Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Racial differences in subcutaneous and visceral fat distribution in postmenopausal black and white women.

Most studies examining racial disparities in abdominal fat distribution have focused on premenopausal women. The purpose of this report was to determine if racial differences exist in the abdominal fat distribution in postmenopausal white and black women. Fifty-four women (33 white and 21 black) were scanned by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine abdominal fat distribution, were measured by hydrostatic weighing for percent body fat, and had their fasting blood lipids, glucose, and insulin levels measured. These women were matched for age (mean age, 53.5 +/- 0.9 years) and percent body fat (black: 39.6% +/- 2.3%, white: 37.3% +/- 1.2%). When adjusted for total body fat mass and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), total abdominal fat (white: 10,352.1 +/- 535.2, black: 11,220.4 +/- 670.1 cm(3)) was not statistically different between groups, but the visceral fat content was significantly higher in the white women (white: 2,943.5 +/- 220.4, black: 2,332.6 +/- 176.1 cm(3)). The percent visceral fat was also higher in these women (white: 30.5% +/- 1.3%, black: 22.1% +/- 1.6%, P <.01). Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was significantly higher in the black women (white: 7,408.6 +/- 450.2, black: 8,887 +/- 563.1 cm(3), P <. 05). No significant differences were found in the insulin concentrations or the blood lipid profile of these women. Regardless of race, visceral fat was a significant predictor of log triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), cholesterol/LDL-C, insulin levels, and insulin resistance. Race was only found to contribute to 8% of the variability of LDL-C. HRT use had no effect on abdominal fat distribution or the blood lipid profile in this cohort of women. In conclusion, disparities in abdominal fat distribution between black and white women continue to exist in the early postmenopausal years, and the regression results indicate that the absolute amount of visceral fat, and not the relative amounts of visceral fat, is the best predictor of the blood lipid profile and insulin sensitivity. HRT use did not result in differences in abdominal fat distribution in these women. Factors, such as genetics and lifestyle, must play a larger role in explaining the increased health risk in black women.
Study of Compositional and Artificial Pinning Effects on Superconductivity of Pulsed-Laser Deposited Gd-123 Films for Coated Conductor Applications

Critical temperature (T<sub>c</sub>), critical current density (J<sub>c</sub>) and flux pinning characteristics of superconducting films are crucially influenced by their chemical composition. We studied the effect of small composition variations on superconductivity of GdBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>7-x</sub> (Gd-123) films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Several pathways to control the composition of Gd-123 films were studied: variation of clearance between edge of laser plume and substrate surface, utilization of off-stoichiometric target compositions and addition of GdZrO<sub>3</sub>. Positive effect of Ba-deficiency on superconductivity of Gd-123 films was shown. Comparative study of Gd-123 and Y-123 films on CeO<sub>2</sub> capped Gd<sub>2</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> (GZO) buffered Hastelloy tapes confirmed the advantage of Gd-based compositions for application in magnetic fields and their high potential for fabrication of long-length coated conductors.
Parietal, temporal, and occipita projections to cortex of the superior temporal sulcus in the rhesus monkey: A retrograde tracer study

The afferent cortical connections of individual cytoarchitectonic areas within the superior temporal sucus (STS) of the rhesus monkey were studied by retrograde tracer techniques, including double tracer experiments. Rostral superior temporal polysensory (STP) cortex (area TPO‐1) receives input from the rostral superior temporal gyrus (STG), cortex of the circular sulcus, and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) (areas 35, TF, and TL). Mid‐STP cortex (areas TPO‐2 and ‐3) has input from the mid‐STG, cortex of the mid‐circular sulcus, caudal inferior parietal lodule (IPL), cingulate gyrus (areas, 23, 24, retrosplenial cortex), and mid‐PHG (areas 28, TF, TH, and TL). Caudal STP cortex (area TPO‐4) has afferent connections with the caudal STG, cortex of the cauda insula and caudal circular sulcus, caudal IPL, lower bank of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), medial parietal lobe, cingulate gyrus, and mid‐ and caudal PHG (areas TF, TH, TL; prostriate area). The most rostral cortex of the lower bank of the STS (areasTEa and TEm), a presumed visual association area, receives input from the rostal inferotemporal (IT) region; more cauda portions of areas TEa and TEm have afferent connections with the caudal IT region, PHG, preoccipital gyrus, and cortex of the lower bank of the IPS. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Parathyroid hormone-related protein: an update.

