Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrodeposition of Nickel onto 12K Carbon Fibre Tow in a Continuous Manner

Nickel-coated carbon fibre (NiCCF) is an important composite material, which finds numerous engineering applications, primarily within: computer, telecommunication, automotive and military industries. In general, NiCCF can be produced by one of the three methods, namely: chemical vapour deposition (CVD), electroless, and electrochemical (galvanic) deposition of Ni on a carbon fibre tow material. The present paper reports a study of the process of nickel electrodeposition (at ultrathin layers of ≈ 0.3–0.5 μm) onto the surface of 12K (12 000 single filaments) carbon fibre (CF) tow, carried-out in a continuous way. In addition, the effect of selected pre-treatments applied to carbon fibre, as well as that of operational parameters of the process, on the quality of the NiCCF product were investigated. (doi: 10.5562/cca1743)
Direct high-energy neutral-channel dissociative recombination of cold H3+ in an ion storage ring.

The cross section for neutral-channel dissociative recombination of vibrationally cooled H[sub 3][sup +] at energies between 0.0025 and 30 eV has been measured by utilizing the electron cooler at the storage ring CRYRING. The molecular ions were stored at an energy of 32.6 MeV and phase-space cooled by the electron cooler for about 8 s prior to data taking. A peak in the cross section at 9.4 eV is interpreted as a direct adiabatic neutral-channel recombination through the [sup 2][ital A][sub 1] resonant state. The cross section below 1 eV is in rather good agreement with single-pass data.
A comparison of etanercept and methotrexate in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND Etanercept, which blocks the action of tumor necrosis factor, reduces disease activity in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. Its efficacy in reducing disease activity and preventing joint damage in patients with active early rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. METHODS We treated 632 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis with either twice-weekly subcutaneous etanercept (10 or 25 mg) or weekly oral methotrexate (mean, 19 mg per week) for 12 months. Clinical response was defined as the percent improvement in disease activity according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. Bone erosion and joint-space narrowing were measured radiographically and scored with use of the Sharp scale. On this scale, an increase of 1 point represents one new erosion or minimal narrowing. RESULTS As compared with patients who received methotrexate, patients who received the 25-mg dose of etanercept had a more rapid rate of improvement, with significantly more patients having 20 percent, 50 percent, and 70 percent improvement in disease activity during the first six months (P<0.05). The mean increase in the erosion score during the first 6 months was 0.30 in the group assigned to receive 25 mg of etanercept and 0.68 in the methotrexate group (P= 0.001), and the respective increases during the first 12 months were 0.47 and 1.03 (P=0.002). Among patients who received the 25-mg dose of etanercept, 72 percent had no increase in the erosion score, as compared with 60 percent of patients in the methotrexate group (P=0.007). This group of patients also had fewer adverse events (P=0.02) and fewer infections (P= 0.006) than the group that was treated with methotrexate. CONCLUSIONS As compared with oral methotrexate, subcutaneous [corrected] etanercept acted more rapidly to decrease symptoms and slow joint damage in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis.
DNA demethylation.

Cytosine 5′ methylation of CpG dinucleotides within and around genes exerts a major influence on transcription in many plants and animals (1–3). DNA methylation can be causal for transcriptional silencing (4–5) and targets the machinery necessary to assemble specialized chromatin enriched in deacetylated histones (6–8). Once established in somatic cells, CpG methylation patterns within the genome are very stable and provide an attractive mechanism for segregating a large fraction of stably repressed chromatin (9–11). In contrast, DNA methylation is remarkably dynamic during early mammalian development and in certain tumor cells (12, 13). Alterations in the methylation status of the entire genome (14, 15), individual chromosomes (16), and specific genes (17–20) are essential for normal development (21, 22) and can promote tumorigenesis (23, 24). Understanding how these important transitions might be regulated requires the biochemical definition of the enzymatic processes that both methylate and demethylate the genome.
LINKAGE‐DEPENDENT GENE FLOW IN A HOUSE MOUSE CHROMOSOMAL HYBRID ZONE

