Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin metabolism and degradation.

INSULIN degradation is a complex and incompletely, understood process at present. In terms of overall clearance and metabolism, the liver is responsible for more than half of the total insulin degradation, with kidney responsible for most of the rest. The peripheral tissues, fat and muscle, probably degrade the remainder of the insulin in the body, but the absolute contribution of these tissues to insulin turnover is uncertain. It now appears that peripheral tissues can serve as a reservoir for insulin, presumably by the hormone binding reversibly to membrane receptors. The function of this remains to be established. At a cellular level in most tissues, insulin degradation is initiated by the hormone binding to specific receptors. The hormone-receptor complex is processed, including internalization and degradation of at least some of the hormone-receptor complexes. The enzyme or enzymes involved in the degradative process have not been established, but three systems have been implicated: insulin protease,.
Bailout Stigma

We develop a model of bailout stigma where accepting a bailout signals a firm's balance-sheet weakness and worsens its funding prospect. To avoid stigma, a firm with high-quality legacy assets either withdraws from subsequent financing after receiving a bailout or refuses a bailout altogether to send a favorable signal. The former leads to a short-lived stimulation with subsequent market freeze even worse than if there were no bailout. The latter revives the funding market, albeit with delay, to the level achievable without any stigma. Strikingly, a bailout offer is most effective when many firms reject it (to build a favorable reputation) rather than accept it.
[Pediatric trauma registry: analysis of 1200 cases].

OBJECTIVES We developed the first Spanish Pediatric Trauma Registry in order to collect and evaluate information concerning aspects of injuries in our pediatric population. METHODS From January'95 to September'97, 28,713 children younger than 16 years were treated in our Hospital for acute injury: 1,200 were admitted and included in our database. Our file-registry consists of 108 data points including: patient identification, type, place and mechanism of injury, pre-hospital care, transport, assessment on admission, severity scores, diagnostic studies, injuries, treatments and morbidity-mortality. RESULTS Accidents were more frequent in males (69%) than in females. The age-group predominantly was 12-15 years old (34%). Accidents were more frequent in the street (35.3%) than at home (18.7%) or school (14%). Falls and traffic-related accidents were the leading cause of injury (38 and 21.1%, respectively). The 16.7% of cases had Pediatric Trauma Score < or = 8 (n = 201). The 3.6% of this sustained multiple trauma (43 cases with Injury Severity Score > or = 15). Musculoskeletal and head trauma was the most frequent (62 and 42.3%, respectively). Surgical or orthopedic procedures were performed in 678 patients (56.5%). Average length of stay were 4.8 days (range 1-93 days), and functional impairments at discharge were found in 33.9% of patients older than 3 years (n = 338). Mortality rate in our series was 0.5% (n = 6), and 13.9% in children with ISS > or = 15. CONCLUSIONS The utility of this Registry is to know the epidemiology of our injured pediatric population, to review patient care, to develop prevention programs and to compare results with other centers so potential deficiencies can be identified and corrected.
Leg autotomy in a spider has minimal costs in competitive ability and development

A number of species have the ability to autotomize limbs voluntarily, but animals that have lost limbs often face substantial costs. We examined the frequency of leg loss and its effects on competitive ability and development in the spider Holocnemus pluchei (Araneae: Pholcidae), a family of spiders known for its readiness to autotomize legs. Leg loss was common in field populations, with 7.5% of all surveyed spiders missing at least one leg, most commonly one of the anterior pair. More spiders were missing multiple legs than expected by chance, suggesting that leg loss events are not independent. Large adult spiders were missing legs more frequently than were small spiders. The competitive ability of injured males was tested in three contexts. In the field, no effect of leg loss was found on the ability of spiders to remain in webs into which they were introduced. In the laboratory, no effect of leg loss was found on the ability to fight with a single opponent over a prey, except that injured spiders were more likely to lose high-intensity fights. There was no difference between intact and injured males in their ability to compete with three females for limited prey. Leg loss significantly affected development time. The moult interval during the instar in which the injury occurred increased by approximately 15%. However, the growth rate for injured spiders was slightly but not significantly faster in the instar following leg loss, and total development time of the two instars together did not differ significantly between treatments. No spider showed any signs of regeneration. We conclude that, although there were some statistically significant differences between intact and injured males, these are unlikely to have major impacts on fitness, in contrast to findings in other species. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Wood ants ( Formica rufa group ) in managed boreal forests : implications for soil properties and tree growth

