Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mutagenesis of Clostridium acetobutylicum.

Mutagenesis of the obligate anaerobe Clostridium acetobutylicum was best accomplished using agents (e.g. ethyl methane sulphonate or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine) which are believed to act by a direct mutagenic mechanism. Other agents (e.g. u.v. radiation) whose effectiveness relies on misrepair of damaged DNA via an error-prone pathway, were poor mutagens of this organism. Procedures are described which readily yielded a variety of auxotrophic and other useful mutant strains of Cl. acetobutylicum and related saccharolytic clostridia.
Interplay of reactive oxygen species, intracellular Ca2+ and mitochondrial homeostasis in the apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by deoxypodophyllotoxin

The limited treatment option for recurrent prostate cancer and the eventual resistance to conventional chemotherapy drugs has fueled continued interest in finding new anti‐neoplastic agents of natural product origin. We previously reported anti‐proliferative activity of deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) on human prostate cancer cells. Using the PC‐3 cell model of human prostate cancer, the present study reveals that DPT induced apoptosis via a caspase‐3‐dependent pathway that is activated due to dysregulated mitochondrial function. DPT‐treated cells showed accumulation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), intracellular Ca i2+ surge, increased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ΔΨm), Bax protein translocation to mitochondria and cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm. This resulted in caspase‐3 activation, which in turn induced apoptosis. The antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced ROS accumulation, MMP and Ca i2+ surge, on the other hand the Ca2+ chelator BAPTA inhibited the Ca i2+ overload and MMP without affecting the increase of ROS, indicating that the generation of ROS occurred prior to Ca2+ flux. This suggested that both ROS and Ca i2+ signaling play roles in the increased MMP via Ca i2+ ‐dependent and/or ‐independent mechanisms, since ΔΨm elevation was reversed by NAC and BAPTA. This study provides the first evidence for the involvement of both ROS‐ and Ca i2+ ‐activated signals in the disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis and the precedence of ROS production over the failure of Ca2+ flux homeostasis. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1124–1134, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Relationship between blood pressure and outdoor temperature in a large sample of elderly individuals: the Three-City study.

BACKGROUND Seasonal variations of blood pressure-related diseases have been described in several populations. However, few studies have examined the seasonal variations of blood pressure in the elderly, a segment of the population particularly exposed to vascular diseases. The association of blood pressure with season and outdoor temperature was examined in 8801 subjects 65 years or older from the Three-City study, a population-based longitudinal study. METHODS Blood pressure was measured at baseline and 2-year follow-up examinations. Daily outdoor temperature measured at 11 am was provided by the local meteorological offices. RESULTS Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure values differed significantly across the 4 seasons and across the quintiles of the distribution of outdoor temperature. Systolic blood pressure decreased with increasing temperature, with an 8.0-mm Hg decrease between the lowest (< 7.9 degrees C) and the highest (> or = 21.2 degrees C) temperature quintile. Intraindividual differences in blood pressure between follow-up and baseline examinations were strongly correlated with differences in outdoor temperature. The higher the temperature at follow-up compared with baseline, the greater the decrease in blood pressure. Longitudinal changes in blood pressure according to difference in outdoor temperature were larger in subjects 80 years or older than in younger participants. CONCLUSIONS Outdoor temperature and blood pressure are strongly correlated in the elderly, especially in those 80 years or older. During periods of extreme temperatures, a careful monitoring of blood pressure and antihypertensive treatment could contribute to reducing the consequences of blood pressure variations in the elderly.
Benign Epilepsy with Centro‐temporal Spikes: Spike Triggered fMRI Shows Somato‐sensory Cortex Activity

Summary: Objective: We performed spike triggered functional MRI (fMRI) in a 12 year old girl with Benign Epilepsy with Centro‐temporal Spikes (BECTS) and left‐sided spikes. Our aim was to demonstrate the cerebral origin of her interictal spikes.
Therapeutic Antibody Targeting of CD97 in Experimental Arthritis: the Role of Antigen Expression, Shedding, and Internalization on the Pharmacokinetics of Anti-CD97 Monoclonal Antibody 1B21

