Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Inhibitory Spectrum of Thermophilin 9 from Streptococcus thermophilus LMD-9 Depends on the Production of Multiple Peptides and the Activity of BlpGSt, a Thiol-Disulfide Oxidase

ABSTRACT The blpSt cluster of Streptococcus thermophilus LMD-9 was recently shown to contain all the genetic information required for the production of bacteriocins active against other S. thermophilus strains. In this study, we further investigated the antimicrobial activity of S. thermophilus LMD-9 by testing the susceptibility of 31 bacterial species (87 strains). We showed that LMD-9 displays an inhibitory spectrum targeted toward related gram-positive bacteria, including pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes. Using deletion mutants, we investigated the contribution of the three putative bacteriocin-encoding operons blpDSt-orf2, blpUSt-orf3, and blpESt-blpFSt (bacSt operons) and of the blpGSt gene, which encodes a putative modification protein, to the inhibitory spectrum and immunity of strain LMD-9. Our results present evidence that the blpSt locus encodes a multipeptide bacteriocin system called thermophilin 9. Among the four class II bacteriocin-like peptides encoded within the bacSt operons, BlpDSt alone was sufficient to inhibit the growth of most thermophilin 9-sensitive species. The blpDSt gene forms an operon with its associated immunity gene(s), and this functional bacteriocin/immunity module could easily be transferred to Lactococcus lactis. The remaining three BacSt peptides, BlpUSt, BlpESt, and BlpFSt, confer poor antimicrobial activity but act as enhancers of the antagonistic activity of thermophilin 9 by an unknown mechanism. The blpGSt gene was also shown to be specifically required for the antilisteria activity of thermophilin 9, since its deletion abolished the sensitivities of most Listeria species. By complementation of the motility deficiency of Escherichia coli dsbA, we showed that blpGSt encodes a functional thiol-disulfide oxidase, suggesting an important role for disulfide bridges within thermophilin 9.
Who returns home? Study on placement outcomes of Flemish foster children

ABSTRACT Until recently, Flemish family foster care was a temporary measure with as its most important goal, the reunification of the foster child with the birth parents. To date, nothing is known on the number of reunifications, nor has any study been undertaken into the factors (child, parent, foster parent and foster care process) associated with reunification. Case files of 127 foster children who exited foster care in 2007 were analysed. Dependent variables were type of foster care placement outcome (reunification, successful placement without reunification or breakdown) and place of residence after placement ending (with birth parents, extended family, foster family, residential care or living independently). After placement ending, only 40% of foster children went living with their parents, including foster children who were reunified (26%) and foster children who moved to their parents after a placement breakdown (14%). Characteristics of the foster children, and in particular absence of problem behaviour, were associated mainly with a return home. This may indicate that too much attention is paid to the functioning of the foster child and too little to improving the competencies of the parents and the (future) home environment.
Long-Term Outcome in Early-Onset Anorexia Nervosa

Fifteen children who developed anorexia nervosa aged 13 years or less were followed up at least three years later (mean 5.3 years). Outcome measures included the Morgan & Russell Outcome Schedule and the PSE. The general outcome was good in seven, intermediate in four, and poor in four, one of whom had died. A high incidence of psychiatric symptoms at follow-up, which has been suggested in other studies, was not confirmed in the 11 subjects who completed the PSE. Where onset was very early (11 years and under) and where hospital stay was prolonged, outcome tended to be poor.
ACID‐ AND ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE IN AMNIOTIC FLUID IN NORMAL AND COMPLICATED PREGNANCY

Abstract. 171 samples of amniotic fluid were obtained by abdominal amniocentesis from 67 women with complicated pregnancies (isoimmunization, diabetes mellitus or toxaemia). The levels of heat‐labile alkaline phosphatase (HLAP), heat‐stable alkaline phosphatase (HSAP) and acid phosphatase (AcP) were determined and compared to the enzyme levels in 179 samples from women with normal pregnancies of corresponding gestational ages. HLAP showed two “peaks” of activity, one in the 15th–22nd week and the other at term. HSAP and AcP showed increased activity at term. HSAP was decreased (p<0.01) in isoimmunization between the 36th and 40th week. 11 cases of toxaemia with placental insufficiency showed no differences in the levels of HLAP and HSAP compared with normal pregnancy. AcP showed no differences between normal and complicated pregnancy. Samples contaminated by blood showed no significant increase in the acid‐ and alkaline phosphatase levels. Samples contaminated by meconium showed a complex pattern. Some samples had normal enzyme levels, some had high levels of HLAP only and some had high levels of HSAP and AcP. The origin of the enzymes is not known with certainty. HSAP in amniotic fluid is most likely not of placental but of intestinal origin. Determinations of acid‐ and alkaline phosphatase in amniotic fluid seem to be of little value in the clinical management of complicated pregnancy.
A LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL PREDICTING ASSESSMENT LITERACY AMONG IN-SERVICE TEACHERS (ÖĞRETMENLERĠN DEĞERLENDĠRME OKUR-YAZARLIĞINI BELĠRLEMEDE LOJĠSTĠK REGRESYON MODELĠ)

