Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of leptin on mitochondrial ‘proton leak’ and uncoupling proteins: implications for mammalian energy metabolism

Since the discovery of the ob gene (Zhang et al. 1994), much research has focused on its product leptin and its role in energy balance and metabolism (Campfield et al. 1996; Car0 et al. 1996; Trayhum, 1996 Flier, 1997; Lonnqvist & Schalling, 1997). The leptin gene is expressed in white adipose tissue (WAT; and brown adipose tissue (BAT)) under conditions when high energy surplus leads to triacylglycerol accumulation (Zhang et al. 1994; Trayhum, 1996). Such conditions include obesity, feeding, increased glucose and insulin concentrations, and also administration of cytokines and endotoxins. Conversely, leptin expression is decreased by weight reduction, fasting, cold exposure and Pyreceptor agonists, thiazolidinediones, and in insulin-dependent diabetes (Lonnqvist & Schalling, 1997). Leptin administration to ob/ob mice reduces appetite, increases metabolic rate and decreases fat mass (Pelleymounter et al. 1995; Hwa et al. 1997). Leptin has been shown to act centrally both to suppress appetite and increase energy metabolism (Halaas et al. 1995; Pelleymounter et al. 1995). Leptin receptors in the hypothalamus (Tartaglia et al. 1995) have been shown to mediate the satiety effects by depressing neuropeptide Y production (Campfield et al. 1995; Stephens et al. 1995) and increase metabolism by activation of the efferent sympathetic system (Campfield et al. 1996). More recently, it has been found that leptin has direct peripheral effects on metabolism. Receptors for leptin are found on the cell surface of many tissues (Caro et al. 1996) and leptin has been shown to stimulate metabolism in cultured cells (Pallett et al. 1997; Shimabukuro et al. 1997b) and isolated tissues (Liu et al. 1997), particularly by intracellular lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation (Koyama et al. 1997; Shimabukuro et al. 1997~). Clearly, leptin can affect whole-body fat energy storage by influencing both sides of the energy balance equation, either input (feeding) and/or output (metabolism), whichever is appropriate to biological circumstances (Caro et al. 1996). Thus, leptin satisfies the signal postulated by Kennedy (1953) in his lipostatic hypothesis. The present review discusses the role of proton leak in general in whole-body metabolism and in the regulation of energy balance. It examines evidence for the role of leptin in controlling metabolism, and discusses the different leak mechanisms by which leptin may potentially affect the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation. It is first necessary to give some background in bioenergetics to enable an understanding of the leak mechanisms and their role.
Descriptive Complexity of #P Functions

We give a logic-based framework for defining counting problems and show that it exactly captures the problems in Valiant? s counting class #P. We study the expressive power of the framework under natural syntactic restrictions and show that some of the subclasses obtained in this way contain problems in #P with interesting computational properties. In particular, using syntactic conditions, we isolate a class of polynomial time computable #P problems and, also, a class in which every problem is approximable by a polynomial time randomized algorithm. These results set the foundation for further study of the descriptive complexity of the class #P. In contrast, we show, under reasonable complexity theoretic assumptions, that it is an undecidable problem to tell if a counting problem expressed in our framework is polynomial time computable or if it is approximable by a randomized polynomial time algorithm. Finally, we discuss some open problems which arise naturally from this work.
Response of Three Different Viruses to Interferon Priming and Dithiothreitol Treatment of Avian Cells

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that the replication of avian reovirus (ARV) in chicken cells is much more resistant to interferon (IFN) than the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) or vaccinia virus (VV). In this study, we have investigated the role that the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase (PKR) plays in the sensitivity of these three viruses toward the antiviral action of chicken interferon. Our data suggest that while interferon priming of avian cells blocks vaccinia virus replication by promoting PKR activation, the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus appears to be blocked at a pretranslational step. Our data further suggest that the replication of avian reovirus in chicken cells is quite resistant to interferon priming because this virus uses strategies to downregulate PKR activation and also because translation of avian reovirus mRNAs is more resistant to phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of initiation factor eIF2 than translation of their cellular counterparts. Our results further reveal that the avian reovirus protein sigmaA is able to prevent PKR activation and that this function is dependent on its double-stranded RNA-binding activity. Finally, this study demonstrates that vaccinia virus and avian reovirus, but not vesicular stomatitis virus, express/induce factors that counteract the ability of dithiothreitol to promote eIF2 phosphorylation. Our data demonstrate that each of the three different viruses used in this study elicits distinct responses to interferon and to dithiothreitol-induced eIF2 phosphorylation when infecting avian cells. IMPORTANCE Type I interferons constitute the first barrier of defense against viral infections, and one of the best characterized antiviral strategies is mediated by the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase R (PKR). The results of this study revealed that IFN priming of avian cells has little effect on avian reovirus (ARV) replication but drastically diminishes the replication of vaccinia virus (VV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) by PKR-dependent and -independent mechanisms, respectively. Our data also demonstrate that the dsRNA-binding ability of ARV protein sigmaA plays a key role in the resistance of ARV toward IFN by preventing PKR activation. Our findings will contribute to improve the current understanding of the interaction of viruses with the host's innate immune system. Finally, it would be of interest to uncover the mechanisms that allow avian reovirus transcripts to be efficiently translated under conditions (moderate eIF2 phosphorylation) that block the synthesis of cellular proteins.
A Performance Comparison of Optimistic versus Conservative Strategies during Partition Failures in Distributed Databases

