Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Branched-chain amino acid ingestion can ameliorate soreness from eccentric exercise.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the role of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation during recovery from intense eccentric exercise. METHODS Twenty-four non-weight-trained males were assigned to one of two groups: one group (supplementary, SUP) ingested BCAA beverages (n = 12); the second group (placebo, PLA) ingested artificially flavored water (n = 12). Diet was controlled throughout the testing period to match habitual intake. The eccentric exercise protocol consisted of 12 x 10 repetitions of unilateral eccentric knee extension exercise at 120% concentric one repetition maximum. On the day of the exercise, supplements were consumed 30 min before exercise, 1.5 h after exercise, between lunch and dinner, and before bed. On the following 2 d, four supplements were consumed between meals. Muscle soreness, muscle function, and putative blood markers of muscle damage were assessed before and after (1, 8, 24, 48, and 72 h) exercise. RESULTS Muscle function decreased after the eccentric exercise (P < 0.0001), but the degree of force loss was unaffected by BCAA ingestion (51% +/- 3% with SUP vs -48% +/- 7% with PLA). A decrease in flexed muscle soreness was observed in SUP compared with PLA at 48 h (21 +/- 3 mm vs 32 +/- 3 mm, P = 0.02) and 72 h (17 +/- 3 mm vs 27 +/- 4 mm, P = 0.038). Flexed muscle soreness, expressed as area under the curve, was lower in SUP than in PLA (P = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS BCAA supplementation may attenuate muscle soreness, but it does not ameliorate eccentric exercise-induced decrements in muscle function or increases in reputed blood markers of muscle damage, when consumed before exercise and for 3 d after an eccentric exercise bout.
Do Program Implementation Factors or Fidelity Affect Chronic Disease Self-Management Education Programs’ Outcomes?

Purpose: To evaluate whether implementation factors or fidelity moderate chronic disease self-management education program outcomes. Design: Meta-analysis of 34 Arthritis Self-Management Program and Chronic Disease Self-Management Program studies. Setting: Community. Participants: N = 10 792. Measures: Twelve implementation factors: program delivery fidelity and setting and leader and participant characteristics. Eighteen program outcomes: self-reported health behaviors, physical health status, psychological health status, and health-care utilization. Analysis: Meta-analysis using pooled effect sizes. Results: Modest to moderate statistically significant differences for 4 of 6 implementation factors; these findings were counterintuitive with better outcomes when leaders and participants were unpaid, leaders had less than minimum training, and implementation did not meet fidelity requirements. Conclusion: Exploratory study findings suggest that these interventions tolerate some variability in implementation factors. Further work is needed to identify key elements where fidelity is essential for intervention effectiveness.
Measuring Chemotaxis and Chemokinesis: The Under-Agarose Cell Migration Assay

Chemotaxis is the primary mechanism by which cell movements are directed within multicellular organisms, and it is a major component of embryonic development, wound healing, and immune responses. Chemotaxis involves a complex cascade of events--formation of signaling complexes, receptor polarization, adhesion molecule activation, and cytoskeletal reorganization. Previous assay methods were limited in several ways that reduced users' abilities to obtain quantitative data or to control conditions precisely. We describe a unique chemotactic assay that can incorporate multiple chemotactic gradients in different spatial and temporal combinations. In addition, this assay is easily adapted for live-cell imaging and fluorescent microscopy. With its relative simplicity, flexibility, and precision, this method is a key tool for the study of cellular chemotactic responses and the signaling processes underlying them.
Population Pharmacokinetics of Fusidic Acid: Rationale for Front-Loaded Dosing Regimens Due to Autoinhibition of Clearance

