Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co‐localization of β/A4 and cystatin C in cortical blood vessels in Dutch, but not in Icelandic hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis

Based on the recent discovery of co‐localization of β/A4 and cystatin C in cortical blood vessels of patients with cerebral hemorrhages due to sporadic amyloid angiopathy and patients with Alzheimer's disease we investigated the presence of these two proteins in the cortical blood vessels of patients suffering from hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyioidosis of the Dutch (n = 11) and the Icelandic (n = 2) type. The brains of three patients with sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy were also investigated. Blood vessels of the Dutch patients clearly showed immunostaining with β/A4 as well as with cystatin C antibodies, whereas the blood vessels of Icelandic patients showed only staining with cystatin C. In one of the three sporadic amyloid angiopathy patients co‐localization was shown as well. The co‐localization of mutated β/A4 with normal cystatin C in the Dutch patients suggests that cystatin C deposition occurs secondarily to β/A4 deposition. This is probably also the case in sporadic amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer's disease. Cystatin C deposition may play a role in the development of cerebral hemorrhages and leukoencephalopathy.
Toxicity, Biomarkers, Genotoxicity, and Carcinogenicity of Trichloroethylene and Its Metabolites: A Review

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a prevalent occupational and environmental contaminant that has been reported to cause a variety of toxic effects. This article reviews toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity caused by the exposure of TCE and its metabolites in the living system as well as on their (TCE and its metabolites) toxicity biomarkers.
Through legal education towards European Education Area

With special focus on laying the foundations for a European Education Area by 2025, “The first European Education Summit˝, held on 25 January 2018, aimed at determining how quality, inclusive and values-based education can fight the current challenges and contribute to a successful Europe. Although the primary competence for education policies lies with the Member States, the European Commission has explicitly advocated that joint efforts should be made to strengthen the European identity through education. In particular, a number of initiatives were proposed in order to foster employability in the common market, improve the international competitiveness, promote common values and develop critical thinking for an active citizenship. For all these reasons, this paper aims at determining how Croatian legal education, taking into account its tradition, can contribute to achieving those objectives. Therefore, by analyzing its history and tradition, the first part of the contribution will try to identify the specific features of Croatian higher legal education. Keeping in mind that the success of the process is often influenced by various social, political, economic and historical factors, the central part of the paper will examine the importance of education for shaping the national legal culture and, consequently, efficient harmonization. Considering the challenges that the Croatian educational system is currently facing, as a conclusion, an attempt will be made to offer some preliminary solutions in the debate on how the potential of education can be used to ensure the goals of the European Education Area.
Stability of functionalized corannulene cations [R‐C20H10]+: An influence of the nature of R‐Group

The first comprehensive theoretical study of stability of hub‐functionalized corannulene cations [R‐C20H10]+ as the function of the nature of R‐group was accomplished. The initial set of linear alkyl R‐group of different length (R=(CH2)nCH3, n = 0–9) was augmented by groups which form stable organic cations, such as tert‐butyl, isopropyl, allyl, and phenyl. Investigation of relative stability (with bonding energy as the measure) was accompanied by detailed study of changes in aromaticity using a large set of descriptors, as well as by the evaluation of energetics of possible migration of R‐group from the hub‐site to the spoke‐position. Decrease in stability of functionalized corannulene cations with lengthening of R‐group and/or replacing it with branched alkyl group was found to be the general trend. At the same time, π‐conjugated groups such as allyl or phenyl ones, stabilize the system. All methods/approaches applied unambiguously indicated that the actual stability of the hub‐functionalized corannulene cations is indeed a multi faceted phenomenon. Important contributions come from different interplay between attractive (ΔEorb vs. ΔEelstat) and repulsive (ΔEPauli) components of the bonding, from changes in aromatic behavior of rings in polyaromatic fragment, and from activation barrier for the process of migration of R‐group. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Signal transduction by B and T cells early after bone marrow transplantation: B cell calcium flux responses are intact whereas lack of CD4 cells accounts for impaired T cell responses.

