Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of b 1-and b 2-adrenergic receptors in regulation of Cl 2 and Ca 2 1 channels in guinea pig ventricular myocytes

Hool, Livia C. , and Robert D. Harvey. Role of b1and b2-adrenergic receptors in regulation of Cl2 and Ca21 channels in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Am. J. Physiol. 273 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 42): H1669–H1676, 1997. —The role of b1and b2-adrenergic receptor stimulation in modulating adenosine 38,58-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-regulated Cl2 and Ca21 currents was investigated with use of guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Activation of the Cl2 current by the nonselective b-receptor agonist isoproterenol (Iso) was not affected by the b2-receptor antagonist ICI-118,551 (ICI), but it was blocked by the b1-receptor antagonist atenolol. The inability of b2-receptor stimulation to activate the Cl2 current was confirmed by the lack of response to the selective b2-receptor agonists salbutamol and zinterol. Responses to b2-adrenergic receptor stimulation were also looked for in pertussis toxin (PTX)-treated myocytes because PTX increases the sensitivity of responses to Iso, and PTX has been reported to increase the responsiveness to b2but not b1receptor stimulation. PTX treatment increased the sensitivity of the Cl2 current to activation by Iso in the presence of ICI, indicating that PTX increases b1-receptor responsiveness. PTX treatment also resulted in the ability of salbutamol to activate the Cl2 current. However, the response to salbutamol was blocked by atenolol but not by appropriate concentrations of ICI, suggesting that salbutamol was activating b1-receptors. These results indicate that PTX treatment increases the sensitivity to b1-receptor stimulation, without affecting b2-responsiveness. To verify that the lack of response to b2-receptor stimulation was not unique to the Cl2 current, the effects of b2-receptor agonists on the L-type Ca21 current were also examined. The Ca21 current was only affected by high concentrations of zinterol or salbutamol, and such responses were blocked by atenolol, but not by ICI, suggesting that activation of b1-receptors was involved. These results indicate that b1but not b2-adrenergic receptor stimulation plays an important role in modulating the cAMPregulated Cl2 and Ca21 currents in guinea pig ventricular myocytes.
Diversity in Mechanisms of Endothelium‐Dependent Vasodilation in Health and Disease

Small arterioles (40–150 μm) contribute to the majority of vascular resistance within organs and tissues. Under resting conditions, the basal tone of these vessels is determined by a delicate balance between vasodilator and vasoconstrictor influences. Cardiovascular homeostasis and regional tissue perfusion is largely a function of the ability of these small blood vessels to constrict or dilate in response to the changing metabolic demands of specific tissues. The endothelial cell layer of these microvessels is a key modulator of vasodilation through the synthesis and release of vasoactive substances. Beyond their vasomotor properties, these compounds importantly modulate vascular cell proliferation, inflammation, and thrombosis. Thus, the balance between local regulation of vascular tone and vascular pathophysiology can vary depending upon which factors are released from the endothelium. This review will focus on the dynamic nature of the endothelial released dilator factors depending on species, anatomic site, and presence of disease, with a focus on the human coronary microcirculation. Knowledge how endothelial signaling changes with disease may provide insights into the early stages of developing vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, or related vascular pathologies.
Increased 90-Day Mortality in Patients With Acute Heart Failure With Elevated Copeptin: Secondary Results From the Biomarkers in Acute Heart Failure (BACH) Study