CD97 is a member of the EGF-TM7 family of adhesion class receptors, with a proposed role in inflammatory cell recruitment. Neutralization of murine CD97 with the anti-mCD97 mAb 1B2 was efficacious in prevention of murine collagen-induced arthritis, a model with features resembling rheumatoid arthritis. Here, the therapeutic potential of neutralizing CD97 in arthritis was studied with emphasis on the 1B2 pharmacokinetics. Mice with established arthritis were treated with anti-mCD97 or anti-TNF-α serum. Ab pharmacokinetics and biodistribution were studied in diseased and nondiseased mice using labeled 1B2. The impact of CD97 expression on Ab pharmacokinetics was studied using CD97 knockout mice. Treatment with 1B2 showed an efficacy comparable to anti-TNF-α treatment. Pharmacokinetic analysis of 1B2 in wild-type and CD97 knockout mice indicated a dose-dependent Ab clearance, due to specific interaction with CD97. Biodistribution studies showed accumulation of 1B2 in spleen and lung. In vitro studies using murine splenocytes revealed that CD97 when bound to Ab was internalized. Moreover, soluble CD97 was detected in the supernatant, suggesting Ag shedding. Finally, in arthritic mice, higher levels of soluble CD97 were found and 1B2 treatment led to specific targeting of inflamed paws, resulting in a higher clearance rate of 1B2 in arthritic mice than in wild-type mice. In conclusion, our data support a therapeutic value of CD97 neutralization in experimental arthritis. The pharmacokinetic profile of the 1B2 Ab illustrates the complexity of Ab elimination from an organism and stresses the importance of understanding Ag-Ab interactions when developing therapeutic mAbs.
Cannabinoid receptor agonists modulate oligodendrocyte differentiation by activating PI3K/Akt and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The endogenous cannabinoid system participates in oligodendrocyte progenitor differentiation in vitro. To determine the effect of synthetic cannabinoids on oligodendrocyte differentiation, we exposed differentiating cultures of oligodendrocytes with cannabinoid CB1, CB2 and CB1/CB2 receptor agonists and antagonists. The response of the PI3K/Akt and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathways were studied as effectors of cannabinoid activity.
Rare metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the thyroid gland with subsequent metastatic abdominal lymph nodes

Rationale: Thyroid metastasis from nasopharyngeal carcinoma is rare. Metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the thyroid gland with subsequent metastatic abdominal lymph nodes hasn’t been reported before. We want to share our experience about the treatment choice. Patient concerns: A 27-year-old man was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal nonkeratinizing carcinoma in August 2004. In March 2013 he underwent a thyroid carcinoma radical operation, and histological examination revealed metastasis to the thyroid gland from nasopharyngeal carcinoma. An 18F-FDG-PET/CT scan and biopsy showed metastatic abdominal lymph nodes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in April 2015. Diagnoses: A 27-year-old man was diagnosed with metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the thyroid gland with subsequent metastatic abdominal lymph nodes. Interventions: The patient was treated with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and metastasis to the thyroid gland. The metastases to the abdominal lymph nodes received chemotherapy. Outcomes: After 6 cycles of chemotherapy with gemcitabine, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil for metastasis to the abdominal lymph nodes, the patient is currently asymptomatic with stable disease and improved quality of life. Lessons: The treatment choice for metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma depends on the clinical disease extent, and surgery and/or chemo-radiation therapy must be drafted to the individual patient in order to improve the prognosis and quality of life.
Scheduling Connections using System-Level Thread Priorities in Web Applications

Resumen|The e-commerce web sites receive a great and varied number of visitors every day. These visitors share the application server’s limited resources and when there are too many clients connecting to the web site, it is possible that they hinder between them, even to overload the application server. These visitors can be divided in dieren t categories, depending on their importance from site viewpoint. Considering the importance that in these web sites some client connections (e.g. buyers’ connections) nish successfully before other connections, in this paper we propose a mechanism to provide dieren t quality of service to the dieren t client categories by assigning dieren t priorities to the threads attending the connections. After observing that Java Thread Priorities are only applied within the JVM, and moreover, these priorities do not reach the O.S. threads, we propose to schedule threads using the Linux Real Time priorities. Our results demonstrate that dierent quality of service classes can be supported using this mechanism. Palabras clave| SSL, Threads, Priority, QoS, Linux, JVM, Operating System
The Distribution Analysis for Extreme Returns of Nikkei 225 Index: Based on the Extreme Value Distribution of GEV and GL

This paper focuses on the problem of modelling extreme events in the financial market. The choice of the distribution that adequately models the extreme behavior of the financial time series. Extreme Value Theory outlines the framework for determining the best fit distribution for the data. The generalized extreme value distribution and the generalized Pareto distribution are the traditional distributions that most analysts resort to using. However, recent works have shown that the generalized logistic distribution can also capture the effect of the extreme due to its fat tailed characteristic. In this paper, we determine appropriate distribution for extreme returns of Nikkei225 Index and analyze the importance of the generalized logistic distribution in modelling extreme events in the financial market in order to accurately conduct risk measure analysis. Keywords: Extreme Value Distribution, Generalized Logistic Distribution, Sub Period Technique, Probability Weighted Moments
Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator is Involved in the Process of Neuronal Death Induced by Oxygen–Glucose Deprivation in Culture

