystals to measure wall thickness in normal and ischemic regions, as well as both short and long axes of the left ventricle; and cuff occluders were placed around the left circumflex coronary artery and the inferior vena cava. Left ventricular volume, mass, circumferential wall stress, midwall strain, and strain rate were calculated at rest, at 1 and 2 minutes of partial and complete coronary occlusion, and 1, 2, and 10 minutes after release of partial and complete coronary occlusipns. Reference values at zero pressure were obtained during inferior vena cava occlusion. Relaxation was assessed from the exponential fall of left ventricular pressure and from the exponential fall of left ventricular stress (myocardial relaxation) of the control and the ischemic wall regions. Passive diastolic wall stiffness was calculated from the exponential diastolic stress-strain relationship. At zero diastolic pressure, the left ventricular short axis increased from 35 to 37 mm during complete coronary occlusion, but remained unchanged during partial occlusion. One minute after release of partial and complete occlusion, left ventricular short axis decreased significantly compared to control and returned to control 10 minutes after release of coronary occlusion. The time constant of ventricular pressure fall increased during complete coronary occlusions, whereas myocardial relax-ation of the control wall region increased and of the ischemic wall region decreased during both partial and complete occlusions. Passive diastolic wall stiffness increased significantly from 22 to 27 (23% increase) at 2 minutes of complete coronary occlusion, but was unchanged during partial occlusion. One minute after release of both partial and complete coronary occlusion, wall stiffness decreased significantly. The diastolic pressure-volume relationship of the left ventricle was shifted significantly upward during complete coronary occlusion without inferior vena cava occlusion, but no shift was observed during partial occlusion or in the experiments with inferior vena cava obstruction. It is concluded that: (1) myocardial wall stiffness is normal during coronary stenosis when systolic wall thickening is reduced but maintained, whereas it is increased during complete coronary occlusion when there is systolic wall thinning. (2) Resting muscle length at zero diastolic pressure is increased during complete coronary occlusion and decreased during reperfusion, dem-onstrating a genuine change in resting muscle length. (3) Regional relaxation parameters show a decrease in the rate of relaxation of the ischemic wall but an increase in that of the nonischemic wall during partial and complete coronary occlusions. (4) The upward shift of the diastolic pressure-volume curve during complete coronary occlusion is prevented by inferior vena cava obstruction and could be due to reductions in right ventricular pressure and volume (ventricular interaction).
Outcome of Cemented Bipolar as Primary Management of Comminuted Unstable Intertrochanteric Fracture Femur in Elderly Sudanese Patients

Unstable intertrochanteric fractures in osteoporotic bones of elderly patients was a real challenge that face orthopedic surgeon because of difficult anatomical reduction, poor bone quality and complication of prolonged bed redden or limited ambulation. The aim of study was to assess the clinical outcome of cemented bipolar as primary management of comminuted intertrochanteric fracture femur in elderly Sudanese patients. Material and methods: (30) Elderly Sudanese patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures (kyle type III or IV) treated by primary hemiarthroplasty using a cemented bipolar prosthesis. Suture or wire fixations were used for reconstruction of greater trochanter fracture. Harris hip score was used for the clinical evaluation. Result: There was a significant relation between age and kyle classification (p value 0.05). According to Harries hip score 17 out of 30 had a good to excellent result (56.7 %) If the patients with a fair result were also included, the percentage goes up to (93.4%). Conclusion: The primary cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty in unstable intertrochanteric fracture in elderly patients' dose provide staple, pain free with early mobilization, better range of motion and less complication rate in short term follow up.
Candidate Gene Expression in Bos indicus Ovarian Tissues: Prepubertal and Postpubertal Heifers in Diestrus

Growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins 6, 7, 15, and two isoforms of transforming growth factor-beta (BMP6, BMP7, BMP15, TGFB1, and TGFB2), and insulin-like growth factor system act as local regulators of ovarian follicular development. To elucidate if these factors as well as others candidate genes, such as estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9), follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), bone morphogenetic protein receptor, type 2 (BMPR2), type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFR1), and key steroidogenic enzymes cytochrome P450 aromatase and 3-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (CYP19A1 and HSD3B1) could modulate or influence diestrus on the onset of puberty in Brahman heifers, their ovarian mRNA expression was measured before and after puberty (luteal phase). Six postpubertal (POST) heifers were euthanized on the luteal phase of their second cycle, confirmed by corpus luteum observation, and six prepubertal (PRE) heifers were euthanized in the same day. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression of FSHR, BMP7, CYP19A1, IGF1, and IGFR1 mRNA was greater in PRE heifers, when contrasted to POST heifers. The expression of LHR and HSD3B1 was lower in PRE heifers. Differential expression of ovarian genes could be associated with changes in follicular dynamics and different cell populations that have emerged as consequence of puberty and the luteal phase. The emerging hypothesis is that BMP7 and IGF1 are co-expressed and may modulate the expression of FSHR, LHR and IGFR1, and CYP19A1. BMP7 could influence the downregulation of LHR and upregulation of FSHR and CYP19A1, which mediates the follicular dynamics in heifer ovaries. Upregulation of IGF1 expression prepuberty, compared to postpuberty diestrus, correlates with increased levels FSHR and CYP19A1. Thus, BMP7 and IGF1 may play synergic roles and were predicted to interact, from the expression data (P = 0.07, r = 0.84). The role of these co-expressed genes in puberty and heifers luteal phase merits further research.
An investigation of literature circles and critical literacy: Differentiated learning opportunities for high -ability students

LINA BELL SOARES. An investigation of literature circles and critical literacy: differentiated learning opportunities for high-ability students. (Under the direction of DR. MARYANN MRAZ) This qualitative research study investigated how literature circles provide an optimal differentiated learning context for high-ability (sixth-grade) readers that centered on the connection between critical pedagogy and collaborative reading of sociocultural issues. The research questions focused on the ways that literature circles provide differentiated learning opportunities, how literature circles provide a context to consider multiple viewpoints, the types of new texts and identities that gifted students create, and the types of analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills gifted sixth-grader readers demonstrate in literature circle interactions. This study was conducted in one sixth-grade gifted reading classroom. Data was collected through a number of procedures that included participant observation, field notes, anecdotal records, interviews, questionnaires, audiovisual transcripts, and studentproduced artifacts. Data analysis was conducted using principles of ethnographic coding, grounded theory, and discourse analysis. This study found literature circles provide zones of opportunity for gifted middle school students, a forum for gifted readers to consider multiple viewpoints on issues of social justice, a context to try out new subjectivities and create counter texts, and a forum for gifted readers to apply their analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills by taking a critical stance, creating intertextual connections, and resymbolizing the unfamiliar worlds in texts into understandable worlds through lived experiences.
Tacrolimus enhances transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 expression and promotes tumor progression

Background. Immunosuppressive therapy is a risk factor for the increased incidence and metastatic progression of malignancies in organ graft recipients. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr;1 has been associated with tumor invasion and metastasis, and we have implicated cyclosporine-associated TGF-&bgr;1 hyperexpression in tumor progression in mice. Methods. BALB/c mice or severe combined immunodeficient-beige mice were treated with 2 or 4 mg/kg of tacrolimus, and the effect of treatment on mouse renal cancer cell pulmonary metastasis was investigated. We also determined whether tacrolimus induces TGF-&bgr;1 expression. Spleens from tacrolimus-treated mice were analyzed for level of expression of TGF-&bgr;1 mRNA with the use of competitive-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay, and circulating levels of TGF-&bgr;1 protein were measured with the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. Treatment with tacrolimus resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the number of pulmonary metastases in the BALB/c mice (197±16 in untreated mice, 281±26 in mice treated with 2 mg/kg of tacrolimus, and 339±25 in mice treated with 4 mg/kg of tacrolimus; no treatment vs. 4 mg/kg tacrolimus, Bonferroni’s P <0.001) and in the severe combined immunodeficient-beige mice (117±18 in untreated mice, 137±19 in mice treated with 2 mg/kg of tacrolimus, and 216±29 in mice treated with 4 mg/kg of tacrolimus; no treatment vs. 4 mg/kg tacrolimus, P <0.05). Treatment with 4 mg/kg but not 2 mg/kg of tacrolimus resulted in a significant increase in the levels of expression of TGF-&bgr;1 mRNA and circulating levels of TGF-&bgr;1 protein. Conclusions. Tacrolimus has a dose-dependent effect on tumor progression and TGF-&bgr;1 expression, and tacrolimus-induced TGF-&bgr;1 overexpression may be a pathogenetic mechanism in tumor progression.
A Patient-Based Analysis of Drug Disorder Diagnoses in the Medicare Population

