Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptional regulation of the stress response by mTOR

The kinase mTOR may have a greater role in the cellular response to various stresses than currently appreciated. Gloss Cells sense and adapt to various changes in their environment through stress response pathways. The kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is central to the cell’s behavior and plays a main role in enhancing protein synthesis and general biogenesis. mTOR is stimulated by signaling induced by growth factors and nutrients, and it is generally inhibited by cellular stresses, such as insufficient metabolic resources, lack of oxygen, or DNA damage. Intriguingly, mTOR can withstand substantial stress and enhances some of the adaptive mechanisms, yet the contribution of mTOR’s regulation of gene expression to the stress response is largely unexplored. In this review, consisting of 3 figures and 187 references, we discuss how mTOR may contribute to the cellular stress response through its regulation of critical transcription factors, enabling simultaneous sensing of growth-promoting signals and modulation of adaptive signaling pathways. The kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of cell growth and proliferation that integrates inputs from growth factor receptors, nutrient availability, intracellular ATP (adenosine 5′-triphosphate), and a variety of stressors. Since early works in the mid-1990s uncovered the role of mTOR in stimulating protein translation, this kinase has emerged as a rather multifaceted regulator of numerous processes. Whereas mTOR is generally activated by growth- and proliferation-stimulating signals, its activity can be reduced and even suppressed when cells are exposed to a variety of stress conditions. However, cells can also adapt to stress while maintaining their growth capacity and mTOR function. Despite knowledge accumulated on how stress represses mTOR, less is known about mTOR influencing stress responses. In this review, we discuss the capability of mTOR, in particular mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1), to activate stress-responsive transcription factors, and we outline open questions for future investigation.
Diagnosing Coronary Artery Disease in Women: An Update on Cardiac Imaging Modalities

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in women. However, there are multiple challenges to the diagnosis of CHD in women, including: 1) women perceive their risk of CHD to be lower than it truly is, 2) women frequently present with atypical cardiac symptoms, 3) traditional stress tests have lower accuracy in women than in men, 4) women have a lower frequency of obstructive CHD detected at angiography than do men, and 5) a high percentage of women without obstructive CHD by invasive angiography have recurrent chest pain. Given the increasing number of options and complexity of noninvasive testing for CHD, it is important for women's health care providers to select the best test for a given patient. Newer imaging modalities such as cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging offer speed, convenience, and high diagnostic accuracy in women. The goal of this article is to provide practitioners with an overview of the conventional diagnostic tests and to compare these with the newer imaging modalities. The appropriate application of diagnostic tests should allow practitioners to identify accurately and reassure those patients who are at low risk while targeting those who have preclinical or symptomatic atherosclerosis so that they can receive aggressive medical therapy, referral to cardiovascular specialists, or both.
Quantitative proteomic analysis reveals concurrent RNA–protein interactions and identifies new RNA-binding proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A growing body of evidence supports the existence of an extensive network of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) whose combinatorial binding affects the post-transcriptional fate of every mRNA in the cell—yet we still do not have a complete understanding of which proteins bind to mRNA, which of these bind concurrently, and when and where in the cell they bind. We describe here a method to identify the proteins that bind to RNA concurrently with an RBP of interest, using quantitative mass spectrometry combined with RNase treatment of affinity-purified RNA–protein complexes. We applied this method to the known RBPs Pab1, Nab2, and Puf3. Our method significantly enriched for known RBPs and is a clear improvement upon previous approaches in yeast. Our data reveal that some reported protein–protein interactions may instead reflect simultaneous binding to shared RNA targets. We also discovered more than 100 candidate RBPs, and we independently confirmed that 77% (23/30) bind directly to RNA. The previously recognized functions of the confirmed novel RBPs were remarkably diverse, and we mapped the RNA-binding region of one of these proteins, the transcriptional coactivator Mbf1, to a region distinct from its DNA-binding domain. Our results also provided new insights into the roles of Nab2 and Puf3 in post-transcriptional regulation by identifying other RBPs that bind simultaneously to the same mRNAs. While existing methods can identify sets of RBPs that interact with common RNA targets, our approach can determine which of those interactions are concurrent—a crucial distinction for understanding post-transcriptional regulation.
Speech and articulatory rates of school-age children in conversation and narrative contexts.

