Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytologic features of endocervical glandular lesions: Comparison of SurePath, ThinPrep, and conventional smear specimen preparations

The cytologic features of endocervical neoplasia have been well‐described for conventional and ThinPrep, but not for SurePath, methods. This study is designed to ascertain if cytological features are similar in SurePath specimens. Conventional, ThinPrep and SurePath specimens with either endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ or invasive endocervical adenocarcinoma were evaluated for architectural and cytological features previously described for endocervical neoplasia. A generalized linear model was used to assess the differences of ordinal multinomial data. Of 18 evaluated, the only features showing statistical differences were architectural: large groups of cells and single cells were more frequent in SurePath preparations and conventional smears. Feathering was more frequently noted in conventional smears. Individual cytological features were identical across all groups. Mitoses and apoptotic debris were seen with equal frequency in all preparations. The architectural and cytologic features of endocervical glandular neoplasia in liquid‐based specimens show only subtle architectural differences when compared with conventional smears. Keeping these differences in mind, virtually the same criteria can be used to identify endocervical glandular lesions in all three specimen types. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2008;36:232–237. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Macrophage‐tropic HIV‐1 variants from brain demonstrate alterations in the way gp120 engages both CD4 and CCR5

BR‐derived HIV‐1 strains have an exceptional ability to enter macrophages via mechanisms involving their gp120 Env that remain incompletely understood. Here, we used cell‐based affinity‐profiling methods and mathematical modeling to generate quantitative VERSA metrics that simultaneously measure Env‐CD4 and Env‐CCR5 interactions. These metrics were analyzed to distinguish the phenotypes of M‐tropic and non‐M‐tropic CCR5‐using HIV‐1 variants derived from autopsy BRs and LNs, respectively. We show that highly M‐tropic Env variants derived from brain can be defined by two distinct and simultaneously occurring phenotypes. First, BR‐derived Envs demonstrated an enhanced ability to interact with CD4 compared with LN‐derived Envs, permitting entry into cells expressing scant levels of CD4. Second, BR‐derived Envs displayed an altered mechanism of engagement between CD4‐bound gp120 and CCR5 occurring in tandem. With the use of epitope mapping, mutagenesis, and structural studies, we show that this altered mechanism is characterized by increased exposure of CD4‐induced epitopes in gp120 and by a more critical interaction between BR‐derived Envs and the CCR5 N‐terminus, which was associated with the predicted presence of additional atomic contacts formed at the gp120‐CCR5 N‐terminus interface. Our results suggest that BR‐derived HIV‐1 variants with highly efficient macrophage entry adopt conformations in gp120 that simultaneously alter the way in which the Env interacts with CD4 and CCR5.
Cardiorespiratory Fitness of University Volleyball Players and Sedentary Young People in Marathwada Region of Maharashtra Province in India.

BACKGROUND Volleyball is considered a physically demanding athletic sport; characterized by rapid acceleration, deceleration, and sudden changes of direction. It has been highlighted that aerobic capacity (VO2 max) which indicates cardiorespiratory fitness has a significant effect on the performance of athletes and is an important element of success in sports. AIM AND OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to compare aerobic capacity of university volleyball players from the region with that of matched sedentary controls. The secondary objective was to compare the findings with the aerobic capacity data reported in literature for the volleyball players and sedentary population. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sample size was calculated for detecting a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.8) with α as 0.05 and power of study as 80% for two tailed hypothesis testing. By using Queen's college step test, VO2 max was measured in 30 male volleyball players in the age group of 20 to25 years and was compared with 30 age and socio-economic status matched controls with sedentary lifestyle. RESULTS The mean predicted VO2 max was 52.99 ± 5.13 ml/kg/min in volleyball players and 37.01 ± 3.94 ml/kg/min in controls. The difference in mean values of VO2 max (ml/kg/min) in volleyball players and controls was statistically highly significant with p-value less than 0.001. CONCLUSION The volleyball players showed a superior aerobic capacity compared with age and socio-economic status matched controls with sedentary lifestyle.
Likage identification by perturbation and decision tree induction