ABSTRACT The objectives of this analysis were to develop a population pharmacokinetic (PK) model to describe the absorption and disposition of fusidic acid after single and multiple doses and to determine the effect of food on the rate and extent of bioavailability. Plasma PK data from three phase 1 studies (n = 75; n = 14 with and without food) in which healthy subjects received sodium fusidate (500 to 2,200 mg) as single or multiple oral doses every 8 h (q8h) or q12h for up to 7 days were modeled using S-ADAPT (MCPEM algorithm). Accumulation of fusidic acid after multiple doses was more than that predicted based on single-dose data. The PK of fusidic acid was best described using a time-dependent mixed-order absorption process, two disposition compartments, and a turnover process to describe the autoinhibition of clearance. The mean total clearance (% coefficient of variation) was 1.28 liters/h (33%) and the maximum extent of autoinhibition was 71.0%, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 46.3 mg/liter (36%). Food decreased the extent of bioavailability by 18%. As a result of the autoinhibition of clearance, steady state can be achieved earlier with dosing regimens that contain higher doses (after 8 days for 750 mg q12h and 1 day for 1,500 mg q12h on day 1 followed by 600 mg q12h versus 3 weeks for 500 mg q12h). Given that large initial doses autoinhibit the clearance of fusidic acid, this characteristic provides a basis for the administration of front-loaded dosing regimens of sodium fusidate which would allow for effective concentrations to be achieved early in therapy.
Reweighting in Monte Carlo and Monte Carlo renormalization-group studies.

A method of reweighting Monte Carlo data to parameters other than the simulated ones is investigated. The method is also extended to include Monte Carlo renormalization-group simulations. Both single and multiple simulation reweighting is used. The models studied are the {ital d}=2 ferromagnetic {ital q}=3 Potts model and the {ital d}=2 antiferromagnetic Ising model. It is shown that the reweighting produces a systematic shift in the height and location of the specific-heat peak. This shift, which without proper care may lead to erroneous results, depends on the simulated and reweighted temperatures and on the number of configurations included in the reweighting. Only for very large numbers of configurations does the shift decrease as the inverse square root of the number of configurations. Within the Monte Carlo renormalization-group study, it is shown that the critical exponents for the Ising model are determined more accurately from a multiple reweighting using one simulation below the critical temperature and one above than from the individual simulations. It is shown that it is more efficient to use two simulations at a time than all of them at once when reweighting multiple simulations.
A comparative study of the antihyaluronidase, antiurease, antioxidant, antimicrobial and physicochemical properties of different unifloral degrees of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) honeys

Abstract This study was planned to investigate some physicochemical and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial properties of three different degrees of unifloral characters of chestnut honeys. Antihyaluronidase, antiurease and antimicrobial activities were evaluated as anti-inflammatory characteristics. Total phenolic contents, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic profiles, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), scavenging activities of 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS+) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals were evaluated as antioxidant properties. Color, optical rotation, conductivity, moisture, pH and ash content were evaluated as physicochemical parameters, and some sugars content, prolin, diastase, HMF and minerals (Na, K, Ca, P, Fe, Cu and Zn) were evaluated as chemical and biochemical parameters. All studied physicochemical and biological active properties were changed in line with the unifloral character of the chestnut honeys. A higher unifloral character was found associated with greater apitherapeutic capacity of the honey, as well as biological active compounds.
Intracellular Assembly of Cyanophage Syn5 Proceeds through a Scaffold-Containing Procapsid

ABSTRACT Syn5 is a marine cyanophage that is propagated on the marine photosynthetic cyanobacterial strain Synechococcus sp. WH8109 under laboratory conditions. Cryoelectron images of this double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) phage reveal an icosahedral capsid with short tail appendages and a single novel hornlike structure at the vertex opposite the tail. Despite the major impact of cyanophages on life in the oceans, there is limited information on cyanophage intracellular assembly processes within their photosynthetic hosts. The one-step growth curve of Syn5 demonstrated a short cycle with an eclipse period of ∼45 min, a latent phase of ∼60 min, and a burst size of 20 to 30 particles per cell at 28°C. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis of cell lysates at different times after infection showed the synthesis of major virion proteins and their increase as the infection progressed. The scaffolding protein of Syn5, absent from virions, was identified in the lysates and expressed from the cloned gene. It migrated anomalously on SDS-PAGE, similar to the phage T7 scaffolding protein. Particles lacking DNA but containing the coat and scaffolding proteins were purified from Syn5-infected cells using CsCl centrifugation followed by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Electron microscopic images of the purified particles showed shells lacking condensed DNA but filled with protein density, presumably scaffolding protein. These findings suggest that the cyanophages form infectious virions through the initial assembly of scaffolding-containing procapsids, similar to the assembly pathways for the enteric dsDNA bacteriophages. Since cyanobacteria predate the enteric bacteria, this procapsid-mediated assembly pathway may have originated with the cyanophages.
A Wavelet-Based Preconditioning Method for Dense Matrices with Block Structure