This article utilizes the Part A Medicare provider analysis and review (MEDPAR) file for fiscal year (FY) 1987. The discharge records were organized into a patient-based record that included alcohol, drug, and mental (ADM) disorder diagnoses as well as measures of resource use. The authors find that there are substantially higher costs of health care incurred by the drug disorder diagnosed population. Those of the Medicare population diagnosed with drug disorders had longer lengths of stay (LOSs), higher hospital charges, and more discharges. Costs increased monotonically as the number of drug diagnoses increased. Overlap of mental and alcohol problems is presented for the drug disorder diagnosed population.
Safety and Efficacy of Extended-Release Niacin for the Treatment of Dyslipidaemia in Patients with HIV Infection: Aids Clinical Trials Group Study A5148

Background Dyslipidaemia is very common in patients with HIV infection, but current therapies are often suboptimal. Since niacin may cause insulin resistance and hepatotoxicity, it has generally been avoided in this setting. Methods Non-diabetic male subjects ( n =33) who had well-controlled HIV infection on antiretroviral therapy, fasting triglycerides ≥2.26 mmol/l and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) ≥4.66 mmol/l received escalating doses of extended-release niacin (ERN) up to 2,000 mg nightly for up to 44 weeks. Results Fourteen subjects (42%) had pre-diabetes at entry. Twenty-three subjects (70%) received the maximum dose, eight (24%) received 1,500 mg. Niacin was well-tolerated. Only four subjects (12%) discontinued study treatment. There were small increases in fasting glycaemia and insulin resistance estimated by the homeostasis model assessment, but insulin resistance measures from the 2-h oral glucose tolerance test only transiently worsened. No subject developed persistent fasting hyperglycaemia; one had persistently elevated 2-h glucose >11.1 mmol/l. There were no significant changes in serum transaminases or uric acid. At week 48, the median change in fasting lipid levels in mmol/l (interquartile range) were: total cholesterol -0.21 (-1.35, -0.05), HDL-C +0.013 (-0.03,+0.28), non-HDL-C -0.49 (-1.37, +0.08) and triglycerides -1.73 (-3.68, -0.72). Favourable changes in large HDL and large very low density lipoprotein particle concentration were observed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Conclusions ERN in doses up to 2,000 mg daily was safe, well-tolerated and efficacious in HIV-infected subjects with atherogenic dyslipidaemia. Increases in glycaemia and insulin resistance tended to be transient.
When the Bottom Line Is Faithfulness: Management of Christian Service Organizations

When the# Bottom Line Is Faithfulness Management of Christian Service Organizations Thomas H. Jeavons Thomas Jeavons provides the principles that can help religious service organizations foster good management and achieve their foundational goals. Available August 264 pages cloth $24.95 Now in paperback! The Patient's Ordeal William F. May " . wide-ranging, compassionate and insightful. " —Publishers Weekly ". an excellent contribution to medical ethics. "—Ethics "May's sensitive and moving book. compels and merits the grateful, concentrated, and critical attention of all who know, who live with, and who seek to help those human beings to whom terrible things have happened. " —BioLaw