The purpose of linkage identification in genetic and evolutionary algorithms is to detect the strongly related variables of the fitness function. If such linkage information can be acquired, the crossover or recombination operator can accordingly mix the discovered sub-solutions effectively without disrupting them. In this paper, we propose a new linkage identification technique, called inductive linkage identification (ILI), employing perturbation with decision tree induction. With the proposed scheme, the linkage information can be obtained by first constructing an ID3 decision tree to learn the mapping from the population of solutions to their corresponding fitness differences caused by perturbations and then inspecting the constructed decision tree for variables exhibiting strong interdependencies with one another. The numerical results show that the proposed technique can accomplish the identical linkage identification task with a lower number of function evaluations compared to similar methods proposed in the literature. Moreover, the proposed technique is also shown being able to handle both uniformly scaled and exponentially scaled problems.
Population‐based prevalence, type‐ and age‐specific distribution of HPV in women before introduction of an HPV‐vaccination program in Denmark

Knowledge about the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) on a population level is important. We conducted a large population‐based study in Denmark to determine the overall and age‐specific HPV prevalence, and HPV type distribution in women. Liquid‐based cytology samples (SurePath®) were collected consecutively. HPV testing was performed with Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2; Digene) (high‐risk and low‐risk probes), and LiPA (Innogenetics) was used for genotyping. We analyzed samples from 11,617 women; 94.0% had normal cytology, 4.3% atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and 1.6% had high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). The HPV prevalence was 26.4% with a peak in women 20–24 years (50.2%) and then decreased without a second peak in older women. Among the youngest women (15–19 years), 14% had HPV 16/18 and 16% had HPV 6/11. Prevalence of high‐risk HPV types increased from 19.2% in women with normal cytology to 100% in women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3)/cervical cancer. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type (6.0% of all women), and was also the most prevalent in women with HSIL (35.1%) and CIN3 (53.2%). Other common HPV types in women with CIN3 included HPV 52, 51, 31, 33 and 18. HPV 16/18 alone was present in 23% of CIN3 lesions and 67% of cervical cancers, and HPV 16/18 together with other high‐risk HPV types was present in 41% of CIN3 lesions. This suggests that an efficacious HPV 16/18 vaccine will have a substantial preventive potential in the general female population. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Deficiency Fails to Restrain Macrophage Infiltration Into Adipose Tissue

OBJECTIVE— Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a CC-motif chemokine, has been proposed to play critical roles in insulin resistance and recruitment of monocytes into adipose tissue. We hypothesized that the absence of MCP-1 would improve the former and diminish the latter. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— We investigated these two hypotheses by quantifying glucose metabolism and the accumulation of macrophages in adipose tissue of control and MCP-1–deficient (Mcp1−/−) mice after feeding the animals a high-fat diet for 10 or 16 weeks. RESULTS— We first established that the two strains were in the same genetic background and that macrophage recruitment into inflamed peritoneum was markedly reduced in the MCP-1–deficient animals. In striking contrast, independent studies at two different facilities at either an early or late time point failed to detect any impairment in macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue of fat-fed Mcp1−/− mice. Immunoblot analysis revealed higher levels of Mac2, a macrophage-specific protein, in multiple fat depots of Mcp1−/− mice fed a high-fat diet. These mice also had significantly more adipose tissue than control mice, but their glucose metabolism was similar. CONCLUSIONS— Our observations suggest that MCP-1 does not play a prominent a role in promoting macrophage recruitment into adipose tissue or in systemic insulin resistance.
A molecular dynamics investigation of the elastomeric restoring force in elastin

