Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactions of the Energy Transducer TonB with Noncognate Energy-Harvesting Complexes

ABSTRACT The TonB and TolA proteins are energy transducers that couple the ion electrochemical potential of the cytoplasmic membrane to support energy-dependent processes at the outer membrane of the gram-negative envelope. The transfer of energy to these transducers is facilitated by energy-harvesting complexes, which are heteromultimers of cytoplasmic membrane proteins with homologies to proton pump proteins of the flagellar motor. Although the cognate energy-harvesting complex best services each transducer, components of the complexes (for TonB, ExbB and ExbD; for TolA, TolQ and TolR) are sufficiently similar that each complex can imperfectly replace the other. Previous investigations of this molecular cross talk considered energy-harvesting complex components expressed from multicopy plasmids in strains in which the corresponding genes were interrupted by insertions, partially absent due to polarity, or missing due to a larger deletion. These questions were reexamined here using strains in which individual genes were removed by precise deletions and, where possible, components were expressed from single-copy genes with native promoters. By more closely approximating natural stoichiometries between components, this study provided insight into the roles of energy-harvesting complexes in both the energization and the stabilization of TonB. Further, the data suggest a distinct role for ExbD in the TonB energy transduction cycle.
Mathematics Anxiety and Achievement Among Secondary School Students

Research has shown that mathematics achievement in students is influenced by psychological factors such as mathematics anxiety. Weaknesses among students in learning mathematics in particular will affect the efforts of various sectors in making Malaysia a fully developed nation by 2020. The purpose of this study was to determine mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement among secondary school students in Selangor, Malaysia. The research examined the differences in mathematics anxiety according to gender as well as the differences in mathematics achievement of students based on the level of mathematics anxiety. The study involved195 Form Four students (86 male and 109 female). The instrument used to measure differences was adapted from the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scale. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine the mean, frequency, t-test and one-way ANOVA. The findings of the study indicated that there is mathematics anxiety among secondary school students. The t-test showed that the mean difference between mathematics anxiety and gender is not significant. The ANOVA test showed that there were significant differences in achievement based on the level of mathematics anxiety. Thus, math anxiety is one factor that affects student achievement. Therefore, teachers should strive to understand mathematics anxiety and implement teaching and learning strategies so that students can overcome their anxiety.
Proteomic analysis of Candida albicans yeast and hyphal cell wall and associated proteins

Candida albicans is an important human pathogen that causes systemic infections, predominantly among populations with weakened immune systems. The morphological transition from the yeast to the hyphal state is one of the key factors in C. albicans pathogenesis. Owing to their location at the host–pathogen interface, the cell wall and associated proteins are of interest, especially with respect to the yeast to hyphal transition. This study entailed the proteomic analysis of differentially regulated proteins involved in this transition. The protein profiles of C. albicans DTT/SDS‐extractible proteins and the cyanogen bromide (CNBr)/trypsin‐extractable proteins of a cell wall‐enriched fraction from yeast and hyphae were compared. In total, 107 spots were identified from the DTT/SDS‐extractible cell wall‐enriched fraction, corresponding to 82 unique proteins. Of these DTT/SDS‐extractible proteins, 14 proteins were upregulated and 10 were downregulated in response to hyphal induction. Approximately 6–9% of total cell wall‐protein‐enriched fraction was found to be resistant to DTT/SDS extraction. Analysis of the DTT/SDS‐resistant fraction using a CNBr/trypsin extraction resulted in the identification of 29 proteins. Of these, 17 were identified only in the hyphae, four were identified only in the yeast, and eight were identified in both the yeast and hyphae.
Activity of Antioxidative Enzymes in Erythrocytes after a Single Dose Administration of Doxorubicin in Rats Pretreated with Fullerenol C60(OH)24

