Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrient Intake From Food in Children With Autism

OBJECTIVE The impact of abnormal feeding behaviors reported for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) on their nutritional status is unknown. We compared nutrient intake from food consumed by children with and without ASD and examined nutrient deficiency and excess. METHODS Prospective 3-day food records and BMI for children (2–11 years) with ASD participating in the Autism Treatment Network (Arkansas, Cincinnati, Colorado, Pittsburgh, and Rochester) were compared with both the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data and a matched subset based on age, gender, family income, and race/ethnicity (N = 252 analyzed food records). RESULTS Children with ASD and matched controls consumed similar amounts of nutrients from food. Only children with ASD aged 4 to 8 years consumed significantly less energy, vitamins A and C, and the mineral Zn; and those 9 to 11 years consumed less phosphorous. A greater percentage of children with ASD met recommendations for vitamins K and E. Few children in either group met the recommended intakes for fiber, choline, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and potassium. Specific age groups consumed excessive amounts of sodium, folate, manganese, zinc, vitamin A (retinol), selenium, and copper. No differences were observed in nutritional sufficiency of children given restricted diets. Children aged 2 to 5 years with ASD had more overweight and obesity, and children 5 to 11 years had more underweight. CONCLUSIONS Children with ASD, like other children in America, consume less than the recommended amounts of certain nutrients from food. Primary care for all children should include nutritional surveillance and attention to BMI.
Conformational Dimorphism of Self-peptides and Molecular Mimicry in a Disease-associated HLA-B27 Subtype*

An interesting property of certain peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is their acquisition of a dual binding mode within the peptide binding groove. Using x-ray crystallography at 1.4 Å resolution, we show here that the glucagon receptor-derived self-peptide pGR (412RRRWHRWRL420) is presented by the disease-associated human MHC class I subtype HLA-B*2705 in a dual conformation as well, with the middle of the peptide bent toward the floor of the peptide binding groove of the molecule in both binding modes. The conformations of pGR are compared here with those of another self-peptide (pVIPR, RRKWRRWHL) that is also displayed in two binding modes by HLA-B*2705 antigens and with that of the viral peptide pLMP2 (RRRWRRLTV). Conserved structural features suggest that the N-terminal halves of the peptides are crucial in allowing cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) cross-reactivity. In addition, an analysis of T cell receptors (TCRs) from pGR- or pVIPR-directed, HLA-B27-restricted CTL clones demonstrates that TCR from distinct clones but with comparable reactivity may share CDR3α but not CDR3β regions. Therefore, the cross-reactivity of these CTLs depends on TCR-CDR3α, is modulated by TCR-CDR3β sequences, and is ultimately a consequence of the conformational dimorphism that characterizes binding of the self-peptides to HLA-B*2705. These results lend support to the concept that conformational dimorphisms of MHC class I-bound peptides might be connected with the occurrence of self-reactive CTL.
Time Series Analysis: Evaluating Performance Trends Within Resistance Exercise Sessions

Chiu, LZF, and Salem GJ. Time series analysis: evaluating performance trends within resistance exercise sessions. J Strength Cond Res 24(1): 230-234, 2010-Recent technical advances allow coaches, sport scientists, and researchers to take frequent performance measurements, both within a training session and across a period of training. These performance measurements should demonstrate a systematic pattern, based on physiologic responses and adaptations; however, variability in performance, resulting from both physiologic and psychological factors, may hamper interpretation of these measures. This report describes the moving-average method used in time series analysis to reduce variability and elucidate systematic patterns during high-power resistance exercise. Men (n = 10) power athletes performed 3 high-power resistance exercise sessions (75% 1 repetition maximum [RM]/5 repetitions × 12 sets; 85% 1RM/3 × 15; 95% 1RM/1 × 20). Average barbell power was recorded during the exercise sessions using three-dimensional motion analysis. High-power resistance exercise resulted in increases in performance early in the exercise sessions (p < 0.05) and decreases in performance after the mid-point in the exercise session (p < 0.05). Deviations in performance responses were observed, which obscured the systematic pattern. A 3-point moving average reduced the effects of the deviations, allowing a systematic pattern, consistent with known acute physiologic responses, to be identified. Acutely, exercise elicits changes in performance that should follow a systematic pattern. Determining the systematic pattern associated with various exercise and loading parameters can be utilized to optimize such parameters to maximize the training stimulus while minimizing fatigue. The use of time series analysis, specifically the moving average technique, reduces within-session variability allowing the systematic pattern to be determined.
Two Qatari siblings with cystic fibrosis and apparent mineralocorticoid excess