Abstract In the alpine valley of Valtellina there are two Robertsonian chromosomal races of house mouse, the Poschiavo (POS: 2n= 24–26) characterized by metacentric 8.12 and acrocentrics 2 and 10 and the Upper Valtellina (UV: 2n= 22–24) characterized by metacentrics 2.8 and 10.12. The races inhabit separate villages in the valley except in Sommacologna and Sondalo, where they both occur together with hybrids. A total of 179 mice from 16 villages were typed at 13 microsatellite loci. Seven of these loci were localized close to the centromeres of chromosomes 10 and 12, with the prediction that these regions on the race‐specific chromosomes would be the most likely to experience a barrier to gene flow. The remaining six loci were localized at the telomeres of chromosomes 10 and 12 and at the centromeres of chromosomes that do not differ between the races. Substantial differences in allelic frequencies were found between the villages with POS and UV races at five of the loci at the centromeres of chromosomes 10 and 12 but at none of the other loci. These differences were not found to distinguish the two races in Sommacologna and Sondalo. Therefore, the centromeric regions of race‐specific chromosomes do appear to experience a barrier to gene flow, although this can break down under intense interbreeding between the races. These results are considered in the context of Harrison's (1990) concept of the semipermeability of hybrid zones to gene exchange and in relation to parapatric speciation.
Genetic Susceptibility to Benzene Toxicity in Humans

Human metabolism of benzene involves pathways coded for by polymorphic genes. To determine whether the genotype at these loci might influence susceptibility to the adverse effects of benzene exposure, 208 Bulgarian petrochemical workers and controls, whose exposure to benzene was determined by active personal sampling, were studied. The frequency of DNA single-strand breaks (DNA-SSB) was determined by alkaline elution, and genotype analysis was performed for five metabolic loci. Individuals carrying the NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) variant had significantly twofold increased DNA-SSB levels compared to wild-type individuals. The same result was observed for subjects with microsomal epoxide hydrolase (EPHX) genotypes that predict the fast catalytic phenotype. Deletion of the glutathione S‐transferase T1 (GSTT1) gene also showed a consistent quantitative 35–40% rise in DNA-SSB levels. Neither glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) nor myeloperoxidase (MPO) genetic variants exerted any effect on DNA-SSB levels. Combinations of two genetic polymorphisms showed the same effects on DNA-SSB as expected from the data on single genotypes. The three locus genotype predicted to produce the highest level of toxicity, based on metabolic pathways, produced a significant 5.5-fold higher level of DNA-SSB than did the genotype predicted to yield the least genotoxicity.
Association of Vitamin D Deficiency with Hypertension in Uninsured Women

Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in the United States. Uninsured women are at high risk due to a lower intake of vitamin D and limited sun exposure. We examined the association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension in 96 uninsured women at a County Free Medical Clinic in urban Michigan. Questionnaires were used to obtain information about demographics, medical history including hypertension, and dietary habits. Measurements including blood pressure and serum 25(OH)D level were also collected. Prevalence of hypertension was higher in subjects with 25(OH)D less than 50nmol/l compared with others (85% vs. 27.3%, p = 0.014). For every 1 nmol/L decrease in serum 25(OH)D, there was an increase in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 0.20 (p =0.006) and 0.13 (p =0.003) mm of Hg respectively. These results demonstrate a high prevalence of hypertension in the vitamin D deficient, uninsured female population
Diagnosis and Management of Blunt Abdominal Trauma

