Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In‐vitro and in‐vivo antioxidant activity of different extracts of the leaves of Clerodendron colebrookianum Walp in the rat

The in‐vitro antioxidant activities of different concentrations of the water, alcoholic, petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts of the dried leaves of Clerodendron colebrookianum Walp, and in‐vivo antioxidant activity of the water extract was studied in experimental rat models. The results obtained from in‐vitro lipid peroxidation induced by FeSO4‐ascorbate in rat liver homogenate showed a significant inhibition of lipid peroxidation by different extracts of C. colebrookianum leaf. Water extracts at concentrations (w/v) of 1:30, 1:50, 1:200 and 1:1000 showed the strongest inhibitory activity over the other organic extracts, suggesting maximum antioxidant effect. Chronic feeding of the water extract to Wistar albino rats (both sexes, 150–200g) in 1 or 2g kg−1/day doses for 14 days significantly increased the ferric reducing ability of plasma by 19% and 40% on the seventh day, and by 45% and 57% on the fourteenth day of treatment, respectively. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), as a marker of lipid peroxidation, and some cellular antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione) were estimated in heart, liver and kidney. There was a significant reduction in hepatic and renal TBARS with both the doses, without any change in myocardial TBARS. There was no change in the level of antioxidants in heart, liver and kidney, except for the hepatic superoxide dismutase. The findings of this study showed that the leaf extract of C. colebrookianum increased the antioxidant capacity of blood and had an inhibitory effect on the basal level of lipid peroxidation of liver and kidney. This lends scientific support to the therapeutic use of the plant leaves, as claimed by the tribal medicine of North‐East India.
Prolonged Inhibition of Acute Arterial Thrombosis by High Dosing of a Monoclonal Anti-platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Antibody in a Baboon Model

Summary The in vivo activity of MA-16N7C2, the first monoclonal antibody that contains an echistatin-like RGD-sequence and inhibits platelet glycoprotein (GP)IIb/IIIa function, was determined in baboons. A dosefinding study assessing haemostatic variables such as bleeding time and ex vivo platelet aggregation showed that doses of as low as 0.2-0.3 mg/kg resulted in a pronounced effect. The effects were dose-dependent and lasted for several days, implying that MA-16N7C2 is a potent and long-acting GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor. Following the initial studies, the antithrombotic effect of 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg of the antibody, given as a bolus, was determined in a baboon model of platelet-dependent, arterial-type thrombus formation. In these studies, a thrombogenic device consisting of Dacron vascular graft material was inserted as extension segments into a permanent arteriovenous shunt. The results confirmed the potent and long-lasting antithrombotic effect of MA-16N7C2. Surprisingly, the antithrombotic effect was stronger 48 h after a dose of 0.3 mg/kg administration than on the day of treatment with 0.1 mg/kg, despite the fact that comparable numbers of GPIIb/IIIa receptors were occupied on resting platelets. We postulate that with the high dose of MA-16N7C2 and after an extended period, occupied GPIIb/IIIa may be internalised by the platelets. Upon platelet activation, these receptors become reexposed but arc unable to participate in thrombus formation. This is in contrast to unoccupied internal GPIIb/IIIa receptors early after a low dose of MA-16N7C2.
Circular permutation as a tool to reduce surface entropy triggers crystallization of the signal recognition particle receptor β subunit

The production of diffraction‐quality crystals remains a difficult obstacle on the road to high‐resolution structural characterization of proteins. This is primarily a result of the empirical nature of the process. Although crystallization is not predictable, factors inhibiting it are well established. First, crystal formation is always entropically unfavorable. Reducing the entropic cost of crystallizing a given protein is thus desirable. It is common practice to map boundaries and remove unstructured regions surrounding the folded protein domain. However, a problem arises when flexible regions are not at the boundaries but within a domain. Such regions cannot be deleted without adding new restraints to the domain. We encountered this problem during an attempt to crystallize the β subunit of the eukaryotic signal recognition particle (SRβ), bearing a long and flexible internal loop. Native SRβ did not crystallize. However, after circularly permuting the protein by connecting the spatially close N and C termini with a short heptapeptide linker GGGSGGG and removing 26 highly flexible loop residues within the domain, we obtained diffraction‐quality crystals. This protein‐engineering method is simple and should be applicable to other proteins, especially because N and C termini of protein domains are often close in space. The success of this method profits from prior knowledge of the domain fold, which is becoming increasingly common in today's postgenomic era.
House Prices, Home Equity, and Personal Debt Composition