Classroom assessment research has repeatedly documented a concern about teachers' assessment literacy, which might threaten the assessment process of student learning. This study aimed at developing a model that could predict assessment literacy among in-service teachers. Variables considered in the investigation were attitude toward educational measurement, self-perceived confidence in educational measurement, in-service assessment training, gender, major, and years of teaching experience. Participants were 516 in-service teachers (259 males and 257 females) teaching middle school grades in Oman. They were selected from a random sample of 40 public schools at Muscat educational region in Oman. Logistic regression analyses revealed that attitude toward educational measurement, self-perceived confidence in educational measurement, in-service assessment training, and teaching experience were the only reliable predictors of assessment literacy. Implications for professional preparation in educational measurement as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.
Mechanisms of Cellular Uptake of Cell-Penetrating Peptides

Recently, much attention has been given to the problem of drug delivery through the cell-membrane in order to treat and manage several diseases. The discovery of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) represents a major breakthrough for the transport of large-cargo molecules that may be useful in clinical applications. CPPs are rich in basic amino acids such as arginine and lysine and are able to translocate over membranes and gain access to the cell interior. They can deliver large-cargo molecules, such as oligonucleotides, into cells. Endocytosis and direct penetration have been suggested as the two major uptake mechanisms, a subject still under debate. Unresolved questions include the detailed molecular uptake mechanism(s), reasons for cell toxicity, and the delivery efficiency of CPPs for different cargoes. Here, we give a review focused on uptake mechanisms used by CPPs for membrane translocation and certain experimental factors that affect the mechanism(s).
Characterization of the Distal Promoter of the Human Pyruvate Carboxylase Gene in Pancreatic Beta Cells

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is an enzyme that plays a crucial role in many biosynthetic pathways in various tissues including glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. In the present study, we identify promoter usage of the human PC gene in pancreatic beta cells. The data show that in the human, two alternative promoters, proximal and distal, are responsible for the production of multiple mRNA isoforms as in the rat and mouse. RT-PCR analysis performed with cDNA prepared from human liver and islets showed that the distal promoter, but not the proximal promoter, of the human PC gene is active in pancreatic beta cells. A 1108 bp fragment of the human PC distal promoter was cloned and analyzed. It contains no TATA box but possesses two CCAAT boxes, and other putative transcription factor binding sites, similar to those of the distal promoter of rat PC gene. To localize the positive regulatory region in the human PC distal promoter, 5′-truncated and the 25-bp and 15-bp internal deletion mutants of the human PC distal promoter were generated and used in transient transfections in INS-1 832/13 insulinoma and HEK293T (kidney) cell lines. The results indicated that positions −340 to −315 of the human PC distal promoter serve as (an) activator element(s) for cell-specific transcription factor, while the CCAAT box at −71/−67, a binding site for nuclear factor Y (NF-Y), as well as a GC box at −54/−39 of the human PC distal promoter act as activator sequences for basal transcription.
Management of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in hemodialysis patients in Tehran Province, Iran.

INTRODUCTION Our aim was to evaluate the degree of achievement of the recommended values in National Kidney Foundation Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines for the laboratory indicators of bone metabolism in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in Tehran province. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated the laboratory information of 2630 HD patients in Tehran province. Demographic data of the patients and the clinical information including the duration of dialysis session, dialysate calcium concentration, Kt/V, and serum values of calcium, phosphorus, and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) were recorded. The laboratory values were compared to the recommended ranges by the K/DOQI work group in patients with end-stage renal disease. RESULTS Only 1.8% of the patients could enjoy a successful management according to the K/DOQI recommendations for the 4 target laboratory tests of serum calcium, phosphorus, intact parathyroid hormone, and calcium-phosphorus product. Hypocalcemia was diagnosed in 33.2% of the patients, whereas 13.6% were diagnosed with hypercalcemia. Hypophosphatemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism were diagnosed in 6.8% and 24.2% of the patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our findings proved that complying with the recommendations established by the K/DOQI work group in the clinical management of mineral metabolism is very demanding. Phosphate binders frequently lead to untoward toxicities and imbalance in bone metabolism of patients on HD, warranting new cost-effective therapies with fewer side effects. It would be of great interest to analyze, in the future, the benefits derived from the effect of new therapies such as calcimimetics or new phosphate binders regarding the achievement of the K/DOQI guidelines.
Gene therapy for the hemoglobin disorders: past, present, and future.

