Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Glucokinase Glucose Sensor in Human Pancreatic Islet Tissue

The enzyme glucokinase controls glucose metabolism in islets and is proposed to be the glucose sensor in pancreatic β-cells. This concept was developed from studies with rodents and it remained to be explored whether it also applies to man. Studies in man were hampered, however, by the difficulty in obtaining wellpreserved pancreatic islet tissue and also because the high activity of hexokinase made it difficult to measure glucokinase. To overcome these obstacles, quantitative histochemical sampling techniques were developed allowing precise dissection of pure human islet tissue and a newly designed radiometric microassay was used, avoiding hexokinase interference, and providing the sensitivity necessary to measure the relatively low glucokinase activity in small samples of tissue obtained from brain-dead tissue donors. The present data indicate that glucokinase is present in human pancreatic islet tissue and is not found in the exocrine pancreas. The enzyme's Vmax with D-glucose as substrate was similar to the Vmax for glucose utilization reported previously for intact, isolated human isletsand the enzyme's Km for D-glucose was about 5 mM. Since glucokinase was also present in islet tissue of hamster, mouse, and rat, it is suggested that the glucokinase-glucose sensor concept has general applicability and that it could explain many aspects of the physiology and pathology of glucose homeostasis. This well-defined pancreatic islet glucokinase-glucose sensor should, therefore, be incorporated in any comprehensive model of glucose homeostasis.
OSoMe: the IUNI observatory on social media

1 The study of social phenomena is becoming increasingly reliant on big data from on2 line social networks. Broad access to social media data, however, requires software 3 development skills that not all researchers possess. Here we present the IUNI Observa4 tory on Social Media, an open analytics platform designed to facilitate computational 5 social science. The system leverages a historical, ongoing collection of over 70 billion 6 public messages from Twitter. We illustrate a number of interactive open-source tools 7 to retrieve, visualize, and analyze derived data from this collection. The Observatory, 8 now available at osome.iuni. iu.edu, is the result of a large, six-year collaborative effort 9 coordinated by the Indiana University Network Science Institute. 10 PeerJ Preprints | https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints. 2008v1 | CC-BY 4.0 Open Access | rec: 29 Apr 2016, publ: 29 Apr 2016
Transplant Glomerulopathy: Ultrastructural Abnormalities Occur Early in Longitudinal Analysis of Protocol Biopsies

Transplant glomerulopathy (TXG) presents a distinctive pattern of glomerular abnormalities. The aim of this study was to describe its sequential ultrastructural pathology. A paired cohort study of 228 protocol biopsies, from our longitudinal database (n = 1345), compared TXG (7 patients, 95 biopsies) and controls (8 patients, 133 biopsies). Ultrastructural morphometry and C4d immunoperoxidase were evaluated from implantation to 5 years after transplantation against sequential histology and functional changes.
Integrin αvβ3 and thyroid hormones promote expansion of progenitors in embryonic neocortex

Neocortex expansion during evolution is associated with the enlargement of the embryonic subventricular zone, which reflects an increased self-renewal and proliferation of basal progenitors. In contrast to human, the vast majority of mouse basal progenitors lack self-renewal capacity, possibly due to lack of a basal process contacting the basal lamina and downregulation of cell-autonomous production of extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents. Here we show that targeted activation of the ECM receptor integrin αvβ3 on basal progenitors in embryonic mouse neocortex promotes their expansion. Specifically, integrin αvβ3 activation causes an increased cell cycle re-entry of Pax6-negative, Tbr2-positive intermediate progenitors, rather than basal radial glia, and a decrease in the proportion of intermediate progenitors committed to neurogenic division. Interestingly, integrin αvβ3 is the only known cell surface receptor for thyroid hormones. Remarkably, tetrac, a thyroid hormone analog that inhibits the binding of thyroid hormones to integrin αvβ3, completely abolishes the intermediate progenitor expansion observed upon targeted integrin αvβ3 activation, indicating that this expansion requires the binding of thyroid hormones to integrin αvβ3. Convergence of ECM and thyroid hormones on integrin αvβ3 thus appears to be crucial for cortical progenitor proliferation and self-renewal, and hence for normal brain development and the evolutionary expansion of the neocortex.
A silica monolithic column prepared by the sol‐gel process for enantiomeric separation by capillary electrochromatography