Using a monthly panel dataset of individuals' debt composition including mortgage and non-mortgage consumer credit, we show that house price changes can explain a significant fraction of personal debt composition dynamics. We exploit the variation in local house price growth as shocks to homeowners' housing wealth to study the consequential adjustment of personal debt composition. To account for local demand shocks and disentangle the housing collateral channel from the wealth effect, we use renters and non-equity-withdrawal homeowners in the same region as control groups. We present direct evidence that homeowners reoptimize their debt structure by using withdrawn home equity to pay down comparatively expensive short-term non-mortgage debt during a housing boom, unsecured consumer loans in particular. We also find that homeowners withdraw home equity to finance their entrepreneurial activities. Our study sheds new light on the dynamics of personal debt composition in response to changes in house prices.
Ca2+ activation and Ca2+ inactivation of canine reconstituted cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)‐release channels.

1. Calcium‐release channels (ryanodine receptors) of canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were incorporated into lipid bilayer membranes at the tip of a patch pipette. Using symmetrical 150 mM KCl solutions, [Ca2+] > 0.3 microM activated single channels of 627 pS conductance. The kinetics of Ca(2+)‐mediated channel activation, deactivation and inactivation were studied by stepwise changes in pCa (‐log[Ca2+]) and analysis of current means. 2. Steps of [Ca2+] activated the channel open probability (Po) along a time course which could be fitted by a single exponential. The activation time constant was dependent on [Ca2+], which decreased from 4.9 ms at pCa 6.5 to 0.2 ms at pCa 3. Subsequent rapid reduction in [Ca2+] decreased Po along a mono‐exponential deactivation time course, the time constant of which was independent of the [Ca2+] during the preceding activation period. Further analysis yielded the rate constants kon of 2 x 10(8) (M s)‐1 and koff of 2 x 10(2) s‐1, an apparent dissociation constant (KD) of 1 microM, and a Hill coefficient of 1.05. 3. The open probability increased with [Ca2+], reaching a peak at about pCa 5.5. At pCa < or = 5.5, Po decreased time dependently, the time constants decreasing along with [Ca2+] from 1 s at 3 microM to 0.2 s at 1 mM. During the 0.5 s period at 3 microM Ca2+, Po fell by 13% due to an extension of the closed times. At 1 mM Ca2+, Po ‘inactivated’ by 72%, which was due mostly to long closures. These differences suggest that the Ca(2+)‐mediated decay of Po was dependent on Ca2+ binding to an intermediate (KD, 3 microM) and a low affinity site (KD, 360 microM). On the return of pCa from 3 to > 8, the channels briefly re‐opened. 4. A ‘refractory’ behaviour of the channel was not observed for 20 ms steps between < 10 nM and < 10 microM [Ca2+] (25 Hz). For steps between 10 nM and 1 mM, however, such behaviour was marked by infrequent and irregular channel openings. 5. The results are described by a three Ca2+ binding site model and compared with the literature.
Biological and molecular characterization of Newcastle disease virus isolates from surveillance of live bird markets in the northeastern United States.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is frequently recovered from surveillance samples collected by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service personnel in live bird markets. Six NDV isolates, five from chickens and one from a pheasant, were characterized for comparison with reference NDV isolates from poultry and other birds. All isolates tested were of low virulence for chickens. Four of the six isolates were similar to reference lentogens B1 and La Sota, but two isolates, one from a chicken and one from a pheasant, were different. The aberrant chicken isolate had a monoclonal antibody-binding profile like an unusual Canadian pigeon isolate. Sequence analysis of the matrix gene of this isolate demonstrated that it differed from all isolates included in the comparison and therefore may represent a third phylogenetic NDV group. The pheasant isolate had a monoclonal antibody-binding profile typical of other U.S. NDV lentogens but had a matrix gene sequence and hemagglutinin thermostability similar to strains Ulster and Queensland V4 (QV4), viruses originally isolated in Northern Ireland and Australia, respectively. The pheasant virus is the first lentogen isolated in the United States known to be closely related phylogenetically to Ulster and QV4. The unusual chicken and pheasant isolates were readily shed from the intestinal tract during chicken passage, whereas the other isolates were shed from the respiratory tract with little or no intestinal shedding. The frequency in live bird markets of viruses similar to those previously thought to be exotic to the United States in unknown.
The clinical effect of acellular dermal matrix on gingival thickness and root coverage compared to coronally positioned flap alone.

