Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FGF-23 and osteoprotegerin are independently associated with myocardial damage in chronic kidney disease stages 3 and 4. Another link between chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder and the heart.

BACKGROUND Extra-skeletal calcification and disordered phosphate metabolism are hallmarks of chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD). Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) are increased in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and have been associated with arterial and cardiac dysfunction and reduced survival. Troponin T (cTnT) is released from cardiac myocytes under conditions of stress and is predictive of mortality across a range of renal functions. However, the utility of this biomarker was formerly limited by the lower limit of assay detection. The introduction of a high-sensitivity assay has enabled more detailed study of myocyte stress below the previous limit of detection. We studied the association of mediators of CKD-MBD with arterial stiffness and also of these mediators and arterial stiffness with myocardial damage in patients with CKD stages 3-4. METHODS OPG and FGF-23 were measured in 200 CKD stages 3-4 patients. cTnT was measured using a high-sensitivity assay. Aortic stiffness was assessed using aortic pulse wave velocity (APWV). RESULTS Mean age was 69 ± 11 years, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 151 ± 22/81 ± 11 mmHg and renal function was 33 ± 11 mL/min/1.73 m(2). OPG, FGF-23, high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) and APWV all correlated with renal function. After multivariate analysis, OPG and age remained independently associated with aortic stiffness. OPG and FGF-23 were independently associated with hs-cTnT in addition to other non-traditional risk factors (Model R(2) = 0.596). CONCLUSION We have shown that changes in bone mediators and phosphate metabolism induced by CKD are independently associated with vascular and cardiomyocyte dysfunction. Our findings suggest that cardiac dysfunction may be specifically associated with such abnormalities in addition to recognized increases in vascular stiffness.
Algorithm for Ranking News

With the overwhelming volume of online news available today, there is an increasing need for efficient technique to satisfy user news need. In this paper, news ranking is discussed and news informational retrieval model is presented for novel news ranking algorithm. In terms of examination of properties of news articles produced by news ranking function, semantic relevancy, freshness, citation count and degree of authority are combined into the model, and extended relevance is proposed. The basic idea is that the relevance between news article and user news need is determined by semantic relevance, freshness, citation count and degree of authority of news article. The experimental results show that new model and algorithm have higher precision and produce more relevant results than traditional vector retrieval model.
Influence of temperature and pH on xylitol production from xylose by Debaryomyces hansenii.

The production of xylitol from concentrated synthetic xylose solutions (S(o) = 130-135 g/L) by Debaryomyces hansenii was investigated at different pH and temperature values. At optimum starting pH (pH(o) = 5.5), T = 24 degrees C, and relatively low starting biomass levels (0.5-0.6 g(x)/L), 88% of xylose was utilized for xylitol production, the rest being preferentially fermented to ethanol (10%). Under these conditions, nearly 70% of initial carbon was recovered as xylitol, corresponding to final xylitol concentration of 91.9 g(P)/L, product yield on substrate of 0.81 g(P)/g(S), and maximum volumetric and specific productivities of 1.86 g(P)/L x h and 1.43 g(P)/g(x) x h, respectively. At higher and lower pH(o) values, respiration also became important, consuming up to 32% of xylose, while negligible amounts were utilized for cell growth (0.8-1.8%). The same approach extended to the effect of temperature on the metabolism of this yeast at pH(o) = 5.5 and higher biomass levels (1.4-3.0 g(x)/L) revealed that, at temperatures ranging from 32-37 degrees C, xylose was nearly completely consumed to produce xylitol, reaching a maximum volumetric productivity of 4.67 g(P)/L x h at 35 degrees C. Similarly, both respiration and ethanol fermentation became significant either at higher or at lower temperatures. Finally, to elucidate the kinetic mechanisms of both xylitol production and thermal inactivation of the system, the related thermodynamic parameters were estimated from the experimental data with the Arrhenius model: activation enthalpy and entropy were 57.7 kJ/mol and -0.152 kJ/mol x K for xylitol production and 187.3 kJ/mol and 0.054 kJ/mol x K for thermal inactivation, respectively.
The effect of a psychosocial intervention and quality of life after acute myocardial infarction: the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) clinical trial.

