Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NATURAL IMMUNITY AND GRAFT‐VERSUS‐HOST DISEASE

Pretransplant natural killer (NK) activity against three types of target cells (K562, FS4, and FS4 infected with herpes simplex virus type I), and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against P-815 cells coated with IgG, were investigated in 44 bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients and in 46 marrow donors in relation to the subsequent development of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in the recipients. Patients with severe aplastic anemia had low lytic activities as compared with the marrow donors. Patients with acute leukemia had near-normal ADCC activity, but decreased NK activities. No correlation was found between any of the lytic activities in donors or recipients and the development of grades II-IV GVHD. Also, such correlation could not be demonstrated for the lytic activities of mononuclear cells in 11 marrow grafts, which had significantly lower NK (K562) and ADCC activities than those in peripheral blood. A study of 14 BMT recipients on days 5, 12, 19, and 26 post-BMT showed a weak correlation between high NK (K562) activity at day 12 and the subsequent development of grades II-IV GVHD; this correlation, however, was no longer found on days 19 and 26. We conclude that the pretransplant assessment of NK and ADCC activities of peripheral-blood mononuclear cells of donors or recipients, or of those in marrow grafts, does not predict the occurrence of GVHD. An early rise in NK (K562) activity post BMT, however, appears to be correlated with the development of GVHD.
MAP estimation with structural priors for fluorescence molecular tomography

Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) is an attractive imaging tool for quantitatively and three-dimensionally resolving fluorophore distributions in small animals, but it suffers from low spatial resolution due to its inherent ill-posed nature. Structural priors obtained from a secondary modality system such as x-ray computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can help to improve FMT reconstruction results. However, challenge remains in how to fully take advantage of the structural priors while effectively avoid undesirable influence caused by an immoderate usage. In this paper, we propose a new method to resolve the FMT inverse problem based on maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation with structural priors (MAP-SP) in a Bayesian framework. Instead of imposing the structural priors directly on the reconstruction results, the MAP-SP method utilizes them to constrain the unknown hyperparameters of the prior information model which is essential for the Bayesian framework. Then, a low dimensional inverse problem and an alternating optimization scheme are used to automatically calculate the unknown hyperparameters, which make the FMT reconstruction process self-adaptive. Simulation and phantom results show that the proposed MAP-SP method can effectively make use of the structural priors and leads to improvements in reconstruction quality as compared with traditional regularization methods.
Cardiogenic shock with 1° heart block after organophosphorus poisoning: A case report and review of cardiac complication in organophosphorus poisoning

Organophosphorus (OP) compounds have been widely used as pesticide in India. Because of wide use and easy availability, it is the most common poisoning. OP compound poisoning can lead to cardiac complications. Here we report a case of 26-year-old female who presented after ingestion of unknown quantity of chlorpyrifos. She had cardiogenic shock, 1° heart block with prolonged QTc interval, and sinus bradycardia. She recovered completely after treatment with atropine and pralidoxime.
A high mobility group B‐1 box A peptide combined with an artery wall binding peptide targets delivery of nucleic acids to smooth muscle cells

The TAT‐high mobility group box‐1 A box peptide (TAT‐HMGB1A) has been reported previously to be able to deliver DNA into cells without cytotoxicity. In this study, an artery wall smooth muscle cell‐targeting carrier was developed using TAT‐HMGB1A combined with an artery wall binding peptide (ABP). For the production of ABP linked TAT‐HMGB1A (TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP), pET15b‐TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP was constructed by inserting the ABP cDNA into pET15b‐TAT‐HMGB1A. TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP was expressed in E. coli and purified by Nickel chelate chromatography. Gel retardation assays showed that TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP formed a complex with the plasmid at or above a 5:1 weight ratio (peptide:plasmid). At a 20:1 weight ratio, the zeta‐potential was ∼25 mV and the particle size was ∼120 nm. TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP had the highest transfection efficiency in A7R5 smooth muscle cells at a weight ratio of 20:1. TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP exhibited higher transfection efficiency in A7R5 cells than PLL or TAT‐HMGB1A, while TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP had lower transfection efficiencies in Hep3B hepatoma, 293 kidney, NIH3T3 fibroblast, and Raw264.7 macrophage cells compared with PLL. Together, these results suggest that the ABP moiety of the peptide increased transfection efficiency specifically in smooth muscle cells. In a competition assay, the transfection efficiency of TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP in A7R5 cells was reduced by the addition of free ABP. MTT assays showed that TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP did not produce any cytotoxicity in A7R5 cells. Therefore, TAT‐HMGB1A‐ABP may be useful for a targeting gene delivery to smooth muscle cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 163–170, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Is Runx a linchpin for developmental signaling in metazoans?