BACKGROUND The primary aim of this randomized, controlled, blinded, clinical investigation was to compare the coronally positioned flap (CPF) plus an acellular dermal matrix (ADM) allograft to CPF alone to determine their effect on gingival thickness and percent root coverage. METHODS Twenty-four subjects with one Miller Class I or II buccal recession defect of > or = 3 mm were treated with a CPF plus ADM or a CPF alone. Multiple additional recession sites were treated with the same flap procedure, and all sites were studied for 6 months. Tissue thickness was measured at the sulcus base and at the mucogingival junction of all teeth, with an SDM ultrasonic gingival thickness meter. RESULTS For the ADM sites, mean initial recession of 3.46 mm was reduced to 0.04 mm for defect coverage of 3.42 mm or 99% (P < 0.05). For the CPF group, mean initial recession of 3.27 mm was reduced to 1.08 mm for defect coverage of 2.19 mm or 67% (P < 0.05). The difference between ADM and CPF groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Marginal soft-tissue thickness was increased by 0.40 mm (P < 0.05) for the ADM group, whereas the CPF group remained essentially unchanged. Keratinized tissue was increased for the ADM group by 0.81 mm (P < 0.05), whereas the CPF group increased by 0.33 mm (P > 0.05). No additional root coverage was gained due to creeping attachment between 2 and 6 months for either group. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with a CPF plus an ADM allograft significantly increased gingival thickness when compared with a CPF alone. Recession defect coverage was significantly improved with the use of ADM.
Resonance Characteristics of Substrate-Integrated Rectangular Cavity and Their Applications to Dual-Band and Wide-Stopband Bandpass Filters Design

Resonance characteristics of substrate-integrated rectangular cavity (SIRC) are systematically analyzed in this paper. Synthesis design techniques of substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) dual-band bandpass filters (BPFs) and wide-stopband BPFs are demonstrated on the basis of these characteristics. The design concept of dual-band BPFs is to add some extra single-mode SIRC resonators to dual-mode resonator filters to increase the degrees of freedom in extracting direct-coupling coefficients, while the external quality factors <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q_{e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and cross-coupling coefficients desired in two passbands can be realized simultaneously by determining proper offset position of the I/O ports and cross-coupling window, respectively. Consequently, all the design parameters including <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q_{e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and coupling coefficients <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M_{ij}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> required for both the passbands could be satisfied. The principle of wide-stopband BPFs is to select the constitutive SIRC resonators with identical fundamental frequency but staggered higher order ones to suppress multispurious peaks to low levels and narrow bandwidths. Then emphasis is placed on the rejection of TE<sub>202</sub> mode, with its resonant frequency two times of TE<sub>101</sub> for all SIRC resonators, by centered I/O ports and coupling windows. Several experimental prototypes of SIW dual-band BPFs and wide-stopband BPFs are designed and fabricated to validate these concepts. The measured results are in excellent agreement with the simulations.
A future in the past: Unlocking a career in Britain's built heritage.

