Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal variation of Bistorta vivipara‐associated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in the High Arctic

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are important for efficient nutrient uptake of several widespread arctic plant species. Knowledge of temporal variation of ECM fungi, and the relationship of these patterns to environmental variables, is essential to understand energy and nutrient cycling in Arctic ecosystems. We sampled roots of Bistorta vivipara ten times over two years; three times during the growing‐season (June, July and September) and twice during winter (November and April) of both years. We found 668 ECM OTUs belonging to 25 different ECM lineages, whereof 157 OTUs persisted throughout all sampling time‐points. Overall, ECM fungal richness peaked in winter and species belonging to Cortinarius, Serendipita and Sebacina were more frequent in winter than during summer. Structure of ECM fungal communities was primarily affected by spatial factors. However, after accounting for spatial effects, significant seasonal variation was evident revealing correspondence with seasonal changes in environmental conditions. We demonstrate that arctic ECM richness and community structure differ between summer (growing‐season) and winter, possibly due to reduced activity of the core community, and addition of fungi adapted for winter conditions forming a winter‐active fungal community. Significant month × year interactions were observed both for fungal richness and community composition, indicating unpredictable between‐year variation. Our study indicates that addressing seasonal changes requires replication over several years.
Incidence and remission of asthma: a retrospective study on the natural history of asthma in Italy.

BACKGROUND The knowledge of the natural history of asthma from birth to adulthood could provide important clues for its cause and for the understanding of epidemiologic findings. OBJECTIVE This study is aimed at assessing the incidence and remission of asthma from birth to the age of 44 years by using data from 18,873 subjects involved in a large, nationally representative, cross-sectional study carried out in Italy from 1998 through 2000. METHODS The onset of asthma was defined as the age at the first attack, and remission was considered present when a subject was neither under treatment nor had experienced an asthma attack in the last 24 months. Person-years and survival techniques were used for the analysis. RESULTS The average annual incidence rate for the 1953 to 2000 period was 2.56/1000 persons per year. Incidence peaked in boys less than 10 years of age (4.38/1000 persons per year) and in women 30 years of age or older (3.1/1000 persons per year) and showed a generational increase (incident rate ratio = 2.63 and 95% CI = 2.20-3.12 for 1974-1979 vs 1953-1958 birth cohort). The overall remission rate was 45.8% (41.6% in women and 49.5% in men, P <.001). Asthmatic patients in remission had an earlier age at onset (7.8 vs 15.9 years, P <.001) and a shorter duration of the disease (5.6 vs 16.1 years, P <.001) than patients with current asthma. The probability of remission was strongly (P <.001) and inversely related to the age at onset (62.8% and 15.0% in the <10- and > or =20-years age-at-onset groups, respectively). CONCLUSION With respect to its natural history, asthma presents 2 different forms: early-onset asthma, which occurs early in childhood, affects mainly boys, and has a good prognosis, and late-onset asthma, which generally occurs during or after puberty, mainly affects women, and has a poor prognosis. The minority of patients with early-onset asthma who do not remit represents more than 35% of patients with current asthma in the general young adult population.
The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS): comparison with Kupperman index and quality-of-life scale SF-36

Objective To evaluate further the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) for scoring menopausal symptoms by comparison with other instruments relevant for women in their menopausal transition: the Kupperman index and the quality-of-life scale SF-36. Method A population sample of 306 women, who had been randomly selected from an initially representative survey of German women (aged 40–60), completed three questionnaires in 1997: the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Kupperman index and the short form-36 (SF-36). Results A comparison of the MRS with the Kupperman index produced a high correlation of raw scores (r = 0.91). The highest association of scores (80%) was found in the highest quartile of the MRS. The terms ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ and ‘severe’, relating to the degree of severity of menopausal symptoms, reflect different contents and spread in each scale, i.e. are not directly comparable. There is a strikingly good association between the subscales of the SF-36 and the MRS. The MRS correlates best with those dimensions of the SF-36 that are highly relevant for women in the menopausal transition. For this reason, the MRS can be utilized as an age- and condition-specific quality-of-life instrument. Conclusions The Menopause Rating Scale is a valuable modern tool for the assessment of menopausal complaints. It combines in practice excellent applicability and good reliability, and there are normal values for the population available. The MRS could serve as an adequate diagnostic instrument for menopausal quality of life.
Age-Related Changes in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow during Working Memory for Faces

