Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of a modified dosage regimen of nesiritide in patients older than 75 years with acute heart failure

Background and aims: To explore efficacy and safety of a modified dosage regimen of nesiritide in patients (≧75 years) with acute heart failure (AHF). Methods: Total 140 patients (=75 years) with AHF were enrolled in this study. They were randomly and evenly divided into two group — control and nesiritide group. The control group received only conventional treatment for AHF, while the nesiritide group received conventional treatment plus a continual intravenous infusion of nesiritide at a rate of 0.0075–0.015 μg·kg−1·min−1 for 10–15 hours (total 0.5–1.0 mg) once daily for 13 days. Results: Medical research council scales in nesiritide group were significantly lower than those in control group on day 4, 8 and 14. Scores of edema had no significant difference, but were lower in nesiritide group on day 8 and 14. The nesiritide group had markedly more net body fluid losses. NT-proBNP, serum creatinine, blood pressure, cTnI, 30-day and 60-day mortality had no significant difference between two groups. Conclusions: Nesiritide resulted in improvements in dyspnea and edema, and similar adverse effects compared with conventional treatment. In spite of no reduction on short-term mortality and a reversible influence on renal function, nesiritide was still an important choice for the elderly (≧75 years) with AHF.
Data analysis in flow cytometry: The future just started

In the last 10 years, a tremendous progress characterized flow cytometry in its different aspects. In particular, major advances have been conducted regarding the hardware/instrumentation and reagent development, thus allowing fine cell analysis up to 20 parameters. As a result, this technology generates very complex datasets that demand for the development of optimal tools of analysis. Recently, many independent research groups approached the problem by using both supervised and unsupervised methods. In this article, we will review the new developments concerning the use of bioinformatics for polychromatic flow cytometry and propose what should be done to unravel the enormous heterogeneity of the cells we interrogate each day. Published 2010 Wiley‐Liss,Inc.
Futures of Work: Perspectives from the Maker Movement

The work presented in this report attempts to explore other realms about the future(s) of work beyond the strongly driven narrative of digital transformation. We have addressed one particular grassroots community, the Maker Movement, which is de facto enabling new models of education, collaborative work, and manufacture. Movements like the Maker Movement can be inspirational of policy making in areas of great complexity and uncertainties as work, employment, jobs are. We suggest that debates about futures of work need to mobilise the imagination, insights and expectations of wide ranges of society. Policy making should be nurturing necessary studies, experiments and conversations until some resilient ideas are found. Futures of Work: Perspectives from the Maker Movement
Identification and characterization of 20 novel pathogenic variants in 60 unrelated Indian patients with mucopolysaccharidoses type I and type II

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), a subgroup of lysosomal storage disorders, are caused due to deficiency of specific lysosomal enzyme involved in catabolism of glycosaminoglycans. To date more than 200 pathogenic variants in the alpha‐l‐iduronidase (IDUA) for MPS I and ∼500 pathogenic variants in the iduronate‐2‐sulphatase (IDS) for MPS II have been reported worldwide. The mutation spectrum of MPS type I and MPS type II disorders in Indian population is not characterized yet. In this study, we carried out clinical, biochemical, molecular and in silico analyses to establish the mutation spectrum of MPS I and MPS II in the Indian population. We conducted molecular analysis for 60 MPS‐affected patients [MPS I (n = 30) (Hurler syndrome = 17, Hurler–Scheie syndrome = 13), and MPS II (n = 30) (severe = 18, attenuated = 12)] and identified a total of 44 [MPS I (n = 22) and MPS II (n = 22)] different pathogenic variants comprising missense, nonsense, frameshift, gross deletions and splice site variants. A total of 20 [MPS I (n = 14), and MPS II (n = 6)] novel pathogenic sequence variants were identified in our patient cohort. We found that 32% of pathogenic variants detected in IDUA were recurrent and 25% in MPS II. This is the first study revealing the mutation spectrum of MPS I and MPS II patients in the Indian population.
Study on Effect of Junction Temperature Swing Duration on Lifetime of Transfer Molded Power IGBT Modules

