Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Roles of MicroRNA-21 in the Pathogenesis of Insulin Resistance and Diabetic Mellitus-induced Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the roles of microRNA-21 (miR-21) in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes mellitus (DM) mice model. METHODS Eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were allocated into control group, IR group, and DM group. Body mass was recorded. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test was performed to determine any abnormal glucose metabolism. The liver pathological changes were detected by biopsy. Changes in free blood glucose, free serum insulin, blood fat and tumor necrosis factor Α level were measured. Differences in miR-21 expression and peroxidase proliferator-activated receptor subtypes (PPAR-Γ and PPAR-Α) and adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (aP2) in the liver were detected both at the mRNA and protein levels. RESULTS After one 8-week high-fat diet, the body mass, free serum insulin, and homeostasis model IR index significantly increased in the IR group (P<0.01, P<0.05, compared with control group), while the free blood glucose increased and the free serum insulin decreased in DM group (P<0.05). Free serum insulin level were significantly increased in IR group (P<0.05). Serum tumor necrosis factor-Α levels exhibited an upward trend in control group, IR group, and DM group (P<0.05, P<0.01). With exacerbation in NAFLD, liver miR-21 expression level went further down in both IR and DM groups (P<0.05). The downregulated miR-21 expression level showed negative correlation with upregulated PPAR-Α, ΑP2, and PPAR-Γ genetic expression (r=-0.696, r=-0.664, and r=-0.766, respectively; P<0.05) in IR group and with upregulated PPAR-Α and PPAR-Γ genetic expression in DM group (r=-0.676 and r=-0.550, respectively; P<0.05). In terms of the changes in protein expression level,only on the protein expressions of aP2 and PPAR-Γ in IR group showed significant change (P<0.05, P<0.01, compared with control group). CONCLUSIONS The miR-21 expression is downregulated in both IR and DM-induced NAFLD mice. It may be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD by regulating the expressions of PPAR subtypes.
The EcoRV Modification Methylase Causes Considerable Bending of DNA upon Binding to Its Recognition Sequence GATATC (*)

The EcoRV methyltransferase modifies DNA by the introduction of a methyl group at the 6-NH position of the first deoxyadenosine in GATATC sequences. The enzyme forms a stable and specific complex with GATATC sequences in the presence of a nonreactive analogue, such as sinefungin, of its natural cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Using circular permutation band mobility shift analysis (in which the distance between the GATATC sequence and the end of the DNA is varied) of protein-DNA-cofactor complexes we have shown the methylase induces a bend of just over 60° in the bound DNA. This was confirmed by phasing analysis, in which the spacing between the GATATC site and a poly(dA) tract is varied through a helical turn, which showed that the orientation of the induced curve was toward the major groove. There was no significant difference in the bend angle measured using unmethylated GATATC sequences and hemimethylated sequences which contain GATATC in one strand only. These are the natural substrates for the enzyme. The EcoRV endonuclease, a very well characterized protein, served as a positive control. DNA bending by this protein has been previously determined both by crystallographic and solution methods. The two proteins bend DNA toward the major groove but the bend angle produced by the methylase, slightly greater than 60°, is a little larger than that observed with the endonuclease, which is approximately 44°.
Effect of Fetal Monitoring on Cesarean Section Rates

Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) and cesarean sections (CS) have been studied in 14,484 patients delivered between 1970 and 1975. The primary CS rate for those monitored was 107/1000, and for the unmonitored was 57/1000. Multivariate analysis of these data shows that most of the increase in CS rate associated with monitoring is attributable to inherent differences between monitored and unmonitored patients. Furthermore, the association between monitoring and CSs was not homogeneous among sub-groups. Cesarean sections were relatively less frequent in monitored nulliparas with malpresentation and more frequent in otherwise normal monitored multiparas. These opposing effects tended to balance each other. During the study period the primary CS rate rose from 4.3 to 11.2%. This increase was strong in unmonitored patients and was primarily due to operations undertaken for fetopelvic dis-proportion. We cannot therefore attribute much of the increasing CS rate at our hospital to fetal monitoring.
Different forms of locomotion in the spinal lamprey

