Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sphingomyelin Synthase 2 Deficiency Attenuates NF&kgr;B Activation

Background—NF&kgr;B has long been regarded as a proatherogenic factor, mainly because of its regulation of many of the proinflammatory genes linked to atherosclerosis. Metabolism of sphingomyelin (SM) has been suggested to affect NF&kgr;B activation, but the mechanism is largely unknown. SMS2 regulates SM levels in cell plasma membrane and lipid rafts and has a potential to regulate NF&kgr;B activation. Methods and Results—To investigate the role of SMS2 in NF&kgr;B activation we used macrophages from SMS2 knockout (KO) mice and SMS2 siRNA-treated HEK 293 cells. We found that NF&kgr;B activation and its target gene expression are attenuated in macrophages from SMS2 KO mice in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and in SMS2 siRNA- treated HEK 293 cells after tumor necrosis factor (TNF)–&agr; simulation. In line with attenuated NF&kgr;B activation, we found that SMS2 deficiency substantially diminished the abundance of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)-MD2 complex levels on the surface of macrophages after LPS stimulation, and SMS2 siRNA treatment reduced TNF-&agr;-stimulated lipid raft recruitment of TNF receptor-1 (TNFR1) in HEK293 cells. SMS2 deficiency decreased the relative amounts of SM and diacylglycerol (DAG) and increased ceramide, suggesting multiple mechanisms for the decrease in NF&kgr;B activation. Conclusions—SMS2 is a modulator of NF&kgr;B activation, and thus it could play an important role in NF&kgr;B-mediated proatherogenic process.
Association of DD Genotype of Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephropathy

1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran 2. Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Research Development Center, Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran 3. Department of English, Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran 4. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
INFLUENCE OF RANGE OF MOTION IN RESISTANCE TRAINING IN WOMEN: EARLY PHASE ADAPTATIONS

The purpose of this investigation was to compare partial range-of-motion versus full range-of-motion training in the development of maximal upper-body strength in women. A 1 repetition maximum bench press was used as the criterion measurement. A 10-week, 2 days per week training regimen was used. Subjects were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (n = 13) trained with 3 full range-of-motion sets on the bench press. Group 2 (n = 8) trained with 3 partial range-of-motion sets. Group 3 (n = 8), serving as a quasi-control, trained with an equal combination of partial and full range-of-motion sets. Findings indicated that each of the 3 groups experienced an increase in bench-press strength from pre- to posttest. In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between the full range- of-motion group and the partial and mixed groups (p < 0.5). This finding suggests that lifting through a full range of motion was superior to the other training regimens used in this study. However, this investigation also indicated that the partial technique had a positive effect on strength across time within the parameters of this study.
Urine as a social signal in the mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus).

Despite the high degree of social organization and complex behaviour of many cichlids, little is known about the role of chemical communication in these fish. The Mozambique tilapia is a maternal mouth-brooding cichlid; territorial males congregate in leks and are actively sought by ripe females. When approached by a female, males display a range of well-characterized behaviours such as nestdigging, trembling and circling the female (Baerends and Baerends van Roon, 1950). The female then chooses a mate, spawns and carries the fertilized eggs away in her mouth to incubate them in solitude. The extent to which olfactory cues participate in this process is unknown. Several species of freshwater fish have been shown to release pheromonal messages via the urine (Stacey and Sorensen, 2002); we have previously shown that female tilapia have high olfactory sensitivity to the urine of male conspecifics (Frade et al., 2002). In order to test whether this species is actively signalling to conspecifics or the olfactory sensitivity evolved as a form of chemical spying (Sorensen and Stacey, 1999), the current study assessed changes in urination rates of both sexes in different social contexts.
Falls from Grace and the Hazards of High Status

Although the benefits of high status are well documented, in this research we explore the potential hazards associated with high status that have increasingly been implicated in recent studies. Organizational research suggests two such hazards: (1) opportunistic behaviors by elites that eventually lead to sanctions and (2) the targeting of elites by various audiences such that they are held more accountable than their lower-status counterparts for similar offenses. Our objective was to disentangle these two explanations in the context of an organizational scandal involving the Members of the British Parliament (MPs) whose annual expense claims were unexpectedly exposed in a well-known 2009 scandal. We find that high-status MPs were not more likely to abuse the expense system than were lower-status MPs, but they were more likely to be targeted by the press and voters for their inappropriate expense claims. As a consequence, high-status MPs were significantly more likely than non-elite MPs to exit Parliament when they had high levels of inappropriate expense claims. Elite MPs who were not implicated in the scandal, however, were far more likely to remain in Parliament than their lower-status counterparts. Our results also suggest that media coverage of the expense incident by British newspapers played a significant role in shaping social reactions to the scandal.
Patient empowerment or the emperor's new clothes.

