Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The TORMOZ Gene Encodes a Nucleolar Protein Required for Regulated Division Planes and Embryo Development in Arabidopsis[W]

Embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana is marked by a predictable sequence of oriented cell divisions, which precede cell fate determination. We show that mutation of the TORMOZ (TOZ) gene yields embryos with aberrant cell division planes and arrested embryos that appear not to have established normal patterning. The defects in toz mutants differ from previously described mutations that affect embryonic cell division patterns. Longitudinal division planes of the proembryo are frequently replaced by transverse divisions and less frequently by oblique divisions, while divisions of the suspensor cells, which divide only transversely, appear generally unaffected. Expression patterns of selected embryo patterning genes are altered in the mutant embryos, implying that the positional cues required for their proper expression are perturbed by the misoriented divisions. The TOZ gene encodes a nucleolar protein containing WD repeats. Putative TOZ orthologs exist in other eukaryotes including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where the protein is predicted to function in 18S rRNA biogenesis. We find that disruption of the Sp TOZ gene results in cell division defects in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Previous studies in yeast and animal cells have identified nucleolar proteins that regulate the exit from M phase and cytokinesis, including factors involved in pre-rRNA processing. Our study suggests that in plant cells, nucleolar functions might interact with the processes of regulated cell divisions and influence the selection of longitudinal division planes during embryogenesis.
Homocysteine and its relation to B‐vitamins in Graves’ disease before and after treatment: effect modification by smoking

Abstract. Nedrebø BG, Hustad S, Schneede J, Ueland PM, Vollset SE, Holm PI, Aanderud S, Lien EA (University of Bergen; Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen; and Haugesund Hospital, Haugesund; Norway). Homocysteine and its relation to B‐vitamins in Graves’ disease before and after treatment: effect modification by smoking. J Intern Med 2003; 254: 504–512.
Circulating Leptin and Bone Mineral Density in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. To evaluate the association between circulating leptin and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. One-hundred thirty postmenopausal women with RA were assessed for body mass index (BMI), disease characteristics, history of drug use, rheumatoid factor, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). BMD (g/cm2) was determined in the hip and spine by DEXA. Serum leptin concentrations were measured by ELISA. Spearman’s correlation coefficients (rho) were determined between BMD and leptin and other variables. A multiple regression analysis was used to adjust for confounders. Results. Patients’ serum leptin levels varied widely (range 2–128 ng/ml). Thirty-three patients (25%) had osteoporosis. Higher levels of leptin correlated significantly with BMD in the lumbar spine (rho = 0.17, p = 0.04) and total hip (rho = 0.21, p = 0.01). The variables that were negatively correlated with BMD were age, duration of menopause, and ESR. After adjustment for confounders, leptin was no longer associated with BMD. In the multivariate model, factors that remained associated with BMD in the total hip were age (p = 0.021) and BMI (p = 0.003); and the factors that remained associated with BMD in the lumbar spine were BMI (p = 0.03) and ESR (p = 0.01). Conclusion. No relevant association was found between circulating leptin levels and BMD in patients with RA in this cross-sectional study. Followup studies are needed to evaluate whether abnormal leptin levels confer a risk for fractures due to osteoporosis.
Postexercise Hypertrophic Adaptations: A Reexamination of the Hormone Hypothesis and Its Applicability to Resistance Training Program Design

Abstract Schoenfeld, BJ. Postexercise hypertrophic adaptations: A reexamination of the hormone hypothesis and its applicability to resistance training program design. J Strength Cond Res 27(6): 1720–1730, 2013—It has been well documented in the literature that resistance training can promote marked increases in skeletal muscle mass. Postexercise hypertrophic adaptations are mediated by a complex enzymatic cascade whereby mechanical tension is molecularly transduced into anabolic and catabolic signals that ultimately lead to a compensatory response, shifting muscle protein balance to favor synthesis over degradation. Myocellular signaling is influenced, in part, by the endocrine system. Various hormones have been shown to alter the dynamic balance between anabolic and catabolic stimuli in muscle, helping to mediate an increase or decrease in muscle protein accretion. Resistance training can have an acute impact on the postexercise secretion of several of these hormones including insulin-like growth factor, testosterone, and growth hormone (GH). Studies show that hormonal spikes are magnified after hypertrophy-type exercise that involves training at moderate intensities with shortened rest intervals as compared with high-intensity strength-oriented training. The observed positive relationship between anabolic hormones and hypertrophy-type training has led to the hormone hypothesis, which postulates that acute postexercise hormonal secretions mediate increases in muscle size. Several researchers have suggested that these transient hormonal elevations may be more critical to hypertrophic adaptations than chronic changes in resting hormonal concentrations. Theoretically, high levels of circulating hormones increase the likelihood of interaction with receptors, which may have particular hypertrophic importance in the postworkout period when muscles are primed for anabolism. Moreover, hormonal spikes may enhance intracellular signaling so that postexercise protein breakdown is rapidly attenuated and anabolic processes are heightened, thereby leading to a greater supercompensatory response. Although the hormone hypothesis has received considerable support in the literature, several researchers have questioned its veracity, with some speculating that the purpose of postexercise hormonal elevations is to mobilize fuel stores rather than promote tissue anabolism. Therefore, the purpose of this article will be to critically and objectively review the current literature, and then draw relevant conclusions as to the potential role of acute systemic factors on muscle protein accretion.
Regional Refractoriness within the Ventricular Conduction System: An Evaluation of the “Gate” Hypothesis

