Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction of serine acetyltransferase with O‐acetylserine sulfhydrylase active site: Evidence from fluorescence spectroscopy

Serine acetyltransferase is a key enzyme in the sulfur assimilation pathway of bacteria and plants, and is known to form a bienzyme complex with O‐acetylserine sulfhydrylase, the last enzyme in the cysteine biosynthetic pathway. The biological function of the complex and the mechanism of reciprocal regulation of the constituent enzymes are still poorly understood. In this work the effect of complex formation on the O‐acetylserine sulfhydrylase active site has been investigated exploiting the fluorescence properties of pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate, which are sensitive to the cofactor microenvironment and to conformational changes within the protein matrix. The results indicate that both serine acetyltransferase and its C‐terminal decapeptide bind to the α‐carboxyl subsite of O‐acetylserine sulfhydrylase, triggering a transition from an open to a closed conformation. This finding suggests that serine acetyltransferase can inhibit O‐acetylserine sulfhydrylase catalytic activity with a double mechanism, the competition with O‐acetylserine for binding to the enzyme active site and the stabilization of a closed conformation that is less accessible to the natural substrate.
Comparison of the Effects of Dietary Saturated, Mono-, and n–6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Blood Lipid Profile, Oxidant Stress, Prostanoid Synthesis and Aortic Histology in Rabbits

Background/Aims: To compare the effects of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated n–6 fatty acid-enriched diets on the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis in New Zealand white male rabbits, 3- to 6-month-old animals were supplemented daily (10 g/100 g diet) with butter (n = 8), olive oil (n = 8) or corn oil (n = 8) by oral administration for 7 weeks. Methods: Total cholesterol (TC), HDL- (HDL-C) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA-1), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), lipid peroxides as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1α (6-ketoPGF1α) concentrations were determined in blood samples drawn before and after each group was fed the different dietary regimens. Histological examination was performed on the aortic tissues. Results: After 7 weeks, TC, ApoB and TXB2 increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the butter-fed animals compared to pre-experimental concentrations. Olive oil administration lead to a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in TC and ApoB levels. The corn oil-enriched diet decreased TC, LDL-C concentrations, TC/HDL-C ratios and 6-ketoPGF1α (stable metabolite of prostacyclin-PGI2; p < 0.05 for all) but increased TBARS levels and TXB2/6-ketoPGF1α ratios. Light microscopic findings were in accordance with these biochemical alterations. Conclusion: Although effective in lipid lowering, corn oil increased oxidant stress as evidenced by increased TBARS and induced endothelial damage which lead to a reduction in PGI2 synthesis and consequently to an increase in the TXB2/6-ketoPGF1α ratio. Olive oil administration did not induce oxidant stress and it had no affect on PGI2 and TXB2 levels which are implicated in platelet aggregation. These findings suggest that oleic acid is more effective than linoleic acid in the protection of endothelial integrity.
Identification of the major late human cytomegalovirus matrix protein pp65 as a target antigen for CD8+ virus‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Primary Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and reactivation of persistent CMV are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in immuno‐compromised individuals. Although recovery from CMV disease is correlated with the development of CMV‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), the major viral target antigens to which the response is directed are ill‐defined, though they may comprise viral structural elements. We now identify the CMV matrix protein pp65 as a significant target antigen for CD8+ class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐restricted CMV‐specific CTL derived from the peripheral blood of four of five latently infected individuals. CMV‐specific CTL recognition of pp65 on target cells occurs prior to the onset of viral gene expression and persists throughout the duration of the replicative cycle. Recognition in the absence of viral gene expression suggests that abundant viral protein enters the normal trafficking pathway upon viral penetration and is readily made available to MHC molecules for presentation at the cell surface. Thus pp65 specific CTL may represent an important effector population for early control and limitation of CMV infection and disease. The observation that CMV‐specific CTL can be induced in vitro using peptide fragments derived from pp65 supports the future use and manipulation of this and similar effector populations in a clinical setting. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral ketamine premedication to alleviate the distress of invasive procedures in pediatric oncology patients.

