Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors in smooth muscle cells

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) has been typically considered to be an endothelial‐specific growth factor. However, it was recently demonstrated that VEGF can interact with non endothelial cells. In this study, we tested whether vascular smooth muscles cells (VSMCs) can express VEGF receptors, such as flk‐1, flt‐1, and neuropilin (NP)‐1, and respond to VEGF in vitro. In cultured VSMCs, flk‐1 and flt‐1 expression was inversely related to cell density. The expression of flk‐1 was down‐regulated with increasing passage numbers. However, NP‐1 levels were not affected by cell density or passage numbers. Flk‐1, Flt‐1, and NP‐1 protein levels were confirmed by Western Blotting. Although the functional mature form of Flk‐1 protein is expressed at low levels in VSMCs, phosphorylation of Flk‐1 following VEGF165 stimulation was still observed. SMCs migrated significantly in response to VEGF165 and VEGF‐E, whereas Placenta Growth Factor (PlGF) induced migration only at higher concentrations. Since VEGF‐E is a specific activator of flk‐1 while PlGF specifically activates only flt‐1, SMC migration induced by VEGF165 is likely to be mediated primarily through the flk‐1 receptor. VSMCs did not significantly proliferate in response to VEGF165, PlGF, and VEGF‐E. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate the presence of VEGF receptors on VSMCs that are functional. These studies also indicate that in vivo, VEGF may play a role in modulating the response of VSMCs. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Directed evolution relieves product inhibition and confers in vivo function to a rationally designed tyrosine aminotransferase

The Escherichia coli aspartate (AATase) and tyrosine (TATase) aminotransferases share 43% sequence identity and 72% similarity, but AATase has only 0.08% and 0.01% of the TATase activities (kcat/Km) for tyrosine and phenylalanine, respectively. Approximately 5% of TATase activity was introduced into the AATase framework earlier both by rational design (six mutations, termed HEX) and by directed evolution (9–17 mutations). The enzymes realized from the latter procedure complement tyrosine auxotrophy in TATase deficient E. coli. HEX complements even more poorly than does wild‐type AATase, even though the (kcat/Km) value for tyrosine exhibited by HEX is similar to those of the enzymes found from directed evolution. HEX, however, is characterized by very low values of Km and KD for dicarboxylic ligands, and by a particularly slow release for oxaloacetate, the product of the reaction with aspartate and a TCA cycle intermediate. These observations suggest that HEX exists largely as an enzyme–product complex in vivo. HEX was therefore subjected to a single round of directed evolution with selection for complementation of tyrosine auxotrophy. A variant with a single amino acid substitution, A293D, exhibited substantially improved TATase function in vivo. The A293D mutation alleviates the tight binding to dicarboxylic ligands as Kms for aspartate and α‐ketoglutarate are >20‐fold higher in the HEX + A293D construct compared to HEX. This mutation also increased kcat/KmTyr threefold. A second mutation, I73V, elicited smaller but similar effects. Both residues are in close proximity to Arg292 and the mutations may function to modulate the arginine switch mechanism responsible for dual substrate recognition in TATases and HEX.
All Options on the Table: Energy Systems Integration on the Island of Maui

Energy systems integration in the Hawaiian island of Maui is unique because of the island's high renewable energy (RE) penetration, advanced adoption of plug-in vehicles, distributed power generation, and isolated island electrical system. Currently, a large amount of wind power produced on Maui is curtailed because the power cannot be accommodated by the existing power grid. Analysis of changes in electrical grid operations to reduce wind and anticipated solar curtailment and look at energy pathways across the electrical and transportation sectors has resulted in a more comprehensive understanding of energy use on the island.
Closure of the Abdominal Wound