We previously found that intracellular ionized calcium ([Ca2+]i) flux responses after anti-CD3 crosslinking of CD3/TCR on T cells from allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients were impaired, Yamagami et al. J Clin Invest 1990; 86: 1347-1351. In contrast to the earlier study, this study focuses on identifying the T cell subset(s) responsible for the defects and determining if B cell responses are defective in BMT recipients early after BMT. In 37 recipients after anti-CD3 stimulation of PBL, a mean of 25.9% responding T cells was observed. This was significantly lower than the mean of 43.6% responding T cells in PBL from 21 normals (P < 0.001). The proportion of responding T cells in PBL (T PBL) increased in the recipients with time after BMT. By 6 months after BMT, the mean percent of responding T PBL approached the normal range. On the other hand, a mean of 8.1% responding B cells in anti-IgM crosslinked PBL from 24 recipients was not different from the mean of 7.4% responding B cells in anti-IgM crosslinked PBL from 16 normals (P = 0.6). Four color flow cytometry was used to identify subpopulations of lymphocytes. Enriched B cells were tested by gating out CD3+ and CD56+ cells to confirm the results of unfractionated PBL. In 8 recipients, the mean percent responding B cells was 36.6% and was not different from 6 normals (mean = 41.0%). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PUBLIC DETERMINANTS OF HLA INDICATED BY PREGNANCY ANTIBODIES

A tentative table of public specificities in the HLA-A and -B loci is provided. It is based on an all-inclusive survey of placenta extracts from 50,000 pregnancies. We postulate that most of the specificities found are directed against public epitopes. In support of this postulate are the facts that certain combinations occur very frequently, monoclonal antibodies have been made to some of the epitopes, and some have already been established by absorption experiments as being a single specificity. The immunogenicity score for each private and public specificity was computed by taking into account the chance of immunization. It was shown that immunogenicity can vary by factors of more than ten between different specificities. Significantly, immunogenicity of the public epitopes was just as high as against the private ones. This indicates that the public epitopes should be considered as independent, separate antigens in transplantation. Establishment of a table of public specificities and the recognition of each by international nomenclature would be the first step in evaluating public epitopes for transplantation matching.
Measurement of secretory vesicle pH reveals intravesicular alkalinization by vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 resulting in inhibition of prohormone cleavage

1 The acidic interior of neuroendocrine secretory vesicles provides both an energy gradient for amine‐proton exchangers (VMATs) to concentrate small transmitter molecules, for example catecholamines, and an optimal pH for the prohormone convertases which cleave hormone precursors. There is evidence that VMAT activity modulates prohormone cleavage, but in the absence of measurements of pH in secretory vesicles in intact cells, it has not been possible to establish whether these effects are attributable to raised intravesicular pH due to proton transport through VMATs. 2 Clones were generated of the hamster insulinoma cell line HIT‐T15 expressing a pH‐sensitive form of green fluorescent protein (GFP‐F64L/S65T) targeted to secretory vesicles, with and without co‐expression of VMAT2. In order to study prohormone cleavage, further clones were generated that expressed preprogastrin with and without co‐expression of VMAT2. 3 Confocal microscopy of GFP fluorescence indicated that the pH in the secretory vesicles was 5.6 in control cells, compared with 6.6 in cells expressing VMAT2; the latter was reduced to 5.8 by the VMAT inhibitor reserpine. 4 Using a pulse‐chase labelling protocol, cleavage of 34‐residue gastrin (G34) was found to be inhibited by co‐expression with VMAT2, and this was reversed by reserpine. Similar effects on vesicle pH and G34 cleavage were produced by ammonium chloride. 5 We conclude that VMAT expression confers the linked abilities to store biogenic amines and modulate secretory vesicle pH over a range influencing prohormone cleavage and therefore determining the identity of regulatory peptide secretory products.
Human Cathepsin O2, a Matrix Protein-degrading Cysteine Protease Expressed in Osteoclasts

