Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WNK4 regulates airway Na+ transport: study of familial hyperkalaemia and hypertension.

BACKGROUND WNK [With No K (lysine)] kinases are essential for regulation of blood pressure and potassium homeostasis. WNK4 expression was recently found not only in the distal nephron but also in chloride-transporting epithelia. To establish a physiological role for this distribution we studied patients with familial hyperkalaemia and hypertension (FHH), [pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHAII)], which is caused by mutations in WNK4. DESIGN Measurement of nasal potential difference (NPD) and sweat electrolytes were performed in controls, in six subjects with FHH and ten subjects with cystic fibrosis (CF). RESULTS Basal NPD was higher in FHH compared with controls (n = 20): 22.8 +/- 5.7 vs. 16.2 +/- 5.3 mV, respectively (P = 0.014). Maximal response to amiloride was also higher in FHH compared with controls: 14.8 +/- 3.5 vs. 10.0 +/- 4.8 mV, respectively (P = 0.03). In CF these values were 42.9 +/- 9.3 and 29.9 +/- 7.4 mV, respectively. The kinetics of the amiloride effect were faster in FHH, and as first reported here also in CF, compared with controls. At 30 s, amiloride-inhibitable residual PD in FHH was 50 +/- 30 vs. 81 +/- 9% in controls (P = 0.0003) and 56 +/- 7% in CF. The response to chloride-free and isoproterenol solutions, which determines chloride transport activity, was similar in FHH compared with controls [16.0 +/- 8.6 vs. 10.4 +/- 5.9 mV (P = 0.08)]. Sweat conductivity in FHH was 49.7 +/- 7.3 vs. 38.2 +/- 8.1 mmol (NaCl eq) L-1 in 16 controls (P = 0.007) and 94.0 +/- 19.3 in CF. CONCLUSIONS Mutant WNK4 increases Na+ transport in airways, and therefore it is regulated by wild-type WNK4. This may be caused by a regulation of ENaC or a K+ channel.
Molecular dynamics simulation of nucleic acids: Successes, limitations, and promise *

In the last five years we have witnessed a significant increase in the number publications describing accurate and reliable all‐atom molecular dynamics simulations of nucleic acids. This increase has been facilitated by the development of fast and efficient methods for treating the long‐range electrostatic interactions, the availability of faster parallel computers, and the development of well‐validated empirical molecular mechanical force fields. With these technologies, it has been demonstrated that simulation is not only capable of consistently reproducing experimental observations of sequence specific fine structure of DNA, but also can give detailed insight into prevalent problems in nucleic acid structure, ion association and specific hydration of nucleic acids, polyadenine tract bending, and the subtle environmental dependence of the A‐DNA–B‐DNA duplex equilibrium. Despite the advances, there are still issues with the methods that need to be resolved through rigorous controlled testing. In general, these relate to deficiencies of the underlying molecular mechanical potentials or applied methods (such as the imposition of true periodicity in Ewald simulations and the need for energy conservation), and significant limits in effective conformational sampling. In this perspective, we provide an overview of our experiences, provide some cautionary notes, and provide recommendations for further study in molecular dynamics simulation of nucleic acids. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers (Nucleic Acid Sci) 56: 232–256, 2001
Growth of the Czech child population 0–18 years compared to the World Health Organization growth reference

Nationwide anthropological surveys of 0–18‐year‐old children were carried out in the Czech Republic (former Czech regions of Czechoslovakia) five times during the last 40 years, at 10‐year intervals. The measurements provide reference data for the growth of the Czech child population and at the same time ample material for comparison with other populations. A comparison of the results of such nationwide anthropometric surveys with the World Health Organization (WHO) growth reference implies that the growth trend of Czech children is comparable with the WHO reference. The greatest similarity in the shape of the WHO height curves and the results obtained in Czechoslovakia was in 1971. The results obtained in the nationwide surveys also imply that the secular trend still exerts its effect. In the case of height, this finding is consistent during the whole period of 40 years. Concerning weight in higher age categories, especially in girls, the trend slowed down or stopped. Furthermore, there is no problem of malnutrition in the Czech child population. Similarly, as in any other developed nations, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is the problem that merits attention. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:459–468, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment and Treatment of Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Opioid-Dependent Patients