PURPOSE The Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease Patients (ENRICHD) clinical trial was designed to test whether intervening on depression or low perceived social support reduces mortality and reinfarction in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). This report analyzes the effect of the intervention on quality of life (QOL), which was an important secondary outcome. METHODS ENRICHD was a randomized controlled clinical trial comparing a psychosocial intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy to usual medical care in 2,481 patients from 8 clinical centers. Patients with acute MI were included if they met criteria for depression, low perceived social support, or both. QOL was assessed at the 6-month clinic visit in the first 1,296 patients. QOL measures included the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form summary measures of physical functioning (SF12-PCS) and mental functioning (SF12-MCS), a Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS), and a measure of overall QOL based on the ladder of life (LOL) technique. RESULTS There were significant treatment differences on the SF12-MCS (difference 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-3.2), the LSS (difference 1.0, 95% CI 0.5-1.5), and the LOL (difference 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.6), but not on the SF12-PCS (difference 0.8; 95% CI = -0.5-2.0). Effect sizes for the intervention on QOL outcomes were modest. CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial interventions of limited duration confer modest QOL benefits in post-MI patients who are depressed or have low perceived social support. Interventions of longer duration or greater intensity may be required to produce more substantial improvements in QOL in these patients.
50-Hertz Electromagnetic Fields Induce gammaH2AX Foci Formation in Mouse Preimplantation Embryos In Vitro1

Abstract Effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on DNA damage in mammals are still controversial. In the present study, the effects of EMFs on DNA damage in preimplantation mouse embryos in vitro were investigated by using gammaH2AX foci formation, a new sensitive indicator for detecting DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). The data obtained demonstrated that EMFs decreased the cleavage rate of preimplantation mouse embryos. This decreasing effect of EMFs was related to the DNA-damaging effect indicated by the induction of gammaH2AX foci formation in preimplantation mouse embryos. The inducing effects of EMFs on gammaH2AX foci formation could be inhibited by the treatment of noise MFs or wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) family inhibitor. Furthermore, the data obtained also showed that EMFs could activate the DNA damage-repair mechanism by recruiting repair factor Rad50 to the damaged DNA sites to repair the corresponding DNA damage. These findings suggest that EMFs could cause DNA damage in preimplantation embryos in vitro and that the adverse effects of EMFs on development might at least partly act through DNA damage. The DNA damage induced by EMFs could be at least partly repaired by the natural activation of DNA damage-repair mechanism or prevented by the simultaneous treatment of noise magentic fields.
Xenon Preconditioning: The Role of Prosurvival Signaling, Mitochondrial Permeability Transition and Bioenergetics in Rats

BACKGROUND: Similar to volatile anesthetics, the anesthetic noble gas xenon protects the heart from ischemia/reperfusion injury, but the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are not fully understood. We tested the hypothesis that xenon-induced cardioprotection is mediated by prosurvival signaling kinases that target mitochondria. METHODS: Male Wistar rats instrumented for hemodynamic measurements were subjected to a 30 min left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and 2 h reperfusion. Rats were randomly assigned to receive 70% nitrogen/30% oxygen (control) or three 5-min cycles of 70% xenon/30% oxygen interspersed with the oxygen/nitrogen mixture administered for 5 min followed by a 15 min memory period. Myocardial infarct size was measured using triphenyltetrazolium staining. Additional hearts from control and xenon-pretreated rats were excised for Western blotting of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase 3 β (GSK-3β) phosphorylation and isolation of mitochondria. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption before and after hypoxia/reoxygenation and mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening were determined. RESULTS: Xenon significantly (P < 0.05) reduced myocardial infarct size compared with control (32 ± 4 and 59% ± 4% of the left ventricular area at risk; mean ± sd) and enhanced phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β. Xenon pretreatment preserved state 3 respiration of isolated mitochondria compared with the results obtained in the absence of the gas. The Ca2+ concentration required to induce mitochondrial membrane depolarization was larger in the presence compared with the absence of xenon pretreatment (78 ± 17 and 56 ± 17 &mgr;M, respectively). The phosphoinositol-3-kinase-kinase inhibitor wortmannin blocked the effect of xenon on infarct size and respiration. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that xenon preconditioning reduces myocardial infarct size, phosphorylates Akt, and GSK-3β, preserves mitochondrial function, and inhibits Ca2+-induced mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. These data suggest that xenon-induced cardioprotection occurs because of activation of prosurvival signaling that targets mitochondria and renders them less vulnerable to ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Changes in expression and secretion patterns of fibroblast growth factor 8 and Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway molecules during murine neural stem/progenitor cell differentiation in vitro

In the present study, we investigated the dynamic expression of fibroblast growth factor 8 and Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway related factors in the process of in vitro hippocampal neural stem/progenitor cell differentiation from embryonic Sprague-Dawley rats or embryonic Kunming species mice, using fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and western blot analyses. Results demonstrated that the dynamic expression of fibroblast growth factor 8 was similar to fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 expression but not to other fibroblast growth factor receptors. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated that fibroblast growth factor 8 and Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway protein factors were secreted by neural cells into the intercellular niche. Our experimental findings indicate that fibroblast growth factor 8 and Sonic Hedgehog expression may be related to the differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells.
The Developmental Effects of Early Life Stress

