Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A regular yoga intervention for staff nurse sleep quality and work stress: a randomised controlled trial.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Although many studies have assessed the efficacy of yoga in older individuals, minimal research has focused on how nurses use yoga to improve sleep quality and to reduce work stress after work hours. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in Chinese and the Questionnaire on Medical Worker's Stress in Chinese to determine the impact of yoga on the quality of sleep and work stress of staff nurses employed by a general hospital in China. BACKGROUND Disturbances in the circadian rhythm interrupt an individual's pattern of sleep. STUDY DESIGN Convenient sampling method. METHODS One hundred and twenty nurses were randomised into two groups: a yoga group and a non-yoga group. The yoga group performed yoga more than two times every week for 50-60 minutes each time after work hours. The NG group did not participate in yoga. After six months, self-reported sleep quality and work stress were compared between the two groups, and then we used linear regression to confirm the independent factors related to sleep quality. RESULTS Nurses in the yoga group had better sleep quality and lower work stress compared with nurses in the non-yoga group. The linear regression model indicated that nursing experience, age and yoga intervention were significantly related to sleep quality. CONCLUSION Regular yoga can improve sleep quality and reduce work stress in staff nurses. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This study provides evidence that hospital management should pay attention to nurse sleep quality and work stress, thereby taking corresponding measures to reduce work pressure and improve health outcomes.
Carcinogenesis and treatment of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and gastric cardia

Introduction. Barrett's oesophagus and adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus are related to longstanding duodeno-gastro-oesophageal reflux. The development of an animal model in which duodeno-gastro-oesophageal reflux would be able to induce Barrett's oesophagus and/or Barrett's carcinoma would enable us to study the events taking place during the metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence. Methods. Two rat-models were applied. In the first experiment (44 animals) an oesophagojejunostomy with gastric resection was performed, to ensure duodeno-oesophageal reflux without gastric acid. In the second experiment (30 animals) an oesophagojejunostomy was performed, ensuring duodeno-oesophageal reflux. In both experiments animals were to be sacrificed at four and 12 months. Results. In the first experiment, only 11 animals survived the early post-operative period. These animals had to be sacrificed at a median of 11 weeks due to persistent weight loss and failure to thrive. In all animals a two mm segment of metaplastic epithelium was found at the anastomosis. In four animals a large, well-differentiated, mucinous tumour fitting the diagnosis oesophagitis cystica profunda was observed. In the second experiment, eight animals died post-operatively. Of the remaining animals, 12 were sacrificed at 4-6 months. In these animals, a short ( two mm) segment of metaplastic epithelium was observed, without dysplasia. The ten remaining animals survived one year. At one year, in nine animals a Barrett segment with a length of 10 mm was observed. Also, in four animals one or more squamous cell carcinomas, surrounded by dysplastic squamous epithelium, were found. Finally, in seven animals a tumour with cytologic characteristics of a well-differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma was found. However, these tumours originated in the submucosa, and did not reach either the luminal surface or the muscular layer. Although they showed cytological characteristics of malignancy, the definitive criteria of malignancy, i.e. infiltrative growth and/or dissemination, were not met. Discussion/Conclusion. This is only the second study reporting the development of a long Barrett segment in an animal reflux model. Although tumours develop, these are not reflux induced. The true nature of these tumours remains to be elucidated.
The Politics of the Face-inthe-Crowd

Recent work indicates that the more conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on negative stimuli, whereas the less conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on positive stimuli. The present series of experiments used the face-in-the-crowd paradigm to examine whether variability in the efficiency with which positive and negative stimuli are detected underlies such speed differences. Participants searched for a discrepant facial expression (happy or angry) amid a varying number of neutral distractors (Experiments 1 and 4). A combination of response time and eye movement analyses indicated that variability in search efficiency explained speed differences for happy expressions, whereas variability in post-selectional processes explained speed differences for angry expressions. These results appear to be emotionally mediated as search performance did not vary with political temperament when displays were inverted (Experiment 2) or when controlled processing was required for successful task performance (Experiment 3). Taken together, the present results suggest political temperament is at least partially instantiated by attentional biases for emotional material.
Regulation of Catalase Activity in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells : A Study of Long-term Effects Project