Electroencephalography today From Dr P J Bourdillon Department ofHealth and Social Security, Hannibal House, London SEI6TE Dear Sir, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to reply to the letters of Drs Critchley, Binnie, Driver and Pampiglione (May Journal, pp 388390). Perhaps I should emphasize that my letter (February, p 154) merely quoted some of the literature that I felt was relevant to a discussion on electroencephalography today. It did not express an opinion, either that of the DHSS or myself, on the clinical value of the EEG. In 1975, an editorial in the British Medical Journal (ii, 295-296) stated the following:
Protective Effects of Recombinant Human Antithrombin III in Pig‐to‐Primate Renal Xenotransplantation

Delayed rejection of pig kidney xenografts by primates is associated with vascular injury that may be accompanied by a form of consumptive coagulopathy in recipients. Using a life‐supporting pig‐to‐baboon renal xenotransplantation model, we have tested the hypothesis that treatment with recombinant human antithrombin III would prevent or at least delay the onset of rejection and coagulopathy. Non‐immunosuppressed baboons were transplanted with transgenic pig kidneys expressing the human complement regulators CD55 and CD59. Recipients were treated with an intravenous infusion of antithrombin III eight hourly (250 units per kg body weight), with or without low molecular weight heparin. Antithrombin‐treated recipients had preservation of normal renal function for 4–5 days, which was twice as long as untreated animals, and developed neither thrombocytopenia nor significant coagulopathy during this period. Thus, recombinant antithrombin III may be a useful therapeutic agent to ameliorate both early graft damage and the development of systemic coagulation disorders in pig‐to‐human xenotransplantation.
Outgassing of materials used for thin film vacuum packages

In this paper, outgassing of the thin film vacuum package is analyzed by integrated MEMS (Microelectromechanical system) resonator and RBS (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy). Outgassing behavior of different thin film packaging materials is studied by exodiffusion experiments. It is demonstrated that a high temperature pre anneal will greatly reduce the outgassing but can not eliminate it.
Social Factors in the Outcome of Mental Illness

IN the history of epidemiology there are a number of studies which display the march of logic to a triumphant conclusion-namely, the identification, in the most economical terms, of factors responsible for the inception and subsequent course of a given disease, such as cholera, typhus, or beri-beri. Sometimes, as in pellagra, psychiatry has been the residual legatee of this fundamental work; but, hitherto, epidemiological research in psychiatry has been concerned principally with studies of hereditary factors. Unfortunately, with rare exceptions such as Huntington's chorea, clear-cut genetic information has not emerged: even of schizophrenia it can only be said that there is a definite hereditary factor about whose mode of transmission geneticists disagree.
Preventing restenosis in early drug‐eluting stent era: recent developments and future perspectives

Restenosis is the major limitation of the successful therapy of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with coronary artery disease. The problem was appreciated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Only in recent years, anti‐restenotic therapy has achieved a breakthrough with the development of drug‐eluting stents. Here, we provide an overview about pathological mechanisms of restenosis after PCI. Present therapeutic approaches to overcome restenosis and recent clinical results are revisited, and some major concerns in the post‐drug‐eluting stent era are discussed.
Roles of DNA Topoisomerases in the Regulation of R-loop Formation in Vitro*

We have recently found that stable R-loop formation occurs in vivo and in vitro when a portion of the Escherichia coli rrnB operon is transcribed preferentially in its physiological orientation. Our results also suggested that the formation of such structures was more frequent in topA mutants and was sensitive to the template DNA supercoiling level. In the present report we investigated in greater detail the involvement of DNA topoisomerases in this process. By using an in vitro transcription system with phage RNA polymerases, we found that hypernegative supercoiling of plasmid DNAs in the presence of DNA gyrase is totally abolished by RNase H, suggesting that extensive R-looping occurs during transcription in the presence of DNA gyrase. When RNase A is present, significant hypernegative supercoiling occurs only when the 567-base pair rrnB HindIII fragment is transcribed in its physiological orientation. This result suggests that more stable R-loops are being produced in this orientation. Our results also suggest that DNA gyrase can participate in the process of R-loop elongation. The strong transcription-induced relaxing activity of E. coli DNA topoisomerase I is shown to efficiently counteract the effect of DNA gyrase and thus inhibit extensive R-looping. In addition, we found that an R-looped plasmid DNA is a better substrate for relaxation by E. coli DNA topoisomerase I as compared with a non-R-looped substrate.
Fermi pinning-induced thermal instability of metal-gate work functions