A repetitive polypentapeptide organized as a connected chain of β‐bends is believed to be an important structural element of elastin, the major elastomer in biological systems. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out on hydrated polymers of (Val‐Pro‐Gly‐Val‐Gly)18 at various extensions. Analysis of the fluctuations of backbone angles in relaxed elastin showed that particularly large‐amplitude torsional motions occur in ϕ and ψ angles of residues connecting sequentially adjacent hairpin bends. Many such motions reflect peptide plane librations that result from anticorrelated crankshaft rotations of ψi and ϕi+1. These effects were much reduced in stretched polymer models. The conformational entropy of relaxed and stretched elastin models was estimated using a treatment due to Meirovitch, and gave a calculated decrease in entropy of about 1 cal/mol deg when the polymer was stretched to 1.75 times its original length. There are large changes in solvent‐accessible surface area during the intitial stages of elastin stretching. Collectively these results suggest that hydrophobic interactions make contributions to elastin entropy at low extensions, but that librational mechanisms make large contributions to the elastic restoring force at longer extensions.
Differential expression of c‐fos in subtypes of GABAergic cells following sensory stimulation in the cat primary visual cortex

Recent immunocytochemical stainings on cat visual cortex, visually stimulated for 1 h, showed a strong induction of Fos expression in cortical neurons. We initiated immunocytochemical double staining experiments with different cytochemical markers to investigate the neurochemical and morphological character of these activated neurons showing Fos induction after sensory stimulation. Double staining with Fos and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) demonstrated the presence of Fos in the nuclei of GABAergic neurons of the primary visual cortex. To further subdivide this Fos/GABAergic cell population we investigated whether Fos colocalized with parvalbumin, calbindin or calretinin. Colocalization of Fos with these calcium‐binding proteins delineated distinct neuronal subclasses of Fos‐immunoreactive neurons in supra‐ and infragranular layers of cat area 17. Quantitative analysis of the proportion of immunoreactive local circuit neurons revealed that 35% of the GABAergic neurons showed Fos induction in supragranular layers, whereas in infragranular layers a mere 10% of the GABAergic cells revealed Fos expression. Fos coexisted in about 24% of the calbindin‐immunopositive cells within supra‐ and infragranular layers, but only a minority of the parvalbumin and the calretinin neuronal subgroups were immunopositive for Fos in the corresponding layers of area 17. These findings suggest that visual stimulation induces Fos expression in distinct subsets of inhibitory neurons in cat primary visual cortex.
Purification and Characterization of Two Extremely Thermostable Enzymes, Phosphate Acetyltransferase and Acetate Kinase, from the Hyperthermophilic Eubacterium Thermotoga maritima

ABSTRACT Phosphate acetyltransferase (PTA) and acetate kinase (AK) of the hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima have been purified 1,500- and 250-fold, respectively, to apparent homogeneity. PTA had an apparent molecular mass of 170 kDa and was composed of one subunit with a molecular mass of 34 kDa, suggesting a homotetramer (α4) structure. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed significant identity to that of phosphate butyryltransferases fromClostridium acetobutylicum rather than to those of known phosphate acetyltransferases. The kinetic constants of the reversible enzyme reaction (acetyl-CoA + Pi ⇌ acetyl phosphate + CoA) were determined at the pH optimum of pH 6.5. The apparent Km values for acetyl-CoA, Pi, acetyl phosphate, and coenzyme A (CoA) were 23, 110, 24, and 30 μM, respectively; the apparentVmax values (at 55°C) were 260 U/mg (acetyl phosphate formation) and 570 U/mg (acetyl-CoA formation). In addition to acetyl-CoA (100%), the enzyme accepted propionyl-CoA (60%) and butyryl-CoA (30%). The enzyme had a temperature optimum at 90°C and was not inactivated by heat upon incubation at 80°C for more than 2 h. AK had an apparent molecular mass of 90 kDa and consisted of one 44-kDa subunit, indicating a homodimer (α2) structure. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed significant similarity to those of all known acetate kinases from eubacteria as well that of the archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila. The kinetic constants of the reversible enzyme reaction (acetyl phosphate + ADP ⇌ acetate + ATP) were determined at the pH optimum of pH 7.0. The apparent Km values for acetyl phosphate, ADP, acetate, and ATP were 0.44, 3, 40, and 0.7 mM, respectively; the apparent Vmax values (at 50°C) were 2,600 U/mg (acetate formation) and 1,800 U/mg (acetyl phosphate formation). AK phosphorylated propionate (54%) in addition to acetate (100%) and used GTP (100%), ITP (163%), UTP (56%), and CTP (21%) as phosphoryl donors in addition to ATP (100%). Divalent cations were required for activity, with Mn2+ and Mg2+ being most effective. The enzyme had a temperature optimum at 90°C and was stabilized against heat inactivation by salts. In the presence of (NH4)2SO4(1 M), which was most effective, the enzyme did not lose activity upon incubation at 100°C for 3 h. The temperature optimum at 90°C and the high thermostability of both PTA and AK are in accordance with their physiological function under hyperthermophilic conditions.
Change in Size of Chromatium minus Cells in Relation to Growth Rate, Sulfur Content, and Photosynthetic Activity: A Comparison of Pure Cultures and Field Populations

