Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Upregulation of Fas and FasL in Taiwan cobra phospholipase A2‐treated human neuroblastoma SK‐N‐SH cells through ROS‐ and Ca2+‐mediated p38 MAPK activation

The aim of the present study is to elucidate the signaling pathway involved in death of human neuroblastoma SK‐N‐SH cells induced by Naja naja atra phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Upon exposure to PLA2, p38 MAPK activation, ERK inactivation, ROS generation, increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and upregulation of Fas and FasL were found in SK‐N‐SH cells. SB202190 (p38MAPK inhibitor) suppressed upregulation of Fas and FasL. N‐Acetylcysteine (ROS scavenger) and BAPTA‐AM (Ca2+ chelator) abrogated p38 MAPK activation and upregulation of Fas and FasL expression, but restored phosphorylation of ERK. Activated ERK was found to attenuate p38 MAPK‐mediated upregulation of Fas and FasL. Deprivation of catalytic activity could not diminish PLA2‐induced cell death and Fas/FasL upregulation. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of arachidonic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine was not related to the expression of Fas and FasL. Taken together, our results indicate that PLA2‐induced cell death is, in part, elicited by upregulation of Fas and FasL, which is regulated by Ca2+‐ and ROS‐evoked p38 MAPK activation, and suggest that non‐catalytic PLA2 plays a role for the signaling pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 106: 93–102, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Generalized hard-core fermions in one dimension: An exactly solvable Luttinger liquid.

A model for interacting spinless fermions in one dimension is presented and solved exactly. The solution is shown to be a Luttinger liquid with charge density wave instabilities for well characterized filling factors. Under very plausible assumptions, the exact solution is extended to the spin case with the usual charge-spin separation into two different Luttinger liquids. Required technicalities are almost trivial but the solution is very rich: Periodicity of instabilities and correlation exponents can be chosen at will
Diacylglycerol Metabolism in the Green Alga Dunaliella salina under Osmotic Stress : Possible Role of Diacylglycerols in Phospholipase C-Mediated Signal Transduction.

The sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) content and molecular species composition of Dunaliella salina whole cells and cell fractions were measured by complementary high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography techniques. At 4.2 nanomoles per 100 nanomoles lipid phosphorus, the whole cell DAG level was high in comparison with most animal tissues. The DAG concentration was highest in the microsome-enriched fraction, followed by that in the chloroplast and in the plasma membrane fractions. The predominant DAG molecular species in all cell fractions contained oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), or linolenic (18:3) acid in the sn-1 position and palmitate (16:0) in the sn-2 position. Recent studies have raised the possibility of DAG serving a signal transducing function in osmotically stressed D. salina cells. During the first 30 seconds following hypoosmotic shock, there was a 40% increase in the plasma membrane DAG content, whereas the DAG content of the microsome-enriched fraction was unchanged. On a nanomole per 100 nanomoles phospholipid basis, the rise in plasma membrane DAG nearly matched the previously reported (KJ Einspahr, TC Peeler, GA Thompson Jr [1988] J Biol Chem 263: 5775-5779) transient fall in phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Furthermore, 18:1/16:0 DAG, one of the major plasma membrane DAG molecular species increasing in amount after hypoosmotic shock, was the characteristic molecular species of plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate, and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, but no other lipid of that membrane. Evidence was found for a rise in 16:0/18:2 and 16:0/18:3 DAG as well following hypoosmotic shock. This pattern suggested that phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis also contributed to the stress-induced production of DAG in the D. salina plasma membrane. The extent of the sudden DAG increase was sufficient to consider it a potential second messenger in phospholipase C-mediated signal transduction.
Activating Signal Cointegrator 1, a Novel Transcription Coactivator of Nuclear Receptors, and Its Cytosolic Localization under Conditions of Serum Deprivation