The Runt domain (Runx) is a 128 amino acid sequence motif that defines a metazoan family of sequence‐specific DNA binding proteins, which appears to have originated in concert with the intercellular signaling systems that coordinate multicellular development in animals. In the model organisms where they have been studied (fruit fly, mouse, sea urchin, and nematode) Runx genes are essential for normal development, and in humans they are causally associated with a variety of cancers, manifesting both oncogenic and tumor suppressive attributes. During development Runx proteins support both cell proliferation and differentiation, and function in both transcriptional activation and repression. Runx function is thus context‐dependent, with the context provided genetically by cis‐regulatory sequence architecture and epigenetically by development. This context dependency makes it difficult to formulate reductionistic generalizations concerning Runx function in normal and carcinogenic development. However, a growing body of literature links Runx function to each of the major intercellular signaling systems in animals, suggesting that the general function of Runx transcription factors may be to potentiate and govern genomic responsiveness to developmental signaling. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 194–202, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A limited-angle CT reconstruction method based on anisotropic TV minimization

This paper presents a compressed sensing (CS)-inspired reconstruction method for limited-angle computed tomography (CT). Currently, CS-inspired CT reconstructions are often performed by minimizing the total variation (TV) of a CT image subject to data consistency. A key to obtaining high image quality is to optimize the balance between TV-based smoothing and data fidelity. In the case of the limited-angle CT problem, the strength of data consistency is angularly varying. For example, given a parallel beam of x-rays, information extracted in the Fourier domain is mostly orthogonal to the direction of x-rays, while little is probed otherwise. However, the TV minimization process is isotropic, suggesting that it is unfit for limited-angle CT. Here we introduce an anisotropic TV minimization method to address this challenge. The advantage of our approach is demonstrated in numerical simulation with both phantom and real CT images, relative to the TV-based reconstruction.
Identification and characterization of the mitochondrial targeting sequence and mechanism in human citrate synthase

Citrate synthase (CS), the first and rate‐limiting enzyme of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, plays a decisive role in regulating energy generation of mitochondrial respiration. Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm as preproteins with an amino (N)‐terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) that directs mitochondria‐specific sorting of the preprotein. However, the MTS and targeting mechanism of the human CS protein are not fully characterized. The human CS gene is a single nuclear gene which transcribes into two mRNA variants, isoform a (CSa) and b (CSb), by alternative splicing of exon 2. CSa encodes 466 amino acids, including a putative N‐terminal MTS, while CSb expresses 400 residues with a shorter N terminus, lacking the MTS. Our results indicated that CSa is localized in the mitochondria and the N‐terminal 27 amino acids, including a well‐conserved RXY ↓ (S/A) motif (the RHAS sequence), can efficiently target the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) into the mitochondria. Furthermore, site‐directed mutagenesis analysis of the conserved basic amino acids and serine/threonine residues revealed that the R9 residue is essential but all serine/threonine residues are dispensable in the mitochondrial targeting function. Moreover, RNA interference (RNAi)‐mediated gene silencing of the preprotein import receptors, including TOM20, TOM22, and TOM70, showed that all three preprotein import receptors are required for transporting CSa into the mitochondria. In conclusion, we have experimentally identified the mitochondrial targeting sequence of human CSa and elucidated its targeting mechanism. These results provide an important basis for the study of mitochondrial dysfunction due to aberrant CSa trafficking. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 1002–1015, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optimization of K-edge imaging for vulnerable plaques using gold nanoparticles and energy resolved photon counting detectors: a simulation study