Abstract:Two strategies for processing transactions during partition failures in distributed databases are reviewed: the optimistic protocol and conservative class conflict graph analysis. Both use graph techniques for detecting and resolving conflicts, although one is “optimistic,” detecting and resolving conflict after the failure is repaired, while the other is “conservative,” detecting and preventing potential conflicts when the failure occurs. A simulation comparing the two approaches with respect to the cost of missed opportunity, the cost of repair, and overhead cost is presented, along with sample results. The optimistic protocol generally minimizes missed opportunity, while conservative class conflict graph analysis requires less overhead and no repair. The applicability of these approaches to fractured networks involving more than two partitions is also discussed.
[Effects of AKR1B10 gene silence on the growth and gene expression of HCC cell line MHCC97H].

OBJECTIVE To explore the biological function and possible underlying mechanism of aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) gene during hepatocarcinogenesis. METHODS A pair of chemically synthesized small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting on AKR1B10 was transfected into liver cancer cell line MHCC97H by LipofectamineTM 2000. After confirming the interfering effects of AKR1B10-siRNAs through Quant SYBR Green polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR), Western blot and enzymatic activity assay, the capabilities of proliferation and apoptosis of the transfected cells were observed by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry analysis, and the expressions of a group of tumor-related gene such as c-myc, c-fos, N-ras were observed through Real-time PCR. RESULTS The expressions of AKR1B10 and the enzymatic activity were down-regulated significantly in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected cells. Compared with mock and blank control groups, cell growth in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected group was inhibited by 26.6%+/-3.1% at 72h after transfection. The ratio of apoptotic cells was 37.3%+/-1.0% in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected group, which was significantly higher than that in mock and blank control groups (P < 0.01). Real-time PCR showed that the expressions of oncogene c-myc, c-fos and N-ras, and the proliferation-associated gene ki-67 were down-regulated in AKR1B10-siRNA-transfected cells, while the expressions of apoptosis-promoting gene caspas-3 and bax were up-regulated. CONCLUSIONS AKR1B10 might promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis and then induce malignant transformation of hepatocytes by regulating the expression level of some tumor-related genes.
The Lyndsay-Hemenway Syndrome : Two Case Reports . Review and Comments

The syndrome of Lindsay and Hemenway i.e. vestibular neuritis with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) as a clinical sequel is believed to be not frequent. However the careful observation of the patient in the course of several months reveals a higher incidence in reality. Aim of the study is the presentation of two case reports of patients with different clinical occurrences of the same syndrome. In the first case the initial vestibular neuritis occurs a few months before the occurrence of BPPV and BPPV is resistant to treatment with repositioning maneuvers. In the second case BPPV occurs as an immediate sequel of vestibular neuritis and responds to treatment. The syndrome of Lindsay and Hemenway is an interesting clinical entity the existence of which the clinician should be aware of, in order to be able to combine repositioning maneuvers for the treatment of BPPV with vestibular rehabilitation targeting the treatment of a defective central compensation due to unilateral labyrinthine paresis.
Campylobacter epidemiology: an aquatic perspective

Members of the genus Campylobacter have established themselves as the most common human gastro‐enteric pathogens throughout much of the developed world. The ubiquitous distribution of Campylobacter spp. in animal reservoirs and food products derived thereof make such vehicles primary risk factors in contracting campylobacteriosis. The contamination rates, identification of common pathogenic serotypes and extended survival of Campylobacter in surface waters illustrates the potential, but yet to be quantified, campylobacteriosis risk associated with untreated water.
Scaling of Sweet-Parker reconnection with secondary islands

Sweet–Parker (collisional) magnetic reconnection at high Lundquist number is modified by secondary islands. Daughton et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 065004 (2009)] suggested the Sweet–Parker model governs the fragmented current sheet segments. If true, the reconnection rate would increase by the square root of the number of secondary islands. High Lundquist number resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations are presented which agree, in a time-averaged sense, with the predicted scaling. This result may have important implications for energy storage before a solar eruption and its subsequent release.
Trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad

