Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrins mediate the inhibitory effect of focal adhesion on angiotensin II-induced p44/42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity in human mesangial cells.

Previously, we reported that the formation of focal adhesion accelerated by accumulation of extracellular matrices may inhibit the angiotensin II-stimulated proliferation of human mesangial cells (HMCs). The process is regulated by p44/42 MAP kinase activity through the mediation of paxillin and GTPase activating proteins. In this report, we investigated the effect of integrin molecules on the angiotensin II-induced p44/42 MAP kinase activation in non-adherent HMCs. The results demonstrated that incubation of cells with both antibody to integrin beta(1) chain (K20) and GRGDS peptide induced integrin clustering, paxillin aggregation, and marked suppression of angiotensin II-induced p44/42 MAP kinase activation. On the other hand, incubation of cells with K20 alone induced integrin clustering without paxillin aggregation and the suppressive effect on angiotensin II-stimulated p44/42 MAP kinase activity. Our results strongly suggest the pivotal role of integrins in the inhibitory effect of focal adhesion on p44/42 MAP kinase activity, the checking system against angiotensin II-induced MAP kinase overactivation.
A la découverte de la polysémie des spécificités du français technique

Cet article décrit l’analyse sémantique des spécificités dans le domaine technique des machines-outils pour l’usinage des métaux. Le but de cette étude est de vérifier si et dans quelle mesure les spécificités dans ce domaine sont monosémiques ou polysémiques. Les spécificités (situées dans un continuum de spécificité) seront identifiées avec la KeyWords Method en comparant le corpus d’analyse à un corpus de référence. Elles feront ensuite l’objet d’une analyse sémantique automatisée à partir du recouvrement des cooccurrences des cooccurrences, afin d’établir le continuum de monosémie. Les travaux de recherche étant en cours, nous présenterons des résultats préliminaires de cette double analyse.
Do elderly people score better on cognitive tests at home?

OBJECTIVE To determine whether Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of elderly family medicine patients are different when the test is administered at home rather than at the clinic. DESIGN Cross-sectional comparison study. SETTING University family practice unit in an urban area. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of family practice clinic patients 70 years or older were referred to the study in the sequence seen at the clinic. Of 171 patients approached in person or by telephone, 77 agreed to participate. METHOD The MMSE was administered at home and at the clinic on the same day for all subjects. Testing site order was randomized across patients. MAIN FINDINGS Of the 77 patients who agreed to be subjects, only 13 (16.9%) had low MMSE scores (< or = 24). Five (41.7%) of these had normal scores (> 24) at home, but low scores in the clinic. Subjects had significantly higher scores on MMSEs administered at home (P < .01) on the same day. CONCLUSIONS Previous research has shown patients achieve higher MMSE scores at home; this study demonstrated it in a representative family medicine population. Primary care physicians should be cautious about classifying elderly patients as possibly cognitively impaired based on clinic testing alone. Testing at home could avoid many unnecessary referrals to specialist services for further assessment and diagnostic tests that use up precious health care resources.
Improving Automotive Efficiency through Lean Management Tools: A Case Study

Abstract—Managing and improving efficiency in the current highly competitive global automotive industry demands that those companies adopt leaner and more flexible systems. During the past 20 years the domestic automotive industry in North America has been focusing on establishing new management strategies in order to meet market demands. The lean management process also known as Toyota Manufacturing Process (TPS) or lean manufacturing encompasses tools and techniques that were established in order to provide the best quality product with the fastest lead time at the lowest cost. The following paper presents a study that focused on improving labor efficiency at one of the Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler LLC) domestic automotive facility in North America. The objective of the study was to utilize several lean management tools in order to optimize the efficiency and utilization levels at the “PreMarriage” chassis area in a truck manufacturing and assembly facility. Utilizing three different lean tools (i.e. Standardization of work, 7 Wastes, and 5S) this research was able to improve efficiency by 51%, utilization by 246%, and reduce operations by 14%. The return on investment calculated based on the improvements made was 284%.
Could heat shock transcription factors function as hydrogen peroxide sensors in plants?