Cystic fibrosis (CF) and apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME) syndrome are both autosomal recessive disorders that result from mutations of specific identified genes for each condition. CF is caused by defects in the Cystic fibrosis trans membrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene which encodes for a protein that functions as a chloride channel and regulates the flow of other ions across the apical surface of epithelial cells. AME is due to the deficiency of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme (11βHSD2), which is responsible for the peripheral inactivation of cortisol to cortisone. Cortisol excess stimulates the mineralocoritoid receptors (MR) resulting in intense sodium retention, hypokalemia and hypertension. We report on a consanguineous Arab family, in which two sibs inherited both CF and AME. Gene testing for AME revealed previously unreported mutation in the 11βHSD2 gene. This report draws attention to the importance of recognizing the possibility of two recessive disorders in the same child in complex consanguineous families. Moreover, it provides a unique opportunity to highlight the implications of the coexistence of two genetic disorders on patient care and genetic counseling of the family.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts for the United States: improvements to the 1977 National Center for Health Statistics version.

OBJECTIVE To present a clinical version of the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts and to compare them with the previous version, the 1977 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth charts. METHODS The 2000 CDC percentile curves were developed in 2 stages. In the first stage, the empirical percentiles were smoothed by a variety of parametric and nonparametric procedures. To obtain corresponding percentiles and z scores, we approximated the smoothed percentiles using a modified LMS estimation procedure in the second stage. The charts include of a set of curves for infants, birth to 36 months of age, and a set for children and adolescents, 2 to 20 years of age. RESULTS The charts represent a cross-section of children who live in the United States; breastfed infants are represented on the basis of their distribution in the US population. The 2000 CDC growth charts more closely match the national distribution of birth weights than did the 1977 NCHS growth charts, and the disjunction between weight-for-length and weight-for-stature or length-for-age and stature-for-age found in the 1977 charts has been corrected. Moreover, the 2000 CDC growth charts can be used to obtain both percentiles and z scores. Finally, body mass index-for-age charts are available for children and adolescents 2 to 20 years of age. CONCLUSION The 2000 CDC growth charts are recommended for use in the United States. Pediatric clinics should make the transition from the 1977 NCHS to the 2000 CDC charts for routine monitoring of growth in infants, children, and adolescents.
The Role of Calcium on the Activity of ERcalcistorin/Protein-disulfide Isomerase and the Significance of the C-terminal and Its Calcium Binding

ERcalcistorin/protein-disulfide isomerase (ECaSt/PDI) shows a 55% identity with mammalian protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) (Lucero, H. A., Lebeche, D., and Kaminer, B. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 23112–23119) is a high capacity low affinity Ca2+-binding protein and behaves as a Ca2+ storage protein in the ER of a living cell (Lucero, H. A., Lebeche, D., and Kaminer, B. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 9857–9863). Here we show that recombinant ECaSt/PDI bound 26 mol of Ca2+/mol and a C-terminal truncated mutant bound 14 mol of Ca2+/mol, both with aK d of 2.8 mm in 50 mm KCl and 5.2 mm in 150 mm KCl. The percentage reduction in Ca2+ binding in the mutant corresponded with the percentage reduction of deleted pairs of acidic residues, postulated low affinity Ca2+-binding sites. 5 mm Ca2+ moderately increased the PDI activity of both ECaSt/PDI and the C-terminal truncated mutant on reduced RNase and insulin. Surprisingly, ECaSt/PDI in the absence of Ca2+prevented the spontaneous reactivation of reduced bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. In the presence of 1–5 mmCa2+ (or 10 μm polylysine) ECaSt/PDI augmented the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor reactivation rate. In contrast, the C-terminal truncated ECaSt/PDI augmented rBPTI reactivation in the absence of Ca2+ and 1–5 mmCa2+ further accelerated the reactivation rate, responses similar to those obtained with mammalian PDI.
Impact of genetic risk information and type of disease on perceived risk, anticipated affect, and expected consequences of genetic tests.