We investigated the effect of different imaging parameters, such as dose, beam energy, energy resolution and the number of energy bins, on the image quality of K-edge spectral computed tomography (CT) of gold nanoparticles (GNP) accumulated in an atherosclerotic plaque. A maximum likelihood technique was employed to estimate the concentration of GNP, which served as a targeted intravenous contrast material intended to detect the degree of the plaque's inflammation. The simulation studies used a single-slice parallel beam CT geometry with an x-ray beam energy ranging between 50 and 140 kVp. The synthetic phantoms included small (3 cm in diameter) cylinder and chest (33 × 24 cm2) phantoms, where both phantoms contained tissue, calcium and gold. In the simulation studies, GNP quantification and background (calcium and tissue) suppression tasks were pursued. The x-ray detection sensor was represented by an energy resolved photon counting detector (e.g., CdZnTe) with adjustable energy bins. Both ideal and more realistic (12% full width at half maximum (FWHM) energy resolution) implementations of the photon counting detector were simulated. The simulations were performed for the CdZnTe detector with a pixel pitch of 0.5–1 mm, which corresponds to a performance without significant charge sharing and cross-talk effects. The Rose model was employed to estimate the minimum detectable concentration of GNPs. A figure of merit (FOM) was used to optimize the x-ray beam energy (kVp) to achieve the highest signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the patient dose. As a result, the successful identification of gold and background suppression was demonstrated. The highest FOM was observed at the 125 kVp x-ray beam energy. The minimum detectable GNP concentration was determined to be approximately 1.06 µmol mL−1 (0.21 mg mL−1) for an ideal detector and about 2.5 µmol mL−1 (0.49 mg mL−1) for a more realistic (12% FWHM) detector. The studies show the optimal imaging parameters at the lowest patient dose using an energy resolved photon counting detector to image GNP in an atherosclerotic plaque.
Physiological Responses to Arm and Leg Exercise in Women Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

AbstractPatients affected by chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) characteristically show easy and unexplained fatigue after minimal exertion that does not resolve with rest and is associated with specific symptoms lasting for more than six months. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is a valid procedure for determining functional capacity in patients with CFS. We compare cardioventilatory adaptation to exercise between a group of eighty-five consecutive women patients affected by CFS and a group of fifteen healthy women extremely sedentary individuals, with the use of maximum incremental exercise testing on a cycle ergometer and arm ergometer, assessing possible differences. The majority of values achieved at peak exhaustive exercise were significantly lower in CFS patients than controls, including the percentage of maximum oxygen uptake in arm physical test (37.4±10.0% in CFS vs. 58.9± 15.8% in controls) and leg physical test (53.4±15.0% in CFS patients vs. 76.2 ± 18.0%in controls). In conclusion, the CFS group s.
3D reconstruction of scintillation light emission from proton pencil beams using limited viewing angles—a simulation study