Patient empowerment pervades clinical practice, teaching and research: patients are expected to take control over their illnesses or treatments where possible, and doctors are expected to encourage or 'empower' them to do so. The concept is in tune with a wider political and cultural emphasis on individual choice, and gains scientific justification from psychological research and theory that attests to the superiority of ways of coping with challenges—including illness or treatment—that exert control over the challenge.1 The validity of the view that patients should be empowered to take control and make choices is therefore widely assumed to be unassailable. Nevertheless, patient empowerment sits uncomfortably with other current medical ideologies, in particular evidence-based medicine.2 Moreover it is, in reality, constrained by organizational, clinical or economic factors. The scientific basis for the importance of choice and control is also weaker than it first appears. Although controlled studies of empowerment—for example, arranging for patients to choose the nature or timing of treatment, or teaching them 'coping skills'—do often favour intervention groups,1 effects are variable; sometimes they are transient or favour lack of choice. Moreover, whereas it is normally assumed that such interventions enhance feelings of choice or control, researchers have rarely demonstrated that they do. In a study of treatment choice in breast cancer, even though patients of surgeons who offered choice were happier, choice was not the critical factor.3 Because of these contradictions and ambiguities, the concept of empowerment needs to be more closely examined than it has been. The term empowerment purports to describe the positivity of patients' experience of involvement in managing illness. Therefore the validity of the concept should be tested by studying the experience of patients who have been empowered.
Measuring Disability and Its Predicting Factors in a Large Database in Taiwan Using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0

The definition of disability had been unclear until the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health was promulgated in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Disability is a critical but relatively neglected public-health concern. We conducted this study to measure disabilities by using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) and identify the factors that contribute to disabilities. We obtained and analyzed the data on people who applied to Taiwan’s disability registration system between September 2012 and August 2013. A total of 158,174 cases were selected for this study. Among the people included in this study, 53% were male, and the females were on average 3 years older than the males. More males than females were of a low socioeconomic status, but the rate of employment was higher among the males than among the females. Age, sex, place of residence, and types and severity of impairment were all determined to be factors that independently contributed to disability. This study has demonstrated that disability can be measured and compared using WHODAS 2.0. Increasing the public-health attention devoted to disability and identifying the factors associated with disability can promote independence and social participation in people with disabilities.
Women's hormonal status and mate value influence relationship satisfaction and perceived male attractiveness

Abstract Numerous findings suggest that female preferences for certain features of male faces vary during the menstrual cycle. Similarly, changes during the cycle have also been found in women's commitment to a current relationship. Furthermore, from the perspective of securing benefits from extra-pair affairs, the differences between women with high vs. low mate value could be expected. In this study we have tried to connect these sets of findings: first, we explored differences between partnered and single women in their ratings of male facial attractiveness in different phases of the menstrual cycle; and second, their satisfaction with the current relationship in relation to the cycle phase and self-perceived mate value. Two groups of women (single vs. partnered) rated the attractiveness of two sets of male faces (normal vs. symmetrical). Repeated measures ANOVA showed that women in a relationship gave higher ratings of attractiveness for both normal and symmetrical faces in the luteal phase compared to the early follicular phase of a cycle, while single women showed the opposite pattern. Analyses of satisfaction with their current relationship in relation to cycle phase and self-perceived mate value showed that women with higher mate value are generally more satisfied with their current partners, and show smaller differences in satisfaction in various phases of the cycle. The results are interpreted in terms of content-specificity of hormone mediated adaptive design.
Trans-intestinal cholesterol efflux is not mediated through high density lipoprotein

Transintestinal cholesterol efflux (TICE) provides an attractive target to increase body cholesterol excretion. At present, the cholesterol donor responsible for direct delivery of plasma cholesterol to the intestine is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of HDL in TICE. ATP-binding cassette protein A1 deficient (Abca1−/−) mice that lack HDL and wild-type (WT) mice were intravenously injected with chylomicron-like emulsion particles that contained radiolabeled cholesterol that is liberated in the liver and partly reenters the circulation. Both groups secreted radiolabeled cholesterol from plasma into intestinal lumen and TICE was unaltered between the two mouse models. To further investigate the role of HDL, we injected HDL with radiolabeled cholesterol in WT mice and Abca1−/−×Sr-b1−/− mice that lack HDL and are also unable to clear HDL via the liver. The intestines of both mice were unable to take up and secrete radiolabeled cholesterol from HDL via TICE. Although a generally accepted major player in the hepatobiliary route-based cholesterol excretion, HDL plays no significant role in TICE in mice.
Monitoring skin temperature in trained and untrained subjects throughout thermal video