With the development in the early 1980s of technology to transfer genes to murine hematopoietic stem cells by using recombinant murine oncoretroviral vectors (1), the possibility of genetic therapy for a number of human disorders of the lympho-hematopoietic system seemed an attainable goal. Hemoglobin disorders were among the first diseases to be considered for gene therapy. Both sickle cell disease and the thalassemias are common monogenic disorders worldwide that cause serious morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of these disorders is amenable to correction by the addition of a functional globin gene to stem cells with subsequent high level expression in maturing erythroid cells (Fig. 1). Encouraging reports of successful transfer of a β-globin gene into the hematopoietic stem cells of mice using an oncoretroviral vector appeared in 1988 (2, 3). Erythroid lineage-specific expression of the globin gene was observed, but the levels of expression were much too low (<1% of mouse β-globin) for a potential therapeutic effect. Recent studies using murine models of both sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia and γ-globin expressing transgenic mice substantiate the clinical impression that sustained expression of a transferred globin gene in the range of 10–20% of the level of endogenous globin in a majority of developing erythroblasts will be required for a therapeutic benefit (4). †
In vitro reconstitution of ER-stress induced ATF6 transport in COPII vesicles

The transcription factor ATF6 is held as a membrane precursor in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and is transported and proteolytically processed in the Golgi apparatus under conditions of unfolded protein response stress. We show that during stress, ATF6 forms an interaction with COPII, the protein complex required for vesicular traffic of cargo proteins from the ER. Using an in vitro budding reaction that recapitulates the ER-stress induced transport of ATF6, we show that no cytoplasmic proteins other than COPII are necessary for transport. ATF6 is retained in the ER by association with the chaperone BiP (GRP78). In the in vitro reaction, the ATF6-BiP complex disassembles when membranes are treated with reducing agent and ATP. A hybrid protein with the ATF6 cytoplasmic domain replaced by a constitutive sorting signal (Sec22b SNARE) retains stress-responsive transport in vivo and in vitro. These results suggest that unfolded proteins or an ER luminal −SH reactive bond controls BiP-ATF6 stability and access of ATF6 to the COPII budding machinery.
Glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Glucose is the primary source of energy for the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although yeast cells can utilize a wide range of carbon sources, presence of glucose suppresses molecular activities involved in the use of alternate carbon sources as well as it represses respiration and gluconeogenesis. This dominant effect of glucose on yeast carbon metabolism is coordinated by several signaling and metabolic interactions that mainly regulate transcriptional activity but are also effective at post-transcriptional and post-translational levels. This review describes effects of glucose repression on yeast carbon metabolism with a focus on roles of the Snf3/Rgt2 glucose-sensing pathway and Snf1 signal transduction in establishment and relief of glucose repression.
Longevity of attentional bias modification effects for food cues in overweight and obese individuals

Accumulating evidence shows that overweight individuals exhibit an attentional bias for food and that this bias can be modified. This study investigated the longevity of such modification effects. Using a dot probe paradigm, a community sample of overweight and obese women (N = 104) was trained to direct attention towards (‘attend’) or away from (‘avoid’) food pictures. Participants completed five weekly training sessions. Attentional bias was measured before and after training, at 24 h and one-week follow-up. To increase generalisability, at each of the post-training and follow-up assessments, participants were shown a mix of old and new food pictures. They also completed another implicit bias measure, i.e. a word stem task. Attentional bias for food increased in the ‘attend’ group and decreased in the ‘avoid’ group. These retraining effects were maintained at 24 h and one-week follow-up, and extended to new food pictures. Participants in the ‘avoid’ group also produced relatively fewer food words on the word stem task than those in the ‘attend’ group. Results are consistent with predictions of cognitive-motivational models that attentional biases are malleable. They further suggest that attentional bias modification, which targets the implicit processes that underlie the heightened food responsivity in overweight individuals, could help combat pathological (over)eating.
The Effect of Heparin on Fibrinolytic Activity and Platelet Function

Abstract : Heparin, a polyanionic glycosaminoglycan, is used routinely prior to the induction of cardiopulmonary bypass. Earlier observations in our laboratory suggested that the postoperative bleeding which occurs, despite neutralization of heparin with protamine, is secondary to hypothermia and dilutional anemia during bypass. An additional, potential mechanism for excessive bleeding following cardiopulmonary bypass is that heparin activates the fibrinolytic system, which may, in turn, adversely affect hemostasis. To understand better the effects of heparin administration on the fibrinolytic system in vivo, we simulated the anticoagulant regimen of cardiopulmonary bypass by administering increasing doses of intravenous heparin to five adult baboons over 60 minutes. We measured fibrinolytic parameters serially following heparinization, and demonstrated that heparin induces activation of the fibrinolytic system. We showed that the fibrinolytic system was activated in vivo as evidenced by an increase in plasmin activity and immunoreactive plasmin light chain, as well as an increase in immunoreactive fibrinogen fragment E in vitro. These results demonstrate that the fibrinolytic system is activated in vivo by the administration of heparin during cardiopulmonary bypass. These data suggest that, despite administration of a neutralizing agent such as protamine, heparin may contribute to postoperative bleeding complications following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery owing principally to its longer-lived effects on the fibrinolytic system.
The regulation of lung-ventilation in man during positive and negative exercise and during tilting