The field of psychobiology has two major theories for talking about stress and health: the allostatic load model, which grew out of biological and neuroscience approaches to understanding health and disease, and the adaptive calibration model, which developed out of an explicitly evolutionary-developmental framework. Both are based on assumptions that the brain coordinates a distributed and dynamic set of neural circuits that regulate behavior and stress physiology to help the organism adapt to the demands of the environment. Both models support the notion that experiences early in life are embedded into the regulation of stress systems in ways that shape the organism’s future responses. These two paradigms differ in their emphasis on whether changes in how stress systems function are viewed as adaptive or maladaptive. The goal of this review is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each framework and to discuss some implications for future studies and for policy.
Generation and characterization of bovine bone marrow‐derived macrophage cell line

Macrophages, as the forefront of innate immune defense, have an important role in the host responses to mycobacterial infection. Therefore, a stable macrophage cell line is needed for future bovine immune system research on the bacterial infection. In this study, we established a bovine macrophage cell line by introducing the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene into bovine bone marrow‐derived macrophages (bBMMs). The TERT‐bBMMs cells expressed macrophage surface antigen (CD11b, CD282) and upregulated expression of the cytokines IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐10, IL‐12, TNF‐α in response to bacterial invasion. These results demonstrate that this cell line provide reliable cell model system for future studies on interactions between the bovine macrophages and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Growth patterns of Carolina wolfberry (Lycium carolinianum L.) in the salt marshes of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA

The coastal salt marshes of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Texas, USA support a wintering population of the endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Although the bulk of their winter diet is comprised of blue crabs, berries from the Carolina wolfberry (Lycium carolinianum) can contribute 21–52% of crane energy intake early in the wintering period. Monthly, from November 2003 to February 2005, we tracked L. carolinianum growth in nine 1-m2 permanent macrophyte plots along the estuarine gradient to understand the spatial and temporal variability of this perennial halophyte. Lycium carolinianum showed strong seasonal growth patterns, with leaf production peaks in late winter and again in late summer, just prior to flowering, but little significant spatial variation. Flowering of L. carolinianum occurred in October and November, and peak berry abundance coincided with the arrival of the cranes in late October and early November. During this period, the total number of flowers per plant and total number of leaves per plant across all sites were positively related to surfacewater depth and pore-water salinity. The numbers of flowers and berries per plant were significantly higher at our lowest elevation site during the 2004 fruiting season. Berries were rarely observed in the marshes for the remainder of each calendar year. Stem diameter was the best estimator of L. carolinianum aboveground biomass in ANWR marshes, accounting for approximately 94% of the variability (p < 0.001). Monthly changes in estimated aboveground biomass at each site revealed no distinguishable spatio-temporal trends. This is likely a result of L. carolinianum’s woody stem, which accounts for much of the total plant biomass but is much less dynamic than photosynthetic and reproductive tissues.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanism for Kilham Rat Virus-Induced Autoimmune Diabetes in DR-BB Rats1

Kilham rat virus (KRV) causes autoimmune diabetes in diabetes-resistant BioBreeding (DR-BB) rats; however, the mechanism by which KRV induces autoimmune diabetes without the direct infection of β cells is not well understood. We first asked whether molecular mimicry, such as a common epitope between a KRV-specific peptide and a β cell autoantigen, is involved in the initiation of KRV-induced autoimmune diabetes in DR-BB rats. We found that KRV peptide-specific T cells generated in DR-BB rats infected with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing KRV-specific structural and nonstructural proteins could not induce diabetes, indicating that molecular mimicry is not the mechanism by which KRV induces autoimmune diabetes. Alternatively, we asked whether KRV infection of DR-BB rats could disrupt the finely tuned immune balance and activate autoreactive T cells that are cytotoxic to β cells, resulting in T cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes. We found that both Th1-like CD45RC+CD4+ and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells were up-regulated, whereas Th2-like CD45RC−CD4+ T cells were down-regulated, and that isolated and activated CD45RC+CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from KRV-infected DR-BB rats induced autoimmune diabetes in young diabetes-prone BioBreeding (DP-BB) rats. We conclude that KRV-induced autoimmune diabetes in DR-BB rats is not due to molecular mimicry, but is due to a breakdown of the finely tuned immune balance of Th1-like CD45RC+CD4+ and Th2-like CD45RC−CD4+ T cells, resulting in the selective activation of β cell-cytotoxic effector T cells.
Characterization of the Pyoluteorin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5

