Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of supplementation of medium with different antioxidants during in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes on subsequent embryo production.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of different antioxidants on the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) in oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM), as well as on the production of embryos. Oocyte of slaughterhouse-derived cattle ovaries were placed in IVM with different antioxidants: quercetin (2 μM), cysteamine (100 μM), carnitine (0.5 mg/ml), vitamin C (50 μg/ml) or resveratrol (2 μM). Oocytes matured without any antioxidant supplementation were used as control. The oocytes were assessed for maturation rates and for ROS and GSH levels by fluorescence staining in 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and Cell Tracker Blue, respectively. Embryo production was assessed in terms of cleavage, blastocysts and hatching rates and embryo cell numbers. The results expressed in arbitrary fluorescence units showed ROS reduction (p < .05) in the groups with quercetin (27.5 ± 3.4), vitamin C (27.1 ± 3.0) or resveratrol (28.1 ± 4.7), in comparison with those with cysteamine (34.9 ± 4.5), carnitine (34.6 ± 3.8) or to the control group (36.5 ± 5.2). GSH levels increased (p < .05) in cysteamine (63.5 ± 5.5) or carnitine (60.8 ± 4.4) groups in comparison with quercetin (52.7 ± 5.1), vitamin C (53.0 ± 3.8), resveratrol (53.1 ± 4.4) or to the control (49.6 ± 4.5). Nuclear maturation cleavage and hatched blastocysts rates did not differ (p > .05) between groups. However, blastocyst rates after in vitro fertilization in quercetin (53.5 ± 3.9%), vitamin C (52.1 ± 3.1%) resveratrol (54.2 ± 4.0%), cysteamine (52.4 ± 2.7%) or carnitine (54.2 ± 3.1%) groups were higher (p < .05) than in the control (47.2 ± 2.7%). Total cell numbers in embryos from the vitamin C, resveratrol, cysteamine or carnitine groups were higher than in quercetin and control groups, which were similar to each other. The results suggest that using antioxidants during IVM may reduce oxidative stress either by decreasing ROS levels directly or by increasing GSH levels in oocytes, depending on the type of antioxidant used. Overall, oxidative stress control during IVM with the antioxidants examined here improved blastocyst development with similar efficacy.
Targeting miR-21 in glioma: a small RNA with big potential

Importance of the field: Glioma therapies have produced relatively small improvements over the past decade, highlighting an important need to identify novel ways to target this disease. Targeted therapies against single activated protein kinases have proven effective in some cancers including gastrointestinal stromal cancer and colon cancer, but not yet in gliomas where multiple pathways and targets may be involved. MicroRNAs are emerging as key regulators of multiple pathways involved in cancer development and progression and may become the next targeted therapies in glioma. Areas covered in this review: This review covers the basics of microRNA biology and specifically focuses on the roles of miR-21 in glioma and its potential as target for glioma therapy. What the reader will gain: This review will provide the reader with an in depth understanding of how miR-21 functions in glioma. We also review the current state of studies designed to specifically target miR-21 as a potential future therapeutic. Take home message: Identifying novel targets for the treatment of glioma is critical for advancing the current state of the field. MicroRNAs provide a novel target; and in glioma, targeting miR-21 may have broad consequences for the tumor that make it an attractive potential therapeutic.
Effect of acute renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy on outcome in critically ill patients*