PURPOSE This study provides preliminary reference data for speech and articulatory rates of school-age children in conversational and narrative speaking contexts. METHOD Participants included 36 typically developing children in 3 groups of 12 participants at ages 7, 9, and 11 years. Conversational and narrative speech rates were measured in words per minute, syllables per minute, and syllables per second. RESULTS Speaking rates increased with age between ages 7 and 9, but rates were similar between ages 9 and 11. Between contexts, only the words per minute measure was significantly higher (faster) in narrative than in conversation. IMPLICATIONS These results are important to the assessment, treatment, and management of children with communication disorders in clinical or school settings.
Are Emerging Economies FDI Inflows Cointegrated with FDI Inflows of China? - An Empirical Investigation

Emerging economies viz., Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa have seen a tremendous increase in the FDI inflows in the last one decade. Amongst all, the FDI inflows of China witnessed sharp rise from 1992. As on 2006, China stood as the world's second largest recipient of FDI inflows (AT Kearney Report, 2006), leaving behind many emerging economies in the race of attracting FDI inflows.
Presynaptic glycine receptors facilitate spontaneous glutamate release onto hilar neurons in the rat hippocampus

Although glycine receptors are found in most areas of the brain, including the hippocampus, their functional significance remains largely unknown. In the present study, we have investigated the role of presynaptic glycine receptors on excitatory nerve terminals in spontaneous glutamatergic transmission. Spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) were recorded in mechanically dissociated rat dentate hilar neurons attached with native presynaptic nerve terminals using a conventional whole‐cell patch recording technique under voltage‐clamp conditions. Exogenously applied glycine or taurine significantly increased the frequency of sEPSCs in a concentration‐dependent manner. This facilitatory effect of glycine was blocked by 1 μM strychnine, a specific glycine receptor antagonist, but was not affected by 30 μM picrotoxin. In addition, Zn2+ (10 μM) potentiated the glycine action on sEPSC frequency. Pharmacological data suggested that the activation of presynaptic glycine receptors directly depolarizes glutamatergic terminals resulting in the facilitation of spontaneous glutamate release. Bumetanide (10 μM), a specific Na‐K‐2C co‐transporter blocker, gradually attenuated the glycine‐induced sEPSC facilitation, suggesting that the depolarizing action of presynaptic glycine receptors was due to a higher intraterminal Cl− concentration. The present results suggest that presynaptic glycine receptors on excitatory nerve terminals might play an important role in the excitability of the dentate gyrus‐hilus‐CA3 network in physiological and/or pathological conditions.
Functional connectivity in the pharmacologically activated brain: Resolving networks of correlated responses to d‐amphetamine

We investigated the functional connectivity structure underlying the widespread relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) response to d‐amphetamine in the rat brain by systematically analyzing the intersubject correlations between the response amplitudes in 48 atlas‐defined brain structures. A cluster analysis resolved three distinct networks of brain regions that exhibited closely coupled responses: one corresponding to primary dopamine projections from the midbrain to the striatum, a second consisting predominantly of forebrain cortical and basal ganglia regions that share a widespread correlation pattern resembling the univariate group response, and a third including structures in the periventricular dopamine system. These results suggest that different functional networks underlie the brain's response to d‐amphetamine. This approach may provide important new insights regarding the central systems that underlie pharmacological action. Magn Reson Med 57:704–713, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Biomass Chars: The Effects of Pyrolysis Conditions on Their Morphology, Structure, Chemical Properties and Reactivity

Solid char is a product of biomass pyrolysis. It contains a high proportion of carbon, and lower contents of H, O and minerals. This char can have different valorization pathways such as combustion for heat and power, gasification for Syngas production, activation for adsorption applications, or use as a soil amendment. The optimal recovery pathway of the char depends highly on its physical and chemical characteristics. In this study, different chars were prepared from beech wood particles under various pyrolysis operating conditions in an entrained flow reactor (500–1400 °C). Their structural, morphological, surface chemistry properties, as well as their chemical compositions, were determined using different analytical techniques, including elementary analysis, Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman Spectroscopy. The biomass char reactivity was evaluated in air using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The yield, chemical composition, surface chemistry, structure, morphology and reactivity of the chars were highly affected by the pyrolysis temperature. In addition, some of these properties related to the char structure and chemical composition were found to be correlated to the char reactivity.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: Relation of age and obesity in children

Article abstract The relation between obesity and age in children with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri) has remained uncertain. The authors reviewed the records of 45 consecutive children with newly diagnosed idiopathic intracranial hypertension seen at two medical centers. Forty-three percent of patients aged 3 to 11 years were obese, whereas 81% of those in the 12- to 14-year age group and 91% of those in the 15- to 17-year age group met criteria for obesity (p = 0.01). Younger children with idiopathic intracranial hypertension are less likely to be obese than are older children or adults.
Ultrastructural Effects of Diphosphonates On Dental Enamel

