Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hollow Au–Ag Alloy Nanorices and Their Optical Properties

Hollow noble metal nanoparticles have excellent performance not only in surface catalysis but also in optics. In this work, the hollow Au–Ag alloy nanorices are fabricated by the galvanic replacement reaction. The dark-field spectrum points out that there is a big difference in the optical properties between the pure Ag nanorices and the hollow alloy nanorices that exhibit highly tunable localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) and that possess larger radiative damping, which is also indicated by the finite element method. Furthermore, the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and oxidation test indicate that hollow Au–Ag alloy nanorices show good anti-oxidation and have broad application prospects in surface-plasmon-related fields.
Cross-resistance between methicillin and cephalosporins for staphylococci: a general assumption not true for cefamandole

The antibacterial activity of cefamandole was evaluated against 120 methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococcal strains, using both large (10(8) CFU per ml) and small (10(4) CFU per ml) inocula. Cefamandole appeared superior to cephalothin against methicillin-resistant strains, displaying at 10 micrograms/ml a bacteriostatic and for some strains a bactericidal action against a large inoculum of bacteria.
Comparative study of antioxidant capacity in organs of different Allium species

Cultivated and wild Allium species were investigated in order to compare the antioxidant capacity of their leaves and bulbs. Leaf and bulb anti-oxidative enzymes and scavenger activities, along with quantities of non-enzymic antioxidants, malonyl-dialdehyde and OH radicals were determined. Results obtained suggest that leaves possess higher anti-oxidant and scavenging activities than bulbs in the majority of cultivated and wild Allium species examined. Cultivation of some wild species such as A. flavum L. , A. schoenoprasum L. and A. ursinum L. could be conducted in the future in order to produce Allium species with high antioxidant capacity in leaves and bulbs.
Chloroplast DNA and nuclear DNA content variations among cultivars of switchgrass

Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L. , is a native, cross-pollinated, morphologically diverse species with an array of ploidy levels and ecotypes. Switchgrass is found throughout most of the USA and Canada, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains and south of Hudson Bay. The objective of this research was to determine if chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) occur among switchgrass cultivars and experimental strains that differ in ploidy level or ecotype classification. Eighteen switchgrass cultivars or experimental strains representative of reported ecotypes, ploidy levels, and the geographical range of switchgrass were surveyed for cpDNA polymorphisms by means of four restriction endonucleases and 20 sorghum cpDNA probes. One polymorphism was detected which was associated with the lowland-upland ecotype classification. The lowland cultivars contained a restriction site change that was not present in the upland cultivars. The two cytotypes discovered have been designated as the U (upland) or L (lowland) cytotype. The lowland cultivars had 3 pg DNA/nuclei as measured by flow cytometry while the upland types had either 3 or 6 pg DNA/nuclei. There were no cpDNA polymorphisms among the upland cultivars regardless of ploidy level as measured by DNA content. These results demonstrate that cpDNA differs among switchgrasses and that this variation is associated with ecotype variation but not with nuclear DNA content.
[The role and importance of cognitive symptoms in bipolar disorder].

OBJECTIVE Our aim was to review evidence of the role of cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder and their relationship to other factors, such as disorder variables, treatment, additional diagnoses, genetic risk, and brain imaging findings. METHOD Studies that examined cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder and its relationship to the variables of clinical, genetic, and bipolar disorder subtypes, as well as neuro-anatomical and neuro-functional evidence have been reviewed. Findings from our own studies have also been used while conducting the review. RESULTS In bipolar disorder, deficits in executive functions, memory, and attention persist in the euthymic state. The number of episodes and the course of the disorder seem to be related to the severity of memory dysfunction and psychomotor slowness. However, symptoms of cognitive dysfunction are present at the onset of the disorder. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction has been observed in the healthy relatives of bipolar disorder patients. Cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder is associated with functional and possibly structural anomalies in some parts of the brain, such as the frontal and cingulate cortex. Some recent studies reported a relationship between symptoms of cognitive dysfunction and genetic variations in bipolar disorder. CONCLUSION Today, the presence of cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder is widely accepted; however, evidence of the neurobiological and clinical correlates of cognitive symptoms is still limited. More studies are needed to investigate the relationship between cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder and risk. Genetic studies are just now amending our body of knowledge. There have been many conflicting results reported by brain imaging studies. Different brain imaging approaches and genetic methods should be used with more specific cognitive and social-emotional tasks for increasing our knowledge about the nature of cognitive deficit in bipolar disorder.
Human Blood CD1c+ Dendritic Cells Promote Th1 and Th17 Effector Function in Memory CD4+ T Cells