The size frequency distribution of planktonic cells of purple sulfur phototrophic bacteria was measured at several depths in a bacterial layer of Lake Cisó (Spain). The bacterioplankton was dominated by Chromatium minus (87 to 94% of the total biomass). The largest cells of C. minus were found in the top part of the bacterial layer. In addition, the in situ and potential specific photosynthetic activity (CO2 fixation and acetate uptake) and specific pigment content were measured in relation to several key environmental parameters that determine the activity of cells. Potential growth rates were estimated from production rates and biomass. A maximal specific growth rate of 0.074 h−1 was found for the top part of the bacterial layer. Photosynthesis versus light and versus sulfide curves among field samples indicated that light was the main limiting factor controlling the activity of C. minus in Lake Cisó. The specific bacteriochlorophyll a content was very high in all samples (0.27 to 0.36 μg μg of C−1). Results of laboratory experiments performed with pure cultures indicated that the average cell volume changes from 5.9 to 20.0 μm3 and that differences in growth rate, breakdown, or synthesis of sulfur and glycogen and degradation of the photosynthetic apparatus are the main factors accounting for the observed changes in cell volume across the bacterial layer.
Sox2 deficiency causes neurodegeneration and impaired neurogenesis in the adult mouse brain

In many species, the Sox2 transcription factor is a marker of the nervous system from the beginning of its development, and we have previously shown that Sox2 is expressed in embryonic neural stem cells. It is also expressed in, and is essential for, totipotent inner cell mass stem cells and other multipotent cell lineages, and its ablation causes early embryonic lethality. To investigate the role of Sox2 in the nervous system, we generated different mouse mutant alleles: a null allele (Sox2β-geo `knock-in'), and a regulatory mutant allele (Sox2ΔENH), in which a neural cell-specific enhancer is deleted. Sox2 is expressed in embryonic early neural precursors of the ventricular zone and, in the adult, in ependyma (a descendant of the ventricular zone). It is also expressed in the vast majority of dividing precursors in the neurogenic regions, and in a small proportion of differentiated neurones, particularly in the thalamus, striatum and septum. Compound Sox2β-geo/ΔENH heterozygotes show important cerebral malformations, with parenchymal loss and ventricle enlargement, and L-dopa-rescuable circling behaviour and epilepsy. We observed striking abnormalities in neurones; degeneration and cytoplasmic protein aggregates, a feature common to diverse human neurodegenerative diseases, are observed in thalamus, striatum and septum. Furthermore, ependymal cells show ciliary loss and pathological lipid inclusions. Finally, precursor cell proliferation and the generation of new neurones in adult neurogenic regions are greatly decreased, and GFAP/nestin-positive hippocampal cells, which include the earliest neurogenic precursors, are strikingly diminished. These findings highlight a crucial and unexpected role for Sox2 in the maintenance of neurones in selected brain areas, and suggest a contribution of neural cell proliferative defects to the pathological phenotype.
Multiple sclerosis: BAFF and CXCL13 in cerebrospinal fluid

