Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
White-coat and masked hypertension as risk factors for progression to sustained hypertension: the Finn-Home study

Objectives: To assess the risk of progression from white-coat hypertension (WCHT) and masked hypertension (MHT) to sustained hypertension (SHT) in a nationwide unselected population sample. Methods: Both office and home blood pressure (BP), along with other cardiovascular risk factors, were measured in an unselected population sample of 944 participants in 2000 and 2011. We compared the risk of progression to SHT (office BP ≥140/90 mmHg and home BP ≥135/85 mmHg or start of treatment with antihypertensive medication) between 528 participants with normotension (office BP <140/90 mmHg and home BP <135/85 mmHg), 142 participants with WCHT (office BP ≥140/90 mmHg and home BP < 135/85 mmHg), and 63 participants with MHT (office BP < 140/90 mmHg and home BP ≥135/85 mmHg) at baseline. We used the &khgr;2 test and a multivariable-adjusted log-binomial regression model to evaluate the association between baseline BP categories and incident SHT. Results: During an 11-year follow-up, the rate of progression to SHT increased from normotension (18%) to WCHT (52%) and MHT (73%), P < 0.0001. Progression to SHT became more likely with an increasing baseline home BP category (Ptrend < 0.0001). The multivariable-adjusted relative risks (95% confidence interval) for developing SHT, as compared with normotension, were 2.8 (2.2–3.6, P < 0.0001) for WCHT and 3.8 (2.9–5.0, P < 0.0001) for MHT. Conclusions: Persons with WCHT and MHT have a three to four-fold risk for developing SHT than those with NT and could benefit from active follow-up and lifestyle counselling.
Formulation, stability, and antitumor activity of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine conjugate of thioether phospholipid.

1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-diphosphate-rac-1-S-octadecyl-2-O- palmitoyl-1-thioglycerol (ara-CDP-DL-PTBA) is an effective stable 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) conjugate of thioether phospholipid against a variety of transplantable tumors in mice. The conjugate was formulated in a micellar solution by sonication, in which the conjugate exists as micellar discs (size, 0.01 to 0.04 micron). Analyses on thin-layer and high-pressure liquid chromatography showed that the conjugate was chemically stable upon storage at 3-4 degrees C for more than a 6-mo period. However, stored at room temperature for 3 mo it began to degrade (3 to 11%) to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-monophosphate and phosphatidic acid. At 3-4 degrees C, the micellar structure remained generally unchanged for 6 mo (size, less than 0.1 micron). Samples stored for 4 mo at room temperature formed some larger vesicles (size, 0.1 to 0.4 micron). Antitumor activity against i.p. implanted L1210 leukemia in mice remained relatively constant with samples stored for 6 mo at 3-4 degrees C or 3 mo at room temperature. 1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate (ara-CTP) levels were elevated (greater than 500 pmol/10(7) cells) in L1210 leukemia cells within 1 h following i.p. administration of 400 mg/kg of ara-CDP-DL-PTBA to mice. More importantly, retention of cellular ara-CTP was prolonged (greater than 24 h) in these tumor cells as compared with ara-C treatments. Administration of ara-CDP-DL-PTBA to mice with colon 26 carcinoma (s.c.) resulted in both significant antitumor activity with an increased life span greater than 100% and decreased tumor size. The conjugate also demonstrated a dose-dependent therapeutic effect in mice with M5076 sarcoma (s.c.) as demonstrated by decreases in tumor size and liver metastases. Overall, ara-CDP-DL-PTBA, a stable lipid conjugate of ara-C in a micellar solution, appears to offer substantial therapeutic benefit to mice with leukemia and solid tumors warranting its further development and clinical investigation.
Regulation of virulence gene expression in Vibrio cholerae by quorum sensing: HapR functions at the aphA promoter