A method for the preparation of a silica monolithic capillary electrochromatography (CEC) column for the separation of enantiomers has been developed. The porous silica monolith was fabricated inside a fused‐silica capillary column by using the sol‐gel process. After gelation for 24 h, hydrothermal treatment at 100°C for 24 h was performed to prevent the sol‐gel matrix from cracking. The prepared monolith was then coated with Chirasil‐β‐Dex which represents a chiral polymer prepared by grafting permethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin to polymethylsiloxane with an octamethylene spacer. Immobilization of Chirasil‐β‐Dex was performed by heat treatment at 120°C for 48 h to give a nonextractable coating. The column performance was evaluated by using racemic hexobarbital as a model compound. The efficiency of 9.2×104 theoretical plates/m for the first eluted enantiomer of hexobarbital was obtained at an optimal flow rate of the mobile phase. The effect of mobile phase composition on enantiomeric separation of hexobarbital was also investigated. The column proved to be stable for more than one hundreds of runs during a two‐months period. The enantiomers of several neutral and negatively charged chiral compounds were baseline separated on this column.
Patent-Medicine Advertising and the Early American Press

F EW studies exist to show specific evolution of distinct types of ad› vertising from the genesis of the fourth estate in America until the press had "come of age" toward the middle part of the nineteenth cen› tury. One of the most fruitful sub› jects for this type of analysis is the patent, medicine, which rose from lowly origins to a highly complex in› dustry, due largely to widespread advertising campaigns in American newspapers. Most treatments of the subject do not trouble to go back farther than about 1875. A full century and a half of the imPOrtant historic as› pects of this hoary American insti› tution is thus overlooked. Careful exploring in this early field reveals an abundant supply of material upon which to base such a survey. In order to give proper perspective to the study, a word should be said at the outset concerning the child-
Alterations in Gold Nanoparticle Levels Are Size Dependent, with the Smaller Ones Inducing the Most Toxic Effects and Related to the Time of Exposure of the Gold Nanoparticles.

Background Gold nanoparticle (GNP) levels in the blood of rats in vivo have not been previously documented. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of size and exposure duration of GNPs on the gold levels in the blood of rats in vivo. Methods Thirty rats were divided into five groups, NG = control group, G1A: infusion of 10 nm GNPs for three days, G1B: 10 nm GNPs for seven days, G2A: 50 nm GNPs for three days and G2B: 50 nm GNPs for seven days. Fifty microlitres of GNPs dissolved in aqueous solution were administered intraperitoneally every day for three and seven days. Gold concentrations in different samples were measured using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). Results The percentage normalized value of 50nm GNPs increased in the blood of rats in both three and seven days when compared with 10 nm GNPs. Conclusions It became evident from the results of this study that the alterations in GNP levels were size dependent, with the smaller ones inducing the most toxic effects and related to the time of exposure of GNPs. The results might indicate that the smaller GNPs are mostly taken up and accumulate in the different rat organs, suggesting their toxic effects, while the 50 nm GNPs are retained in the blood of rats for a long time. These conclusions are further supported by the histological investigation.
Study of the Cytochrome b Gene Sequence in Populations of Taiwan