The records of 437 patients with blunt abdominal trauma admitted to Charity Hospital, New Orleans, from 1967–1973 have been reviewed and computer-analyzed. There was an 80% increase in the incidence of blunt abdominal trauma when compared with the preceding 15-year experience. Forty-three per cent of all the patients presented with no specific complaint or sign of injury. Blunt abdominal injury was usually diagnosed preoperatively using conventional methods including history, physical examination, and routine laboratory tests and x-rays. Abdominal paracentesis via a Potter needle had an 86% accuracy. The incidence and management of specific organ injuries with associated morbidity and mortality have been discussed. Mortality and morbidity continue to be significant in blunt abdominal trauma. Isolated abdominal injuries rarely (5%) resulted in death, even though abdominal injuries accounted for 41% of all deaths. Associated injuries, especially head injury, greatly increased the risk. The insidious nature of blunt abdominal injury is borne out by the fact that more than one-third of the “asymptomatic” patients had an abdominal organ injured. A high index of suspicion and an adequate observation period therefore are mandatory for proper care of patients subjected to blunt trauma.
Body fat distribution and cardiovascular disease risk factors in pre- and postmenopausal obese women with similar BMI.

The aim of this study is to determine the body fat distribution and cardiovascular disease risk factors in pre- and postmenopausal obese women matched for weight, height and body mass index (BMI). Study group consisted of 405 premenopausal overweight/obese (BMI > 27 kg/m2, mean 37.83 +/- 6.91 kg/m2) and 405 postmenopausal overweight/obese (BMI > 27 kg/m2), BMI-matched (mean 37.77 +/- 6.84 kg/m2) women. None of the women were on hormone replacement therapy. Insulin resistance was evaluated by "homeostasis model assessment" (HOMA) formula. Intraabdominal fat volume was calculated according to the following formula: IAF (L) = [(0.370 x abdominal sagittal diameter) - 4.85]. Age, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio (WHR) and intraabdominal fat volume were significantly higher in postmenopausals compared with BMI-matched premenopausal women (p < 0.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, uric acid, cholesterol and triglyceride were significantly higher (p < 0.001) and HDL-cholesterol was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in postmenopausals. No significant differences were observed with respect to insulin and HOMA. When age-matched pre- and postmenopausal women were compared, only total cholesterol was significantly higher in the postmenopausal group. However, older postmenopausal women (> 50 years) had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, WHR, glucose and uric acid concentrations compared with younger (< or = 50 years) postmenopausals. It is concluded that an increase in abdominal fat accumulation and unfavorable alterations in risk factors disturb postmenopausal obese women even if total body weight and BMI do not change during menopause transition. Ageing, particularly throughout the postmenopausal years, has important effects on the detrimental changes associated with menopause.
Maternal and perinatal outcome in obese pregnant patients

Introduction. Obesity represents a rapidly emerging epidemic amongst pregnant patients in South Australia, in particular in Adelaide's Northern suburbs, one of the poorest urban areas in Australia. The aim of the current study was to prepare a comprehensive overview of maternal and perinatal outcome in overweight, obese and morbidly obese pregnant patients. Material and methods. Retrospective review of women with singleton pregnancies delivering in the first 6 months of 2006; 100 with normal BMI (group I: BMI 19.1–25 kg/m2), 100 overweight (group II: BMI 25.1–30 kg/m2), 110 obese (group III: BMI 30.1–40 kg/m2) and 60 morbidly obese women (group IV: BMI >40 kg/m2) were identified with access to complete medical records. Outcome measures included booking demographics, booking blood pressures, glucose challenge and glucose tolerance results, hypertensive complications, pre-existing and gestational diabetes, instrumental deliveries, caesarean deliveries, blood loss, birth weights, Apgar scores, post-partum complications and psychological problems. Results. Women in group II, III and IV were characterised by higher systolic booking blood pressure (mean differences: 3.92, 9.94 and 9.84 respectively for group II, III and IV) and higher diastolic booking blood pressures (mean differences 3.02, 6.92 and 9.22 respectively). As a combined group II–IV, women were at increased risk for pre-existing morbidity (OR 2.33) and requiring medication (OR 2.13). Pregnancy hypertension occurred significantly more in group III and IV with OR 2.38 and 3.75. Women without pre-existing hypertension were also found to be at increased risk to develop gestational hypertension only if they belonged to group IV (OR 3.69). Women in group III and IV are at increased risk at gestational diabetes with OR 8.82 and 27.38. Women in group III and IV are less likely to have a spontaneous onset of labour with ORs of 2.18 and 3.51 for not having spontaneous onset of labour. Induction of labour occurred more often in group IV (OR 3.17). Requirement of instrumental deliveries or lower segment caesarean section occurred more often in group II, III and IV with OR 2.20, 3.28 and 5.47 respectively. Significant more blood loss was found in group III and IV with mean differences of 135.42 and 207.94 ml compared with group I. The birthweight in group III and IV are significantly higher with mean differences of 104.86 and 324.94 g. Macrosomia occurred more often in group IV (OR 4.04). Women in group III and IV had a longer overall hospital stay with mean differences of 0.58 and 1.09 days. Mental health issues were more common in group II, III and IV with OR 3.16, 3.53 and 4.17 respectively. Conclusion. These South Australian data from a socio-economically deprived area in Adelaide's Northern suburbs confirm that obesity during pregnancy represents a major risk for adverse outcome for patients with a whole spectrum of adverse pregnancy outcomes; obesity represents a major challenge for health care providers.
Things that talk: Using sound for device-to-device and device-to-human communication