Dendritic cells (DC) initiate the differentiation of CD4+ helper T cells into effector cells including Th1 and Th17 responses that play an important role in inflammation and autoimmune disease pathogenesis. In mice, Th1 and Th17 responses are regulated by different conventional (c) DC subsets, with cDC1 being the main producers of IL-12p70 and inducers of Th1 responses, while cDC2 produce IL-23 to promote Th17 responses. The role that human DC subsets play in memory CD4+ T cell activation is not known. This study investigated production of Th1 promoting cytokine IL-12p70, and Th17 promoting cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-23, by human blood monocytes, CD1c+ DC, CD141+ DC, and plasmacytoid DC and examined their ability to induce Th1 and Th17 responses in memory CD4+ T cells. Human CD1c+ DC produced IL-12p70, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-23 in response to R848 combined with LPS or poly I:C. CD141+ DC were also capable of producing IL-12p70 and IL-23 but were not as proficient as CD1c+ DC. Activated CD1c+ DC were endowed with the capacity to promote both Th1 and Th17 effector function in memory CD4+ T cells, characterized by high production of interferon-γ, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, and IL-22. These findings support a role for CD1c+ DC in autoimmune inflammation where Th1/Th17 responses play an important role in disease pathogenesis.
Wrist-partitioned inverse kinematic accelerations and manipulator dynamics

An efficient algorithm is presented for the calculation of the inverse kinematic accelerations for a 6 degree-of-freedom manipulator with a spherical wrist. The inverse kinematic calculation is shown to work synergistically with the inverse dynamic calculation, producing kinematic parameters needed in the recursive Newton-Euler dynamics formulation. Additional savings in the dynamics computation are noted for a class of kinematically well-structured manipulators such as spherical-wrist arms and for manipulators with simply-structured inertial parameters.
A prevalent founder mutation and genotype–phenotype correlations of OTOF in Japanese patients with auditory neuropathy

Matsunaga T, Mutai H, Kunishima S, Namba K, Morimoto N, Shinjo Y, Arimoto Y, Kataoka Y, Shintani T, Morita N, Sugiuchi T, Masuda S, Nakano A, Taiji H, Kaga K. A prevalent founder mutation and genotype–phenotype correlations of OTOF in Japanese patients with auditory neuropathy.
An empirical comparison of three different borderline concepts

ABSTRACT: Forty‐six inpatients were independently diagnosed according to the DSM‐III concept of borderline personality disorder, the diagnostic interview for borderlines (DIB) and the concept of borderline personality organization, which is linked to Kernbergs structural interview. The interviews were videotaped. Satisfactory inter‐rater reliability was demonstrated for the DIB, which furthermore showed high sensitivity and specificity in identifying patients with a clinical DSM‐III diagnosis of borderline personality disorder from patients with other personality disorders or schizophrenic disorders. Discriminant features, demographic profile and earlier treatment history for the patients with a borderline personality disorder are described and discussed. The structural interviews were scored according to a specified format. Inter‐rater reliability was satisfactory but not too impressive. Borderline personality organization turned out to be a very broad concept and only half of the patients within this concept received a syndrome diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. A general conclusion was that borderline personality organization should not be considered as a diagnostic entity but rather as a different diagnostic dimension representing an intermediate level of personality structure.
A New Perspective on the Relationship between House Prices and Income