ABSTRACT Activating signal cointegrator 1 (ASC-1) harbors an autonomous transactivation domain that contains a putative zinc finger motif which provides binding sites for basal transcription factors TBP and TFIIA, transcription integrators steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1) and CBP-p300, and nuclear receptors, as demonstrated by the glutathioneS-transferase pull-down assays and the yeast two-hybrid tests. The ASC-1 binding sites involve the hinge domain but not the C-terminal AF2 core domain of nuclear receptors. Nonetheless, ASC-1 appears to require the AF2-dependent factors to function (i.e., CBP-p300 and SRC-1), as suggested by the ability of ASC-1 to coactivate nuclear receptors, either alone or in cooperation with SRC-1 and p300, as well as its inability to coactivate a mutant receptor lacking the AF2 core domain. By using indirect immunofluorescence, we further show that ASC-1, a nuclear protein, is localized to the cytoplasm under conditions of serum deprivation but is retained in the nucleus when it is serum starved in the presence of ligand or coexpressed CBP or SRC-1. These results suggest that ASC-1 is a novel coactivator molecule of nuclear receptors which functions in conjunction with CBP-p300 and SRC-1 and may play an important role in establishing distinct coactivator complexes under different cellular conditions.
Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease: frequency of genetic subtypes in a Southern Italy population

The objective of this study is to assess the genetic distribution of Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth (CMT) disease in Campania, a region of Southern Italy. We analyzed a cohort of 197 index cases and reported the type and frequency of mutations for the whole CMT population and for each electrophysiological group (CMT1, CMT2, and hereditary neuropathy with susceptibility to pressure palsies [HNPP]) and for familial and isolated CMT cases. Genetic diagnosis was achieved in 148 patients (75.1%) with a higher success rate in HNPP and CMT1 than CMT2. Only four genes (PMP22, GJB1, MPZ, and GDAP1) accounted for 92% of all genetically confirmed CMT cases. In CMT1, PMP22 duplication was the most common mutation while the second gene in order of frequency was MPZ in familial and SH3TC2 in isolated cases. In CMT2, GJB1 was the most frequent mutated gene and GJB1 with GDAP1 accounted for almost 3/4 of genetically defined CMT2 patients. The first gene in order of frequency was GJB1 in familial and GDAP1 in isolated cases. In HNPP, the majority of patients harbored the PMP22 gene deletion. The novelty of our data is the relatively high frequency of SH3TC2 and GDAP1 mutations in demyelinating and axonal forms, respectively. These epidemiological data can help in panel design for our patients' population.
Environmental response of upper trophic-level predators reveals a system change in an Antarctic marine ecosystem

Long-term changes in the physical environment in the Antarctic Peninsula region have significant potential for affecting populations of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a keystone food web species. In order to investigate this, we analysed data on krill-eating predators at South Georgia from 1980 to 2000. Indices of population size and reproductive performance showed declines in all species and an increase in the frequency of years of low reproductive output. Changes in the population structure of krill and its relationship with reproductive performance suggested that the biomass of krill within the largest size class was sufficient to support predator demand in the 1980s but not in the 1990s. We suggest that the effects of underlying changes in the system on the krill population structure have been amplified by predatorinduced mortality, resulting in breeding predators now regularly operating close to the limit of krill availability. Understanding how krill demography is affected by changes in physical environmental factors and by predator consumption and how, in turn, this influences predator performance and survival, is one of the keys to predicting future change in Antarctic marine ecosystems.
Do Lonely Days Invade the Nights? Potential Social Modulation of Sleep Efficiency

Loneliness predicts morbidity and mortality from broad-based causes, but the reasons for this effect remain unclear. Few differences in traditional health behaviors (e.g., smoking, exercise, nutrition) have been found to differentiate lonely and nonlonely individuals. We present evidence that a prototypic restorative behavior—sleep—does make such a differentiation, not through differences in time in bed or in sleep duration, but through differences in efficacy: In the study we report here, lonely individuals evinced poorer sleep efficiency and more time awake after sleep onset than nonlonely individuals. These results, which were observed in controlled laboratory conditions and were found to generalize to the home, suggest that lonely individuals may be less resilient than nonlonely individuals in part because they sleep more poorly. These results also raise the possibility that social factors such as loneliness not only may influence the selection of health behaviors but also may modulate the salubrity of restorative behaviors.
The IS Core - VII: Towards Information Systems as a Science of Meta-Artifacts

