Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential signalling of purinoceptors in HeLa cells through the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and protein kinase C pathways

We have previously shown that HeLa cells express P2Y2 and P2Y6 receptors endogenously and determined the pathways by which the P2Y2 controls proliferation and Na+/K+ATPase activity. Our objective in this study was to investigate the hypothesis that P2Y6 also controls proliferation and Na+/K+ATPase activity; the pathways used in these actions were partially characterised. We found that P2Y6 activation controlled cell proliferation but not the activity of the Na+/K+ATPase. UDP activation of P2Y6 provoked: (a) an increase in free cytosolic calcium; (b) the activation of protein kinase C‐α, ‐β, ‐δ, ‐ε, and ‐ζ but not of PKC‐ι and ‐η; (c) the phosphorylation of the extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2); (d) the expression of c‐Fos protein. The P2Y6‐induced cell proliferation was blocked by the mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) inhibitor PD098059, thereby indicating that the ERK pathway mediates the mitogenic signalling of P2Y6. PKC and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) inhibitors were tested at two different time points of ERK1/2 phosphorylation (10 and 60 min). The results suggest that novel PKCs and PI3K initiate the response but both conventional and atypical PKCs are required for the maintenance of the UDP‐induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2. The induction of c‐Fos was greatly diminished by conventional or atypical PKC‐ζ inhibition, suggesting that it may be due to PKC‐α/β and ‐ζ activity. These observations demonstrate that UDP acts as a proliferative agent in HeLa cells activating multiple signalling pathways involving conventional, novel, and atypical PKCs, PI3K, and ERK. Of these pathways, conventional and atypical PKCs appear responsible for the induction of c‐Fos, while ERK is responsible for cell proliferation and depends upon both novel and atypical PKCs and PI3K activities. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Experience of a Sustainable Large Scale Brazilian Telehealth Network.

BACKGROUND In Brazil, the majority of healthcare resources are concentrated in the largest cities, whereas most communities lack proper healthcare assistance in primary care and have difficulties accessing specialists and diagnostic examinations. Considering this, the Telehealth Network of Minas Gerais (TNMG) was created. It is a public telehealth initiative that provides support to primary healthcare (PHC), performing teleconsultation and telediagnosis (electrocardiogram [ECG], Holter, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, spirometry, and retinography analysis) mainly for small and remote cities in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. PURPOSE To describe the successful experience of the TNMG in 10 years of activities. METHODS The TNMG was created in 2005 and supported PHC in 82 cities as a research project and was progressively expanded. A methodology for implementation and maintenance was developed, including quality control. Nowadays it provides support to 750 cities, 88.0% of Minas Gerais state. The examinations performed by the PHC team, with additional basic clinical data, are transmitted through the Internet to the TNMG specialists for remote interpretation. The TNMG teleconsultations system has been used by the PHC team to address written clinical questions to university staff. RESULTS Until December 2015, 2,464,999 ECGs and 73,698 teleconsultations have already been performed: on average, 2,000 ECGs and 40 teleconsultations per day in 2015. More than 95% of users have declared to be satisfied or very satisfied with the service. A recent cost-benefit analysis of the project showed that for each dollar invested, 6.1 dollars are saved as a consequence of patient referral reduction. CONCLUSIONS The TNMG is a successful example of a sustainable telehealth service, integrated to primary care centers of remote and small cities. It overcomes geographical barriers to provide specialized healthcare, reducing the number of unnecessary referrals, and contributing to improve the case-resolving capacity and the quality of the PHC.
Relaxation by bradykinin in porcine ciliary artery. Role of nitric oxide and K(+)-channels.

PURPOSE To assess the effects of K(+)-channel blockers on bradykinin-induced relaxations in porcine ciliary artery. METHODS Vascular isometric forces were measured with a myograph system. Ciliary vascular rings were precontracted with thromboxane A2 analog (U 46619, 10(-7) M) to assess dose-dependent (10(-10)-3 x 10(-6) M) bradykinin-induced relaxation after addition of one of the following: the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10(-4) M) or inactive enantiomer (D-NAME, 10(-4) M); the nonspecific K(+)-channel blocker tetra-ethylammonium (TEA, 10(-2) M); or the ATP-sensitive K(+)-channel blocker glibenclamide (10(-5) M). The effect of TEA on relaxations to the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 10(-10)-10(-4) M) was investigated. The membrane potential of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) was recorded after exposure to bradykinin (2.5 x 10(-7) M). RESULTS Endothelium-dependent relaxations to bradykinin (maximal [max], 99% +/- 3%) were strongly inhibited by L-NAME (max, 39% +/- 4%, P < 0.01) and partially by TEA (max, 62% +/- 3%, P < 0.01) or glibenclamide (max, 77% +/- 4%, P < 0.01). Administration of glibenclamide plus L-NAME further suppressed bradykinin-induced relaxation (max, 23% +/- 6%; P < 0.01), whereas TEA and L-NAME (max, 6% +/- 2%; P < 0.01) abolished the relaxation. SNP relaxations were unaffected by TEA. Bradykinin had no effect on the membrane potential of VSMC. CONCLUSIONS In porcine ciliary artery, the endothelium-dependent relaxations to bradykinin are primarily mediated by NO and involve K(+)-channels. As only relaxations to bradykinin, but not those mediated by SNP, were inhibited by TEA, this implies that K(+)-channel blockers most likely affect the bradykinin-evoked NO production or release by the endothelium.
The Choice Between Three Simple Methods for Glomerular Filtration Rate Assessment in Different Stages of Chronic Parenchymal Renal Diseases