In earlier in vitro investigations, fullerenol was shown to have a strong antioxidative capability. The present study examined the role of fullerenol as a potential antioxidative protector for doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress in the blood of rats through an investigation of the activity of glutathione-dependent enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase). It also assessed the influence of fullerenol on the number of blood cells (leukocytes and erythrocytes) as well as on the content of hemoglobin after a single dose administration of doxorubicin. Experiments were performed on six groups of adult male Wistar rats, each group containing eight individuals. Doxorubicin was administrated i.v. (tail vein) in a single dose of 10 mg/kg. Fullerenol C60(OH)24 was administrated to the treated animals i.p. (in doses 50, 100, 200 mg/kg) 30 min before the dosing with doxorubicin. The control group animals were given saline (1 ml/kg; i.p.). One group of animals was treated only with fullerenol (100 mg/kg i.p.). The animals were sacrificed 2 and 14 days after the treatment. Each experiment was repeated twice. The results may indicate that fullerenol induces a decrease in the antioxidative capacity of erythrocytes in oxidative stress conditions, whereas, without doxorubicin, the application of fullerenol did not induce any changes in the enzyme activity of erythrocytes. The results of GST activity might indicate that 50 mg/kg are not sufficient to protect from doxorubicin toxicity, while 200 mg/kg might be toxic for animals, judging from the increase in GST activity.
Assistive Technology and Veterans With Severe Disabilities: Examining the Relationships Among Race, Personal Factors, Medical Support, Income Support, and Use

Purpose:Examine the relationship among assistive technology (AT), race, and other demographic characteristics (eg, sex, educational attainment, and employment status), medical coverage, as well as government support for veterans with severe disabilities. Methods:Data were analyzed from the Rehabilitation Services Administration-911 dataset collected in the United States in 2012. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed. Results:Among veterans with severe disabilities, factors that increased AT usage for European Americans (EAs) and African Americans (AAs) were employment, medical coverage (eg, access to private insurance and Medicare), government support (eg, Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Income), and having a sensory type of disability. Having a mental disability was associated with decreased use of AT for EAs and AAs. Whereas EAs) had more factors associated with a decreased likelihood of using AT, AAs had more factors associated with an increased likelihood. For EA veterans with severe disabilities, receiving Medicaid, veteran benefits, and Workers’ Compensation were associated with a decreased likelihood of using AT. AA veterans with severe disabilities were 60% less likely to use AT compared with EAs. Conclusions:Racial differences between AAs and EAs were observed in the use of AT by veterans with severe disabilities based on sex, education, employment status, medical coverage, and government support. AAs were generally less likely to use AT; however, greater exposure to resources such as employment, insurance, and government income support partially explained the differential AT use between EAs and AAs. Future policies and research should address these racial disparities in veterans with severe disabilities to promote equitable AT use and healthy functioning.
Driving online shopping: Spending and behavioral differences among women in Saudi Arabia

This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure gender differences with regard to continuance online shopping intentions in Saudi Arabia. The sample consists of 650 female respondents. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived enjoyment, usefulness, and subjective norms are determinants of online shopping continuance in Saudi Arabia. High and low online spenders among women in Saudi Arabia are equivalent. The structural weights are also largely equivalent, but the regression paths from perceived site quality to perceived usefulness is not invariant between high and low e-shoppers in Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online shopping intentions and includes factors affecting online shopping continuance. The research model explains 60% of the female respondents’ intention to continue shopping online. Online strategies cannot ignore either the direct and indirect spending differences on continuance intentions, and the model can be generalized across Saudi Arabia.
Prospective multicenter validation confirms the prognostic superiority of the endometrial carcinoma prognostic index in international Federation of gynecology and obstetrics stage 1 and 2 endometrial carcinoma.

