Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of rat LIC 53 / 55 deduced amino acid sequence with the sequences of bovine LIC peptides

Cytoplasmic dynein is a multi-subunit complex involved in retrograde organelle transport and some aspects of mitosis. In previous work we have cloned and sequenced cDNAs encoding the rat cytoplasmic dynein heavy and intermediate chains. Here we report the cloning of the remaining class of cytoplasmic dynein subunits, which we refer to as the light intermediate chains (LICs: 53-59 kDa). Four LIC electrophoretic bands were resolved in purified bovine cytoplasmic dynein preparations by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis. These four bands were simplified to two bands (LIC53/55 and LIC57/59) by alkaline phosphatase treatment. N-terminal amino acid sequence was obtained from a total of 11 proteolytic peptides generated from both LIC53/55 and LIC57/59. Overlapping cDNA clones encoding LIC53/55 were isolated by oligonucleotide screening using probes based on the LIC53/55 peptide sequence. The cDNA sequence contained a 497 codon open reading frame encoding a polypeptide with a molecular mass of ~55 kDa. Each of the LIC53/55 peptides was found within the deduced amino acid sequence, as well as four of the LIC57/59 peptides. Analysis of the LIC53/55 primary sequence revealed homology with the ABC transporter family of ATPases in the region surrounding the P-loop sequence element. Together these data identify the LICs as a novel family of dynein subunits with potential ATPase activity. They also reveal that the complexity of the LICs is due to both post-translational modification and the existence of at least two LIC polypeptides for which we propose the names LIC-1a and LIC-2.
Beggar‐Thy‐Neighbor Advertising: Theory and Application to Generic Commodity Promotion Programs

Profits from generic advertising by a producer group often come partly at the expense of producers of closely related commodities. The resulting tendency toward excessive advertising is exacerbated by check-off funding. To analyze this beggar-thy-neighbor behavior we compare a scenario where different producer groups cooperate and choose their advertising expenditures jointly to maximize the sum of profits across the groups, and a scenario where they optimize independently. In an illustrative example using 1998 data for U.S. beef and pork, the noncooperatively chosen expenditure on beef and pork advertising is more than three times the cooperative optimum. Copyright 2001, Oxford University Press.
Word order preferences for direct and indirect objects in children learning Korean

Pre-school Korean children typically manifest higher comprehension rates on the ‘unmarked’ SOV sentences of their language than on the ‘scrambled’ OSV patterns. To date, however, scant attention has been paid to children's ordering preferences with respect to direct and indirect objects. The results of an act-out comprehension experiment involving 40 subjects (aged 4;0 to 7;0) show a strong, statistically significant preference for the accusative–dative order, despite evidence that the reverse order is more common in mother-to-child speech. Two hypotheses are considered, one involving the relationship between word order and grammatical relations and the other involving the relationship between word order and the types of situations denoted by the sentences in question. The results of a follow-up study involving transitive verbs with instrument arguments provide strong evidence in favour of the latter hypothesis.
Molecular Dissection of Prethymic Progenitor Entry into the T Lymphocyte Developmental Pathway1