Effect of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) on oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) was studied in cultured cortical neurons prepared from tPA gene knockout (tPA-KO) and wild-type (Wt) mice. Three hours of OGD induced 45% and 23% of neuronal death in Wt and tPA-KO mice, respectively. Neuronal death in tPA-KO mice was increased to 42% by additional tPA. Six hours of OGD induced 80% and 40% of neuronal death in Wt and tPA-KO mice, respectively, whereas the addition of tPA increased to 62% in tPA-KO mice. These results suggest that tPA is directly involved in the process of neuronal death induced by ischemia-mimic stress without involving vascular or circulatory components.
Quadratic: manipulating algebraic expressions on an interactive tabletop

This paper introduces Quadratic---a virtual manipulative for two people to explore algebraic expressions on an interactive tabletop. Users assemble rectangles out of fundamental components: 1, x, and x2. As the area of a rectangle is both the product of its sides and the sum of its components, users can explore how the product of two linear expressions (the rectangle's sides) equals a quadratic equation (the rectangle's area). This virtual manipulative adds several important features to the previously existing physical manipulative: 1) negative pieces; 2) multiple palettes; 3) multiple linked representations between the visual elements, the equivalent algebraic expression, and the graph of that expression; 4) the ability to provide feedback on posed challenges.
Cellular factors and IE62 activation of VZV promoters

The varicella zoster virus IE62 protein transactivates promoters representing all three kinetic classes of viral genes. This is accomplished in conjunction with the general transcription machinery of the cell and specific cellular transcription factors that act at sites located within viral promoters. The incidence of a subset of specific recognition sites was examined for the ubiquitous cellular factors Sp1 and USF within the VZV genome. Evidence is also presented for a direct physical interaction between Sp1 and IE62. J. Med. Virol. 70:S90–S94, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterization of the porosity of human dental enamel and shear bond strength in vitro after variable etch times: initial findings using the BET method.

OBJECTIVES (1) To quantitatively characterize human enamel porosity and surface area in vitro before and after etching for variable etching times; and (2) to evaluate shear bond strength after variable etching times. Specifically, our goal was to identify the presence of any correlation between enamel porosity and shear bond strength. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pore surface area, pore volume, and pore size of enamel from extracted human teeth were analyzed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) gas adsorption before and after etching for 15, 30, and 60 seconds with 37% phosphoric acid. Orthodontic brackets were bonded with Transbond to the samples with variable etch times and were subsequently applied to a single-plane lap shear testing system. RESULTS Pore volume and surface area increased after etching for 15 and 30 seconds. At 60 seconds, this increase was less pronounced. On the contrary, pore size appears to decrease after etching. No correlation was found between variable etching times and shear strength. Samples etched for 15, 30, and 60 seconds all demonstrated clinically viable shear strength values. CONCLUSIONS The BET adsorption method could be a valuable tool in enhancing our understanding of enamel characteristics. Our findings indicate that distinct quantitative changes in enamel pore architecture are evident after etching. Further testing with a larger sample size would have to be carried out for more definitive conclusions to be made.
Morphological Analysis of the Interstitial Ultrasonic Ablation in Porcine Liver in vivo

Background: The shape of the induced thermal ablation area is as important as its dimension. The aim of this study was to analyze the size reproducibility and the aspect of the interstitial ultrasonic ablation obtained by a planar transducer in porcine liver in vivo. Methods: Five pigs were used. Two complete ultrasonic lesions were made in each animal under pedicle clamping. All the lesions underwent MR examination on day 7 and then a histological analysis. Results: The tested probe has the advantage of providing a step-by-step and highly directional treatment in the target zone. The ultrasonic lesions presented as well-defined and homogenous areas of tissue coagulation. The lesion volumes ranged from 8.1 to 92.3 cm3 with an averaged lesion length of 56 mm at gross examination. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the lesions from the MR images showed cylindrical and conical shapes. Large intrahepatic vessels distorted the lesion shape, and the vicinity of the application to the liver surface increased significantly the volume of the ultrasonic necrosis. Histological examination showed complete necrosis in the area of damage. Conclusion: The ultrasonic ablation has a regular shape, always with sharply defined borders. However, it showed some variability in the size of the induced lesions.
The psychosocial impact of an activity holiday for young children with severe food allergy: a longitudinal study