We studied the refractoriness of Pnrkinje fibers with the iatent of localizing critical sites of block of premature impulses. To preserre the ventricular conducting system (VCS) nearly intact in vitro, we used a modification of the Elizari preparation. This was superfused with a physiologic salt solution. Action potential durations increased progressively from the His bundle to the distal Purkinje fibers along three pathways: (1) the main right bundle branch and moderator band; (2) the anterior border fibers of the left bundle and anterior false tendons; (3) the posterior border fibers of the left bundle and posterior false tendons. The action potential durations near the terminations of the false tendons were the longest ones found. The interior fibers of the left bundle branch had action potentials of shorter duration and greater rariability than those of tunultaacoasly activated fibers in the right bundle branch or the border fibers of the left bundle branch. Similarly, on the right side, the septal branches of the right bundle had action potentials of shorter duration than those of the moderator band. We also found that the fibers with short action potential durations prorided the quickest pathways to septal myocardium. When extrastimuli were applied to the His bundle, block in a bundle branch always occurred in The proximal 1 or 2 cm of the main bundle branch. Experiments performed in viro in which extrastimuli were delivered to The atrium or His bundle and recordings made from the terminations of false tendons and The distal ends of the main right bundle branch confinned The finding that the critical sites of block were located in The proximal main bundle branches.
Nature of Doppler Perfusion Index Changes in Patients With Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases

Objective. Occult hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer result in an increase of the ratio of arterial hepatic blood flow to total hepatic blood flow, described as the Doppler perfusion index. Whether this alteration is due to an increase in arterial blood flow or a decrease in portal venous inflow has not yet been unequivocally determined. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in hepatic perfusion in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer by standardization of hemodynamic parameters to body surface area. Methods. Hemodynamic parameters (crosssectional area, blood flow, and congestive index) were measured for the common hepatic artery and portal vein with duplex color Doppler sonography in 20 patients with liver metastases and 20 healthy control subjects and evaluated relative to body surface area. Results. No statistically significant differences in age, body surface area, cross‐sectional area of the common hepatic artery, and congestion index of the common hepatic artery and portal vein were observed between control subjects and patients with liver metastases. Patients with liver metastases had significantly greater arterial hepatic blood flow and Doppler perfusion index and significantly smaller portal cross‐sectional area portal blood flow as well as total liver blood flow (P < .001). Conclusions. This study supports the theory that the primary mechanism of alteration in liver perfusion is the reduction of portal inflow with subsequently increased arterial hepatic blood flow.
Validity of Dual-Label Stable Isotopic Protocols and Urinary Excretion Ratios to Determine Folate Bioavailability from Food

We tested the hypothesis that some cereal-product vehicles may reduce fortificant bioavailability below 85% and examined the feasibility of using single dose, dual-label, non-saturation protocols for studying bioavailability based on urinary excretion ratios (UER; % oral 13C6 isotope dose excreted in intact folate/% IV 2H4 isotope dose excreted). Fifteen females received 225 μg oral folate (capsules, fortified bran flakes, and fortified white bread), mainly as 13C6-PteGlu, followed by IV injection of 100 μg 2H4-PteGlu. UERs were used as the primary index of absorption. Urinary folate was cleaved to p-aminobenzoylglutamic acid, dervivatized and determined by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The UER mean (95%CI) for folic acid was 2.18 (1.2-3.8) at 48 hours and as these were greater than 1.0, it was concluded that oral and IV isotopes of folic acid are handled differently by the body. Compared to the 48 hour UER for folic acid, UERs for white bread and bran flakes were 0.71 and 0.37, respectively, thus indicating some matrix inhibition of absorption. Consideration should be given to the choice of cereal-based fortification vehicles in order to maximize bioavailability. Plasma enrichment of folate can be measured using LC/MSMS (liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy-mass spectroscopy) but seems unfeasible with the GC/MS method.
Carbon nanotube films for room temperature hydrogen sensing