Mound-building ants, and especially wood ants (Formica rufa group), are wide-spread key species that affect ecosystem functioning in several ways in the boreal forests of Eurasia. Forest clear-cutting harms wood ants, but the colonies gradually recover and multiply as forest succession proceeds. Thus their impact on ecosystem functioning may change with stand age. The objectives of this thesis were to study 1) the distribution of wood ants in boreal forests, 2) the role of wood ant mounds in the distribution of nutrients and roots, and 3) the effect of wood ant-aphid mutualism on the growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.). The 3rd National Forest Inventory data from the 1950s was used to study the distribution of ant mounds along major ecological gradients in Finland. Ecosystem-scale studies were conducted in 5-, 30-, 60and 100-year-old Norway spruce dominated stands in eastern Finland. The highest mound densities were found in spruceand birch-dominated mature forests on medium-fertile sites in southern Finland. Ant mounds were more numerous and larger in older than in younger stands. More mound-building ant species were found in younger stands, while F. aquilonia Yarr. was the only species in the oldest stands. Most ant mounds were situated near stand edges. Carbon (C), nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were higher in ant mounds than in the surrounding soil. More fine roots were found in the mineral soil under ant mounds than in the surrounding mineral soil. Ant mounds contributed only a small proportion of the total C and nutrient pools and root biomass in forest soil. Ant-aphid mutualism significantly reduced the radial growth of individual spruce trees in the 30-year-old stands only. Overall, the impact on spruce growth was marginal at the stand level. However, wood ants increased the heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of C, nutrients, roots, and tree growth.
Isolation and characterization of a heterodimeric surface antigen on human melanoma cells and evidence that it is the 4f2 cell activation/proliferation molecule

Murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) LS109 was one of a series of MAbs produced by hyperimmunization of mice with detergent extracts of pooled melanoma cell lines and metastatic melanoma patient tumors. ELISA screening of extracts of individual cultured melanoma cell lines and single patient tumors with MAb LS109 gave an interesting pattern of reactivity. The antibody was strongly positive with some of these extracts, yet negative or weakly positive with others. In addition, there was strong reactivity with a restricted set of normal necropsy tissues and certain non‐melanoma tumor extracts. Taken together, our data suggest that MAb LS109 recognizes a normal differentiation antigen which is perhaps aberrantly expressed or over‐produced during certain stages of melanoma tumor progression. The antigen recognized by LS109 is a heterodimeric surface glycoprotein molecule, consisting of an 89‐kDa “heavy” chain linked by disulfide bonds to an 83‐kDa “light” chain. Under non‐reducing SDS‐PAGE conditions, the intact dimer migrates with an M of approximately 140kDa. The 89‐kDa component appears to be heavily N‐glycosylated whereas the 38‐kDa component has little, if any, covalently attached carbohydrate. Our data show the biosynthesis, glycosylation and turnover of the LS109 antigen, as well as evidence of its surface localization. In addition, evidence is presented that the LS109 antigen is identical to the 4F2 cell activation/proliferation molecule previously described on a variety of normal and neoplastic cells.
Zur Einführung von Mindestlöhnen: Empirische Relevanz des Niedriglohnsektors

Die mogliche Einfuhrung von Mindestlohnen fuhrt gegenwartig zu heftigen Kontroversen uber die okonomischen Auswirkungen eines solchen Eingriffs. Die einen befurchten den Wegfall des kompletten Niedriglohnbereichs. Die anderen sehen darin Chancen zu Lohnerhohungen ohne nennenswerte Konsequenzen. Joachim Ragnitz, Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung Halle, und Marcel Thum, ifo Niederlassung Dresden, untersuchen, wie gros der vom Mindestlohn betroffene Personenkreis ist und wie stark die Arbeitsplatzverluste ausfallen konnten. So wurde z.B. ihrer Schatzung nach die Einfuhrung eines Mindestlohns von 7,50 € zu einer Reduktion der Beschaftigung im Niedriglohnbereich um 26,7% fuhren.
Water Intake of the Rat as a Function of Duration of Water Deprivation