Abstract: The cytochrome b gene (MTCYB) has been widely used in taxonomic research. In this study, the sequence polymorphism of the MTCYB gene was determined in 417 subjects of eight populations living in Taiwan (Taiwanese Han, indigenous Taiwanese, Tao, mainland Chinese, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, and Caucasian). Sequence variation from the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence and genetic distance between these populations were analyzed. There were 108 variable positions with a total of 99 haplotypes. Population‐specific positions of MTCYB gene were noted in Tao and Caucasian populations. There were statistically significant differences of genetic distance between Taiwanese Han and Caucasian, between Taiwanese Han and Tao, and between Taiwanese Han and Filipino. A phylogenetic tree presents the genetic distances between these populations. In conclusion, there are sufficient sequence polymorphisms of the MTCYB gene in individuals of different populations, which may be used in the analyses of human ethnic groups in forensic casework.
high power LED heat dissipation simulation analysis via heat sink fin variation

In this work, significance of heat sink fins numbers on the heat dissipation of single chip high power LED package was addressed. The investigation was carried out through simulation by utilizing Ansys version 11. In this work, the heat sink fin numbers were increased from 4 fins to 6 fins, 8 fins, 10 fins and 12 fins respectively. The heat dissipation were evaluated in terms of operating junction temperature, thermal resistance and von Mises stress of the LED chip. Results of the analysis showed that with the increment of heat sink fins, the surface area of the heat sink also increases which in turn reduces the junction temperature of the GaN chip.
Total motion generated in the unstable thoracolumbar spine during management of the typical trauma patient: a comparison of methods in a cadaver model.

OBJECT The proper prehospital and inpatient management of patients with unstable spinal injuries is critical for prevention of secondary neurological compromise. The authors sought to analyze the amount of motion generated in the unstable thoracolumbar spine during various maneuvers and transfers that a trauma patient would typically be subjected to prior to definitive fixation. METHODS Five fresh cadavers with surgically created unstable L-1 burst fractures were tested. The amount of angular motion between the T-12 and L-2 vertebral segments was measured using a 3D electromagnetic motion analysis device. A complete sequence of maneuvers and transfers was then performed that a patient would be expected to go through from the time of injury until surgical fixation. These maneuvers and transfers included spine board placement and removal, bed transfers, lateral therapy, and turning the patient prone onto the operating table. During each of these, the authors performed what they believed to be the most commonly used versus the best techniques for preventing undesirable motion at the injury level. RESULTS When placing a spine board there was more motion in all 3 planes with the log-roll technique, and this difference reached statistical significance for axial rotation (p = 0.018) and lateral bending (p = 0.003). Using logrolling for spine board removal resulted in increased motion again, and this was statistically significant for flexion-extension (p = 0.014). During the bed transfer and lateral therapy, the log-roll technique resulted in more motion in all 3 planes (p ≤ 0.05). When turning the cadavers prone for surgery there was statistically more angular motion in each plane for manually turning the patient versus the Jackson table turn (p ≤ 0.01). The total motion was decreased by almost 50% in each plane when using an alternative to the log-roll techniques during the complete sequence (p ≤ 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Although it is unknown how much motion in the unstable spine is necessary to cause secondary neurological injury, the accepted tenet is to minimize motion as much as possible. This study has demonstrated the angular motion incurred by the unstable thoracolumbar spine as experienced by the typical trauma patient from the field to positioning in the operating room using the best and most commonly used techniques. As previously reported, using the log-roll technique consistently results in unwanted motion at the injured spinal segment.
Effects of prepartal body condition score and peripartal energy supply of dairy cows on postpartal lipolysis, energy balance and ketogenesis: an animal model to investigate subclinical ketosis

