Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CCR9A and CCR9B: Two Receptors for the Chemokine CCL25/TECK/Ckβ-15 That Differ in Their Sensitivities to Ligand

We isolated cDNAs for a chemokine receptor-related protein having the database designation GPR-9-6. Two classes of cDNAs were identified from mRNAs that arose by alternative splicing and that encode receptors that we refer to as CCR9A and CCR9B. CCR9A is predicted to contain 12 additional amino acids at its N terminus as compared with CCR9B. Cells transfected with cDNAs for CCR9A and CCR9B responded to the chemokine CC chemokine ligand 25 (CCL25)/thymus-expressed chemokine (TECK)/chemokine β-15 (CKβ-15) in assays for both calcium flux and chemotaxis. No other chemokines tested produced responses specific for the cDNA-transfected cells. mRNA for CCR9A/B is expressed predominantly in the thymus, coincident with the expression of CCL25, and highest expression for CCR9A/B among thymocyte subsets was found in CD4+CD8+ cells. mRNAs encoding the A and B forms of the receptor were expressed at a ratio of ∼10:1 in immortalized T cell lines, in PBMC, and in diverse populations of thymocytes. The EC50 of CCL25 for CCR9A was lower than that for CCR9B, and CCR9A was desensitized by doses of CCL25 that failed to silence CCR9B. CCR9 is the first example of a chemokine receptor in which alternative mRNA splicing leads to proteins of differing activities, providing a mechanism for extending the range of concentrations over which a cell can respond to increments in the concentration of ligand. The study of CCR9A and CCR9B should enhance our understanding of the role of the chemokine system in T cell biology, particularly during the stages of thymocyte development.
&ggr;-GLOBULIN LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED SEPTIC SHOCK

Polyclonal intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) can modulate the host immune response and may improve outcomes in some patients. In this prospective, noninterventional study, we assessed the time-course of &ggr;-globulin concentrations in 21 patients with septic shock and evaluated the relationship of &ggr;-globulin concentrations to disease severity and outcome. Six patients (28.5%) died. Sixteen patients (76%) had hypo-&ggr;-globulinemia at admission: 12 (57%) had low IgG concentrations (<650 mg/dL), 2 had low IgA concentrations (<70 mg/dL), and 9 had low IgM concentrations (<40 mg/dL). Two patients had low concentrations of all three &ggr;-globulins; these patients both died from refractory shock within 2 days. Patients with low IgG concentrations were indistinguishable at baseline from patients with normal IgG concentrations but had fewer vasopressor-free days (over 28 days) and more frequently developed acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (3/9 vs. 10/12; P = 0.02). All deaths occurred in the patients with low IgG concentrations (6/12 vs. 0/9). There was a variable increase in &kgr; and &lgr; free light chains, a marker of &ggr;-globulin synthesis, over time with no significant difference between low and normal IgG groups. This pilot study indicates that low concentrations of &ggr;-globulins, especially IgG, are common in patients with community-acquired septic shock and persist over time even when sepsis resolves. Despite similar presentation, patients with hypo-IgG had greater vasopressor requirements, were more likely to develop acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome, and had higher mortality. Patients with low IgG concentrations may represent a logical target group to study the effects of Ig supplementation in septic shock.
Quantitative variation in obesity-related traits and insulin precursors linked to the OB gene region on human chromosome 7.

Despite the evidence that human obesity has strong genetic determinants, efforts at identifying specific genes that influence human obesity have largely been unsuccessful. Using the sibship data obtained from 32 low income Mexican American pedigrees ascertained on a type II diabetic proband and a multipoint variance-components method, we tested for linkage between various obesity-related traits plus associated metabolic traits and 15 markers on human chromosome 7. We found evidence for linkage between markers in the OB gene region and various traits, as follows: D7S514 and extremity skinfolds (LOD = 3.1), human carboxypeptidase A1 (HCPA1) and 32,33-split proinsulin level (LOD = 4.2), and HCPA1 and proinsulin level (LOD = 3.2). A putative susceptibility locus linked to the marker D7S514 explained 56% of the total phenotypic variation in extremity skinfolds. Variation at the HCPA1 locus explained 64% of phenotypic variation in proinsulin level and approximately 73% of phenotypic variation in split proinsulin concentration, respectively. Weaker evidence for linkage to several other obesity-related traits (e.g., waist circumference, body-mass index, fat mass by bioimpedance, etc.) was observed for a genetic location, which is approximately 15 cM telomeric to OB. In conclusion, our study reveals that the OB region plays a significant role in determining the phenotypic variation of both insulin precursors and obesity-related traits, at least in Mexican Americans.
Thromboembolism in hospitalized neutropenic cancer patients.