Forward locomotion has been extensively studied in different vertebrate animals, and the principal role of spinal mechanisms in the generation of this form of locomotion has been demonstrated. Vertebrate animals, however, are capable of other forms of locomotion, such as backward walking and swimming, sideward walking, and crawling. Do the spinal mechanisms play a principal role in the generation of these forms of locomotion? We addressed this question in lampreys, which are capable of five different forms of locomotion – fast forward swimming, slow forward swimming, backward swimming, forward crawling, and backward crawling. To induce locomotion in lampreys spinalised at the second gill level, we used either electrical stimulation of the spinal cord at different rostrocaudal levels, or tactile stimulation of specific cutaneous receptive fields from which a given form of locomotion could be evoked in intact lampreys. We found that any of the five forms of locomotion could be evoked in the spinal lamprey by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, and some of them by tactile stimulation. These results suggest that spinal mechanisms in the lamprey, in the absence of phasic supraspinal commands, are capable of generating the basic pattern for all five forms of locomotion observed in intact lampreys. In spinal lampreys, the direction of swimming did not depend on the site of spinal cord stimulation, but on the stimulation strength. The direction of crawling strongly depended on the body configuration. The spinal structures presumably activated by spinal cord stimulation and causing different forms of locomotion are discussed.
Data classification using Support Vector Machine integrated with scatter search method

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a popular pattern classification method with many diverse applications. The SVM has many parameters, which have significant influences the performance of SVM classifier. In this paper, we employ a meta-heuristic approach (Scatter Search) to find near optimal values of the SVM parameters, and its kernel parameters. The proposed method integrates a scatter search approach with support vector machine, shortly (3SVM). To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, 9 datasets from LibSVM tool webpage [2] were used. Experiments prove that the proposed method is promising and has competitive performance.
Calcium signaling leads to mitochondrial depolarization in impact-induced chondrocyte death in equine articular cartilage explants.

OBJECTIVE Chondrocyte apoptosis is an important factor in the progression of osteoarthritis. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms involved upstream of caspase 9 activation and, in particular, calcium signaling and mitochondrial depolarization. METHODS Articular cartilage explants obtained from healthy horses were subjected to a single impact load (500-gm weight dropped from a height of 50 mm) and cultured in vitro for up to 48 hours. Chondrocyte death was quantified by the TUNEL method. Release of proteoglycans was determined by the dimethylmethylene blue assay. Weight change was measured, and mitochondrial depolarization was determined using JC-1 staining. To assess the role of calcium signaling in impact-induced chondrocyte death, explants were preincubated in culture medium containing various concentrations of calcium. Inhibitors were used to assess the role of individual signaling components in impact-induced chondrocyte death. RESULTS Calcium quenching, inhibitors of calpains, calcium/calmodulin-regulated kinase II (CaMKII), and mitochondrial depolarization reduced impact-induced chondrocyte death after 48 hours in culture. Transient mitochondrial depolarization was observed 3-6 hours following a single impact load. Mitochondrial depolarization was prevented by calcium quenching, inhibitors of calpain, CaMKII, permeability transition pore formation, ryanodine receptor, and the mitochondrial uniport transporter. Cathepsin B did not appear to be involved in impact-induced chondrocyte death. The calpain inhibitor prevented proteoglycan loss, but the percentage weight gain and proteoglycan loss were unaffected by all treatments used. CONCLUSION Following a single impact load, calcium is released from the endoplasmic reticulum via the ryanodine receptor and is taken up by the mitochondria via the uniport transporter, causing mitochondrial depolarization and caspase 9 activation. In addition, calpains and CaMKII play important roles in causing mitochondrial depolarization.
Alcohol consumption and divorce rates in the United States.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study is to analyze time series data on alcohol consumption and divorce rates and assess the directionality of this relationship using alternative aggregate measures of alcohol consumption rates. METHOD Granger's causality test and Box-Jenkins time series analysis are used to examine aggregate data on divorce rates and two indicators of alcohol consumption: a per capita consumption measure based on sales and shipments, and an expenditure-based measure for U.S. data from 1934 to 1987. RESULTS A consumption increase of 1 liter of alcohol per capita brings about an increase in the divorce rate of about 20%. This finding contrasts with results, using expenditures as the aggregate alcohol measure, that show that an increase of 1/1,000 in the divorce rate leads to a 10% increase in alcohol expenditures. (These latter findings confirm earlier published results.) CONCLUSIONS The results from the present study provide support both for the effects of heavy drinking on divorce rates and the effects of divorce rates on expenditures for alcoholic beverages. While both aggregate measures of alcohol consumption are highly correlated, they may tap different aspects of consumption. The relationship between marital instability and alcohol consumption is far from a simple one, and more complete conceptual models need to be developed. Aggregate-level findings indicate that it is reasonable to assume that a bidirectional influence exists between divorce rates and alcohol consumption.
HECKE OPERATORS FOR WEAKLY HOLOMORPHIC MODULAR FORMS AND SUPERSINGULAR CONGRUENCES