BACKGROUND Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are modular transcription factors encoded by a large gene family in plants. They bind to the consensus sequence 'nGAAnnTCCn' found in the promoters of many defence genes, and are thought to function as a highly redundant and flexible gene network that controls the response of plants to different environmental stress conditions, including biotic and abiotic stresses. Hsf proteins encoded by different genes exhibit a high degree of complexity in their interactions. They can potentially bind and activate their own promoters, as well as the promoters of other members of their gene family, and they can form homo- or heterotrimers resulting in altered nuclear localization, as well as enhanced or suppressed transcription. SCOPE In this review, we summarize recent studies on Hsf function in Arabidopsis and tomato and present evidence obtained from microarray expression studies in Arabidopsis that the Hsf gene network is highly flexible and specialized, with specific members and/or member combinations controlling the response of plants to particular stress conditions. In addition, we describe recent studies that support the hypothesis that certain Hsfs function as molecular sensors that directly sense reactive oxygen species (ROS) and control the expression of oxidative stress response genes during oxidative stress.
Machine-type communications: current status and future perspectives toward 5G systems

Machine-type communications (MTC) enables a broad range of applications from mission- critical services to massive deployment of autonomous devices. To spread these applications widely, cellular systems are considered as a potential candidate to provide connectivity for MTC devices. The ubiquitous deployment of these systems reduces network installation cost and provides mobility support. However, based on the service functions, there are key challenges that currently hinder the broad use of cellular systems for MTC. This article provides a clear mapping between the main MTC service requirements and their associated challenges. The goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of these challenges and the potential solutions. This study presents, in part, a roadmap from the current cellular technologies toward fully MTC-capable 5G mobile systems.
Cognitive Radio Access to TV White Spaces: Spectrum Opportunities, Commercial Applications and Remaining Technology Challenges

Cognitive radio is being intensively researched as the enabling technology for secondary access to the so-called TV White Spaces (TVWS), large portions of spectrum in theUHF/VHF bands which become available on a geographical basis after digital switchover. Both in the US, and more recently, in the UK the regulators have given conditional endorsement to this new mode of access. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in technology, regulation and standardization of cognitive access to TVWS. It examines the spectrum opportunity and commercial use cases associated with this form of secondary access.
Sensation of smell and taste during intravenous injection of iodinated contrast media in CT examinations

poured into high-purity pet cups for radiological technologists to smell directly. Radiological technologists were asked whether or not each CM had any smell. Results: The sensations of smell and taste incidence for iopromide were 24.3% and 18.9%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those for other CM ( p , 0.05). The highest incidence of the sensation of smell was medicine-ish, and the most frequently noted taste was bitterness. All radiological technologists could directly smell only iopromide, which has an ether group on a side chain and fewer hydroxyl groups. Conclusion: Iopromide showed a higher incidence of sensation of smell and taste than other CM. Advances in knowledge: This was the first investigation of sensation of smell and taste during i.v. injection of CM, and a specific CM showed a higher incidence, which is suspected to be due to its chemical structure.
Clustering-based web page prediction

Web page prediction plays an important role by predicting and fetching probable web page of next request in advance, resulting in reducing the user latency. The users surf the internet either by entering URL or search for some topic or through link of same topic. For searching and for link prediction, clustering plays an important role. Besides the topic, navigational behaviour is not ignored. This paper proposes a web page prediction model giving significant importance to the user's interest using the clustering technique and the navigational behaviour of the user through Markov model. The clustering technique is used for the accumulation of the similar web pages. Similar web pages of same type reside in the same cluster, the cluster containing web pages have the similarity with respect to topic of the session. The clustering algorithms considered are K-means and K-mediods, where K is determined by HITS algorithm. Finally, the predicted web pages are stored in form of cellular automata to make the system more memory efficient.
Evaluation of a portable two-microphone adaptive beamforming speech processor with cochlear implant patients.

A two-microphone noise reduction technique was tested with four cochlear implant patients. The noise reduction technique, known as adaptive beamforming (ABF), used signals from only two microphones--one behind each ear--to attenuate sounds not arriving from the direction directly in front of the patient. The algorithm was implemented in a portable digital signal processor, and was compared with a strategy in which the two microphone signals were simply added together (two-microphone broadside strategy). Tests with the four patients were conducted in a soundproof booth with target speech arriving from in front of the patient and multitalker babble noise arriving at 90 deg to the left. Results at 0-dB signal-to-noise level (S/N) showed large improvements in speech intelligibility for all patients, when compared to the two-microphone broadside strategy. Precautions were taken to avoid cancellation of the target speech, and, accordingly, subjective tests showed no deterioration in performance for the adaptive beamformer in quiet. Physical measurement of the directional characteristics of the ABF was made with the microphones placed behind the ears of a KEMAR manikin and in the same acoustic environment as used with the patients. Results showed directional gain of approximately 10 dB when the angle of incidence for interfering noise was shifted more than 20 to 30 deg from directly in front of or behind the manikin. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Immunomodulation with Enterotoxins for the Generation of Secretory Immunity or Tolerance: Applications for Oral Infections