Skin temperature was monitored during a graded exercise to verify whether trained individuals have different skin thermoregulation from untrained ones. Eighteen subjects (10 trained; 8 untrained) were studied recording thermal videos of their skin temperature during the exercise. Training level was assessed by maximal oxygen uptake measurements. Trained individuals have better skin thermal control than untrained
Timing of Surgery After Long-Course Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiotherapy is commonly used to improve the local control and resectability of locally advanced rectal cancer, with surgery performed after an interval of a number of weeks. OBJECTIVE: We report an evidence-based systematic review of published data supporting the optimal time to perform surgical resection after long-course neoadjuvant therapy. DATA SOURCES: A systematic literature search was undertaken of the MEDLINE and Embase electronic databases from 1995 to 2012. STUDY SELECTION: English language articles were included that compared outcomes following rectal cancer surgery performed at different times after a long course of neoadjuvant radiation-based therapy. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received a long course of neoadjuvant therapy followed by radical surgical resection after an interval period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rates of tumor response, R0 resection, sphincter preservation, surgical complications, and disease recurrence were the primary outcomes measured. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were identified: 1 randomized controlled trial, 1 prospective nonrandomized interventional study, and 13 observational studies. Studies compared time intervals that varied between <5 days and >12 weeks, with a large degree of variation in what the standard interval length was considered to be. Four of the 7 studies that reported rates of pathological complete response identified significantly higher rates with an extended interval between chemoradiotherapy and surgery; 3 of 8 studies demonstrated increased primary tumor downstaging with a longer interval. No significant differences have been consistently demonstrated in rates of surgical complications, sphincter preservation, or long-term recurrence and survival. LIMITATIONS: Neoadjuvant regimes, indications for neoadjuvant therapy, and time intervals after chemoradiotherapy were heterogeneous between studies; consequently, meta-analysis could not be performed. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence to support decisions regarding when to resect rectal cancer following chemoradiotherapy. There may be benefits in prolonging the interval between chemoradiotherapy and surgery beyond the 6 to 8 weeks that is commonly practiced. However, outcomes need to be studied further in robust randomized studies.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL FEATURES OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN INDIA

Literature on atopic dermatitis (AD) has experienced a spurt in the recent years with interest on genetics, immunology, pathogenesis, psychological impact, development of newer more effective and safer treatment agents. Indian literature on AD is limited, probably due to lower prevalence, and milder disease. In this review, we have discussed the Indian literature on epidemiology and clinical features of AD.
Young steady-state rabbit platelets do not have an enhanced capacity to expose procoagulant phosphatidylserine

Abstract Platelets are recognized to be physiologically and functionally heterogeneous. An example of the diversity in reactivity is the formation of a distinct subpopulation of procoagulant phosphatidylserine (PS)-exposing platelets upon activation. Platelet age has been proposed as a determinant of platelet function, and it has been reported that young platelets are more reactive in exposing PS; using the same methodology of thiazole orange (TO) staining to distinguish young and old platelets, the percentages of procoagulant platelets produced by thrombin plus collagen activation of platelets from healthy controls were examined by flow cytometry. The procoagulant subpopulation formed by TO-positive platelets (with high TO fluorescence), purported to be young reticulated platelets, was observed to be significantly larger than that formed by TO-negative platelets (with low TO fluorescence), purported to be older platelets. However, it was noted that TO fluorescence in the total platelet population was unimodal and increased with platelet size, assessed by forward scatter. This observation raised the concern that TO-positive platelets are not necessarily the youngest platelets in the condition of steady-state platelet production. Thus, to unequivocally determine whether platelet age is a factor in procoagulant platelet formation, a different approach to identify young, steady-state platelets was employed. Rabbits were injected with biotin to label >95% of circulating platelets in vivo; 24 hours post-biotinylation, the non-biotinylated platelets in the circulation, detected flow cytometrically, are the youngest, newly-formed platelets. It was demonstrated that these youngest platelets were not larger in size than older, biotinylated platelets, and that they did not have an enhanced capacity to expose PS.
Relación entre empoderamiento familiar y calidad de los servicios de atención temprana