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) can be measured (mGFR) after intravenous application of indicators that are eliminated by kidneys or estimated (eGFR) using mathematic equations. We have compared eGFR obtained by the chronic kidney diseases epidemiology collaboration (CKD-EPI) and the Modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) Study equations with GFR measured by technetium-99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid ( 99m Tc-DTPA) renal clearance in different stages of renal diseases in order that obtained results may contribute to more adequate choice of methods for the GFR assessment in relation to the type and stage of kidney disease. The study included a total of 189 participants with diabetes mellitus (DM), glomerulonephritis (GN), Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) and healthy subjects. 99m Tc-DTPA clearance (ml/min/1.73 m 2 ) was calculated from the regression equation based on high correlation between distribution volume of radiopharmaceutical and clearance values obtained by multiple blood samples. For blood sample taken at 3 h and 4 h, clearance was calculated according to the equations: y = -0.0128x 2 + 3.077x  30.3, and y = -0.00628x 2 + 2.066x  19.3, where y is clearance, and x is distribution volume. MDRD-GFR (ml/min/1.73 m 2 ) was calculated from equation: 186 × Scr -1.154 × age -0.203 × 0.742 if female. CKD-EPI-GFR was calculated from equation: 141 × min(Scr/κ, 1) α × max(Scr/κ, 1) -1.209 × 0.993 age × 1.018 if female, where Scr is serum creatinine, κ is 0.7 for females and 0.9 for males, α is -0.329 for females and -0.411 for males, min indicates the minimum of Scr/κ or 1, and max indicates the maximum of Scr/κ or 1. Irrespective of renal disease, both equations underestimated radionuclide clearance at mGFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (91.7 ± 18.8 and 88.2 ± 22.0 vs. 121 ± 19.6, p 60 ml/min, we suggest its use for prediction of GFR at higher renal function levels. However, underestimation of renal function by CKD-EPI equation seems not to be quite appropriate in diabetic patients with expected GFR above 90 ml/min because it may miss the patients with glomerular hyperfiltration. Thus, priority may be given to 99m Tc-DTPA clearance method in the earlier stages of kidney diseases in type 1 diabetes mellitus. At last, in patients with expected GFR < 60 ml/min, it is better to monitor disease progression by estimating equations than by 99m Tc-DTPA renal clearance,
Impact of peer-to-peer applications on wide area network traffic: an experimental approach

To evaluate the impact of peer-to-peer applications on traffic in wide area IP networks, we analyze measurements from a high speed backbone link carrying TCP traffic towards several ADSL areas. The first observations are that the prevalent part of traffic is due to peer-to-peer applications (almost 80% of total traffic) and that the usage of network becomes symmetric in the sense that customers are not only clients but also servers. This latter point is observed by the significant proportion of long flows mainly composed of ACK segments. When analyzing the bit rate created by long flows, it turns out that those TCP connections due to peer-to-peer applications have a rather small bit rate and that there is no evidence for long range dependence. These facts are intimately related to the way peer-to-peer protocols are running.
Current status of bioassay procedures to detect and quantify previous exposures to radioactive materials. Bioassay Procedures Working Group.