An accurate and high-resolution quality assurance (QA) method for proton radiotherapy beams is necessary to ensure correct dose delivery to the target. Detectors based on a large volume of liquid scintillator have shown great promise in providing fast and high-resolution measurements of proton treatment fields. However, previous work with these detectors has been limited to two-dimensional measurements, and the quantitative measurement of dose distributions was lacking. The purpose of the current study is to assess the feasibility of reconstructing three-dimensional (3D) scintillation light distributions of spot scanning proton beams using a scintillation system. The proposed system consists of a tank of liquid scintillator imaged by charge-coupled device cameras at three orthogonal viewing angles. Because of the limited number of viewing angles, we developed a profile-based technique to obtain an initial estimate that can improve the quality of the 3D reconstruction. We found that our proposed scintillator system and profile-based technique can reconstruct a single energy proton beam in 3D with a gamma passing rate (3%/3 mm local) of 100.0%. For a single energy layer of an intensity modulated proton therapy prostate treatment plan, the proposed method can reconstruct the 3D light distribution with a gamma pass rate (3%/3 mm local) of 99.7%. In addition, we also found that the proposed method is effective in detecting errors in the treatment plan, indicating that it can be a very useful tool for 3D proton beam QA.
RAD 001 (everolimus) prevents mTOR and Akt late re‐activation in response to imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is one target of BCR‐ABL fusion gene of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Moreover, it drives a compensatory route to Imatinib mesylate (IM) possibly involved in the progression of leukemic progenitors towards a drug‐resistant phenotype. Accordingly, mTOR inhibitors are proposed for combined therapeutic strategies in CML. The major caveat in the use of mTOR inhibitors for cancer therapy comes from the induction of an mTOR‐phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3k) feedback loop driving the retrograde activation of Akt. Here we show that the rapamycin derivative RAD 001 (everolimus, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research) inhibits mTOR and, more importantly, revokes mTOR late re‐activation in response to IM. RAD 001 interferes with the assembly of both mTOR complexes: mTORC1 and mTORC2. The inhibition of mTORC2 results in the de‐phosphorylation of Akt at Ser473 in the hydrophobic motif of C‐terminal tail required for Akt full activation and precludes Akt re‐phosphorylation in response to IM. Moreover, RAD 001‐induced inhibition of Akt causes the de‐phosphorylation of tuberous sclerosis tumor suppressor protein TSC2 at 14‐3‐3 binding sites, TSC2 release from 14‐3‐3 sigma (restoring its inhibitory function on mTORC1) and nuclear import (promoting the nuclear translocation of cyclin‐dependent kinase [CDK] inhibitor p27Kip1, the stabilization of p27Kip1 ligand with CDK2, and the G0/G1 arrest). RAD 001 cytotoxicity on cells not expressing the BCR‐ABL fusion gene or its p210 protein tyrosine kinase (TK) activity suggests that the inhibition of normal hematopoiesis may represent a drug side effect. J. Cell. Biochem. 109: 320–328, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Replication initiation and DNA topology: The twisted life of the origin

Genomic propagation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes is tightly regulated at the level of initiation, ensuring that the genome is accurately replicated and equally segregated to the daughter cells. Even though replication origins and the proteins that bind onto them (initiator proteins) have diverged throughout the course of evolution, the mechanism of initiation has been conserved, consisting of origin recognition, multi‐protein complex assembly, helicase activation and loading of the replicative machinery. Recruitment of the multiprotein initiation complexes onto the replication origins is constrained by the dense packing of the DNA within the nucleus and unusual structures such as knots and supercoils. In this review, we focus on the DNA topological barriers that the multi‐protein complexes have to overcome in order to access the replication origins and how the topological state of the origins changes during origin firing. Recent advances in the available methodologies to study DNA topology and their clinical significance are also discussed. J. Cell. Biochem. 110: 35–43, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The 2014 International Pressure Ulcer Guideline: methods and development

AIM A discussion of the methodology used to develop the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guideline. (2014). BACKGROUND International experts representing National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance developed the second edition of this clinical guideline. DESIGN Discussion paper - methodology. DATA SOURCES A comprehensive search for papers published up to July 2013 was conducted in 11 databases and identified 4286 studies. After critical appraisal, 356 studies were included and assigned a level of evidence. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Guideline recommendations provide guidance on best practice in pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. Understanding the development process of a guideline increases the meaningfulness of recommendations to clinicians. FINDINGS Five hundred and seventy five recommendations arose from the research and its interpretation. The body of evidence supporting each recommendation was assigned a strength of evidence. A strength of recommendation was assigned to recommendation statements using the GRADE system. Recommendations are primarily supported by a body of evidence rated as C (87% of recommendations), representing low quality and/or indirect evidence (30%) and expert opinion (57%). Two hundred and forty seven recommendations (43%) received a strong recommendation ('Do it'). CONCLUSION Recommendations were developed with consideration to research of the highest methodological quality evidence and studies that add to clinical insight and provide guidance for areas of care where minimal research has been conducted. Recommendations in the guideline reflect best practice and should be implemented with consideration to local context and resources and the individual's preferences and needs.
Osteoclast‐specific inactivation of the integrin‐linked kinase (ILK) inhibits bone resorption