In this paper, the effect of junction temperature swing duration on lifetime of transfer molded power insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules is studied and a relevant lifetime factor is modeled. This study is based on 39 accelerated power cycling test results under six different conditions by an advanced power cycling test setup, which allows tested modules to be operated under more realistic electrical conditions during the power cycling test. The analysis of the test results and the temperature swing duration dependent lifetime factor under different definitions and confidence levels are presented. This study enables to include the t△ Tj effect on lifetime model of IGBT modules for its lifetime estimation and it may result in improved lifetime prediction of IGBT modules under given mission profiles of converters. A postfailure analysis of the tested IGBT modules is also performed.
In vivo and in vitro effects of a HIF‐1α inhibitor, RX‐0047

HIF‐1α plays a major role in activating gene transcription and is important for maintaining homeostasis under hypoxic conditions. Since tumors are often in a hypoxic state, HIF‐1α is a potential target for the development of novel cancer therapeutics. This study was performed to determine the antitumoral efficacy of an antisense HIF‐1α inhibitor, RX‐0047 on different human cancer cell lines (MDA‐MB 231, HME50‐T, PC‐3, Panc‐1 and A549) in vitro. A549 lung cancer and PC‐3 prostate cancer cells containing a luciferase gene reporter were used for in vivo xenograft animal models. Progressive tumor development was quantified using live animal BLI (bioluminescence imaging) in addition to ex vivo imaging and histology. All cell lines tested were sensitive to inhibition of cell growth with 10 nM and higher ranges of RX‐0047, additionally RX‐0047 sensitizes cells to ionizing radiation treatments. Finally, RX‐0047 (30 mg/kg) inhibited the formation of human lung metastasis in xenograft mouse models and reduced tumor size in flank models. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 985–994, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Successful treatment of canine malignant histiocytosis with the human major histocompatibility complex nonrestricted cytotoxic T-cell line TALL-104.

The human MHC nonrestricted cytotoxic T-cell line TALL-104 exerts potent antitumor effects in animal models with both induced and spontaneous cancers. The present report documents the ability of systemically delivered TALL-104 cells to induce durable clinical remissions in four of four dogs with malignant histiocytosis (MH). The animals received multiple i.v. injections of lethally irradiated (40 Gy) TALL-104 cells at a dose of 10(8) cells/kg, with (two dogs) or without (two dogs) cyclosporin A, followed by monthly boosts. No significant clinical or laboratory toxicities developed during cell therapy; interestingly, a strong correlation was found between the dogs' clinical and immunological responses. One dog with advanced disease (intrathoracic involvement) refractory to chemotherapy achieved a complete remission (CR) within 2 months of the first TALL-104 cell infusion. This dog died 14 months later of unrelated causes: histological analysis of its organs postmortem revealed no evidence of neoplasia, thus confirming the achievement of CR also at the pathological level. The other three dogs with MH that at diagnosis had multiple s.c. and cutaneous lesions and lymphadenopathy, but no visceral involvement, were treated with TALL-104 cells as single agent (no chemotherapy was administered). Two of these dogs achieved a CR soon after cell therapy, and the third dog had two long-lasting partial responses; CR in this dog was later achieved by combined administration of chemotherapy and cell therapy. None of the three dogs that received cell therapy at diagnosis developed visceral disease in the approximately 9-22 months of follow-up. The clinical responses experienced by all four MH cases to TALL-104 cell therapy suggest the high responsiveness of this canine tumor to these xenogeneic effectors and their therapeutic potential even in the most aggressive forms of the disease.
Virtues and optimal moral education in the values education in Australian schools project