Young and old adults underwent positron emission tomography during the performance of a working memory task for faces (delayed match-to-sample), in which the delay between the sample and choice faces was varied from 1 to 21 s. Reaction time was slower and accuracy lower in the old group, but not markedly so. Values of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were analyzed for sustained activity across delay conditions, as well as for changes as delay increased. Many brain regions showed similar activity during these tasks in both young and old adults, including left anterior prefrontal cortex, which had increased rCBF with delay, and ventral extrastriate cortex, which showed decreased rCBF with delay. However, old adults had less activation overall and less modulation of rCBF across delay in right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex than did the young adults. Old adults also showed greater rCBF activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex across all WM delays and increased rCBF at short delays in left occipitoparietal cortex compared to young adults. Activity in many of these regions was differentially related to performance in that it was associated with decreasing response times in the young group and increasing response times in the older individuals. Thus despite the finding that performance on these memory tasks and associated activity in a number of brain areas are relatively preserved in old adults, differences elsewhere in the brain suggest that different strategies or cognitive processes are used by the elderly to maintain memory representations over short periods of time.
Plasma endotoxin concentration and endotoxin binding capacity of plasma acute phase proteins in cirrhotics with variceal bleeding: An analysis by new methods

Plasma endotoxin levels in 12 cirrhotics with bleeding from oesophageal varices and 50 cirrhotics without bleeding were measured by the chromogenic assay after the pretreatment of sample by perchloric acid (HClO4) and triethylamine. Endotoxin in cirrhotics with bleeding from varices was significantly higher than those without bleeding. In patients with bleeding, endotoxin increased for 3 days after the bleeding, first in the supernatant fraction and then in the precipitate fraction by HClO4 treatment. Peak plasma α1‐acid glycoprotein and haptoglobin were observed 3 days after the bleeding. Alpha 1‐antitrypsin gradually increased for 14 days. Transferrin did not markedly change. The endotoxin‐binding capacity of transferrin and α1‐acid glycoprotein increased immediately after bleeding and thereafter decreased, but that of α1‐antitrypsin tended to increase in the recovery period. In summary, the plasma endotoxin concentration and endotoxin‐binding capacity of α1‐acid glycoprotein and transferrin were shown to have increased after bleeding from varices by this new method. There may be a close relationship between endotoxaemia and acute phase reaction in this situation.
Quantitative autoradiographic mapping of 5‐HT3 receptors in the rat CNS using [125I]iodo‐zacopride and [3H]zacopride as radioligands

Substitution of the chlorine atom by a radio‐iodine in position 5 in the zacopride molecule yielded [125I]iodo‐zacopride that bound with high affinity (Kd = 4.3 nM) to 5‐HT3 receptors in the rat central nervous system. Assays with membranes from the posterior (mainly entorhinal) cortex confirmed that the pharmacolgical properties and regional distribution of [125I]iodo‐zacopride‐specific binding sites were identical with those of 5‐HT3 sites labelled by the reference radioligand [3H]zacopride. Autoradiographic investigations for the visualization and quantification of 5‐HT3 receptors yielded similar results with both radioligands, but autoradiograms could be obtained after only 1–3 days of exposure of sections labelled with [125I]iodo‐zacopride, instead of 4–6 months using [3H]zacopride. The highest density of 5‐HT3 sites was found in the nucleus tractus solitarius followed by, in decreasing order, the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, the superficial layers of the dorsal horn in the spinal cord, the nucleus of the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve, and the area postrema. Significant labelling of 5‐HT3 receptors was also observed in limbic areas (amygdala, hippocampus, frontal and entorhinal cortex), and to a much lower extent in the dorsal raphe nucleus, striatum, and substantia nigra. These multiple locations further support the idea that 5‐HT3 receptors are probably involved in several 5‐HT‐mediated functions in the central nervous system.
Gender-Based Differences in the Toxicity of Pharmaceuticals—The Food and Drug Administration's Perspective

