Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vertically aligned zinc oxide nanowires electrodeposited within porous polycarbonate templates for vibrational energy harvesting

A piezoelectric nanogenerator has been fabricated using a simple, fast and scalable template-assisted electrodeposition process, by which vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were directly grown within a nanoporous polycarbonate (PC) template. The nanowires, having average diameter 184 nm and length 12 μm, are polycrystalline and have a preferred orientation of the [100] axis parallel to the long axis. The output power density of a nanogenerator fabricated from the as-grown ZnO nanowires still embedded within the PC template was found to be 151 ± 25 mW m−3 at an impedance-matched load, when subjected to a low-level periodic (5 Hz) impacting force akin to gentle finger tapping. An energy conversion efficiency of ∼4.2% was evaluated for the electrodeposited ZnO nanowires, and the ZnO–PC composite nanogenerator was found to maintain good energy harvesting performance through 24 h of continuous fatigue testing. This is particularly significant given that ZnO-based nanostructures typically suffer from mechanical and/or environmental degradation that otherwise limits their applicability in vibrational energy harvesting. Our template-assisted synthesis of ZnO nanowires embedded within a protective polymer matrix through a single growth process is thus attractive for the fabrication of low-cost, robust and stable nanogenerators.
Mitral valve compensation for annular dilatation: in vitro study into the mechanisms of functional mitral regurgitation with an adjustable annulus model.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Mitral annulus dilatation has been identified as an important factor in functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). However, the pathophysiologic interaction of annular dilatation and papillary muscle (PM) displacement in FMR, which occurs clinically in left ventricular (LV) dilatation, is still not well understood. It is difficult to separate these competing factors in vivo, leading to confusion in identifying the real role of the annular dilatation in FMR and its interaction with PM displacement. METHODS To better understand the competing factors, an in vitro model was developed with a D-shaped adjustable mitral annulus that could be changed from 5.5 cm2 to 13.0 cm2 during experiments, independent of varying PM positions. Six excised normal porcine mitral valves were mounted in a left ventricular model with the adjustable annulus device and tested in a physiologic pulsatile flow system under normal cardiac output and left ventricular pressure (5.0 l/min, 120 mmHg). Papillary muscles were placed in normal and then displaced to an apical posterolateral position, to simulate pathological conditions seen clinically. Regurgitation was measured directly by a flow probe and the mitral valve geometry and leaflet coaptation were recorded by video camera through the model's atrium window. In addition, 2D echocardiography was used to evaluate leaflet coaptation and color Doppler flow mapping to detect the regurgitant flow field. RESULTS The results showed that in normal PM position, the mitral regurgitant was consistently at low level until the annulus was enlarged to 1.75 times the normal size, at which time it increased sharply. Papillary muscle apical posterolateral displacement, which simulates a dilated LV, caused regurgitation to occur earlier (1.5 times the normal annulus size), and had an increased regurgitant volume (p < 0.05). The leaflet gaps were first observed at the commissural areas of the valves, consistent with the location of regurgitant jets detected by color Doppler flow mapping. Asymmetric PM displacement created more regurgitation than both the symmetric PM tethering (p = 0.063) and normal PM position (p < 0.01). The regurgitant jets were observed at the same commissural side as the PM displacement, even without significant enlargement of the annulus. CONCLUSIONS This in vitro study provides insight into the interaction between annular dilatation and PM displacement on FMR. The resulting effects and their overall similarity to clinical observation could help further understand the mechanism of FMR and provide additional information to improve future therapeutic strategies.
Association Between SV40 and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Millions of people worldwide were inadvertently exposed to live simian virus 40 (SV40) between 1955 and 1963 through immunization with SV40-contaminated polio vaccines. Although the prevalence of SV40 infections in humans is not known, numerous studies suggest that SV40 is a pathogen resident in the human population today. SV40 is a potent DNA tumor virus that is known to induce primary brain cancers, bone cancers, mesotheliomas, and lymphomas in laboratory animals. SV40 oncogenesis is mediated by the viral large tumor antigen (T-ag), which inactivates the tumor suppressor proteins p53 and pRb. During the last decade, independent studies using different molecular biology techniques have shown the presence of SV40 DNA, T-ag, or other viral markers in primary human brain and bone cancers and malignant mesotheliomas. Evidence suggests that there may be geographic differences in the frequency of these virus-positive tumors. Recent large independent controlled studies have shown that SV40 T-ag DNA is significantly associated with human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In our study, we analyzed systemic NHL from 76 HIV-1-positive and 78 HIV-1-negative patients, and nonmalignant lymphoid samples from 79 HIV-1-positive and 107 HIV-1-negative patients without tumors; 54 colon and breast carcinoma samples served as cancer controls. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Southern blot hybridization and DNA sequence analysis to detect DNAs of polyomaviruses and herpesviruses. SV40-specific DNA sequences were detected in 64 (42%) of 154 NHL, none of 186 nonmalignant lymphoid samples, and none of 54 control cancers. For NHL from HIV-1-positive patients, 33% contained SV40 DNA and 39% Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA, whereas NHLs from HIV-1-negative patients were 50% positive for SV40 and 15% positive for EBV. Few tumors were positive for both SV40 and EBV. Human herpesvirus type 8 was not detected. SV40 sequences were found most frequently in diffuse large B cell and follicular-type lymphomas. We conclude that SV40 is significantly associated with some types of NHL and that lymphomas should be added to the types of human cancers associated with SV40.
Mechanism of Assembly of the Bis(Molybdopterin Guanine Dinucleotide)Molybdenum Cofactor in Rhodobacter sphaeroidesDimethyl Sulfoxide Reductase*