We show that a strong linear relationship exists between income and house price quantiles in Sydney (Australia), Houston, and the state of Texas. This suggests that the house price distribution is closely approximated by the income distribution after a location-scale transformation. The slope of the line changes over time in response to changes in the mortgage market. We argue that this finding is consistent with a simple variant on the permanent income hypothesis. We then explore some of the implications with regard to the evolution of house prices, price-to-income ratios, the efficiency of the housing market, the construction and interpretation of hedonic price indexes for housing, and for public policy.
Mad-1 Is the Exclusive JC Virus Strain Present in the Human Colon, and Its Transcriptional Control Region Has a Deleted 98-Base-Pair Sequence in Colon Cancer Tissues

ABSTRACT JC virus (JCV), along with other members of the polyomavirus family, encodes a class of highly conserved proteins, T antigens, that are capable of inducing aneuploidy in cultured cells. We have previously isolated T-antigen DNA variants of JCV from both colon cancer tissues and the corresponding nonneoplastic gastrointestinal tissues, raising new questions about the role of JCV in the development of chromosomal instability of the colon. Based on the sequence of the transcriptional control region (TCR), JCV can be classified as archetype or tandem repeat variants. Among the latter, Mad-1, the prototype virus first isolated from a patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, is characterized by lacking the 23- and 66-bp sequences that are present in the archetype and by duplication of a 98-bp sequence. In this study, we evaluated differences in the TCR of JCV isolated from colon cancer tissues and nonneoplastic epithelium. To characterize JCV variants, we first treated eight pairs of DNA samples from colon cancers and noncancerous tissue with topoisomerase I and then amplified and cloned the JCV TCR. We obtained 285 recombinant clones from the JCV TCR, 157 from nonneoplastic samples, and 128 from colon cancer tissues. Of these clones, 262 spanned the length of the JCV Mad-1 TCR: 99.3% from nonneoplastic samples and 82.8% from colon cancer tissues. In sequencing 54 clones in both directions, we did not find archetype JCV either in the nonneoplastic tissue or in the cancer samples. From all colon cancer tissues, 18 clones had a deletion of one 98-bp tandem repeat. This deleted strain was not detected in any of the nonneoplastic tissues (14 versus 0% [χ2 = 23.6;P < 0.001]). Our study demonstrates that the only JCV strain present in the human colon is Mad-1, and the variant with a single 98-bp sequence is found exclusively in the cancer tissues. This strain may be involved in the development of chromosomal instability.
Money Attitudes and Emotional Intelligence

As the notion of money tends to be imbued with salient emotions, it is plausible that emotional intelligence (EI) has a bearing on the efficacy to cope with emotion-eliciting issues involving money. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which money attitudes relate to EI. The study included a sample of 212 respondents who filled out a questionnaire with items of the Money Attitude Scale (MAS) developed by Yamauchi and Templer (1982). The questionnaire further contained a test of EI performance consisting of judging emotions in facial expressions, and of self-report measures considered to be subscales of EI. Results suggested that high levels of EI imply a less pronounced orientation toward money and a greater sense of economic self-efficacy. Furthermore, money orientation seemed to be linked to worse adjustment of work vs. family/leisure time.
Modulation of Stress versus Time Product during Mechanical Ventilation Influences Inflammation as Well as Alveolar Epithelial and Endothelial Response in Rats