The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the prevalence, assessment, and treatment of common psychiatric disorders found among patients with opioid dependence. Dependence on opioids can include both persons who are physically dependent on opioids and persons who fulfill the criteria for a syndrome of opioid dependence, such as that found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition (DSM-IV). The latter grouping of persons typically abuse illicit opioids, and prevalence of comorbid conditions and approaches in diagnosis and treatment have been studied in these patients. High rates of other psychiatric disorders-both other substance-use disorders as well as non-substance-use psychiatric disorders-have been reported. The most common non-substance-use psychiatric disorders are depressive, anxiety, and personality disorders. When evaluating and planning treatment of opioid-dependent patients with concurrent psychiatric symptoms, it is important to determine if such symptoms are independent of the substance use or substance induced. In the former case, treatment should follow routine clinical practice, whereas in the latter case, treatment stability in substance use should be the first therapeutic step. The presence of a pain condition can further complicate assessment and treatment, as either pain itself or treatments used for pain may produce symptoms that overlap with psychiatric disorders.
EXPECTED RELATIVE FITNESS AND THE ADAPTIVE TOPOGRAPHY OF FLUCTUATING SELECTION

Abstract Wright's adaptive topography describes gene frequency evolution as a maximization of mean fitness in a constant environment. I extended this to a fluctuating environment by unifying theories of stochastic demography and fluctuating selection, assuming small or moderate fluctuations in demographic rates with a stationary distribution, and weak selection among the types. The demography of a large population, composed of haploid genotypes at a single locus or normally distributed phenotypes, can then be approximated as a diffusion process and transformed to produce the dynamics of population size, N, and gene frequency, p, or mean phenotype, 𝑧̄. The expected evolution of p or 𝑧̄ is a product of genetic variability and the gradient of the long-run growth rate of the population, 𝑟̃, with respect to p or 𝑧̄. This shows that the expected evolution maximizes 𝑟̃, the mean Malthusian fitness in the average environment minus half the environmental variance in population growth rate. Thus, 𝑟̃ as a function of p or 𝑧̄ represents an adaptive topography that, despite environmental fluctuations, does not change with time. The haploid model is dominated by environmental stochasticity, so the expected maximization is not realized. Different constraints on quantitative genetic variability, and stabilizing selection in the average environment, allow evolution of the mean phenotype to undergo a stochastic maximization of 𝑟̃. Although the expected evolution maximizes the long-run growth rate of the population, for a genotype or phenotype the long-run growth rate is not a valid measure of fitness in a fluctuating environment. The haploid and quantitative character models both reveal that the expected relative fitness of a type is its Malthusian fitness in the average environment minus the environmental covariance between its growth rate and that of the population.
Comparison of Several Smoothing Methods in Statistical Language Model

With the development of computer technology and the appearance of huge training text corpus, the performance of language model has improved a lot recently. But its intrinsic sparse data problem still exists. This paper investigates several smoothing methods in the application of Chinese continuous speech recognition. We compare the performance of different methods, particularly in the situation of pruned language model and conclude that the KneserNey strategy is better for the model without pruning while its performance decreases for the pruned language model.
Polymerization kinetics of biological macromolecules on templates.