PURPOSE To validate the prognostic value of the endometrial carcinoma prognostic index (ECPI; combined myometrium invasion, flow cytometric DNA ploidy, and morphometric mean shortest nuclear axis [MSNA]) versus classic prognosticators. PATIENTS AND METHODS Prospective multicenter ECPI analysis was conducted in 463 endometrial carcinomas with a median of 6.5 years (range, 1 to 10 years) follow-up, review of pathology features, and univariate (Kaplan-Meier) and multivariate (Cox) analyses. RESULTS Initial routine and review diagnoses varied considerably (invasion depth, 11%; type, 20%; grade, 34%; vessel invasion, 72%); the review diagnoses were stronger prognostically. In International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage 1 (after histopathologic examination; pFIGO-1; n = 372; 38 deaths occurred as a result of disease [10.2%]), DNA ploidy was prognostic in hysterectomies (P <.00001) but not in curettages (P =.06). ECPI was a stronger prognostic indicator than other features. ECPI, MSNA, and DNA ploidy were also prognostic in pFIGO-1B and -1C subgroups. Multivariate analysis in pFIGO-1 showed that uterine MSNA < or = versus > 7.93 microm (hazard ratio [HR], 3.4) and grade (as 1 + 2 v 3; HR, 2.6) added to the ECPI (HR, 32), but only in patients with an unfavorable ECPI of > 0.87. Adjuvant radiotherapy was not an independent prognostic factor in any of the subgroups. In pFIGO-2 (n = 46), ECPI, DNA-ploidy, and age (< or = 64, > 64 years) were significant. In FIGO-3 (n = 31) and FIGO-4 (n = 14), none of the classic or other features analyzed was of prognostic value, which explains why in previous studies using different mixtures of FIGO stages, DNA ploidy prognostic results varied. CONCLUSION In endometrial carcinoma, DNA-ploidy is prognostic in hysterectomy and not in curettage samples. The ECPI is prognostically much stronger than the classic features widely used for therapy triage in pFIGO-1 and -2.
Perchlorate and thiocyanate exposure and thyroid function in first-trimester pregnant women.

CONTEXT Thyroid hormone, requiring adequate maternal iodine intake, is critical for fetal neurodevelopment. Perchlorate decreases thyroidal iodine uptake by competitively inhibiting the sodium/iodide symporter. It is unclear whether environmental perchlorate exposure adversely affects thyroid function in pregnant women. Thiocyanate, derived from foods and cigarette smoke, is a less potent competitive sodium/iodide symporter inhibitor than perchlorate. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine whether environmental perchlorate and/or thiocyanate exposure is associated with alterations in thyroid function in pregnancy. DESIGN AND SETTING We conducted a cross-sectional study at health centers in Cardiff, Wales, and Turin, Italy. PATIENTS During 2002-2006, 22,000 women at less than 16 wk gestation were enrolled in the Controlled Antenatal Thyroid Screening Study. Subsets of 261 hypothyroid/hypothyroxinemic and 526 euthyroid women from Turin and 374 hypothyroid/hypothyroxinemic and 480 euthyroid women from Cardiff were selected based on availability of stored urine samples and thyroid function data. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Urinary iodine, thiocyanate, and perchlorate and serum TSH, free T(4) (FT(4)), and thyroperoxidase antibody were measured. RESULTS Urinary iodine was low: median 98 microg/liter in Cardiff and 52 microg/liter in Turin. Urine perchlorate was detectable in all women. The median (range) urinary perchlorate concentration was 5 microg/liter (0.04-168 microg/liter) in Turin and 2 microg/liter (0.02-368 microg/liter) in Cardiff. There were no associations between urine perchlorate concentrations and serum TSH or FT(4) in the individual euthyroid or hypothyroid/hypothyroxinemic cohorts. In multivariable linear analyses, log perchlorate was not a predictor of serum FT(4) or TSH. CONCLUSIONS Low-level perchlorate exposure is ubiquitous but did not affect thyroid function in this cohort of iodine-deficient pregnant women.
Problems in Invertebrate Chemoreception