We consider the action of Hecke operators on weakly holomorphic modular forms and a Hecke-equivariant duality between the spaces of holomorphic and weakly holomorphic cusp forms. As an application, we obtain congruences modulo supersingular primes, which connect Hecke eigenvalues and certain singular moduli.
Peer Models and Children’s Behavioral Change

This article critically reviews the research literature on peer modeling among children as a function of model attributes. Peer modeling is hypothesized to depend in part on perceived similarity between model and observer. Similarity serves as an important source of information for gauging behavioral appropriateness, formulating outcome expectations, and assessing one’s self efficacy for learning or performing tasks. Research is reviewed on the effects of model age, model sex, model competence, number of models, and model background. Peer models can foster diverse types of behavioral change in children, but attribute similarity does not automatically enhance modeling. The conditions under which similarity promotes behavioral change are discussed. Future research needs to assess children’s self-perceptions, as well as maintenance and generalization of behavioral changes. It is suggested that classroom peers can help train social skills, enhance self-efficacy, and remedy skill deficiencies.
A PERSPECTIVE ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE OLIGOTROPHIC OCEANS: HYPOTHESES CONCERNING ALTERNATE ROUTES OF ELECTRON FLOW 1

Many regions of the open, oligotrophic oceans are depleted of nutrients, especially nitrogen and iron. The biogenesis and the functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus may be specialized and tailored to the various marine habitats. In this minireview, we discuss some new findings with respect to photosynthetic processes in the oceans. We focus on findings that suggest that some cyanobacteria may route electrons derived from the splitting of H2O to the reduction of O2 and H+ in a water‐to‐water cycle, and that other cyanobacteria that fix nitrogen during the day are likely missing PSII and enzymes involved in the fixation of inorganic carbon. Both of these proposed “variant” forms of photosynthetic electron flow provide new insights into ways in which marine phytoplankton satisfy their energetic and nutritive requirements.
KNOWLEDGE MISALLOCATION AND GROWTH

We develop a growth model where knowledge is embodied in individuals and diffused across sectors through labor mobility. The existence of labor mobility costs constrains mobility and thus generates labor misallocation. Different levels of labor misallocation imply different levels of exploitation of available knowledge and therefore different total factor productivity across countries. We derive a positive relationship between growth and labor mobility, which is consistent with the empirical evidence, by assuming aggregate constant returns to capital. We also analyze the short- and long-run effects of labor mobility costs in the case of decreasing returns to capital. It turns out that changes in mobility costs have larger economic effects when different types of workers have small rather than large complementarities. Finally, we show that different labor income taxes or labor market tightness imply different rates of labor mobility and therefore can explain differences in Gross Domestic Product across countries.
pressure area deficiency in children in a high infection transferrin receptor for the assessment of iron New cut-off values for ferritin and soluble

http://jcp.bmjjournals. com/content/62/12/1103.full. html Updated information and services can be found at: These include: References http://jcp.bmjjournals. com/content/62/12/1103.full. html#related-urls Article cited in: http://jcp.bmjjournals. com/content/62/12/1103.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 16 articles, 7 of which can be accessed free at: Open Access is properly cited. use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits unrestricted This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Hypercoagulability Syndrome Due to Heparin Co-Factor Deficiency