RESUMEN El Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH) es un trastorno neurobiológico frecuente asociado a un importante impacto funcional, personal y social. Posee un fuerte componente genético, con múltiples genes involucrados, que interactúan con factores ambientales y neurobiológicos, aumentando la susceptibilidad genética y heterogeneidad del cuadro clínico. Los hallazgos más consistentes apuntan a una dismorfología, disfunción y baja conectividad de múltiples redes, fronto-estriatal, fronto-parietal y fronto-cerebelar, lo que refleja los distintos dominios cognitivos afectados en TDAH, como inhibición, atención, percepción del tiempo y aversión a la demora. Contrario a lo que se pensaba el TDAH no se resuelve en la adolescencia, pero cambian sus manifestaciones, su complejidad y potencial de daño. El diagnóstico de TDAH es complejo dada su alta heterogeneidad clínica y la ausencia de un marcador biológico. En esta revisión se describen las conductas propias del adolescente y los desafíos que plantea en este contexto el diagnóstico de TDAH y su tratamiento.
Optimal mobile agent routing with fusion cost in wireless sensor network

We address the problem of routing mobile agent with fusion cost in WSN under two scenarios: all source nodes, and a part of source nodes to be visited, respectively. Two objective functions in terms of minimizing transmission and fusion energy expenditure in the two scenarios are formulated, and proved to be NP-complete. Furthermore, we propose a two-level encoding based genetic algorithm (GA) to compute a suboptimal solution for the first scenario, and for the second scenario, we propose two computation paradigms to obtain a suboptimum: three-level encoding based GA, and two-step GA which consists of a two-level encoding GA and a simple GA. Simulation results show that proposed GA outperforms local closest first method (LCF) with different unit fusion costs and data reduction ratios in the first scenario. In the second scenario, simulation results with different conditions show that proposed algorithms are feasible, and three-level encoding based GA outperforms two-step GA in solution quality but the latter has superior performance in convergence speed.
Predictors of Depression in Black Women with Hypertension

Black women have the highest prevalence of hypertension in the world, and depression is associated with both hypertension and lack of health promoting behaviors. Thus, it is important to identify factors that may contribute to depression in hypertensive women. This cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 80 black women ages 18–60 who were prescribed anti-hypertensive medication. Data were collected using self-report instruments. The study showed that lower income level, greater number of comorbidities, lower active coping scores, and poorer medication adherence were significantly associated with higher depression scores. These findings have important implications for the development of screening protocols and interventions for black women.
The psychiatric oligarchs who medicalise normality

Mental health should be a priority for all societies and its stigma always challenged. However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a staggering 25% of people in the United States have a “mental illness. ”1 This is so large a figure that there can be only one conclusion: psychiatry is medicalising normality. The definition of a “mental illness” is one of opinion. These opinions are drawn from a small group of psychiatric oligarchs who author the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Their opinions are polluted, however: …
Adéquation site et système éolien éléments d’aide à la décision par la modélisation par contraintes

Cette étude présente un outil d’aide à la décision dans le domaine des projets éoliens. Cet outil a pour objectif d’aider les différents acteurs à prendre des décisions sur des choix inhérents à leurs activités dans le domaine éolien, il sera utilisé pour : (1) l’étude de la viabilité des gisements et à la définition architecturale des systèmes éoliens adaptés, (2) la comparaison entre les machines standard, (3) l’élaboration des scénarios d’approvisionnement en énergie éolienne dans une région donnée. Les modèles utilisés prennent en compte les coûts du projet et les caractéristiques du site. Ils intègrent des connaissances d’ingénierie (techniques, financières et environnementales). L’outil utilise une technique de modélisation par contraintes associée à un solveur CSP (CSP numériques, arithmétique des intervalles). Il génère ainsi des solutions et effectue automatiquement le dimensionnement, le choix des composants ou le calcul des coûts liés à un projet éolien. Les informations, nécessaires à la prise de décision, produites par l’outil sont : le coût du kWh produit, la quantité de l’énergie produite, le coût total actualisé du projet et les paramètres qui définissent l’architecture du système éolien. L’outil présenté a montré sa capacité à mettre en oeuvre la modélisation par contraintes et son utilité pour produire une expertise pour les différents acteurs au travers une application sur trois sites différents (un site méditerranéen, et deux du nord de l’Europe). Des perspectives d’amélioration de l’ensemble des performances de l’outil sont définies.
[New classification of endobronchial tuberculosis and balloon dilatation of bronchial stenosis].