Women experience more adverse reactions to treatment with therapeutic drugs than men. Theories proposed to explain this include overdosing, different pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, women are more likely to report adverse events than men, or women take more medications than men. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Women's Health (OWH) funds research to promote including women in clinical trials and understanding the biology of sex-related differences in the safety of FDA-regulated products. Including women in clinical trials advances the understanding of drug efficacy and safety in women by providing information on drug dosing, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. A Baysian statistical analysis of sex differences in adverse events showed that although about the same number of adverse events were reported for men and women, those reported for women were more serious. One example of a sex difference in the toxicity of pharmaceuticals is the drug-induced cardiac arrhythmia, torsades de point. OWH funded studies in animals and humans to investigate the mechanism behind this sex difference. These studies demonstrated that shortening the QT interval increases the risk of developing torsades and that androgens protect against torsades by slowing cardiac repolarization and prolonging the QT interval. Understanding the mechanisms behind other reported sex-related differences in adverse drug effects requires additional research. The preliminary studies conducted to date suggest that this sex-related difference is likely to be a multifactorial problem requiring information from several fields of study. Ideally, individuals at risk for developing an adverse event should be identified prior to therapeutic intervention. The OWH plans to fund more studies to investigate the role of hormonal variations on drug metabolism and drug-drug interactions. Animal and in vitro model systems are needed to fully understand the mechanism of how gender influences drug toxicity.
The Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier-Deconjugating Enzyme Sentrin-Specific Peptidase 1 Switches IFN Regulatory Factor 8 from a Repressor to an Activator during Macrophage Activation

Macrophages, when activated by IFN-γ and TLR signaling, elicit innate immune responses. IFN regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is a transcription factor that facilitates macrophage activation and innate immunity. We show that, in resting macrophages, some IRF8 is conjugated to small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO) 2/3 through the lysine residue 310. SUMO3-conjugated IRF8 failed to induce IL12p40 and other IRF8 target genes, consistent with SUMO-mediated transcriptional repression reported for other transcription factors. SUMO3-conjugated IRF8 showed reduced mobility in live nuclei and bound poorly to the IL12p40 gene. However, macrophage activation caused a sharp reduction in the amount of SUMOylated IRF8. This reduction coincided with the induction of a deSUMOylating enzyme, sentrin-specific peptidase 1 (SENP1), in activated macrophages. In transfection analysis, SENP1 removed SUMO3 from IRF8 and enhanced expression of IL12p40 and other target genes. Conversely, SENP1 knockdown repressed IRF8 target gene expression. In parallel with IRF8 deSUMOylation, macrophage activation led to the induction of proteins active in the SUMO pathway and caused a global shift in nuclear protein SUMOylation patterns. Together, the IRF8 SUMO conjugation/deconjugation switch is part of a larger transition in SUMO modifications that takes place upon macrophage activation, serving as a mechanism to trigger innate immune responses.
Social-Emotional Functioning of Elementary-Age Deaf Children: A Profile Analysis

Discussion and study of the social-emotional development of deaf and hard of hearing children, though extensive, has yet to provide an accurate understanding of the differences between deaf and hearing children. Consequently, the goal of the researchers was to conduct a profile analysis to determine similarities and differences between the two groups. The sample consisted of 20 hearing and 20 deaf children ages 8–11 years. All of the deaf children were enrolled in a Simultaneous Communication magnet program. Significant differences were found in two areas: school interest and on-task behavior. Overall, however, data from the study showed few differences between hearing and deaf children. The researchers recommend that current interventions be reconsidered on the basis of these results.
Effects of increasing levels of corn or beet pulp on utilization of low-quality crested wheatgrass hay by lambs and in vitro dry matter disappearance of forages.