A kinetics of formation of polymers on linear templates is developed which is applicable to the synthesis of biological macromolecules. Two extreme situations are given theoretical treatment. In both, monomer diffuses to the template surface where polymerization may occur if an adjacent site is suitable occupied. In addition the possibility of monomer desorption is included. In one model (``unrestricted'') the reaction is initiated on each template by the polymerization of two monomers and proceeds through the addition of monomer to growing ends or by the coupling of the growing chains. In the second (``restricted'') model the number of growing centers per template is zero or one and growth is achieved through monomer addition solely. In both cases the template is assumed to be of uniform size and either single stranded or, if double stranded, with an unwinding rate that is rapid in comparison with the polymerization processes. The number of template molecules is assumed constant during the synthesis, whi.
Design optimization of an interior-type permanent magnet BLDC motor using PSO and improved MEC

In this paper, an improved magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) is applied to calculate the nonlinear magnetic field in an interior-type permanent-magnet (IPM) brushless DC (BLDC) motor. Compared with the finite element method, the MEC method is much more time efficient, whereas compared with the conventional MEC method, the improved MEC is more accurate since it takes the complicate topological structure of the motor into account. A rough design of the IPM BLDC motor was firstly conducted by the improved MEC method. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is then employed to refine the design for optimal structural parameters that result in the lowest cost and highest performance.
Standardization of Terms Applying Finite-State Transducers (FST)

This chapter presents the different standardization methods of terms at the two basic approaches, non-linguistic and linguistic techniques, and to justify the application of processes based on Finite-State Transducers (FST). Standardization of terms is the procedure of matching and grouping together variants of the same term that are semantically equivalent. A term variant is a text occurrence that is conceptually related to an original term and can be used to search for information in text database. The uniterm and multiterm variants can be considered equivalent units for the purposes of automatic indexing. This chapter describes the computational and linguistic base of the finite-state approach, with emphasis on the influence of the formal language theory in the standardization process of uniterms and multiterms. The lemmatization and the use of syntactic pattern-matching, through equivalence relations represented in FST, are emerging methods for the standardization of terms.
An Accurate Phase Unwrapping Algorithm Based on Reliability Sorting and Residue Mask

An accurate phase unwrapping algorithm is presented for reconstructing the true phase field for deformation interferograms. This algorithm is a combination of reliability sorting and residue mask, while introducing more reliable unwrapping fiducial information. In tests conducted with a pyramidal phase image, a complex simulated interferogram, and a real deformation interferogram, the proposed algorithm successfully unwraps the images with perfect precision. This algorithm is also shown to be superior to the prevailing improved Goldstein's residue-cut algorithm in terms of precision.
Landscape Features Affecting Northern Bobwhite Predator-Specific Nest Failures in Southeastern USA

Nest predation is a critical component in avian productivity and typically is the leading cause of nest failure for most birds. Several landscape features are thought to drive the behavioral interaction between northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; e.g., nest placement) and their predators (e.g., search methods for food acquisition). In order to understand habitat characteristics influencing predation, we studied bobwhite nests using 24-hour near-infrared video cameras. We monitored 675 bobwhite nests with cameras on 3 properties in northern Florida and southern Georgia, USA, during 2000–2006. To test the association between nest failures and specific failure causes with landscape structure, we calculated a suite of landscape metrics and examined these at 3 spatial scales (3.1 ha, 19.6 ha, and 50.3 ha). We found increased probability of nest success with greater proportions of, and proximity to, fallow and annually disked fields at larger scales (50.3 ha), but we found no landscape metrics to be important predictors of bobwhite nest failures at small scales (,20 ha). Fallow and disked fields may provide alternative prey items (e.g., rodents) important in buffering nest predation. Relative to meso-mammal predation, we observed increases in proportion of the landscape in field to be related to lower incidental nest failures at the smallest scale (3.1 ha). Nests closer to feed lines were more likely depredated by meso-mammals than ants at the 2 larger spatial scales. Interestingly, the fate of a nest was independent of the fate of neighboring nests, suggesting bobwhite nest predation may be primarily incidental. Citation: Ellis-Felege, S. N. , S. E. Albeke, N. P. Nibbelink, M. J. Conroy, D. C. Sisson, W. E. Palmer, and J. P. Carroll. 2017. Landscape features affecting northern bobwhite predator-specific nest failures in southeastern USA. National Quail Symposium Proceedings 8:344– 354.
Initiation of Base Excision Repair of Oxidative Lesions in Nucleosomes by the Human, Bifunctional DNA Glycosylase NTH1