The paper argues that we should emphasize more the nature of Information Systems as an applied, engineering-like discipline that develops various ”meta-artifacts” to support the development of IS artifacts. Building such meta-artifacts is a complementary approach to the ”theorywith-practical-implications” type of research. The primacy assigned to theory and research method has effectively excluded constructive research of building meta-artifacts from the major IS journals. The paper also claims that information systems as a category of IT artifacts, and especially the focus on IS development, can help to distinguish the IS discipline from its sister and reference disciplines.
Growth of seashore paspalum, ( Paspalum vaginatum L ) in soil contaminated with crude petroleum oil

The effect of crude oil contaminated soil on the growth of seashore Paspalum ( Paspalum vaginatum .) seedlings was investigated. Plants were grown in soil containing different concentrations: 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0% and 3% (w/w) of Abura crude petroleum oil. Growth parameter such as shoot number, shoot length, leaf area and biomass accumulation were evaluated. The results showed that crude oil imposed physiological stress in the seedlings. There was a dose response decline in all the growth attributes examined. There was also a significant difference in plant growth with respect to time of crude oil application. At the highest applied concentration(3 % [w/w]), plants grown in soil previously contaminated with petroleum oil showed about 50 % reduction in biomass accumulation when compared with the uncontaminated control whereas established plants post -treated with crude petroleum oil showed a 30% reduction. There was no mortality at any of the crude oil concentrations to which to plant was exposed. The experiment demonstrated the potential of using Paspalum vaginatum for phytoremediation
The development of monoclonal antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus and their use in diagnosis by indirect immunofluorescence

Twelve clones of murine hybridoma cells secreting antibody specific for respiratory syncytial (RS) virus were classified into four groups on the basis of their pattern of staining of unfixed RS virus‐infected HEp‐2 cells in an indirect immunofluorescence test. Three of the groups reacted with virus antigens present on the membrane of the cells, whilst the fourth group failed to stain most live cells, suggesting specificity for an antigen expressed internally. Representative monoclonals from the membrane antigen staining groups immunoprecipitated the 86K glycoprotein (G), 50K plus 19K glycoprotein (F1,2) and a 23K non‐glycosylated protein (VP23). A representative monoclonal from the fourth group that appeared to stain an internally expressed protein immunoprecipitated the virion 34K phospho‐protein (P).
Analysis of Sequence Upstream of the Endogenous H19 Gene Reveals Elements Both Essential and Dispensable for Imprinting

ABSTRACT Imprinting of the linked and oppositely expressed mouse H19 and Igf2 genes requires a 2-kb differentially methylated domain (DMD) that is located 2 kb upstream of H19. This element is postulated to function as a methylation-sensitive insulator. Here we test whether an additional sequence 5′ of H19 is required for H19 and Igf2 imprinting. Because repetitive elements have been suggested to be important for genomic imprinting, the requirement of a G-rich repetitive element that is located immediately 3′ to the DMD was first tested in two targeted deletions: a 2.9-kb deletion (ΔDMDΔG) that removes the DMD and G-rich repeat and a 1.3-kb deletion (ΔG) removing only the latter. There are also four 21-bp GC-rich repetitive elements within the DMD that bind the insulator-associated CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) protein and are implicated in mediating methylation-sensitive insulator activity. As three of the four repeats of the 2-kb DMD were deleted in the initial 1.6-kb ΔDMD allele, we analyzed a 3.8-kb targeted allele (Δ3.8kb-5′H19), which deletes the entire DMD, to test the function of the fourth repeat. Comparative analysis of the 5′ deletion alleles reveals that (i) the G-rich repeat element is dispensable for imprinting, (ii) the ΔDMD and ΔDMDΔG alleles exhibit slightly more methylation upon paternal transmission, (iii) removal of the 5′ CTCF site does not further perturb H19 and Igf2 imprinting, suggesting that one CTCF-binding site is insufficient to generate insulator activity in vivo, (iv) the DMD sequence is required for full activation of H19 and Igf2, and (v) deletion of the DMD disrupts H19 and Igf2 expression in a tissue-specific manner.
High-performance three-dimensional on-chip inductors in SOI CMOS technology for monolithic RF circuit applications