A fully defined in vitro system has been developed for studying the mechanism of assembly of the bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide)molybdenum cofactor inRhodobacter sphaeroides dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR). R. sphaeroides DMSOR expressed in amobA - Escherichia coli strain lacks molybdopterin and molybdenum but contains a full complement of guanine in the form of GMP and GDP. Escherichia coli MobA, molybdopterin-Mo, GTP, and MgCl2 are required and sufficient for the in vitro activation of purified DMSOR expressed in the absence of MobA. High levels of MobA inhibit thein vitro activation. A chaperone is not required for thein vitro activation process. The reconstituted DMSOR can exhibit up to 73% of the activity observed in recombinant DMSOR purified from a wild-type strain. The use of radiolabeled GTP has demonstrated incorporation of the guanine moiety from the GTP into the activated DMSOR. No role was observed for E. coli MobB in the in vitro activation of apo-DMSOR. This work also represents the first time that the MobA-mediated conversion of molybdopterin to molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide has been demonstrated directly without using the activation of a molybdoenzyme as an indicator for cofactor formation.
High Column Densities and Low Extinctions of Gamma-Ray Bursts: Evidence for Hypernovae and Dust Destruction

We analyze a complete sample of γ-ray burst afterglows and find X-ray evidence for high column densities of gas around them. The column densities are in the range 1022-1023 cm-2, which is right around the average column density of Galactic giant molecular clouds. We also estimate the cloud sizes to be 10-30 pc, implying masses ≳105 M☉. This strongly suggests that γ-ray bursts lie within star-forming regions and therefore argues against neutron star mergers and for collapses of massive stars as their sources. The optical extinctions, however, are 10-100 times smaller than expected from the high column densities. This confirms theoretical findings that the early hard radiation from γ-ray bursts and their afterglows can destroy the dust in their environment, thus carving a path for the afterglow light out of the molecular cloud. Because of the self-created low extinction and location in star-forming regions, we expect γ-ray bursts to provide a relatively unbiased sample of high-redshift star formation. Thus, they may help resolve what is the typical environment of high-redshift star formation.
Mechanism of smooth muscle myosin phosphorylation.