Title: 24,25(OH)2D3 and Regulation of Catalase Activity in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells: A Study of Long-term Effects Department: School of Life Sciences, University of Skövde Course: Project Work in Biomedicine, Advanced Level, 15 ECTS Author: Anette Stahel Supervisor: Dennis Larsson Examinator: Dennis Larsson Date: 2007-08-20 – 2008-01-13
Synaptic input to the on–off directionally selective ganglion cell in the rabbit retina

A physiologically identified on–off directionally selective (DS) ganglion cell with its preferred‐null axis defined was stained with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and prepared for electron microscopy. A continuous series of thin sections were used to examine the cell's synaptology. Although the DS cell dendrite received the majority of its synaptic input from a heterogeneous population of amacrine cell processes, a frequently observed synaptic profile consisted of a DS cell dendrite receiving synapses from a cluster of several amacrine cell processes. These clusters of processes were assumed to be from a fascicle of amacrine cells, most of which probably belonged to several different cholinergic starburst amacrine cells. The most frequently observed presynaptic profile within the clusters consisted of a synaptic couplet in which two processes synapsed with each other before one of them finally synapsed with the DS ganglion cell dendrite; occasionally, a chain of three serial synapses was seen. In addition, a specific microcircuit that has the potential to exert lateral feedforward inhibition was also observed. This microcircuit consisted of two cone bipolar cell terminal dyad synapses where one dyad contained an amacrine cell process making a reciprocal synapse and a DS ganglion cell dendrite receiving direct excitation; the other dyad synapse, found lateral to the first dyad, contained two amacrine cell processes that both made reciprocal synapses, but one fed forward to make a putative inhibitory synapse with the DS cell dendrite. J. Comp. Neurol. 456:267–278, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The piRNA pathway is developmentally regulated during spermatogenesis in Drosophila

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are predominantly produced in animal gonads to suppress transposons during germline development. Our understanding about the piRNA biogenesis and function is predominantly from studies of the Drosophila female germline. piRNA pathway function in the male germline, however, remains poorly understood. To study overall and stage-specific features of piRNAs during spermatogenesis, we analyzed small RNAs extracted from entire wild-type testes and stage-specific arrest mutant testes enriched with spermatogonia or primary spermatocytes. We show that most active piRNA clusters in the female germline do not majorly contribute to piRNAs in testes, and abundance patterns of piRNAs mapping to different transposon families also differ between male and female germlines. piRNA production is regulated in a stage-specific manner during spermatogenesis. The piRNAs in spermatogonia-enriched testes are predominantly transposon-mapping piRNAs, and almost half of those exhibit a ping-pong signature. In contrast, the primary spermatocyte-enriched testes have a dramatically high amount of piRNAs targeting repeats like suppressor of stellate and AT-chX. The transposon-mapping piRNAs in the primary spermatocyte stages lacking Argonaute3 expression also show a ping-pong signature, albeit to a lesser extent. Consistently, argonaute3 mutant testes also retain ping-pong signature–bearing piRNAs, suggesting that a noncanonical ping-pong cycle might act during spermatogenesis. Our study shows stage-specific regulation of piRNA biogenesis during spermatogenesis: An active ping-pong cycle produces abundant transposon-mapping piRNAs in spermatogonia, while in primary spermatocytes, piRNAs act to suppress the repeats and transposons.
Common Requirement for the Relaxosome of Plasmid R1 in Multiple Activities of the Conjugative Type IV Secretion System