PTHrP was identified as a cause of hypercalcemia in cancer patients 25 yr ago. In the intervening years, we have learned that PTHrP and PTH are encoded by related genes that are part of a larger "PTH gene family. " This evolutionary relationship permits them to bind to the same type 1 PTH/PTHrP receptor, which explains why humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy resembles hyperparathyroidism. This review will outline basic facts about PTHrP biology and its normal physiological functions, with an emphasis on new findings of the past 5-10 yr. The medical and research communities first became aware of PTHrP because of its involvement in a common paraneoplastic syndrome. Now, research into the basic biology of PTHrP has suggested previously unrecognized connections to a variety of disease states such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and breast cancer and has highlighted how PTHrP itself might be used in therapy for osteoporosis and diabetes. Therefore, the story of this remarkable protein is a paradigm for translational research, having gone from bedside to bench and now back to bedside.
Cloning of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and its expression in the uterus during embryonic diapause and implantation in the mink (Mustela vison)

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is essential for embryo implantation in mice. Whether LIF plays a role in termination of embryonic diapause and initiation of implantation in carnivores, especially in species with obligate delayed implantation such as the mink, is not known. The objectives of this study were to clone the LIF coding sequence in the mink and determine its mRNA abundance in the uterus through embryonic diapause, implantation, and early postimplantation. We show that the mink LIF cDNA contains 609 nt encoding a deduced protein of 203 amino acids. The homologies are 80.6, 90, 88.2, 87.6, and 86.8% in coding sequence and 79.2, 90.1, 91, 90.1 and 85.4% in amino acid sequence with mouse, human, pig, cow, and sheep respectively. Glycosylation sites and disulfide bonds present in other species are generally conserved in the mink LIF sequence. Quantitation by polymerase chain reaction amplification indicates that LIF mRNA is expressed in mink uterus just prior to implantation and during the first two days after implantation, but not during diapause or later after implantation pregnancy. The abundance of LIF mRNA was significantly higher in the uterus at the embryo expansion stage (P < 0.05) than at days 1–2 of postimplantation. By immunohistochemical localization it was shown that LIF is expressed in the uterine epithelial glands at time of embryonic expansion and in early postimplantation. The coincidence of LIF expression with implantation in this species suggests that LIF is involved in the implantation process, and may be a maternal signal which terminates obligate embryonic diapause. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 51:13–21, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High-Resolution Structural Analysis of Chromatin at Specific Loci: Saccharomyces cerevisiae Silent Mating Type Locus HMLα

ABSTRACT Genetic studies have suggested that chromatin structure is involved in repression of the silent mating type loci in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Chromatin mapping at nucleotide resolution of the transcriptionally silent HMLα and the activeMATα shows that unique organized chromatin structure characterizes the silent state of HMLα. Precisely positioned nucleosomes abutting the silencers extend over the α1 and α2 coding regions. The HO endonuclease recognition site, nuclease hypersensitive at MATα, is protected atHMLα. Although two precisely positioned nucleosomes incorporate transcription start sites at HMLα, the promoter region of the α1 and α2 genes is nucleosome free and more nuclease sensitive in the repressed than in the transcribed locus. Mutations in genes essential for HML silencing disrupt the nucleosome array near HML-I but not in the vicinity of HML-E, which is closer to the telomere of chromosome III. At the promoter and the HO site, the structure of HMLα in Sir protein and histone H4 N-terminal deletion mutants is identical to that of the transcriptionally active MATα. The discontinuous chromatin structure of HMLα contrasts with the continuous array of nucleosomes found at repressed a-cell-specific genes and the recombination enhancer. Punctuation at HMLα may be necessary for higher-order structure or karyoskeleton interactions. The unique chromatin architecture of HMLα may relate to the combined requirements of transcriptional repression and recombinational competence.
Actions versus Consequences in Political Arguments: Insights from Moral Psychology