Bone resorption requires the adhesion of osteoclasts to extracellular matrix (ECM) components, a process mediated by the αvβ3 integrin. Following engagement with the ECM, integrin receptors signal via multiple downstream effectors, including the integrin‐linked kinase (ILK). In order to characterize the physiological role of ILK in bone resorption, we generated mice with an osteoclast‐specific Ilk gene ablation by mating mice with a floxed Ilk allele with TRAP‐Cre transgenic mice. The TRAP‐Cre mice specifically excised floxed alleles in osteoclasts, as revealed by crossing them with the ROSA26R reporter strain. Osteoclast‐specific Ilk mutant mice appeared phenotypically normal, but histomorphometric analysis of the proximal tibia revealed an increase in bone volume and trabecular thickness. Osteoclast‐specific Ilk ablation was associated with an increase in osteoclastogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. However, the mutant osteoclasts displayed a decrease in resorption activity as assessed by reduced pit formation on dentin slices in vitro and decreased serum concentrations of the C‐terminal telopeptide of collagen in vivo. Interestingly, compound heterozygous mice in which one allele of Ilk and one allele of the β3 integrin gene were inactivated (ILK+/−; β 3+/− ) also had increased trabecular thickness, confirming that β3 integrin and Ilk form part of the same genetic cascade. Our results show that ILK is important for the function, but not the differentiation, of osteoclasts. J. Cell. Biochem. 110: 960–967, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Factors Influencing Medication Adherence in Hypertensive Patients

우리나라 주요 만성 질병 중 하나인 고혈압은 질병의 관 리가 적정하게 이루어지지 않아서 심근경색 뇌졸중 치매 , , 등의 중증 질병을 초래하고 이로 인해서 생애 단계별 건강 , 수준을 점진적으로 악화시키며 건강보험 재정 악화의 주 , 요 요인으로 작용한다(Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affair [MIHWAF], 2009). 년도를 기준하여 고혈압 유병률을 살펴보면 우리 2007 , 나라 세 이상의 성인들 중 고혈압 환자로 진단을 받은 비 30 율은 로서 성인 명당 명이 고혈압 환자로 추정된다 24.9% 5 1 (Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [KCDC], 2008). 고혈압은 약물치료를 통해 질병의 조절이 가능하 고 합병증을 예방하고 관리할 수 있기 때문에 그에 , , 따른 사망률을 저하시킬 수 있는 질병이다(Bramley, Gerbino, Nightingale, & Frech-Tomas, 2006; So et al., 2008). 따라서 고혈압 환자가 처방받은 약물치료를 잘 이행할 수 있도록 도우기 위해서 국가 및 보건기관들은 정보와 서비스 제공에 많은 인력과 예산을 사용하고 있다 그럼에도 불구하고 고 . 혈압 환자들의 치료율을 살펴보면 정도이며 30~60% (Ha, Chun, Hwang, Kim, & Kim, 2003; KCDC, 2008; Sung, 이들 중 처방을 정확하고 지속적으로 이행하는 환자 2008),
Elderly people's experiences of resistance training

The aim of the present qualitative phenomenographic study was to identify and describe elderly people's own experiences of resistance training. Eight women and seven men aged 63–87 years were interviewed. The results showed that resistance training was seen as an occupation, a way to get out, as unfamiliar, suitable and controllable. It was experienced to create togetherness and mental acuity and as not being permissible without other elderly people. The training felt good. It was experienced as affecting the body by relieving pain, preventing physical deterioration and illness, and by improving physical function, appearance and the ability to manage daily life. The experienced effects on the mind were increased appetite for life, calmness and enhanced self-esteem. Many different types of training are available to the physically capable elderly, but according to the experiences from the subjects in the present study, resistance training could be a very suitable type of training for the elderly with functional disorders as it is possible to perform despite physical limitations.