Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mass spectrometry provides accurate and sensitive quantitation of A2E

Orange autofluorescence from lipofuscin in the lysosomes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a hallmark of aging in the eye. One of the major components of lipofuscin is A2E, the levels of which increase with age and in pathologic conditions, such as Stargardt disease or age-related macular degeneration. In vitro studies have suggested that A2E is highly phototoxic and, more specifically, that A2E and its oxidized derivatives contribute to RPE damage and subsequent photoreceptor cell death. To date, absorption spectroscopy has been the primary method to identify and quantitate A2E. Here, a new mass spectrometric method was developed for the specific detection of low levels of A2E and compared to a traditional method of analysis. The new mass spectrometric method allows the detection and quantitation of approximately 10 000-fold less A2E than absorption spectroscopy and the detection and quantitation of low levels of oxidized A2E, with localization of the oxidation sites. This study suggests that identification and quantitation of A2E from tissue extracts by chromatographic absorption spectroscopy overestimates the amount of A2E. This mass spectrometric approach makes it possible to detect low levels of A2E and its oxidized metabolites with greater accuracy than traditional methods, thereby facilitating a more exact analysis of bis -retinoids in animal models of inherited retinal degeneration as well as in normal and diseased human eyes.
AGE AND PROBLEM BEHAVIORS AMONG ADOLESCENT MULTI-ETHNIC FEMALES

Depression, alcohol use, and suicidal behaviors are common among adolescents. However, little is known if these problem behaviors differ among ethnically diverse females across the adolescent years. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health database, we conducted regression analyses to compare these problem behaviors in three age cohorts across five ethnic groups of adolescent females. The random sample (N = 3,297, aged 12–19 years) included Latinas, African-, Asian-, Native-, and Euro-American females. There are differences in these problem behaviors between some age cohorts across ethnic groups. Significance and implications of the results to mental health nursing research and practice are described.
Use of hypomethylating agents and associated care in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: a claims database study

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of hypomethylating agents (HMA) use and to compare treatment outcomes of decitabine (DAC) and azacitidine (AZA) with respect to transfusion dependence and the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) treatment in commercially-insured patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). Research design and methods: A retrospective study using MarketScan Research Data, a large claims database studied patients who received DAC, AZA, or Supportive Care (SC) with at least two claims for MDS between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008. Poisson regressions were used to compare DAC and AZA on post-index number of red blood cell/platelet (RBC/PLT) transfusions and ESA treatment, controlling for age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), time to HMA initiation, number of HMA cycles, and pretreatment RBC/PLT or ESA claims. No other adjustment for disease severity was made. Results: Approximately 48% of the patients were males with a mean age of 73 years (N = 2525). There were 37 DAC-treated and 60 AZA-treated patients. The length of follow-up did not significantly differ between the DAC- and AZA-treated groups (DAC = 349.2; AZA = 350.5 days); however, the number of days from MDS diagnosis to HMA therapy initiation was longer in the DAC cohort than in the AZA cohort (mean 93.7 days vs. 50.8 days, respectively, p = 0.029). Both DAC- and AZA-treated patients received similar number of treatment cycles (mean: 4.8 vs. 5.6 in DAC vs. AZA, p > 0.05), with means of 4.6 days per cycle for patients receiving DAC and 7.4 days for those receiving AZA (p = 0.003). Following treatment with HMA using Poisson regression analysis, DAC-treated patients had significantly lower use of RBC/PLT transfusions (RR 0.206, p = 0.034) and similar use of ESAs compared with AZA-treated patients. Limitations of the study included the small sample size, and the fact that the majority of patients were unspecified regarding their International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) risk category, which did not allow for accounting for differences in disease severity. Conclusions: In MDS patients treated with an HMA, treatment with DAC was associated with less frequent transfusions than with AZA treatment. Further studies with the ability to control for disease severity are warranted.
Ferromagnetism at the interfaces of antiferromagnetic FeRh epilayers

The nanoscale magnetic structure of FeRh epilayers has been studied by polarized neutron reflectometry. Epitaxial films with a nominal thickness of 500 A were grown on MgO 001 substrates via molecular-beam epitaxy and capped with 20 A of MgO. The FeRh films show a clear transition from the antiferromagnetic AF state to the ferromagnetic FM state with increasing temperature. Surprisingly the films possess a FM moment even at a temperature 80 K below the AF-FM transition temperature of the film. We have quantified the magnitude and spatial extent of this FM moment, which is confined to within 60‐80 A of the FeRh near the top and bottom interfaces. These interfacial FM layers account for the unusual effects previously observed in films with thickness 100 A. Given the delicate energy balance between the AF and FM ground states we suggest a metastable FM state resides near to the interface within an AF matrix. The length scale over which the FM region resides is consistent with the strained regions of the film.
Results of Multidisciplinary Management of Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate at the Iowa Cleft Palate Center