Initial experiments were designed to test the effects of two diphosphonates on acid dissolution of mature human enamel. Polished facets of enamel were treated with 10 mmol/L of EHDP or Cl2MDP (pH 7.4) for five min, H20-washed, acid-etched with 0.01 N lactic acid (pH 5.4) for 15 min, and examined in the scanning electron microscope. Controls were run with distilled H2O substituted for diphosphonates. In addition, the experimental window was outlined with lacquer, thus providing a reference to the original polished enamel surface. Results showed that EHDP markedly reduced enamel dissolution, with less than 1 μm of enamel removed, while Cl2MDP was similar to controls, with approximately 4-5 μm of enamel dissolved. It was decided to initiate further experiments with the objective of determining effects of diphosphonates on developing enamel during the secretory stage in rat molars. Five-day-old animals were injected s.c. with one of the following: EHDP, ADP, Cl2MDP, or NaCl (0.9% control). The diphosphonate dosages were 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mg P/kg. Rat incisors were also examined in initial experiments on older rats (21-day) following daily s.c. injections of EHDP. Twenty-four hr after the injections, all rats were killed by perfusion fixation and routinely prepared with and without decalcification for light and transmission electron microscopy. Light microscopic examination of developing maxillary first molars frequently revealed subameloblastic cyst formation, which was used as an indicator of severe cellular alteration of overlying secretory ameloblasts. By this criterion, the EHDP- and ADP-treated rats showed more severe cellular effects at lower dosages (2.5 and 5 mg P/kg) than did the Cl2MDP-treated rats. In addition, when undecalcified sections were examined in the transmission electron microscope, disturbances in crystal formation were observed. Since both the cyst formation and the disturbed enamel beneath the cyst had many similarities to previous results reported on the effects of high doses of fluoride, the majority of results observed may be due to a non-specific cellular toxicity. However, some crystal growth effects appear to be specific for diphosphonates, as indicated by preliminary results with daily injections of EHDP. In the rat incisor, a definitive banding that shows both inhibition and return to more normal development within a 24-hour cycle has been detected. In the ultrastructure examination of undecalcified sections, the reaction to EHDP is clearly defined as bands of normal crystal size, electron density, and orientation alternating with disturbed bands of small crystal size and decreased electron density. The bands are approximately 2-3 μm in width.
Diet quality impact on growth, reproduction, and digestive activity in Brachionus calyciflorus

We examined population growth rate, reproduction and phosphatase activity in digestive tracts of individual Brachionus calyciflorus fed by P-replete (molar C:P = 107) or P-depleted (C:P = 920) algal food supplied at three carbon (C) concentrations (1, 2, and 4 mg C L −1 ). Rotifer growth rate was significantly influenced by P content, whereas the effect of algal C concentration was not significant. Both algal P content and C concentration had a significant effect on the egg ratio. The individual amount of chlorophyll a (chl-a) was considered as a proxy for the ingested algal food occurring in the rotifer's gut and phosphatase activity in the gut likely reflected variable individual assimilation of P under different food treatments. The amount of both chl-a and phosphatase activity in the rotifers fed by P-replete algae significantly increased with an increase in C concentration in the food suspension. In contrast, the amount of chl-a significantly decreased with an increase in food concentration, and phosphatase activity did not change significantly over different food quantity in the rotifers fed by P-depleted algae. Thus, the hypothesis that P-deficient rotifers use preabsorptive regulation by changing activity of the digestive enzymes is not supported by the data.
Social Support for First-Time Chinese Mothers in Contexts of Provider–Recipient Relationships

Abstract This study examined the influence of social support on perceived stress and online support activities in two relationship contexts. In 2013, we surveyed 366 first-time mothers between the ages of 26 and 30 years from mainland China about their social support experiences with their mothers and mothers-in-law in regard to child rearing. Women who received higher levels of support from their mothers reported lower levels of perceived stress and higher levels of online support activities. Receiving support from mothers-in-law was not associated with either perceived stress or online support activities. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering relationship contexts when examining social support outcomes. Implications for future research on social support and interpersonal relationships are discussed.
AI-Based Voice Assistant Systems: Evaluating from the Interaction and Trust Perspectives

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are one of the new technologies with new complicated features, that are emerging in a fast pace. Although these technologies seem to be extensively adopted, people do not intend to use them in some cases. Technology adoption has been studied for many years, and there are many general models in the literature describing it. However, having more customized models for emerging technologies upon their features seems necessary. In this study, we developed a conceptual model involving a new system quality construct, i.e., interaction quality, which we believe can better describe adoption of AI-based technologies. In order to check our model, we used a voice assistant system (VAS) technology as an example of this technology, and tested a theory-based model using a data set achieved from a field survey. Our results confirm that interaction quality significantly affects individual’s trust and leads to adoption of this technology.
Endoscopic mucosal resection of early gastric cancer: initial experience with two technical variants.