Thin, uniform, single-walled carbon nanotube films, made by a simple filtration process, subsequently coated with palladium, are shown to be promising detectors of hydrogen. The films detected hydrogen with relative responses of 20% at 100 ppm and 40% at 500 ppm concentrations. Most of the initial film conductance was recovered within 30 s by exposing the samples to air. This quick and easy recoverability make the Pd-coated nanotubes suitable for practical applications in room temperature hydrogen sensing while consuming only ∼0.25 mW power. The film fabrication process provides highly reproducible control over the film thickness; an important ingredient for commercial production. In the course of this research strong evidence was obtained indicating that sputter deposition of metal onto the nanotubes, even under very low power, short exposure time conditions, does damage to the nanotubes.
Cross‐national interrater agreement on the clinical diagnostic criteria for dementia

We assessed the interobserver agreement on the clinical diagnosis of dementia syndrome and dementia subtypes as part of a cross-national project on the prevalence of dementia. Fourteen clinicians from the participating countries (Canada, Chile, Malta, Nigeria, Spain, and the United States) independently assessed the diagnosis of 51 patients whose clinical information was in standard records written in English. We used the DSM-III-R and ICD-10 criteria for dementia syndrome, the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the ICD-10 criteria for other dementing diseases, and measured interobserver agreement. We found comparable levels of agreement on the diagnosis of dementia using the DSM-III-R (K = 0.67) as well as the ICD-10 criteria (K = 0.69). Cognitive impairment without dementia was a major source of disagreement (K = 0.10). The kappa values were 0.58 for probable AD, 0.12 for possible AD, and rose to 0.72 when the two categories were merged. The interrater reproducibility of the diagnosis of vascular dementia was 0.66 in terms of kappa index; the diagnoses of other dementing disorders as a whole reached a kappa value of 0.40. This study suggests that clinicians from different cultures and medical traditions can use the DSM-III-R and the ICD-10 criteria for dementia effectively and thus reliably identify dementia cases in cross-national research. The interrater agreement on the diagnosis of dementia might be improved if clear-cut guidelines in the definition of cognitive impairment are provided. To improve the reliability of AD diagnosis in epidemiologic studies, we suggest that the NINCDS-ADRDA “probable” and “possible” categories be merged.
Noninvasive determination of carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity depends critically on assessment of travel distance: a comparison with invasive measurement

Objectives European Society of Hypertension guidelines recommend use of carotid– femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) as a favored measure of aortic stiffness. However, there is no consensus on the measurement of distance travelled by the pulse wave along the aorta to the femoral artery. The aim of our study was to compare cfPWV, calculated with commonly used noninvasive methods for travel distance assessment, against aortic PWV measured invasively. Methods One hundred and thirty-five patients had aortic PWV measured invasively during cardiac catheterization, from the delay in wave foot and distance travelled as the catheter was withdrawn from the ascending aorta to the aortic bifurcation. On the following day, noninvasive cfPWV was assessed, using the SphygmoCor system, relating the delay between carotid and femoral wavefoot to travel distance, estimated with five different methods on body surface. Results Mean travel times were in good agreement [(travel time) TTinvasive was 63 ms, TTnoninvasive was 59.3 ms, Spearman's R: 0.8, P < 0.00001]. Mean PWVinvasive was 8.5 m/s. CfPWV, as assessed noninvasively, depended largely on the method used for travel distance estimation: 11.5, 9.9, 8.7, 11.9, and 9.6 m/s, using direct carotid–femoral distance, carotid–femoral minus carotid–suprasternal notch distances, suprasternal notch–femoral minus carotid–suprasternal notch distances, suprasternal notch–femoral plus carotid–suprasternal notch distances, and suprasternal notch–symphysis distance, respectively. There was acceptable correspondence between PWVinvasive and cfPWVnoninvasive (Spearman's R: 0.73–0.77, P < 0.0001). Conclusion For noninvasive assessment of cfPWV, estimation of pulse wave travel distance is critical. Best agreement with invasive measurements was found for the method of subtracting carotid–suprasternal notch distance from suprasternal notch–femoral distance.
Application of compressed sensing to ECG signals: Decoder-side benefits of the rakeness approach

Compressed sensing has recently been actively investigated as a mean of lowering the power consumption of sensing nodes in biomedical signal devices due to its capability to reduce the amount of data to be transmitted for the correct reconstruction of the acquired waveforms. The rakeness-based design of compressed sensing stages exploits the uneven distribution of energy in the sensed signal and has proved to be extremely effective in maximizing the energy savings. Yet, many body-area sensor network architectures include intermediate gateway nodes that receive and reconstruct signals to provide local services before relaying data to a remote server. In this case, the decoder-side power consumption is also an issue. In this paper, with particular reference to ECG signals, we show that rakeness-based design is also capable to reduce resources required at the decoder side for reconstruction. This happens across a variety of reconstruction algorithms that see their running time substantially reduced. Actual savings are then experimentally quantified by measuring the energy requirements of one of the algorithms on a common mobile computing platform.
Induction of Heme Oxygenase-1 by Plant Extract KIOM-79 via Akt Pathway and NF-E2 Related Factor 2 in Pancreatic β-Cells

