Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meat proteins had different effects on oligopeptide transporter PEPT1 in the small intestine of young rats

Abstract The peptide transporter 1 (PEPT1) in the apical membrane of enterocytes is the central mechanism for regulating the absorption of di- and tripeptides. Dietary proteins may affect PEPT1 abundance and peptide absorption. The present study aimed to characterize changes in PEPT1 mRNA and PEPT1 protein levels in the duodenum and jejunum of young rats after 7-day diet intervention with casein (reference), soy, beef, pork, chicken and fish proteins and further evaluate the impact on the epithelial absorption capacity. RT-PCR and western blot analyses showed that: (1) PEPT1 protein level in duodenum was higher (p < 0.05) for soy protein group than that for casein group. However, no difference was observed in jejunal PEPT1 protein level between any two diet groups (p > 0.05). The soy protein group had lower crypt depth and higher V/C ratio in the jejunum (p < 0.05). (2) PEPT1 mRNA levels were lower (p < 0.05) in rat duodenum and jejunum in pork, chicken and fish protein groups, whose trend was contrary to the results of jejunual histological observation with lower crypt depth, greater villus height and higher V/C ratio. In conclusion, different meat proteins alter distinct PEPT1 expression level and absorption capacity as reflected by gut morphology in small intestine.
Protected Endovascular Revascularization of Subacute and Chronic Total Occlusion of the Internal Carotid Artery

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The natural course of symptomatic carotid artery occlusion with hemodynamic impairment is poor. Surgical revascularization may improve the outcome; however, its efficacy has not been established yet. The goal of this study was to characterize the technical and clinical outcomes following endovascular recanalization of the ICA under cerebral circulatory protection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Endovascular recanalization was attempted in 8 patients with symptomatic ICA occlusions. The duration of the occlusion ranged from 7 days to 7 months (mean, 2.5 months), and the mean length of the occlusion was 95 mm. Cerebral hemodynamics ipsilateral to the side of the occlusion were severely impaired in all patients. The endovascular procedure was performed under total cerebral circulatory protection, beginning with proximal protection with a subsequent switch to distal protection after successful guidewire passage. RESULTS: The occlusion was recanalized successfully in 7 of 8 patients (88%), resulting in improvement of ipsilateral cerebral hemodynamics without symptomatic stroke. Small asymptomatic ischemic lesions were detected in 6 of 8 patients (75%) on DWI, and 1 patient developed a mild groin hematoma. Ischemic episodes did not recur during the mean follow-up period of 19 months. However, 1 patient experienced asymptomatic reocclusion, which was re-treated successfully without complications, while another patient developed mild retinal hemorrhage at 3 months after the procedure due to the combination of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular revascularization of an ICA occlusion is feasible and well-tolerated in patients with subacute or chronic total occlusion of the ICA.
An Orphan Esterase ABHD10 Modulates Probenecid Acyl Glucuronidation in Human Liver

Probenecid, a widely used uricosuric agent, is mainly metabolized to probenecid acyl glucuronide (PRAG), which is considered a causal substance of severe allergic or anaphylactoid reactions. PRAG can be hydrolyzed (deglucuronidated) to probenecid. The purpose of this study was to identify enzymes responsible for probenecid acyl glucuronidation and PRAG deglucuronidation in human livers and to examine the effect of deglucuronidation in PRAG formation. In human liver homogenates (HLHs), the intrinsic clearance (CLint) of PRAG deglucuronidation was much greater (497-fold) than that of probenecid acyl glucuronidation. Evaluation of PRAG formation by recombinant UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isoforms and an inhibition study using HLHs as an enzyme source demonstrated that multiple UGT isoforms, including UGT1A1, UGT1A9, and UGT2B7, catalyzed probenecid acyl glucuronidation. We found that recombinant α/β hydrolase domain containing 10 (ABHD10) substantially catalyzed PRAG deglucuronidation activity, whereas carboxylesterases did not. Similar inhibitory patterns by chemicals between HLHs and recombinant ABHD10 supported the major contribution of ABHD10 to PRAG deglucuronidation in human liver. Interestingly, it was demonstrated that the CLint value of probenecid acyl glucuronidation in HLHs was increased by 1.7-fold in the presence of phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, which potently inhibited ABHD10 activity. In conclusion, we found that PRAG deglucuronidation catalyzed by ABHD10 suppressively regulates PRAG formation via multiple UGT enzymes in human liver. The balance of activities by these enzymes is important for the formation of PRAG, which may be associated with the adverse reactions observed after probenecid administration.
Survival Impact of Prolonged Treatment Duration in Primary Chemoradiation for Cervical Cancer