Summary A case of hypercoagulability syndrome in a 35 years old male is reported. An abnormal heparin resistance was found which could be defined by means of a heparin clot-inhibition test as a deficiency in heparin co-factor. The required anticoagulant doses of heparin were forty times as high as in cases with intact heparin co-factor. The factor seemed to be used up in the process of coagulation, as plasma, but not serum, was able to correct the deficiency in vitro. Plasma infusions were helpful for four days, but a complete recovery was achieved only after an intensive course of fever therapy. The phenomenon of blood clotting should be regarded as a dynamic process which is facilitated by an array of clot promoting factors and opposed by a system of natural anticoagulants.
The Nudix Hydrolase CDP-Chase, a CDP-Choline Pyrophosphatase, Is an Asymmetric Dimer with Two Distinct Enzymatic Activities

ABSTRACT A Nudix enzyme from Bacillus cereus (NCBI RefSeq accession no. NP_831800) catalyzes the hydrolysis of CDP-choline to produce CMP and phosphocholine. Here, we show that in addition, the enzyme has a 3′→5′ RNA exonuclease activity. The structure of the free enzyme, determined to a 1.8-Å resolution, shows that the enzyme is an asymmetric dimer. Each monomer consists of two domains, an N-terminal helical domain and a C-terminal Nudix domain. The N-terminal domain is placed relative to the C-terminal domain such as to result in an overall asymmetric arrangement with two distinct catalytic sites: one with an “enclosed” Nudix pyrophosphatase site and the other with a more open, less-defined cavity. Residues that may be important for determining the asymmetry are conserved among a group of uncharacterized Nudix enzymes from Gram-positive bacteria. Our data support a model where CDP-choline hydrolysis is catalyzed by the enclosed Nudix site and RNA exonuclease activity is catalyzed by the open site. CDP-Chase is the first identified member of a novel Nudix family in which structural asymmetry has a profound effect on the recognition of substrates.
Retinoic acid signaling is required for proper morphogenesis of mammary gland

Retinoic acid (RA), a bioactive chemical compound synthesized from dietary derived vitamin A, has been successfully used as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent through the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis acting via the retinoic acid receptors. Despite two decades of research on the function of retinoic acid, the physiological role of RA in mammary gland development is still not well characterized. In this report, we demonstrate that RA is required for proper morphogenesis of mouse mammary gland in a novel transgenic mouse model system. It was found that inhibition of RA signaling in vivo leads to excessive mammary ductal morphogenesis through upregulation of cyclin D1 and MMP‐3 expression. Furthermore, we show that the transgene‐induced excessive branching morphogenesis could be reversed by treatment with RA, demonstrating the direct physiological effect of RA signaling in vivo. In addition, we demonstrate that excessive branching morphogenesis in the transgenic mammary gland are cell‐autonomous and do not require stromal signals within the transgenic mammary gland. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that retinoic acid signaling is required for appropriate mammary gland differentiation. Collectively, our data indicate for the first time that retinoic acid signaling is required to maintain the homeostasis of mammary gland morphogenesis. Developmental Dynamics 234:892–899, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The SANT Domain of p400 ATPase Represses Acetyltransferase Activity and Coactivator Function of TIP60 in Basal p21 Gene Expression