ABSTRACT Oxidative lesions account for much of the spontaneously occurring DNA damage in normal cells and, left unrepaired, can be mutagenic or cytotoxic. We have investigated the capacity of purified human enzymes to initiate the base excision repair (BER) of oxidative lesions in model nucleosomes. In a construct where the minor groove of a thymine glycol lesion faced outward from the histone octamer, the human DNA glycosylase NTH1 (hNTH1) processed the lesion with nearly the same efficiency as in naked DNA. The hNTH1 reaction did not generate free DNA, indicating that the first step in BER occurred without irreversibly disrupting nucleosomes. Instead, lesion processing entailed the formation of nucleosome-hNTH1 ternary complexes that could be visualized in a gel mobility shift assay. These complexes contained both processed and unprocessed DNA. hNTH1 processing of lesions whose minor groove faced toward the histone octamer was poor at low hNTH1 concentrations but increased substantially as hNTH1 concentrations increased to nearly physiological levels. Additionally, an inward-facing lesion near the nucleosome edge was more efficiently processed than one closer to the nucleosome dyad. These observations suggest that access to sterically occluded lesions entails the partial, reversible unwrapping of DNA from the histone octamer, allowing hNTH1 to capture its DNA substrate when it is in an unwound state.
Coronary artery bypass grafting-related bleeding complications in patients treated with dual antiplatelet treatment.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between the timing of either ticagrelor or clopidogrel discontinuation and bleeding-related complications in patients undergoing isolated on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS Between January 2012 and December 2014, 705 consecutive patients underwent isolated on-pump CABG at our institution. Of these, 626 were eligible for this study. Surgery under acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was performed in 404 patients (ASA group) and 222 patients underwent surgery under dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT). Patients exposed to DAPT were stratified into the following groups: ticagrelor within 72 h prior to surgery (Group T ≤ 72, n = 63); ticagrelor within 72-120 h prior to surgery (Group T72-120, n = 21); clopidogrel within 120 h prior to surgery (Group C ≤ 120, n = 125); clopidogrel within 120-168 h prior to surgery (Group C120-168, n = 13). RESULTS Transfusion requirements in Group T ≤ 72 (72.1 vs 41.3%, P < 0.001) and Group C ≤ 120 (71.2 vs 41.3%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher compared with the ASA group. Multivariable analysis, comparing Group C ≤ 120, C120-168, T ≤ 72 and T72-120 with the ASA group, revealed Group C ≤ 120 and Group T ≤ 72 as predictors of bleeding-related complications. No increased incidence of bleeding-related complications was seen when ticagrelor was discontinued >72 h or clopidogrel >120 h prior to surgery. CONCLUSIONS Ticagrelor discontinuation >72 h and clopidogrel discontinuation >120 h prior to surgery were not associated with an increased risk of bleeding-related complications. Based on these findings, a period of ticagrelor discontinuation shorter than advised by current international guidelines might be justifiable.
Progressive renal distortion by multiple cysts in transgenic mice expressing artificial microRNAs against Pkd1

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common life‐threatening inherited diseases, and the PKD1 gene is responsible for most cases of this disease. Previous efforts to establish a mouse model that recapitulates the phenotypic characteristics of ADPKD, which have used conventional or conditional knockout of the mouse orthologue Pkd1, have been unsuccessful or unreliable. In a previous study, we described the generation of a novel Pkd1 hypomorphic allele, in which Pkd1 expression was significantly reduced but not totally blocked. These Pkd1 homozygous mutant mice rapidly developed renal cystic disease, supporting the hypothesis that ‘haploinsufficiency’ explains development of the ADPKD phenotype. In the present study, we further investigated the Pkd1 haploinsufficiency effect by generating Pkd1 knockdown transgenic mice with co‐cistronic expression of two miRNA hairpins specific to Pkd1 transcript and an Emerald GFP reporter driven by a human ubiquitin B promoter. Two transgenic lines which had ∼60–70% reduction of Pkd1 expression developed severe renal cystic disease at a rate similar to that of human ADPKD. These results further support the haploinsufficiency hypothesis, and suggest that the onset and progression of the renal cystic diseases are correlated with the level of Pkd1 expression. The two novel mutant lines of mice appear to be ideal models for the study of ADPKD. Copyright © 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Patterns of self-disclosure among mental health nursing students.