This report was prepared by a working group established by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) for the purpose of assessing the current capabilities of bioassay methods that can be used to determine the occurrence and magnitude of a previous internal deposition of one or more radionuclides. The first five sections discuss general features of the use of in-vitro bioassay samples to achieve this purpose. The remainder of the report is focused on the possible use of urine bioassay procedures to detect and quantify internal depositions of radionuclides that may have occurred in United States occupation troops in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, prior to 1 July 1946, or to personnel who participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted between 1945 and 1962. Theoretical calculations were made to estimate the quantities of various radionuclides produced in a 20-kiloton (kt) nuclear detonation that might still be present in measurable quantities in people today if they were exposed 25 to 40 y ago. Two radionuclides that emerged as good choices for this type of bioassay analysis were 90Sr, which emits beta particles, and 239,240Pu, which emits alpha particles. The current status and future prospects of chemical procedures for analyzing in-vitro urine bioassay samples for these two radionuclides were examined to determine the minimum amounts that could be detected with current methods and how much one might expect the sensitivity of detection to improve in the near future. Most routine 239,240Pu bioassay analyses involve detection by alpha spectrometry. The current minimum detectable amount (MDA) is about 0.74 mBq L-1 (20 fCi L-1), but this could be lowered to 74 muBq L-1 (2 fCi L-1). An MDA of 0.74 mBq L-1 (20 fCi L-1) is adequate for routine bioassay analyses but is too high to detect most uptakes of 239,240Pu that may have occurred 25 to 40 y ago. Methods under development that are or can be much more sensitive and have lower MDAs than alpha spectrometry for 239Pu are fission track analysis and mass spectrometry. Currently, the fission track analysis method has an MDA of about 19 muBq L-1), and this may eventually be lowered to 1.9 muBq L-1 (0.005 fCi L-1). The current MDA for 239Pu by mass spectrometry is about 7.4 mBq L-1 (200 fCi L-1), but the potential exists that it could be lowered to a value of about 0.37 muBq L-1 (0.01 fCi L-1). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Predicting Success and Failure in Weight Loss Blogs through Natural Language Use

We explore the emerging phenomenon of blogging about personal goals, and demonstrate how natural language processing tools can be used to uncover psychologically meaningful constructs in blogs. We describe features of a blog community (2638 blogs) devoted to weight loss. We compare several approaches to text analysis in predicting weight loss from natural language use in a subset of the blogs (258 users; over 13,000 entries). First, we use a bag of words approach to distinguish the degree to which individual words can predict success and failure. Next, we compare the results to a deductive word count and categorization tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. We discuss the theoretical significance of the words and word categories that distinguish between bloggers who succeed and those who fail in their weight loss attempts, along with the implications of automated text analysis in summarizing psychological features of blogs
Load Modeling Considering Distributed Generation

Distributed generation is regarded as the developing direction of the power system in 21 century. Because distributed generation always connects with the distribution system, which has great influence on every aspects of power system. This paper studied the influence of distributed generation on load modeling. When the influence of distributed generation is not negligible, the composite induction motor load model can't effectively describe the actual load characteristic. This paper proposes a new load model-asynchronous generator +ZIP. The validity of the proposed load model is also testified via the comparison and contrast from a great deal of simulations. Then, composite induction-motor and asynchronous generator +ZIP load models were unified in one program.
The Prince’s Court at Bruges: A Reconstruction of the Lost Residence of the Dukes of Burgundy

The so-called Prince’s Court at Bruges was one of the main residences of the dukes of Burgundy during the 15th century. At the end of the 14th century it had been renovated by Philip the Bold, after which several, sometimes major, adjustments were made, most of them commissioned by his grandson’s wife Isabella of Portugal. This essay seeks to reconstruct the ducal apartments at the core of the mid-15th century residence, while exploring the different construction phases from 1395 until 1468, the year of the marriage festivities of Philip the Good’s son Charles the Bold and Margaret of York. As has been shown before, life at the Burgundian court was regulated by a complex set of rules, reflected in the spatial organization of the residence. Ceremonial space thus constituted the common ground between residences from different Burgundian lands, such as Flanders (Bruges, Ghent, and Lille) and Brabant (Brussels), from different urban contexts, and with different building histories. This particular aspect of court architecture, however, proves difficult to capture in words. Our essay explores the possibilities offered by computer-aided design software to visualize and test different hypotheses, chiefly based on a close examination of the surviving accounts. Because of the many uncertainties concerning individual building phases, a complete historical phase model of the Bruges case is impossible, but the main stages of construction can now be defined with greater certainty, and the spatial sequence underlying the ducal apartments, as completed by 1468, can be reconstructed.
Symbolic Control and Planning of Robotic Motion (Grand Challenges of Robotics)