The dependence of the metal-gate work function on the annealing temperature is experimentally studied. We observe increased Fermi-level pinning of the metal-gate work function with increased annealing temperature. This effect is more significant for SiO/sub 2/ than for HfO/sub 2/ gate dielectric. A metal-dielectric interface model that takes the role of extrinsic states into account is proposed to explain the work function thermal instability. This letter provides new understanding on work function control for metal-gate transistors and on metal-dielectric interfaces.
The distribution of passives in spoken Sesotho

A previous study of passive constructions has suggested that these are much more frequent in Sesotho than in English spontaneous speech (Demuth, 1989). This has raised a number of questions regarding the possible effects of the input on the apparently earlier acquisition of passives in Sesotho. This paper explores the distribution of passives in Sesotho child-directed speech. It aims to provide a more thorough investigation of the grammatical, lexical and discourse contexts in which the passive is used. The findings confirm that passives occur in approximately 4% of utterances directed at 2–3-year olds. Many of these are full (rather than truncated) passives, most occurring with actional verbs that show active/passive alternations. Many passives are also questions/clarifications about past events. The implications for language acquisition are discussed.
Treatment of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in patients with chronic kidney disease: a review

Hypertension and diabetes mellitus are the two leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the present pharmacologic and adverse events involved in the treatment of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in patients with CKD. Proper management of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, a common co-morbidity associated with CKD, would slow the progression of kidney disease and reduce healthcare expenditures. Awareness of potential side effects due to the medications or renal insufficiency could prevent unnecessary harm to the patient and provide cost-containment. Active involvement of all healthcare team members can reduce progression of CKD and improve quality of life outcomes in CKD patients.
Trends of Rainfall in Sri Lanka over the Last Century

Utilizing over 100 years of rainfall records in 15 meteorology stations, an analysis was carried out to extract the trends of annual rainfall depth in Sri Lanka over the last century. A statistically significant increasing trend of rate 3.15 mm/year was observed at Colombo and decreasing trends were observed at Nuwara Eliya and Kandy with rates of 4.87 mm/year and 2.88 mm/year respectively. Since no coherent increase or decrease of rainfall in any group of stations in the wet or dry zones was observed, the possibility of large scale change over the past century was ruled out. However, more recent data records (1949 onwards), revealed a decreasing trends in 13 of the 15 stations. Thus, traces of a temporal change seem to be apparent in the rainfall records over the last half century. In general, the downward trends in recent decades are steeper than the long term variations. For the recent data records, the largest downward trend of 11.16 mm/year was observed at Batticaloa.
Hosts of mosquitoes in the coastal plain of North Carolina.