This study prospectively evaluated the efficacy of oral ketamine in alleviating procedure-related distress in pediatric oncology patients. Ketamine (10 mg/kg) was administered orally to 35 children and adolescents, ranging in age from 14 months to 17 years (mean = 6.5 years). Procedure-related distress was evaluated by using parent/clinician ratings and the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress (OSBD-R). Eighty-seven percent of children were sedated within 45 minutes. Clinician and parent ratings were similar, with 77% rating procedural distress as low (0 to 3). The OSBD-R scores were low throughout all phases of the study. Although this study was neither randomized nor placebo-controlled, statistical comparison of the OSBD-R scores of the patients who received oral ketamine with those of historical controls (from a study previously performed at the same institution but using intravenous midazolam) showed significantly less distress (P < .001) during the procedure in children who received oral ketamine. Additionally, OSBD-R scores of the patients who received oral ketamine were significantly lower (P < .001) during all phases than those of the saline placebo group in the other study. No cardiorespiratory side effects related to ketamine were noted. The majority of patients showed recovery from sedation within 2 hours following the procedure. In conclusion, oral ketamine effectively alleviated procedure-related distress in pediatric oncology patients.
Primary adult soft tissue sarcoma: time-dependent influence of prognostic variables.

PURPOSE To define prognostic factors for postrelapse survival and their time-dependent influence for adult soft tissue sarcoma (STS). PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed 2,123 patients with completely resected localized primary STS treated from 1982 to 1999. Variables studied included tumor site, size, depth, grade, and resection margin but not treatment other than resection. Landmark time frames were used to assess the influence of disease-free interval (DFI) on disease-specific survival (DSS). DSS was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Time-dependent stepwise regression analysis evaluated the time-dependent influence of each variable. RESULTS Two thirds of recurrences developed within 2 years of initial resection. Tumor size (P <.001), grade (P <.001), and microscopic resection margin (P <.001) independently predicted DSS for all STS. Size and grade independently predicted early (DFI <or= 3 years) and margin late (DFI > 3 years) DSS. Risk of tumor-related death was the same across all sites 3 years postresection and decreased significantly for extremity/trunk STS when DFI exceeded 3 years (P <.001). Influence of initial high-risk factors for tumor-related mortality in extremity/trunk STS decreased by 40% 3 years postresection, but their influence over DSS for non-extremity/trunk sites remained constant over time. Likelihood of complete resection after recurrence (all sites) increased with DFI (9% and 33% for DFI < 6 and > 36 months, respectively). CONCLUSION Tumor size, grade, and resection margin predict outcome for completely resected STS, and their influence for DSS is time- and site-dependent. The influence of prognostic factors changes over the natural history of extremity/trunk STS. Time to recurrence exerts significant influence over complete resection rates for recurrent disease.
Fermentation of corn starch to ethanol with genetically engineered yeast

Expression of the glucoamylase gene from Aspergillus awamori by laboratory and distiller's strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae allowed them to ferment soluble starch. Approximately 95% of the carbohydrates in the starch were utilized. Glycerol production was significantly decreased when soluble starch was used instead of glucose. Ethanol yield on soluble starch was higher than that on glucose. The rate of starch fermentation was directly related to the level of glucoamylase activity. Strains with higher levels of glucoamylase expression fermented starch faster. The decline in starch fermentation rates toward the end of the fermentation was associated with accumulation of disaccharides and limit dextrins, poor substrates for glucoamylase. The buildup of these products in continuous fermentations inhibited glucoamylase activity and complete utilization of the starch. Under these conditions maltose‐fermenting strains had a significant advantage over nonfermenting strains. The synthesis and secretion of glucoamylase showed no deleterious effects on cell growth rates, fermetation rates, and fermentation products.
Tertiary Storage: An Evaluation of New Applications

This thesis focuses on an often-neglected area of computer system design: tertiary storage. In the last decade, several advances in tertiary storage have made it of increasing interest, including increased tape capacities, less expensive tape drives and optical disk drives, and the proliferation of robots for loading tertiary devices automatically. Concurrently, faster processor speeds have enabled a growing number of applications that would benefit from fast access to massive storage. We evaluate the usefulness of current tertiary storage systems for some of these new applications. First, we describe the design and performance of tertiary storage products. Next, we evaluate the technique of data striping in tape arrays. We find that tape striping improves the performance of sequential workloads. However, striped tape systems perform poorly for applications in which there are several non-sequential, concurrent requests active in the tape library because of contention for a small number of tape drives. We characterize two new workloads: video-on-demand servers and digital libraries. For the former, we evaluate design alternatives for providing storage in a movies-on-demand system. First, we study disk farms in which one movie is stored per disk. This is a simple scheme, but it wastes substantial disk bandwidth, since disks holding less popular movies are under-utilized; also, good performance requires that movies be replicated to reflect the user request pattern. Next, we examine disk farms in which movies are striped across disks, and find that striped video servers offer close to full utilization of the disks by achieving better load balancing. Finally, we evaluate the use of storage hierarchies for video service that include a tertiary library along with a disk farm. Unfortunately, we show that the performance of neither magnetic tape libraries nor optical disk jukeboxes as part of a storage hierarchy is adequate to service the predicted distribution of movie accesses. Throughout the dissertation, we identify several desirable changes in tertiary storage systems. To support new applications with higher concurrencies, tertiary libraries should be redesigned with a higher ratio of drives to media, higher bandwidth per drive and faster access times.
Psychosocial risk factors associated with suicide attempts and violence among psychiatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVES To better understand the relationship between suicidal behavior and violence directed toward others among patients with major psychiatric disorders, this study examined how suicide attempts and violent behaviors were associated with various psychosocial problems. METHODS Participants were inpatients in two psychiatric state hospitals. They included 216 inpatients who had physically assaulted another patient or a staff member and a comparison group of 81 inpatients who had not assaulted anyone. History of suicide attempts and historical information about various risk factors for violence and suicide were obtained through chart review and patient interviews. RESULTS Patients in the violent group did not differ from those in the nonviolent group in whether they had attempted suicide. Suicide attempts and violence were associated with different historical variables. Suicide attempts were associated with a history of head trauma, harsh parental discipline, and parental psychopathology. Violence against others was associated with having a history of school truancy and foster home placement. CONCLUSIONS Among inpatients with major psychiatric disorders, violence and suicide attempts were not related to each other and were associated with dissimilar psychosocial risk factors.
Unlocking the Benefits of Diversity