Cathepsin O2, a human cysteine protease predominantly present in osteoclasts, has been functionally expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells using the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. Following in vitro activation at pH 4.0 with pepsin, active enzyme with an apparent molecular weight of 29,000 was obtained. N-terminal sequencing revealed the typical processing site for cysteine proteases of the papain family with a proline in the position adjacent to the N-terminal alanine residue. The SP subsite specificity of human cathepsin O2 is similar to cathepsin S but distinguished from cathepsins L and B. Similar to cathepsin S, cathepsin O2 is characterized by a bell-shaped pH activity profile and is stable at pH 6.5 for 30 min at 37°C. Cathepsin O2 is further distinguished by its potent collagenolytic activity against Type I collagen between pH 5 and 6, and elastinolytic activity against insoluble elastin at pH 7.0. Its capacity to efficiently degrade Type I collagen and its high expression in osteoclasts suggest that cathepsin O2 may play a major role in human osteoclastic bone resorption.
[Effect of NADH against liver cell line L02 apoptosis induced by UVB irradiation].

OBJECTIVE To study the molecular mechanism behind the effect of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) against apoptosis of liver cell line L02 induced by ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure. METHODS L02 liver cells were exposed to UVB irradiation (200 J/m(2)) followed by a 24-hour culture in the presence or absence of NADH (400 microgram/ml). The degraded fragments of DNA in the cells were observed by agarose electrophoresis, the cell apoptosis rate determined by Annexin/V PI staining and p53, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins expression detected by flow cytometry. RESULT NADH not only inhibited the apoptosis induced by UVB irradiation, but also up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 protein and down-regulated expressions of p53 and Bax proteins (P<0.01). Repair of DNA strand damage was observed in L02 cells during the incubation time after irradiation. CONCLUSION NADH significantly inhibits apoptosis induced by UVB irradiation possibly by the mechanism of up-regulating Bcl-2 expression and down-regulating p53 and Bax expressions.
Essays on Health, Entrepreneurship, and the Labor Market

My dissertation is at the intersection of health economics, development economics, and labor economics, with an emphasis on the labor market impact of health interventions and healthcare policies. The first chapter explores the effect of hypertension control on annual income using data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in rural China. Utilizing the exposure to the interventions as an instrumental variable for blood pressure levels, we found that a one standard deviation decrease in systolic blood pressure can significantly increase annual income by 4.8%. The second chapter investigates the impact of health insurance on entrepreneurs and estimates the alleviation of job lock following a 2009 nationwide healthcare reform---the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) program. Using 2000-2011 data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey and a difference-in-differences approach with propensity score weighting, we find that URBMI increases self-employment rate by 5.4% for the overall population. The third chapter analyzes the effect of a major policy change in China---the 2007 Property Rights Law that improved the access to credit. I found evidence that the 2007 Property Rights Law promotes entrepreneurship as measured by the number of owner-mangers in the economy, but has little impact on necessity entrepreneurs.
Devising Appropriate Policies and Instruments in Support of Private Conservation Areas: Lessons Learned from the Klein Karoo, South Africa

Abstract: The amount of privately conserved land is increasing worldwide. The potential of these areas to contribute to the global conservation of biodiversity is significant, given that statutory protected areas alone will not suffice. Nevertheless, there is still inadequate support for private conservation areas, and further research on appropriate, flexible, and generally applicable incentive measures is necessary. We conducted 25 semistructured interviews with the owners of private conservation areas in the Little Karoo, South Africa, to examine landowner opinions of existing conservation policies and their relationships with the local conservation authority. We also assessed landowner preferences regarding conservation incentive measures. Landowners doubted the conservation authority's capacity to implement its stewardship program and were also discouraged by the bureaucracy of the program. The conservation authority was often viewed negatively, except where landowners had experienced personal contact from conservation staff or where strong social capital had formed among landowners. Landowners did not desire financial rewards for their conservation efforts, but sought recognition of their stewardship role and greater involvement from the conservation authority through personal contact. We conclude that conservation policies for private lands could benefit from the provision of extension services to landowners, promotion of formation of groups of landowners and other stakeholders, and public acknowledgment of the contributions private conservation areas make.
Electricity forward and volatility curves computation based on Monte Carlo simulation