A striking characteristic of moral judgments is that people commonly assign value to particular actions, irrespective of what consequences the actions bring about. This phenomenon might be important to understanding political judgments, when people frequently purport to stand on principle, even when doing so comes at a substantial cost. Here, I draw on work in psychology that might help identify which citizens are insensitive to consequences in the context of political argumentation. I find that a particular facet of attitude intensity (moral conviction) identifies citizens who think about political issues in absolutist terms (studies 1 and 2) and who dismiss damaging information about policy consequences (studies 3 and 4). These results develop understanding of what attributes make different political arguments compelling to different people and illustrate the utility of attitude intensity measures as a way to account for the atomized and disorganized nature of political opinions.
Homozygosis for (12) CA repeats in the first intron of the human IFN‐γ gene is significantly associated with the risk of aplastic anaemia in Caucasian population

Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) mediates the final damage of the stem cell compartment in Aplastic Anaemia (AA). Normal subjects homozygous for 12 (CA) repeats of polymorphism variable number of dinucleotide (CA) repeat (VNDR) in position 1349 of the IFN‐γ gene (IFNG) were shown to overproduce IFN‐γin vitro. We studied the distribution of polymorphism VNDR 1349 of IFNG in 67 Caucasian AA patients and in normal controls. Genotype (CA)12‐12, (homozygosis for allele 2) and the single allele 12 were significantly more frequent (P = 0·005 and 0·004 respectively) in patients versus controls. The polymorphism was equally distributed in AA patients regardless of their response to immunosuppression. Homozygosity for 12 (CA) repeats of polymorphism VNDR 1349 of IFNG is strongly associated with the risk of AA in Caucasian subjects.
The TIPS Liquidity Premium

We introduce an arbitrage-free term structure model of nominal and real yields that accounts for liquidity risk in Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS). The novel feature of our model is to identify liquidity risk from individual TIPS prices by accounting for the tendency that TIPS, like most fixed-income securities, go into buy-and-hold investors' portfolios as time passes. We find a sizable and countercyclical TIPS liquidity premium, which greatly helps our model in matching TIPS prices. Accounting for liquidity risk also improves the model's ability to forecast inflation and match inflation surveys, although none of these series are included in the estimation.
A 36-Month Study on the Cost/Utility of Add-On Omalizumab in Persistent Difficult-to-Treat Atopic Asthma in Italy

Objective. Omalizumab is a biological treatment for difficult-to-treat allergic asthma. Its mechanism of action relies on impeding the binding of immunoglobulin E (IgE) to specific cellular receptors, thus blocking the inflammatory cascade. At present, no long-term data are available on its cost/effectiveness. The aim of this study is to assess long-term clinical outcomes and to measure the cost/utility of long-term omalizumab use in difficult-to-treat allergic asthmatics. Methods. The clinical, economic, and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes of 36-month add-on omalizumab therapy were compared to equivalent outcomes for the year before the therapy’s introduction in a cohort (n = 16) of adults with severe uncontrolled atopic asthma on chronic high-dose antiasthma treatments. The variables considered were lung function, IgE levels, health status, Asthma Control Test (ACT) score, QoL (St. George Questionnaire), general practitioner (GP) and specialist visits, number and duration of hospitalizations, emergency room admission, and pharmacological treatment (both dose and duration). Derived calculated indicators were changes in health-related QoL, total healthcare costs, and incremental cost/utility. Data from the two periods were tested for statistically significant differences according to Student’s t test and p < . 05 was accepted. Results. Add-on omalizumab significantly and progressively improved asthma control and patient health-related QoL. Symptomatic drug and hospital care costs for these patients dropped significantly. A €450 increase in overall monthly costs was observed; however, when health benefits were considered, this cost increase translated into an incremental cost/utility ratio of €23,880 per quality-adjusted life year gained, which is quite a favorable and convenient figure in terms of the willingness to pay for health benefits in industrialized countries. Conclusions. The 36-month add-on omalizumab therapy persistently improved all clinical outcomes in difficult-to-treat asthmatic patients. Costs were also optimized and related to the extent of long-term health benefits achieved.
Influence of adrenergic and cholinergic mediators on the equine jejunum in vitro.

