Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repair mechanisms for oxidative DNA damage.

Reactive oxygen species are formed as by-products of mitochondrial aerobic respiration, as induced products upon exposure to certain environmental/exogenous agents (e.g. ionizing radiation), or as intended products during the immune response against invading foreign microbes. Although serving as essential signaling molecules in certain biological processes (e.g. during gene activation responses), these chemicals, particularly during oxidative stress when at excessive concentrations, can react with cellular components, most notably DNA, and in this capacity, promote mutagenesis or cell death, and in turn, human disease. We review here several of the common oxidative DNA damages as well as the DNA repair mechanisms related to maintaining genome integrity, and thus, preventing cancer formation and age-related disease. We focus mainly on participants of the base excision repair (BER) pathway. In brief, the steps of BER include: (a) excision of the damaged base, (b) incision of the DNA backbone at the apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site product, (c) removal of the AP terminal fragment, (d) gap-filling synthesis, and (e) ligation of the final nick.
Relation of Total Homocysteine and Lipid Levels in Children to Premature Cardiovascular Death in Male Relatives

We assessed the relative importance of lipid, apo B, lipoprotein(a)[Lp(a)], and total homocysteine (tHcy) levels in children in relation to premature cardiovascular disease in family members. Parents of 381 girls and 375 boys age 8-12 y completed family history questionnaires. Nonfasting serum lipids and lipoproteins and plasma tHcy and cysteine levels were measured in the children. Serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were determined in a random subsample of 23% of the children, who participated in a food frequency interview. Children whose parents reported hypercholesterolemia had higher total and non-HDL cholesterol and apo B levels than the rest, but these levels were not associated with cardiovascular disease. tHcy levels were similar in girls and boys. tHcy was higher in children whose father, grandfather, or uncle died at age ≤55 y of myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac arrest(n = 42) than in control children [5.92 μmol/L (95% confidence interval [CI] of 5.47-6.36) versus 5.25 μmol/L (95% CI, 5.16-5.34)], also after adjustment for socioeconomic group. Intake and serum levels of vitamin B12 and folate were within recommended or reference ranges. In a stepwise multiple regression analysis, serum folate (negative correlation), plasma creatinine, and sugar intake as percent of dietary energy(positive correlations) were significantly associated with tHcy (multipler = 0.44, adjusted r2 = 18%; 95% CI, 5-30%). Our data show that a modest elevation in tHcy in children was related to premature cardiovascular death in their male relatives and may partly account for the contribution of family history to risk of cardiovascular disease. tHcy may be modifiable through the diet, even in children with apparently adequate vitamin nutriture.
Relationships Between Self-esteem, General Self-efficacy and Creative Personality

The present study explored relationships between self-esteem, general self-efficacy and creative personality. The responses of 113 university students on self-esteem, general self-efficacy, and creative personality scales were collected and analyzed by Cronbach a tests, Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that, first, there were significant positive relationships between self-esteem, general self-efficacy and creative personality. Second, the effects of self-esteem on creative personality were mediated by general self-efficacy. Finally, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that self-regulation and self-confidence among the sub-factors of general self-efficacy were good predictors of the creative personality. From these results we conclude that it is important to improve general self-efficacy in order to develop creative personality.
Properties of FIRBACK-ELAIS 175-μm sources in the ELAIS N2 region

We report on a search for the optical counterparts of 175 um - selected sources from the Far-Infrared Background (FIRBACK) survey in the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS) N2 field. Applying a likelihood ratio technique to optical catalogues from the Isaac Newton Telescope - Wide Field Survey (INT--WFS), we found optical identifications for 33 out of 55 FIRBACK sources in this field. These were then reassessed in the light of associations with the ELAIS final catalogue for the the N2 field, to yield a final set of 31 associations. We have investigated the nature of this population through a comparison of their observed spectral energy distributions with predictions from radiative transfer models which simulate the emission from both cirrus and starburst components. We find the far-infrared sources to be 80 per cent star bursting galaxies with their starburst component at a high optical depth. The resulting SEDs were used to estimate far-infrared luminosities, star formation rates, dust temperatures and dust masses. The N2 FIRBACK population is found to consist of four suspected ULIRGs, a number of LIRGs and a population of low redshift quiescently star forming galaxies. We also discuss the implications of these results for current evolutionary models.
Semiconstrained Total Elbow Arthroplasty for Ankylosed and Stiff Elbows*