Objective: Prolonged radiation treatment duration has been negatively associated with treatment outcomes in cervical cancer. We soughttoevaluate factors associated with radiation treatment duration and to analyze the impact of prolonged treatment duration on cervical cancer survival outcomes in the era of chemoradiation. Methods:Data for patients undergoing primary radiation for cervical cancer at 2 affiliated teaching institutions from 1999–2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathologic and treatment factors were assessed for an association with treatment duration. The impact of treatment duration on disease free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival was analyzed. Results:Median treatment duration for the 129 patients who received external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy was 72 days. 49 patients (38%) completed treatment within 63 days. In multivariate analysis, extent of EBRT field, timing and type of brachytherapy, treatment site and administrative delays were all predictors of treatment duration. In multivariate analysis, treatment duration greater than 63 days was associated with worse DFS (HR 2.61; 95% CI 1.22–5.56; p=0.013) and OS (HR 7.34; 95% CI 1.68–32.1; p=0.008) in early and locally advanced disease. Mortality increased by 1.3% per day for each day of prolongation of radiation duration. Conclusion:In this retrospective analysis, completion of primary chemoradiation for cervical cancer within 63 days was associated with improved DFS and OS. By focusing on potentially modifiable factors including initiation of brachytherapy during EBRT and the resolution of administrative barriers, it may be possible to improve treatment duration, which may result in better patient outcomes.
Contents muticast method enabling determination of leakage origin and exclusion

For delivering expensive contents like digital cinema, it is important to discover malicious sites and stop content leakage. We propose a multicast contents delivery method that allows malicious sites to be identified and immediately halts delivery, while continuing to deliver the contents to valid destinations. We apply multicast watermarking to discover malicious sites and broadcast encryption to exclude said sites. We evaluate the processing time of broadcast encryption in software on a PC. It is shown that this method can multicast contents to up to 2000 destinations with sufficiently small processing time. The results show that secure digital cinema multicast delivery can be realized.
Slabs Do Not Go Gently

High-resolution seismic tomography reveals an active vertical tear in a descending ocean plate off the coast of Japan. In geology textbooks, the fate of the oceanic crust seems straightforward. The ocean floor is created by upwelling of lighter magma at spreading ridges. The magma cools as it moves away from the ridge, forming a stiff layer or “plate” called the oceanic lithosphere. Having increased in density, it then descends back into the mantle in trench regions. Precise seismic tomography studies have revealed that many descending slabs have a more complex evolution and have developed tears, detached from the surface plate, or even broken up into fragments. On page 1173 of this issue, Obayashi et al. (1) not only show clear tomographic evidence for the development of a vertical tear under southwest Japan, but have also found evidence for ongoing plate rupturing. The authors correlated the images directly with measurements of stress revealed by active seismic sources.
Printed UWB antenna for portable devices

The shape of the radiator of an UWB antenna has a very strong effect to the impedance bandwidth of the antenna. This paper showed that the -10 dB bandwidth of an UWB antenna can be increased even 60 % using elliptical edges instead of straight edges in the radiator and without increasing the largest dimensions of the radiator. Is was also shown that the size of the radiator and the ground plane clearance can be reduced by covering the radiator with a dielectric superstrate. The size reduction of an UWB antenna operating at European UWB frequency range from 6.0 to 8.5 GHz was 31.6% for the radiator and 30.6% for the ground plane clearance. This means considerable space saving in portable device point of view, where space is very precious.
Bay-to-bay strategic alliances: the network linkages between Taiwan and the US venture capital industries

Taiwan stands out as an early success story in developing a venture capital (VC) industry. Domestic policy makers introduced VC in the early 1980s and today the island boasts a flourishing VC sector that is closely associated with the upgrading of the personal computer and integrated circuit industries. This paper describes the industry’s origins in the close connections to Silicon Valley built by overseas Chinese, and it analyses the resulting patterns of cross-regional collaboration between the VC industries in the USA and Taiwan.
Temporal and spatial response of bacterioplankton lineages to annual convective overturn at the Bermuda Atlantic Time‐series Study site