OBJECTIVE To characterize the response of equine jejunal smooth muscle to adrenergic and cholinergic mediators. DESIGN Evaluation of myogenic responses, using an in vitro model. SAMPLE POPULATION Intestinal tissues were obtained from horses without gastrointestinal tract disorders or systemic disease. PROCEDURE Baseline myogenic tone and amplitude and frequency of contraction were determined for suspended jejunal muscle strips. The level of adrenergic and cholinergic regulation was assessed, using atropine and adrenoceptor antagonists. The response of the muscles to norepinephrine was characterized, using adrenergic blockade and alpha- and beta-agonists. RESULTS Adrenergic and cholinergic blockade had minimal effect on baseline myogenic activity. However, alpha 1- and beta 2-agonists induced significant (P < 0.05) decreases in the amplitude and frequency of contraction. Surprisingly, alpha 2-agonists caused an increase in the contraction amplitude of longitudinal muscle fibers (neurogenic in origin). Change in circular muscle activity was not induced by alpha 2-agonists. Norepinephrine induced a similar selective response and was inhibited by yohimbine. CONCLUSIONS Baseline jejunal activity appears to be myogenic in origin and can function independently of sympathetic and parasympathetic input. However, intestinal smooth muscle can be affected by adrenergic agonists and potentially by increased concentrations of circulating catecholamines. Norepinephrine may act by altering the activity of other neurotransmitters. Differing responses between circular and longitudinal muscle fibers indicates a need to evaluate both components. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Selective alpha 2-agonists may be potentially useful for motility modification of the equine jejunum. Therapeutic use of adrenergic blockade will be effective only in cases of increased adrenergic stimulation.
What’s Gender Got to Do With It? Sexual Double Standards and Power in Heterosexual College Hookups

Although college hookups are typically enjoyable for both men and women, heterosexual hookups often involve inequitable power dynamics that privilege men (e.g., women perform sexual acts to please partners and/or succumb to pressure for intercourse). Some scholars have attributed this power imbalance to the traditional double standard. However, recent studies have indicated college students typically endorse egalitarian standards—and some endorse a reverse double standard in which they negatively judge men more than women for engaging in the same sexual behavior. Using Online College Social Life Survey data (N = 11,077) I examined relationships between endorsement of double standards and power in hookups. Because contemporary students often believe double standards exist in society but not in their own minds, I also examined relationships between feeling negatively judged for hooking up and power. Most respondents endorsed egalitarian standards, but women were more likely than men to feel judged for hooking up. Feeling judged was a significant predictor of power disadvantages for women and men; endorsing a double standard disparaging one’s own gender was significant among men. Findings suggest contemporary relevance of the traditional double standard and highlight differences between women’s and men’s endorsement of double standards disparaging their own gender.
Cavum septum pellucidum in schizophrenia, affective disorder and healthy controls: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Synopsis Many structural brain abnormalities have been described in schizophrenia, consistent with a neurodevelopmental model for this disease. We report here a study of the cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) in schizophrenia compared to control groups, as well as the clinical correlates of this congenital anomaly in schizophrenia. We conducted a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study to compare rates of CSP in schizophrenia (N = 67) v. psychiatric controls (bipolar and schizoaffective, N = 60) and healthy controls (N = 37). Of the controls 18·9 %, and of all psychotic subjects 18·1 % had a CSP of any size and there was no difference in the frequency of large CSP among the groups. Males had higher rates of CSP than females (25% v. 9·7%, P = 0·01) in all groups. Schizophrenics had higher CSP rates than affective patients (25%, v. 10%, P = 0·02). No clinical difference was found between schizophrenics with or without CSP.
Linear array of woodpile EBG sectoral horn antennas

