Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellular Redistribution of Inducible Hsp70 Protein in the Human and Rabbit Heart in Response to the Stress of Chronic Hypoxia

Many infants who undergo cardiac surgery have a congenital cyanotic defect where the heart is chronically perfused with hypoxemic blood. Infant hearts adapt to chronic hypoxemia by activation of intracellular protein kinase signal transduction pathways. However, the involvement of heat shock protein 70 in adaptation to chronic hypoxemia and its role in protein kinase signaling pathways is unknown. We determined expression of message and subcellular protein distribution for inducible (Hsp70i) and constitutive heat shock protein 70 (Hsc70) in chronically hypoxic and normoxic infant human and rabbit hearts and their relationship to protein kinases. In chronically hypoxic human and rabbit hearts message levels for Hsp70i were elevated 4- to 5-fold compared with normoxic hearts, Hsp70i protein was redistributed from the particulate to the cytosolic fraction. In normoxic infants Hsp70i protein was distributed almost equally between the cytosolic and particulate fractions. Hsc70 message and subcellular distribution of Hsc70 protein were unaffected by chronic hypoxia. We then determined if protein kinases influence Hsp70i protein subcellular distribution. In rabbit hearts SB203580 and chelerythrine reduced Hsp70i message levels, whereas SB203580, chelerythrine, and curcumin reversed the subcellular redistribution of Hsp70i protein caused by chronic hypoxia, with no effect in normoxic hearts, indicating regulation of Hsp70i message and subcellular distribution of Hsp70i protein in chronically hypoxic rabbit hearts is influenced by protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinases, specifically p38 MAPK and JNK. We conclude the Hsp70 signal transduction pathway plays an important role in adaptation of infant human and rabbit hearts to chronic hypoxemia.
Distinct v-SNAREs regulate direct and indirect apical delivery in polarized epithelial cells

SNARE [soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein (SNAP) receptor] proteins control the membrane-fusion events of eukaryotic membrane-trafficking pathways. Specific vesicular and target SNAREs operate in specific trafficking routes, but the degree of specificity of SNARE functions is still elusive. Apical fusion requires the polarized distribution at the apical surface of the t-SNARE syntaxin 3, and several v-SNAREs including TI-VAMP and VAMP8 operate at the apical plasma membrane in polarized epithelial cells. It is not known, however, whether specific v-SNAREs are involved in direct and indirect routes to the apical surface. Here, we used RNAi to assess the role of two tetanus-neurotoxin-insensitive v-SNAREs, TI-VAMP/VAMP7 and VAMP8, in the sorting of raft- and non-raft-associated apical markers that follow either a direct or a transcytotic delivery, respectively, in FRT or Caco2 cells. We show that TI-VAMP mediates the direct apical delivery of both raft- and non-raft-associated proteins. By contrast, sorting by means of the transcytotic pathway is not affected by TI-VAMP knockdown but does appear to be regulated by VAMP8. Together with the specific role of VAMP3 in basolateral transport, our results demonstrate a high degree of specificity in v-SNARE function in polarized cells.
Balance between place attachment and migration based on subjective adaptive capacity in response to climate change: the case of Famenin County in Western Iran

The effects of climate change have disturbed the living patterns of many people around the globe during the past decade and it has been a key contributing factor to mass migrations. The ‘adaptation’ approach is currently considered the most effective available solution for balancing out these effects. As a result, many researchers are trying to find out how to increase the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities in response to the effects of climate change. The effect of place attachment as a factor which connects human societies to the surrounding environment is undeniable. In this regard, the present study attempts to analyse the role of place attachment in increasing the tolerance of individuals who are in direct contact with the effects of climate change in the conceptual framework of subjective adaptive capacity and migration based on a subjective approach while taking into account the meaningful elements of place. Famenin County in western Iran has experienced severe drought resulting from climate change during the past decade, and farming, which was once the main source of income for the inhabitants, has almost been crippled in the county. Therefore, Famenin was chosen as a suitable case for study. In order to examine the conceptual model of the study, 200 questionnaires were distributed among the inhabitants of the county who have not yet migrated. The model was run using the Amos 23.0 software. The results of data analysis indicate that the inhabitants’ climate change impact perception has occurred through their attachment to the surrounding environment, which has led to a notable increase in their subjective adaptive capacity and has discouraged migration. It can be proposed that a balance exits between subjective adaptive capacity and climate change impact perception in which the place attachment factor can tilt the balance in favour of more adaptation and less migration.
Protein Kinase C Isozymes Differentially Regulate Promoters Containing PEA-3/12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate Response Element Motifs*