OBJECTIVE Genetic tests vary in their prediction of disease occurrence, with some mutations conferring relatively low risk and others indicating near certainty. The authors assessed how increments in absolute risk of disease influence risk perceptions, interest, and expected consequences of genetic tests for diseases of varying severity. DESIGN Adults (N = 752), recruited from New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom for an online analogue study, were randomly assigned to receive information about a test of genetic risk for diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, or lung cancer. The lifetime risk varied across conditions by 10% increments, from 20% to 100%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Participants completed measures of perceived likelihood of disease for individuals with mutations, risk-related affect, interest, and testing consequences. RESULTS Analyses revealed two increment clusters yielding differences in likelihood perceptions: A "moderate-risk" cluster (20%-70%), and a "high-risk" cluster (80%-100%). Risk increment influenced anticipated worry, feelings of risk, testing-induced distress, and family obligations, with nonlinear patterns including disproportionately high responses for the 50% increment. Risk increment did not alter testing interest or perceived benefits. These patterns of effects held across the four diseases. CONCLUSION Magnitude of risk from genetic testing has a nonlinear influence on risk-related appraisals and affect but is unrelated to test interest.
Reductions in alcohol and cocaine use following a group coping intervention for HIV-positive adults with childhood sexual abuse histories.

AIMS Few interventions exist to reduce alcohol and non-injection drug use among people living with HIV/AIDS. This study tested the effects of a coping group intervention for HIV-positive adults with childhood sexual abuse histories on alcohol, cocaine and marijuana use. DESIGN Participants were assigned randomly to the experimental coping group or a time-matched comparison support group. Both interventions were delivered in a group format over 15 weekly 90-minute sessions. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A diverse sample of 247 HIV-positive men and women with childhood sexual abuse were recruited from AIDS service organizations and community health centers in New York City. MEASUREMENTS Substance use was assessed pre- and post-intervention and every 4 months during a 12-month follow-up period. Using an intent-to-treat analysis, longitudinal changes in substance use by condition were assessed using generalized estimating equations. FINDINGS At baseline, 42% of participants drank alcohol, 26% used cocaine and 26% used marijuana. Relative to participants in the support group, those in the coping group had greater reductions in quantity of alcohol use (Wald χ²(₄)=10.77, P = 0.029) and any cocaine use (Wald χ²(₄) = 9.81, P = 0.044) overtime. CONCLUSIONS Many HIV patients, particularly those with childhood sexual abuse histories, continue to abuse substances. This group intervention that addressed coping with HIV and sexual trauma was effective in reducing alcohol and cocaine use, with effects sustained at 12-month follow-up. Integrating mental health treatment into HIV prevention may improve outcomes.
Rapid enumeration of Oenococcus oeni during malolactic fermentation by flow cytometry

The aim of this study was to provide a method to rapidly enumerate Oenococcus oeni cells during malolactic fermentation (MLF). To keep MLF under control, it is important to monitor the growth of the bacteria O. oeni. However, the enumeration of O. oeni using the plate count technique requires a very long incubation time of about 10 days or more, which is not adapted to monitoring MLF in real time.
Avian retroviral long terminal repeats bind CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein

DNA-protein interactions involving enhancer and promoter sequences within the U3 regions of several avian retroviral long terminal repeats (LTRs) were studied by DNase I footprinting. The rat CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein, C/EBP, bound to all four viral LTRs examined. The Rous sarcoma virus binding site corresponded closely to the 5' limit of the LTR enhancer; nucleotides -225 to -188 were protected as a pair of adjacent binding domains. The Fujinami sarcoma virus LTR bound C/EBP at a single site at nucleotides -213 to -195. C/EBP also bound to the promoter region of the enhancerless Rous-associated virus-0 LTR at nucleotides -77 to -57. The avian myeloblastosis virus LTR bound C/EBP at three sites: nucleotides -262 to -246, -154 to -134, and -55 to -39. We have previously observed binding of C/EBP to an enhancer in the gag gene of avian retroviruses. A heat-treated nuclear extract from chicken liver bound to all of the same retroviral sequences as did C/EBP. Alignment of the avian retroviral binding sequences with the published binding sites for C/EBP in two CCAAT boxes and in the simian virus 40, polyoma, and murine sarcoma virus enhancers suggested TTGNNGCTAATG as a consensus sequence for binding of C/EBP. When two bases of this consensus sequence were altered by site-specific mutagenesis of the Rous sarcoma virus LTR, binding of the heat-stable chicken protein was eliminated.
Studies on Robust Social Influence Mechanisms: Incentives for Efficient Network Routing in Uncertain Settings

Many of today's engineered systems are tightly interconnected with their users, and in many cases, system performance depends greatly on user behavior. As a result, the traditional lines between engineering and the social sciences are becoming increasingly blurred, and analytical tools such as game theory are finding new applications in engineering. It is often insufficient to judge an engineered system on its technical merits alone since strategic user behavior can lead to unpredictable and/or undesirable results. Of particular importance to this article are socially integrated engineering problems in which users' strategic behavior has a significant impact on overall system performance. These types of systems appear in a variety of contexts in theory and practice; transportation networks, ride-sharing applications, supply-chain management, cloud computing, and electric power grids are immediate examples. A common problem in these settings is that individual user incentives may not be aligned with the objectives of the central planner. Thus, in addition to the technical challenges of a socially integrated engineering problem, an engineer may need to consider methods of influencing individual user behavior to effect positive change on aggregate system performance. These behavior-influencing mechanisms often take the form of offering users a tradeoff between quality of service and monetary incentive.
Transient Changes in Oxygen Tension Inhibit Osteogenic Differentiation and Runx2 Expression in Osteoblasts*

Vascular disruption following bony injury results in a hypoxic gradient within the wound microenvironment. Nevertheless, the effects of low oxygen tension on osteogenic precursors remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated in vitro osteoblast and mesenchymal stem cell differentiation following exposure to 21% O2 (ambient oxygen), 2% O2 (hypoxia), and <0.02% O2 (anoxia). Hypoxia had little effect on osteogenic differentiation. In contrast, short-term anoxic treatment of primary osteoblasts and mesenchymal precursors inhibited in vitro bone nodule formation and extracellular calcium deposition. Cell viability assays revealed that this effect was not caused by immediate or delayed cell death. Microarray profiling implicated down-regulation of the key osteogenic transcription factor Runx2 as a potential mechanism for the anoxic inhibition of differentiation. Subsequent analysis revealed not only a short-term differential regulation of Runx2 and its targets by anoxia and hypoxia, but a long-term inhibition of Runx2 transcriptional and protein levels after only 12-24 h of anoxic insult. Furthermore, we present evidence that Runx2 inhibition may, at least in part, be because of anoxic repression of BMP2, and that restoring Runx2 levels during anoxia by pretreatment with recombinant BMP2 rescued the anoxic inhibition of differentiation. Taken together, our findings indicate that brief exposure to anoxia (but not 2% hypoxia) down-regulated BMP2 and Runx2 expression, thus inhibiting critical steps in the osteogenic differentiation of pluripotent mesenchymal precursors and committed osteoblasts.
NMR “diffusion‐diffraction” of water revealing alignment of erythrocytes in a magnetic field and their dimensions and membrane transport characteristics