Abstract : In recent years application of a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has become an established tool for the design of preconditioners for smooth, dense matrices, such as those that arise in the solution of certain integral equations. In this paper we consider the higher dimensional case, where the matrix A is not itself smooth, but has a smooth block structure. To precondition such matrices, we use repeated application of a level 1 block-wise DWT to exploit the fact that corresponding entries in adjacent blocks are close in value. We illustrate the effectiveness of our methods by means of numerical examples.
Thermal and electrical behaviour of epoxy-based microcomposites filled with Al2O3 and SiO2 particles

Epoxy resin is a polar thermosetting polymer that is widely employed in different branches of industry and everyday life, due to their stable physical and chemical properties. Of all the polymer materials currently being used in the electrical insulation industry, epoxy resin is the most widely used kind, together with polyethylene and chosen as the base polymer material in the present study. As a common practice, in order to obtain materials of the desired thermal, mechanical and electrical properties, polymers are processed with different types of inorganic fillers. In this paper, the authors made an attempt to thoroughly analyze both the thermal and the electrical behaviour of the created epoxy microcomposites. Epoxy-based composites containing microparticles of aluminum oxide and silicon dioxide were prepared by high shear mechanical mixing and ultrasonic processing to obtain a fine dispersion of the fillers in the matrix. The incorporation of all filler types led to noticeable improvement in thermal conductivity compared to the pure epoxy resin. The thermal conductivity and the relative permittivity of the composites were greatly influenced by the filler loading of the inorganic particles. Rules of mixture are used to predict the thermal conductivity and the relative permittivity of two-phase composites have been applied to compare experimental results with theoretical models.
The transcriptional corepressor DSP1 inhibits activated transcription by disrupting TFIIA‐TBP complex formation.

Transcriptional repression of eukaryotic genes is essential for many cellular and developmental processes, yet the precise mechanisms of repression remain poorly understood. The Dorsal Switch Protein (DSP1) was identified in a genetic screen for activities which convert Dorsal into a transcriptional repressor. DSP1 shares structural homology with the HMG‐1/2 family and inhibits activation by the rel transcription factors Dorsal and NF‐kappaB in transfection studies. Here we investigate the mechanism of transcriptional repression by DSP1. We found that DSP1 protein can act as a potent transcriptional repressor for multiple activator families in vitro and in transfection studies. DSP1 bound directly to the TATA binding protein (TBP), and formed a stable ternary complex with TBP bound to DNA. DSP1 preferentially disrupted the DNA binding of TBP complexes containing TFIIA and displaced TFIIA from binding to TBP. Consistent with the inhibition of TFIIA‐bound complexes, DSP1 was shown to inhibit activated but not basal transcription reactions in vitro. The ability of DSP1 to interact with TBP and to repress transcription was mapped to the carboxy‐terminal domain which contains two HMG boxes. Our results support the model that DSP1 represses activated transcription by interfering with the binding of TFIIA, a general transcription factor implicated in activated transcription pathways.
Decentralized control of linear time-varying nested systems with ℌ∞-type performance

This paper considers the decentralized control of a nested linear time-varying (LTV) discrete-time system using a nested LTV controller for an ℓ2-induced norm performance criteria. An operator theoretic approach is used to obtain exact conditions for the feasibility of structured linear controller synthesis. These include conditions for the completion of scaling matrices obtained through an updated matrix completion lemma. When individual controller dimensions are chosen at least as large as the plant, these conditions reduce to convex inequalities coupled over time. The completion lemma also provides an algorithm to complete the closed loop scaling matrices leading to inequalities for controller synthesis.
GENERALIZED INVERSES OF A SUM IN RINGS