This study is concerned with the skills shortages and gaps that currently exist within Britain's Built Heritage sector. Specifically, the research explores how perceptions, image and culture affect the number of young people entering into professional roles in building conservation. Qualitative research and a constructivist grounded theory approach were used to collect data through a series of in-depth interviews with a selective sample of young professionals in building conservation, career advisors and university course providers. Detailed analysis through a systematic process of coding, categorisation and theoretical development led to a second phase of data collection in the form of a case study based in a secondary school with year 9 students. The analysis led to findings that are grounded within the experiences of the interviewees and school students. These findings have highlighted that the sector lacks both visibility and identity which significantly affects the promotion of careers in Built Heritage among young people. It has shown that a lack of identity causes difficulties during information searches and hinders attempts effectively to promote the sector. The findings have also exposed the difference between both the nature of work and more feminine culture that exists within those careers involved in the care for historic buildings and the more masculine culture that exists within the sector's host and current main recruitment route, the Construction Industry. The research has drawn attention to the lack of educational routes and consistent career paths for the Built Heritage sector and offers solutions to improve the situation. This study has worked closely with professionals in the sector, key stakeholders, and young people in secondary education, in order to address these areas and has produced a strategy to target recruitment into the sector. Further to this, the research findings have been warmly received by specialists within the field who have endorsed the findings considerable contribution and confirmed the value of the research.
A simple and effective prognostic staging system based on clinicopathologic features of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

UNLABELLED Incidence and mortality of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are increasing. However, its prognostic predictive system associated with outcome after surgery remains poorly defined. In this study, we conducted retrospective survival analyses in a primary cohort of 370 patients who underwent partial hepatectomy for ICC (2005 and 2009). We found that seven variables were significantly independent predictors for overall survival (OS): serum prealbumin (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.447; p = 0.015), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (HR: 1.438; p = 0.009), carcinoembryonic antigen (HR: 1.732; p = 0.002), tumor number (HR: 1.781; p < 0.001), vascular invasion (HR: 1.784; p < 0.001), regional lymphatic metastasis (HR: 2.003; p < 0.001) and local extrahepatic metastasis (HR: 1.506; p = 0.008). Using these independent predictors, we created a simple clinicopathologic prognostic staging system for predicting survival of ICC patients after resection. The validity of the prognostic staging system was prospectively assessed in 115 patients who underwent partial hepatectomy between January 2010 and December 2010 at the same institution. The prognostic power was quantified using likelihood ratio test and Akaike information criteria. Compared with the 6(th) and 7(th) AJCC staging systems, the new staging system in the primary cohort had a higher predictive accuracy for OS in terms of homogeneity and discriminatory ability. In the validation cohort, the homogeneity and discrimination of the new staging system were also superior to the two other staging systems. CONCLUSIONS The new staging system based on clinicopathologic features may provide relatively higher accuracy in prognostic prediction for ICC patients after tumor resection.
Evidence for the residual tertiary structure in the urea-unfolded form of bacteriophage T5 endolysin

Using high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, we studied peculiarities of the unfolding process of the bacteriophage T5 endolysin (EndoT5) by strong denaturants. It was shown that in the absence of zinc ions this protein is mostly unfolded in the solution of 8 M urea or 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. However, in the presence of zinc ions EndoT5 unfolding can be achieved only in acidic solutions (at pH < 4.0), whereas at pH > 4.0 NMR spectra of the metal-bound protein (Zn2+–Ca2+–EndoT5 or Zn2+–EndoT5 complexes) exhibit a few chemical shifts characteristic of the native or native-like proteins. Our data, including the pH–titration curve with the pK of ~5, suggested involvement of the zinc-binding histidines in the stabilization of this protein. Up-field signals that appear in the NMR spectra of apo-EndoT5 in the presence of high concentrations of strong denaturants are probably derived from the amino acid residues included in the formation of structured hydrophobic cluster, which likely corresponds to the 81–93 region of EndoT5 and contains some residual tertiary structure. It is possible also that this hydrophobic fragment serves as a foundation for the formation of structured cluster in the unfolded state.
Transient kinetic analysis of adenosine 5'-triphosphate binding-induced conformational changes in the allosteric chaperonin GroEL.