Background— In patients with heart failure (HF), increased arginine vasopressin concentrations are associated with more severe disease, making arginine vasopressin an attractive target for therapy. However, AVP is difficult to measure due to its in vitro instability and rapid clearance. Copeptin, the C-terminal segment of preprovasopressin, is a stable and reliable surrogate biomarker for serum arginine vasopressin concentrations. Methods and Results— The Biomarkers in Acute Heart Failure (BACH) trial was a 15-center, diagnostic and prognostic study of 1641 patients with acute dyspnea; 557 patients with acute HF were included in this analysis. Copeptin and other biomarker measurements were performed by a core laboratory at the University of Maryland. Patients were followed for up to 90 days after initial evaluation for the primary end point of all-cause mortality, HF-related readmissions, and HF-related emergency department visits. Patients with copeptin concentrations in the highest quartile had increased 90-day mortality (P<0.001; hazard ratio, 3.85). Mortality was significantly increased in patients with elevated copeptin and hyponatremia (P<0.001; hazard ratio, 7.36). Combined end points of mortality, readmissions, and emergency department visits were significantly increased in patients with elevated copeptin. There was no correlation between copeptin and sodium (r=0.047). Conclusions— This study showed significantly increased 90-day mortality, readmissions, and emergency department visits in patients with elevated copeptin, especially in those with hyponatremia. Copeptin was highly prognostic for 90-day adverse events in patients with acute HF, adding prognostic value to clinical predictors, ser um sodium, and natriuretic peptides. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00537628.
Von Neumann正则环（I）

We announce some new results regarding the classiﬁcation problem for separable von Neumann algebras. Our results are obtained by applying the notion of Borel reducibility and Hjorth’s theory of turbulence to the isomorphism relation for separable von Neumann algebras.
High Precision NMR Structure and Function of the RING-H2 Finger Domain of EL5, a Rice Protein Whose Expression Is Increased upon Exposure to Pathogen-derived Oligosaccharides*

EL5, a RING-H2 finger protein, is rapidly induced by N-acetylchitooligosaccharides in rice cell. We expressed the EL5 RING-H2 finger domain in Escherichia coliand determined its structure in solution by NMR spectroscopy. The EL5 RING-H2 finger domain consists of two-stranded β-sheets (β1, Ala147–Phe149; β2, Gly156–His158), one α-helix (Cys161–Leu166), and two large N- and C-terminal loops. It is stabilized by two tetrahedrally coordinated zinc ions. This structure is similar to that of other RING finger domains of proteins of known function. From structural analogies, we inferred that the EL5 RING-H2 finger is a binding domain for ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2). The binding site is probably formed by solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues of the N- and C-terminal loops and the α-helix. We demonstrated that the fusion protein with EL5-(96–181) and maltose-binding protein (MBP) was polyubiquitinated by incubation with ubiquitin, ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), and a rice E2 protein, OsUBC5b. This supported the idea that the EL5 RING finger domain is essential for ubiquitin-ligase activity of EL5. By NMR titration experiments, we identified residues that are critical for the interaction between the EL5 RING-H2 finger andOsUBC5b. We conclude that the RING-H2 finger domain of EL5 is the E2 binding site of EL5.
Circadian variations in the rat serum total antioxidant status: Correlation with melatonin levels

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we show for the first time, a nyctohemeral rhythm in serum total antioxidant status (TAS) in rats which parallels the 24‐H melatonin cycle. Both TAS and melatonin in rat serum exhibited 24 hr variations with nocturnal peak values at 05.00 hr and low basal values during the day. When rats were maintained under light exposure (>500 lux) from 20.00 h to 05.00 hr, serum TAS was significantly reduced when compared with control rat killed in darkness. Moreover, when animals were maintained under continuous light exposure for 5 days and killed at 05.00 hr, serum TAS exhibited an additional decrease when compared with control rats. Since administering exogenous melatonin also increased TAS in the rat serum, results suggest that melatonin may be relevant in terms of participating in the antioxidative capacity of the rat serum.
Direct Quantification of Cell-Associated HIV DNA in Isolated Rectal and Blood Memory CD4 T Cells Revealed Their Similar and Low Infection Levels in Long-Term Treated HIV-Infected Patients

Abstract:To evaluate the contribution of CD4 T cells from blood and gut compartments to the HIV-1 reservoir, we directly quantified cell-associated HIV DNA in isolated rectal (R-) and peripheral blood (PB-) memory CD4 T cells from 11 successfully long-term treated patients. Proportion of activated (CD25+; CD69+; and HLA-DR+) and CCR5 expressing CD4 T cells were markedly higher in rectal tissue compared with blood. However, HIV-1 infection levels of R- and PB-memory CD4 T cells did not significantly differ (medians: 4000 and 2100 copies per million cells) after effective long-term viral control, suggesting that each of these 2 compartments does not contribute in a similar fashion to the total HIV reservoir.
Biological Rhythms of Biochemical Serum Parameters in a Brazilian Population: a Three‐Year Study