The objective of the present study was to determine the mechanism by which KIOM-79 induced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in rat pancreatic β-cells (RINm5F). A mixture of plant extracts (KIOM-79) was obtained from Magnolia officinalis, Pueraria lobata, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Euphorbia pekinensis. HO-1, an antioxidant phase 2 enzyme, was previously reported to possess cytoprotective properties in pancreatic β-cells. KIOM-79 induced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression at the mRNA and protein levels, leading to increased HO-1 activity. The transcription factor, NF-E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), regulates the antioxidant response element (ARE) of the phase 2 detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes, resulting in modulation of HO-1 expression. KIOM-79 increased nuclear translocation, ARE binding, and transcriptional activity of Nrf2. Furthermore, KIOM-79 also elicited activation of Akt (protein kinase B) and LY294004 (inhibitor of Akt)-suppressed KIOM-79-induced activation of Nrf2, which subsequently decreased HO-1 protein levels. Taken together, these data suggest that KIOM-79 augments the cellular antioxidant defense capacity through induction of HO-1 via the Akt-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway, thereby protecting cells from streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress.
Characterization of core clinical phenotypes associated with recurrent proximal 15q25.2 microdeletions

A recurrent proximal microdeletion at 15q25.2 with an approximate 1.5 megabase smallest region of overlap has recently been reported in seven patients and is proposed to be associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), mild to moderate cognitive deficit, and/or features consistent with Diamond–Blackfan anemia. We report on four further patients and define the core phenotypic features of individuals with this microdeletion to include mild to moderate developmental delay or intellectual disability, postnatal short stature, anemia, and cryptorchidism in males. CDH and structural organ malformations appear to be less frequent associations, as is venous thrombosis. There is no consistent facial dysmorphism. Features novel to our patient group include dextrocardia, obstructive sleep apnea, and cleft lip. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modelling the electrical properties of tissue as a porous medium

Models of the electrical properties of biological tissue have been the subject of many studies. These models have sought to explain aspects of the dielectric dispersion of tissue. This paper develops a mathematical model of the complex permittivity of tissue as a function of frequency f, in the range 104 < f < 107 Hz, which is derived from a formulation used to describe the complex permittivity of porous media. The model introduces two parameters, porosity and percolation probability, to the description of the electrical properties of any tissue which comprises a random arrangement of cells. The complex permittivity for a plausible porosity and percolation probability distribution is calculated and compared with the published measured electrical properties of liver tissue. Broad agreement with the experimental data is noted. It is suggested that future detailed experimental measurements should be undertaken to validate the model. The model may be a more convenient method of parameterizing the electrical properties of biological tissue and subsequent measurement of these parameters in a range of tissues may yield information of biological and clinical significance.
Comparison of human retinal pigment epithelium gene expression in macula and periphery highlights potential topographic differences in Bruch's membrane.

PURPOSE To describe gene expression differences between healthy, young human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells from the macular area and RPE cells from two locations in the retinal periphery. METHODS RPE cells from six human donor eyes, ages 17-36, without histopathological abnormalities, were dissected by laser and isolated from cryosections. Total RNA was isolated, amplified, and hybridized to a custom made oligonucleotide array containing 22,000 genes. Bioinformatic analysis was carried out using the computer programs Rosetta Resolver and the webtools EASE/David and GoStat. Confirmatory real time PCR (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were performed according to standard protocols. RESULTS Microarray and statistical analysis yielded 438 genes that were differentially expressed between macular RPE, and at least one out of two peripheral RPE locations. Out of these genes, 33 that showed fold changes of four, or higher, were selected for RT-PCR confirmation. For 17 genes (51%), a significant differential expression was found, while 11 additional genes (33%) showed a similar trend. Immuno-staining of one target (WFDC1) confirmed its differential expression on the protein level. Functional annotation and overrepresentation analysis independently defined extracellular matrix (ECM) genes as a statistically overrepresented class of genes in our RPE dataset. In total, 33 ECM genes were differentially expressed between macular and peripheral RPE regions. A subset of proteins corresponding to these genes is known to be present in Bruch's membrane. CONCLUSIONS Our data showed that consistent topographical gene expression differences in the human RPE constitute around 1-5% of the RPE transcriptome. These changes may underlie topographical differences in RPE physiology, and pathology and may reflect local differences in the molecular composition and turnover of Bruch's membrane.