28 Introduction 28 Methods and materials 29 Results and discussion 29 References 32 Chapter 3 : Effects of positive and negative exercise stimuli 33 on the ventilatory CO ? -sensitivity Abstract 33 Introduction 33 Methods and materials 35 Results 36 Discussion 38 Conclusion 41 References 42 Chapter 4 : Interaction of CCL and positive and negative exer45 eise stimuli on the ventilation in man Abstract 45 Introduction 45 Methods and materials 46 Results 48 Discussion 52 References 55 Chapter 5 : Muscle force, speed of contraction and the ventilatory 58 response to exercise and CO« Abstract 58 Introduction 58 Methods and materials 59 Results 60 Discussion 65 References 66 Chapter 6 : Increase in venous return by tilting and its effect 67 on the ventilation at rest Abstract 67 Introduction 67 Methods and materials 68 Results 70 Discussion 72 References 75 General discussion and conclusions 77 References 82 Summary 83 Samenvatting 88 Curriculum vitae 93
Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)

Background. A cross-sectional survey was designed to provide a baseline data on the prevalence and distribution of overweight and obesity and their associations among adults in Palestine. Methods. A random representative sample of 3617 adults aged 18–64 years was collected between October 1999 and October 2000. Results. The prevalence of overweight was 35.5% in women and 40.3% in men, obesity was 31.5% in women and 17.5% in men. Adults aged 45–54 years old were significantly more likely to be obese (29.2% in men and 50.2% in women) or overweight (48.1% in men and 37.2% in women). When compared with women, men showed significantly more normal BMI level (40.5% versus 31.6%; P < 0.05). Cut-off points for a high waist circumference and high waist-to-hip ratio identified 57.8% and 47.2% of the population, respectively, to be at an increased and high risk for cardiovascular disease. Sociodemographic factors (age, sex, educational level, and marital status) were also found to be significantly related to BMI. Conclusion. Obesity and overweight are enormous public health problems in Palestine. Population-based research at the national level to investigate the social and cultural factors associated with high prevalence of overweight and obesity among Palestinian adults should be implemented.
Non-native Accent and the Realization of Request Speech Act

This research aims to study politeness levels and the probability of compliance by non-native speakers as perceived and judged by American native speakers. The focus of this study is on how speakers’ accent affects interlocutors’ perception of the request politeness, their compliance with the request and the possible role of speaker’s gender on such perception. Based on the role-plays performed by participants, a questionnaire of politeness and compliance was constructed containing three different situations (i.e., job leave, restaurant and borrow a car). Each participant was asked to rank each request on a range of 5 levels of politeness and determine the probability of compliance with the request speech act. The subjects’ perceptions of politeness were compared based on their native language. Data collected from 15 non-native students and 15 native students showed that there were differences in perception of politeness and compliance between the two groups and that native speakers were perceived as more polite and received more compliance by American native interlocutors. Subjects’ gender did not have any significant relationship with how the participants assessed the politeness degree and their compliance with the request speech act.
Mechanism of LDL binding and release probed by structure-based mutagenesis of the LDL receptor[S]

The LDL receptor (LDL-R) mediates cholesterol metabolism in humans by binding and internalizing cholesterol transported by LDL. Several different molecular mechanisms have been proposed for the binding of LDL to LDL-R at neutral plasma pH and for its release at acidic endosomal pH. The crystal structure of LDL-R at acidic pH shows that the receptor folds back on itself in a closed form, obscuring parts of the ligand binding domain with the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-precursor homology domain. We have used a structure-based site-directed mutagenesis approach to examine 12 residues in the extracellular domain of LDL-R for their effect on LDL binding and release. Our studies show that the interface between the ligand binding domain and the EGF-precursor homology domain seen at acidic pH buries residues mediating both LDL binding and release. Our results are consistent with an alternative model of LDL-R whereby multiple modules of the extracellular domain interact with LDL at neutral pH, concurrently positioning key residues so that at acidic pH the LDL-R:LDL interactions become unfavorable, triggering release. After LDL release, the closed form of LDL-R may target its return to the cell surface.