A technique is described for creating linear array antennas that conform to the natural stacking sequence of the woodpile electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) material. Each element in the linear array consists of a woodpile EBG sectoral horn antenna. The electromagnetic confinement mechanism within each horn antenna relies wholly on the 3-D EBG of the woodpile material. The array element has a typical sectoral horn pattern with a directional beam in one principal plane and a broader beam in the other. The bandwidth of the sectoral horn is almost equal to that of the defect EBG waveguide. Measured and theoretical results for radiation patterns, impedance bandwidth and gain of a sectoral horn antenna made from alumina are described, and theoretical results for a design made from silicon are presented. It is shown that the layer-by-layer nature of the woodpile EBG material enables sectoral horn antennas to be easily stacked together in the E-plane to create linear arrays. Analysis of the mutual coupling as a function of element separation and its effect on reflection coefficient are presented for a two-element linear array in silicon. Theoretical analyses for fixed and scanned beam linear arrays of silicon woodpile EBG sectoral horns are described and finite-difference time-domain results are compared with array theory. The fixed beam arrays are designed for high directivity while the scanned beam array enables wide angle beam steering through the use of parasitic array elements
A Proteome-wide, Quantitative Survey of In Vivo Ubiquitylation Sites Reveals Widespread Regulatory Roles*

Post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin is a fundamentally important regulatory mechanism. However, proteome-wide analysis of endogenous ubiquitylation remains a challenging task, and almost always has relied on cells expressing affinity tagged ubiquitin. Here we combine single-step immunoenrichment of ubiquitylated peptides with peptide fractionation and high-resolution mass spectrometry to investigate endogenous ubiquitylation sites. We precisely map 11,054 endogenous putative ubiquitylation sites (diglycine-modified lysines) on 4,273 human proteins. The presented data set covers 67% of the known ubiquitylation sites and contains 10,254 novel sites on proteins with diverse cellular functions including cell signaling, receptor endocytosis, DNA replication, DNA damage repair, and cell cycle progression. Our method enables site-specific quantification of ubiquitylation in response to cellular perturbations and is applicable to any cell type or tissue. Global quantification of ubiquitylation in cells treated with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 discovers sites that are involved in proteasomal degradation, and suggests a nonproteasomal function for almost half of all sites. Surprisingly, ubiquitylation of about 15% of sites decreased more than twofold within four hours of MG-132 treatment, showing that inhibition of proteasomal function can dramatically reduce ubiquitylation on many sites with non-proteasomal functions. Comparison of ubiquitylation sites with acetylation sites reveals an extensive overlap between the lysine residues targeted by these two modifications. However, the crosstalk between these two post-translational modifications is significantly less frequent on sites that show increased ubiquitylation upon proteasome inhibition. Taken together, we report the largest site-specific ubiquitylation dataset in human cells, and for the first time demonstrate proteome-wide, site-specific quantification of endogenous putative ubiquitylation sites.
Automatic segmentation of amyloid plaques in MR images using unsupervised support vector machines

Deposition of the β‐amyloid peptide (Aβ) is an important pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, reliable quantification of amyloid plaques in both human and animal brains remains a challenge. We present here a novel automatic plaque segmentation algorithm based on the intrinsic MR signal characteristics of plaques. This algorithm identifies plaque candidates in MR data by using watershed transform, which extracts regions with low intensities completely surrounded by higher intensity neighbors. These candidates are classified as plaque or nonplaque by an unsupervised learning method using features derived from the MR data intensity. The algorithm performance is validated by comparison with histology. We also demonstrate the algorithm's ability to detect age‐related changes in plaque load ex vivo in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice that coexpress five familial AD mutations (5xFAD mice). To our knowledge, this study represents the first quantitative method for characterizing amyloid plaques in MRI data. The proposed method can be used to describe the spatiotemporal progression of amyloid deposition, which is necessary for understanding the evolution of plaque pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and to evaluate the efficacy of emergent amyloid‐targeting therapies in preclinical trials. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.