Endobronchial tuberculosis frequently leaves bronchial stenosis as the complication despite of modern efficacious chemotherapy, and it may be misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma or bronchogenic carcinoma. When bronchial stenosis involves major airway, its treatment needs such special measures as steroid therapy, surgical intervention and/or laser therapy, but the therapeutic result is often disappointing. We have introduced a new classification of endobronchial tuberculosis, analyzing bronchoscopic findings in 166 cases of endobronchial tuberculoses. Namely, endobronchial tuberculosis was classified into seven subtypes as stenotic type with fibrosis, stenotic type without fibrosis, actively caseating type, tumorous type, ulcerative type, granular type, and nonspecific bronchitic type. Actively caseating type (48 cases: 28.9%), stenotic type without fibrosis (44 cases: 26.5%), nonspecific bronchitic type (31 cases: 18.7%) and stenotic type with fibrosis (30 cases: 18.1%) were predominant in the order of frequency, but tumorous type (9 cases: 5.4%), ulcerative type (2 cases: 1.2%) and granular type (2 cases: 1.2%) were relatively uncommon. Stenotic type with or without fibrosis, actively caseating type and tumorous type of endobronchial tuberculosis were closely related to bronchial stenosis. In these cases, it is necessary to apply specific measures for preventing or minimizing bronchial stenosis. To consider the therapeutic effect of steroid on the alleviation of bronchial stenosis in endobronchial tuberculosis, it may be very effective when the interval between symptom-onset and treatment with steroid is less than 6 months. To exploit a new treatment modality for bronchial stenosis, balloon dilatation was also carried out in 12 patients with endobronchial tuberculosis. Under local anesthesia, 4F-Fogarty balloon was inserted via bronchofiberscope in ten cases and 10F-Gruentzig balloon was introduced under fluoroscopic guide in two others. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Discharge planning: "fooling ourselves?"--patient participation in conferences.

BACKGROUND The aim of discharge planning conferences (DPCs) is to co-ordinate resources and to enhance patient involvement in care in connection with relocation from hospital. DPCs can be characterized as institutional conversations, and are often executed as standard procedures, but the scientific basis for the activity is weak. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to illuminate and describe the communication at DPCs. DESIGN A purposeful and consecutive sample of eight DPCs was collected in which the future care of eight women, aged 70 years or more, was discussed. METHODS Transcribed video recordings were analysed in two steps. "The initial analysis" aimed at describing the structure and content of the communication. This description constituted the basis for an interpretation, leading to "the focused analysis" aiming at finding evidence for the assumptions made in the interpretation. RESULTS The result revealed that the participation of patients was very less the DPCs. The decisions had often already been made, and the women were expected to be pleased with the decision; institutional representatives (IRs) frequently justified their actions by referring to bureaucratic praxis. CONCLUSIONS The women were both encouraged and excluded from participation by the IRs. This dichotomy occurred because the IRs, as professionals, struggled to simultaneously realize their caring mission and their obligation to enforce the values and rules of the institution, i.e. efficiency and rationality. Thus, IRs and patients were equally imprisoned within the institutional system. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL RESEARCH: This result illustrates how conflicting paradigms are imbedded and reproduced by healthcare professionals in their communicative praxis. Awareness of this is a prerequisite for improvements in working procedures congruent with a caring paradigm that support patient participation.
Decorin and Colchicine as Potential Treatments for Post-Haemorrhagic Ventricular Dilatation in a Neonatal Rat Model

Background: Post-haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) after intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) remains a significant problem in preterm infants. Due to serious disadvantages of ventriculoperitoneal shunt dependence, there is an urgent need for non-surgical interventions. Considerable experimental and clinical evidence implicates transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in the pathogenesis of PHVD. Colchicine and decorin are both compounds with anti-TGFβ properties. The former downregulates TGFβ production and is in clinical use for another fibrotic disease, and the latter inactivates TGFβ. Objectives: We hypothesized that administration of decorin or colchicine, which both have anti-TGFβ properties, would reduce ventricular dilatation in a model of PHVD. Methods: 142 rat pups underwent intraventricular blood injection on postnatal days (PN) 7 and 8. Sixty-nine pups were randomized to colchicine 20 and 50 µg/kg/day or water by gavage for 13 days. Seventy were randomized to decorin 4 mg/kg or saline by intraventricular injection on PN8 and PN13. At PN21, the ventricular area was measured on coronal brain sections. Negative geotaxis was tested at PN14 in controls and in the decorin study group. Results: Ventricular size was not different between animals receiving either drug or water/saline. Intraventricular blood impaired neuromotor performance, but decorin had no effect. Conclusion: Two drugs that block TGFβ by different mechanisms do not reduce ventricular dilatation in this model. Together with our previous work on losartan and pirfenidone, we conclude that blocking TGFβ alone does not prevent the development of PHVD.