Serological assays, using antisera produced against host serum proteins, were used to identify bloodmeal sources of 24 species of mosquitoes collected in primarily natural habitats in Duplin County, North Carolina during 1984 and 1985. Culex peccator fed almost exclusively on snakes and frogs. Cx. territans fed on reptiles and amphibians. Aedes triseriatus and Ae. canadensis fed primarily on turtles. Psorophora ferox, Ae. atlanticus , and Ae. fulvus pallens fed primarily on various mammals. Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. restuans, Culiseta melanura , and Ae. dupreei fed primarily on passerine birds. Cx. quinquefasciatus was the only mosquito species that fed in significant numbers on chickens and turkeys, although large numbers of poultry were present. Cx. erraticus and several other species fed opportunistically on a variety of hosts. Seasonal or geographical host-feeding variability was not apparent in any of the species investigated. Multiple feeding occurred at a low rate (<0.2%).
Integrated Analysis of PTEN and p4EBP1 Protein Expression as Predictors for pCR in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Background: The PI3K/AKT pathway and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) aberrations are common in breast cancer. We investigated the correlation between phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), PTEN, p4EBP1 (phosphorylated E4 binding protein 1), and pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy. Experimental Design: We retrospectively evaluated PIK3CA, PTEN, and p4EBP1 protein expression in centrally HER2-positive patients (n = 181) who received epirubicin cyclophosphamide/trastuzumab followed by docetaxel/trastuzumab alone or concomitant/followed by capecitabine within the GeparQuattro study. PTEN was assessed using the automated quantitative immunofluorescence analysis and was analyzed as a dichotomic variable. p4EBP1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry and used as a continuous and dichotomic variable. Results: p4EBP1 was available from 137, PTEN from 108, and PIK3CA genotype from 83 patients. Overall, the pCR rate in PTEN-low tumors was 27.6%, and in PTEN-high tumors, it was 57.1% (P = 0.010). pCR rates were not statistically different between PIK3CA wild-type and mutant (35% vs. 22%) or p4EBP1 IRS ≤ 4 and IRS > 4 (39% vs. 33%). pCR rate was 57.1% (8/14) in PTEN-high/PIK3CA wild-type and decreased to 15.4% in PTEN-low/PIK3CA-mutant tumors (P = 0.023). In multivariable analysis adjusted for baseline parameters, PTEN independently predicted pCR in the following cohorts: overall [OR, 7.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.03–28.06; P = 0.003], PIK3CA wild-type (OR, 23.81; 95% CI, 1.75–324.05; P = 0.017), p4EBP1 IRS > 4 (OR, 11.53; 95% CI, 1.84–72.24; P = 0.009), and hormone receptor–positive (OR, 40.91; 95% CI, 2.93–570.44; P = 0.006). p4EBP1 was independently predictive for pCR in PIK3CA wild-type tumors (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.03–0.78; P = 0.025). Conclusions: The study showed the potential role of PIK3CA genotype, PTEN, and p4EBP in predicting pCR after anthracycline–taxane-based chemotherapy and anti-HER2 treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 22(11); 2675–83. ©2016 AACR.
The ground surveillance robot (GSR): An autonomous vehicle designed to transit unknown terrain

The Ground Surveillance Robot (GSR) project has proceeded continuously since the Fall of 1980, and in that time an autonomous vehicle design and some degree of implementation has been achieved. The vehicle design has been partitioned into sensor, control, and planning subsystems. A distributed blackboard scheme has been developed which provides the mechanism by which these subsystems are coordinated. Vehicle position and orientation are supplied by vehicle attitude and navigation sensor subsystems. Obstacle avoidance capability has been implemented by fusing information from vision and acoustic ranging sensors into local goals and avoidance points. The influence of these points is combined through potential field techniques to accomplish obstacle avoidance control. Distant terrain characteristics are identified using information from a gray-level vision system, a color vision system, and a computer-controlled laser ranging sensor. These characteristics are used by a general planning engine to develop the desired path to a visible goal in the direction of the final goal. Progress to the final goal consists of a succession of movements from one distant but visible intermediate goal to another. The experience from implementing this autonomous vehicle has indicated the need for an integrated set of debugging tools which make the faults in subsystem hardware and software more distinguishable.
Prediction of functional outcomes in stroke inpatients receiving rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Early identification of predictive factors relevant to functional outcomes for stroke patients is important to the establishment of an effective continuing care program. The objective of this study was to identify the predictive factors related to functional outcome at discharge after stroke rehabilitation therapy. METHODS 105 first-time stroke patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation department of a university-based medical center were recruited for this prospective study. The functional outcomes of the patients were assessed at admission and at discharge using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Severity of stroke was determined using the Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS). Age, gender, side of hemiplegia (SIDE), type of stroke (TYPE), onset to admission interval (OAI), and length of rehabilitation stay (LORS) were also included as predictor variables. RESULTS The mean (+/- SD) FIM score at discharge (76.6 +/- 26.4) correlated strongly (r = 0.78, p < 0.001) with the admission FIM score (56.3 +/- 24.1), moderately (r = 0.46, p < 0.001) with the admission CNS score (6.1 +/- 2.2), negatively (r = -0.38, p < 0.001) with age (63.2 +/- 12.3 years), negatively (r = -0.26, p = 0.009) with OAI (24.2 +/- 16.0 days), and negatively (r = -0.29, p = 0.002) with LORS (34.7 +/- 16.8 days). Stepwise regression analyses indicated that admission FIM score, age, and admission CNS score were the strongest predictors of functional outcome and accounted for 66% of the total variation in discharge FIM total score. The admission FIM score was the best predictor and accounted for 61% of the variation. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study imply that the admission FIM scores for inpatients receiving stroke rehabilitation can be used to predict functional outcomes at discharge from hospital.
Time‐of‐Day Effects on Myoelectric and Mechanical Properties of Muscle During Maximal and Prolonged Isokinetic Exercise