Objectives Acute renal failure is a complication in critically ill patients that has been associated with an excess risk of hospital mortality. Whether this reflects the severity of the disease or whether acute renal failure is an independent risk factor is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze severity of illness and mortality in a group of critically ill patients with acute renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy in a number of Austrian intensive care units. Design Prospective, multicenter cohort study. Patients and Setting A total of 17,126 patients admitted consecutively to 30 medical, surgical, and mixed intensive care units in Austria over a period of 2 yrs. Measurements and Main Results Analyzed data included admission data, Simplified Acute Physiology Score, Logistic Organ Dysfunction system, Simplified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System, length of intensive care unit stay, intensive care unit mortality, and hospital mortality. Of the admitted patients, 4.9% (n = 839) underwent renal replacement therapy because of acute renal failure (renal replacement therapy patients). These patients had a significantly higher hospital mortality (62.8% vs. 15.6%, p < .001), which remained significantly higher even when renal replacement therapy patients were matched with control subjects for age, severity of illness, and treatment center. Since univariate analysis demonstrated further intensity of treatment to be an additional predictor for outcome, a multivariate model including therapeutic interventions was developed. Five interventions were associated with nonsurvival (mechanical ventilation, single vasoactive medication, multiple vasoactive medication, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and treatment of complicated metabolic acidosis/alkalosis). In contrast, the use of enteral nutrition predicted a favorable outcome. Conclusions The results of our study suggest that acute renal failure in patients undergoing renal replacement therapy presents an excess risk of in-hospital death. This increased risk cannot be explained solely by a more pronounced severity of illness. Our results provide strong evidence that acute renal failure presents a specific and independent risk factor for poor prognosis.
Molecular determinants of sugar transport regulation by ATP.

Intracellular ATP inhibits human erythrocyte net sugar transport by binding cooperatively to the glucose transport protein (GluT1). ATP binding produces altered transporter affinity for substrate and promotes substrate occlusion within a post-translocation vestibule formed by GluT1 cytosolic domains. The accompanying paper (Cloherty, E. K., Levine, K. B., Graybill, C., and Carruthers, A. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 12639-12651) demonstrates that reduced intracellular pH promotes high-affinity ATP binding to GluT1 but inhibits ATP-modulation of GluT1-mediated sugar transport. The present study explores the role of GluT1 residues 326-343 (a proposed GluT1 ATP-binding site subdomain) in GluT1 ATP binding by using alanine scanning mutagenesis. Cos-7 and HEK cells were transfected with a cDNA encoding full-length human GluT1 terminating in a carboxyl-terminal hemagglutinin (HA)-His6 epitope. The transporter (GluT1.HA.H6) is expressed at the surface of both cell-types and is catalytically active. In HEK cells, both parental GluT1- and GluT1.HA. H6-mediated sugar transport are acutely sensitive to cellular metabolic inhibition. Isolated, detergent-solubilized GluT1.HA. H6 is photolabeled by [gamma-32P]-azidoATP in an ATP-protectable manner. Alanine substitution of E329 or G332/R333/R334 enhances GluT1.HA. H6 [gamma-32P]azidoATP photoincorporation but blocks acute modulation of net sugar transport by cellular metabolic inhibition. These actions resemble those of reduced pH on ATP binding to and modulation of red cell GluT1. It is proposed that cooperative nucleotide binding to GluT1 and nucleotide modulation of GluT1-mediated sugar transport are regulated by a proton-sensitive saltbridge (Glu329-Arg333/334).
Breaking Boundaries: Exploring the Process of Intersective Market Activity of Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the Context of High Economic Inequality

We explore immigrant entrepreneurship using structuration theory to understand how migrant&#8208;led venture creation conducts socially&#8208;intersective market activity in the host country of high economic inequality and social exclusion. Applying Gidden's structuration theory to immigrant entrepreneurship (1994), we unravel the co&#8208;evolutionary process of both the entrepreneurial agent and the social structure of the host country via three phases of venture creation. We collected and examined original and longitudinal empirical data of eight South African&#8208;based immigrant entrepreneurs using a process&#8208;oriented theory&#8208;building approach. Our findings unveil a process by which home and host institutions shape immigrant entrepreneurial agency to identify non&#8208;ethnic business opportunities and to form relationships across diverse actors that counter existing norms of intergroup segregation and hostility. The process illustrates how an immigrant's social orientation to his/her host country's structure changes over time, and symbiotically, how the immigrant entrepreneur's actions &#8211; which break socially constructed boundaries &#8211; also change the social structure.
EVALUATE PUBLIC-PRIVATE-PARTNERSHIP’S ADVANCEMENT USING DOUBLE HIERARCHY HESITANT FUZZY LINGUISTIC PROMETHEE WITH SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE INFORMATION FROM STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE

Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) as an efficient mode to provide public services through the government and social capital’s cooperation has been in China for more than 30 years. In this paper, we propose an approach to evaluate PPP’s advancement in different areas based on the subjective and objective information fusion. At first, we establish an index system from the perspective of the stakeholder. Then, considering that double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (DHHFLTS) that has two hierarchies of linguistic term sets can describe the subjective linguistic information more accurately, it is applied in the paper to depict the subjective information. By applying the entropy of the DHHFLTS, a programming model is proposed to derive the attribute weight through combining subjective evaluation with objective data. In addition, we develop the double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic PROMETHEE combining the subjective and objective information (DHHFL-PROMETHEE-S&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;O) method. At last, we illustrate the index system and the method with the PPP’s advancement evaluation problem, and we can find the best choice based on the ranking result. Meanwhile, we also find that the objective information and the subjective information are complementary in the evaluation process.
A PRELIMINARY STUDY: VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF TURKISH TRANSLATION OF MIGRAINE DISABILITY ASSESSMENT (MIDAS) QUESTIONNAIRE IN TURKISH PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC TENSION TYPE HEADACHE

We have tested Turkish version of the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire in patients with tension type headache. Thirty-two patients who had a tension type headache were included. Turkish version of the MIDAS questionnaire was applied to all patients. Additionally, the patients were asked to keep a 90-day diary. The day diary and the MIDAS questionnaire were compared at the end of the study period. We found that cronbach's alpha 0.82 and had good reliability. Our findings suggest that the MIDAS questionnaire that was originally designed for patients with migraine may be used in patients with chronic tension type headache.
Early identification of individuals with prostate cancer in negative biopsies.

PURPOSE The use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) to screen individuals for prostate cancer has changed the management of the disease, permitting early detection in men. Repeat biopsies for persistently increased PSA are not uncommon with prostate cancer never being detected in many of the men. The novel prostate cancer marker, EPCA, is expressed throughout the prostate of individuals with prostate cancer but not in those without the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS The expression of ECPA was studied to identify those men with initially negative biopsies who were ultimately found to have prostate cancer. Negative biopsies, subsequent biopsies and prostatectomy specimens were evaluated by quantitative immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The EPCA staining intensity in the samples analyzed from the patient cohort with prostate carcinoma were significantly different compared to controls (p <0.001) with almost no overlap in staining results. Sensitivity of the EPCA immunohistochemistry is 84% and specificity is 85%. CONCLUSIONS An immunohistochemical test for EPCA could serve as an adjunct to the current diagnostic approach to a patient who undergoes prostate needle biopsy, and could identify individuals with prostate cancer as much as 5 or more years earlier than the current diagnostic approach and algorithms. In addition, this test might also help limit the numbers of biopsies performed as part of subsequent routine evaluation for increased PSA.
ELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION OF GILL PROTEINS OF THE CLAM CODAKIA ORBICULARIS

ABSTRACT Marine organisms inhabiting the coastal environment of the Caribbean islands have attracted the attention of a number of research scientists. These organisms generally live in areas of high environmental stress and may, therefore, contain specialized proteins and enzymes which exhibit valuable biotechnological applications. Among them, a small number of clams have been studied. Our work relates to the clam Codakia orbicularis. This bivalve lives in areas of high hydrogen sulfide concentrations on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Its enzymatic system must, therefore, have evolved to allow its adaptation to this high-stress environment. C. orbicularis also contains endosymbiotic bacteria which are housed in the bacteriocytes of the gills. Its protein content can, therefore, be expected to have an impact on this symbiotic relationship. We have analysed gill protein extracts of this clam by various biochemical techniques: SDS-PAGE, IEF, PAS, and Western blotting using a panel of lectins, in order to establish its protein and glycoprotein profiles. This biochemical analysis, the first of its kind, constitutes an important step in separating and characterizing the proteins involved in the biochemical pathways of this organism whose stock is in decline in Guadeloupe. Our results show the presence of three major proteins whose molecular weights vary between 14,000 and 24,000 Daltons, and some of which are glycoproteins with predominantly α-mannose and N-acetylgalactosamine moieties. Their pI values are in the range between 4.5 and 5.6. These protein profiles are different from those observed for Lucina pectinata, a clam which has been the subject of earlier studies in the literature.
Shortened menstrual cycles in LCD manufacturing workers.

