Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alteration in cellular functions in mouse macrophages after exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields

The aim of the present study is to investigate whether extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF‐EMF) affect certain cellular functions and immunologic parameters of mouse macrophages. In this study, the influence of 50 Hz magnetic fields (MF) at 1.0 mT was investigated on the phagocytic activity and on the interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) production in differentiated macrophages. MF‐exposure led to an increased phagocytic activity after 45 min, shown as a 1.6‐fold increased uptake of latex beads in MF‐exposed cells compared to controls. We also demonstrate an increased IL‐1β release in macrophages after 24 h exposure (1.0 mT MF). Time‐dependent IL‐1β formation was significantly increased already after 4 h and reached a maximum of 12.3‐fold increase after 24 h compared to controls. Another aspect of this study was to examine the genotoxic capacity of 1.0 mT MF by analyzing the micronucleus (MN) formation in long‐term (12, 24, and 48 h) exposed macrophages. Our data show no significant differences in MN formation or irregular mitotic activities in exposed cells. Furthermore, the effects of different flux densities (ranging from 0.05 up to 1.0 mT for 45 min) of 50 Hz MF was tested on free radical formation as an endpoint of cell activation in mouse macrophage precursor cells. All tested flux densities significantly stimulated the formation of free radicals. Here, we demonstrate the capacity of ELF‐EMF to stimulate physiological cell functions in mouse macrophages shown by the significantly elevated phagocytic activity, free radical release, and IL‐1β production suggesting the cell activation capacity of ELF‐EMF in the absence of any genotoxic effects. J. Cell. Biochem. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Coalition Game Theory-Based Feature Subspace Selection for Hyperspectral Classification

In this paper, an algorithm to randomly select feature subspaces for hyperspectral image classification using the principle of coalition game theory (CGT) is presented. The feature selection algorithms associated with nonlinear kernel-based support vector machines (SVM) are either NP-hard or greedy and hence, not very optimal. To deal with this problem, a metric based on the principles of CGT called Shapely value (SV) and a sampling approximation is used to determine the contributions of individual features toward the classification task. Feature subsets are randomly drawn from a probability distribution function (pdf) generated using normalized SVs of the individual features. These feature subsets are then used to build kernels corresponding to individual weak classifiers in the sparse kernel-based ensemble learning (SKEL) framework. By weighting the kernels optimally and sparsely, a small number of useful subsets of features are selected which improve the generalization performance of the ensemble classifier. The algorithm is applied on real hyperspectral datasets, and the results are presented in the paper.
Effect of Internal Maxillary Arterial Occlusion on Nasal Blood Flow in Swine

Objectives: The precise effects of therapeutic occlusion of the internal maxillary artery (IMA) on distal nasal mucosal perfusion are unknown. A better understanding of these effects has important implications regarding the rationale and expected efficacy of certain therapeutic interventions for epistaxis management. The authors developed an animal model to assess these issues. Study Design: The effects of “proximal” and progressively more “distal” occlusions of the IMA on nasal mucosal blood flow (NBF) were assessed in anesthetized swine using continuous laser Doppler flowmetry. The levels of arterial occlusion were selected to simulate clinical therapeutic occlusions used for the management of epistaxis. Methods: Nineteen swine were entered into one of four experimental groupings: proximal IMA occlusion using platinum micro‐coils (n = 6), mid‐grade distal IMA occlusion with polyvinyl alcohol particulate (PVA) suspensions (300 to 500 microns, n = 5), high‐grade distal IMA occlusion with polyvinyl alcohol particulate suspensions (50 to 150 microns, n = 5), and sham control (n = 2). Results: All embolizations resulted in acute decreases in average NBF from 120 mL/min per 100 g to 40 mL/min per 100 g (P <.05 for all groups). NBF returned to baseline in all three treated groups within 2 to 8 days after therapeutic embolization, depending on the level of occlusion (coils, 2 d; mid‐grade PVA, 2–3 d; high‐grade PVA, 8 d). Follow‐up angiography showed recanalization and collateralization as possible methods of reestablishing NBF. Conclusions: This study supports the rationale for performing distal IMA occlusion with transarterial particulate embolization, in order to provide a longer period of time of diminished NBF. This theoretically should promote hemostasis within an injured portion of the nasal mucosa by decreasing perfusion pressure within the capillary bed. However, the benefits of distal IMA embolization must be balanced against potential ischemic complications, as may be more commonly seen with high‐grade particulate embolization.
A new generation of protein display scaffolds for molecular recognition