Background: Total elbow arthroplasty can be a valuable option for the treatment of ankylosed or very stiff elbows. Methods: A semiconstrained total elbow arthroplasty was performed in thirteen patients (fourteen elbows) with a preoperative range of elbow motion of 30 degrees or less. Nine elbows were fused or ankylosed preoperatively. The mean age at the time of the surgery was fifty years (range, twenty-four to seventy-nine years). The etiology of the stiffness was trauma for eleven elbows, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for two, and rheumatoid arthritis for one. Results: After a mean duration of follow-up of sixty-three months, the result was excellent for four elbows, good for four, fair for one, and poor for five, according to the Mayo elbow performance score. The mean arc of flexion improved from 7 degrees (range, 0 to 30 degrees) preoperatively to 67 degrees (range, 10 to 115 degrees) after the surgery. The most important factor that influenced the final result was the presence of ectopic bone surrounding the elbow joint. There were seven complications. Infection developed in five elbows. Three elbows had a superficial infection, which did not compromise the final result in two and which was treated with a myocutaneous flap in one with skin necrosis, with an excellent result. Deep infection developed in two other elbows. Both had an unsatisfactory result, one after implant removal and one after several débridements and retention of the prosthesis. Two patients sustained a fracture because of a loose component, and the prosthesis was revised. Four patients who lost motion within the first month following the surgery had a manipulation under anesthesia. Conclusions: Semiconstrained total elbow arthroplasty is a useful option for patients with an ankylosed or a very stiff elbow and results in a considerable improvement of motion. Because of the nature of the underlying pathology, complications, including reoperation, are frequent, but the risk can be lessened by careful preoperative planning and surgical technique. Replacement is the preferred option in patients who are more than sixty years of age, but it is also a good choice in younger patients if there is no other viable option.
Exploring the Antimicrobial and Antitumor Potentials of Streptomyces sp. AGM12-1 Isolated from Egyptian Soil

The occurrence of extensive antibiotics resistant bacteria increased the demands for mining out new sources of antimicrobial agents. Actinomycetes, especially Streptomyces sp. have grasped considerable attention worldwide due to production of many useful bioactive metabolites. In the present study, a total of 52 actinomycetes were isolated from agricultural soil samples in Beni-Suef, Egypt. All isolates were characterized based on colony morphology, mycelium coloration, and pigment diffusion. They were screened for their capabilities to show antimicrobial activities against different indicator microorganisms, and only 20 isolates have shown significant antimicrobial activities against at least one of the tested indicator microorganisms. The isolate AGM12-1 was active against all tested microorganisms and showed a marked antitumor activity with IC50 3.3 and 1.1 μg/ml against HCT-116 and HepG-2 cell lines respectively. It was genotypically characterized as Streptomyces sp. with the presence of PKS Π biosynthetic gene cluster. Mannitol, ammonium sulfate, pH 7, 2% inoculum size and incubation for 11 days at 30°C were the optimum conditions that used to maximize the production and hence allowed purification of one active antimicrobial compound to homogeneity using high performance liquid chromatography with a molecular mass of m/z 488.05. Nuclear magnetic resonance structural elucidation showed that this compound was a diketopiperazine derivative.
Adaptive Uniform Channel Decomposition in MU-MIMO-OFDM: Application to IEEE 802.11ac

This work considers the design of multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) schemes suitable for orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) systems such as those being currently discussed within IEEE 802.11ac. A general framework is proposed showing that the singular value decomposition (SVD), the geometric mean decomposition (GMD), and the uniform channel decomposition (UCD) are all viable mechanisms on which to lay the design. Nonetheless, some striking differences in terms of performance among these three schemes are uncovered. In particular, a novel adaptive transmission scheme based on the UCD is introduced that enables multiuser MIMO-OFDM gains to be realized, clearly outperforming those obtained using the SVD or GMD counterparts while remaining fully compliant with the latest IEEE 802.11ac specification. Relying on the UCD properties, the proposed technique takes into account the availability of a finite modulation and coding set and restrictions on transmission mode selection defined within the standard, to incorporate an optimisation step in charge of selecting the number of transmitted data streams to each user to maximise the system throughput. Comprehensive simulation results in the context of IEEE 802.11ac confirm the applicability and advantage of the adaptive UCD-based design.
Quantitative 1H-NMR-Metabolomics Reveals Extensive Metabolic Reprogramming and the Effect of the Aquaglyceroporin FPS1 in Ethanol-Stressed Yeast Cells