To investigate the regulation of promoters containing classical phorbol ester response sequences (PEA-3/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element motifs) by protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, co-transfections were performed in human dermal fibroblasts with a plasmid containing either the human collagenase promoter or the porcine urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) promoter linked to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and a plasmid expressing an individual PKC isozyme. Using this experimental design, seven PKC isozymes were analyzed for their ability to trans-activate the collagenase and uPA promoters. Our results demonstrate that only PKC δ, ϵ, and η trans-activated the collagenase promoter and that binding of Ap-1 family members to the collagenase 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element (TRE) was not responsible for the isozyme-specific trans-activation. In contrast, the uPA promoter was stimulated by all of the PKC isozymes examined (PKC α, βII, γ, δ, ϵ, ζ, and η). These results indicate that PKC isozymes differentially regulate promoters containing PEA-3/TRE motifs and suggest that individual isozymes play unique roles within the cell.
Platelet monoamine oxidase B activity as a state marker for alcoholism: trend over time during withdrawal and influence of smoking and gender.

AIMS AND METHODS The present study evaluated time-related changes in platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity in an Italian cohort of alcohol-dependent subjects (n = 98) during early abstinence, and the effect of potential confounding factors, such as gender and smoking status, on the temporal trend of the enzyme activity. RESULTS While still under the influence of ethanol (time point T1), the mean value of platelet MAO-B activity in alcoholics was 6.4 +/- 3.1 nmol/mg of protein/h. This increased by >40% (to 9.3 +/- 4.4 nmol/mg of protein/h) after 8 days of withdrawal (T2), and remained stable thereafter (T3 and T4: 15 and 22 days of abstinence, respectively). In a cohort of 138 healthy subjects, MAO activity levels averaged 9.9 +/- 0.9 nmol/mg of protein/h. In the group of alcoholic patients, alcohol intake cessation was confirmed by the progressive decrease of serum % carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), which was pathologically above the reference limits (6%) at T1 (7.8 +/- 3.3%), declined to 6.6 +/- 2.1% at T2 and reached physiological values at T3 and T4. In a subgroup of cirrhotic alcoholics, %CDT did not decrease over time, while MAO activity rose after the first week of abstinence, without further change at T3 and T4. During early withdrawal, neither gender nor tobacco smoking affected the temporal pattern of MAO activity. CONCLUSIONS MAO-B can be regarded as a state marker of alcohol consumption. The temporal pattern of platelet MAO-B activity may be used for the diagnostic assessment of alcoholism and early abstinence, regardless of gender and smoking status.
Tactile Rendering With Shape-Memory-Alloy Pin-Matrix

This paper presents a novel pin-matrix tactile-display device that exhibits some advantageous features for the blind: low cost, lightweight, compactness, and high portability. The prototype consists of 64 tactile pins actuated by shape memory alloys with 2.6-mm spatial resolution (Braille-like). Unlike existing devices, the full display weighs only 200 g, and its compact dimensions make it easy to carry. A technical overview of the system is presented, as well as preliminary results on shape recognition, to evaluate its performance on tactile rendering.
The Validity of the Eating Disorder Examination and its Subscales