Engineered antibodies and their fragments are invaluable tools for a vast range of biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. However, they are facing increasing competition from a new generation of protein display scaffolds, specifically selected for binding virtually any target. Some of them have already entered clinical trials. Most of these nonimmunoglobulin proteins are involved in natural binding events and have amazingly diverse origins, frameworks, and functions, including even intrinsic enzyme activity. In many respects, they are superior over antibody‐derived affinity molecules and offer an ever‐extending arsenal of tools for, e.g., affinity purification, protein microarray technology, bioimaging, enzyme inhibition, and potential drug delivery. As excellent supporting frameworks for the presentation of polypeptide libraries, they can be subjected to powerful in vitro or in vivo selection and evolution strategies, enabling the isolation of high‐affinity binding reagents. This article reviews the generation of these novel binding reagents, describing validated and advanced alternative scaffolds as well as the most recent nonimmunoglobulin libraries. Characteristics of these protein scaffolds in terms of structural stability, tolerance to multiple substitutions, ease of expression, and subsequent applications as specific targeting molecules are discussed. Furthermore, this review shows the close linkage between these novel protein tools and the constantly developing display, selection, and evolution strategies using phage display, ribosome display, mRNA display, cell surface display, or IVC (in vitro compartmentalization). Here, we predict the important role of these novel binding reagents as a toolkit for biotechnological and biomedical applications.
Molecular Characterization of Rat Leukocyte P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1 and Effect of Its Blockade: Protection from Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Liver Transplantation1

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) mediates the initial tethering of leukocytes to activated platelets and endothelium. We report molecular cloning and characterization of the rat PSGL-1 gene. A neutralizing Ab was generated, and its binding epitope was mapped to the N-terminal binding region of rat PSGL-1. We examined the effects of early PSGL-1 blockade in rat liver models of cold ischemia, followed by ex vivo reperfusion or transplantation (orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT)) using an anti-PSGL-1 Ab with diminished Fc-mediated effector function. In the ex vivo hepatic cold ischemia and reperfusion model, pretreatment with anti-PSGL-1 Ab improved portal venous flow, increased bile production, and decreased hepatocellular damage. Rat pretreatment with anti-PSGL-1 Ab prevented hepatic insult in a model of cold ischemia, followed by OLT, as assessed by 1) decreased hepatocellular damage (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase/glutamic-pyruvic transaminase levels), and ameliorated histological features of ischemia/reperfusion injury, consistent with extended OLT survival; 2) reduced intrahepatic leukocyte infiltration, as evidenced by decreased expression of P-selectin, ED-1, CD3, and OX-62 cells; 3) inhibited expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-2); and 4) prevented hepatic apoptosis accompanied by up-regulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2/Bcl-xL protective genes. Thus, targeting PSGL-1 with a blocking Ab that has diminished Fc-mediated effector function is a simple and effective strategy that provides the rationale for novel therapeutic approaches to maximize the organ donor pool through the safer use of liver transplants despite prolonged periods of cold ischemia.
Validation of list equivalency for Mandarin speech materials to use with cochlear implant listeners

Abstract Objectives: Speech materials validated with normal-hearing listeners may not be appropriate for clinical assessment of cochlear implant (CI) users. The aim of this study was to validate list equivalency of the Mandarin Speech Perception (MSP) sentences, disyllables, and monosyllables in Mandarin-speaking CI patients. Design: Recognition of MSP sentences, disyllables, and monosyllables each were measured for all 10 lists. Study sample: 67 adult and 32 pediatric Mandarin-speaking CI users. Results: There was no significant difference between adult and pediatric subject groups for all test materials. Significant differences were observed among lists within each test. After removing one or two lists within each test, no significant differences were observed among the remaining lists. While there was equal variance among lists within a given test, the variance was larger for children than for adults, and increased from monosyllables to disyllables to sentences. Conclusions: Some adjustment to test lists previously validated with CI simulations was needed to create perceptually equivalent lists for real CI users, suggesting that test materials should be validated in the targeted population. Differences in mean scores and variance across test materials suggest that CI users may differ in their ability to make use of contextual cues available in sentences and disyllables.
Overexpression of the myristoylated alanine‐rich C kinase substrate decreases uptake and K+‐evoked release of noradrenaline in the human neuroblastoma SH‐SY5Y

The aim of this study was to investigate a possible role of the myristoylated alanine‐rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) in the mechanism of noradrenaline uptake and release in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH‐SY5Y. A stable cell line showing a twofold overexpression of MARCKS was prepared by transfecting SH‐SY5Y with pCEP4 containing MARCKS cDNA in the sense orientation. This cell line showed no changes in the expression of neurofilaments or markers of noradrenergic large dense‐cored vesicles compared with both untransfected SH‐SY5Y and SH‐SY5Y transfected with pCEP4 only (mock transfected). Similarly, no differences in the rate of cell growth could be detected between these three cell lines. In contrast, specific uptake and depolarization‐evoked (100 mm K+) release of noradrenaline from the cell line overexpressing MARCKS was inhibited by approximately 50% compared with mock‐transfected SH‐SY5Y. K+‐evoked noradrenaline release enhanced by pretreatment with 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol 13‐acetate (100 nm) was also inhibited by 50%. In contrast, carbachol‐evoked noradrenaline release was unaffected. Thus, in SH‐SY5Y cells, overexpression of MARCKS leads to a decrease in the K+‐evoked noradrenaline release possibly by increased actin cross‐linking preventing the movement of noradrenaline containing large dense‐cored vesicles to the plasma membrane in response to depolarization.
The 2011 Debt-Ceiling Controversy and the 2012 US House Elections