Abstract We study properties of the Drazin index of regular elements in a ring with a unity 1. We give expressions for generalized inverses of 1−ba in terms of generalized inverses of 1−ab. In our development we prove that the Drazin index of 1−ba is equal to the Drazin index of 1−ab.
Rarefaction and extrapolation with Hill numbers: a framework for sampling and estimation in species diversity studies

Quantifying and assessing changes in biological diversity are central aspects of many ecological studies, yet accurate methods of estimating biological diversity from sampling data have been elusive. Hill numbers, or the effective number of species, are increasingly used to characterize the taxonomic, phylogenetic, or functional diversity of an assemblage. However, empirical estimates of Hill numbers, including species richness, tend to be an increasing function of sampling effort and, thus, tend to increase with sample completeness. Integrated curves based on sampling theory that smoothly link rarefaction (interpolation) and prediction (extrapolation) standardize samples on the basis of sample size or sample completeness and facilitate the comparison of biodiversity data. Here we extended previous rarefaction and extrapolation models for species richness (Hill number q D, where q ¼ 0) to measures of taxon diversity incorporating relative abundance (i.e., for any Hill number q D, q . 0) and present a unified approach for both individual-based (abundance) data and sample- based (incidence) data. Using this unified sampling framework, we derive both theoretical formulas and analytic estimators for seamless rarefaction and extrapolation based on Hill numbers. Detailed examples are provided for the first three Hill numbers: q ¼ 0 (species richness), q ¼ 1 (the exponential of Shannon's entropy index), and q ¼ 2 (the inverse of Simpson's concentration index). We developed a bootstrap method for constructing confidence intervals around Hill numbers, facilitating the comparison of multiple assemblages of both rarefied and extrapolated samples. The proposed estimators are accurate for both rarefaction and short-range extrapolation. For long-range extrapolation, the performance of the estimators depends on both the value of q and on the extrapolation range. We tested our methods on simulated data generated from species abundance models and on data from large species inventories. We also illustrate the formulas and estimators using empirical data sets from biodiversity surveys of temperate forest spiders and tropical ants.
Restoration of the responsiveness of purified guanylate cyclase to nitrosoguanidine, nitric oxide, and related activators by heme and hemeproteins. Evidence for involvement of the paramagnetic nitrosyl-heme complex in enzyme activation.