Este trabajo pretende estudiar el nivel de empoderamiento de las familias en relacion con la Calidad de los Servicios de Atencion Temprana en Espana, donde en la actualidad se esta viviendo una transformacion en los modelos de intervencion. La recogida de datos se esta llevando a cabo a traves de la percepcion de las familias receptoras de estos servicios. Se estan utilizando las siguientes herramientas: FOS (Early Childhood Outcomes Center, 2010); FES (Paul E. Koen, Neal DeChillo y Barbara J. Fieson, 1992), FSS (Dunst, Trivette y Jenkins, 1984) y Family FINESSE (McWilliam, 2015). Para llevar a cabo este trabajo, hemos desarrollado el Analisis Factorial Exploratorio de Family FINESSE. Asi pues, presentamos los factores analizados en dicha escala, asi como otros datos psicometricos de la misma.
Characteristics of Resting Habitats of Adult Phlebotomus papatasi in Neot Hakikar, an Oasis South of the Dead Sea

ABSTRACT: Knowledge about diurnal resting sites of sand flies is scanty and often anecdotal. In this study, we explored a part natural - part agricultural oasis in Neot Hakikar, Israel, looking for sand fly resting sites. To achieve this, we developed a new type of emergence trap. Sixteen types of microhabitats were examined and in seven of these, we also investigated the rodent burrows. We found that Phlebotomus papatasi showed clear preferences for resting sites characterized by vegetation cover, type of vegetation, and the presence of a mulch layer. In habitats with bare soil and little shade, few or no resting sand flies were found outside rodent burrows. Apart from the trunks of date trees, most resting P. papatasi were found in disturbed habitats, especially in large piles of organic waste and in a plowed field. Though catches from rodent burrow exits were always higher than from the nearby ground, it is safe to assume that the few burrows in this vast oasis do not play an important role for breeding and resting of P. papatasi. It also appears that disturbing the natural environment further increases the already considerable sand fly population.
An application of radial basis function neural network for harmonics detection

The increasing use of nonlinear loads such as power electronic devices has led to serious harmonic pollution in the power system. In order to prevent harmonics from deteriorating the power quality, detecting harmonic components for harmonic mitigations becomes an important issue. In this paper, the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) suitable for function approximations and pattern classifications is used to identify harmonics. Simulation results are compared with those obtained by using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and the back-propagation network (BPN). It is shown that the proposed solution procedure yields relatively more accurate results, while the computational efficiency is maintained.
Risk Avoidance versus Risk Reduction

Abstract The teen birthrate in the United States is twice that of other industrialized nations. Adolescents in the U.S. are among high-risk groups for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. As a result, the Department of Health and Human Services changed its policy on the promotion of abstinence to teenagers from a focus on a risk reduction strategy to a focus on a risk avoidance strategy. In order to create more effective risk avoidance as well as risk reduction campaigns, this study proposes a framework to illustrate the distinction that teens make between spontaneous sexual activity and planned sexual activity, as well as those teens that make a commitment to abstinence versus abstinence by default. Furthermore, this study classifies teens into three behavior segments (abstemious, promiscuous and monogamous) and then assesses specific differences that exist within these groups relative to their attitudes and perceptions concerning abstinence, sexual activity, contraception, fear and norms. This change in focus from a risk reduction to a risk avoidance strategy has important implications for social marketing, public policy and marketing theory.
Hydrogen Peroxide-Mediated Killing of Caenorhabditis elegans: a Common Feature of Different Streptococcal Species

ABSTRACT Recently, we reported that Streptococcus pyogenes kills Caenorhabditis elegans by the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Here we show that diverse streptococcal species cause death of C. elegans larvae in proportion to the level of H2O2 produced. H2O2 may mask the effects of other pathogenicity factors of catalase-negative bacteria in the C. elegans infection model.
An agent-based model of supply chain collaboration: Investigating manufacturer loyalty

Collaboration is considered to be a key driver to supply chain success. However, the ideal collaboration practice is difficult to achieve. Firms’ strategy and behaviour in supply chain collaborations are identified as the main reasons for supply chain failure. To study this problem, we use an agent-based model which represents two-stage supply chains, consisting of customers, manufacturers, and suppliers. The firms exist in a two-dimension supply chain strategic space defined by efficiency and responsiveness. In this paper, we examine the effect of manufacturer loyalty on supply chains’ performance in an innovative products market from system perspective. Measuring the supply chains fill rate and number of surviving supply chains in the market, the results indicate that manufacturer loyalty at intermediate levels does not seem to guarantee supply chain success in a market of innovative products, unless it is very high or does not exist at all.