C HEMORECEPTION in invertebrate animals has attracted several types of interest among biologists. Natural historians have long been impressed with the large number of cases in which responses to chemical stimuli underlie behavioral responses and important ecological relationships among invertebrates. More recently, physiologists have become aware of the invertebrates as experimental animals of choice in the study of many problems concerning the fundamental mechanisms of chemoreception. Farthest removed from direct concern with behavioral and ecological problems are those physiologists who are intrigued by the incredibly small amounts of chemicals which activate the chemoreceptors of invertebrates, and who look upon this area of sensory physiology as a promising approach to increased understanding of specific molecular interactions in living cells. Despite the breadth of this spectrum of interests, ranging from the behavior of intact organisms in their normal environments to the reactions of a few molecules within a minute part of an organism, the relevant scientific literature consists predominantly of natural history. Formidable technical problems have for a long time prevented work on any other level. Recent technological refinements, however, have made it possible to study the physiology of some primary chemoreceptor cells directly, and a rapidly increasing emphasis upon this level of physiological information can be expected. It is predominantly through accumulation of information about the physiology of the primary chemoreceptors that sound interpretations at the molecular level can ultimately be expected. Because of the new trends which appear probable in experimental work on chemoreception, this is an especially appropriate time to take stock of the past observations which suggest some of the areas in which future work might be most rewarding. The present review is directed toward two objectives. One is to analyze the bearing which the data on invertebrates have on the development of general concepts in this area of sensory physiology. In so doing, emphasis tends to fall upon similarities in the physiology of chemoreception, not only among invertebrate animals but in comparison to vertebrates as well. However, the differences in the methods by which various animals carry on a function usually are important for understanding the ways of life peculiar to the animals themselves. Since differences in the chemical senses influence host-parasite and other relationships of theoretical or economic interest, the dissimilarities as well as the similarities in chemoreception raise questions of more than anecdotal significance. The analysis of such differences and their significance is the second objective of this review. It is hoped that this type of treatment will help to retain and strengthen the connecting ideas between strictly physiological studies and the central concepts of
Osteoarthritis of the hip and acetabular dysplasia in Nigerian men.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and of acetabular dysplasia and the association between these conditions in 63 male patients (126 hips) aged 60 to 75 years who had undergone intravenous urography for nonarthritic indications at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. METHODS Two definitions of radiographic OA were employed: the first based on joint space measurement and the second on global assessment of features of OA. Acetabular dysplasia was defined as a center-edge angle of <25 degrees or an acetabular depth of <9 mm. Results were compared with a British study that used similar methods. RESULTS The prevalence of a minimal joint space < or = 2.5 mm was 7.0% in the hips of Nigerian men compared with 13.2% in the British study. The prevalence of acetabular dysplasia in the Nigerian population based on center-edge angle and acetabular depth was 3.3 and 2.9%, respectively. No dysplastic hip in the Nigerian population, defined by either measurement, showed osteoarthritic change. CONCLUSION Our study shows a lower prevalence of hip OA in elderly Nigerian men compared with similar aged men in Britain. The prevalence of dysplasia in the 2 populations was similar, and so cannot account for the difference in OA prevalence. Furthermore, shallow acetabula were not associated with OA of the hip in the Nigerian men.
Anthropogenic Islands in the Arid West: Comparing the Richness and Diversity of Insect Communities in Cultivated Fields and Neighboring Wildlands

ABSTRACT The interface between cultivated fields and wildlands has become a central focus for conservation biology, particularly as previously uncultivated lands worldwide are converted to agriculture at an escalating pace. Although research in some parts of the world has highlighted the potential value of agricultural lands for managing and preserving native animals, we know comparatively little about native animals spanning the cultivated/wildlands interface in North America. The study reported here investigated insect communities at three sets of paired sites (cultivated alfalfa fields and native, sagebrush areas) on the western edge of the Great Basin. Two hundred ninety-nine morphospecies were sorted from a collection of >9,000 insects: 221 morphospecies were found in cultivated fields, and 143 were found in the native areas. Insect communities in alfalfa fields were higher in species richness and abundance than communities in adjacent, native fields. However, communities in the cultivated habitat were relatively more homogenous: species composition was more similar among cultivated fields than among native fields. Considering the number of individual insects and morphospecies found in the cultivated habitat, and the relatively small number of species that overlap the two habitat types, the potential ecological consequences of the widespread, anthropogenic habitat are discussed.
Interaction effects in the theory of planned behaviour: studying cannabis use.