Self-disclosure, a process by which we let ourselves be known to others, is an important skill across a diverse range of therapeutic approaches used in mental health nursing. Previous studies of nurses' self-disclosure have been confined to small samples of female, adult nurses. This study aims to extend existing knowledge by providing information on a sample of male and female mental health nursing students.A modified version of Jourard's 25-item self-disclosure questionnaire (JSDQ) was utilized in the study. The findings from this study show that mental health students disclosed more items than adult students sampled in earlier studies (Jourards 1961, Burnard & Morrison 1992). However, students disclosed significantly fewer items to the patient as target-person than to other categories. No differences were observed in disclosure patterns for males and females. A discussion of these findings and their implications is offered.
Acts of Resistance: Breaking the Silence of Grief Following Traffic Crash Fatalities

Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence demonstrate the limited utility of a narrow construction of “normal” grief. Sudden and violent death, the young age of the deceased, and perceptions of death preventability are associated with grief reactions that extend beyond an expected grief response. Interviews were conducted with 21 adults bereaved through the death of a family member in a traffic crash. We present their attempts to resist notions of “working through” grief and “recovery” from it and consider how the participants' constructions of an alternative discourse, or normative narrative, possess the potential to challenge a prevailing grief discourse.
Precipitating Quasigeostrophic Equations and Potential Vorticity Inversion with Phase Changes

AbstractPrecipitating versions of the quasigeostrophic (QG) equations are derived systematically, starting from the equations of a cloud-resolving model. The presence of phase changes of water from vapor to liquid and vice versa leads to important differences from the dry QG case. The precipitating QG (PQG) equations, in their simplest form, have two variables to describe the full system: a potential vorticity (PV) variable and a variable M including moisture effects. A PV-and-M inversion allows the determination of all other variables, and it involves an elliptic partial differential equation (PDE) that is nonlinear because of phase changes between saturated and unsaturated regions. An example PV-and-M inversion is provided for an idealized cold-core cyclone with two vertical levels. A key point illustrated by this example is that the phase interface location is unknown a priori from PV and M, and it is discovered as part of the inversion process. Several choices of a moist PV variable are discussed, inc.
MOCVD-derived highly transparent, conductive zinc- and tin-doped indium oxide thin films: precursor synthesis, metastable phase film growth and characterization, and application as anodes in polymer light-emitting diodes.

Four diamine adducts of bis(hexafluoroacetylacetonato)zinc [Zn(hfa)(2). (diamine)] can be synthesized in a single-step reaction. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies reveal monomeric, six-coordinate structures. The thermal stabilities and vapor phase transport properties of these new complexes are considerably greater than those of conventional solid zinc metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) precursors. One of the complexes in the series, bis(1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentadionato)(N,N'-diethylethylenediamine)zinc, is particularly effective in the growth of thin films of the transparent conducting oxide Zn-In-Sn-O (ZITO) because of its superior volatility and low melting point of 64 degrees C. ZITO thin films with In contents ranging from 40 to 70 cation % (a metastable phase) were grown by low-pressure MOCVD. These films exhibit conductivity as high as 2900 S/cm and optical transparency comparable to or greater than that of commercial Sn-doped indium oxide (ITO) films. ZITO films with the nominal composition of ZnIn(2.0)Sn(1.5)O(z)() were used in fabrication of polymer light-emitting diodes. These devices exhibit light outputs and current efficiencies almost 70% greater than those of ITO-based control devices.