As a result of the deregulation processes, liberalized markets, where electricity futures and derivatives are traded, have arisen all over the world. Utilities, consumers, traders and, generally, market agents must do quantitative assessments of their positions. Basic analytical data are the forward and volatility curves of the traded products. However, electricity price dynamics is very different of other commodities prices dynamics. Furthermore, electricity prices of different markets are usually very different of each other. As consequence, most analytical approaches to compute forward and volatility curves, as well as other statistics useful to risk management tasks, are very complex or do not exist. In this paper, we propose to compute the forward and volatility curves by Monte Carlo simulation. The main contribution lies in the used variance reduction techniques, needed to achieve this objective at reasonable computational cost. A case example consisting of the study of the EEX prices is also provided
The effects of drugs modulating K+ transport on Rb+ uptake and distribution in pig hearts following regional ischemia: 87Rb MRI study

The effects of drugs that can modulate passive permeability of K+ into cardiomyocytes in normal and reperfusion‐damaged cardiac muscle were assessed. Rubidium ion (Rb+) was used as a K+ tracer and 87Rb‐MRI as a detection method. The left anterior descending artery (LAD) of isolated pig hearts perfused with Krebs–Henseleit buffer (KHB) was occluded for 2 h and subsequently reperfused for 2 h with KHB containing 4.7 mM RbCl instead of KCl. The buffer contained either a blocker of ATP‐sensitive K+ channels (KATP), glibenclamide (Glib, 3 µM), a KATP opener, pinacidil (Pin, 10 µM), a K+/Na+/2Cl− co‐transporter inhibitor, bumetanide (Bum, 10 µM) or no drug (control). Upon reperfusion three‐dimensional 87Rb MR images were acquired to obtain kinetics of Rb+ uptake and its distribution. Areas at risk (AAR) and areas of necrosis were determined by Evans Blue and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, respectively. Rb+ uptake kinetics in the remote posterior (Pos) wall were similar in all groups. The kinetics remained monoexponential in the affected anterior (Ant) wall and the uptake rates were 32, 36, 37 and 21% of that in the Pos wall in the control, Glib, Pin and Bum groups, respectively. Infarct sizes determined histologically as a percentage of total ventricular (left + right) mass (14–22%) corresponded to sizes of areas with 20–40% of maximal Rb image intensity [I(Rb)max, 15–22%], except for the Pin group (12.5 vs 21%). The sizes of areas with 20–50% of I(Rb)max (30–36%) closely correlated with those of AAR determined histologically (31–33%). Lactate dehydrogenase release did not differ in all groups. We conclude that: (1) reperfusion damage quickly inhibits Rb+ uptake; (2) Rb+ uptake in normal and reperfused tissue does not significantly depend on KATP or the K+/Na+/2Cl− cotransporter; (3) areas with 20–40% of maximal image intensity correspond to infarct areas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Correlates of fat intake among urban, low income African Americans.

OBJECTIVE To test a dietary intervention for high risk African American adults with small children. METHODS Using telephone data, logistic regression was used to identify association of low-fat eating behaviors, fat calories, and frequency of sweets/oils/fats with personal and environmental variables. RESULTS Education and income were associated with low-fat eating behaviors, fat calories, and frequency of fat/oils/sweets. Availability, price, and policy were related to low fat eating behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Effectiveness of dietary interventions relies upon environments that support changes by the individual. Focusing on high-risk populations should be a priority in this research.
IL-17, Produced by Lymphocytes and Neutrophils, Is Necessary for Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Airway Neutrophilia: IL-15 as a Possible Trigger