Mobile robots are complex systems that combine mechanical elements such as wheels and gears, electromechanical devices such as motors, clutches and brakes, digital circuits such as processors and smart sensors, and software programs such as embedded controllers. They have mechanical constraints (e.g., a carlike robot cannot move sideways), limited energy resources, and computation, sensing, and communication capabilities. They operate in environments cluttered with possibly moving and shape changing obstacles, and their objectives can change over time, such as in the case of appearing and disappearing targets. Robot motion planning and control is the problem of automatic construction of robot control strategies from task specifications given in high-level, human-like language. The challenge in this area is the development of computationally efficient frameworks allowing for systematic, provably correct, control design accommodating both the robot constraints and the complexity of the environment, while at the same time allowing for expressive task specifications. Comments Copyright 2007 IEEE. Reprinted from IEEE Robotics and Automation, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2007, pages 51-70. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of the University of Pennsylvania's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it. Author(s) Calin Belta, Antonio Bicci, Magnus Egerstedt, Emilio Frazzoli, Eric Klavins, and George J. Pappas This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/ese_papers/232
Differences between women who pursued genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and their at-risk relatives who did not.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To (a) examine differences in appraisals of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), psychological distress, family environment, and decisional conflict between women who pursued genetic testing and their at-risk relatives who did not, and (b) examine correlations among appraisals of HBOC, psychological distress, family environment, and decisional conflict regarding genetic testing in these two cohorts of women. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional cohort study. SETTING Two clinics affiliated with a major research university in the midwestern United States. SAMPLE 372 women aged 18 years and older. 200 pursued genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (probands) and 172 of their female relatives who had a greater than 10% prior probability of being a mutation carrier but had not pursued testing. METHODS After providing informed consent, probands and relatives were mailed self-administered questionnaires. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Perceived risk, knowledge of HBOC risk factors and modes of gene inheritance, perceived severity, perceived controllability, psychological distress, family relationships, family communication, and decisional conflict about genetic testing. FINDINGS T tests revealed that probands perceived higher risk and had more psychological distress associated with breast cancer. Probands had more knowledge regarding risk factors and gene inheritance, and greater decisional conflict regarding genetic testing. Relatives reported higher perceived severity and controllability. No differences were observed in family relationships and family communication between probands and relatives. Pearson correlations revealed different patterns in knowledge, perceived controllability, family relationships, and decisional conflict between probands and relatives. CONCLUSIONS Significant differences exist between women who pursue genetic testing and those who do not. The family environment influences adjustment to HBOC and decisions about genetic testing. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Enhancing the family communication process about HBOC can provide informational and emotional support to high-risk women and promote decision making about genetic testing.
BDI Agents for Bidding in English Auctions in Mobile E-commerce

On-line auctions have mushroomed and provided the bidders with surplus options to participate and bid in multiple concurrent auctions in order to procure the best deal for the desired good. This paper proposes a scheme to incorporate human intelligence and perspective (cognitive) in agents for bidding in multiple concurrent English auctions in mobile Ecommerce. The scheme operates in two phases: 1) belief set generation for each relevant site based on bidder desires, and 2) Executing the intentions – to bid, sleep or withdraw based on dynamic auction conditions. We validate the performance of system by simulation.
Development of a Disease Severity and Responder Index for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) — Report of the OMERACT 10 PsA Special Interest Group

Work within the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) to develop and validate composite disease activity measures in PsA has progressed. At the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) 8 meeting, a core set of domains to be assessed in randomized controlled trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS) of PsA was agreed upon. At OMERACT 10, work to date regarding proposed composite responder indices was presented. Five proposed composite responder definitions for PsA were reviewed and discussed including new data from the GRACE (GRAppa Composite Exercise) study. There was agreement that the work to date was promising, and that developing composite outcome measures for use in RCT and LOS was important. Further work was required, including data on followup timepoints and less common phenotypes of PsA, to ensure that all subgroups were represented within GRACE. During discussion on the concept of composite measures for PsA, based on predominant/little/no involvement in several domains (such as skin versus joints, enthesitis, dactylitis, spondyloarthritis) it was acknowledged that a simple summative score encompassing all domains of PsA would be difficult to construct psychometrically and may not be appropriate. Ideally, any composite measure should retain the ability to differentiate between activity in individual domains, such as enthesitis or skin psoriasis, so that the influence of each can be assessed independently. Further work is required within the GRACE dataset to develop an optimal composite measure for PsA. Several proposals to date have shown preliminary validity according to the OMERACT filter.
DNA damage can alter the stability of nucleosomes: effects are dependent on damage type.

We have investigated the effects of DNA damage by (+/-)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) and UV light on the formation of a positioned nucleosome in the Xenopus borealis 5S rRNA gene. Gel-shift analysis of the reconstituted products indicates that BPDE damage facilitates the formation of a nucleosome onto this sequence. Competitive reconstitution experiments show that average levels of 0.5, 0.9, and 2.1 BPDE adducts/146 bp of 5S DNA (i.e., the size of DNA associated with a nucleosome core particle) yield changes of -220, -290, and -540 cal/mol, respectively, in the free energy (delta G) of nucleosome formation. These values yield increases of core histone binding to 5S DNA (K(a)) of 1.4-, 1.6-, and 2.5-fold, compared with undamaged DNA. Conversely, irradiation with UV light decreases nucleosome formation. Irradiation at either 500 or 2500 J/m2 of UV light [0.6 and 0.8 cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer/146 bp (on average), respectively] results in respective changes of +130 and +250 cal/mol. This translates to decreases in core histone binding to irradiated 5S DNA (K(a)) of 1.2- and 1.5-fold compared with undamaged DNA. These results indicate that nucleosome stability can be markedly affected by the formation of certain DNA lesions. Such changes could have major effects on the kinetics of DNA processing events.