The EDE is a semistructured interview which has been developed as a measure of the specific psychopathology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. To establish its discriminant validity it was administered to 100 patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa and to 42 controls. The two groups differed significantly on all items. Five subscales were derived on rational grounds and evaluated on the two populations. The α coefficients for each subscale indicated a satisfactory degree of internal consistency. The EDE provides clinicians and research workers with a detailed and comprehensive profile of the psychopathological features of patients with eating disorders.
Duration and recovery profile of cisatracurium after succinylcholine during propofol or isoflurane anesthesia.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the duration and recovery profile of maintenance doses of cisatracurium besylate following succinylcholine, and during propofol or isoflurane anesthesia. DESIGN Randomized, open-label study. SETTING Operating suite of a university-affiliated medical center. PATIENTS Forty ASA physical status I and II adult patients having elective surgery with general anesthesia lasting longer than 90 minutes. INTERVENTIONS Following a standardized induction sequence, a baseline electromyogram (EMG) was obtained. An intubating dose of intravenous (i.v.) succinylcholine 1.0 mg/kg was administered. Ventilation was maintained with a face mask until the first twitch (T1) of the evoked train-of-four (TOF) reached 10% of control when tracheal intubation was performed. Spontaneous recovery from neuromuscular blockade was allowed to occur until the first twitch returned to 25% of control. Patients then were randomized to receive cisatracurium as follows. Group 1: 0.025 mg/kg [0.5 x 95% effective dose (ED95)]; Group 2: 0.05 mg/kg (ED95); Group 3: 0.05 mg/kg (ED95); and Group 4: 0.1 mg/kg (2 x ED95). Anesthesia for Groups 1 and 2 were maintained with isoflurane 1% to 2%, 66% nitrous oxide (N2O) in oxygen (O2), and in Groups 3 and 4, anesthesia was maintained with propofol 80 to 160 micrograms/kg/min, 66% N2O in O2. The TOF-evoked EMG was recorded at 10-second intervals. The time for the evoked EMG to spontaneously return to 25%, 50%, and 75% of the original baseline was recorded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS There were 10 patients in each of the four groups. The duration of action of cisatracurium 0.05 mg/kg (ED95) after an intubating dose of succinylcholine is 24.5 +/- 10 minutes and 21.3 +/- 9 minutes during anesthesia maintained with isoflurance and propofol, respectively. Doubling the dose of cisatracurium resulted in approximately twice the duration of action (40.2 +/- 7 min) during propofol anesthesia. Following a dose of cisatracurium 0.025 mg/kg (0.5 x ED95), the T1 of the EMG-evoked response did not decrease below 25% in 7 of 10 patients. CONCLUSION Following succinylcholine, the duration of action of a single dose of cisatracurium 0.05 mg/kg is 20 to 25 minutes during anesthesia maintained with propofol or isoflurane. The duration and recovery profile of cisatracurium is dose dependent during propofol and isoflurane anesthetics. Cisatracurium 0.025 mg/kg is an inadequate maintenance dose following recovery from succinylcholine and it fails to provide adequate surgical relaxation.
Bigger Bang, Fewer Bucks? The Productivity of Public Charter Schools in Eight U.S. Cities

We examine the differences in cost-effectiveness and return-on-investment (ROI) for public charter schools and traditional public schools (TPS) in eight major cities in the United States. The cities are Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, New York City, San Antonio, and the District of Columbia. We utilize data on how much money is invested in public charter schools and TPS, what levels of student achievement are attained across the two public school sectors, and how much economic payoff our society can expect to receive as a result of the educational investments in each sector. Ours is the first study to examine these differences across the United States at the city level. We find that public charter schools outperform TPS on both productivity metrics overall and for all eight cities. On average, public charter schools are around 35 percent more cost-effective and produce 38-53 percent higher return-on-investment than TPS, depending on how one weights the sample.
Automated microaneurysm detection

A digital image processing system has been developed to quantify and monitor the presence of microaneurysms in retinal fluorescein angiograms. The system is fully automated (except for the initial digitisation), and includes stages for preprocessing, registration of same-eye images obtained at different visits, fovea detection for placement of regions-of-interest, and detection of microaneurysms and microaneurysm turnover. The system achieves 82% sensitivity for detecting microaneurysms with a specificity of 84%. Preliminary investigations indicate a high microaneurysm turnover for most patients with diabetic retinopathy, which may have significant clinical implications.
Transcriptome analysis during the process of in vitro differentiation of Leishmania donovani using genomic microarrays