The heat-labile enterotoxins, such as cholera toxin (CT), and the labile toxins types I and II (LT-I and LT-II) of Escherichia coli have been extensively studied for their immunomodulatory properties, which result in the enhancement of immune responses. Despite superficial similarity in structure, in which a toxic A subunit is coupled to a pentameric binding B subunit, different toxins have different immunological properties. Administration of appropriate antigens admixed with or coupled to these toxins by oral, intranasal, or other routes in experimental animals induces mucosal IgA and circulating IgG antibodies that have protective potential against a variety of enteric, respiratory, or genital infections. These include the generation of salivary antibodies that may protect against colonization with mutans streptococci and the development of dental caries. However, exploitation of these adjuvants for human use requires an understanding of their mode of action and the separation of their desirable immunomodulatory properties from their toxicity. Recent findings have revealed that adjuvant action is not critically dependent upon the enzymic activity of the A subunits, and that the isolated B subunits may exert different effects on cells of the immune system than do the intact toxins. Interaction of the toxins with immunocompetent cells is not exclusively dependent upon their conventional ganglioside receptors. Immunomodulatory effects have been observed on dendritic cells, macrophages, CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, and B-cells. Numerous factors—including the precise form of the toxin adjuvant, properties of the antigen, whether and how they are coupled, route of administration, and species of animal model—affect the outcome, whether this is enhanced humoral and cellular immunity, or specific induced tolerance toward the antigen.
Interleukin-22 (IL-22) Activates the JAK/STAT, ERK, JNK, and p38 MAP Kinase Pathways in a Rat Hepatoma Cell Line

IL (interleukin)-22 is an IL-10-related cytokine; its main biological activity known thus far is the induction of acute phase reactants in liver and pancreas. IL-22 signals through a receptor that is composed of two chains from the class II cytokine receptor family: IL-22R (also called ZcytoR11/CRF2–9) and IL-10Rβ (CRF2–4), which is also involved in IL-10 signaling. In this report, we analyzed the signal transduction pathways activated in response to IL-22 in a rat hepatoma cell line, H4IIE. We found that IL-22 induces activation of JAK1 and Tyk2 but not JAK2, as well as phosphorylation of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 on tyrosine residues, extending the similarities between IL-22 and IL-10. However our results unraveled some differences between IL-22 and IL-10 signaling. Using antibodies specific for the phosphorylated form of MEK1/2, ERK1/2, p90RSK, JNK, and p38 kinase, we showed that IL-22 activates the three major MAPK pathways. IL-22 also induced serine phosphorylation of STAT3 on Ser727. This effect, which is not shared with IL-10, was only marginally affected by MEK1/2 inhibitors, indicating that other pathways might be involved. Finally, by overexpressing a STAT3 S727A mutant, we showed that serine phosphorylation is required to achieve maximum transactivation of a STAT responsive promoter upon IL-22 stimulation.
Standard hepatic vein reconstruction with patch plasty using the native portal vein in adult living donor liver transplantation

An outflow obstruction of the hepatic vein is a critical complication after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and occasionally leads to hepatic failure. Here we introduce a simple method for preventing outflow obstructions by patch plasty in adult LDLT. Between September 2001 and May 2010, 468 adult LDLT procedures were performed at Kyoto University Hospital. We harvested each recipient's portal vein (PV) from the extirpated liver for a patch. We intended to re‐form several orifices of the hepatic veins into a single, large orifice. The patch was attached to the anterior wall of the re‐formed orifice on the bench. After we put in the liver graft, the procedure for the hepatic vein anastomosis to the inferior vena cava was simple enough that the warm ischemia time was reduced. Three of the 468 cases were diagnosed with an outflow obstruction. All 3 cases underwent hepatic vein reconstruction without patch plasty. In contrast, none of the 159 cases that underwent LDLT with patch plasty suffered from an outflow obstruction, regardless of the liver graft type. The procedure for hepatic vein plasty using a patch from the native PV is simple and elegant and results in excellent outcomes. We propose this as the standard procedure for hepatic vein reconstruction in adult LDLT. Liver Transpl, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.
Caracterización preliminar de la flora bacteriana en la biopelícula dental de individuos consumidores de chimó

El chimo es una variedad de tabaco de mascar tipica de muchos pueblos andinos. A este, se le atribuyen efectos inhibitorios sobre biopeliculas y caries dentales segun las creencias populares. Al ser la biopelicula dental, el origen para otras patologias intraorales y con la finalidad de estudiar el efecto del chimo sobre la conformacion bacteriana de esta, se evaluo el indice de O`Leary y se realizaron analisis microbiologicos comparativos a muestras de placa dental, recolectadas en cuatro momentos distintos, de 5 individuos consumidores de chimo (grupo problema) y 5 no consumidores de chimo (grupo control). Las muestras fueron disgregadas e inoculadas en Agar Infusion Cerebro Corazon para determinar cargas bacterianas totales aerobicas y microaerofilas; y en Agar Rogosa y Agar Mitis Salivarius con Bacitracina y Sacarosa para el recuento de Lactobacillus spp y Streptococcusmutans respectivamente. Se observaron diferencias significativas entre las cargas bacterianas aerobicas totales de ambos grupos, sin registrarse efecto inhibitorio sobre S. mutans para el grupo problema. Resulto dificil recuperar Lactobacillus spp bajo las condiciones empleadas. Los resultados sugieren que el chimo no inhibe la formacion de la biopelicula dental, ni posee efecto anticariogenico. Es recomendable realizar estudios prospectivos con mayor numero de muestras que consideren factores socioepidemiologicos.
Nursing Satisfaction With Implementation of Electronic Medication Administration Record