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of corn or dried beet pulp on intake and digestibility of forage by lambs and on IVDMD. In Trial 1, 16 lambs (average BW = 41 +/- .9 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design with eight lambs per block. Lambs were fed a crested wheatgrass hay (7.5% CP) and received either no supplement (NS), a protein supplement (PS), or protein supplements with various levels of corn or beet pulp. Corn supplements supplied 1.75 (PCL), 3.5 (PMC), and 5.25 (PHC) g of corn/kg of BW, whereas beet pulp supplements supplied 2.1 (PLBP), 4.2 (PMBP), and 6.3 (PHBP) g of beet pulp/kg of BW. All supplemented lambs received . 128 g of CP/kg of BW. Hay DMI decreased linearly (P < .03) as the level of corn and beet pulp increased in the supplement. Total DMI decreased linearly (P = .013) as the level of corn increased; however, beet pulp did not affect total DMI (P > .71). Supplemental corn increased (P = .03) apparent diet DM digestibility (DMD), whereas supplemental beet pulp did not affect (P > .32) diet DMD. Lambs whose diet was supplemented with beet pulp had greater (P = .010) estimated hay DMD than lambs whose diet was supplemented with corn. In Trial 2, 48-h IVDMD was determined on each of three forages mixed with either corn or beet pulp. The crude protein content of the three forages was 4.9, 9.4, and 12.2% for low-, medium-, and high-quality forages, respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Structural and Functional Characteristics of Homing Endonucleases

Mobile genetic elements constitute a remarkably diverse group of nonessential selfish genes that provide no apparent function to the host. These selfish genes have been implicated in host extinction, speciation and architecture of genetic systems. Homing endonucleases, encoded by the open reading frames embedded in introns or inteins of mobile genetic elements, possess double-stranded DNA-specific endonuclease activity. They inflict sequence-specific double-strand breaks at or near the homing site in intron- or intein-less allele. Subsequently, through nonreciprocal exchange the insertion sequence (intron or intein) is transferred from an intein- or intron-containing allele to an intein- or intron-less allele. The components of host double-strand break repair pathway are thought to finish the “homing” process. Several lines of evidence suggest that homing endonucleases are capable of promoting transposition into ectopic sites within or across genomes for their survival as well as dispersal in natural populations. The occurrence of inteins at high frequencies serves as instructive models for understanding the mechanistic aspects of the process of homing and its evolution. This review focuses on genetic, biochemical, structural, and phylogenetic aspects of homing endonucleases, and their comparison with restriction endonucleases.
Incidence and risk factors of injuries in Brazilian elite handball players: A prospective cohort study

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors for handball injuries in Brazilian elite handball players. Overall, 339 athletes from 21 handball teams who participated in the two main Brazilian championships were followed up during a season. In total, 312 injuries were reported by 201 athletes. The injury incidence rate during training was 3.7/1000 h, and during matches was 20.3/1000 matches. Ankle (19.4%, n = 46) and knee (13.5%, n = 32) were the body regions most affected by traumatic injuries. Shoulders (44.0%, n = 33) and knee (26.7%, n = 20) were the body regions most affected by overuse injuries. Muscle injuries (27.1%, n = 68) was the traumatic injury type most reported. Tendinopathy (91.8%, n = 56) was the overuse injury type most observed. Previous injury (OR: 2.42, CI 95%: 1.51–3.89) and an additional match per week (OR: 1.31, CI 95%: 1.05–1.62) were associated with a higher risk of overuse injury. Female athletes (OR: 1.56, CI 95%: 1.08–2.25) and an additional hour of training per week (OR: 1.09, CI 95%: 1.02–1.15) were associated with a higher risk of traumatic injury. This study showed that athletes with previous injury have shown a high risk of developing an overuse injury.
Epidemiologic study of human parvovirus B19 infection in East China