The aim of this study was to examine the time‐of‐day (TOD) effects in myoelectric and mechanical properties of muscle during a maximal and prolonged isokinetic exercise. Twelve male subjects were asked to perform 50 maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) of the knee extensor muscles at a constant angular velocity of 2.09 rad · sec−1, at 06∶00 and 18∶00 h. Torque and electromyographic (EMG) parameters were recorded for each contraction, and the ratio between these values was calculated to evaluate variations of the neuromuscular efficiency (NME) with fatigue and with TOD. The results indicated that maximal torque values (T45Max) was significantly higher (7.73%) in the evening than in the morning (p<0.003). The diurnal variation in torque decrease was used to define two phases. During the first phase (1st to the 26th repetition), torque values decreased fast and values were higher in the evening than in the morning, and during the second phase (27th to the 50th repetition), torque decreased slightly and reached a floor value that appeared constant with TOD. The EMG parameters (Root Mean Square; RMS) were modified with fatigue, but were not TOD dependent. The NME decrease–significantly with fatigue, showing that peripheral factors were mainly involved in the torque decrease. Furthermore, NME decrease was greater at 18∶00 than at 06∶00 h for the vastus medialis (p<0.05) and the vastus lateralis muscles (p<0.002), and this occurred during the first fatigue phase of the exercise. In conclusion, the diurnal variation of the muscle fatigue observed during a maximal and prolonged isokinetic exercise seems to reflect on the muscle, with a greater contractile capacity but a higher fatigability in the evening compared to the morning.
The Organizational Justice-Citizenship Behavior Link in Hotels: Does Customer Orientation Matter?

: The goal of the present paper is to model two classic lines of research in which employees starred, organizational justice and citizenship behaviour (OCB), but that have never been studied together when targeting customers. The suggestion is made that a hotel’s fair treatment (in terms of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice) toward customers will be appreciated by the employees, who will reciprocate in kind by favouring the hotel with increased customer-oriented behaviours (COBs). Data were collected from 204 employees at eight upscale hotels in the Canary Islands (Spain). Unlike in the case of perceptions of distributive justice, results of structural equation modelling demonstrate that employees substantively react to interactional and procedural justice toward guests by engaging in customer-oriented behaviours (COBs). The findings offer new reasons why employees decide to engage in COBs, and they highlight potentially beneficial effects of fair treatment toward guests bring to hospitality through promoting COBs. 4384
Financial and vocational outcomes 2 years after traumatic brain injury

Purpose. To determine outcomes for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in terms of employment status, income and public assistance received at 2 years after injury. Method. This study was part of a non-experimental, longitudinal survey. Participants included 49 persons with new TBI from one US national Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems centre. Main outcome measures included employment status, earned monthly income and monthly income from public sources, at the time of injury and at 2-years follow-up. Results. At 2-year follow-up, individuals with TBI reported higher levels of employment and earned income than was previously reported for 1-year post-injury, but continued to experience declines relative to pre-injury baseline. Frequency and amount of major public agency payments continued to be increased relative to baseline. Conclusions. The costs associated with brain injury remain high for individuals, families and society, as those with TBI move into the more chronic phase of recovery.