In vertebrate smooth muscles, phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain appears to be necessary for actin activation of the Mg-ATPase activity and for the in vitro assembly of myosin into filaments. From a correlation between the degree of phosphorylation and enzymatic activity, it was suggested that both myosin heads must be phosphorylated before either head could be activated by actin, and that phosphorylation of filamentous myosin occurred in a negatively cooperative manner (Persechini, A., and Hartshorne, D. J. (1981) Science 213, 1383-1385; Ikebe, M. , Ogihara, S. , and Tonomura, Y. (1982) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 91, 1809-1812; Sellers, J. R. , Chock, P. B. , and Adelstein, R. S. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 14181-14188). Here we have determined the mechanism of phosphorylation by separating dephosphorylated and phosphorylated myosin species based on their different structural properties in the minifilament buffer system (5 mM citrate, 22 mM Tris). Fully phosphorylated myosin remained assembled as minifilaments in 1 mM Mg-ATP, but dephosphorylated myosin dissociated to a mixture of folded monomers and dimers. Gel filtration was used to separate these two structures. At intermediate levels of phosphorylation, the relative amount of myosin that formed minifilament and dimer and the degree of phosphorylation of the separated species relative to the initial level of phosphorylation was measured. From these data, it was possible to deduce that singly and doubly phosphorylated myosin remained assembled in the presence of nucleotide. Myosin molecules with 0, 1, or 2 heads phosphorylated could also be separated by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis. The amount of myosin which formed each species was quantitated as a function of phosphorylation. Results from the combined approaches are consistent with a model in which light chain kinase randomly phosphorylates myosin, independent of the state of aggregation of the myosin.
Transmission of strongyloidiasis by kidney transplant? Disseminated strongyloidiasis in both recipients of kidney allografts from a single cadaver donor.

DISSEMINATED strongyloidiasis has been described in renal transplant patients1and the life cycle of the parasite has been reviewed. It is generally supposed that immunosuppression allows activation and clinical expression of a preexistingStrongyloidesinfestation in the recipient. We report the development of strongyloidiasis in two renal transplant patients who received their allografts from the same cadaveric donor. We were unable to find definite evidence ofStrongyloidesinfestation in the autopsy tissue from the donor but submit that the infection may have been transmitted to the recipients with the kidneys at transplantation. Report of Cases The Donor. — A 47-year-old man suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. He had no known medical problems except a "tendency toward diabetes" and no reported gastrointestinal illness. He had been born and raised in the northeastern United States and had worked for more than 20 years as an insulation engineer for a local company. He had
Interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) down‐regulates the rhinovirus‐induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) on human airway epithelial cells

Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are a major cause of upper respiratory tract infections in man, and can exacerbate existing pulmonary disease. The major group of HRV attach to ICAM‐1, which is expressed on nasal and bronchial epithelial cells. To study the influence of biological mediators on ICAM‐1 expression, and consequently HRV attachment and infection, we compared the effects of various cytokines, alone and in combination, on ICAM‐1 expression by an uninfected and HRV‐infected bronchial epithelial cell line H292. Cytokines known to be released soon after viral infection, such as tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), IL‐1β and the chemokine IL‐8 increase ICAM‐1 expression on uninfected cells. Epithelial cells infected with live HRV‐14 displayed marked up‐regulation of ICAM‐1 compared with baseline. TNF‐α further enhanced the HRV‐induced increase in ICAM‐1 expression on epithelial cells, peaking at day 4 after infection, whilst IL‐8 exhibited a steady increase in ICAM‐1 expression over 14 days. In contrast, IFN‐γ, a known Th1 antiviral lymphokine, whilst increasing the level of ICAM‐1 on uninfected cells, induced a significant persistent down‐regulation of ICAM‐1 expression on HRV‐infected epithelial cells. With combinations of TNF‐α and IFN‐γ, ICAM‐1 expression on HRV‐infected cells was reduced to basal levels. The effects of IFN‐γ were paralleled by a reduction in viral titres. Our in vitro model has provided useful insights into the early pathogenic events of HRV infection at the level of the host cell–virus interaction. Our data confirm that biological mediators play a crucial role in the pathogenesis as well as the course of HRV infection which is modulated by the types, and time kinetics of inflammatory cytokines in the immediate microenvironment.
Antibodies to SOX13 (ICA12) are Associated with Type 1 Diabetes