ABSTRACT The TIP60 histone acetyltransferase plays diverse roles in DNA damage responses, DNA double-strand break repair, and transcriptional regulation. TIP60 resides within a multisubunit complex that has been shown to be targeted by transcription factors and to be involved in histone acetylation and transcriptional activation. p400, an SWI2/SNF2-related ATPase that serves as an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzyme, exists as an integral subunit of a TIP60 complex but also resides within a distinct complex that presumably lacks TIP60 and appears to be involved in the transcriptional repression of basal p53 target gene expression. Here, we describe a TIP60-containing p400 complex population in which the acetyltransferase activity of TIP60 is repressed by interactions with p400. We further show that an SWI3-ADA2-N-CoR-TFIIIB (SANT) domain of p400 binds directly to the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) domain of TIP60 and blocks both its enzymatic activity and its coactivator function in regulating basal p21 gene expression. Our results thus suggest that p400 represses basal p21 gene expression through dual mechanisms that include the direct inhibition of TIP60 enzymatic activity described here and the previously described ATP-dependent positioning of H2A.Z at the promoter.
Assessment of asynchronous and paradoxic motion between rib cage and abdomen in normal subjects and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Both scalar tracings and XY plots of rib cage (RC) and abdominal (AB) excursions were analyzed to detect asynchronous and/or paradoxic motion of one compartment with respect to the other in an effort to distinguish differences between normal subjects and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An inspiratory asynchrony index (IAI) was obtained by connecting a straight line from beginning inspiration to end inspiration of the RC-AB loop, and dividing the area enclosed by the inspiratory portion by the tidal volume. In like manner, an expiratory asynchrony index (EAI) was computed. Values of IAI and EAI in the supine posture were greater in patients with COPD than in normal subjects, and such differences were consistently demonstrated during natural and voluntarily controlled abdominal breathing. Paradoxic motion as percent of volume or time period of inspiratory and expiratory compartmental excursions was indicated when RC or AB compartments moved in an opposite direction to the sum of the two. During natural breathing, paradoxic motion was almost absent in normal subjects and variably present in patients with COPD. Voluntarily controlled breathing patterns produced increased IAI, EAI, and paradoxic motion. Passive tilting from supine to the upright posture did not affect indexes in normal subjects but reduced asynchronous and paradoxic motion of the RC in patients with COPD. Other indexes of loop analysis, such as phase angle and maximal compartment amplitude/tidal volume, were not as consistent in distinguishing between normal subjects and patients with COPD during natural and voluntarily controlled breathing patterns. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
SERUM HEPCIDIN LEVELS IN ANEMIA OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES COMPARED TO IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AND IT'S CORRELATION WITH SERUM LEVELS OF HS –C REACTIVE PROTEIN, INTERLUKIN-6 AND FERRITIN

Hepcidin, is a recently discovered small peptide secreted by the liver to act as a key regulator of iron homeostasis. Patients on hemodialysis(HD) are usually anemic ,because of defective erythropoeisis.The present study was directed to investigate serum levels of hepcidin in two types of anemia (anemia of chronic kidney diseases(HD) and iron deficiency anemia), Analyze the association between hepcidin levels and related inflammatory markers(IL6 and hsCRP) together with hematological parameter ,to evaluate the role of hepcidin in differentiating specific types of anemia. Sixty-four female subjects aged 30.3±1.17 (means ± SEM) were participated in this study and divided into: Twenty patients with chronic kidney disease treated by hemodialysis ( creatinine clearance < 10 ml/min ,receiving recombinant human erythropoietinalpha plus intravenous iron),twenty-one, newly diagnosed iron deficiency anemic patients(IDA), all of patients were having Hb ˂ 12g/dl , and twentythree apparently healthy subjects served as a control group. Serum hepcidin levels were statistically different, from high to low: HD ˃ control ˃IDA. Serum ferritin levels were significantly increased in HD patients ,whereas decreased levels were detected in IDA. A positive correlation between serum hepcidin and IL-6 levels only existed in HD groups . Furthermore, serum hepcidin levels lost it's usual association with serum ferritin levels in (HD), as compared IDA and controls(r=0.02 p>0.05,r=76 p<0.001,r=0.63 p<0.001 ,respectively). Data demonstrated that serum hepcidin might play important role in pathogenesis of anemia of chronic kidney disease and IDA, but it's levels are affected by the associated inflammatory state ,which may be utilized as a biomarker for differentiation of these types of anemias.