Notch signaling activates T lineage differentiation from hemopoietic progenitors, but relatively few regulators that initiate this program have been identified, e.g., GATA3 and T cell factor-1 (TCF-1) (gene name Tcf7). To identify additional regulators of T cell specification, a cDNA library from mouse Pro-T cells was screened for genes that are specifically up-regulated in intrathymic T cell precursors as compared with myeloid progenitors. Over 90 genes of interest were identified, and 35 of 44 tested were confirmed to be more highly expressed in T lineage precursors relative to precursors of B and/or myeloid lineage. To a remarkable extent, however, expression of these T lineage-enriched genes, including zinc finger transcription factor, helicase, and signaling adaptor genes, was also shared by stem cells (Lin−Sca-1+Kit+CD27−) and multipotent progenitors (Lin−Sca-1+Kit+CD27+), although down-regulated in other lineages. Thus, a major fraction of these early T lineage genes are a regulatory legacy from stem cells. The few genes sharply up-regulated between multipotent progenitors and Pro-T cell stages included those encoding transcription factors Bcl11b, TCF-1 (Tcf7), and HEBalt, Notch target Deltex1, Deltex3L, Fkbp5, Eva1, and Tmem131. Like GATA3 and Deltex1, Bcl11b, Fkbp5, and Eva1 were dependent on Notch/Delta signaling for induction in fetal liver precursors, but only Bcl11b and HEBalt were up-regulated between the first two stages of intrathymic T cell development (double negative 1 and double negative 2) corresponding to T lineage specification. Bcl11b was uniquely T lineage restricted and induced by Notch/Delta signaling specifically upon entry into the T lineage differentiation pathway.
Comparative Pharmacokinetics Study after Oral Administration of Geniposide in Normal Rats and Adjuvant‐induced Arthritis Rats by UPLC‐MS/MS

A simple and rapid ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS) method for quantitative analysis of geniposide (GE) in rat plasma was developed, validated and applied to determine the level of GE in rat plasma after oral administration of GE in adjuvant‐induced arthritis (AA) and normal rats. The investigation showed that there were significant differences in the groups between the normal rat and AA rat in pharmacokinetics parameters, such as the area under the time versus drug concentration curve (AUC (0‐∞)) (3.77 ± 0.68 versus 2.27 ± 0.42, p < 0.05), the apparent volume of distribution (V) (140.41 ± 2.07 versus 136.51 ± 1.03, p < 0.05), the mean residence time (MRT) (3.98 ± 0.90 versus 3.80 ± 0.50, p < 0.05) and the clearance from the total body (CL) (16.10 ± 2.87 versus 26.44 ± 4.94, p < 0.05). The results indicated that AA could alter the pharmacokinetics of the drug and these experimental findings could be useful for the further study of the clinical applications of GE.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes acute lung injury via the catalytic activity of the patatin-like phospholipase domain of ExoU*

Objective:Acute lung injury in Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia depends primarily on ExoU toxin being delivered directly into the eukaryotic cell cytosol through the type III secretion system. The amino-acid sequence of ExoU has a potato patatin-like phospholipase domain, similar to the sequence of mammalian Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2. We examined whether the acute lung injury caused by cytotoxic P. aeruginosa was dependent on the patatin-like phospholipase domain of ExoU. Design:Laboratory investigation using an established mouse model for P. aeruginosa pneumonia with quantitative measurements of acute lung injury and mortality. Setting:University experimental research laboratory. Subjects:Balb/c mice. Interventions:First, a site-directional mutation was introduced in the predicted catalytically active site of the patatin-like phospholipase domain of recombinant ExoU protein. The effect of the mutation on the catalytic activity of ExoU was tested by the in vitro lysophospholipase A assay. Second, the same site-directional mutation was introduced into the exoU gene of P. aeruginosa PA103. Mice were intratracheally infected with either a wild-type P. aeruginosa strain PA103 or an isogenic mutant containing the mutation in exoU. Acute epithelial lung injury, lung edema, bacteremia, and mortality were evaluated quantitatively. Measurements and Main Results:Recombinant ExoU had lysophospholipase A activity. Site-directional mutations in the predicted catalytic site of ExoU caused a loss of the lysophospholipase A activity. Whereas the airspace instillation of PA103 caused acute lung injury and death of the infected mice, the airspace instillation of isogenic mutants secreting catalytically inactive ExoU were noncytotoxic and did not cause acute lung injury or death of the infected mice. Conclusion:Virulent P. aeruginosa causes acute lung injury and death by the cytotoxic activity derived from the patatin-like phospholipase domain of ExoU.
Health care use during 20 years following bariatric surgery.