Subclinical ketosis is a metabolic disorder which often goes undiagnosed and leads to constricted performance and an impairment of general condition. In the current study subclinical ketosis was characterised by a β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration of >1·2 mmol/l in blood serum. To generate this metabolic situation, an animal model was created. The model, based on group-specific interaction of dietary energy supply and body condition, is appropriate for testing the medical effectiveness of treating this kind of ketosis and its concomitants. During the trial, 18 dairy cows (primiparous and pluriparous) were assigned, according to their body condition score (BCS) 6 weeks before expected parturition, to a normal [6·78 MJ net energy for lactation (NEL)/kg dry matter; 20% concentrate] or to a high-energy feeding group (7·71 MJ NEL/kg dry matter; 60% concentrate). Therefore cows with the highest BCS were allocated to the high-energy group to enhance the contrast with the control group. Statistical analysis was done using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Effects were declared significant when P-values were ⩽0·05. Owing to the higher energy concentration and dry matter intake, the energy intake and balance was significantly higher in the high-energy feeding group, with strong effects on lipid metabolism and health in blood and liver post partum. Within the first 2 weeks after calving, 8 out of 9 cows (89%) of the high-energy group had BHB values indicative of subclinical ketosis. These cows also had significantly higher values of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), aspartate transaminase (AST) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) post partum, as well as a raised total lipid content of the liver. RQUICKI, a calculated parameter which is based on serum concentrations of glucose, insulin and NEFA to assess the insulin sensitivity, was not affected by treatment. Therefore, RQUICKI does not seem to be the right parameter for diagnosing decreased insulin sensitivity in cows affected by subclinical ketosis. The milk fat and the fat:protein ratio of the high-energy group was also higher, even though there was no decrease in milk yield for cows with subclinical BHB values.
Soda consumption and the risk of stroke in men and women.

BACKGROUND Consumption of sugar-sweetened soda has been associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. The relation with cerebrovascular disease has not yet been closely examined. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine patterns of soda consumption and substitution of alternative beverages for soda in relation to stroke risk. DESIGN The Nurses' Health Study, a prospective cohort study of 84,085 women followed for 28 y (1980-2008), and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, a prospective cohort study of 43,371 men followed for 22 y (1986-2008), provided data on soda consumption and incident stroke. RESULTS We documented 1416 strokes in men during 841,770 person-years of follow-up and 2938 strokes in women during 2,188,230 person-years of follow-up. The pooled RR of total stroke for ≥ 1 serving of sugar-sweetened soda/d, compared with none, was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.34). The pooled RR of total stroke for ≥ 1 serving of low-calorie soda/d, compared with none, was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.28). Compared with 1 serving of sugar-sweetened soda/d, 1 serving of decaffeinated coffee/d was associated with a 10% (95% CI: 1%, 19%) lower risk of stroke and 1 serving of caffeinated coffee/d with a 9% (95% CI: 0%, 17%) lower risk. Similar estimated reductions in risk were seen for substitution of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee for low-calorie soda. CONCLUSIONS Greater consumption of sugar-sweetened and low-calorie sodas was associated with a significantly higher risk of stroke. This risk may be reduced by substituting alternative beverages for soda.
Fatigue During High-Intensity Endurance Exercise: The Interaction Between Metabolic Factors and Thermal Stress

Abstract Mitchell, JB, Rogers, MM, Basset, JT, and Hubing, KA. Fatigue during high-intensity endurance exercise: The interaction between metabolic factors and thermal stress. J Strength Cond Res 28(7): 1906–1914, 2014—The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hot (37° C) and cool (10° C) environments on cycling time to exhaustion (TTE), pH, lactate, and core temperature (Tc). Eleven endurance-trained subjects completed 4 TTE trials: Hot 80% V[Combining Dot Above]O2max (H80), Cool 80% (C80), Hot 100% (H100), and Cool 100% V[Combining Dot Above]O2max (C100). Esophageal temperature and blood was sampled before, every 5 minutes, at exhaustion, and 3 minutes after exercise and analyzed for lactate, pH, and HCO3−. Multifactorial analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to determine differences between mean values (± SD). Time to exhaustion was shorter in H100 and C100 vs. H80 and C80 (5.64 ± 1.49 minutes, 5.83 ± 1.03 minutes, 12.82 ± 2.0 minutes, and 24.85 ± 6.0 minutes, respectively) and shorter in H80 vs. C80 (p < 0.01). The pH at exhaustion was different among all conditions (7.17 ± 0.06, 7.15 ± 0.07, 7.21 ± 0.04, and 7.24 ± 0.06 units for H100, C100, H80, and C80, respectively, p = 0.02). The Tc at exhaustion was lower in H100 and C100 (37.93 ± 0.67 and 37.62 ± 0.58° C) vs. H80 and C80 (38.54 ± 0.51° C and 38.53 ± 0.38° C) (p < 0.01). In H80 and C80, the higher Tc likely played a greater role in the termination of exercise, whereas, in H100 and C100, pH and metabolic changes may have been more important. Despite these differences, neither an upper limit for Tc nor a lower limit for pH was identified; thus, fatigue based entirely on peripheral factors was not supported, and a combination of peripheral and central processes must be considered. The practical implications of these findings are that aerobic exercise at or near V[Combining Dot Above]O2max may be impacted more by metabolic factors, whereas lower intensities (∼80% V[Combining Dot Above]O2max) may be affected more by heat stress; these differences should be considered when training for events of this type.
Efficient scheme of battery charging based on one cycle control applied in photovoltaic systems