Nurses’ perceptions of electronic medication administration record documentation versus medication administration record documentation over time in workload, teamwork, ease of documentation, drug information accuracy, patient safety, and overall satisfaction are not well understood. Using survey methods and a longitudinal design, nurses administering medications completed the Nursing Satisfaction with eMAR instrument anonymously after electronic medication administration record implementation and at 3 and 6 months. Data were analyzed using comparative and correlational statistics, and analysis-of-variance models used to complete multivariable regression. Participants were 719 nurses: baseline, n = 389; 3 months, n = 213; and 6 months, n = 117. Electronic medication administration record documentation was associated with perceived improvement in overall nurse satisfaction, workload, teamwork, ease of documentation, drug information accuracy, and patient safety across time periods (all P < .001) and in trends across time, (all P < .001). After regression, electronic medication administration record satisfaction improved across time periods (all P < .02), with the greatest improvement between baseline and 6-month follow-up (P < .001). An electronic medication administration record documentation system is associated with overall nurse satisfaction and perceptions of improvement in workload, teamwork, ease of documentation, drug information accuracy, and patient safety but not nurse/pharmacy communication. Since timeliness and accuracy of nurse/pharmacy communication remain key components to safe and timely medication administration and documentation, nurse and pharmacy personnel should develop alternate systems of communication.
Risk of Postpartum Relapse in Bipolar Disorder and Postpartum Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE Women with a history of bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis, or both are at high risk for postpartum relapse. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the risk of postpartum relapse in these three patient groups. METHOD A systematic literature search was conducted in all public medical electronic databases, adhering to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they reported postpartum relapse in patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and/or a history of postpartum psychosis or mania according to DSM or ICD criteria or the Research Diagnostic Criteria. RESULTS Thirty-seven articles describing 5,700 deliveries in 4,023 patients were included in the quantitative analyses. The overall postpartum relapse risk was 35% (95% CI=29, 41). Patients with bipolar disorder were significantly less likely to experience severe episodes postpartum (17%, 95% CI=13, 21) than patients with a history of postpartum psychosis (29%, 95% CI=20, 41). Insufficient information was available to determine relapse rates for patients with bipolar disorder and a history of postpartum episodes. In women with bipolar disorder, postpartum relapse rates were significantly higher among those who were medication free during pregnancy (66%, 95% CI=57, 75) than those who used prophylactic medication (23%, 95% CI=14, 37). CONCLUSIONS One-third of women at high risk experience a postpartum relapse. In women with bipolar disorder, continuation of prophylactic medication during pregnancy appears highly protective for maintaining mood stability postpartum. In women with a history of isolated postpartum psychosis, initiation of prophylaxis immediately after delivery offers the opportunity to minimize the risk of relapse while avoiding in utero medication exposure.
Ano 1 as a regulator of proliferation

Jennifer E. Stanich, Simon J. Gibbons, Seth T. Eisenman, Michael R. Bardsley, Jason R. Rock, Brian D. Harfe, Tamas Ordog, and Gianrico Farrugia Enteric Neuroscience Program, Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering and Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, The Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Identification of tissue differentiation rates in a mechanobiological model of fracture healing

As a basis for model-based analysis of the processes in secondary fracture healing, a dynamical model is presented that characterises the physiological status in the fracture area by the location-dependent composition of tissues. Five types of tissue are distinguished: connective tissue, cartilage, bone, haematoma and avascular bone. A rule base is given that describes dynamical tissue differentiation processes. The rules consider not only a mechanical stimulus but also osteogenic and a vasculative factors as biological stimuli. Within this model structure, it is possible, e.g., to distinguish intramembranous from endochondral ossification processes. An objective function is introduced to assess accordance between the model-based simulation results and reference healing stages. By minimising this objective function, relevant tissue differentiation rates can be determined. For a reference process of secondary fracture healing it could be shown that the intramembranous ossification rate of 0.313%/day (from connective tissue to bone) is much smaller than the endochondral ossification rate of 1.136%/day (from cartilage to bone). In order to verify the model approach, it is transferred to simulate long bone distraction. Results show that healing patterns of bone distraction can be predicted. Using this method, it is possible to identify model parameters for individual subjects. This will allow a patient-specific analysis of tissue healing processes in future.