As the demographic composition of organizations in the United States rapidly shifts, such that minority groups are becoming the numerical and economic majority, organizations are grappling with ways to manage diversity in the workplace. The two forms of diversity initiatives most frequently implemented in organizations—colorblindness and multiculturalism—have clear benefits; however, each also contributes to feelings of exclusion by different organizational members. In this article, the authors describe problematic issues raised by these two approaches to diversity and offer an alternative perspective—all-inclusive multiculturalism, or the AIM model. The authors posit that AIM serves as a catalyst for positive and effective organizational change through the development of social capital and positive relationships at work and enables organizational members to grow to their fullest potential.
Cervical cancer screening among vulnerable women: factors affecting guideline adherence at a community health centre in Toronto, Ont.

OBJECTIVE To see if refugee women at a community health centre (CHC) in Toronto, Ont, are appropriately screened for cervical cancer and if there are any demographic characteristics that affect whether they are screened. DESIGN Chart review. SETTING A CHC in downtown Toronto. PARTICIPANTS A total of 357 eligible refugee women attending the CHC. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Papanicolaou test received or documented reason for no Pap test. RESULTS Ninety-two percent of women in the study sample were either appropriately screened for cervical cancer or had been approached for screening. Eighty percent of women were appropriately screened. Demographic variables including pregnancy, being uninsured, not speaking English, recent migration to Canada, and being a visible minority did not affect receipt of a Pap test after migration in multivariate analyses. Not speaking English was associated with a delay to receiving a first Pap test after migration. CONCLUSION The clients at our centre are demographically similar to women who are typically overlooked for Pap tests in the greater Toronto area. Despite belonging to a high-risk population, refugee women in this multidisciplinary CHC were screened for cervical cancer at a higher rate than the local population.
The WKB approximation and the travelling-wave acceleration cavity

The WKB approximation of quantum mechanics is shown to yield a very accurate solution for massive particles. It allows both the amplitude and the wave number of the trajectory to vary as the cavity is traversed. Solutions are approximately 30 times more accurate than previously published. Comparisons are made with numerical integration. <<ETX>>
Characterization of Group C Rotaviruses Associated with Diarrhea Outbreaks in Feeder Pigs

ABSTRACT Feces and serum specimens were collected from three farms in Michigan on which ∼50-lb (8- to 9-week-old) pigs experienced diarrhea just after placement into all-in-all-out finishing barns. The clinical signs (profuse watery diarrhea lasting about 2 weeks and no vomiting) were similar on all farms, and the morbidity rate was high (ranging from 60 to 80%) but without mortality. Eleven diarrheic fecal samples from the farms were tested for group A and C rotaviruses by immune electron microscopy (IEM) and various assays. IEM indicated that the fecal samples reacted only with antiserum against group C rotaviruses, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the samples had characteristic genomic electropherotypes for group C rotavirus. Group C rotavirus was detected by cell culture immunofluorescence (CCIF) tests in nine fecal samples, but no group A rotavirus was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or CCIF. By reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, all 11 fecal samples were positive for group C rotaviruses, with only 2 samples positive for group A rotaviruses. However, a second amplification of RT-PCR products using nested primers detected group A rotaviruses in all samples. Analysis of nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the RT-PCR product (partial-length VP7) of the group C rotavirus showed 87.2 to 91% nucleotide identity and 92.6 to 95.9% amino acid identity among two strong samples from the different farms and the Cowden strain of porcine group C rotavirus. All nine convalescent-phase serum samples tested had neutralizing antibodies to the Cowden strain, and the majority of them had neutralizing antibody against group A rotaviruses (OSU or/and Gottfried strains) by fluorescent focus neutralization tests. Although group C rotaviruses have been reported as a cause of sporadic diarrhea in suckling or weanling pigs, to our knowledge, this is the first report of epidemic diarrhea outbreaks associated with group C rotavirus in older pigs.
Traumatic Brain Injury