Quorum sensing negatively influences virulence gene expression in certain toxigenic Vibrio cholerae strains. At high cell densities, the response regulator LuxO fails to reduce the expression of HapR, which, in turn, represses the expression of the virulence cascade. A critical regulatory step in the cascade is activation of tcpPH expression by AphA and AphB. We show here that HapR influences the virulence cascade by directly repressing aphA expression. In strain C6706, aphA expression was increased in a ΔhapR mutant and decreased in a ΔluxO mutant, indicating a negative and positive influence, respectively, of these gene products on the promoter. Overexpression of HapR also reduced aphA expression in both C6706 and Escherichia coli. DNase I footprinting showed that purified HapR binds to the aphA promoter between −85 and −58. Although it appears that quorum sensing does not influence virulence gene expression in strain O395 solely because of a frameshift in hapR, overproduced HapR did not repress expression from the O395 aphA promoter in either Vibrio or E. coli, nor did the protein bind to the promoter. Two basepair differences from C6706 are present in the O395 HapR binding site at −85 and −77. Introducing the −77 change into C6706 prevented HapR binding and repression of aphA expression. This mutation also eliminated the repression of toxin‐co‐regulated pilus (TCP) and cholera toxin (CT) that occurs in a ΔluxO mutant, indicating that HapR function at aphA is critical for density‐dependent regulation of virulence genes.
Reversal of apoE4-Driven Brain Pathology and Behavioral Deficits by Bexarotene

Apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4), the most prevalent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), is less lipidated than its corresponding AD-benign form, apoE3, and it has been suggested that the pathological effects of apoE4 are mediated by lipid-related mechanisms. ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 and G1 (ABCA1 and ABCG1, respectively) are the most important apoE-lipidating proteins. The expression of these proteins, as well as that of apoE, is controlled by the transcription regulation retinoid X receptor (RXR)–liver X receptor (LXR) system. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the RXR agonist bexarotene on mRNA and protein levels of apoE, ABCA1, and ABCG1 in young, naive apoE3- and apoE4-targeted replacement mice and assessed the extent to which this reverses the apoE4-driven pathological phenotype. This investigation reveled that bexarotene increases the mRNA and protein levels of ABCA1 and ABCG1 in hippocampal neurons, but has no effect on the corresponding levels of apoE. These findings were associated with reversal of the lipidation deficiency of apoE4 and of the cognitive impairments of apoE4 mice in several tests. Furthermore, bexarotene reversed the apoE4-driven accumulation of Aβ42 and hyperphosphorylated tau in hippocampal neurons, as well as the apoE4-induced reduction in the levels of the presynaptic marker vesicular glutamatergic transporter 1 (VGluT1). In conclusion, the results show that treatment of apoE4 mice with the RXR agonist bexarotene reverses the apoE4-induced cognitive and neuronal impairments in vivo and suggest that this is due to reversal of the lipidation deficiency of apoE4. This puts forward the possibility that RXR activation and increased levels of ABCA1 and ABCG1 could be useful in the treatment of human apoE4 carriers.
Representation of Acoustic Communication Signals by Insect Auditory Receptor Neurons

Despite their simple auditory systems, some insect species recognize certain temporal aspects of acoustic stimuli with an acuity equal to that of vertebrates; however, the underlying neural mechanisms and coding schemes are only partially understood. In this study, we analyze the response characteristics of the peripheral auditory system of grasshoppers with special emphasis on the representation of species-specific communication signals. We use both natural calling songs and artificial random stimuli designed to focus on two low-order statistical properties of the songs: their typical time scales and the distribution of their modulation amplitudes. Based on stimulus reconstruction techniques and quantified within an information-theoretic framework, our data show that artificial stimuli with typical time scales of >40 msec can be read from single spike trains with high accuracy. Faster stimulus variations can be reconstructed only for behaviorally relevant amplitude distributions. The highest rates of information transmission (180 bits/sec) and the highest coding efficiencies (40%) are obtained for stimuli that capture both the time scales and amplitude distributions of natural songs. Use of multiple spike trains significantly improves the reconstruction of stimuli that vary on time scales <40 msec or feature amplitude distributions as occur when several grasshopper songs overlap. Signal-to-noise ratios obtained from the reconstructions of natural songs do not exceed those obtained from artificial stimuli with the same low-order statistical properties. We conclude that auditory receptor neurons are optimized to extract both the time scales and the amplitude distribution of natural songs. They are not optimized, however, to extract higher-order statistical properties of the song-specific rhythmic patterns.
Ca2+ entry via AMPA/KA receptors and excitotoxicity in cultured cerebellar Purkinje cells