Bilateral cleft of the lip and palate is by many standards the most complex and severe form of the defect. The complexity and severity of the defect require an unusual degree of cooperation among all specialists and especially between the surgeon and the orthodontist. There are no published findings that we know about in which comprehensive data from a number of disciplines are reported for the same group of bilateral cleft patients. Fifty randomly selected patients with bilateral complete clefts were examined by the Iowa team and two orthodontists from other institutions. The evaluations revealed that a large number of patients over the age of 10 have multiple residual problems requiring further treatment. Only 23 percent of the older patients studied were judged to have had treatment completed by the surgeon, speech pathologist, and orthodontist. It is very difficult to state whether the results obtained by our team can be considered satisfactory because there are no comparable studies that have attempted to evaluate the same parameters in multidisciplinary management.
Wideband Low-Profile Substrate Integrated Waveguide Cavity-Backed E-Shaped Patch Antenna

A technique to design a wideband low-profile substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity-backed E-shaped patch antenna is presented in this letter. The proposed antenna combines the attractive features like enhanced bandwidth, low profile, and high radiation efficiency. The antenna and arrays operating at 10 GHz were fabricated and measured. Measured results show that the prototypes with single element achieve a bandwidth of 10.9% for <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$-$</tex></formula>10-dB return loss and gain of 7.7 dBi, while 2<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\times\,$</tex></formula>2 arrays achieve a bandwidth of 10.5% and gain of 13.2 dBi.
Wavefront sensor based on varying transmission filters: theory and expected performance

The use of wavefront sensors (WFS) is nowadays fundamental in the field of instrumental optics. This paper discusses the principle of an original and recently proposed new class of WFS. Their principle consists in evaluating the slopes of the wavefront errors by means of varying density filters placed into the image plane of the tested optical system. The device, sometimes called ‘optical differentiation WFS’ is completed by a digital data-processing system reconstructing the wavefront from the obtained slopes. Various luminous sources of different wavelengths and spectral widths can be employed. The capacities of the method are discussed from the geometrical and Fourier optics points of view, then by means of numerical simulations. It is shown that the ultimate accuracy can be well below λ/10 and λ;/100 peak-to-valley (PTV) and RMS respectively, provided that certain precautions are taken.
Spontaneous Neoplastic Lesions in Control Syrian Hamsters in 6-, 12-, and 24-Month Short-Term and Carcinogenicity Studies

Male and female Syrian hamsters of the strain Han: AURA from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine breeding colony were maintained as control animals for five toxicity/carcinogenicity studies and were examined for the presence of neoplastic disease either when they died or when the study terminated. In total, 250 male animals and 250 female animals in three carcinogenicity studies were analyzed as well as the results of a 6-month study (fifty males and fifty females) and a 12-month study (fifty males and fifty females). In the 24-month studies, in the male animals, twenty-five organs were affected with malignant and benign tumors. In the female animals, twenty-four organs were affected with malignant and benign tumors. The most frequently affected tissue in the three 24-month studies was the adrenal gland where 141 cortical adenomas (56.4%) were noted in 250 male animals and 115 cortical adenomas (46%) noted in 250 female animals. In addition, a high incidence of squamous cell papilloma in the vagina was noted in female hamsters on the 24-month studies. A moderate incidence of squamous cell papilloma of the nonglandular forestomach, benign granulosa cell tumor of the ovary, lymphoma of the hemopoietic system, endometrial stromal polyp, and adenocarcinoma of the uterus and islet cell adenoma of the pancreas were also observed on the 24-month studies.
Transcriptional network governing the angiogenic switch in human pancreatic cancer

A shift of the angiogenic balance to the proangiogenic state, termed the “angiogenic switch,” is a hallmark of cancer progression. Here we devise a strategy for identifying genetic participants of the angiogenic switch based on inverse regulation of genes in human endothelial cells in response to key endogenous pro- and antiangiogenic proteins. This approach reveals a global network pattern for vascular homeostasis connecting known angiogenesis-related genes with previously unknown signaling components. We also demonstrate that the angiogenic switch is governed by simultaneous regulations of multiple genes organized as transcriptional circuitries. In pancreatic cancer patients, we validate the transcriptome-derived switch of the identified “angiogenic network:” The angiogenic state in chronic pancreatitis specimens is intermediate between the normal (angiogenesis off) and neoplastic (angiogenesis on) condition, suggesting that aberrant proangiogenic environment contributes to the increased cancer risk in patients with chronic pancreatitis. In knockout experiments in mice, we show that the targeted removal of a hub node (peroxisome proliferative-activated receptor δ) of the angiogenic network markedly impairs angiogenesis and tumor growth. Further, in tumor patients, we show that peroxisome proliferative-activated receptor δ expression levels are correlated with advanced pathological tumor stage, increased risk for tumor recurrence, and distant metastasis. Our results therefore also may contribute to the rational design of antiangiogenic cancer agents; whereas “narrow” targeted cancer drugs may fail to shift the robust angiogenic regulatory network toward antiangiogenesis, the network may be more vulnerable to multiple or broad-spectrum inhibitors or to the targeted removal of the identified angiogenic “hub” nodes.
Compensation for intrinsic muscle stiffness by short-latency reflexes in human triceps surae muscles.