We used terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RFLP), clone library, phylogenetic, and bulk nucleic acid hybridization analyses to identify and characterize spatial and temporal patterns in marine bacterioplankton communities at the Bermuda Atlantic Time‐series Study (BATS) site. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling of monthly surface and 200‐m bacterial 16S rDNA T‐RFLP fragments from 1992 to 2002 revealed temporal trends in bacterial community structure in different depth horizons. A 200‐m 16S rRNA gene clone library was used to identify fragments increasing in relative abundance following mixing events and to link observed terminal restriction fragments with those predicted from sequence data. T‐RFLP fragments matching those of cloned OCS116, SAR11, and marine Actinobacteria rRNA genes exhibited the strongest increases at 200 m following convective overturn, and fragments attributable to SAR11, SAR86, and SAR116 rRNA genes exhibited the strongest increases at the ocean surface during summer time periods. Variability in the distribution and relative abundance of fragments assigned to different SAR11 and SAR86 subclusters was also evident. Quantitative hybridization of extracted 16S rRNA with radiolabeled, taxonspecific oligonucleotide probes provided additional data supporting spatial and temporal patterns of lineage distributions and abundances suggested by ordination. Overall increases in the relative abundance of T‐RFLP fragments attributable to the OCS116, SAR11, and marine Actinobacteria clusters following convective overturn suggest that members of these groups may play important roles in dissolved organic carbon dynamics at BATS.
The contribution of tellurite resistance genes to the fitness of Escherichia coli uropathogenic strains

The presence of tellurite resistance gene operons has been reported in several human pathogens despite the fact that tellurium, as well as its soluble salts, are both rare in nature and are no longer in use as antimicrobial agents. We have introduced the cloned terWZA-F genes from an uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolate into another clinical E. coli isolate that was shown to be ter-gene free. The presence of the introduced genes increased the level of potassium tellurite resistance, as well as the level of resistance to oxidative stress mediated by hydrogen peroxide; and prolonged the ability of particular strains to survive in macrophages. We therefore propose that the contribution of tellurite resistance genes to oxidative stress resistance in bacteria is at least one reason for their presence in the genomes of a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms.
Accessibility of phosphatidylethanolamine in bacteriophage PM2 and in its gram-negative host

The reaction of trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid with phosphatidylethanolamine in the cytoplasmic membrane of Alteromonas espejiana suggests that 50% of this lipid occupies the outer lamella. In PM2, similar analysis suggests that 56% of this lipid populates the outer lamella of the membrane, the surface of which accounts for 60% of the membrane area.
Psychological predictors of male smokeless tobacco use initiation and cessation: a 16-year longitudinal study.

AIMS To test whether psychological factors predict male smokeless tobacco (SLT) initiation and cessation longitudinally. DESIGN Sixteen-year longitudinal design with 95% retention at year 6 and 82% at year 16. SETTING Forty Washington State school districts. PARTICIPANTS SLT use data were gathered on a cohort of adolescents (91% Caucasian). For SLT initiation, the sample size was 2468. For SLT cessation, sample sizes were 219 (age 20 outcome) and 192 (age 28 outcome). MEASUREMENTS Self-reported psychological measures of parental disobedience ('parent non-compliance'), peer influence ('friend compliance'), rebelliousness and thrill-seeking were taken at ages 12 and 18. SLT use was measured at ages 12, 18, 20 and 28 years. FINDINGS For SLT initiation, scoring highly on the following psychological factors at age 12 at least doubled the odds of daily SLT use at age 18 (P < 0.001): friend compliance [odds ratio (OR): 2.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78-3.68), rebelliousness (OR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.46-3.19) and thrill-seeking (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.45-3.75). For SLT cessation, none of the psychological factors at age 18 predicted SLT cessation at age 20 or 28 (P value range: 0.06-0.84). CONCLUSION Peer influence, rebelliousness, and thrill-seeking appear to predict smokeless tobacco initiation strongly among male youth in the United States.
A Novel T Cell Cytokine Stimulates Interleukin‐6 in Human Osteoblastic Cells

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a heavy lymphocytic infiltration into the synovial cavity, resulting in the secretion of a variety of cytokines which ultimately leads to destruction of joint tissue. Among the infiltrating cells are activated T cells which produce specific cytokines capable of osteoclast progenitor cell expansion, fusion, and activation. Cultures of activated human T cells and human osteoblasts (hOBs) were used to study the possibility that lymphokines may act on osteoblasts to produce the osteoclastogenic factor interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). Purified T cells were activated with a combination of anti‐CD3 and anti‐CD28 antibodies, cocultured with hOBs in direct physical contact or separated by a transwell system, and conditioned media (CM) were assayed for IL‐6 production. After a 72 h incubation period, activated T cell–hOB interaction resulted in a 100‐fold increase of IL‐6 production over basal levels. The immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CsA) inhibited T cell tumor necrosis factor alpha and IL‐6 production but did not inhibit the T cell induction of IL‐6 from hOB. Assay of activated T‐cell CM on hOB revealed that a soluble factor, not cell‐cell contact, was the major inducer of IL‐6. The induction of IL‐6 mRNA by both activated T cell CM and CsA‐treated activated T cell CM was confirmed by Northern blot analysis. Neutralizing antibodies to IL‐13 and IL‐17 did not affect IL‐6 production. These findings suggest that activated T cells produce a novel, potent, IL‐6 inducing factor that may be responsible for the bone loss observed in RA patients.
Driving electric vehicles: As green as the grid