ABSTRACT This article considers how a key legislative vote—that is, the August 2011 vote to raise the federal debt ceiling—influenced the 2012 elections for the US House of Representatives. Two outcomes are analyzed: (1) the incumbents’ ability to retain their seats through the 2012 general election, and (2) their share of the two-party vote for members who faced a general-election competitor. In developing this study, the research design was registered and released publicly before the votes were counted in 2012. Therefore, this article also illustrates how study preregistration can work in practice for political science. The findings show that seat retention did not vary with the treatment; however, incumbents who voted against raising the debt ceiling earned an additional 2.4 percentage points of the two-party vote.
Prospore membrane formation linked to the leading edge protein (LEP) coat assembly

In yeast, the differentiation process at the end of meiosis generates four daughter cells inside the boundaries of the mother cell. A meiosis‐specific plaque (MP) at the spindle pole bodies (SPBs) serves as the starting site for the formation of the prospore membranes (PSMs) that are destined to encapsulate the post‐meiotic nuclei. Here we report the identification of Ady3p and Ssp1p, which are functional components of the leading edge protein (LEP) coat, that covers the ring‐shaped opening of the PSMs. Ssp1p is required for the assembly of the LEP coat, which consists of at least three proteins (Ssp1p, Ady3p and Don1p). The assembly of the LEP coat starts with the formation of cytosolic precursors, which then bind in an Ady3p‐dependent manner to the SPBs. Subsequent processes at the SPBs leading to functional LEP coats require Ssp1p and the MP components. During growth of the PSMs, the LEP coat functions in formation of the cup‐shaped membrane structure that is indispensable for the regulated cellularization of the cytoplasm around the post‐meiotic nuclei.
Multi-page list extraction: an agent-oriented approach to user-driven information extraction

A major problem with information extraction (IE) systems is that it is difficult to handle a large number of domains. This problem can be handled in various ways. One way is to try to create a system that is as general as possible and can extraction information from a large number of domains. Another way is to create a system that can be trained to extract information. To make such a solution useful, users should not be required to spend a lot of time training or required to have expertise knowledge. If it would be possible for average users to train IE systems to extract information, then systems can be created for a large number of domains and for a large number of users. This is called a user-driven approach. A system called ISSIE has been developed to evaluate this user-driven approach, and that take advantage of semistructured information to extract relevant pieces. The system is built using the JADE agent framework, together with other tools for working with ontologies and knowledge bases. The goal with that system is to be able to train-by-example to handle a new domain. That means that a user shall be able to train the system by simply surfing the Web using a traditional browser and only give small hints about what information that are to be extracted. The system monitors the traffic and behavior of the user and then tries to automate the extraction process. By monitoring the traffic from the Web browser, and trying to understand the communication, the system is able to handle extraction from advanced Web sites. The focus in this system is to be able to extract various types of lists, e.g. a list of products at a retailer's Web site. There are currently four types of lists: singleton, simple lists, complex lists, and multipage lists. The focus in this paper is management of multipage lists. A multipage list is divided into several pages and the system must be able to navigate to and extract from these pages. A set of experiments has been conducted to evaluate the approach and the management of multipage lists. The results showed that the multipage lists extraction works well but there are some problems. However, in general, the approach is promising and shows that a user-driven approach for multi-page list extraction is viable.
You'll Never Lobby Alone. Explaining the Participation of Sub‐National Authorities in the European Commission's Open Consultations

The multi-level system of the EU (European Union) constrains the institutionalized representation of the regional tier of government. Consequently, SNAs (sub-national authorities) seek to represent their interests through various lobbying practices, including taking part in the European Commission's open consultations. In this article, we argue that varying levels with which SNAs take part in open consultations cannot be adequately explained by regional-level conditions such as resources or autonomy. Instead, we hypothesize that the specific policy context strongly affects regional involvement in open consultations. We test our hypotheses with evidence of the participation pattern of 296 SNAs in eight online consultations situated in five policy areas: CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), EAP (Environment Action Programme), Horizon 2020, COH (Cohesion Policy) and TEN-T (Trans-European Network for Transport). Our analysis demonstrates that the probability that SNAs take part in open consultations increases significantly when private interests of the same region and/or other SNAs of the same country participate in the same consultation.
Use of a gene replacement cosmid vector for cloning alginate conversion genes from mucoid and nonmucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains: algS controls expression of algT