The incremental torque resisting rotation of the foot about the ankle joint was studied in normal seated subjects. Prior to each rotation, subjects were required to activate triceps surae (TS) muscles and maintain a constant plantar flexion torque (range 6-14 N X m) on a platform whose position was controlled by a torque motor. Subjects were instructed to increase torque as rapidly as possible once rotation commenced. Rotations ranged from 0.5 to 14 degrees amplitude and from 20 to 300 degrees/s maximum velocity. The torque in response to rotations stretching TS muscles and releasing tibialis anterior (TA) muscles increased steeply and then rapidly decreased with stretch velocity. At approximately 60 ms from stretch onset, the torque reduction terminated, torque then increased again until it began to level off at approximately 120 ms. A further large increase in torque occurred at 180 ms. A burst of short-latency (SL) electromyographic (EMG) activity in soleus (SOL) commenced at 40 ms, and was followed by a second burst at approximately 68 ms, provided that stretch deceleration started later than 20 ms after stretch onset. A period of sustained EMG activity in SOL commenced at approximately 130 ms (long-latency (LL) activity). Incremental torque in response to stretch of TA and release of TS muscles initially showed a step decrease followed by a reversal of the torque trajectory back toward base line. This change was arrested at 60 ms and torque then remained approximately constant until a large increase in torque at 180 ms. Ischemia was used to reduce SL EMG reflexes without significantly modifying the background EMG activity. A comparison between torque curves under control and ischemic conditions indicated that SL EMG activity in TS muscles recruited the force responsible for terminating the torque reduction coincident with decreasing stretch velocity. The torque response prior to the onset of force recruited by SL activity was attributed to the intrinsic properties of active muscle fibers. Thereafter, until the onset of LL activity, the torque response was attributed to intrinsic and reflex-recruited force. Torque in these two time periods was compared under a variety of stretch conditions in order to test the hypothesis that force recruited by segmental reflexes compensates for the non-linear stretch properties of active TS muscles. The relationships of SL EMG amplitudes and areas to stretch velocity and acceleration were also examined. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
In Situ Ca2+ Dependence for Activation of Ca2+/Calmodulin- dependent Protein Kinase II in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (*)

Activation of Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) and development of the Ca2+/CaM-independent (autonomous) form of the kinase was investigated in cultured vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. Within 15 s of ionomycin (1 μM) exposure 52.7 ± 4.4% of the kinase became autonomous, a response that was partially maintained for at least 10 min. This correlated with 32P phosphorylation of CaM kinase II δ-subunits in situ and was abolished by pretreatment with the CaM kinase II inhibitor KN-93. The in situ Ca2+ dependence for generating autonomous CaM kinase II was determined in cells selectively permeabilized to Ca2+ and depleted of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ by pretreatment with thapsigargin. Analysis of the resulting curve revealed an EC50 (concentration producing 50% of maximal response) of 692 ± 28 nM [Ca2+]i, a maximum of 68 ± 2% of the total activity becoming autonomous reflecting nearly complete activation of CaM kinase II and a Hill slope of 3, indicating a highly cooperative process. Based on this dependence and measured [Ca2+]i responses in intact cells, increases in autonomous activity stimulated by angiotensin II, vasopressin and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (4.6-, 2-, and 1.7-fold, respectively) were unexpectedly high. In intact cells stimulated by ionomycin, the correlation between autonomous activity and [Ca2+]i resulted in a parallel curve with an EC50 of 304 ± 23 nM [Ca2+]i. This apparent increase in Ca2+ sensitivity for generating autonomous activity in intact VSM cells was eliminated by thapsigargin pretreatment. We conclude that alteration of [Ca2+]i over a physiological range activates CaM kinase II in VSM and that this process is facilitated by release of Ca2+ from intracellular pools which initiates cooperative autophosphorylation and consequent generation of autonomous CaM kinase II activity.
The Entrepreneurship Challenge in a Time of Change