CONTEXT Bariatric surgery results in sustained weight loss; reduced incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular events, and cancer; and improved survival. The long-term effect on health care use is unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess health care use over 20 years by obese patients treated conventionally or with bariatric surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Swedish Obese Subjects study is an ongoing, prospective, nonrandomized, controlled intervention study conducted in the Swedish health care system that included 2010 adults who underwent bariatric surgery and 2037 contemporaneously matched controls recruited between 1987 and 2001. Inclusion criteria were age 37 years to 60 years and body mass index of 34 or higher in men and 38 or higher in women. Exclusion criteria were identical in both groups. INTERVENTIONS Of the surgery patients, 13% underwent gastric bypass, 19% gastric banding, and 68% vertical-banded gastroplasty. Controls received conventional obesity treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Annual hospital days (follow-up years 1 to 20; data capture 1987-2009; median follow-up 15 years) and nonprimary care outpatient visits (years 2-20; data capture 2001-2009; median follow-up 9 years) were retrieved from the National Patient Register, and drug costs from the Prescribed Drug Register (years 7-20; data capture 2005-2011; median follow-up 6 years). Registry linkage was complete for more than 99% of patients (4044 of 4047). Mean differences were adjusted for baseline age, sex, smoking, diabetes status, body mass index, inclusion period, and (for the inpatient care analysis) hospital days the year before the index date. RESULTS In the 20 years following their bariatric procedure, surgery patients used a total of 54 mean cumulative hospital days compared with 40 used by those in the control group (adjusted difference, 15; 95% CI, 2-27; P = .03). During the years 2 through 6, surgery patients had an accumulated annual mean of 1.7 hospital days vs 1.2 days among control patients (adjusted difference, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.7; P < .001). From year 7 to 20, both groups had a mean annual 1.8 hospital days (adjusted difference, 0.0; 95% CI, -0.3 to 0.3; P = .95). Surgery patients had a mean annual 1.3 nonprimary care outpatient visits during the years 2 through 6 vs 1.1 among the controls (adjusted difference, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.4; P = .003), but from year 7, the 2 groups did not differ (1.8 vs 1.9 mean annual visits; adjusted difference, -0.2; 95% CI, -0.4 to 0.1; P = .12). From year 7 to 20, the surgery group incurred a mean annual drug cost of US $930; the control patients, $1123 (adjusted difference, -$228; 95% CI, -$335 to -$121; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Compared with controls, surgically treated patients used more inpatient and nonprimary outpatient care during the first 6-year period after undergoing bariatric surgery but not thereafter. Drug costs from years 7 through 20 were lower for surgery patients than for control patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01479452.
Altered cortical visual processing in PD with hallucinations

Objective: To compare fMRI activation during two visual stimulation paradigms in Parkinson disease (PD) subjects with chronic visual hallucinations vs PD patients who had never hallucinated. Methods: Twelve pairs of PD subjects, matched for age, PD duration, and dopaminergic drug exposure duration, participated in this study. The authors examined group differences in activation during stroboscopic (flashing) vs no visual stimulation and kinematic (apparent motion) vs stationary visual stimulation. Results: During stroboscopic stimulation, non-hallucinating PD subjects showed significantly greater activation in the parietal lobe and cingulate gyrus compared to hallucinating PD subjects. In contrast, the hallucinating subjects showed significantly greater activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and the caudate nucleus. During kinematic stimulation, non-hallucinating PD subjects showed significantly greater activation in area V5/MT, parietal lobe, and cingulate gyrus compared to hallucinating PD subjects. Hallucinating PD subjects showed significantly greater activation in the superior frontal gyrus. Conclusions: PD patients with chronic visual hallucinations respond to visual stimuli with greater frontal and subcortical activation and less visual cortical activation than non-hallucinating PD subjects. Shifting visual circuitry from posterior to anterior regions associated primarily with attention processes suggests altered network organization may play a role in the pathophysiology of visual hallucinations in PD.
Real Donors , Real Consent : Testing the Theory of Reasoned Action on Organ Donor Consent