Background:Mechanical ventilation can lead to lung biotrauma when mechanical stress exceeds safety thresholds. The authors investigated whether the duration of mechanical stress, that is, the impact of a stress versus time product (STP), influences biotrauma. The authors hypothesized that higher STP levels are associated with increased inflammation and with alveolar epithelial and endothelial cell injury. Methods:In 46 rats, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (acute lung inflammation) or saline (control) was administered intratracheally. Both groups were protectively ventilated with inspiratory-to-expiratory ratios 1:2, 1:1, or 2:1 (n = 12 each), corresponding to low, middle, and high STP levels (STPlow, STPmid, and STPhigh, respectively). The remaining 10 animals were not mechanically ventilated. Results:In animals with mild acute lung inflammation, but not in controls: (1) messenger RNA expression of interleukin-6 was higher in STPhigh (28.1 ± 13.6; mean ± SD) and STPlow (28.9 ± 16.0) versus STPmid (7.4 ± 7.5) (P < 0.05); (2) expression of the receptor for advanced glycation end-products was increased in STPhigh (3.6 ± 1.6) versus STPlow (2.3 ± 1.1) (P < 0.05); (3) alveolar edema was decreased in STPmid (0 [0 to 0]; median, Q1 to Q3) compared with STPhigh (0.8 [0.6 to 1]) (P < 0.05); and (4) expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 were higher in STPlow (3.0 ± 1.8) versus STPhigh (1.2 ± 0.5) and STPmid (1.4 ± 0.7) (P < 0.05), respectively. Conclusions:In the mild acute lung inflammation model used herein, mechanical ventilation with inspiratory-to-expiratory of 1:1 (STPmid) minimized lung damage, whereas STPhigh increased the gene expression of biological markers associated with inflammation and alveolar epithelial cell injury and STPlow increased markers of endothelial cell damage.
Hospice use by Hispanic and non-Hispanic white cancer decedents.

OBJECTIVE To investigate rates of hospice use between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with cancer using data from a large, population-based study. DATA SOURCES Secondary data from the linked SEER-Medicare database including the SEER areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose-Monterey, California, and the state of New Mexico. All subjects were Hispanic or non-Hispanic whites, aged 67 and older, had a cancer diagnosis of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer from 1991-1996, and died of cancer from 1991-1998. STUDY DESIGN This study employed a retrospective cohort design to compare rates of hospice use between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites across patient characteristics and over time. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Rates of hospice use were similar for Hispanics (39.2 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (41.5 percent). In a bivariate logistic regression model, Hispanics were significantly less likely to use hospice than non-Hispanic whites (OR 0.91; 95 percent CI 0.85-0.97). However, after adjusting for age, marital status, sex, educational attainment, income, urban versus rural residence, and type of insurance using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the estimated odds for being a hospice user among Hispanics is similar to the odds of being a hospice user among non-Hispanic whites (OR 1.05; 95 percent CI 0.98-1.13). Stratified analyses revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in the use of hospice by type of insurance and SEER area, indicating interactions between ethnicity and these variables. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate similar rates of hospice use for Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites diagnosed with one of the four leading cancers. Additional studies from other national registries may be necessary to confirm these findings.
CHROMOSOMAL EVOLUTION AND THE MODE OF SPECIATION IN THREE SPECIES OF PEROMYSCUS

The possibility that the Peromyscus maniculatus complex of deer mice arose via the process described as "centrifugal speciation" (Brown, 1957) has been discussed by Bowers et al., 1973, Lawlor, 1974, Baker et al., 1975, and Greenbaum et al., 1978. This study was designed to yield additional data on the cytogenetics of three species of this complex in order to evaluate the "centrifugal speciation" model as a viable explanation of the evolutionary origin of the complex. Peromyscus melanotis and P. polionotus are believed to be peripheral isolates from the stock that evolved into the species P. maniculatus (Blair, 1950, Bowers et al., 1973). P. maniculatus is a widespread species occurring in a variety of habitats, whereas P. melanotis is a high montane species found in coniferous forest and P. polionotus is a deep sand species found in grassy fields at lower elevations near sea level (see Hooper, 1968, for general distribution of these three species). It is probable that P. melanotis and P. polionotus are more closely related to P. maniculatus than they are to each other. Based on gross chromosome morphology, the karyotypes of P. polionotus and P. melanotis are more like each other than either is like the karyotypes of P. maniculatus. We have examined the G-banding and C-banding pattern of P. polionotus and compared it to the banding patterns of P. maniculatus and P. melanotis (Greenbaum et al., 1978) to determine whether this similarity in karyotype is reflected in homologous banding patterns or is a product of convergent evolution. If the chromosomal data for the species complex are to fit the centrifugal speciation model then the karyotypes of P. polionotus and P. melanotis must be most like the primitive condition and the karyotype of P. maniculatus must be the most derived. Additionally, the centrifugal speciation model would predict more chromosomal polymorphism and geographic variation in the "central stock" (P. maniculatus) and less in the peripheral isolates (P. polionotus and P. melanotis). Our study is designed to determine the chromosomal homologies in these species and thereby test the hypothesis that this group is the result of centrifugal speciation.
Enzymatic Activity of the Soybean Ecto-Apyrase GS52 Is Essential for Stimulation of Nodulation1[W][OA]