PURPOSE Cancer is associated with thrombosis, but the frequency of thromboembolism in hospitalized cancer patients receiving current chemotherapy regimens is not known. We investigated venous and arterial thromboembolism and associated outcomes in hospitalized cancer patients actively receiving therapy, as identified by neutropenia. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the discharge database of the University HealthSystem Consortium. This included 66,106 adult neutropenic cancer patients with 88,074 hospitalizations between 1995 and 2002 at 115 medical centers in the United States. RESULTS Thromboembolism was reported in 5,272 patients (8%), with 5.4% patients developing venous thromboembolism and 1.5% developing arterial thromboembolism during the first hospitalization. Patients with lymphoma and leukemia accounted for one third of venous and nearly one half of arterial events. Clinical variables most frequently associated with thromboembolism were age > or = 65 years; primary site of cancer, including lung, GI, gynecologic, and brain; and comorbidities, including infection, pulmonary and renal disease, and obesity. In-hospital mortality was significantly greater in patients with venous (odds ratio [OR] = 2.01; 95% CI, 1.83 to 2.22) or arterial thromboembolism (OR = 5.04; 95% CI, 4.38 to 5.79). From 1995 to 2002, there was a 36% increase in venous events and a 124% increase in arterial events (P < .0001 for trend). CONCLUSION Thromboembolism is frequent in hospitalized neutropenic cancer patients, including in perceived low-risk subgroups such as patients with hematologic malignancies and nonmetastatic disease, and seems to be increasing. Thromboembolism is associated with increased in-hospital mortality. Increased efforts at thromboprophylaxis are warranted.
A Comparative Performance Scorecard for Federally Funded Community Health Centers in North Carolina

To make informed management decisions, healthcare executives must have timely and useful information about the performance of their organizations. A review of the methods used by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Primary Health Care to evaluate the performance of community health centers (CHCs) revealed a lack of such information. This information gap motivated the development of a comparative performance scorecard for the federally funded CHCs in North Carolina. The scorecard includes 19 indicators in four performance dimensions (access to care, financial performance, human resources, and utilization and productivity). A survey of participating CHC executive directors showed that the comparative performance scorecard is a useful tool for managing and evaluating the performance of CHCs.
Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Highly Sensitive PCR-Reverse Hybridization Line Probe Assay for Detection and Identification of Anogenital Human Papillomavirus

ABSTRACT Human papillomavirus (HPV) can be detected by amplification of viral DNA. A novel PCR primer set generating a short PCR fragment (SPF PCR) was used for amplification of a fragment of only 65 bp from the L1 region and permitted ultrasensitive detection of a broad spectrum of HPV genotypes. The intra- and intertypic sequence variations of the 22-bp interprimer region of this amplimer were studied. Among 238 HPV sequences from GenBank and clinical specimens, HPV genotypes were correctly identified based on the 22-bp sequence in 232 cases (97.2%). Genotype-specific probes for HPV genotypes 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33 to 35, 39, 40, 42 to 45, 51 to 54, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, 70, and 74 were selected, and a reverse hybridization line probe assay (LiPA) (the INNO-LiPA HPV prototype research assay) was developed. This LiPA permits the use of amplimers generated by the SPF as well as the MY 09/11 primers. The assay was evaluated with a total of 1,354 clinical specimens, comprising cervical scrapes (classifications ranging from normal cytology to severe dyskaryosis) and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cervical carcinoma samples. LiPA results were highly concordant with sequence analysis of the SPF amplimer, genotype-specific PCR, and sequence analysis of amplimers generated by MY 09/11 primers. The sensitivity of the SPF primers was higher than that of the GP5+/6+ primers over a broad range of HPV types, especially when multiple HPV genotypes were present. In conclusion, the SPF LiPA method allows extremely sensitive detection of HPV DNA as well as reliable identification of HPV genotypes in both cervical smears and paraffin-embedded materials.
The development of phonation -type contrasts in plosives: Cross-linguistic perspectives

Every spoken language has stops in its consonant inventory, and stop-vowel syllables such as [pa] and [ta] are among the first linguistic sounds to be identified in the babbling and first words of typically-developing children. A large majority of spoken languages also have at least two series of stops that contrast in their associated laryngeal gestures. This dissertation investigates how the acoustic details of the laryngeal contrast are related to the order in which children master the different stop phonationtype categories in their native languages. Analyses of a cross-sectional database of productions collected from Korean-, Japanese-, Englishand Greek-acquiring children (2;0-5;11) supports some well-established claims about universal characteristics of children’s stop phonation-type mastery patterns across languages, and also suggest the potential role of language-specific acoustic properties in explaining seemingly exceptional mastery patterns. A starting point for this crosslinguistic comparison is Jakobson’s (1941/1968) claim that there are implicational universals in the mastery of stop phonation types: the aspirated or voiced categories are mastered after the voiceless unaspirated category when a language has a contrast involving either aspiration or voicing. Using the acoustic measure of Voice Onset Time (VOT: the latency between oral constriction release and the onset of voicing), studies of many languages have shown that voiceless unaspirated stops (with a short lag VOT) are mastered before one year of
Development of allocentric spatial recall from new viewpoints in virtual reality.