BACKGROUND When performed in carefully selected cases, the endoscopic treatment of early gastric cancer yields results which are comparable to the conventional surgical treatment, but with lower morbidity and mortality and better quality of life. Several technical options to perform endoscopic mucosal resection have been described and there is a large amount of accumulated experience with this procedure in eastern countries. In western countries, particularly in Brazil, technical limitations associated with the small number of cases of early gastric cancer reflect the little experience with this therapeutic mode. AIM This study was carried out in order to assess the indications, pathological results and morbidity of a series of endoscopic mucosal resections using two technical variants in addition to investigating the safety and feasibility of the method. METHODS Individuals with well-differentiated early gastric adenocarcinomas with up to 30 mm in diameter without scar or ulcer underwent endoscopic treatment. Two variants of the strip biopsy technique were used. The pathological study assessed the depth of the vertical invasion, lateral and basal margins as well as angio-lymphatic invasion. RESULTS Thirteen tumors in 12 patients were resected between June 2002 and August 2005. The most common macroscopic types were IIa and IIa + IIc. Tumor size ranged from 10 to 30 mm (mean = 16.5 mm). En bloc resection was carried out in nine patients. Angio-lymphatic invasion was not observed; however, submucosal invasion was found in two cases. In four cases, the lateral margin was involved. Perforation occurred in two patients who then received conservative treatment. CONCLUSION The relatively small series presented here suggests that the method is safe and feasible. Appropriate patient selection is the most important criteria. Long follow-up is required after treatment due to the risk of relapse.
Stoichiometric Relationship among Clock Proteins Determines Robustness of Circadian Rhythms*

The mammalian circadian oscillator is primarily driven by an essential negative feedback loop comprising a positive component, the CLOCK-BMAL1 complex, and a negative component, the PER-CRY complex. Numerous studies suggest that feedback inhibition of CLOCK-BMAL1 is mediated by time-dependent physical interaction with its direct target gene products PER and CRY, suggesting that the ratio between the negative and positive complexes must be important for the molecular oscillator and rhythm generation. We explored this idea by altering expression of clock components in fibroblasts derived from Per2Luc and Per mutant mice, a cell system extensively used to study in vivo clock mechanisms. Our data demonstrate that the stoichiometric relationship between clock components is critical for the robustness of circadian rhythms and provide insights into the mechanistic organization of the negative feedback loop. Our findings may explain why certain mutant mice or cells are arrhythmic, whereas others are rhythmic, and suggest that robustness of circadian rhythms can be increased even in wild-type cells by modulating the stoichiometry.
Dietary conjugated linoleic acid reduces PGE2 release and interstitial injury in rat polycystic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) describes positional isomers of linoleic acid (LA). Experimental health benefits of CLA include amelioration of malignancy and inflammatory disease and reduction of adiposity. The Han:SPRD-cy rat model of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) features prominent renal interstitial inflammation and fibrosis that is amenable to dietary modification. We studied CLA supplementation in the modification of inflammatory outcomes in the Han:SPRD-cy rat. METHODS Male offspring of Han:SPRD-cy heterozygotes were fed diets, using corn oil or corn oil with a CLA enriched oil (1% of diet by weight as CLA). After 8 weeks, measurements included renal function and morphometry, ex vivo release of renal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and renal and hepatic tissue fatty acid profiles. RESULTS Urine creatinine was significantly higher in PKD animals fed CLA (P = 0.004), but differences in serum creatinine and creatinine clearance did not quite reach significance in PKD animals. CLA feeding reduced interstitial inflammation (P < 0.001), fibrosis (P = 0.03), and renal PGE2 release (P = 0.02). Cystic change and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) staining did not change significantly. CLA feeding produced increased renal and hepatic CLA isomers. Hepatic, but not renal, LA proportion was reduced on the CLA diet. The renal proportion of the PGE2 precursor, arachidonic acid (AA), was not changed by diet, but hepatic AA proportion increased significantly with CLA feeding (P= 0.009). CONCLUSION CLA reduces renal production of PGE2, without reduced availability of the precursor fatty acid, AA. Short-term feeding of CLA to Han:SPRD-cy rats also has significant renal anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects. As inflammation and fibrosis are important components of the progression of chronic renal injury, CLA may be a useful agent in dietary amelioration of renal disease.
Partial remission indicates poor functioning and a high level of psychiatric symptoms: A 3-phase 6-year follow-up study on major depression

Patients with depression in partial remission are at high risk of relapse, but factors associated with being in this outcome group are not well known. We conducted a clinical survey to examine the course of major depression in 87 patients during a follow-up period of 6 years. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores indicated the outcome of depression, i.e. remission, partial remission or fully symptomatic, at 6, 12 and 24 months and after 6 years. The prevalence of partial remission varied from 16% to 23% at different follow-ups. All symptom and functioning scale scores indicated at every assessment that the partial depression group managed better than those in the fully symptomatic group, but worse than those in remission. Partial remission was associated with a significant impairment in psychosocial functioning and a high level of symptoms throughout the follow-up. The partial remission group must be recognized and actively treated.