SOX 13 is an islet cell autoantigen (ICA12), identified by antibody screening of an islet cDNA library, using sera from patients with Type 1 diabetes. We ascertained the frequency of antibody reactivity to SOX 13 and compared it with other Type 1 diabetes autoantibody reactivities. Antibodies were measured by radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) using 35S labelled SOX 13 expressed in rabbit reticulocyte lysate. Sera from 109 subjects with Type 1 diabetes, 29 with Type 2 diabetes, 144 with other autoimmune diseases and from 201 controls were tested for anti-SOX13, and results were compared with the frequency of antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD), islet cell antigen 512 (anti-ICA512) and islet cell cytoplasm (ICA). Anti-SOX13 were detected in 20 (18.3%) of 109 subjects with Type 1 diabetes, and more frequently in adults than in children (29% vs 10%). Anti-SOXI3 usually occurred with anti-GAD but rarely with anti-ICA512. Seven sera positive for anti-SOX13 did not react with either GAD, ICA512 or islet cell cytoplasm indicating that anti-SOX13 represented a distinct population of antibodies. Reactivity to SOX 13 represents a further autoantibody response in adults with Type 1 diabetes and may provide a useful disease marker in subjects in whom other autoantibody tests are negative.
A model for the hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein E2

Several experimental studies on hepatitis C virus (HCV) have suggested the envelope glycoprotein E2 as a key antigen for an effective vaccine against the virus. Knowledge of its structure, therefore, would present a significant step forward in the fight against this disease. This paper reports the application of fold recognition methods in order to produce a model of the HCV E2 protein. Such investigation highlighted the envelope protein E of Tick Borne Encephalitis virus as a possible template for building a model of HCV E2. Mapping of experimental data onto the model allowed the prediction of a composite interaction site between E2 and its proposed cellular receptor CD81, as well as a heparin binding domain. In addition, experimental evidence is provided to show that CD81 recognition by E2 is isolate or strain specific and possibly mediated by the second hypervariable region (HVR2) of E2. Finally, the studies have also allowed a rough model for the quaternary structure of the envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2 complex to be proposed. Proteins 2000;40:355–366. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the universality of knot probability ratios

Let pn denote the number of self-avoiding polygons of length n on a regular three-dimensional lattice, and let pn(K) be the number which have knot type K. The probability that a random polygon of length n has knot type K is pn(K)/pn and is known to decay exponentially with length (Sumners and Whittington 1988 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 21 1689–94, Pippenger 1989 Discrete Appl. Math. 25 273–8). Little is known rigorously about the asymptotics of pn(K), but there is substantial numerical evidence (Orlandini et al 1988 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 31 5953–67, Marcone et al 2007 Phys. Rev. E 75 41105, Rawdon et al 2008 Macromolecules 41 4444–51, Janse van Rensburg and Rechnitzer 2008 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41 105002) that pn(K) grows as where NK is the number of prime components of the knot type K. It is believed that the entropic exponent, α, is universal, while the exponential growth rate, μ∅, is independent of the knot type but varies with the lattice. The amplitude, CK, depends on both the lattice and the knot type. The above asymptotic form implies that the relative probability of a random polygon of length n having prime knot type K over prime knot type L is In the thermodynamic limit this probability ratio becomes an amplitude ratio; it should be universal and depend only on the knot types K and L. In this communication we examine the universality of these probability ratios for polygons in the simple cubic, face-centred cubic and body-centred cubic lattices. Our results support the hypothesis that these are universal quantities. For example, we estimate that a long random polygon is approximately 28 times more likely to be a trefoil than be a figure-eight, independent of the underlying lattice, giving an estimate of the intrinsic entropy associated with knot types in closed curves.
Nerve Growth Factor Stimulates Cellular Proliferation of Human Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Abstract Due to its ability to induce vascular endothelial growth factor expression and proliferation, migration, and vasculogenesis of endothelial cells, nerve growth factor (NGF) has been considered as an angiogenic factor in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). In this work, we evaluated the angiogenic and proliferative mRNA expression profiles of EOC and addressed the responsiveness of EOC explants to NGF stimulation. Twenty EOC samples were obtained from Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Chile’s Clinical Hospital. Global gene expression profiles of selected poorly differentiated serous EOC samples were obtained with DNA oligonucleotide microarrays. In addition, EOC explants were subjected to NGF stimulation and levels of p-AKT, BAX, BCL2, Ki-67, c-MYC, and FOXL2 proteins were determined by immunohistochemistry. Results showed that mRNAs coding for specific transcriptional regulators and antiapoptotic components of the NGF signaling pathway were upregulated in EOC cells. At the protein level, key members of the NGF pathway including p-AKT, BCL2/BAX, Ki-67, and c-MYC were found increased, while FOXL2 was decreased in response to NGF stimulation. These findings strongly suggest that NGF stimulates cellular proliferation of human EOC.
Optimal Contest Design with Incomplete Information ∗