A marked decrease in analytical and post‐analytical variability has been achieved in clinical laboratories by the use of automated analytical systems. Current studies are now focused on the origin of pre‐analytical variability, such as that due to intra‐individual differences and biological rhythms. The objective of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of biological rhythms in several biochemical serum parameters in a Brazilian population. A retrospective study (1996 to 1998) was carried out to collect the test results within the reference intervals of adults, from 21 to 50 yr of age (average age of 36 yr) attending the outpatient clinics of the Teaching Hospital at the University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The reference sample was 52.9% male and 47.1% female and encompassed 15,036 calcium, 7,478 phosphorus, 53,641 urea, 58,315 creatinine and 6,433 uric acid determinations (140,903 in total). Significant annual rhythms were detected in serum calcium (p≤0.001), with maximum and minimum values in fall and spring, and in serum creatinine (p≤0.002), with maximum and minimum values in summer and winter. The other parameters did not present significant annual rhythmicity. The seasonal rhythms present in the serum concentrations of calcium and creatinine observed in this large population study, although of small amplitude, should be considered a component of the pre‐analytical variation of these clinical laboratory tests.
Subtitling 8 Mile in three languages: Translation problems and translator licence

This article argues that when striving for quality in subtitling, special attention should be paid to the requirements of competence not only when recruiting translators, but also when recruiting local managers and subtitling co-ordinators. The findings are based on a stylistic comparison of the Finnish, French and Russian subtitled versions of 8 Mile, a film that tells about Eminem’s early breakthrough as a rap artist (UIP, 2002). The rap sections of the film present many ‘text-specific translation problems’ (Nord), which become even more troublesome in the context of subtitling, as the translator has space for less text. The worldwide subtitling and dubbing of 8 Mile was an especially well-supervised procedure. The translators were given a lot of material support (e.g., a detailed ‘dialogue list’) but their work was also strictly controlled and limited. According to this study, the severe policy of some local UIP offices may have hindered the quality of subtitling in some countries.
Temporal relationship between estradiol, estrone and progesterone secretion in the ovarian venous blood and LH in the peripheral plasma of cyclic hamsters.

Ovarian venous blood levels of estradiol estrone and progesterone were measured in 66 hamsters at various stages of the estrous cycle to determine the relationship between the secretory pattern of these hormones and the peripheral plasma levels of LH. There were no significant differences observed in blood flow rate at any stage of the estrous cycle. Designating the day of vaginal discharge as Day 1 estradiol level was lowest on Day 2 but increased over 200% after 14:00 hours of Day 3 and remained unchanged during proestrus (Day 4). The concentration of estrone which was lower than estradiol did not fluctuate significantly during the cycle. Progesterone concentrations were highest on Day 1 and gradually declined to the lowest values before the critical period on Day 4 (p< .01). The concentration and output increased after the ovulatory surge of LH and ovulation. LH levels remained unchanged (p< .05) until after the critical period on Day 4 when they rose sharply. Since only estradiol showed a rise preceding the ovulatory surge of LH the data support an earlier hypothesis that estradiol and not estrone and progesterone provides a "trigger" for releasing ovulating hormone during the hamsters estrous cycle.
Assessing the Impact of Incomes Policy: The Italian Experience

The Saint Valentine's decree (1984) and the ensuing hard fought referendum (1985), which reduced the automatisms of scala mobile, started a process of redefinition of wage fixing in Italy, which culminated with the final abolition of scala mobile (1992) and the approval of Protocollo d'intesa (1993). Since then, following New Corporatist principles, a national system of centralised wage bargaining (concertazione) and the so-called "institutional indexation" have governed the determination of wages. This paper aims to assess the impact of such incomes policy agreements on the long and short run equilibrium relationship between real wages, labour productivity and unemployment. Different time series econometric tools confirm that incomes policy has altered the relationship between real wages and productivity, generating not only a permanent downward impact on prices, but also on real wages. In a sense, incomes policy has caused a new form of (upward) wage rigidity. Interestingly, no impact of incomes policy on the weak relationship between real wages and unemployment is detected. The analysis calls for a careful revision of the 1993 Protocol aimed at: a) better protecting the purchasing power of real wages without losing control on inflation; b) introducing growth generating mechanisms.
Functional Neuroanatomy of the Human Visual Fixation System