ABSTRACT Macromolecular transport by bacterial type IV secretion systems involves regulated uptake of (nucleo)protein complexes by the cell envelope-spanning transport channel. A coupling protein receptor is believed to recognize the specific proteins destined for transfer, but the steps initiating their translocation remain unknown. Here, we investigate the contribution of a complex of transfer initiation proteins, the relaxosome, of plasmid R1 to translocation of competing transferable substrates from mobilizable plasmids ColE1 and CloDF13 or the bacteriophage R17. We found that not only does the R1 translocation machinery engage the R1 relaxosome during conjugative self-transfer and during infection by R17 phage but it is also activated by its cognate relaxosome to mediate the export of an alternative plasmid. Transporter activity was optimized by the R1 relaxosome even when this complex itself could not be transferred, i.e., when the N-terminal activation domain (amino acids 1 to 992 [N1-992]) of TraI was present without the C-terminal conjugative helicase domain. We propose that the functional dependence of the transfer machinery on the R1 relaxosome for initiating translocation ensures that dissemination of heterologous plasmids does not occur at the expense of self-transfer.
Tumor Necrosis Factor- (cid:1) Mediates Diabetes-Enhanced Apoptosis of Matrix-Producing Cells and Impairs Diabetic Healing

Diabetics suffer increased infection followed by increased apoptosis of fibroblasts and bone-lining cells during the healing process. To investigate a potential mechanism, we inoculated Porphyromonas gingivalis into the scalp of type 2 diabetic (db/db) or control mice and inhibited tumor necrosis factor (cid:1) (TNF- (cid:1) ) with etanercept. Mice were euthanized at the early phase of infection (21 hours) or during the peak repair of the bacteria-induced wound (8 days). At 21 hours, TNF- (cid:1) inhibition significantly reduced fibroblast apoptosis and caspase-3 activity in both diabetic and normoglycemic mice ( P < 0.05). During healing etanercept reduced fibroblast apoptosis and caspase-3 activity by almost 50% in diabetic but not normoglycemic mice ( P < 0.05). Concomitantly, etanercept significantly increased fibroblast number by 31% and new matrix formation by 72% in diabetic mice. When bone was examined during healing, administration of the TNF- (cid:1) blocker reduced apoptosis of bone-lining cells by 53%, increased their number by 48%, and enhanced new bone formation by 140% in the diabetic group ( P < 0.05). The degree of connective tissue and osseous healing stimulated in the diabetic mice by anti-TNF- (cid:1) treatment was within the range that is physiologically relevant. This enhanced healing may in part be explained by blocking TNF- (cid:1)
The Storyof RNAFolding , as Told in Epochs

Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Stanford ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering, and Medicine for Human Health), Stanford, California 94305 Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
Reduced CD4+,CD25- T cell sensitivity to the suppressive function of CD4+,CD25high,CD127 -/low regulatory T cells in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE CD4+,CD25high regulatory T (Treg) cells play a crucial role in the maintenance of self tolerance and prevention of organ-specific autoimmunity. The presence of many in vivo-preactivated CD4+,CD25++ T cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) poses a difficulty in discriminating CD25++ activated T cells from CD25high Treg cells. To overcome this problem, we analyzed the phenotype and function of CD4+,CD25high,CD127(-/low) natural Treg (nTreg) cells isolated from the peripheral blood of patients with SLE. METHODS CD4+,CD25high,CD127(-/low) nTreg cells and CD4+,CD25- responder T (Tresp) cells from patients with SLE and normal donors were separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Cell proliferation was quantified by 3H-thymidine incorporation, and immunophenotyping of the cells was done using FACScan. RESULTS Comparable percentages of CD4+,CD25high,FoxP3+ T cells were observed in patients with SLE and normal donors. Proliferation of SLE nTreg cells sorted into the subset CD4+,CD25high,CD127(-/low) was significantly decreased compared with that of SLE nTreg cells sorted into the subset CD4+,CD25high (mean +/- SEM 2,223 +/- 351 counts per minute versus 9,104 +/- 1,720 cpm, respectively), while in normal donors, these values were 802 +/- 177 cpm and 2,028 +/- 548 cpm, respectively, confirming that effector cell contamination was reduced. Notably, the suppressive activity of nTreg cells was intact in all groups. However, CD4+,CD25- Tresp cells isolated from patients with active SLE were significantly less sensitive than those from patients with inactive SLE to the suppressive function of autologous or normal donor CD4+,CD25high,CD127(-/low) nTreg cells. Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation was observed between the extent of T cell regulation in suppressor assays and the level of lupus disease activity. CONCLUSION This study is the first to show that, in human SLE, impaired sensitivity of Tresp cells to the suppressive effects of a comparably functional, highly purified nTreg cell population leads to a defective suppression of T cell proliferation in active SLE. Studies aiming to define the mechanisms leading to Tresp cell resistance might help in the development of highly specific, alternative immunotherapeutic tools for the control of systemic autoimmune diseases such as SLE.
EfficientPredictionofNetworkTraffic forReal-TimeApplications