Using landmarks and other scene features to recall locations from new viewpoints is a critical skill in spatial cognition. In an immersive virtual reality task, we asked children 3.5-4.5 years old to remember the location of a target using various cues. On some trials they could use information from their own self-motion. On some trials they could use a view match. In the very hardest kind of trial, they were 'teleported' to a new viewpoint and could only use an allocentric spatial representation. This approach provides a strict test for allocentric coding (without either a matching viewpoint or self-motion information) while avoiding additional task demands in previous studies (it does not require them to deal with a small table-top environment or to manage stronger cue conflicts). Both the younger and older groups were able to point back at the target location better than chance when they could use view matching and/or self-motion, but allocentric recall was only seen in the older group (4.0-4.5). In addition, we only obtained evidence for a specific kind of allocentric recall in the older group: they tracked one major axis of the space significantly above chance, r(158) = . 28, but not the other, r(158) = -. 01. We conclude that there is a major qualitative change in coding for spatial recall around the fourth birthday, potentially followed by further development towards fully flexible recall from new viewpoints.
Accurate wireless indoor position estimation by using hybrid TDOA/RSS algorithm

Location Determination in an indoor environment is a challenge being faced by wireless industries. The concept of the indoor geolocation was established in order to provide the user's location inside buildings during an emergency where global navigation satellite system (GNSS) services are not available. Keeping public safety in mind, it is important not only to estimate the position, but also to provide a high level of reliability. The paper presents practical results and issues related to the accuracy of an indoor geolocation system, which uses a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) signal at a 2.45 GHz carrier frequency. This experiment employs a hybrid Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) / Received Signal Strength (RSS) algorithm and a TDOA only algorithm. Practical results indicate that the positioning performance is improved by using the hybrid TDOA/RSS algorithm as compared to the TDOA only algorithm.
Curcumin protects against gallic acid-induced oxidative stress, suppression of glutathione antioxidant defenses, hepatic and renal damage in rats

Abstract Curcumin (Cur) and gallic acid (Gal) are major food additives. Cur has well-known antioxidant properties, whereas Gal has both antioxidant and pro-oxidant effects. The present study investigated the effects of oral administration of Gal with or without Cur on antioxidant enzymes activities, glutathione (GSH) and the enzymes in its metabolism in rat liver in vivo and markers of tissue damage in the serum. Results showed that the increase in serum creatinine level, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase activities by Gal treatment were inhibited by combined administration of Gal and Cur. The decrease in GSH-peroxidase, GSH-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and GSH-reductase activities by Gal treatment were inhibited when both Gal and Cur were administered together. The malondialdehyde concentration and catalase activity were significantly increased following administration of Gal but not when the administration of Gal was combined with Cur. Finally, the increase in GSH level was seen following administration of Cur alone or in combination with Gal but not with Gal alone. These results suggest that Gal might induce oxidative stress in the rat liver and affect renal function that can be inhibited by the combined administration of Gal and Cur.
Data-based nurse staffing indicators with Bayesian networks explain nurse job satisfaction: a pilot study.

AIM This paper is a report of a pilot study to examine the relationship of nursing intensity, work environment intensity and nursing resources to nurse job satisfaction. BACKGROUND There is an ever increasing amount of information in hospital information systems; however, still very little of it is actually used in nursing management and leadership. METHODS The combination of a retrospective time series and cross-sectional survey data was used. The time series patient data of 9704 in/outpatients and nurse data of 110 nurses were collected from six inpatient units in a medical clinic of a university hospital in Finland in 2006. A unit-level measure of nurse job satisfaction was collected with a survey (n = 98 nurses) in the autumn of 2006. Bayesian networks were applied to examine a model that explains nurse job satisfaction. RESULTS In a hospital data system, 18 usable nurse staffing indicators were identified. There were four nurse staffing indicators: patient acuity from nursing intensity subgroup, diagnosis-related group volume from work environment subgroup, and skill mix and nurse turnover from nursing resources subgroup that explained the likelihood of nurse job satisfaction in the final model. The Bayesian networks also revealed the elusive non-linear relationship between nurse job satisfaction and patient acuity. CONCLUSION Survey-based information on nurse job satisfaction can be modelled with data-based nurse staffing indicators. Nurse researchers could use the Bayesian approach to obtain information about the effects of nurse staffing on nursing outcomes.
Role of Bound Zinc in Dimer Stabilization but Not Enzyme Activity of Neuronal Nitric-oxide Synthase*