Very severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause persistent functional limitations in visual-motor and cognitive functions which may have consequences for fitness to drive. On-road driving performance in this population is significantly related to performance on neuropsychological tests of attention and information processing. This particularly concerns basic “operational” driving tasks like brake reaction time, visual search time, and lateral position control. Many drivers in this population, however, succeed in compensating effectively for these functional limitations, presumably because higher-order “tactical” aspects of driving allow them to anticipate and avoid driving situations which would be too demanding. To be able to assess compensatory potential, two test drives in an advanced driving simulator are included in the neuropsychological assessment of fitness to drive. The tests and the context in which they are used are described. By means of three case studies with very severe TBI the additional value of the driving simulator tests is illustrated and discussed. Test drives in a driving simulator for the assessment of brain-damaged drivers have not yet been properly validated and standardized. As an addition to a neuropsychological examination, a driving test in a realistic driving simulator can be a useful tool to assess (lacking) compensatory driving skill in brain-damaged drivers. In the Swing Drive the authors assess the operational skill of lateral position control and the tactical skill of controlling speed in response to changing motivation and operator capacities. The test requires steering at various speeds on a winding country road with alternating left-right curves and a continuous stream of traffic from the opposing direction. In various conditions the average lateral position, the standard deviation of lateral position, lane crossings left and right, and collisions with other traffic are computed. In the City Drive the authors use a city and route developed in research on intersection complexity and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in older drivers. The authors assess practical fitness to drive based on observation of speed choice, lateral and longitudinal position control, viewing behavior, gap acceptance, application of priority rules, etc. in a variety of road and traffic situations as they develop during the drive. The simulator system of ST Software B.V. is used. It contains the design tools to create simulated road environments and the runtime modules required for real-time simulation. Simulation of traffic is based on ‘autonomous agents’ technology which models the simulated participants (i.e., all traffic surrounding the simulator driver) as self-governing intelligent objects that show natural and normative driver behavior.
Hormone therapy in the WHI era

The announcement in July 2002 in the media of the results of the combined continuous hormone treatment arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) had a profound effect on perceptions about hormone therapy among the lay public and the medical profession. Careful scrutiny of the announcement and the subsequent publications leads to the conclusion that the widespread fear of hormone therapy that was generated was not supported by the facts. WHI was not designed to be, nor can it be, interpreted as a randomised controlled trial of menopausal hormone therapy – rather, it was a trial of chronic disease prevention, particularly aimed at the possible cardiovascular benefits of a specific combination hormone therapy in postmenopausal women. The results, which were consistent with existing data, did not and do not warrant any major change in the previously established guidelines for the use of hormone therapy. Tibolone has emerged as an alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms, but its long‐term benefits and risks have yet to be documented.
Cost of illness in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus in Germany

Objective: To estimate and compare the direct and indirect costs of illness in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to evaluate the effect of sex, disease duration and functional status on the various cost domains. Methods: Data of outpatients, aged 18–65, with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 4351), ankylosing spondylitis (n = 827), PsA (n = 908) or SLE (n = 844), who were enrolled in the national database of the German collaborative arthritis centres in 2002, were analysed. Data on healthcare consumption, out-of-pocket expenses and productivity losses were derived from doctors and patients. For the calculation of indirect costs, the human capital approach (HCA) and the friction cost approach (FCA) were applied. Results: Mean direct costs amounted to €4737 a year in rheumatoid arthritis, €3676 in ankylosing spondylitis, €3156 in PsA and €3191 in SLE. By using the HCA, total costs were calculated at €15 637 in rheumatoid arthritis, €13 513 in ankylosing spondylitis, €11 075 in PsA and €14 411 in SLE, whereas with the FCA the numbers were €7899, €7204, €5570 and €6518, respectively. Costs increased with disease duration and were strongly dependent on functional status. In patients with the highest disability (<50% of full function), the total costs on applying the HCA were €34 915 in rheumatoid arthritis, €29 647 in alkylosing spondylitis, €37 440 in PsA and €32 296 in SLE. Conclusion: The costs of illness are high in all four diseases, with a strong effect of functional status on total costs. Indirect costs differ by the factor 3, based on whether the HCA or the FCA is used.