GroEL with an intrinsic fluorescent probe was generated by introducing the mutation Phe44 --> Trp. Different concentrations of ATP were rapidly mixed with GroEL containing this mutation, and the time-resolved change in fluorescence emission, upon excitation at 280 nm, was followed. Three kinetic phases were observed: a fast phase with a large amplitude and two slower phases with small amplitudes. The phases were assigned by (i) determining their dependence on ATP concentration; (ii) measuring their sensitivity to the mutation Arg197 --> Ala, which decreases cooperativity in ATP binding; and (iii) by carrying out mixing experiments of GroEL also with ADP, ATPgammaS, and ATP without K+. The apparent rate constant corresponding to the fast phase displays a bi-sigmoidal dependence on ATP concentration with Hill coefficients that are strikingly similar to those determined in steady-state experiments. This phase, which reflects ATP-induced conformational changes, is sensitive to the mutation Arg197 --> Ala in a manner that parallels steady-state experiments. The rate of conformational change in the presence of ATP is >100 sec-1, which is fast relative to most protein folding rates, whereas in the absence of ATP it is approximately 0.7 s-1. The second phase reflects the transition from an ATP-bound state of GroEL to an ADP-bound state. The third phase, with the smallest amplitude, reflects release of residual contaminants. The results in this study are found to be consistent with the nested model for cooperativity in ATP binding by GroEL [Yifrach, O. , and Horovitz, A. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 5303-5308].
Death concepts in suicidal adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between components of death concept (preoccupation with death, death as a pleasant state, and death as final) and suicidal behavior in adolescents. METHOD The death concepts of 51 suicidal inpatients, 102 nonsuicidal inpatients, 36 emergency room suicidal subjects, and 81 normal controls were compared using Pfeffer's Child Suicide Potential Scale. In addition, the IQ level as well as emotions that potentially influence the death concept were measured. RESULTS Both groups of suicidal adolescents evaluated death as more pleasant than the nonsuicidal groups. All the study groups equally perceived death as a final state. Suicidal inpatients were more preoccupied with death than nonsuicidal inpatients, but surprisingly among all study groups, including normal controls, the emergency room suicidal subjects were the least preoccupied with death. Partialing out depression, anxiety, and aggression specifically augmented the association between preoccupation with death and suicidality. Thus the relationship between death concept and suicidality appears to be a direct one. No correlation was found between suicidality and intelligence level. CONCLUSIONS Elements of death concept distinguish suicidal from nonsuicidal as well as between hospitalized versus nonhospitalized suicidal adolescents. Thus the death concept evaluation is potentially valuable in the assessment of adolescents with a high risk for suicide.
Characterization of Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphism Markers for Plasmopara viticola, the Causal Agent of Grapevine Downy Mildew

ABSTRACT We report 34 new nuclear single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP) markers that have been developed from an expressed sequence tag library of Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew. This newly developed battery of markers will provide useful additional genetic tools for population genetic studies of this important agronomic species.
Myocardial metabolic changes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

UNLABELLED We evaluated myocardial blood flow, glucose and oxygen metabolism using PET in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). METHODS PET studies using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 11C-acetate were performed at rest in patients with HCM and normal subjects as a control group. The metabolic rate of glucose (MRGlu), K mono value as a marker of oxidative metabolism, and myocardial blood flow were estimated from serial dynamic FDG and 11C-acetate PET studies. RESULTS Myocardial blood flow (%) did not differ significantly in hypertrophic and nonhypertrophic myocardium (90.3 +/- 3.1 versus 91.7 +/- 3.4). The MRGlu in hypertrophic myocardium, however, was lower than that of hypertrophic and normal myocardium (0.44 +/- 0.10 versus 0.52 +/- 0.15 and 0.53 +/- 0.15 mumole/min/g, respectively, p < 0.05). The K mono values were also lower in hypertrophic myocardium than in nonhypertrophic and normal myocardium (0.05 +/- 0.010 versus 0.066 +/- 0.0011 and 0.065 +/- 0.017 per min, respectively, p < 0.05). The %FDG/%perfusion values in hypertrophic myocardium did not differ significantly from those in nonhypertrophic myocardium (0.96 +/- 0.10 versus 1.02 +/- 0.07). CONCLUSION Myocardial ischemia at rest is observed less frequently in patients with HCM. Impairment of oxidative and glucose metabolism may precede decreased blood flow. Primary metabolic impairment is considered to be dominant in hypertrophic myocardium.