This study employed the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate the factors underlying intentions and frequency of use of cannabis over a three-month period in a population of students (N = 249). In addition, several hypotheses in relation to the TPB were investigated. The TPB provided good predictions of both intentions (R2 = 0.653; attitude, injunctive norms and perceived behavioural control significant) and behaviour (R2 = 0.711; intentions significant). Other norm measures (descriptive and moral norms) explained additional variance in intentions (p < .01). In addition, habit strength and self-identity explained significant additional portions of the variance in intentions (p < .001), but not behaviour, over and above the TPB variables. Several interactions among these variables were also tested. Attitude moderated the impact of perceived behavioural control (PBC) on intentions (p < .001). Moral norms moderated the impact of attitudes on intentions (p < .001). Habit strength moderated the impact of self-identity on intentions (p < .001). PBC was found to moderate the impact of intentions on behaviour (p < .05). The findings are discussed in relation to how interaction effects further our understanding of the social processes by which variables are related in the TPB.
The effect of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance on pre-therapy viral load

Background:Reduced replication capacity of viruses expressing drug resistant mutations implies that patients with transmitted drug resistance (TDR) could have lower HIV RNA viral load than those infected with wild-type virus. Methods:We performed analysis using data from the UK HIV Drug Resistance Database and the UK CHIC study. Eligible patients had a resistance test performed between 1997 and 2007 while naive to antiretroviral therapy, were 16 years or older, and had a viral load and CD4 cell count measurement within 6 months of this test. Models were adjusted for CD4 cell count, viral subtype, ethnicity, risk group, sex, age, calendar year, clinical centre, and viral load assay. Results:Of a total of 7994 patients included, 709 (9%) had TDR: 604 (85%) had resistance to one drug class only [350 nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), 164 non-nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), 90 protease inhibitors (PIs)], 77 (11%) to two classes (42 NRTIs/NNRTIs, 31 NRTIs/PIs, 4 NNRTIs/PIs), and 28 (4%) had resistance to all three classes. The overall mean (SD) viral load at the time of resistance testing was 4.60 (0.82) log10 copies/ml, and did not differ by class of TDR. However, patients harbouring M184V/I (n = 61) had a significantly lower viral load [adjusted mean difference −0.33 log10 copies/ml (95% CI −0.54 to −0.11), 53% lower (95% CI 22 to 71%), P = 0.002] compared to wild-type virus. Discussion:Our study provides clear evidence of an in-vivo fitness cost associated with the M184V/I mutation independent of drug effects which select for this mutation. This was not observed for any other mutation, but true effects may have been obscured by reversion of initially resistant viruses to wild-type.
Steroid‐free living donor liver transplantation for HCV – a multicenter prospective cohort study in Japan

This prospective, non‐randomized, multicenter cohort study analyzed the safety and efficacy of a steroid‐free immunosuppressive (IS) protocol for hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐positive living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients in Japan. Of 68 patients enrolled from 13 transplant centers, 56 fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria; 27 were assigned the steroid‐free IS protocol (Fr group) and 29 the traditional steroid‐containing IS protocol (St group). Serum HCV RNA levels increased over time and were higher in the St group until postoperative day 90 (POD 14, p = 0.013). Preemptive anti‐HCV therapy was started in a higher percentage of recipients (59.3%) in the Fr group than in the St group (31.0%, p = 0.031), mainly due to early HCV recurrence. The incidence of HCV recurrence at one yr was lower in the Fr group (22.2%) than in the St group (41.4%; p = 0.066). The incidence of acute cellular rejection was similar between groups. New onset diabetes after transplant, cytomegalovirus infection, and renal dysfunction were significantly less frequent in the Fr group than in the St group (p = 0.022, p < 0.0001, p = 0.012, respectively). The steroid‐free IS protocol safely reduced postoperative morbidity and effectively suppressed both the HCV viral load in the early post‐transplant period and HCV recurrence in HCV‐positive LDLT recipients.