Food allergy has been shown to severely affect quality of life (QoL) in children and their families. The Anaphylaxis Campaign UK supports families with allergic children and as part of that support ran an activity holiday for those with food allergy. This study investigated the effectiveness of this activity holiday for reducing anxiety and improving QoL and food allergy management for these children.
Distribution of the calcium‐binding proteins parvalbumin and calretinin in the auditory brainstem of adult and developing rats

Parvalbumin (PV), calretinin (CR), and calbindin (CB) are calcium‐binding proteins which are presumably involved in the regulation of the intracellular calcium concentration. Within the rat auditory system, CB is transiently expressed in several nuclei during the period of synapse refinement, indicating a specific function of CB during development, yet little is known in this regard about PV and CR. In order to gather more information about calcium‐binding proteins during development, we analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of PV and CR in the rat auditory brainstem using immunocytochemistry. In the adult, PV was heavily present in somata and neuropil of all nuclei and in fibers of all tracts. CR was found in somata of the cochlear nucleus and peripheral aspects of the inferior colliculus as well as in fibers extending into the superior olivary complex and the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus. The developmental expression of PV was characterized by a relatively late appearance in somata (at postnatal day 8), followed by a rapid increase to adult levels. In contrast, CR immunoreactivity was already strong two days before birth, yet the number and intensity of labeled neurons subsequently decreased and CR disappeared almost completely in the superior olivary complex, nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, and central aspects of the inferior colliculus. These data, together with those on CB, show that CR, CB, and PV are sequentially expressed during auditory brainstem development. They also suggest that the presence of the three proteins can be correlated with definite developmental stages. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hybrid GNSS-ToA localization and tracking via cooperative unscented Kalman filter

Cooperative localization algorithms have been recently introduced to overcome the limitations of systems relying on GPS or other terrestrial infrastructure. The novel hybrid cooperative unscented Kalman filter (hcUKF) approach, which fuses ranging data from both satellites and terrestrial receivers, allows increased availability, robustness and accuracy compared to GNSS-only localization in challenged scenarios. Simulation results show that the proposed solution outperforms traditional algorithms such as extended Kalman filter.
Importance of the intestinal inflammatory reaction in salmonella-mediated intestinal secretion

The ability of Salmonella typhimurium to invade the intestinal epithelium is essential to the pathogenesis of salmonella-induced intestinal secretion. This invasion is accompanied by an intense acute inflammatory reaction. The present study tests the hypothesis that the acute inflammatory reaction may have a role in the pathogenesis of salmonella-induced secretion. Two groups of rabbits infected with S. typhimurium were studied: normal animals and animals pretreated with nitrogen mustard. Nitrogen mustard depletes the polymorphonuclear leukocyte pool and thereby prevents the formation of an acute inflammatory reaction. In vivo ligated ileal loops were constructed and infected 72 h after nitrogen mustard administration when polymorphonuclear leukocytes were undetectable. Nitrogen mustard treatment markedly inhibited salmonella-induced secretion. Ileal histology in normal animals infected with S. typhimurium revealed an intense acute inflammatory reaction, while in animals pretreated with nitrogen mustard only a rare polymorphonuclear leukocyte was seen. The antisecretory effect of nitrogen mustard was not merely a nonspecific effect since nitrogen mustard treatment did not inhibit cholera toxin-induced secretion and did not alter either ileal morphology nor the activities of various intestinal enzymes in normal animals. Nitrogen mustard also did not alter the virulence of the inoculated S. typhimurium. These data suggest that the mucosal inflammatory reaction induced by salmonella invasion may be important to the pathogenesis of the salmonella secretory process. The mechanism by which the inflammatory reaction stimulates secretion is not known.
Physical Activity and Acculturation Among Adult Hispanics in the United States

Understanding the prevalence and demographic correlates of physical activity is important for public health and epidemiological research. This analysis examines the association between acculturation and physical activity in a large (∼ 5,000) sample of Hispanic adults from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey. Scores for eight questions concerning language use were summed to produce an acculturation index. Factor analysis indicated that these questions assessed a single underlying construct. Self-reported adherence to recommendations concerning leisure time physical activity increased from 22.6% in the least acculturated tertile to 47% in the most acculturated tertile. In contrast, prevalence of walking or bicycling for errands decreased from 25.2 to 18.2%, and prevalence of standing or walking during most of the day decreased from 82.8 to 65.6% as acculturation increased. Thus, patterns of physical activity associated with leisure versus nonleisure time differed among Hispanics with varying acculturation levels. Alternatively, cultural factors may have differential effects on responses to questions concerning leisure and nonleisure time physical activity. In either case, assessing both types of activity is important for monitoring and understanding Hispanic health behaviors and interpreting epidemiological studies that involve physical activity in Hispanics.