Purification of soluble guanylate cyclase activity from rat liver resulted in loss of enzyme responsiveness to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), nitroprusside, nitrite, and NO. Responses were restored by addition of heat-treated hepatic supernatant fraction, implying a requirement for heat-stable soluble factor(s) in the optimal expression of the actions of the activators. Addition of free hematin, hemoglobin, methemoglobin, active or heat-inactivated catalase partially restores responsiveness of purified guanylate cyclase to MNNG, NO, nitrite, and nitroprusside. These responses were markedly potentiated by the presence of an appropriate concentration of reducing agent (dithiothreitol, ascorbate, cysteine, or glutathione), which maintains heme iron in the ferro form and favors formation of paramagnetic nitrosyl . heme complexes from the activators. High concentrations of heme or reducing agents were inhibitory, and heme was not required for the expression of the stimulatory effects of Mn2+ or Mg2+ on purified guanylate cyclase. Preformed nitrosyl hemoglobin (10 micron) increased activity of the purified enzyme 10- to 20-fold over basal with Mn2+ as the metal cofactor and 90- to 100-fold with Mg2+. Purified guanylate cyclase was more sensitive to preformed NO-hemoglobin (minimally effective concentration, 0.1 micron) than to MNNG (1 micron), nitroprusside (50 micron), or nitrite (1 mM). A reducing agent was not required for optimal stimulation of guanylate cyclase by NO-hemoglobin. Maximal NO-hemoglobin-responsive guanylate cyclase was not further increased by subsequent addition of NO, MNNG, nitrite, or nitroprusside. Activation by each agent resulted in analogous alterations in the Mn2+ and Mg2+ requirements of enzyme activity, and responses were inhibited by the thiol-blocking agents N-ethylmaleimide, arsenite, or iodoacetamide. The results suggest that NO-hemoglobin, MNNG, NO, nitrite, and nitroprusside activate guanylate cyclase through similar mechanisms. The stimulatory effects of preformed NO-hemoglobin combined with the clear requirements for heme plus a reducing agent in the optimal expression of the actions of MNNG, NO, and related agents are consistent with a role for the paramagnetic nitrosyl . heme complex in the activation of guanylate cyclase.
Assessment of early docetaxel response in an experimental model of human breast cancer using DCE‐MRI, ex vivo HR MAS, and in vivo 1H MRS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) MRI, in vivo 1H MRS and ex vivo high resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) MRS of tissue samples as methods to detect early treatment effects of docetaxel in a breast cancer xenograft model (MCF‐7) in mice. MCF‐7 cells were implanted subcutaneously in athymic mice and treated with docetaxel (20, 30, and 40 mg/kg) or saline six weeks later. DCE‐MRI and in vivo 1H MRS were performed on a 7 T MR system three days after treatment. The dynamic images were used as input for a two‐compartment model, yielding the vascular parameters Ktrans and ve. HR MAS MRS, histology, and immunohistochemical staining for proliferation (Ki‐67), apoptosis (M30 cytodeath), and vascular/endothelial cells (CD31) were performed on excised tumor tissue. Both in vivo spectra and HR MAS spectra were used as input for multivariate analysis (principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression analysis (PLS)) to compare controls to treated tumors. Tumor growth was suppressed in docetaxel‐treated mice compared to the controls. The anti‐tumor effect led to an increase in Ktrans and ve values in all the treated groups. Furthermore, in vivo MRS and HR MAS MRS revealed a significant decrease in choline metabolite levels for the treated groups, in accordance with reduced proliferative index as seen on Ki‐67 stained sections. In this study DCE‐MRI, in vivo MRS and ex vivo HR MAS MRS have been used to demonstrate that docetaxel treatment of a human breast cancer xenograft model results in changes in the vascular dynamics and metabolic profile of the tumors. This indicates that these MR methods could be used to monitor intra‐tumoral treatment effects. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of a Myosin Heavy Conductive System of the Adult and Chicken Heart Chain in the Developing

A monoclonal antibody (anterior latissimus dorsi 58 (ALD58); antimyosin heavy chain, MHC) directed against myosin from slow tonic muscle was found to react specifically with the striated muscle cells of the conductive system in the adult chicken heart. This monoclonal antibody was used to study the expression of myosin in the conductive system of the adult and developing heart. Using immunofluorescence microscopy with ALD58, muscle cells of the conductive system were demonstrated in both the atria and ventricles of the adult heart as previously shown by Sartore et al. (Sartore, S., S. Pierobon-Bormioli, and S. Schiafinno, 1978, Nature (Lond.), 274: 82-83). Radioactive myosin from adult atria and ventricles was precipitated with ALD58 and subjected to limited proteolysis and subsequent peptide map- ping. Peptide maps of ALD58 reactive myosin from atria and ventricles were very similar, if not identical, but differed from peptide maps of ordinary atrial and ventricular myosin. The same antibody was used to study cardiac myogenesis in the chick embryo. When ALD58 was reacted with myosin isolated from atria and ventricles at selected stages of development in radioimmunoassays, reactivity was not observed until the last week of embryonic life (>15 d of egg incubation). Thereafter concomitant and progressively increased reactivity was observed in atrial and ventricular preparations. Also, no ALD58 positive cells were observed in immu- nofluorescence studies of embryonic hearts until 17 d of egg incubation. Primary cell cultures of embryonic hearts also proved to be negative for this antibody. This study demonstrates that an epitope recognized by ALD58 associated with an antimyosin heavy chain of striated muscle cells of the adult heart conductive system is absent or present in only small amounts in the early embryonic heart.