Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RecQL5 Promotes Genome Stabilization through Two Parallel Mechanisms—Interacting with RNA Polymerase II and Acting as a Helicase

ABSTRACT The RecQL5 helicase is essential for maintaining genome stability and reducing cancer risk. To elucidate its mechanism of action, we purified a RecQL5-associated complex and identified its major component as RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Bioinformatics and structural modeling-guided mutagenesis revealed two conserved regions in RecQL5 as KIX and SRI domains, already known in transcriptional regulators for Pol II. The RecQL5-KIX domain binds both initiation (Pol IIa) and elongation (Pol IIo) forms of the polymerase, whereas the RecQL5-SRI domain interacts only with the elongation form. Fully functional RecQL5 requires both helicase activity and associations with the initiation polymerase, because mutants lacking either activity are partially defective in the suppression of sister chromatid exchange and resistance to camptothecin-induced DNA damage, and mutants lacking both activities are completely defective. We propose that RecQL5 promotes genome stabilization through two parallel mechanisms: by participation in homologous recombination-dependent DNA repair as a RecQ helicase and by regulating the initiation of Pol II to reduce transcription-associated replication impairment and recombination.
Arithmetic skills and their cognitive correlates in children with acquired and congenital brain disorder

Arithmetic skills and their cognitive correlates were studied in 24 children with myelomeningocele and shunted hydrocephalus (MM), 27 children with severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and 26 children with orthopedic injuries (OI). Their average age was 11.56 years (SD = 2.36). They completed the WRAT–3 Arithmetic subtest and a subtraction task consisting of 20 problems of varying difficulty, as well as measures of working memory, declarative memory, processing speed, planning skills, and visuospatial abilities. The MM group performed more poorly on the WRAT–3 Arithmetic subtest and the subtraction task than the other two groups, which did not differ from each other on either measure. The groups did not differ in the number of math fact errors or visual-spatial errors on the subtraction task, but the MM group made more procedural errors than the OI group. The five cognitive abilities explained substantial variance in performance on both arithmetic tests; processing speed, working memory, declarative memory, and planning accounted for unique variance. Exploratory analyses showed that the cognitive correlates of arithmetic skills varied across groups and ages. Congenital and acquired brain disorders are associated with distinct patterns of arithmetic skills, which are related to specific cognitive abilities. (JINS, 2005, 11, 249–262.)
Don’t Mind Meat? The Denial of Mind to Animals Used for Human Consumption

Many people like eating meat, but most are reluctant to harm things that have minds. The current three studies show that this dissonance motivates people to deny minds to animals. Study 1 demonstrates that animals considered appropriate for human consumption are ascribed diminished mental capacities. Study 2 shows that meat eaters are motivated to deny minds to food animals when they are reminded of the link between meat and animal suffering. Finally, Study 3 provides direct support for our dissonance hypothesis, showing that expectations regarding the immediate consumption of meat increase mind denial. Moreover, this mind denial in turn reduces negative affect associated with dissonance. The findings highlight the role of dissonance reduction in facilitating the practice of meat eating and protecting cultural commitments.
Women's empowerment and spousal violence in relation to health outcomes in Nepal: Further Analysis of the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey

Empowering women and addressing gender-based discrimination are key elements of the development agenda of the Nepal government and integral to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Spousal violence is one of the forms of gender-based violence prevalent in Nepal. The objective of this study is to understand women’s empowerment and spousal violence in relation to health outcomes of women and their children. The study analyzed data on 3084 currently married women age 15-49 from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A composite Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) was developed that included five variables: i) household decision-making ii) ownership of land or house iii) membership in community group iv) proportion earning cash and v) women’s education. The WEI classified women into three empowerment levels whereby 17 48 and 35 percent of married women were in high moderate and low empowerment levels respectively. Variations in women’s empowerment were distinct by age caste / ethnicity and wealth quintile. The WEI is used to analyze spousal violence separately and jointly in relation to health outcomes. Twenty eight percent of women reported having experienced spousal physical and/or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime. In the bivariate analysis women’s empowerment was inversely associated with greater odds of having experienced spousal violence. After controlling for age wealth caste / ethnicity and ecological zone however womens empowerment was not significantly related to the odds of spousal violence. This finding may suggest the extent to which violence is a multi-faceted problem affected by a wide variety of contextual and situational factors. Utilization of four or more antenatal care visits the recommended international standard was significantly greater for highly empowered women even after controlling for spousal violence and socio-demographic characteristics. Less empowered women and women who had experienced spousal violence were also more likely to have anemic children. Children of women who had experienced spousal violence had lower odds of being immunized even after adjusting for related factors. These findings suggest that women’s empowerment and spousal violence appear to have important implications for the health of women and their children. It is recommended that a holistic approach to improving the health of women and children in Nepal incorporate multi-sectoral programming to promote women’s empowerment and reduce gender-based violence.
Adverse drug interactions as a high‐risk factor for lethal post‐transplant complications in Chinese population