Accurate real-time traffic prediction is required in many networking applications like dynamic resource allocation and power management. ,is paper explores a number of predictors and searches for a predictor which has high accuracy and low computation complexity and power consumption. Many predictors from three different classes, including classic time series, artificial neural networks, and wavelet transform-based predictors, are compared. ,ese predictors are evaluated using real network traces. Comparison of accuracy and cost, both in terms of computation complexity and power consumption, is presented. It is observed that a double exponential smoothing predictor provides a reasonable tradeoff between performance and cost overhead.
APOL 1 allelic variants are associated with lower age of dialysis initiation and thereby increased dialysis vintage in African and Hispanic Americans with non-diabetic end-stage kidney disease

Background. The APOL1 G1 and G2 genetic variants make a major contribution to the African ancestry risk for a number of common forms of non-diabetic end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). We sought to clarify the relationship of APOL1 variants with age of dialysis initiation and dialysis vintage (defined by the time between dialysis initiation and sample collection) in African and Hispanic Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic ESKD. Methods. We examined APOL1 genotypes in 995 African and Hispanic American dialysis patients with diabetic and non-diabetic ESKD. Results. The mean age of dialysis initiation for non-diabetic African-American patients with two APOL1 risk alleles was 48.1 years, >9 years earlier than those without APOL1 risk alleles (t-test, P 1⁄4 0.0003). Similar results were found in the non-diabetic Hispanic American cohort, but not in the diabetic cohorts. G1 heterozygotes showed a 5.3-year lower mean age of dialysis initiation (t-test, P 1⁄4 0.0452), but G2 heterozygotes did not show such an effect. At the age of 70, 92% of individuals with two APOL1 risk alleles had already initiated dialysis, compared with 76% of the patients without APOL1 risk alleles. Although two APOL1 risk alleles are also associated with ~2 years increased in dialysis vintage, further analysis showed that this increase is fully explained by earlier age of dialysis initiation. Conclusions. Two APOL1 risk alleles significantly predict lower age of dialysis initiation and thereby increased dialysis vintage in non-diabetic ESKD African and Hispanic Americans, but not in diabetic ESKD. A single APOL1 G1, but not G2, risk allele also lowers the age of dialysis initiation, apparently consistent with gain of injury or loss of function mechanisms. Hence, APOL1 mutations produce a distinct category of kidney disease that manifests at younger ages in African ancestry populations.
Cardiac and haemodynamic influence on carotid artery longitudinal wall motion

What is the central question of this study? Carotid artery longitudinal wall motion (CALM) is a bidirectional forward and backward motion of the arterial wall; however, there is no evidence in humans for what controls CALM despite proposals for pulse pressure, left ventricular motion and shear rate. What is the main finding and its importance? Carotid artery longitudinal wall motion responses were heterogeneous when manipulating sympathetic activation and endothelium‐independent vasodilatation, leading to non‐significant group responses. However, individual CALM responses were associated with left ventricular rotation and shear rate. These findings are important when interpreting changes in CALM in humans with acute or chronic experimental designs.
Stock overreaction and financial bubbles: Evidence from Malaysia

This paper attempts to seek linkage between stock overreaction behaviour and financial bubbles in the Malaysian stock market. Monthly data over a period between January 1987 and December 2006 shows no clear evidence of stock overreaction behavior in the market. However, when the study split the analysis into two sub-periods, evidence of stock overreaction behaviour becomes significant in the pre-crisis sub-period, but there is no significant evidence of financial bubbles in the same sub-period. During the post crisis, evidence of stock overreaction seems to diminish, and evidence of financial bubbles however, is observed in the period. This study believes that evidence of bubbles observed in the Malaysian stock market in the post crisis period is due to stock overreaction that took place in the market prior to the crisis.
Effect of solvent, time and method of extraction on the amounts of phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant activity of Ixiolirion tataricum (Pall.) Schult. & Schult.f. extract