In an attempt to apply the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to the process underlying organ donor consent, participants completed questionnaires concerning their affective responses to organ donation, as well as their intentions to donate. Participants were given the opportunity to sign an organ donor card. Those who chose to sign the card had more positive attitudes about donation, perceived donation as something that their reference group would encourage, and had stronger intentions to consent to signing a card. The current investigation extends the organ donor literature by using a true behavioral outcome measure indicating consent. Moreover, the pattern of results between attitudes, norms, intention, and behavior illustrates the usefulness of applying the TRA to yet another health-related behavior.
Glomerular filtration rate estimates decrease during high altitude expedition but increase with Lake Louise acute mountain sickness scores

Aim: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) can result in pulmonary and cerebral oedema with overperfusion of microvascular beds, elevated hydrostatic capillary pressure, capillary leakage and consequent oedema as pathogenetic mechanisms. Data on changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at altitudes above 5000 m are very limited.
A comparison between robust z and 0.3-Logit Difference procedures in assessing stability of linking items for the Rasch model.

There are at least two procedures to assess item difficulty stability in the Rasch model: robust z procedure and ". 3 Logit Difference" procedure. The robust z procedure is a variation of the z statistic that reduces dependency on outliers. The ". 3 Logit Difference" procedure is based on experiences in Rasch linking for tests developed by Harcourt. Both methods were applied to archival data from two large-scale South Carolina assessment programs: HSEE 1986/1987 and PACT 2004/2005.The results of the analysis showed the ". 3 Logit Difference" procedure identifies slightly more stable items (2.6%) for all items under study. In addition, approximately 93% of all items under consideration were identically classified as stable or unstable for both procedures. This very high level of agreement between the two methods indicates that either procedure can be safely used to identify stable items for use in a common-item linking design. The advantage of the robust z procedure lies in its foundation of robust statistical inference. The procedure takes into account well-accepted models for identifying outliers and permits critical values set at a specified Type I error.
Rhizobial survival and nodulation of chickpea as influenced by fungicide seed treatment.

The survival of Rhizobium ciceri on chickpea (Cicer arietinum cv. Myles) seed, treated separately with 1 of 4 commercial fungicides, i.e., Apron, Arrest 75W, Crown, or Captan, was examined under laboratory conditions using standard serial dilution and plate count techniques. The resulting effects of fungicide-Rhizobium interactions on nodulation, N2 fixation, and plant growth were assessed in a controlled environment. Fungicide treatment decreased the number of viable rhizobia on the seed. In general, the toxicity of the fungicides in terms of rhizobial viability increased in the following order: Control = Crown < Arrest = Apron < Captan. Although Crown had no effect on rhizobial viability assessed under laboratory conditions, it significantly reduced nodulation, percent N derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa), and shoot dry matter. Seed treated with Arrest and Captan decreased nodule dry weight and %Ndfa, but only Arrest reduced dry matter yield. Apron had no effect on any of the parameters measured at the early pod-filling stage and was compatible with the chickpea inoculum used in this study.
Estrogen Receptors in Glucose Homeostasis