IL-17 is a cytokine implicated in the regulation of inflammation. We investigated the role of this cytokine in neutrophil recruitment using a model of LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice. In the bronchoalveolar lavage, LPS induced a first influx of neutrophils peaking at day 1, followed by a second wave, peaking at day 2. IL-17 levels were increased during the late phase neutrophilia (day 2), and this was concomitant with an increased number of T cells and macrophages, together with an increase of KC and macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 levels in the lung tissue. Intranasal treatment with a neutralizing murine anti-IL-17 Ab inhibited the late phase neutrophilia. In the bronchoalveolar lavage cells, IL-17 mRNA was detected at days 1, 2, and 3 postchallenge, with a strong expression at day 2. This expression was associated with CD4+ and CD8+ cells, but also with neutrophils. When challenged with LPS, despite the absence of T cells, SCID mice also developed a neutrophilic response associated with IL-17 production. In BALB/c mice, IL-15 mRNA, associated mainly with neutrophils, was evidenced 1 day after LPS challenge. In vitro, IL-15 was able to induce IL-17 release from purified spleen CD4+ cells, but not spleen CD8+ or airway neutrophils. We have shown that IL-17, produced mainly by CD4+ cells, but also by neutrophils, plays a role in the mobilization of lung neutrophils following bacterial challenge. In addition, our results suggest that IL-15 could represent a physiological trigger that leads to IL-17 production following bacterial infection.
Lipoproteins, lipid droplets, lysosomes, and adrenocortical steroid hormone synthesis: Morphological studies

Recent studies concerning cellular cholesterol homeostasis suggest that there is a relationship between the serum lipoproteins (low density and high density lipoproteins: LDL and HDL), the intracellular storage of cholesterol (lipid droplets), lysosomes, and the steroidogenic activity of adrenocortical cells. This review surveys the current knowledge on cholesterol import from LDL/HDL by adrenocortical cells, its regulation, and the participation of lipid droplets and lysosomes in this process. The possible role of adrenocortical cell microvilli in the uptake of LDL/HDL is discussed. Under certain physiological, experimental, and pathological circumstances lysosomes accumulate unesterified and/or esterified cholesterol in the form of lipid‐lyososome complexes. As suggested by the data presented in this review, lipid‐lysosome complexes appear to be involved in cholesterol homeostasis, via altering lipid compartmentalization. Since previous reports do not clearly demonstrate a positive correlation between the volume of lipid‐ and lysosome‐ compartments and the rate of steroid hormone synthesis [for review, see Nussdorfer (1986) Int. Rev. Cytol. , 98:1–405], the objective of this review is to provide a better understanding of the interactions of plasma lipoproteins, lipid droplets, lysosomes, and steroidogenesis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 36:480–492, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Protective Effect of Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Stereospermum Suaveolens Against Hepatic Oxidative Stress in STZ Diabetic Rats

Stereospermum suaveolens is a folk remedy for the treatment of diabetes and liver disorders in southern parts of India. In the present study, the protective effect of the ethyl acetate fraction of ethanol extract from S. suaveolens against hepatic oxidative stress was evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats for 14 days. The ethyl acetate fraction was administered orally to the STZ diabetic rats at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. Blood glucose level was measured according to glucose oxidase method. In order to determine hepatoprotective activity, changes in the levels of serum biomarker enzymes such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and serum alkaline phosphatase (SALP) were assessed in the ethyl acetate fraction treated diabetic rats and were compared with the levels in diabetic control rats. In addition, the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate fraction was evaluated using various hepatic parameters such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). It was found that administration of ethyl acetate fraction (200 and 400 mg/kg) produced a significant (P < 0.001) fall in fasting blood glucose level, TBARS, bilirubin, AST, ALT, and SALP, while elevating the GSH levels, and SOD and CAT activities in diabetic rats. Histopathologic studies also revealed the protective effect of ethyl acetate fraction on the liver tissues of diabetic rats. It was concluded from this study that the ethyl acetate fraction from ethanol extract of S. suaveolens modulates the activity of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants and enhances the defense against hepatic oxidative stress in STZ-induced diabetic rats.