This paper presents high-Q and high-inductance-density on-chip inductors fabricated on high-resistivity substrate (HRS) using a 0.12 /spl mu/m SOI CMOS technology with 8 copper metal layers. A peak Q of 52 is obtained at 5 GHz for a 0.6 nH STP (Single-turn, multiple metal levels in Parallel) inductor. An inductance density of 5302 fH//spl mu/m/sup 2/ is obtained for a 42 nH MTS (Multi-turn, multiple metal layers in Series) inductor.
MÉRITO ACADÉMICO NO ENSINO SUPERIOR E CARREIRA PROFISSIONAL

Ao longo do tempo tem-se assistido a uma atencao no estudo das questoes de generoe, tambem, sobre mulheres eminentes, ou seja, mulheres que alcancam a excelencia em areas econtextos valorizados socialmente, altamente competitivos e que exigem um nivel superior deconhecimentos especializados. No entanto, alguns fatores foram surgindo na literatura comoinibidores do sucesso a medida que estas mulheres vao exercendo uma atividade profissional,podendo ser necessaria intervencao no sentido de as ajudar a lidar com estas adversidades e aconstruir um projeto de carreira, de modo a nao privar a sociedade do contributo que podemoferecer. Neste sentido, o objetivo principal deste trabalho e, numa logica de estudo de caso,identificar e analisar de forma exploratoria as caracteristicas e os percursos de vida de um grupode alunas de merito no ensino superior, procurando conhecer os fatores que parecemcondicionar o sucesso academico, a insercao no mercado de trabalho e a construcao da carreira.As participantes sao cinco mulheres que receberam pelo menos um premio/bolsa de meritonuma universidade publica portuguesa, entre os anos letivos de 1999/2000 a 2012/2013. Osdados foram recolhidos atraves de entrevistas semiestruturadas e da aplicacao do NEO-PI-R,Inventario de Personalidade NEO Revisto. As entrevistas foram analisadas atraves da analise deconteudo e foram construidos perfis individuais dos tracos avaliados pelo NEO-PI-R. Osresultados sugerem que, apesar de algumas idiossincrasias, as participantes apresentam fatorespessoais e contextuais comuns considerados fundamentais para a emergencia e manutencao daexcelencia na idade adulta, nomeadamente ao nivel da personalidade (e.g. abertura aexperiencia, conscienciosidade), da motivacao (e.g. paixao pela area), da cognicao (e.g.autorregulacao). No entanto, verifica-se que no caso destas mulheres o reconhecimentoacademico por merito nao significou, ate ao momento, sucesso profissional de merito excecionale reconhecido. Salienta-se que aspetos como a multipotencialidade, a dificuldade de gestao depapeis dentro e fora da carreira, as oportunidades e as proprias ambicoes e opcoes pessoaisparecem ter condicionado o investimento nas suas carreiras. Finalizamos com a apresentacaodas limitacoes da presente investigacao e com algumas sugestoes para estudos futuros.
The low incidence of cervical cancer in Jewish women: has the puzzle finally been solved?