SUMMARY Leishmania donovani causes visceral disease (kala-azar), a major health problem throughout the tropics with 500 000 new cases every year. Leishmania differentiates from the promastigote to the amastigote form to establish infection in a mammalian host. To understand the process of differentiation, we assessed the global variation in gene expression in promastigotes, an intermediate stage of differentiation (PA24) and axenic amastigotes in culture using an L. donovani genomic microarray with 4224 clones printed in triplicate. During an intermediate stage of differentiation 24 h after shifting the promastigotes into amastigotes (PA24), there were 41 (∼1%) clones with expression ⩾2·0-fold higher than promastigotes, whereas in terminally differentiated amastigotes there were 130 (∼3%) such clones. Of particular interest were certain genes that exhibited a transient increase or decrease in expression at the PA24 stage. Kinases showed a transient increase, and surface molecules, PSA and amino acid permease, were prominent clones among those showing a brief decrease at the PA24 stage. The microarray results have been validated using Northern blots or RT-PCR. In summary, our results provide important clues about the genes involved in the differentiation process of L. donovani that may contribute to virulence.
Work Intensification, Work–Life Interference, Stress, and Well-Being in Australian Workers

Abstract: The need to better understand the impact of changes in work conditions is paramount. While greater flexibility has considerable benefits, there may also be unintended consequences such as greater work intensification leading to poorer health and well-being. This research focuses on the unique variance in measures of well-being that is accounted for by work intensification, after accounting for the influence of working hours. The sample involved 391 participants who were employed at the time of the study. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we found that work intensification accounted for 7 percent of the unique variance in work–life integration and 5 percent of the unique variance in a measure of global life stress. In addition, our study provides evidence that work intensification operates to predict employee stress above and beyond the effects of work–life integration alone, while together both constructs account for 9 percent of the unique variance in a measure of global life stress. These results highlight the value of differentiating between different types of work demands and how these combine to predict employees’ well-being. In order to achieve better work–life balance, we need to consider both the structural aspects of work such as working hours, place of work, and working conditions, as well as the pace of work.
Resilient immortals, characterizing and utilizing Bax/Bak deficient Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells for high titer antibody production

Cell death due to apoptosis is frequently observed in large‐scale manufacturing of therapeutic proteins, and can reduce product accumulation in bioreactors. Several different strategies that involve overexpression of antiapoptotic or downregulation of proapoptotic proteins have been designed in attempt to curb this problem in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture. However, each of these designs has their own shortcomings and limits, rendering them ineffective for large‐scale protein production. Recently, we have reported generation of a Bax and Bak deficient dhfr−/− CHO cell line using zinc‐finger nucleases. Here we demonstrate that puromycin, but not methotrexate, selection can be used to generate antibody‐expressing Bax and Bak deficient clones that are not only resistant to apoptosis, but that can also achieve higher titers relative to parental CHO cells due to higher cell density. Additionally, we show that Bax and Bak deficient cells have more mitochondria with healthy membrane potential, an attribute that perhaps contributes to their more potent growth compared to parental cells. Bax and Bak deficient cells do not readily apoptose, as shown by the ability to withstand high concentrations of apoptosis inducing agents, such as sodium butyrate, without a reduction in viability, growth, or titer. These traits render Bax and Bak deficient cells a potentially attractive host for production of therapeutic proteins at industrial scale. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 29:727–737, 2013
Reversal of Flagellar Rotation Is Important in Initial Attachment of Escherichia coli to Glass in a Dynamic System with High- and Low-Ionic-Strength Buffers