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can convert to a mucoid colony morphology by a genetic mechanism called alginate conversion; this results in the production of copious amounts of the exopolysaccharide alginate. The mucoid phenotype of P. aeruginosa is commonly associated with its ability to cause chronic pulmonary tract infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. In this study we isolated the cis-acting locus involved in alginate conversion, called algS, from both mucoid and nonmucoid isogenic strains. We then examined the role of algS in the control of algT, a trans-active gene required for alginate production in P. aeruginosa. We used a new cosmid cloning vector, called pEMR2, that permitted both the cloning of large DNA fragments and their subsequent gene replacement in P. aeruginosa. To verify the predicted properties of this vector, we isolated and tested a pEMR2 hisI+ clone. Using cloned algS-containing DNA and a method for gene replacement, we constructed isogenic strains of P. aeruginosa that had Tn501 adjacent to algS on the chromosome. Two pEMR2 clone banks containing genomic fragments from isogenic algS(On) (exhibiting the alginate production phenotype) and algS(Off) (exhibiting the non-alginate production phenotype) strains were constructed, and Tn501 served as an adjacent marker to select for clones containing the respective algS allele. The pEMR2 algS(On) and pEMR2 algS(Off) clones were shown to contain the indicated algS allele by gene replacement with the chromosome of strains that carried the opposite allele. To test whether algS controls the expression of the adjacent algT gene, we constructed a pLAFR1 algS(Off)T clone and showed it to be unable to complement an algT::Tn501 mutation in trans. In contrast, a pLAFR1 algS(On)T clone did complement algT::Tn501 in trans. Thus, algS appears to control the activation of algT expression, bringing about alginate conversion.
Ki‐67 protein is associated with ribosomal RNA transcription in quiescent and proliferating cells

The nuclear Ki‐67 protein (pKi‐67) has previously been shown to be exclusively expressed in proliferating cells. As a result, antibodies against this protein are widely used as prognostic tools in cancer diagnostics. Here we show, that despite the strong downregulation of pKi‐67 expression in non‐proliferating cells, the protein can nevertheless be detected at sites linked to ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis. Although this finding does not argue against the use of pKi‐67 as a proliferation marker, it has wide ranging implications for the elucidation of pKi‐67 function. Employing the novel antibody TuBB‐9, we could further demonstrate that also in proliferating cells, a fraction of pKi‐67 is found at sites linked to the rRNA transcription machinery during interphase and mitosis. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays provided evidence for a physical association of pKi‐67 with chromatin of the promoter and transcribed region of the rRNA gene cluster. These data strongly suggest a role for pKi‐67 in the early steps of rRNA synthesis. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluation of Nerve Conduction Studies in Obese Children With Insulin Resistance or Impaired Glucose Tolerance

The aim of the study was to investigate nerve conduction studies in terms of neuropathic characteristics in obese patients who were in prediabetes stage and also to determine the abnormal findings. The study included 69 obese adolescent patients between April 2009 and December 2010. All patients and control group underwent motor (median, ulnar, tibial, and peroneal) and sensory (median, ulnar, sural, and medial plantar) nerve conduction studies and sympathetic skin response test. Sensory response amplitude of the medial plantar nerve was significantly lower in the patients with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. To our knowledge, the present study is the first study demonstrating the development of sensory and autonomic neuropathy due to metabolic complications of obesity in adolescent children even in the period without development of diabetes mellitus. We recommend that routine electrophysiological examinations be performed, using medial plantar nerve conduction studies and sympathetic skin response test.
Effect and mechanism of action of aphidicolin on yeast deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases

The antibiotic aphidicolin inhibited in vitro deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis catalyzed by crude yeast extracts and by partially purified yeast deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases. The mechanism of action of aphidicolin on yeast deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I was noncompetitive with deoxyguanosine 5'-triphosphate, deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate, and deoxythymidine 5'-triphosphate and was of the mixed type with deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate. The relative ratio of enzyme to the template-initiator complex was important for detecting the inhibitory effect of the antibiotic. The inhibition of in vitro deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis by aphidicolin was reversible, and the effect on yeast deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase might have been partially mediated by some supplementary factor(s).
Long-term colonization of spinal cord injury patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae

The duration of colonization of the human perineum, bowel, and urethra with Klebsiella pneumoniae was studied in 10 male patients with spinal cord injury while they were undergoing rehabilitation in the hospital. Colonization defined as persistence of klebsiellae of the same serotype occurred on 13 occasions in five of the patients for up to 55 days. Colonization was less marked with Klebsiella than with Pseudomonas spp. The presence of quadriplegia correlated with Klebsiella colonization and also with the presence of positive Klebsiella cultures from the urethra and perineum. Seven episodes of significant bacteriuria occurred with or after the finding of positive cultures from body sites.