A metabolomic analysis using high resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was used to characterize the alterations in the endo- and exo-metabolome of S. cerevisiae BY4741 during the exponential phase of growth in minimal medium supplemented with different ethanol concentrations (0, 2, 4 and 6% v/v). This study provides evidence that supports the notion that ethanol stress induces reductive stress in yeast cells, which, in turn, appears to be counteracted by the increase in the rate of NAD+ regenerating bioreactions. Metabolomics data also shows increased intra- and extra-cellular accumulation of most amino acids and TCA cycle intermediates in yeast cells growing under ethanol stress suggesting a state of overflow metabolism in turn of the pyruvate branch-point. Given its previous implication in ethanol stress resistance in yeast, this study also focused on the effect of the expression of the aquaglyceroporin encoded by FPS1 in the yeast metabolome, in the absence or presence of ethanol stress. The metabolomics data collected herein shows that the deletion of the FPS1 gene in the absence of ethanol stress partially mimics the effect of ethanol stress in the parental strain. Moreover, the results obtained suggest that the reported action of Fps1 in mediating the passive diffusion of glycerol is a key factor in the maintenance of redox balance, an important feature for ethanol stress resistance, and may interfere with the ability of the yeast cell to accumulate trehalose. Overall, the obtained results corroborate the idea that metabolomic approaches may be crucial tools to understand the function and/or the effect of membrane transporters/porins, such as Fps1, and may be an important tool for the clear-cut design of improved process conditions and more robust yeast strains aiming to optimize industrial fermentation performance.
Ventricular mechanics after repair of subarterial and perimembranous VSDs

Emerging data suggest impaired biventricular function in adults late after repair of ventricular septal defect (VSD). We assessed and compared right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) mechanics in adolescents and adults after surgical closure of doubly committed subarterial and perimembranous VSDs.
To Use or Not to Use: The Role of Affect and Cognition in Changing Attitudes toward Using Condoms among African American Women

ix Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Incidence of HIV and other STIs among African American Women . 1 Why are African Americans at Higher Risk? 3 Sex Ratio Imbalance . 5 Condom use in the United States . 7 Theoretical Frameworks for Condom Use Interventions . 9 What are Attitudes and Why are Attitudes Important? 10 Goal of This Research . 11 Chapter 2: Review of Literature . 13 Approaches to HIV Prevention . 13 Theory of Planned Behavior . 15 Theory of Planned Behavior and Sexual Risk Studies . 18 HIV Prevention Interventions for AA Women . 20 Critique of Interventions . 23 What is Missing in these Interventions . 26 Attitudes . 27 Tripartite Model of Attitudes . 29 Condom Attitudes . 32 Persuasion . 35 Audience Characteristics . 37 Source Characteristics . 39 Source Characteristics and HIV Communications . 43 Gender and Race as Source Characteristics . 44 Message Characteristics . 46 Matching Hypothesis . 48 Summary . 51 Current Research . 52 Chapter 3: Study 1 . 54 Hypotheses . 55 Development of Persuasive Messages . 56
Cognitive performance after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: The impact of poor effort on test results and its relation to distress, personality and litigation

Primary objective: To compare consecutive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) patients with and without adequate effort on cognitive performance, litigation status, fatigue, distress and personality. Research design: (Neuro)psychological assessment was done 6 months post-injury in 110 patients from a cohort of 618 consecutive MTBI patients aged 18–60, who attended the emergency department of our level I trauma centre. Effort was tested with the Amsterdam Short Term Memory test. Main outcome and results: Thirty patients (27%) failed the effort test. Poor effort was associated with significantly poorer scores on seven out of eleven measures, covering all tested domains. Poor effort was associated with lower educational level and changes in work status, but not litigation. Furthermore, poor effort was related to high levels of distress, Type-D personality and fatigue. Conclusions: Even in a sample of non-referred MTBI patients, poor effort was common and was strongly associated with inferior test performance. These findings imply that effort testing should be part of all cognitive assessments, also outside mediolegal settings. Behavioural factors like distress and personality should be considered as potential threats to the validity of neuropsychological testing after MTBI.
Meeting Protein Needs at 6 to 24 Months of Age

In the 1998 World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF document on complementary feeding, a simplified approach to estimating protein needs from complementary foods was based on subtracting the amount of protein supplied by breastmilk from the recommended total protein intake. The resulting minimum desired protein density (g/100 kcal) of complementary foods for breastfed children, assuming average breastmilk intake, is 1 g/100 kcal at 6 to 11 months and 0.9 g/100 kcal at 12 to 23 months [1]. The actual protein density of complementary food diets in five countries (Bangladesh, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru) was well above these levels (fig. 1), ranging from 1.9 to 3.3 g/100 kcal [1], which is why protein does not stand out as limiting compared with other nutrients. The recommended protein content of fortified complementary foods, assuming a daily ration of 50 g/day (dry flour), is 3.0 to 5.5 g/daily ration [2], which represents a protein density of 1.4 to 2.5 g/100 kcal. The protein adequacy of diets typically provided in emergency settings was evaluated by Chaparro and Dewey [3]. These hypothetical diets included a staple grain (rice, maize, wheat, or sorghum) and smaller amounts of pulses and vegetable oil. The protein content of each diet was multiplied by the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) to correct for protein quality. For breastfed children under 24 months of age, the rice-, maize-, and wheatbased diets (plus breastmilk) provided at least 90% of the recommended protein intake (91% to 135%, 90% to 134%, and 103% to 169%, respectively), but the sorghum-based diet provided only 72% to 79% of the recommended amount at 6 to 11 months and 87% to 94% at 12 to 23 months.
Spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity of neurones in areas 17 and 18 of the cat's visual cortex.