This thesis argues that a sustained treatment of virtue is missing from the project undertaken to introduce values education into Australian schools over the period 1999 – 2010. It maintains that the inclusion of a focus on virtue, both in relation to the cognitive content and the behavioural impact of education in the virtues is an indispensable part of optimal moral education. One of the aims of the Australian values education project was that it should serve as a form of moral or character education. The absence of a serious treatment of virtue has resulted in an impoverished understanding of that part of the project which claims to provide a guide to moral or character education. For values education in Australian schools to provide an optimal moral education, the cognitive appreciation and the crucial behavioural dimensions of virtues must be included.
Radioimmunoassay system using a serovar-specific lipopolysaccharide antigen of Leptospira

The serovar-specific main (TM) antigen of Leptospira interrogans serovar kremastos strain Kyoto was labeled with sodium boro[3H]hydride after 1 h of oxidation with periodate. When 50 ng of the labeled compound was employed, 50% of the compound was bound to the antibodies contained in 7.5 x 10(-2) nl of anti-kremastos Kyoto serum. Under this condition, only 9 ng of the homologous TM antigen was required for 50% inhibition of serovar kremastos Kyoto 3H-TM antigen-anti-kremastos Kyoto serum binding, whereas 5,000 times as much TM antigen of serovar hebdomadis, which belongs to the same Hebdomadis serogroup as serovar kremastos, was required for the same inhibition. The TM antigens from serovars pomona, icterohaemorrhagiae, and copenhageni, which belong to different serogroups, showed no inhibition in an amount of up to 3 x 10(3), 2 x 10(5), and 2 x 10(5) ng, respectively. In the inhibition study using the serovar hebdomadis TM antigen, inhibition values slightly fluctuated due to the antigen's insolubility. When the TM antigens were solubilized with 0.1% sodium taurodeoxycholate, the fluctuation in inhibition values was minimized, and the cross-reactivity of the serovar hebdomadis TM antigen with anti-kremastos Kyoto serum was diminished, while the inhibitory activity of the serovar kremastos Kyoto TM antigen was enhanced.
Impact of Race and Diagnostic Label on Older Adults’ Emotions, Illness Beliefs, and Willingness to Help a Family Member With Osteoarthritis

Objective: To examine how race and the diagnostic label of Osteoarthritis (OA) affects older adults’ emotions, illness beliefs, and willingness to help a family member. Methods: African American and White older adults were randomly assigned to read vignettes describing a sister suffering from chronic pain and disability, either with or without the OA label. Race × diagnostic label ANOVAs were conducted. Results: Compared to Whites, African Americans were more optimistic that OA could improve with health care, and showed greater willingness to help their sister. The OA label had little impact on emotions, beliefs, or willingness to help. African Americans rated the sister as having more control of their problem than Whites without the OA label, but providing the diagnosis eliminated this difference. Discussion: The diagnostic label of OA had little effect on these older adults, but racial differences indicate that cultural values regarding family caregiving are important in arthritis care.
Unmasking of intestinal epithelial lateral membrane beta1 integrin consequent to transepithelial neutrophil migration in vitro facilitates inv-mediated invasion by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Idiopathic intestinal disease states characterized by active inflammation associated with transepithelial migration of neutrophils may, paradoxically, be associated with an increased risk of infection by enteric pathogens. Although the specific ligands with which various intestinal pathogens associate remain largely unknown, it is thought that many reside on the basolateral membrane. For example, beta1 integrin, a basolateral membrane protein, mediates the specific interaction between epithelial cells and the inv gene product (invasin) on the surface of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Our observations indicate that neutrophil migration across model T84 cell intestinal epithelia produced transient separation of epithelial cells at sites of neutrophil migration, resulting in microdiscontinuities that remained unsealed for several hours. We hypothesized that such sites of microdiscontinuities would yield a potential route for luminal pathogens to gain access to basolateral ligands and, thus, provide a window of risk for enteric infection. The surface biotinylation and fluorescence localization studies reported here revealed that, as in natural intestinal epithelia, beta1 integrin was strictly polarized to the basolateral membrane in confluent T84 monolayers. However, the transient microdiscontinuities resulting from neutrophil migration permitted access to beta1 integrin from the apical reservoir. Coincident with such basolateral exposure of beta1 integrin, monolayers became susceptible to invasion by Y. pseudotuberculosis. Fluorescence localization indicated that Y. pseudotuberculosis selectively associated with monolayers at sites where small discontinuities resulting from neutrophil transmigration were found. An increased risk for Y. pseudotuberculosis infection was specifically related to exposure of beta1 integrin (normally concealed by tight junctions) to the apical compartment, as Y. pseudotuberculosis cells lacking the inv gene were unable to invade following neutrophil transepithelial migration. Following closure of the microdiscontinuities associated with neutrophil migration, a small pool of beta1 integrin remained apically localized, presumably due to incomplete repolarization. However, this small apical pool of beta1 integrin was insufficient to support a detectable increased risk of Yersinia infection. Together, these observations indicate that by transiently perturbing monolayer continuity, neutrophil transepithelial migration is associated with a window of risk in which luminal pathogens can access basolateral ligands such as beta1 integrin.
Conceptual and Methodological Sources of Variation in the Measurement of Nursing Facility Quality: An Evaluation of 24 Models and an Empirical Study