Cervical carcinoma is one of the most common gynecologic malignant tumors worldwide and a leading cause of death from genital malignancies in women. One of the most important epidemiologic observations concerning this neoplasm is that the disease is practically non-existent in celibate populations. This was first noticed in the 19th century by Rigonni-Stern of Verona Italy regarding Catholic nuns who are sexually inactive. Gagnon of Quebec subsequently confirmed this observation. He served as a gynecologist in a few Quebec nunneries for several years and it occurred to him that he had never seen a case of cancer of the cervix in a nun. Among 13000 deaths of nuns 12 were recorded as due to corpus cancer. If the same ratio of cervix to corpus cancer exists among nuns as among the general population there should have been 5 to 8 times as many cervical cancers. Instead there was none. These observations and the subsequent identification of risk factors led to the conclusion that cervical cancer is associated with coitus and that it shares many characteristics with communicable diseases which follow a venereal mode of transmission. These findings led eventually to the identification towards the end of the 20th century of the human papillomavirus and its major etiologic role in this neoplasm. (excerpt)
Antioxidant diet supplementation influences blood iron status in endurance athletes.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this work was to check the effects of antioxidant supplementation (vitamins E and C, and beta-carotene) on the basal iron status of athletes prior to and following their training and competition season (3 months). DESIGN Eighteen amateur trained male athletes were randomly distributed in 2 groups: placebo (lactose) and antioxidant supplemented (vitamin E, 500 mg/d; vitamin C, 1 g/d; and beta -carotene, 30 mg/d). The study was double blind. Hematological parameters, dietary intake, physical activity intensity, antioxidant status (GSH/GSSG ratio), and basal iron status (serum iron, transferrin, ferritin, and iron saturation index) were determined before and after the intervention trials. RESULTS Exercise decreased antioxidant defenses in the placebo group but not in the antioxidant-supplemented group. No changes were found in the number of erythrocytes, hematocrit, or hemoglobin concentration, or in values of serum iron parameters, after taking the antioxidant cocktail for 3 months, in spite of the exercise completed. The placebo group showed a high oxidative stress index, and decreases in serum iron (24%) and iron saturation index (28%), which can neither be attributed to aspects of the athletes' usual diet, nor to hemoconcentration. CONCLUSIONS Antioxidant supplementation prevents the decrease of serum iron and the iron saturation index, and a link between iron metabolism and oxidative stress may also be suggested.
rTMS at the fronto-polar cortex reduces skin conductance but not heart rate: Reduced gray matter excitability in orbitofrontal regions

demonstrated reduced prefrontal gray matter accompanied by a reduction in autonomic activity in patients with antisocial personality disorder (APD). An important additional observation concerns the dissociative pattern on the indexed indices of automatic activity: reduced prefrontal gray matter was linked to a reduction in electrodermal, but not cardiovascular activity. Although it was not possible to be more specific regarding the localization within the prefrontal cortex, both Raine et al. and Damasio in his attached
Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Australia Between July 1995 and December 2001

Objective: To examine trends in the use of oral conventional, depot and atypical antipsychotic medications in Australia between July 1995 and December 2001. Method: For each six-month interval between July 1995 and December 2001, prescription data obtained from the Health Insurance Commission of Australia were converted into a measure of drug utilization expressed as the number of defined daily doses per thousand population per day (DDDs/1000/day). Results: Between July 1995 and December 2001, use of atypical medications increased from an estimated 0.27 to an estimated 3.83 DDDs/1000/day. Use of oral conventional medications decreased from 1.76 to 0.91 DDDs/1000/day, while use of depot medications decreased from 1.38 to 0.96 DDDs/1000/day. During the latter half of 2001, atypical medications accounted for 67.3%, oral conventional medications for 16.0%, and depot medications for 16.7% of total prescriptions for antipsychotic medications dispensed through community pharmacies in Australia. The increased use of atypical medications was accounted for largely by a dramatic increase in the use of olanzapine. Between July 2001 and December 2001, prescriptions for olanzapine accounted for 65.0% of total prescriptions for atypical antipsychotic medications. Conclusions: The results of the present study confirm that atypical antipsychotic medications have replaced conventional medications as the first-line pharmacological treatment for psychotic illness in Australia. While this change in prescribing practice is gratifying, the overwhelming preference for the use of olanzapine among clinicians prescribing antipsychotic medication is surprising and is of some concern given the significant increases in body weight that can accompany long-term use of this medication.
An integrated system theory of information security management

With the popularity of electronic commerce, many organizations are facing unprecedented security challenges. Security techniques and management tools have caught a lot of attention from both academia and practitioners. However, there is lacking a theoretical framework for information security management. This paper attempts to integrate security policy theory, risk management theory, control and auditing theory, management system theory and contingency theory in order to build a comprehensive theory of information security management (ISM). This paper suggests that an integrated system theory is useful for understanding information security management, explaining information security management strategies, and predicting management outcomes. This theory may lay a solid theoretical foundation for further empirical research and application.