Tacit understanding of the concept of the entrepreneur brings a belief that they are important agents in economic growth and development. Indeed Baumol (1968:64) placed the entrepreneur at ‘the apex of the hierarchy that determines the behaviour of the firm’ and hence economic growth. However, Baumol also recognised that the inclusion of the entrepreneur in economic theory was implicit in nature, citing that ‘he [sic] remained a shadowy entity without clearly defined form or function’ (p.64). This implicit role of the entrepreneur has been addressed to a degree in recent times with greater study of this once shadowy figure; however, the attainment of a clearly defined form or function is still elusive. Specific definitions of the motivations and actual role of the entrepreneur as an economic actor has caused much debate from as far back as the 18 Century, with the work of Cantillon spawning a variety of classifications of the entrepreneur. The three main traditions to emerge have been characterised by researchers as the German (ThunenSchumpeter) Tradition, the Austrian (Mises-Kirzner-Shackle) Tradition and the Chicago (Knight-Schultz) Tradition. In attempting to define the entrepreneur, these various approaches have sought to form a single characterization and understanding. The research questions such an approach and proposes that the entrepreneur should be considered a creature of its economic environs. Despite globalisation’s attached belief of the homogenisation of the economic sphere, it is proposed that nation states at different levels of development have different requirements, conditions, and roles for these economic agents of growth. The following research reviews the various debates on the ‘meaning of entrepreneurship’, and highlights the various latent conditions and entrepreneurship character that affects the existence, discovery and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities. Due to these recognised differences at the level of economic development, it is proposed that a different approach to that utilised in more developed economies for enhancing entrepreneurial growth will need to be undertaken. In attempting to chart a path forward the research draws on a survey of young persons in Barbados as to their attitudes and intentions towards entrepreneurship, and proposes some preliminary recommendations for further development in this area.
Information needs of young Italians accessing the AIDS/STI Helpline at the Italian National Institute of Health.

INTRODUCTION HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STI) have a relevant impact on health and sexual behavior of adolescents and young adults (range of age between 13 and 19 years). The AIDS and sexual transmitted infections (STI) Helpline of the Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Institute of Health), and also funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, has been active since 1987 providing personalized counselling interventions on HIV/AIDS and STI. AIM AND METHODS The present study gathered data and questions issues from calls at AIDS/STI Helpline in the period 1987-2014, with the specific aim of assessing the level of awareness and information needs on HIV/AIDS and STI among people aged under 25 years, in relation to potential risky behavior. RESULTS Data show that young subjects who called the helpline in the period considered are about the 26% of the total users, with a decreasing trend over the years. The 28% of young users reported a "risky behavior" for STI, with a chance statistically higher in the age range 15-19 years and in the MSM (men who have sex with men)/bisexuals users, which tended to decrease in the last years. Of note, a marked increase of the amount of young users not displaying behaviors at risk for HIV or STI has been observed in the years.
Structure of the β-Galactosidase Gene fromThermus sp. Strain T2: Expression in Escherichia coli and Purification in a Single Step of an Active Fusion Protein

ABSTRACT The nucleotide sequence of both the bgaA gene, coding for a thermostable β-galactosidase of Thermus sp. strain T2, and its flanking regions was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme predicts a polypeptide of 645 amino acids (Mr, 73,595). Comparative analysis of the open reading frames located in the flanking regions of the bgaAgene revealed that they might encode proteins involved in the transport and hydrolysis of sugars. The observed homology between the deduced amino acid sequences of BgaA and the β-galactosidase ofBacillus stearothermophilus allows us to classify the new enzyme within family 42 of glycosyl hydrolases. BgaA was overexpressed in its active form in Escherichia coli, but more interestingly, an active chimeric β-galactosidase was constructed by fusing the BgaA protein to the choline-binding domain of the major pneumococcal autolysin. This chimera illustrates a novel approach for producing an active and thermostable hybrid enzyme that can be purified in a single step by affinity chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, retaining the catalytic properties of the native enzyme. The chimeric enzyme showed a specific activity of 191,000 U/mg at 70°C and aKm value of 1.6 mM witho-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside as a substrate, and it retained 50% of its initial activity after 1 h of incubation at 70°C.
Novel Method for Face Recognition using Laplacian of Gaussian Mask with Local Contour Pattern

We propose a face recognition method that utilizes the LCP face descriptor. The proposed method applies a LoG mask to extract a face contour response, and employs the LCP algorithm to produce a binary pattern representation that ensures high recognition performance even under the changes in illumination, noise, and aging. The proposed LCP algorithm produces excellent noise reduction and efficiency in removing unnecessary information from the face by extracting a face contour response using the LoG mask, whose behavior is similar to the human eye. Majority of reported algorithms search for face contour response information. On the other hand, our proposed LCP algorithm produces results expressing major facial information by applying the threshold to the search area with only 8 bits. However, the LCP algorithm produces results that express major facial information with only 8-bits by applying a threshold value to the search area. Therefore, compared to previous approaches, the LCP algorithm maintains a consistent accuracy under varying circumstances, and produces a high face recognition rate with a relatively small feature vector. The test results indicate that the LCP algorithm produces a higher facial recognition rate than the rate of human visual"s recognition capability, and outperforms the existing methods.