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection causes a number of diseases in humans, and, in some circumstances, can be life threatening. To understand the epidemiology of B19V infection in the greater metropolitan area of Hangzhou, East China, we performed surveys of IgM and IgG antibodies against B19V and quantification of B19V DNA, by using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative PCR, respectively, in plasma samples from diverse groups. These groups included anemia patients, Mycoplasma pneumonia‐ and Treponema pallidum‐infected patients, HIV‐positive individuals, and healthy blood donor volunteers. Our results demonstrated a low level of B19V IgG antibody presence, ranging from 21.9% to 41.8% in all the groups tested, suggesting a low prevalence of B19V infection in the area. Of note, we found that two healthy blood donors and one Mycoplasma pneumonia‐infected patient had B19V IgM antibody among 1,290 plasma samples tested. The Mycoplasma pneumonia‐infected patient had viremia with viral genome copies of 2.86 × 106 per ml of plasma. We detected a high rate of B19V DNA (7.1%) in HIV‐positive injection drug users. Importantly, an amino acid mutation of P558S in the large non‐structural protein NS1 was identified to be conserved among 14 B19V isolates from the HIV‐positive group but not in the B19V isolate of the Mycoplasma pneumonia‐infected patient, representing a hallmark of B19V isolates that circulate in HIV1‐positive patients in the greater metropolitan area of Hangzhou, East China. J. Med. Virol. 88:1113–1119, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bovine Virus Diarrhea Virus in Free-Living Deer from Denmark

Free-living deer are suggested as a possible source of infection of cattle with bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) virus. To examine this hypothesis blood samples from 476 free-living deer were collected during two different periods and tested for BVD virus and antibody in Denmark. In 1995–96, 207 animals were tested. These included 149 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 29 fallow deer (Dama dama), 20 red deer (Cervus elaphus) and one sika deer (Cervus sika). For the remaining eight animals no species information was available. In 1998–99, 269 animals were tested including 212 roe deer and 57 red deer. The animals were selected from areas with a relatively high prevalence of cattle herds with a BVD persistent infection status in 1997 and 1998. All 207 samples from 1995–96 were found antibody-negative except two samples from red deer. Only 158 of the 207 samples were tested for virus and were all found negative. Of the 269 samples from 1998–99 all but one were antibody negative. The positive sample was from a red deer. All samples were virus-negative. It appears that BVD infection does not occur in roe deer in Denmark. The presence of antibody in a few red deer from various districts in Jutland probably results from cattle to deer transmission, rather than spread among deer. Hence, the possibility of free-living deer as a source of infection for cattle in Denmark seems to be remote.
Cardiac and vascular structural changes in normotensive subjects with parental hypertension

Objective To evaluate whether a predisposition to hypertension is associated with early cardiac and vascular alterations. Subjects Twenty-five normotensive subjects with both parents hypertensive (group 1) and 28 age- and sex-matched control subjects with both parents normotensive (group 2). Methods In the two groups the measurements included: clinic blood pressure; left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, septal wall thickness and posterior wall thickness (by echocardiography); minimal forearm and calf vascular resistances (i.e. resistance assessed immediately after prolonged ischaemia, which depends on arteriolar wall thickness); and baseline and postischaemic radial artery compliance-pressure curves over the systolodiastolic pressure range (by echotracking device and finger blood pressure). Results Group 1 had a slightly higher clinic blood pressure, and septal and posterior wall thickness, than group 2. Minimal forearm vascular resistance was clearly greater in group 1 than in group 2, whereas minimal calf vascular resistance was not significantly different in the two groups. Radial artery compliance was also similar in the two groups. Conclusions Parental predisposition to hypertension is accompanied by cardiac and arteriolar structural changes qualitatively similar to those found in hypertensive patients, although arteriolar structural changes do not involve all vascular beds. Arterial compliance is not altered in this condition. Vascular changes may be determined by mechanisms other than blood pressure elevation.