Metabolism of triazole antifungal agents is highly competitive to conventional post‐transplant immunosuppressants like cyclosporine A (CsA) via the cytochrome P450‐dependent pathway. We present the first report on lethal complications that may arise due to this type of drug interaction. A retrospective survey identified 10 of 104 cases (9.62%) that suffered life‐threatening complications associated with the interaction between CsA and itraconazole or voriconazole following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) at our center. According to the close drug monitoring, all 10 patients experienced supratherapeutic levels of CsA even with a preemptive CsA dosage reduction and prompt dose adjustment. Six patients developed grade I to III acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGVHD) and eventually died from either idiopathic pneumonia syndrome or diffuse alveolar hemorrhage; another four patients died from CSA‐associated neurological complications. Impaired hepatic and renal function was noted in only one of these 10 cases. The high frequency as well as the unpredictability of severe complications lead us to suggest that triazole should always be replaced by another antifungal medication (e.g., amphotericin B or Echincandins) while patients receive CsA after HSCT, especially in the Chinese population.
Hepatozoon Species of the Timber Rattlesnake in Northern Florida: Description of a New Species, Evidence of Salivary Gland Oocysts, and a Natural Cross-Familial Transmission of an Hepatozoon Species

Two species of Hepatozoon, i.e., H. sauritus and H. horridus n. sp. , were present in 1 of 8 timber rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridus. The narrow gamonts of H. sauritus are 15.0–19.0 × 3.5–5.0 μm, with LW 58–86 μm2 and L/W 3.2–4.7, with a narrow, rounded anterior end. The spherical to slightly ovoid oocysts produce ovoid to elongate sporocysts, 21–43 × 12–24 μm, L/W 1.20–2.7, containing on average 22.1 (10–34) sporozoites. This is the first report of a natural cross-familial transfer of a Hepatozoon species. Gamonts of H. horridus n. sp. are 13.0–17.0 × 4.0–6.0 μm, with LW 63–102 μm2 and L/W 2.6–4.0, and have broadly rounded ends. The gamont cytoplasm is vacuolated. The spherical to ovoid oocysts form spherical to elongate sporocysts 14–45 × 11–25 μm, L/W 1.0–2.3, producing an average of 13.0 (8–21) sporozoites. The salivary gland in 1 of 5 mosquitoes dissected contained 1 mature oocyst.
[Totally laparoscopic gastrectomy for the treatment of gastric tumors].

BACKGROUND The laparoscopic approach for the treatment of gastric tumors has many advantages. AIM To evaluate the results of a laparoscopic gastrectomy program developed in a public hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective review of epidemiological, perioperative and follow-up data of patients who were treated with a laparoscopic gastrectomy due to gastric tumors between 2006 and 2013. A totally laparoscopic technique was used for all cases. Complications were evaluated according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS Fifty one patients, aged 65 (36-85) years, underwent a laparoscopic gastrectomy. In 22 patients a total gastrectomy was performed. Conversion rate to open surgery was 8%. Operative time was 330 (90-500) min and bleeding was 200 (20-500) ml. Median hospital stay was 7 (3-37) days. Postoperative morbidity was present in 17 (33%) patients, 3 (6%) patients had complications grade 3 or higher and one patient died (1.9%). Tumor pathology was adenocarcinoma in 39 patients. A complete resection was achieved in 97%. Twenty nine patients (74%) with gastric adenocarcinoma had early gastric cancer and 84% of patients were in stage one. Median lymph node count was 24. Median follow-up was 26 (1-91) months. There was no cancer related mortality among patients subjected to a curative resection. Overall survival for patients with adenocarcinoma was 92% at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the feasibility and safety of a laparoscopic gastrectomy program in a public hospital; with low morbidity, adequate lymph node dissection and long-term survival. This approach must be considered an option for selected patients with gastric cancer.
Neurites of Period‐expressing PDH Cells in the Fly's Optic Lobe Exhibit Circadian Oscillations in Morphology

Circadian rhythms have been shown both in the expression of the period (per) gene in ‘lateral neurons’ and in cells of the outermost neuropil, or lamina, of the fly's optic lobe. Some lateral neurons also exhibit PDH peptide‐like immunoreactivity, arborizing widely throughout the optic lobe. Using confocal microscopy in the housefly, we analysed the size and spacing of PDH neurite varicosities, sites of possible peptide release exhibiting circadian rhythmicity. During the subjective day in constant darkness, there were fewer, larger varicosities than during subjective night. The endogenous rhythm was masked by the light exposure that occurred under a day‐night cycle and continuous light conditions. Our findings indicate that PDH neurites convey circadian information out from the pacemaker, where they could regulate the circadian rhythms that have been described in the lamina, possibly via cyclical release of their peptide.
Staff training to reduce behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia in nursing home residents: a systematic review of intervention reproducibility