ABSTRACT The attachment rates of wild-type, smooth-swimming, tumbly, and paralyzed Escherichia coli to glass was measured at fluid velocities of 0.0044 and 0.044 cms−1 (corresponding to shear rates of 0.34 and 3.4 s−1, respectively), in 0.02 and 0.2 M buffer solutions. At the highest ionic strength, we did not observe a significant difference in the attachment rate of wild-type and paralyzed cells at either fluid velocity. However, when the ionic strength was reduced, paralyzed bacteria attached at rates 4 and 10 times lower than that of the wild type under fluid velocities of 0.0044 and 0.044 cms−1, respectively. This suggested that the rotation of the flagella assisted in attachment. We then compared the attachment rates of smooth-swimming (counterclockwise rotation only) and tumbly (clockwise rotation only) cells to the wild type to determine whether the direction of rotation was important to cell attachment. At 0.0044 cms−1, the smooth-swimming cells attached at rates similar to that of the wild type in both buffer solutions but significantly less at the higher fluid velocity. Tumbly cells attached at much lower rates under all conditions. Thus, the combination of clockwise and counterclockwise flagellar rotation and their coupling appeared to be important in cell attachment. We considered a number of hypotheses to interpret these observations, including a residence time analysis and a comparison of traditional Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to soft-particle theory.
Structure of fully protonated proteins by proton-detected magic-angle spinning NMR

Significance Protein structure determination is key to the detailed description of many biological processes. The critical factor that would allow general application of magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR to this end is improvement in sensitivity and resolution for as many nuclear spins as possible. This is achieved here with detection of resolved 1H resonances in protonated proteins by increasing MAS rates to frequencies of 100 kHz and above. For large proteins and assemblies, ultrafast spinning narrows spectral resonances better than Brownian motion on which solution NMR relies, removing a fundamental barrier to the NMR study of large systems. This is exploited here to determine the de novo structure of a 28-kDa protein dimer in a 2.5-MDa viral capsid assembly. Protein structure determination by proton-detected magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR has focused on highly deuterated samples, in which only a small number of protons are introduced and observation of signals from side chains is extremely limited. Here, we show in two fully protonated proteins that, at 100-kHz MAS and above, spectral resolution is high enough to detect resolved correlations from amide and side-chain protons of all residue types, and to reliably measure a dense network of 1H-1H proximities that define a protein structure. The high data quality allowed the correct identification of internuclear distance restraints encoded in 3D spectra with automated data analysis, resulting in accurate, unbiased, and fast structure determination. Additionally, we find that narrower proton resonance lines, longer coherence lifetimes, and improved magnetization transfer offset the reduced sample size at 100-kHz spinning and above. Less than 2 weeks of experiment time and a single 0.5-mg sample was sufficient for the acquisition of all data necessary for backbone and side-chain resonance assignment and unsupervised structure determination. We expect the technique to pave the way for atomic-resolution structure analysis applicable to a wide range of proteins.
Eksekusi Mati di Indonesia (Perspektif Teori Hudud Muhammad Syahrur)

This paper will examine the execution of death in Indonesia with the view of Hudud Muhammad Syahrur Theory. The execution of the death penalty imposed by the Indonesian government on the law's injunction against death row inmates involved in serious crimes such as terrorist leader, narcotics producer. Death penalty is not enough to be seen from a positive-conceptual perspective, but it must go through a case-by-case approach, as each case has its own context and uniqueness. The death penalty to be the maximum sentence in the hudud theory of Muhammad Syahrur is called all-haddul a'la, and a minimum of one year's imprisonment as a minimum limit by Muhammad Syahrur is called al-haddul adnaa.
Petri Nets Based Test Case Selection Model for Service Composition in Cloud

Cloud computing has attracted much interest recently from both industry and academic. More and more Internet applications are moving to the cloud environment. This paper proposes a Petri nets based test case selection model for service composition in cloud, Petri nets are used to establish testing model for basic services, components, test cases and other components. Aspect-orientation is used to weave testing crosscutting concerns of cloud application, which includes component testing concern and testing concern of service composition. Based on this, the test cases selection model for service composition is given, and the operation semantics and related theories of Petri nets help prove its effectiveness and feasibility.