Whereas many researchers have developed sophisticated instruments to assess quality of care in nursing facilities (NFs), the concept of quality, its measurement, and its relationship to organizational characteristics remain important issues that are characterized by inconsistent findings across studies. The conceptualization and methodologies used in twenty-four NF quality studies are compared. The review identifies four main sources of variation hypothesized to be important bases of inconsistency in the NF quality literature: (1) differences in conceptualization and operationalization, (2) differences in the unit of analysis (resident vs.facility), (3) differences in sampling method and sample constitution, and (4) differences in the main method of analysis. As an empirical test of three of these sources of variation, the authors investigated relationships between primary organizational characteristics and various measures of quality using a sample of 104 Wisconsin NFs. From both the comparative and Wisconsin analyses, implications for research are drawn.
Relationships between Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes towards Innovativeness: A Research in a Technopark in Istanbul

Leadership has always been a noteworthy issue since ancient times and there are many historical instances that pinpoint its vast effects on the history of humanity. As time passes by, everything changes and this fact is also veridical for leadership research. Currently, there are innumerable paradigms about leadership, some of which overarch classical conventional leadership approaches. It is striking that some paradigms and ideas mark contemporaneousness and technology via innovativeness and this is exactly the matter, which is considered by the author of this study. Put other way, this study questions the place of innovativeness with regards to leadership. This questioning is performed by means of data collected from high technology businesses in a prominent techno park in Turkey. Participants are the top managers of these businesses and are asked to express their attitudes about innovativeness and their perceptions about their own leadership features. Obtained results demonstrate that the participants are aware of innovativeness, they believe that they have a bifold leadership feature, and their leadership feature and attitudes towards innovativeness are inter-related.
Expo 2015 in Milan: the power of the Machine

Abstract This article describes and analyzes the Expo 2015 in Milan, building on the work of Alf Hornborg on the 'Machine' to discusses material and ideological processes of this mega-project. Hornborg calls attention to the social inequalities enabling the employment of technology in production (not only in the capitalist worldeconomy) and to its cultural underpinnings, among them money fetishism. With mega-events, the geoculture of the capitalist world-economy extols 'growth' and 'development' and celebrates the interstate system, legitimating public expenditures with a media-hyped importance of the event. The cultural force of megaevents obtains social acceptance of the unequal exchanges at their material core. Under Expo 2015's slogan "Feeding the planet, energy for life", agricultural land was destroyed to build a cement platform the size of a small city in a space of unbounded capitalism where labor laws were suspended and fiscal advantages were granted to firms. The Italian state paid for the basic infrastructure, while foreign states (and the corporations present) provided for their own pavilions. Ideologically, Expo 2015 celebrated the capacity of states and the transnational companies to 'technological advances. ' Technology was presented as an autonomous force in history, propagating a vision of humanity acting on nature through a 'purified' technology independent of social relations of production. The 'Milan Charter', the Expo's cultural legacy, produced and reproduced the hegemonic geoculture which presents technology as the solution to social problems. Keywords: Expo 2015, mega-events, the Machine, human ecology, Alf Hornborg
Molecular Cloning, Expression Pattern and Genotypic Effects on Glucoraphanin Biosynthetic Related Genes in Chinese Kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra Bailey)