Initial studies of glutamate receptors activated by kainate (KA) found them to be Ca2+ impermeable. Activation of these receptors was thought to produce Ca2+ influx into neurons only indirectly by Na(+)-dependent depolarization. However, Ca2+ entry via AMPA/KA receptors has now been demonstrated in several neuronal types, including cerebellar Purkinje cells. We have investigated whether such Ca2+ influx is sufficient to induce excitotoxicity in cultures of cerebellar neurons enriched for Purkinje cells. Agonists at non-NMDA receptors induced Ca2+ influx in the majority of these cells, as measured by whole-cell voltage clamp and by fura-2 [Ca2+]i microfluorimetry. To assess excitotoxicity, neurons were exposed to agonists for 20 min and cell survival was evaluated by a fluorescence assay 24 hr later. KA (100 microM) reduced neuronal survival relative to controls to 43 +/- 3% when applied in Na(+)-containing solution and to 45 +/- 3% in Na(+)-free solution. This toxicity was blocked completely by CNQX but only slightly by 100 microM Cd2+ and 50 microM D-(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid. Both Purkinje neurons and non-Purkinje cell types present in the cultures were similarly vulnerable to toxic KA exposure, but the population marked by KA-induced Co2+ uptake was selectively diminished by the excitotoxicity. Na(+)-independent excitotoxicity could also be induced by domoate, AMPA, or glutamate. Compared to KA, NMDA was relatively ineffective in inducing cell death. Most of the KA-induced excitotoxicity could be blocked by removal of extracellular Ca2+ during the KA exposure and for a 5 min period thereafter. Furthermore, antagonists of the Ca(2+)-activated enzymes nitric oxide synthase and calpain significantly reduced the KA-induced cell death. These results show that non-NMDA receptor activation can cause excitotoxicity in cerebellar Purkinje neurons by mechanisms not involving Na+ influx, but rather depending on direct Ca2+ permeation and activation of Ca(2+)- dependent enzymatic processes.
Event shapes and jet rates in electron-positron annihilation at NNLO

This article gives the perturbative NNLO results for the most commonly used event shape variables associated to three-jet events in electron-positron annihilation: Thrust, heavy jet mass, wide jet broadening, total jet broadening, C parameter and the Durham three-to-two jet transition variable. In addition the NNLO results for the jet rates corresponding to the Durham, Geneva, Jade-E0 and Cambridge jet algorithms are presented.
M ay 2 01 4 Supporting Information : The role of random electric fields in relaxors

NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA,School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK EH9 3JZ,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA,Department of Chemistry and 4D LABS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada,¶Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6494, USA, and ‖To Whom Correspondence Should Be Addressed (Email: peter.gehring@nist.gov)
Aberrant galactosylation of IgA1 is involved in the genetic susceptibility of Chinese patients with IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is associated with genetic and environmental factors, and undergalactosylation of IgA1 in the serum is considered to be a contributor to pathogenesis of IgAN. The present study was conducted to detect the galactose- (Gal) deficient IgA1 level in Chinese IgAN patients and their family members. METHODS Sixty-three IgAN patients were enrolled, where 32 first-degree relatives of 19 patients and 44 spouses of 44 patients were recruited. Healthy blood donors (n = 39) were used as normal controls. Biotinylated HAA (Helix aspersa) was utilized to detect the Gal-deficient IgA1 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the results were corrected by serum IgA1 concentration. RESULTS Compared with normal controls, the sera IgA1 of patients and their first-degree relatives demonstrated increased Gal-deficient IgAl level (0.17 +/- 0.09 versus 0.10 +/- 0.04, P = 0.001; 0.14 +/- 0.07 versus 0.10 +/- 0.04, P = 0.028); no significant difference between patients and their first-degree relatives was detected (0.17 +/- 0.09 versus 0.14 +/- 0.07, P = 0.127). In contrast, serum Gal-deficient IgA1 level of IgAN patients was higher than their counterpart spouses and normal controls (0.18 +/- 0.13 versus 0.14 +/- 0.09, P = 0.009; 0.18 +/- 0.13 versus 0.10 +/- 0.04, P = 0.001), while that of patients' spouses was comparable with normal controls (0.14 +/- 0.09 versus 0.10 +/- 0.04, P = 0.075). There was no correlation between clinicopathological data and serum Gal-deficient IgA1 level. CONCLUSION The patients with IgAN and their first relatives showed significant higher Gal-deficient IgA1 level than healthy controls, whereas patients' spouses were the same as healthy controls. It can be suggested that the Gal-deficient IgA1 might be inherited in Chinese patients with IgAN.
Survey and comparative study of free simulation software for mobile robots

SUMMARY In robotics, simulation has become an essential tool for research, education, and design purposes. Various software tools for mobile robot simulation have been developed and have reached different levels of maturity in recent years. This paper presents a general survey of mobile robot simulation tools and discusses qualitative and quantitative aspects of selection of four major simulators publicly available at no cost: Carmen, Player-Stage-Gazebo, Open Dynamics Engine, and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. The comparison of the simulators is aimed at establishing the range of applications for which these are best suited as well as their accuracy for certain simulation tasks. The simulators chosen for detailed comparison were selected considering their level of maturity, modularity, and popularity among engineers and researchers. The qualitative comparison included a discussion of relevant features. The quantitative analysis entailed the development of a detailed dynamical model of a mobile robot on a road with varying slope. This model was used as benchmark to compare the accuracy of each simulator. The validity of the simulated results was also contrasted against measurements obtained from experiments with a real robot. This research and analysis should be very valuable to educators, engineers, and researchers who are always seeking adequate tools for simulating autonomous mobile robots.
sHype : Secure Hypervisor Approach to Trusted Virtualized Systems

We present an operating system independent hypervisor security architecture and its application to control information flow between operating systems sharing a single hardware platform. New computing paradigms -such as Grid computing, On-demand services, or Web Servicesincreasingly depend on the security of the underlying computing infrastructure. A fundamental security problem today is that almost all available security controls for protecting the computing infrastructure rely on the security expected from the operating system. However, common off-the-shelf operating systems are too large and complex to provide the security guarantees required for critical applications. Hypervisors are becoming a ubiquitous virtualization layer on client and server systems. They are designed to isolate operating systems by running them in isolated run-time environments on a single hardware platform. Thus, a malicious or manipulated OS can be isolated and security breaches can be contained within it. However, since distributed services need resource sharing, operating systems must be allowed to co-operate. Our contribution in this paper is the extension of a full-isolation hypervisor with security mechanisms that enable controlled resource sharing between virtual machines to secure this co-operation. We have successfully implemented our hypervisor security architecture (sHype) into a fully functional multi-platform research hypervisor (vHype). sHype implements a security reference monitor interface in the hypervisor to enforce information flow constraints between virtual machines.
Symptom Management in HIV/AIDS: Advancing the Conceptualization