1. We have examined the spatial and temporal tuning properties of 238 cortical neurones, recorded using conventional techniques from acutely prepared anaesthetized cats. We determined spatial and temporal frequency tuning curves using sinusoidal grating stimuli presented to each neurone's receptive field by a digital computer on a cathode ray tube. 2. We measured tuning curves either by determining response amplitude as a function of spatial or temporal frequency, or by measuring contrast sensitivity (the inverse of the contrast of the grating that just elicited a detectable response). The two measures give very similar tuning curves in all cases. 3. We recorded from 184 neurones in area 17; of these 156 had receptive fields within 5 degrees of the area centralis. The range of preferred spatial frequency for these neurones was 0.3‐‐3 c/deg, and their spatial frequency tuning band widths varied from 0.7 to 3.2 octaves at half‐amplitude. The most common band width was roughly 1.3 octaves. Simple and complex cells in area 17 did not differ in their distributions of preferred spatial frequency, although complex cells were, on average, slightly less selective for spatial frequency than simple cells. 4. We recorded from fifty‐four neurones from area 18, and performed several experiments in which we recorded from corresponding portions of both area 17 and area 18 in the same electrode penetration. Neurones in area 18 preferred spatial frequencies that were, on average, one third as high as those preferred by area 17 neurones at the same retinal eccentricity. Thus the range of preferred spatial frequency in area eighteen cells having receptive fields within 5 deg of the area centralis was between less than 0.1 and 0.5 c/deg. The distributions of optimum spatial frequency in the two areas were practically non‐overlapping at eccentricities as high as 15 deg, the greatest eccentricity we examined. Neurones in area 18 were about as selective for spatial frequency as were neurones in area 17. 5. We determined temporal frequency tuning characteristics for some neurones from each area, using gratings that moved steadily across the screen. Neurones from area 17 all responded well to low temporal frequencies, and less well to higher frequencies (in excess of, usually, 2 or 4 Hz). In contrast, neurones recorded from area 18 sometimes had similar tuning properties, but more commonly showed a pronounced reduction in response as the temporal frequency was moved either above or below some optimum value (usually 2‐‐8 Hz). 6. We conclude from these results that areas 17 and 18 act in parallel to process different aspects of the visual information relayed from the retina via the lateral geniculate complex. Some or all of the differences between the areas may be attributable to the predominance of Y cell input to area 18 and the predominance of X cell input to area 17.
Genomic Heterogeneity of Background Substitutional Patterns in Drosophila melanogaster

Mutation is the underlying force that provides the variation upon which evolutionary forces can act. It is important to understand how mutation rates vary within genomes and how the probabilities of fixation of new mutations vary as well. If substitutional processes across the genome are heterogeneous, then examining patterns of coding sequence evolution without taking these underlying variations into account may be misleading. Here we present the first rigorous test of substitution rate heterogeneity in the Drosophila melanogaster genome using almost 1500 nonfunctional fragments of the transposable element DNAREP1_DM. Not only do our analyses suggest that substitutional patterns in heterochromatic and euchromatic sequences are different, but also they provide support in favor of a recombination-associated substitutional bias toward G and C in this species. The magnitude of this bias is entirely sufficient to explain recombination-associated patterns of codon usage on the autosomes of the D. melanogaster genome. We also document a bias toward lower GC content in the pattern of small insertions and deletions (indels). In addition, the GC content of noncoding DNA in Drosophila is higher than would be predicted on the basis of the pattern of nucleotide substitutions and small indels. However, we argue that the fast turnover of noncoding sequences in Drosophila makes it difficult to assess the importance of the GC biases in nucleotide substitutions and small indels in shaping the base composition of noncoding sequences.
Effects of social comparison on stereotyping

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL COMPARISON ON STEREOTYPING By Robert G. Taniguchi This thesis examines the effects of a social comparison process on stereotyping Hispanics. Using a reading of an Asian-American success essay, the estimation of perceived opportunity for success in American society was studied. Similarly, the degree of stereotyping was examined. Finally, the estimation of perceived discrimination against Hispanics was looked at. Research shows that estimates of opportunity were not changed by reading the Asian success essay. For stereotyping of Hispanics, Caucasians and Asians showed more negative stereotypes after reading the success essay. For perceived discrimination, Caucasians paradoxically had higher perceptions of discrimination after reading the success essay. There was no difference in perceptions of discrimination for Asians after reading the success essay. Again unexpectedly, Hispanics showed lower perceptions of discrimination after reading the Asian success essay.