The regional cerebral blood flow correlates of the active fixation of an imagined target were studied in five healthy humans using the positron emission tomography activation paradigm. The fixation task was contrasted to a passive control condition, both tasks being performed in total darkness. Blood flow increases were observed in the frontal eye fields and supplementary eye fields and in the median cingulate gyrus. We suggest that the network of these activated regions mediates the interactions between ocular fixation, eye movements and directed visual attention.
Insecticidal properties of several essential oils on the house fly (Musca domestica L.)

The insecticidal activity of 34 essential oils, extracted from plants, was screened against the house fly, Musca domestica L. under laboratory conditions. Essential oils from Pogostemon cablin proved to be the most efficient at a lethal dose of 3 µg/fly after topical application. Eight oils (P. roseum, O. vulgare, O. compactum, M. pulegium, O. basilicum, O. majorana, T. vulgaris and P. graveolens) were lethal in doses ranging from 10 to 20 µg (10, 13, 13, 13, 15, 17, 18 and 19 µg/fly, respectively). The lethal doses of another 13 oils were ascertained in the range 20–50 µg/fly, nine oils had lethal doses of 50–100 µg. For two oils, the lethal dose could not be for the topical application.
The arginine repressor of Escherichia coli K-12 makes direct contacts to minor and major groove determinants of the operators.

In order to gain further insight into the molecular mechanism of arginine-dependent operator recognition by the hexameric Escherichia coli arginine repressor we have probed protein-DNA interactions in vitro and in vivo. We have extensively applied the chemical modification-protection and premodification-interference approach to two operators, the natural operator overlapping the P2 promoter of the carAB operon and a fully symmetrical consensus sequence. Backbone contacts were revealed by hydroxyl radical footprinting and phosphate ethylation interference. Base-specific contacts to purines and pyrimidines were revealed by methylation protection and premodification interference, KMnO4 and NH2OH.HCl-specific modification of thymine and cytosine residues, base-removal (depurination and depyrimidation), and base substitution (uracil and inosine). Additional information on the groove specificity of repressor binding was obtained by small ligand binding interference (distamycin and methyl green). In vivo, we measured the effects on the repressibility of 24 single base-pair substitutions obtained by saturation mutagenesis of half an Arg box in the carAB operator. The results of these experiments point to the conclusion that a hexameric arginine repressor molecule covers four turns of the helix, makes base-specific contacts to at least one guanine (G4 or G4') and two thymine (T3, T13', or T3', T13) residues in each one of four consecutive major grooves on one face of the helix and with four A-T/T-A base-pairs, comprising the adenine residues A9, 9', 12, 12' and the thymine residues T10, 10', 11, 11', in the two outermost minor grooves of the operator, on the very same face of the DNA molecule. The hydrophobic 5-methyl groups of four thymine residues (T3, 3', 13, 13') in each Arg box contribute to major groove-specific recognition via hydrophobic and/or van der Waals interactions. The importance of minor groove contacts was further supported by the drastic effect of distamycin binding interference. In vivo, the most pronounced drops in repressibility were occasioned by mutations at positions 10 (A-->G or C), 11 (T-->A or G) and 12 (A-->G, T or C).
Less is more: the design of early-warning scoring systems affects the speed and accuracy of scoring.