K E Y W O R D S © 2018 Islamic Azad University, Shahrood Branch Press, All rights reserved. ISSN: 2588-3631 (Online) ISSN: 2588-3623 (Print) Trends in Phytochemical Research (TPR) Volume 2 Issue 3 September 2018 Effect of solvent, time and method of extraction on the amounts of phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant activity of Ixiolirion tataricum (Pall.) Schult. & Schult.f. extract Fatemeh Rabbani and Malihe Samadi Kazemi Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran Solvent type, extraction time and method are among important parameters in the evaluation of extraction efficiency. The selection of appropriate conditions to increase the extraction efficiency is of great importance. The response surface method (RSM) is a statistical and mathematical technique which can be used to examine the dependence between the responses with variables and also to determine the optimal conditions. In this study, the experimental design of general full factorial (GFF) was used using Minitab 17 software. The variables were time (60, 90 and 120 min), solvent (water, methanol and n-hexane) and method (soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction). The main effects and also interaction terms were investigated on amounts of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and the antioxidant activity (according to IC50, FRAP and BCB) of the extract of Ixiolirion tataricum (Pall.) Schult. & Schult.f. Under optimal conditions, the best extraction method for the TFC was the ultrasound-based approach, whereas for other responses the soxhlet-based was better. Water was the optimal solvent for TPC, FRAP and BCB, but methanol was found as the best solvent for the determination of TFC and IC50. Also, the extraction time for all of the responses was 90 min. The amounts of TPC, TFC, IC50, FRAP and BCB in the optimum conditions obtained were 22.45 ± 0.60 (mg GAE/g extract), 114.57 ± 1.59 (mg QC/g extract), 0.36 ± 0.08 (mg/mL), 1014.7 ± 12.4 (mmol Fe2+/g extract) and 53.02 ± 0.05, respectively. The R2 values for responses were close to unity, which indicates the compatibility between the experimental and the real data. A linear correlation was observed between phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Also, the effect of solvent was more important than time and extraction method on the amounts of TPC, TFC, IC50, FRAP and BCB. Received: 16 January 2018 Revised: 01 April 2018 Accepted: 22 September 2018 ePublished: 27 September 2018 Ixiolirion tataricum (Pall.) Schult. & Schult.f Total phenolic content Total flavonoid content Antioxidant activity Response surface method Corresponding author: Malihe Samadi Kazemi Tel: +985842296990; Fax: +98584-2296977 E-mail address: samadi24243@yahoo.com
Relationship between the β 1-adrenergic receptor and the β 2-adrenergic receptor in hypertension

Objective: To determine whether β1 adrenergic receptor (β1-AR) changes are related to β2-AR expression under conditions of hypertension. Methods: The mRNA and protein levels of β1and β2-AR in the left ventricles (LVs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were measured. The β1and β2-AR mRNA levels in PBMCs from 22 healthy subjects and 17 hypertensive patients were measured. H9c2 cardiac myocytes were infected with AdAdrb1 or AdshAdrb1 to overexpress or knockdown β1-AR expression, and the β1-AR and β2-AR mRNA levels were analyzed. Results: β1-AR and β2-AR mRNA expression was significantly increased in the LV samples and PBMCs from the SHR group compared with the WKY group. Consistent with the animal study, the β1-AR and β2-AR mRNA levels were also increased in hypertensive patients compared with healthy subjects. H9c2 cells over-expressing β1-AR exhibited significantly increased β2-AR expression compared with AdGFP-infected cells. H9c2 cells in which β1-AR was knocked down exhibited significantly decreased β2-AR expression. Conclusions: Parallel changes in β1-AR and β2-AR expression were observed under hypertension conditions, highlighting the need to focus not only on the β-AR mechanism also on β1or β2-AR dynamic changes to better understand the pathological mechanism of hypertension.