Water intake in a 2-hr. period was measured for groups of rats deprived of water either 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, or 168 hr. The intake function appeared to reach a maximum value at 48 hr. , suggesting that intake is not a useful measure of the effects of long durations of water deprivation.
Judgment of Duration in Individuals With Ataxia-Telangiectasia

Several clinical investigations with adults suggest that the cerebellum may be critical for judgment of explicit time intervals; however, little work has been done in populations with lesions of the cerebellum acquired during development. We evaluated 17 individuals with ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), an autosomal recessive disorder with onset in early childhood characterized by diffuse, almost selective, degeneration of the cerebellar cortex, and 21 normal controls, matched for age. Because patients with AT have motor impairment, verbal IQ (VIQ) was used to estimate intelligence; VIQ was significantly lower in the group with AT (p < .0001). Participants were tested using a test of judgment of duration that has been found to be impaired in adults with cerebellar lesions and a contrasting auditory control task (not impaired in adults with cerebellar lesions) involving judgment of pitch. After statistically controlling for VIQ, the 2 groups did not differ significantly on judgment of pitch, but those with AT performed significantly worse than controls on judgment of duration (p = .01). Children and adolescents with AT show deficits in judgment of duration but not of pitch, suggesting that the cerebellum may be critical for judgment of explicit time intervals at all ages.
Towards a Diminished Reality System that Preserves Structures and Works in Real-time

This paper presents a Diminished Reality system that is able to propagate textures as well as structures with a low computational cost, almost in real-time. An existing inpainting algorithm is optimized in order to reduce the high computational cost by implementing some Computer Vision techniques. Although some of the presented optimizations can be applied to a single static image directly, the global system is mainly oriented to video sequences, where temporal coherence ideas can be applied. Given that, a novel pipeline is proposed to maintain the visual quality of the reconstructed image area without the need of calculating everything again despite slow camera motions. To the best of our knowledge, the prototype presented in this paper is the only Diminished Reality system focused on structure propagation that works near real-time. Apart from the technical description, this paper presents an extensive experimental study of the system, which evaluates the optimizations in terms of time and quality.
Stretched-exponential relaxation at a self-similiar surface.

The double-layer impedance at a rough electrode can be related to properties of random walks near the surface of that electrode. We apply this method to the calculation of the double-layer impedance at a self-similar electrode in two dimensions. We find that the impedance at a self-similar surface shows stretched-exponential behavior. At high frequencies, this behavior is similar to the experimentally observed constant phase-angle behavior, with an exponent determined by the multifractal properties of the surface.
Incidence, risk factors, and outcome of bloodstream infections during the pre‐engraftment phase in 521 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations

Bloodstream infection (BSI) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a well‐known complication during the pre‐engraftment phase. Knowledge of trends in etiology and antibiotic susceptibility of BSI is important as the time to effective antibiotic treatment is closely associated with survival in bacteremic patients with septic shock.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation and stretch reflexes in the tibialis anterior muscle during human walking

1 Stretch of the ankle dorsiflexors was applied at different times of the walking cycle in 17 human subjects. When the stretch was applied in the swing phase, only small and variable reflex responses were observed in the active tibialis anterior (TA) muscle. Two of the reflex responses that could be distinguished had latencies which were comparable with the early (M1) and late (M3)components of the three reflex responses (M1, M2 and M3) observed during tonic dorsiflexion in sitting subjects. In the stance phase a single very large response was consistently observed in the inactive TA muscle. The peak of this response had the same latency as the peak of M3, but in the majority of subjects the onset latency was shorter than that of M3. 2 The TA reflex response in the stance phase was abolished by ischaemia of the lower leg at the same time as the soleus H‐reflex, suggesting that large muscle afferents were involved in the generation of the response. 3 Motor‐evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited in the TA by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were strongly facilitated corresponding to the peak of the stretch response in the stance phase and the late reflex response in the swing phase. A similar facilitation was not observed corresponding to the earlier responses in the swing phase and the initial part of the response in stance. 4 Prior stretch did not facilitate MEPs evoked by transcranial electrical stimulation in the swing phase of walking. However, in the stance phase MEPs elicited by strong electrical stimulation were facilitated by prior stretch to the same extent as the MEPs evoked by TMS. 5 The large responses to stretch seen in the stance phase are consistent with the idea that stretch reflexes are mainly involved in securing the stability of the supporting leg during walking. It is suggested that a transcortical reflex pathway may be partly involved in the generation of the TA stretch responses during walking.
Optimizing experimental protocols for quantitative behavioral imaging with 18F-FDG in rodents.