For people living with HIV, symptoms related to the disease, comorbidities, and treatment side effects make symptom management essential. Poorly managed symptoms result in reduced medication adherence, disease progression, and lower quality of life. The Self-regulatory HIV/AIDS Symptom Management Model is a conceptual model that describes how persons living with HIV/AIDS manage their symptoms. The model links symptom experience, symptom management, social support, adherence, and health-related quality of life. It can assist nurses, through a multidimensional approach to illness management, to enhance symptom assessment, better understand factors influencing symptom experience, and to improve symptom management among people living with HIV/AIDS.
Influence of physical exercise on baroreceptor sensitivity during pregnancy

Abstract Background: Baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) refers to the magnitude of change in the heart rate in response to change in blood pressure (e.g. upon standing). The impact of regular antenatal exercise on maternal BRS is unclear. Aims: To determine whether supervised weekly exercise influences BRS, and to determine if posture and calculation method are important in antenatal BRS measurement. Study design and subjects: Eighty-one healthy pregnant women were randomly assigned to an exercise or control group. The exercise group attended weekly classes from the 20th week of pregnancy onwards. Outcome measures: Cardiovascular assessments (beat-to-beat blood pressure, heart rate) were performed at 12–16, 26–28, 34–36 weeks and 12 weeks following birth. BRS was calculated using two methods (“sequence” and “beat-to-beat”). Results: Fifty-one women (63%) completed the study. Mean BRS reduced progressively in all women (p < 0.025) and was lowest in those who exercised (0.046 < p < 0.002). Postnatal increases in BRS were independent of posture. Training-induced BRS (beat-to-beat) reduction occurred earlier than BRS (sequence), and only BRS (sequence) was affected by posture. Heart rate variability reduced with advancing gestation (p < 0.002) and was more pronounced in the exercise group (p < 0.029). Conclusions: Weekly exercise exaggerated the reductions in BRS and HRV during pregnancy and is likely linked to diminished parasympathetic activity.
A pilot study of attachment patterns in adult twins

Abstract The hypothesis that attachment in adults is influenced by genetic factors was investigated. The within-pair differences in attachment representation in same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twins were compared using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The results showed a clear tendency toward monozygotic twins (n = 28) being more concordant than dizygotic twins (n = 13), but the within-pair similarity was also high in both zygosity groups. The results suggest, in behavior genetic terms, that heredity and shared environment may contribute to attachment status in adulthood. This differs from studies of attachment in infancy and early childhood, which report attachment to be explained mainly by shared environment, with minimal influence from genetic factors. Furthermore, the results showed that the distribution of the attachment pattern in twins had the same percentage distribution as reported for singletons. Consequently, there was no tendency toward more insecure attachment in twins than in singletons.
Dual-Phenotype GABA/Glutamate Neurons in Adult Preoptic Area: Sexual Dimorphism and Function

It is generally assumed that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA and the stimulatory neurotransmitter glutamate are released from different neurons in adults. However, this tenet has made it difficult to explain how the same afferent signals can cause opposite changes in GABA and glutamate release. Such reciprocal release is a central mechanism in the neural control of many physiological processes including activation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, the neural signal for ovulation. Activation of GnRH neurons requires simultaneous suppression of GABA and stimulation of glutamate release, each of which occurs in response to a daily photoperiodic signal, but only in the presence of estradiol (E2). In rodents, E2 and photoperiodic signals converge in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), but it is unclear how these signals differentially regulate GABA and glutamate secretion. We now report that nearly all neurons in the AVPV of female rats express both vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2), a marker of hypothalamic glutamatergic neurons, as well as glutamic acid decarboxylase and vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT), markers of GABAergic neurons. These dual-phenotype neurons are the main targets of E2 in the region and are more than twice as numerous in females as in males. Moreover, dual-phenotype synaptic terminals contact GnRH neurons, and at the time of the surge, VGAT-containing vesicles decrease and VGLUT2-containing vesicles increase in these terminals. Thus, we propose a new model for ovulation that includes dual-phenotype GABA/glutamate neurons as central transducers of hormonal and neural signals to GnRH neurons.