In this paper, we characterize the optimal contest mechanism with independent private abilities of the contestants. The contest designer has a fixed prize budget to extract effort from the contestants, and both positive and negative prizes are allowed. We find that there exists no optimal contest mechanism maximizing the total effort from the contestants. Nevertheless, by invoking exploding negative prizes, the designer can extract effort approaching the utmost level (i.e., highest possible effort inducible when all contestants are of the maximum ability with certainty). When a bound (i.e., K) on the negative prizes is imposed, we fully characterize the optimal contest mechanism, which can be implemented by a modified all-pay auction with a minimum bid and an entry fee of K per contestant. JEL Classification Numbers: D72, D82, C73
Common mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 do not contribute to early prostate cancer in Jewish men

Families with a high incidence of hereditary breast cancer, and subsequently shown to have terminating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, appear to have a higher incidence of prostate cancer among male relatives. We aimed to determine whether the common germline mutations of BRCA1 or BRCA2 in Ashkenazi Jewish men predisposed them to prostate cancer.
Exercise Performance, Physical Activity, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Participants With Stable Angina

We compared exercise performance, daily physical activity, and health-related quality of life in 115 participants with stable angina and 441 controls without coronary artery disease or stable angina. Participants with stable angina had shorter 6-min walk distance (P = .003), and lower total leisure-time physical activity (P = .003) than the controls. Group differences in these measures remained (P < .05) after adjusting for age, race, current smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Participants with stable angina also had lower health-related quality of life for physical function (P < .001), general health (P = .002), and vitality (P < .001), but group differences did not remain (P > .05) after adjustment for comorbid conditions. Participants with stable angina have impaired exercise performance and reduced daily physical activity. Thus, they are prime candidates for exercise interventions designed to improve daily physical activity and exercise performance.
Measuring China’s performance in the world economy: A benchmark comparison between the economies of China and the UK in the early twentieth century

This study draws attention to China’s industrialisation before WWII and gives a new starting point to review early industrial development in history. This study provides the first estimates of purchasing power parity (PPP) converters for the early 1910s between China and the UK. Statistical indicators, comparative output and labour productivity, are then calculated to address queries regarding the relative level that China’s early manufacturing had reached at the end of the Qing Empire (1911) –after half a century’s attempt to catch up with the West since the 1860s. By comparing the new 1910s benchmark with that of the 1930s, this study also for the first time presents the development of China’s early manufacturing in the inter-war period. We find that the growth in the inter-war period narrowed the gap with the early industrialised economies; however, the improvement was not unique for pre-war China, especially compared with the pace of industrialisation in Meiji Japan. The new benchmark also helps to show the regional pattern of pre-war China’s industrial performance.