UNLABELLED Small-animal PET provides the opportunity to image brain activation during behavioral tasks in animal models of human conditions. The present studies aimed to simplify behavioral imaging procedures without a loss of quantitation by using an intraperitoneal route of administration (no cannulation, no anesthesia) and using a standardized uptake value (SUV) to reduce scan duration. METHODS Sixteen animals with carotid artery cannulations were studied with 18F-FDG small-animal PET accompanied by serial arterial blood sampling. Ten of these animals were anesthetized and were inside the tomograph during 18F-FDG uptake, whereas 6 animals were awake in their home cages and scanned after 60 min of uptake. Of the 10 anesthetized animals, 6 received intraperitoneal 18F-FDG, whereas 4 received intravenous 18F-FDG, and all 6 awake animals received intraperitoneal 18F-FDG. Intravenously injected animals were positioned far enough inside the tomograph to obtain region-of-interest-based measures from the heart and the brain. In all animals, a full arterial input function and plasma glucose levels were obtained. To establish the optimal time during 18F-FDG uptake for blood sampling when using an SUV, a Patlak kinetic model was used to derive absolute rates of glucose metabolism and compared with SUVs calculated using different plasma points from the arterial input function. RESULTS A single plasma point taken at 60 min after injection for intraperitoneal injections or 45 min after injection for intravenous injections provides a sensitive index of glucose metabolic rate with the highest correlation with data obtained from a fully quantitative input function. CONCLUSION These studies support an experimental protocol in which animals can receive the 18F-FDG tracer injection intraperitoneally, away from the small-animal tomograph and with minimal impact on behavior. Further, animals can occupy the tomograph bed for a 10- to 30-min scan with a consequent increase in animal throughput.
Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Communication Accuracy Between Patients and Their Physicians

BACKGROUNDWe evaluated a patient's understanding of his or her cancer (diagnosis, location, stage, status) as a function of age, race, education, income, and marital status. METHODSPatients with cancer were prospectively recruited and surveyed during their outpatient chemotherapy. Survey questions related to demographics, cancer status, location of cancer, stage of disease, prescribed treatment, the treating oncologist, and satisfaction with both the oncologist and medical staff. Each patient's answers to the survey questions were then compared with his or her medical chart. Data analysis was performed with the Chi-square test, logistic regression, and multivariate analysis. RESULTSStudy participants included 284 patients (38% male, 62% female) (56% African American, 42% Caucasian, 3% others) with a median age of 62 years. Patients correctly answered in regards to their diagnosis (98%), cancer location (91%), and name of their doctor (99%). However, only 23% scored correctly when asked the stage of their cancer. In univariate analysis, younger age (P = 0.006) was the only significant variable in answering the question correctly, while higher income (P = 0.065) and female gender (P = 0.092) approached statistical significance. In multivariate analysis, all three variables were shown to be significant (P values of 0.016, 0.028, and 0.041, respectively). Increasing age resulted in a reduction of 2.5% per year, higher income resulted in an increase of 1.3% per $1000, and females were 49% more accurate, in the ability to correctly identify the cancer stage. DISCUSSIONAlthough patients seem to know their condition well, many of them do not understand the stage of their cancer. Older patients, patients with lower income, and male patients seem to have less understanding of the stage of their cancer.
[Ca2+]i determines the effects of protein kinases A and C on activity of rat renal Na+,K+‐ATPase