BACKGROUND Many chemical agents used in liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing have been evaluated in animal studies of female reproductive toxicity. Knowledge of their reproductive toxicity in humans is scant. AIMS To determine the effect of organic solvents on menstrual cycle characteristics of workers in LCD manufacturing. METHODS Cross-sectional study of female premenopausal workers in an LCD plant in Taiwan. Menstrual cycle characteristics were assessed from self-administered questionnaires, and chemical exposure was assessed using hand-held volatile organic compound (VOC) monitors with 24h canister sampling. RESULTS There was a response rate of 94%, and the final study population after exclusions was 288. Canister sampling found many chemical compounds with potential reproductive effects in the fabrication areas of the plant. Concentrations of total VOC were higher in the panel and module fabrication areas than in other areas of the plant. The prevalence of short menstrual cycles (>24 days) was higher in panel workers (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 7.68; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51-39.15) and module workers (adjusted OR: 8.38; 95% CI: 1.72-40.95) than in array fabrication workers and office workers. CONCLUSIONS We found evidence for a possible link between repeated exposure to multiple organic solvents such as ethanol and acetone and increased prevalence of short menstrual cycles in premenopausal women.
Effects of herpes simplex virus on mRNA stability

Herpes simplex virus virions contain one or more functions which mediate shutoff of host protein synthesis, disaggregation of host polyribosomes, and degradation of host mRNA. We studied aspects of the host shutoff mechanism by using herpes simplex virus type 1 mutants deficient in virion-induced shutoff of host protein synthesis (G. S. Read and N. Frenkel, J. Virol. 46:498-512, 1983). Shutoff of host protein synthesis by the wild-type virus was associated with degradation of host mRNAs, including beta-actin, alpha-tubulin, and heat shock protein 70. In contrast, the virion host shutoff (vhs) mutants were deficient to various degrees in their ability to induce host mRNA degradation; the extent of mRNA degradation correlated well with the extent of inhibition of host protein synthesis. This finding suggests that inhibition of host protein synthesis and degradation of host mRNA were mediated by the same virion-associated function. Virion-induced degradation of host mRNA was not prevented by inhibitors of ribosome translocation, nor could it be augmented, for mutant vhs-1, by drugs which disaggregate polyribosomes. This suggests that mRNA in polyribosomes, as well as nonpolyribosomal mRNA, is susceptible to virion-induced degradation. Finally, the half-life of viral transcripts was also prolonged in cells infected with the vhs-1 mutant virus, suggesting that the vhs function indiscriminately decreased the half-lives of both host and viral mRNAs. The vhs function may thus play a dual role in virus infection. (i) It inhibits host gene expression, and (ii) it enables rapid transitions in the expression of viral genes which are sequentially transcribed as infection progresses.
Anticardiolipin and Anti-Beta2 Glycoprotein I Antibodies in Infants Born to Mothers with Antiphospholipid Antibody-Positive Autoimmune Disease: A Follow-Up Study

Infants born from mothers with antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) -positive autoimmune disease were prospectively evaluated for anticardiolipin and anti-beta2 glycoprotein I antibodies (group 1) and for growth and neurological development. The results were compared with those obtained from two age-matched control groups (group 2 and 3). All infants were negative for anticardiolipin at 12 months of life, whereas 14 (63.6%), eight (33.3%), and 10 (55.5%) of infants from group 1, 2, and 3, respectively, were positive for anti-beta2 glycoprotein I. At follow-up, all infants had normal growth and neurological development. No thrombotic complication was observed. The negativity of anticardiolipin in all infants at 12 months suggests that anticardiolipin detection is the best assay to evaluate the disappearance of maternal aPL and to estimate the potential risk of thrombosis associated with these antibodies. The high rate of anti-beta2 glycoprotein I positivity in all three groups of infants may indicate that the synthesis of this antibody is stimulated by aspecific factors.
Degradation of MgB 2 Ultrathin Films Under Different Environmental Conditions