“Diffusion‐diffraction” experiments on water, yielding “q‐space” plots, were conducted on suspensions of oxygenated (diamagnetic) human erythrocytes. (i) These suspensions displayed diffusion‐diffraction of water; (ii) the shape of the q‐space plots depended on the direction along which the diffusion was measured, thus implying alignment of the cells in the magnetic field of the NMR spectrometer; (iii) the diffusion anisotropy was altered in a predictable way by converting the hemoglobin to a paramagnetic form; (iv) the shapes of the q‐space plots were altered in a predictable way by inhibiting water transport; (v) the pseudo‐first order rate constant characterizing the covalent inhibition of water transport, by p‐chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (p‐CMBS), was measured; and (vi) the cell diameter and intercellular spacing were measured from the positions of the interference minima and maxima in the q‐space plots. The relevance of these findings to NMR‐based histological characterization of tissues, and the implications, for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), of eryth‐rocyte alignment in the small vessels of the brain in particular, are noted.
Local intra‐ and interlaminar connections in mouse barrel cortex

Focal injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) were targeted into mouse somatosensory cortex, in vitro, with a template. Injections were made at different depths and in different locations in the whisker‐barrel‐defined somatosensory map in order to determine quantitative connectivity patterns within and between barrel‐defined cortical columns. Cortices were sectioned in a plane parallel to the pia at 75 βm. Data were collected directly from microscope slides by computer.
Interleukin‐1β is increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with small infarcts

Background and purpose: Interleukin‐1beta (IL‐1β) and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) are involved in inflammatory responses during large vessel occlusion in animal models. The aim of this study was to investigate the intrathecal levels of cytokines in patients with acute small infarcts.
Nongenomic Effect of Triiodothyronine on Cell Surface β-Adrenoceptors in Cultured Embryonic Cardiac Myocytes

Abstract We studied the time course of cell surface β-adrenoceptors (BAR) in cardio-myocytes in response to a single triiodothyronine (T3) (10−8 M) stimulation. An early first increase of BAR density was observed within 2 hr (+10% versus control cells, p < 0.05), and a plateau was maintained for 17–20 hr. This effect was followed by a much greater, late increase of BAR density, starting around 22 hr and lasting until 48 hr post T3 addition (+40% versus control cells; p < 0.05). Since reverse T3 studied in the same conditions had no effect in this system, we concluded that this T3 effect was specific. We hypothesized that the early response might be nongenomic because the early effect of T3 was still observed in the presence of cycloheximide (2 x 10−5 M) whereas the late increase was totally suppressed by the drug. The early response to T3 required intact microtubules, since colchichine (2 x 10−5 M) was able to block the increase in the cell surface BAR number, but it did not involve a change in BAR distribution between external and internal sites, as the external to total BAR ratio remained stable. The measurement of the rate of BAR disappearance from the cell surface allowed us to hypothesize that T3 induced a modification of the turnover in cell surface BAR.
A possible effector role for the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of dynamin

The large GTPase dynamin plays a key role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis in animal cells, although its mechanism of action remains unclear. Dynamins 1, 2, and 3 contain a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain that binds phosphoinositides with a very low affinity (KD > 1 mM), and this interaction appears to be crucial for function. These observations prompted the suggestion that an array of PH domains drives multivalent binding of dynamin oligomers to phosphoinositide-containing membranes. Although in vitro experiments reported here are consistent with this hypothesis, we find that PH domain mutations that abolish dynamin function do not alter localization of the protein in transfected cells, indicating that the PH domain does not play a simple targeting role. An alternative possibility is suggested by the geometry of dynamin helices resolved by electron microscopy. Even with one phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] molecule bound per PH domain, these dynamin assemblies will elevate the concentration of PtdIns(4,5)P2 at coated pit necks, and effectively cluster (or sequester) this phosphoinositide. In vitro fluorescence quenching studies using labeled phosphoinositides are consistent with dynamin-induced PtdIns(4,5)P2 clustering. We therefore propose that the ability of dynamin to alter the local distribution of PtdIns(4,5)P2 could be crucial for the role of this GTPase in promoting membrane scission during clathrin-mediated endocytosis. PtdIns(4,5)P2 clustering could promote vesicle scission through direct effects on membrane properties, or might play a role in dynamin's ability to regulate actin polymerization.