The use of PV systems has grown over the recent years around the world. This type of renewable energy has gained space against other types such as wind and biomass because the radiation is directly converted into electricity. One of the most common ways of storing the generated energy is through batteries and in this paper a control strategy is presented that uses a boost converter to charge the batteries and keep them charged when the State of Charge (SOC) is full. The main objective of this work is to present the results of this maximum power point tracker with battery charging using the one cycle control (OCC) technique on same boost converter. The constant voltage method was used because it offers a high reliability, low oscillations and high efficiency in the maximum power point tracking when there are no large temperature variations. OCC provides some advantages such as permanent zero error, rejection of input disturbances and rapid response to change of reference.
Role of Virulence Factors in Resistance of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli to Serum and in Pathogenicity

ABSTRACT In chickens, colibacillosis is caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) via respiratory tract infection. Many virulence factors, including type 1 (F1A) and P (F11) fimbriae, curli, aerobactin, K1 capsule, and temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin (Tsh) and plasmid DNA regions have been associated with APEC. A strong correlation between serum resistance and virulence has been demonstrated, but roles of virulence factors in serum resistance have not been well elucidated. By using mutants of APEC strains TK3, MT78, and χ7122, which belong to serogroups O1, O2, and O78, respectively, we investigated the role of virulence factors in resistance to serum and pathogenicity in chickens. Our results showed that serum resistance is one of the pathogenicity mechanisms of APEC strains. Virulence factors that increased bacterial resistance to serum and colonization of internal organs of infected chickens were O78 lipopolysaccharide of E. coli χ7122 and the K1 capsule of E. coli MT78. In contrast, curli, type 1, and P fimbriae did not appear to contribute to serum resistance. We also showed that the iss gene, which was previously demonstrated to increase resistance to serum in certain E. coli strains, is located on plasmid pAPEC-1 of E. coli χ7122 but does not play a major role in resistance to serum for strain χ7122.
Expression of the RET proto-oncogene in human embryos.

The patterns of RET proto-oncogene expression in mouse, rat, and chicken and the anomalies observed in targeted RET mutants suggest that RET plays a major role in development of mouse enteric nervous system and in kidney organogenesis. Here, we report on in situ hybridization studies describing the pattern of RET proto-oncogene expression during early development of human embryos between 23 and 42 days. We show that the RET gene is expressed in the developing kidney (nephric duct, mesonephric tubules, and ureteric bud), the presumptive enteric neuroblasts of the developing enteric nervous system, cranial ganglia (VII+VIII, IX, and X) and in the presumptive motor neurons of the spinal cord. Yet, despite the high level of RET gene expression in the kidney and in the motor neurons of the developing central nervous system in human embryos, only rare cases with renal agenesis have been reported in Hirschsprung disease patients, and no clinical evidence of spinal cord involvement has been shown in patients carrying RET germline mutations (i.e., multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes and Hirschsprung disease).