Metabolic diseases affect more than 230 million people worldwide with an expectancy to increase to around 350 million in the coming 25 years. It is currently the fourth leading cause of death by disease. The metabolic syndrome refers to a group of interrelated metabolic abnormalities that include disturbed glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance (IR), increased body weight and abdominal fat accumulation, mild dyslipidemia and hypertension. Individuals with the metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Estrogens have traditionally been connected with female reproduction, however, the importance of these hormones in tissues outside of the reproductive system including the liver, bone, the cardiovascular system and brain have since been established (Gruber et al., 2002). Estrogen and the estrogen receptors (ERs) are well-known regulators of glucose homeostasis and several epidemiological and prospective studies associate estrogen to various aspects of the metabolic syndrome (Louet et al., 2004). Postmenopausal women develop visceral obesity, IR and are at high risk for T2D. Treatment of healthy postmenopausal women with estrogen has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and to lower blood glucose (Crespo et al., 2002). Furthermore, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease was associated with a 35% reduction in the incidence of T2D (Kanaya et al., 2003). Male aromatase-deficient patients, as well as a male patient with loss of ER┙ function, display impaired glucose metabolism, IR and hyperinsulinemia (Zirilli, et al. 2008). In addition, the aromatase deficient patients showed impaired liver functions, hepatic steatosis, and altered lipid profile (Maffei, et al. 2004). Additional observations in rodents support the notion that estrogen mediates antidiabetic effects. For example, female rodents are protected against hyperglycemia, unless they are ovariectomized, in spontaneous rodent models of T2D. Studies in knock-out mouse models have shed light on the role of estrogen and its receptors in rodent obesity and glucose tolerance. Mice with functional knock-out of the aromatase enzyme (ArKO mice) are unable to synthesize endogenous estrogen and display an obese and insulin resistant phenotype (Fisher et al., 1998). A similar phenotype was observed in mice lacking ER┙ (ER┙KO) but not in mice lacking ER┚ (ER┚KO), indicating that ER┙ is the major mediator for the estrogenic effects on insulin sensitivity and body weight (Heine et
NKT cell exacerbation of liver metastases arising from melanomas transplanted into either the eyes or spleens of mice.

PURPOSE To explore the role of natural killer T (NKT) cells in the development of liver metastases in mice harboring intraocular melanomas. METHODS Cells derived from the cutaneous B16 melanoma cell line (B16LS9) were transplanted either into the vitreous body or under the spleen capsules of wild-type C57BL/6 mice and NKT-cell-deficient Jα18(-/-) and CD1d(-/-) mice. The development of liver metastases was evaluated by histopathology. The effect of NK cells on liver metastases was determined by selective depletion with anti-asialo-GM1 antiserum in vivo and NK-cell-mediated cytolysis of B16LS9 melanoma cells in vitro. The role of IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β in the inhibition of liver NK resistance to liver metastases was determined by in vivo and in vitro neutralization with monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS Liver NKT cells, especially type I NKT cells, enhanced liver metastases arising from intraocular melanomas. NKT-cell-deficient mice developed significantly fewer liver metastases that were NK-cell dependent. Tumor-induced liver NKT cells, especially type I NKT cells, inhibited liver NK-cell cytotoxicity by an IL-10-dependent process. CONCLUSIONS NKT cells exert protective effects in many murine tumor models. However, the present results reveal that NKT cells exacerbate liver metastases arising from intraocular melanomas. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report that liver NKT cells, especially type I NKT cells, inhibit liver NK-cell antimetastatic activity by the production of IL-10. These results suggest that hepatic NKT cell activity can have an important effect in the immune surveillance of liver metastases.
Racism on Trial: New Evidence to Explain the Racial Composition of Prisons in the United States

In 1926, the federal government began keeping annual records of the number of admissions to state prisons. ' That year, about one in four persons entering state prisons was black while only one in every eleven persons in the United States was black (Table 1). Since then, the gap between the percentage of blacks in the United States and the percentage of blacks entering state prisons has grown. In 1982, the most recent year for which national data on prison admissions is available, nearly one in every two persons entering adult state prisons was black while one in every nine persons in the United States was black.
Influence of Product Class on Preference for Shopping on the Internet

The study reported here examined the influence of product classification (i.e., search, experience, and credence) on consumer preferences for shopping on the Internet, and the importance of Internet retailers' attributes. In addition, the authors investigated whether the emphasis consumers place on Internet retailer attributes significantly influences their online purchase preference for the different product categories. Based on the review of the product classification literature, products are classified into four categories: search products, two types of experience products, and credence products. Data were collected from adult Internet users in two phases, through self-administered surveys. The findings of the present study support the hypothesis that product classes significantly influence consumers' online purchase preferences. Internet retailer attributes were found to be important as well. In addition, the findings confirm that the importance consumers place upon Internet retailer attributes significantly influences their online purchase preference for different product categories. Managerial and academic implications are discussed.