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth. In the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, root nodules are the sites of bacterial nitrogen fixation, in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form that plants can utilize. While recent studies suggested an important role for the soybean (Glycine max) ecto-apyrase GS52 in rhizobial root hair infection and root nodule formation, precisely how this protein impacts the nodulation process remains undetermined. In this study, the biochemical characteristics of the GS52 enzyme were investigated. Computer modeling of the GS52 apyrase structure identified key amino acid residues important for catalytic activity, which were subsequently mutagenized. Although the GS52 enzyme exhibited broad substrate specificity, its activity on pyrimidine nucleotides and diphosphate nucleotides was significantly higher than on ATP. This result was corroborated by structural modeling of GS52, which predicted a low specificity for the adenine base within the substrate-binding pocket of the enzyme. The wild-type enzyme and its inactive mutant forms were expressed in soybean roots in order to evaluate the importance of GS52 enzymatic activity for nodulation. The results indicated a clear correlation between GS52 enzymatic activity and nodule number. Altogether, our study indicates that the catalytic activity of the GS52 apyrase, likely acting on extracellular nucleotides, is critical for rhizobial infection and nodulation.
Apolipoprotein C-III bound to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins in obese girls.

Obesity in women is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes (1) and predicts increased mortality (2) and cardiovascular disease (3). In addition, a tendency for clustering of hypertension and dyslipidemia in obese adolescents has been observed (4). This association, known as syndrome X, may occur in obese, insulin-resistant children before pubertal onset (5). Because recent studies have shown that heparin-precipitated apolipoprotein (apo)C-III is strongly related to risk of atherosclerosis (6), which may be true even in normolipidemic individuals (7), we sought to assess early manifestations of the syndrome in obese girls during late adolescence with the aim of assessing apoC-III distribution between non-HDL and HDL. Both obesity and insulin resistance are associated with a characteristic atherogenic plasma lipid profile that includes increased triglycerides and small, dense LDL (8), and decreased HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) (9)(10). Triglycerides are also more strongly related to obesity than LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) or apoB (11). We studied apoC-III, which is known to correlate with triglycerides and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and plays an important role in modulating their lipolytic degradation (12) and in preventing their uptake by the LDL receptor (13). These mechanisms may explain the finding that the lipoprotein distribution of apoC-III is a significant predictor of atherosclerosis progression (6)(14). Seventeen obese and 12 nonobese girls (ages, 15–20 years) were recruited from the Adolescent Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma. Informed and signed consent was obtained from all participants, and parents also gave consent for participation of girls under the age of 18 years. After the girls’ height was measured with a stadiometer and their weight was measured with standard balanced scales, their body mass index (BMI) was computed; the girls were then assigned to obese and nonobese groups according to their BMI (15)(16)(17). Obesity was defined …
Scientific basis of migraine: speculation on the relationship to cyclic vomiting.

The pathogenesis of migraine is reviewed. Migraine is a brain disorder that is activated by various triggers working on a susceptibility to attacks, in part genetically determined. The frequency of attacks is determined by triggers working on a threshold that determines excitability of brain. The mechanisms of the attack may involve both cortical and brain-stem structures and their dysfunction. It remains to be determined if cortical or brain-stem centers "generate the attack. " Because migraine involves severe nausea and vomiting, this review contains speculations on similarities in the mechanisms of migraine and cyclic vomiting.