Nitric-oxide synthases (NOS) are homodimeric proteins and can form an intersubunit Zn(4S) cluster. We have measured zinc bound to NOS purified from pig brain (0.6 mol/mol of NOS) and baculovirus-expressed rat neuronal NOS (nNOS) (0.49 ± 0.13 mol/mol of NOS), by on-line gel-filtration/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, and vanadium were all undetectable. Baculovirus-expressed nNOS also bound up to 2.00 ± 0.58 mol of copper/mol of NOS. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) reduced the bound zinc to 0.28 ± 0.07 and the copper to 0.97 ± 0.24 mol/mol of NOS. Desalting of samples into thiol-free buffer did not affect the zinc content but completely eliminated the bound copper (≤0.02 mol/mol of NOS). Most (≥75%) of the bound zinc was released from baculovirus-expressed rat nNOS byp-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (PMPS). PMPS-treated nNOS was strongly (90 ± 5%) inactivated. To isolate functional effects of zinc release from other effects of PMPS, PMPS-substituted thiols were unblocked by excess reduced thiol in the presence of DTPA, which hindered reincorporation of zinc. The resulting enzyme contained 0.12 ± 0.05 mol of zinc but had a specific activity of 426 ± 46 nmol of citrulline.mg−1.min−1, corresponding to 93 ± 10% of non-PMPS-treated controls. PMPS also caused dissociation of nNOS dimers under native conditions, an effect that was blocked by the pteridine cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (H4biopterin). H4biopterin did not affect zinc release. Even in the presence of H4biopterin, PMPS prevented conversion of NOS dimers to an SDS-resistant form. We conclude that zinc binding is a prerequisite for formation of SDS-resistant NOS dimers but is not essential for catalysis.
Playing the Farmer: Representations of Rural Life in Vergil’s Georgics

Introduction One. Agricolae Two. Playing the Farmer Three. Nobility in Rustication Four. A Protreptic to Agronomy Five. To Enchant Readers Six. The Reception of the Georgics in Early Imperial Rome Appendix One. Vergil's Economic Status Appendix Two. Early Readership of the Georgics Notes Bibliography Index
W2TS A novel IEEE 802.11 multi-hop mesh network for tracking systems

We present a novel and innovative wireless tracking system for service vehicles in areas where the vehicles position could affect people security and operational functionalities; a communication system to acquire and transmit mobile agents GPS position data to an area control station has been studied and implemented. As mobile agents (vehicles) are free to move over the operational area, the target of the system is to provide a reliable tracking service employing a wireless backbone, comprised of fixed stations. The novel solution proposed here will manage the communication between mobile agents and the backbone network with a specific AODV routing protocol, and the static backbone network with a co-existent different customized OLSR routing protocol
Sex Differences in Behavioral and Corticosterone Responses to Mild Stressors in ICR Mice are Altered by Ovariectomy in Peripubertal Period

Among rodents, females are generally considered to be highly responsive in terms of emotionality under stressful conditions, and have higher corticosterone levels and activity. In this study, we examined sex differences in mice by evaluating anxiety behaviors and corticosterone responses to mild stressors. In our first experiment, we analyzed the behavioral and corticosterone responses to the elevated plus-maze test and open-field test in male and female mice, and compared sex differences. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the correlation of these responses between males and females. The corticosterone level was higher in females under both basal and stressed conditions. In the behavioral response, higher locomotor activity was seen in females in the elevated plus-maze test. PCA showed little association among anxiety behavior, locomotor activity, and corticosterone secretion. In our second experiment, we examined the activational effects of sex steroids on the corticosterone response to the elevated plus-maze test by gonadectomizing male and female mice and using testosterone or estrogen capsules as hormonal replacements. Sex differences at the basal corticosterone level were not altered by the hormonal milieu in adults, however the higher corticosterone level of females in response to stress was diminished by ovariectomy, although replacement with neither testosterone nor estrogen had any effect. These results suggest that the sex difference in novelty exposure observed in the form of a greater hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response in female ICR mice is controlled by ovary-derived factors in adults.
Screening 25 Dystrophin Gene Exons for Deletions in Arab Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Forty-two Arab children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) were studied for intragenic deletions in 25 exons of the dystrophin gene using three different multiplex PCR sets each amplifying a total of 9, 9 and 6 different exons, respectively. Exon 22 was amplified individually. Deletions were found in 78, 76 and 12% of DMD patients with each of the three sets, respectively. With all the three sets, the detection rate increased to 86% (36 of 42 patients). Fifty percent of the deleted exons were located in the distal hot spot, 8% in the proximal hot spot while 42% were scattered over both. This study, the first in an Arab population and only the second to use three PCR multiplex sets, documents one of the highest deletion detection rates in DMD.