Nonlexical sound is explored as both a device-to-device and device-to-human communication medium. Considerations for device-to-device communication include robustness in various environments, potential interference, frequency limitations of conventional and piezoelectric devices, computational complexity, and strategies for ultrasonic and humanaudible frequencies. Algorithms include modem protocols, information-hiding techniques, impulse coding, and dual-tone modulation. Considerations for device-to-human communication include the use of sounds that are unobtrusive in public settings and sounds that enable attention to be divided between the performance of complex tasks and real-time feedback.
Effects of Light and Darkness on Gaseous Exchange of Bean Leaves.

rate of respiration of chlorophyllose tissue in the light. The results of these experiments have varied with the experimental technique employed and the process, CO2 evolution or 02 consumption, being measured. Early work by Brown and associates (2,19) indicated that respiratory rates of Chlorella and several vascular plants were identical in light and darkness. Decker (5) has questioned the interpretation of these results, and in his own work with tobacco (Nicotiana lacngsdorfii and N. sanderae) has reported CO2 production in the light to be greater than in the dark (4). Subsequently Brown and Weis (3) and Weis and Brown (23) derived equations for correcting respiratory rates of algae measured in the gaseous phase of Warburg vessels to make them correspond to rates which prevail in the liquid phase. These equations are based primarily on the relative diffusion barrier to 02 and CO2 presented by the gas-liquid interface. Use of these equations resulted in substantially lower values for respiration rates. Values for CO2 evolu
Migraine changes the brain: neuroimaging makes its mark.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review summarizes key findings of the current literature on functional neuroimaging in migraine and describes how these studies have changed our view of the disorder. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies have started not only to investigate the global cerebral activation pattern during migraine attacks, but to address specific aspects of migraine attacks such as photophobia, osmophobia as well as pain perception with the aim of disentangling the underlying mechanisms. There is also more and more evidence that the migraine brain is abnormal even outside of attacks and that repeated attacks are leading to functional and structural alterations in the brain, which may in turn drive the transformation of migraine to its chronic form. Some new results are pinpointing toward a potential role of interesting new brain areas in migraine pathophysiology such as the temporal cortex or the basal ganglia. SUMMARY Neuroimaging studies are beginning to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the development and evolution of migraine and its specific symptoms. Future studies have the potential to also improve our understanding of established and upcoming treatment approaches and to monitor treatment effects in an objective and noninvasive way.
Effects of halothane and isoflurane on fast and slow inactivation of human heart hH1a sodium channels.