Staff training has been cited as an effective intervention to reduce behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in nursing home residents. However, the reproducibility of interventions can be a barrier to their dissemination. A systematic review of controlled clinical trials on the effectiveness of staff training for reducing BPSD, published between 1990 and 2013 on the EMBASE, PUBMED, LILACS, PSYCHINFO and CINAHL databases, was carried out to evaluate the reproducibility of these interventions by 3 independent raters. The presence of sufficient description of the intervention in each trial to allow its reproduction elsewhere was evaluated. Descriptive analyses were carried out. Despite reference to a detailed procedures manual in the majority of trials, these manuals were not easily accessible, limiting the replication of studies. The professional expertise requirement for training implementation was not clearly described, although most studies involved trainers with moderate to extensive expertise, further limiting training reproducibility.
Learning recovered pattern from region-dependent model for hyperspectral imagery

The Compressive-Projection Principle Component Analysis (CPPCA) technique which recovers hyperspectral image(HSI) data from random projection efficiently, has been proved to be significant in decreasing signal-sensing costs at the sender. Inspired by the fact that the spectral signature of the same ground cover is similar, and two pixels of the neighborhood are likely to belonging to the same ground cover, this paper proposed a novel region-dependent approach CPPCA to recover HSI data. Due to the fact that the region map is critical to our proposed algorithm, herewith we employ a robust supervised Bayesian approach (LORSAL-MLL segmentation) which explores both the spectral and spatial information in an intuitive interpretation with small size samples to segment hyperspectral image into different regions. The CPPCA reconstruction procedure is then employed to each region independently other than each partition individually. The effectiveness and practicability of proposed region-dependent CPPCA (RDCPPCA) reconstructed algorithm is illustrated by real hyperspectral image data set with several criteria measurement.
Endopeptidase Penicillin-Binding Proteins 4 and 7 Play Auxiliary Roles in Determining Uniform Morphology of Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT The low-molecular-weight (LMW) penicillin-binding protein, PBP 5, plays a dominant role in determining the uniform cell shape of Escherichia coli. However, the physiological functions of six other LMW PBPs are unknown, even though the existence and enzymatic activities of four of these were established three decades ago. By applying fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to quantify the cellular dimensions of multiple PBP mutants, we found that the endopeptidases PBP 4 and PBP 7 also influence cell shape in concert with PBP 5. This is the first reported biological function for these two proteins. In addition, the combined loss of three dd-carboxypeptidases, PBPs 5 and 6 and DacD, also impaired cell shape. In contrast to previous reports based on visual inspection alone, FACS analysis revealed aberrant morphology in a mutant lacking only PBP 5, a phenotype not shared by any other strain lacking a single LMW PBP. PBP 5 removes the terminal d-alanine from pentapeptide side chains of muropeptide subunits, and pentapeptides act as donors for cross-linking adjacent side chains. As endopeptidases, PBPs 4 and 7 cleave cross-links in the cell wall. Therefore, overall cell shape may be determined by the existence or location of a specific type of peptide cross-link, with PBP 5 activity influencing how many cross-links are made and PBPs 4 and 7 acting as editing enzymes to remove inappropriate cross-links.
How to build a trusted database system on untrusted storage

Some emerging applications require programs to maintain sensitive state on untrusted hosts. This paper presents the architecture and implementation of a trusted database system, TDB, which leverages a small amount of trusted storage to protect a scalable amount of untrusted storage. The database is encrypted and validated against a collision-resistant hash kept in trusted storage, so untrusted programs cannot read the database or modify it undetectably. TDB integrates encryption and hashing with a low-level data model, which protects data and metadata uniformly, unlike systems built on top of a conventional database system. The implementation exploits synergies between hashing and log-structured storage. Preliminary performance results show that TDB outperforms an off-the-shelf embedded database system, thus supporting the suitability of the TDB architecture.
The Arabidopsis Trehalose-6-P Synthase AtTPS1 Gene Is a Regulator of Glucose, Abscisic Acid, and Stress Signaling1