AIM To evaluate the effect of early-warning scoring system design on the speed and accuracy of scoring. BACKGROUND Despite the widespread implementation of early-warning scoring systems in hospitals, the speed and accuracy with which chart-users determine patients' early-warning scores has received minimal research attention. DESIGN Within-subjects, with scoring-system design as the independent variable. METHODS Forty-seven novice chart-users were presented with realistic vital sign observations recorded on charts with three different scoring-system designs. The rows for recording individual vital sign scores were either: (1) grouped together beneath all of the vital sign rows; (2) separated, with each row presented immediately below the corresponding vital sign row; or (3) excluded altogether. Participants' response times and error rates for determining the overall scores were measured for 54 time-points per design. Data were collected in December 2012-January 2013. RESULTS Contrary to predictions, participants responded fastest and made the fewest errors when using the chart design without individual vital sign scoring-rows. For the other two designs, participants were faster when the rows for scoring individual vital signs were separated (vs. grouped), but accuracy did not differ. For both of these designs, significantly more time-points were affected by scoring errors compared with adding errors. Finally, data for patients with more serious derangements yielded greater response times and error rates on all three charts. CONCLUSION Early-warning scoring systems may be more effective without individual vital sign scoring-rows. Even when charts are designed by multi-disciplinary teams of human factors specialists and clinicians, empirical evaluations are essential.
Optimized point splatting based on a fully-balanced hierarchical structure

We propose an improved two-layer hierarchical point-based 3D model representation for interactive 3D rendering. A tree structure called multi-section tree is introduced that allows creating a fully-balanced hierarchy with a desired branching factor for any arbitrary number of points. The proximity problem, the challenge of keeping close-by points together in equi-partitioning process, is addressed by applying an initial bottom-up point-grouping process that divides the 3D model surface into small, nearly equal-size groups of neighboring points. Each group is represented by a small multi-section subtree but treated as a single point in the main top-down equi-splitting process. The top-down process creates the main balanced multi-section tree which holds the whole structure together. Results show that our two-step description leads to a very compact quantized representation with enhanced rendering quality.
Fighting Cancer with Red Wine? Molecular Mechanisms of Resveratrol

Resveratrol, a red wine constituent, has been known for its cardioprotective effects. Recent data give ample evidence that resveratrol can act as a chemopreventive agent as well. Tumor initation, promotion, and progression are affected by resveratrol via multiple pathways, which are discussed in this review. Resveratrol has anti-inflammatory effects by counteracting NF-κ B and AP-1 transcription and can prevent bioactivation of procarcinogens by interacting with drug metabolizing enzymes. Furthermore, resveratrol exerts antioxidant activities, hence contributing to the prevention of tumor initiation. Growing or metastasizing carcinomas are inhibited by resveratrol through prevention of angiogenesis by inhibiting VEGF and matrix metalloproteases. Induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, important mechanisms for cancer therapy, are stimulated by resveratrol through different mechanisms, e.g., activation of p53 and modulation of cell cycle proteins. Although there has been remarkable evidence for resveratrol as a potent chemopreventive agent in vitro, it seems that the low bioavailability of resveratrol in humans could interfere with a successful in vivo treatment. Nevertheless, resveratrol offers two major advantages over conventional chemotherapy. The cytotoxic effects of resveratrol on healthy cells can be neglected, and, as several pathways leading to chemotherapeutic effects are activated by resveratrol, chemoresistance-inducing mutations in cancer cells can be overcome.
Tracking excess weight and obesity from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia

Abstract Objective The objective was to examine the tracking of obesity from childhood to young adulthood in Slovenia. Subjects A subsample included 4833 children from the Slovenian national sample (n 21 777) who were included in the SLOFIT monitoring system from 1997 to 2008, with complete data at 7 years and 18 years. Design A 12-year prospective cohort study. Height, weight and triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) were measured at 7, 11, 14 and 18 years. The BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Taskforce were used to identify excess weight and obesity. Setting The survey was conducted in Slovenian primary and secondary schools from 1988 to 2008 but only the data from the measurements in 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2008 are presented. Results Height, weight and BMI at 18 years were well predicted from childhood and became more predictable with age, while TSF was not. Obese and overweight children had the greatest risk of becoming obese or overweight young adults. The history of their weight shows that 40·0 % of males and 48·6 % of females who were obese at 18 years had already been obese at 7 years. Conclusions Overweight or obese Slovenian children are more likely to become overweight or obese adolescents and young adults than reported in other similar European and American studies, which indicates the need for early prevention and treatment of excess weight and obesity.