Background: There is increasing evidence of B-cell involvement in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). B-cell activating factor (BAFF) has an essential role in B-cell homeostasis. The chemokine CXCL13 has an important role in the formation and maintenance of B-cell follicles. Objective: To measure BAFF and CXCL13 levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS compared to patients with other neurological diseases. Methods: Cytokine/chemokine levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: In MS patients, BAFF levels were highest in patients with secondary progressive disease, and were higher during relapse in patients with relapsing–remitting and secondary progressive disease. CXCL13 levels were also higher during relapse. There was a positive correlation between CXCL13 and the IgG index, and an inverse correlation between BAFF and the IgG index. The implications of this finding are discussed. Conclusion: During relapse, we found various positive correlations between BAFF, CXCL13 and the cytokines IL-6 and IL-10. These findings show that molecules that are essential for B-cell recruitment, survival, maturation and function may be working in concert to affect B-cell homeostasis in MS and contribute to the pathophysiology of the disease.
Marital Status & Risk Behaviors Among U.S. Soldiers

Abstract : Mirroring the civilian literature, military research has shown that married individuals tend to engage in fewer health risk behaviors, such as substance misuse, compared to individuals who were not married. These findings are consistent with the extensive civilian research literature documenting the physical and mental health advantage of being married, especially for men. However, few military studies have examined the relationship between marital status and other risk behaviors such as reckless driving. Using cross-sectional data collected from U.S. soldiers (n=2,588) six months after Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, six self-reported risk behaviors are assessed: driving under the influence of alcohol, using alcohol to sleep or calm down, riding with an alcohol-impaired driver, non-seat belt use while driving, reckless driving, and risky sexual behavior. The prevalence of these behaviors is reported for three marital status groups: currently married, never married, and previously married (separated/widowed/divorced). The associations between marital status and the risk behaviors are also examined with logistic regression analyses adjusting for combat exposure, mental health problems, alcohol misuse, gender, education, rank, number of children supported financially, and service type. In these analyses, never married and previously married soldiers are compared to married soldiers. Findings show that for all six risk behaviors, prevalence rates were highest in either the never married or the previously married group. For one of the outcomes (driving with an alcohol-impaired driver), the prevalence rate was identical in both the never and previously married groups.
Erythropoietin Modulates Calcium Influx through TRPC2*

Mammalian isoforms of calcium-permeableDrosophila transient receptor potential channels (TRPC) are involved in the sustained phase of calcium entry in nonexcitable cells. Erythropoietin (Epo) stimulates a rise in intracellular calcium ([Ca] i ) via activation of voltage-independent calcium channel(s) in erythroid cells. Here, involvement of murine orthologs of classical TRPC in the Epo-modulated increase in [Ca] i was examined. RT-PCR of TRPC 1–6 revealed high expression of only TRPC2 in Epo-dependent cell lines HCD-57 and Ba/F3 Epo-R, in which Epo stimulates a rise in [Ca] i . Using RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunolocalization, expression of the longest isoform of mTRPC2, clone 14, was demonstrated in HCD-57 cells, Ba/F3 Epo-R cells, and primary murine erythroblasts. To determine whether erythropoietin is capable of modulating calcium influx through TRPC2, CHO cells were cotransfected with Epo-R subcloned into pTracer-CMV and either murine TRPC2 clone 14 or TRPC6, a negative control, into pQBI50. Successful transfection of Epo-R was verified in single cells by detection of green fluorescent protein from pTracer-CMV using digital video imaging, and successful transfection of TRPC was confirmed by detection of blue fluorescent protein fused through a flexible linker to TRPC. [Ca] i changes were simultaneously monitored in cells loaded with Rhod-2 or Fura Red. Epo stimulation of CHO cells cotransfected with Epo-R and TRPC2 resulted in a rise in [Ca] i above base line (372 ± 71%), which was significantly greater (p ≤ 0.0007) than that seen in cells transfected with TRPC6 or empty pQBI50 vector. This rise in [Ca] i required Epo and extracellular calcium. These results identify a calcium-permeable channel, TRPC2, in erythroid cells and demonstrate modulation of calcium influx through this channel by erythropoietin.