BACKGROUND Cloning and heterologous expression of ion channels allow biophysical and molecular studies of the mechanisms of volatile anesthetic interactions with human heart sodium channels. Volatile anesthetics may influence the development of arrhythmias arising from cardiac sodium channel dysfunction. For that reason, understanding the mechanisms of interactions between these anesthetics and cardiac sodium channels is important. This study evaluated the mechanisms of volatile anesthetic actions on the cloned human cardiac sodium channel (hH1a) alpha subunit. METHODS Inward sodium currents were recorded from human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells stably expressing hH1a channels. The effects of halothane and isoflurane on current and channel properties were evaluated using the whole cell voltage-clamp technique. RESULTS Halothane at 0.47 and 1.1 mM and isoflurane at 0.54 and 1.13 mM suppressed the sodium current in a dose- and voltage-dependent manner. Steady state activation was not affected, but current decay was accelerated. The voltage dependence of steady state fast and slow inactivations was shifted toward more hyperpolarized potentials. The slope factor of slow but not fast inactivation curves was reduced significantly. Halothane increased the time constant of recovery from fast inactivation. The recovery from slow inactivation was not affected significantly by either anesthetic. CONCLUSIONS In a heterologous expression system, halothane and isoflurane interact with the hH1a channels and suppress the sodium current. The mechanisms involve acceleration of the transition from the open to the inactivated state, stabilization of the fast and slow inactivated states, and prolongation of the inactivated state by delayed recovery from the fast inactivated to the resting state.
Interaction of the non‐phosphorylated peptide G7‐18NATE with Grb7‐SH2 domain requires phosphate for enhanced affinity and specificity

Src‐homology (SH2) domains are an attractive target for the inhibition of specific signalling pathways but pose the challenge of developing a truly specific inhibitor. The G7‐18NATE cyclic peptide is reported to specifically inhibit the growth factor receptor bound protein 7 (Grb7) adapter protein, implicated in the progression of several cancer types, via interactions with its SH2 domain. G7‐18NATE effectively inhibits the interaction of Grb7 with ErbB3 and focal adhesion kinase in cell lysates and, with the addition of a cell permeability sequence, inhibits the growth and migration of a number of breast cancer cell lines. It is thus a promising lead in the development of therapeutics targeted to Grb7. Here we investigate the degree to which G7‐18NATE is specific for the Grb7‐SH2 domain compared with closely related SH2 domains including those of Grb10, Grb14, and Grb2 using surface plasmon resonance. We demonstrate that G7‐18NATE binds with micromolar binding affinity to Grb7‐SH2 domain (KD = 4–6 μm) compared with 50–200 times lower affinity for Grb10, Grb14, and Grb2 but that this specificity depends critically on the presence of phosphate in millimolar concentrations. Other differences in buffer composition, including use of Tris or 2‐(N‐Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid or varying the pH, do not impact on the interaction. This suggests that under cellular conditions, G7‐18NATE binds with highest affinity to Grb7. In addition, our findings demonstrate that the basis of specificity of G7‐18NATE binding to the Grb7‐SH2 domain is via other than intrinsic structural features of the protein, representing an unexpected mode of molecular recognition. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fusion Protein of Retinoic Acid Receptor α with Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein or Promyelocytic Leukemia Zinc Finger Protein Recruits N-CoR-TBLR1 Corepressor Complex to Repress Transcription in Vivo*

Fusion proteins of retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) with promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML-RARα) or with promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF-RARα) are associated with and likely responsible for the development of acute promyelocytic leukemia. These oncoproteins retain the ability to bind DNA and retinoic acid through the RARα moiety. This enables them to repress RARα target genes in the absence of retinoic acid, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be investigated. Here we use the frog oocyte system to study transcriptional regulation by PML-RARα and PLZF-RARα in the context of chromatin. We first show that the endogenous corepressor N-CoR forms a complex with TBLR1 (transducin beta-like protein 1-related protein) and that both N-CoR and TBLR1 can interact with unliganded PML-RARα and PLZF-RARα in vivo. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we demonstrate that both oncoproteins recruit TBLR1, as well as N-CoR, to its target promoter, leading to histone deacetylation and transcriptional repression. Furthermore, expression of a dominant negative N-CoR that contains the TBLR1-interacting domain blocks transcription repression by unliganded PML-RARα and PLZF-RARα. Thus, our studies provide in vivo evidence for targeted recruitment of N-CoR-TBLR1 complexes by PML-RARα and PLZF-RARα in transcriptional repression in the context of chromatin.