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), trehalose is present at almost undetectable levels, excluding its role as an osmoprotectant. Here, we report that overexpression of AtTPS1 in Arabidopsis using the 35S promoter led to a small increase in trehalose and trehalose-6-P levels. In spite of this, transgenic plants displayed a dehydration tolerance phenotype without any visible morphological alterations, except for delayed flowering. Moreover, seedlings overexpressing AtTPS1 exhibited glucose (Glc)- and abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive phenotypes. Transgenic seedlings germinated on Glc were visibly larger with green well-expanded cotyledonary leaves and fully developed roots, in contrast with wild-type seedlings showing growth retardation and absence of photosynthetic tissue. An ABA dose-response experiment revealed a higher germination rate for transgenic plants overexpressing AtTPS1 showing insensitive germination kinetics at 2.5 μm ABA. Interestingly, germination in the presence of Glc did not trigger an increase in ABA content in plants overexpressing AtTPS1. Expression analysis by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in transgenic plants showed up-regulation of the ABI4 and CAB1 genes. In the presence of Glc, CAB1 expression remained high, whereas ABI4, HXK1, and ApL3 levels were down-regulated in the AtTPS1-overexpressing lines. Analysis of AtTPS1 expression in HXK1-antisense or HXK1-sense transgenic lines suggests the possible involvement of AtTPS1 in the hexokinase-dependent Glc-signaling pathway. These data strongly suggest that AtTPS1 has a pivotal role in the regulation of Glc and ABA signaling during vegetative development.
A Fluorescence Lifetime–Based Binding Assay to Characterize Kinase Inhibitors

The authors present a fluorescence lifetime—based kinase binding assay that identifies and characterizes compounds that bind to the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—binding pocket of a range of tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases. The assay is based on displacement of an Alexa Fluor® 647 conjugate of staurosporine from the ATP-binding site of a kinase, which is detected by a change in the fluorescence lifetime of the probe between the free (displaced) and kinase-bound states. The authors screened 257 kinases for specific binding and displacement of the Alexa Fluor® 647-staurosporine probe and found that approximately half of the kinases tested could potentially be assayed with this method. They present inhibitor binding data against 4 selected serine/threonine kinases and 4 selected tyrosine kinases, using 6 commonly used kinase inhibitors. Two of these kinases were chosen for further studies, in which inhibitor binding data were compared to inhibition of kinase activity using 2 separate activity assay formats. Rank-order potencies of compounds were similar, but not identical, between the binding and activity assays. It was postulated that these differences could be caused by the fact that the assays are measuring distinct phenomena, namely, activity versus binding, and in a purified recombinant kinase preparation, there can exist a mixture of active and nonactivated kinases. To explore this possibility, the authors compared binding affinity for the probe using 2 kinases in their respective nonactivated and activated (phosphorylated) forms and found a kinase-dependent difference between the 2 forms. This assay format therefore represents a simple method for the identification and characterization of small-molecule kinase inhibitors that may be useful in screening a wide range of kinases and may be useful in identifying small molecules that bind to kinases in their active or nonactivated states. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2007:828-841)
ADAM2 promotes migration of neuroblasts in the rostral migratory stream to the olfactory bulb

Neuroblasts migrate from the subventricular zone along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb (OB). While the migration occurs by movement over other cells, the molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. We have found that ADAM2 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease 2) is expressed in migrating RMS neuroblasts and functions in their migration. The brains from ADAM2 knockout (KO) mice showed a smaller OB than that seen in wild‐type (WT) mice at postnatal day 0. In addition, the RMS in ADAM2 KO mice appeared thinner and less voluminous in its rostral part and thicker in its caudal part. Estimates of migration in vivo using bromodeoxyuridine labeling revealed that neuroblasts from KO mice show a decreased migration rate compared with those from WT mice. Direct assays of migration by imaging living slices also showed a decreased migration speed and loss of directionality in the KO mice. This phenotype was similar to that seen in RMS containing slices from WT mice exposed to a peptide that mimicked the disintegrin loop of ADAM2. Finally, RMS explants from KO or WT mice that were cultured in Matrigel also revealed striking differences. The cells migrating out of explants from WT mice showed robust cell–cell interactions. In contrast, fewer cells migrated out of explants from ADAM2 KO mice, and those that did were largely dispersed and their migration inhibited. These experiments suggest that ADAM2 contributes to RMS migration, possibly through cell–cell interactions that mediate the rapid migration of the neuroblasts to their endpoint.
Does the minimum wage reduce the employment prospects of unqualified New Zealand women

2This paper estimates empirically the employment effects that have resulted from changes to the adult minimum wage in New Zealand. Females with no school or post-school qualifications serve as the etreatment groupi for this analysis. This group is assumed to be one of the most vulnerable to changes in the minimum wage. Females with both school and post-school qualifications are believed to be a lower risk group, and thus serve as a relevant econtrol groupi. This study compares directly the employment trends between the two groups and tests the hypothesis of disemployment effects associated with changes in the real minimum wage between 1985 and 2000. No consistent evidence is found to support the hypothesis that the minimum wage reduces the employment prospects of unqualified females. This result is robust in relation to a variety of alternative regression model specifications. Only when linear time trends are removed do we find significant evidence that a rise in the minimum wage reduces the employment outcomes for unqualified females.