Glucoraphanin is a plant secondary metabolite that is involved in plant defense and imparts health-promoting properties to cruciferous vegetables. In this study, three genes involved in glucoraphanin metabolism, branched-chain aminotransferase 4 (BCAT4), methylthioalkylmalate synthase 1 (MAM1) and dihomomethionine N-hydroxylase (CYP79F1), were cloned from Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra Bailey). Sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis identified these genes and confirmed the evolutionary status of Chinese kale. The transcript levels of BCAT4, MAM1 and CYP79F1 were higher in cotyledon, leaf and stem compared with flower and silique. BCAT4, MAM1 and CYP79F1 were expressed throughout leaf development with lower transcript levels during the younger stages. Glucoraphanin content varied extensively among different varieties, which ranged from 0.25 to 2.73 µmol·g−1 DW (dry weight). Expression levels of BCAT4 and MAM1 were high at vegetative–reproductive transition phase, while CYP79F1 was expressed high at reproductive phase. BCAT4, MAM1 and CYP79F1 were expressed significantly high in genotypes with high glucoraphanin content. All the results provided a better understanding of the roles of BCAT4, MAM1 and CYP79F1 in the glucoraphanin biosynthesis of Chinese kale.
Immunogold Labeling of Rosette Terminal Cellulose-Synthesizing Complexes in the Vascular Plant Vigna angularis

The catalytic subunit of cellulose synthase is shown to be associated with the putative cellulose-synthesizing complex (rosette terminal complex [TC]) in vascular plants. The catalytic subunit domain of cotton cellulose synthase was cloned using a primer based on a rice expressed sequence tag (D41261) from which a specific primer was constructed to run a polymerase chain reaction that used a cDNA library from 24 days postanthesis cotton fibers as a template. The catalytic region of cotton cellulose synthase was expressed in Escherichia coli, and polyclonal antisera were produced. Colloidal gold coupled to goat anti-rabbit secondary antibodies provided a tag for visualization of the catalytic region of cellulose synthase during transmission electron microscopy. With a freeze-fracture replica labeling technique, the antibodies specifically localized to rosette TCs in the plasma membrane on the P-fracture face. Antibodies did not specifically label any structures on the E-fracture face. Significantly, a greater number of immune probes labeled the rosette TCs (i.e., gold particles were 20 nm or closer to the edge of the rosette TC) than did preimmune probes. These experiments confirm the long-held hypothesis that cellulose synthase is a component of the rosette TC in vascular plants, proving that the enzyme complex resides within the structure first described by freeze fracture in 1980. In addition, this study provides independent proof that the CelA gene is in fact one of the genes for cellulose synthase in vascular plants.
[Systemic hemodynamic and left ventricular function of diabetic-induced hypertensive rats].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the effects of type-1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) induction on systemic hemodynamic and ventricular function of normotensive and hypertensive rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS DM1 was induced by streptozotocin in Wistar rats (WST), borderline hypertensive rats (BHR) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The systemic hemodynamic was evaluated by thermodilution and ventricular function by Langendorff preparation. RESULTS DM1-induction increased tail arterial pressure of WST and BHR. DM1 also increased total peripheral resistance in WST and decrease in cardiac output stroke volume in WST and BHR. Systolic function indexes were reduced and ventricular stiffness increased in all WST-diabetic rats. All of these effects were more prominent on diabetic WST rats. CONCLUSION The DM1 in rats was accompanied by important changes in both systolic and diastolic heart function leading to significant changes in the systemic hemodynamics that were not significantly enhanced by hypertension.