1 It is well established that the activity of Na+,K+‐ATPase (NKA) is regulated by protein kinases A (PKA) and C (PKC), but results on their effects have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to examine if this is ascribed to the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). 2 Rat renal NKA was stably expressed in COS cells (green monkey kidney cells). Increases in [Ca2+]i were achieved with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and verified by direct measurements of [Ca2+]i using fura‐2 AM as an indicator. The activity of NKA was measured as ouabain‐sensitive 86Rb+ uptake and the state of phosphorylation of NKA was monitored with two site‐directed phosphorylation state‐specific antibodies. 3 Activation of PKA with forskolin decreased NKA activity by 45.5 ± 8.9 % at low [Ca2+]i (120 nM) and increased it by 40.5 ± 6.4 % at high [Ca2+]i (420 nM). The change in NKA activity by forskolin correlated with the level of increase in [Ca2+]i. 4 The effect of 1‐oleoyl‐2‐acetoyl‐sn‐glycerol (OAG), a specific PKC activator, on the activity of NKA was also Ca2+ dependent, being inhibitory when [Ca2+]i was low (29.3 ± 3.6 % decrease at 120 nM Ca2+) and stimulatory when [Ca2+]i was high (36.6 ± 10.1 % increase at 420 nM Ca2+). 5 The α subunit of NKA was phosphorylated under both low and high [Ca2+]i conditions upon PKA or PKC activation. PKA phosphorylates Ser943. PKC phosphorylates Ser23. 6 To see if the observed effects on NKA activity are secondary to changes in Na+ entry, we measured NKA hydrolytic activity using permeabilized membranes isolated from cells under controlled Na+ conditions. A decreased activity at low [Ca2+]i and no change in activity at high [Ca2+]i were observed following forskolin or OAG treatment. 7 Purified NKA from rat renal cortex was phosphorylated and inhibited by PKC. This phosphorylation‐associated inhibition of NKA was neither affected by Ca2+ nor by calmodulin, tested alone or together. 8 We conclude that effect of PKA/PKC on NKA activity is dependent on [Ca2+]i. This Ca2+ dependence may provide an explanation for the diversity of responses of NKA to activation of either PKA or PKC.
NUCLEOLAR "CAPS" PRODUCED BY ACTINOMYCIN D.

Summary Actinomycin D produced specific morphologic alterations in the nucleoli and nuclei of Chang liver cells in tissue culture. These changes consisted of: ( a ) a progressive decrease in the size of the nucleoli, ( b ) redistribution of the components of the nucleolus to produce two types of nucleolar “caps,” and ( c ) production of intranuclear inclusions. These nuclear changes were identical to those produced by the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline N -oxide. Nuclear and nucleolar changes of this type were not produced by nitrogen mustard or by 2,4-dinitrophenol. These findings suggest that 4-nitroquinoline N -oxide, like actinomycin D, may have a specific effect on the synthesis of DNA-dependent RNA.
Biofilm, adherence, and hydrophobicity as virulence factors in Malassezia furfur

Malassezia species are natural inhabitants of the healthy skin. However, under certain conditions, they may cause or exacerbate several skin diseases. The ability of this fungus to colonize or infect is determined by complex interactions between the fungal cell and its virulence factors. This study aims to evaluate "in vitro" the hydrophobicity levels, the adherence on a plastic surface and the biofilm formation of 16 clinical isolates of Malassezia furfur. Cellular surface hydrophobicity (CSH) levels were determined by two-phase system. The biofilm formation was determined by tetrazolium salt (XTT) reduction assay and by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results showed many isolates were hydrophobic, adherent, and producers of biofilm on abiotic surfaces with different capacity. SEM observations confirmed an abundant extracellular matrix after 48 h of biofilm formation. About 63% of strains with high production of biofilm showed medium to high percentage of hydrophobicity and/or adherence. In addition, it has been demonstrated a correlation between hydrophobicity, adherence, and biofilm formation in about 60% of strains examined. These important virulence factors could be responsible of this yeast changing from a commensal to a pathogenic status.