ABSTRACT Ten genes (plt) required for the biosynthesis of pyoluteorin, an antifungal compound composed of a bichlorinated pyrrole linked to a resorcinol moiety, were identified within a 24-kb genomic region of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5. The deduced amino acid sequences of eight plt genes were similar to the amino acid sequences of genes with known biosynthetic functions, including type I polyketide synthases (pltB, pltC), an acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) dehydrogenase (pltE), an acyl-CoA synthetase (pltF), a thioesterase (pltG), and three halogenases (pltA,pltD, and pltM). Insertions of the transposon Tn5 or Tn3-nice or a kanamycin resistance gene in each of these genes abolished pyoluteorin production by Pf-5. The presumed functions of the eight plt products are consistent with biochemical transformations involved in pyoluteorin biosynthesis from proline and acetate precursors. Isotope labeling studies demonstrated that proline is the primary precursor to the dichloropyrrole moiety of pyoluteorin. The deduced amino acid sequence of the product of another plt gene, pltR, is similar to those of members of the LysR family of transcriptional activators. pltR and pltM are transcribed divergently from the pltLABCDEFG gene cluster, and a sequence with the characteristics of a LysR binding site was identified within the 486-bp intergenic region separating pltRM frompltLABCDEFG. Transcription of the pyoluteorin biosynthesis genes pltB, pltE, and pltF, assessed with transcriptional fusions to an ice nucleation reporter gene, was significantly greater in Pf-5 than in a pltRmutant of Pf-5. Therefore, PltR is proposed to be a transcriptional activator of linked pyoluteorin biosynthesis genes.
Placement of Brånemark Mk IV implants in compromised and grafted bone: radiographic outcome of 61 sites in 27 patients with 3- to 7-year follow-ups.

OBJECTIVE Sites in which bone is reduced in quality or height create challenges in esthetic reconstruction and loading support, which leads to a higher risk of failure. The Mk IV system with a TiUnite surface was designed specifically for placement in soft bone. This paper describes postloading outcomes of 103 Mk IV implants, with a focus on bone preservation in compromised bone sites during early remodeling, stability after abutment connection, and a 3- to 7-year follow-up from implant placement. METHOD AND MATERIALS A series of 103 4-mm (diameter), ≤ 10-mm (length) Mk IV implants were placed in the maxillae of 25 females and 14 males. Twenty-three patients also received staged bone grafts, and two underwent socket augmentation as well as grafts. Areas of previous infection were prepared mechanically and chemically. To ensure primary implant stability, the size of the osteotomy and the number of entries were minimized. Following a delayed loading protocol, all patients were restored with fixed partial dentures. For analysis of bone stability, the marginal levels on the mesial and distal aspects of the implants were measured at 7x magnification by a radiologist not involved in the treatment. RESULTS Three implants were lost, 1 implant was never loaded although it integrated, 14 implants were not available for follow-up after abutment correction, and 5 had poor-quality radiographs. The mean marginal bone loss between implant insertion and loading was 1.21 ± 0.86 mm (n = 80). The differences in bone-remodeling levels in grafted and nongrafted sites were not significant. Data are reported on 103 implants in 39 consecutive patients through abutment connection, with radiographic follow-up from 3 to 7 years postimplant placement on 27 patients. CONCLUSION It is critical to ensure optimal three-dimensional orientation and minimize site preparation, particularly when placing implants in compromised bone. With bone of poor preoperative density using a customized site preparation technique, excellent short-term implant survival and long-term bone stability have been demonstrated. Further follow-up will determine whether the Mk IV implant is the optimal design for compromised bone, including associated soft tissue stability.
Joint effect of physical activity and body mass index on mortality for acute myocardial infarction in the elderly: role of preinfarction angina as equivalent of ischemic preconditioning

Background Preinfarction angina (PrA), clinical equivalent of ischemic preconditioning, confers protection against in-hospital mortality for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in adult but not in elderly patients. This study aims to examine the interaction between physical activity and body mass index (BMI) in preserving the cardioprotective effect of PrA in elderly patients with AMI. Design Elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) with AMI admitted to Coronary Care Unit. Methods Elderly patients with AMI were retrospectively stratified for the presence and absence of PrA, and for quartiles of BMI and physical activity. In-hospital outcomes (death, cardiogenic shock, and reinfarction and creatine kinase-MB peak) were evaluated. Results In-hospital mortality of 1014 elderly patients with AMI was 19.2% in those with PrA and 22.7% in those without (P = 0.18, NS). Mortality further decreased with increased physical activity and reduced BMI, a trend that was not observed in patients without PrA. When physical activity and BMI were considered together, lowest in-hospital mortality was observed in patients with highest physical activity and normal BMI (from 18.2 to 9.6%; P < 0.01) with the greatest reduction observed in patients with PrA (from 18.3 to 5.1%; P = 0.02). Multivariate analysis showed that PrA did not exert a protective effect in all patients irrespective of physical activity and BMI. A protective role was, however, observed in patients with highest physical activity or normal BMI and reached a maximum protective role in patients who showed both highest physical activity and normal BMI [odds ratio = 0.08; 95% confidence interval = 0.02-0.72; P < 0.01]. Conclusion The cardioprotective effect of PrA was preserved in elderly patients who showed the highest physical activity and a normal BMI. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 16:73-79 © 2009 The European Society of Cardiology