MgB2 ultrathin films have been recently recognized to have potential for making sensitive superconducting devices working at relatively high temperatures. Investigation on the stability of MgB2 ultrathin films under various environmental conditions should be helpful in evaluating their prospect in practical device applications. Here, we present a comparative study on the degradation of MgB2 films of thicknesses of ~15 nm grown by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method and then placed at room temperature under three different kinds of environments, i.e., in air, in a desiccator with reduced humidity, and in a vacuum chamber with further reduced atmospheric pressure. The study was performed by measuring the normal-state resistance and the superconducting properties such as the superconducting critical temperature Tc and the upper critical field Hc2 of the films after different storage times, in conjunction with supplemental scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. It has been found that, compared with the film exposed to air that started to show apparent degradation when the storage time was beyond about one month, the films kept in a desiccator or low vacuum exhibited less degradation. In particular, the film in low vacuum remained stable throughout the measured time period of ~4 months. The results suggest that the degradation of MgB2 ultrathin films in ambient environment may mainly arise from the interaction of the sample with the moisture in the air and that, in a dry air or preferably vacuum or an N2 environment, MgB2 ultrathin films can maintain the reasonable long-time stability for superconducting applications.
Creation of libraries with long ORFs by polymerization of a microgene.

We describe a novel method for constructing pools of DNA sequences that encode large proteins with molecular diversity. Sets of primer pairs that form 8 to 10 complementary base pairs in the 3' region and have double mismatch pairs at their 3'-OH ends were designed so that primer dimers recreated short stretches of DNA (microgenes) devoid of termination codons. Cycles of denaturation and elongation reactions with a pair of primers, four dNTPs, and 3'-5' exo+ thermostable DNA polymerase gave head-to-tail polymers of the primer dimer unit (microgene) whose sizes exceeded 12 kb. No template was required in this reaction, but mismatched nucleotides at 3'-OH ends of the primers were critical for efficient polymerization. At end-joining junctions of a microgene, nucleotide insertions and deletions randomly occurred, resulting in combinatorial libraries of three reading frames from a single microgene. Further molecular diversity could be incorporated by using a mixture of primers. The resultant polymers have long ORFs whose products have a repetitious nature that could facilitate the formation of higher structures of translated products. Thus, microgene polymers may be used as a source of libraries for in vitro protein evolution experiments. Ligation of a microgene is apparently related to the nonhomologous recombination of double-strand breaks in DNA that has been shown to be catalyzed by DNA polymerases. We named this polymerization reaction the "microgene polymerization reaction. "
Building Consumer-Oriented CSR Differentiation Strategy

In a fierce competitive industry, firms conducting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) differentiation strategy can build a relative advantage. However, there is lack of literature to discuss the approach to identifying companies’ CSR differentiation conditions. Based on the theoretical foundations of consumers’ responses to CSR differentiation strategies, this paper proposes a consumer-oriented approach to identify CSR differentiation by using the best–worst scaling approach. In the context of the mobile phone industry, CSR activities were prioritized according to the extent to which they were valued by consumers. Consumers’ perceptions of the CSR activities of Huawei and Apple were also assessed in this study. Finally, the CSR differentiation conditions between the two companies was evaluated. The findings include the following: (1) the consumer priorities for different CSR activities vary greatly, and it is essential for firms to adopt a CSR differentiation strategy; (2) it is feasible to adopt a proper CSR premium in product pricing to build a socially responsible company; and (3) the lack of CSR communication between companies and consumers leads to consumers’ perceived distortion. The results provide implications for firms’ CSR practice.