As demand for mobility continues to rise accompanied by environmental and energy problems, electric vehicles (EVs) have been heralded as imminent long-term solutions to sustainable transport electrification. Battery electric vehicles in particular offer zero tailpipe emissions. However, they can only be considered as true greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigating option if the electricity used to charge their batteries is generated through low carbon technologies. This paper deals with the influence of the energy mix for the effective contribution of EVs in carbon emission reduction. Moreover, it compares the life cycle of the CO2 emissions in electric vehicles powered with coal dominated and renewable energy mix. The same assessment has been done to comparable conventional petrol cars. The factors affecting the energy consumption of electric vehicles and the impacts of vehicle electrification on an existing grid and cost have also been discussed. The discussion on this paper is based on the energy mix of 15 African countries in general and Ethiopia in particular.
Gender and viability selection on morphology in fledgling pied flycatchers

Until recently, analyses of gender‐dependent differences in viability selection and the ontogeny of sexual size dimorphism have been plagued by difficulties in determining the sex of nestling birds on the basis of morphology. Recently, this problem was overcome using molecular sex identification to report for the first time body‐size‐mediated antagonistic selection on the viability of male and female collared flycatchers. We used molecular sex identification to analyse natural selection on fledgling viability, sexual size dimorphism and effects of parasites in relation to gender in a Mediterranean population of the related pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. There was directional positive selection on fledgling weight but no selection on tarsus length. Fledgling weight was the most important determinant of fledgling survival, with heavier fledglings having increased viability. Although selective trends were of the same sign for both sexes, only among female fledglings were selection differentials and gradients statistically significant. Therefore, similar trends in selection were revealed in analyses of a data set where sex was ignored and in separate analyses using same‐sex sibship trait means. Mite nest ectoparasites negatively affected fledgling weight, and the effects were stronger in female than male fledglings. There was no effect of parasitism on the tarsus length in males, as previously reported in retrospective analyses performed without knowledge of sex until recruitment. Overall, selection on fledgling viability on the basis of morphological traits and hatching date was not confounded by an individual's gender.
On disturbance rejection paradigm in control engineering

There are three paradigms in control engineering: the industry paradigm, the model paradigm and the disturbance rejection paradigm, from which the current design methods are illuminated and compared in this paper. While the industry paradigm is empirical and the model paradigm rigorous, the disturbance rejection paradigm comes back to the essence of controls: rejecting disturbance, i.e. uncertainties, and provides a refreshing perspective on Active Disturbance Rejection Control, with many implications, technologically and conceptually.
Cell Density Modulates Acid Adaptation in Streptococcus mutans: Implications for Survival in Biofilms

ABSTRACT Streptococcus mutans normally colonizes dental biofilms and is regularly exposed to continual cycles of acidic pH during ingestion of fermentable dietary carbohydrates. The ability ofS. mutans to survive at low pH is an important virulence factor in the pathogenesis of dental caries. Despite a few studies of the acid adaptation mechanism of this organism, little work has focused on the acid tolerance of S. mutans growing in high-cell-density biofilms. It is unknown whether biofilm growth mode or high cell density affects acid adaptation by S. mutans. This study was initiated to examine the acid tolerance response (ATR) of S. mutans biofilm cells and to determine the effect of cell density on the induction of acid adaptation. S. mutans BM71 cells were first grown in broth cultures to examine acid adaptation associated with growth phase, cell density, carbon starvation, and induction by culture filtrates. The cells were also grown in a chemostat-based biofilm fermentor for biofilm formation. Adaptation of biofilm cells to low pH was established in the chemostat by the acid generated from excess glucose metabolism, followed by a pH 3.5 acid shock for 3 h. Both biofilm and planktonic cells were removed to assay percentages of survival. The results showed that S. mutans BM71 exhibited a log-phase ATR induced by low pH and a stationary-phase acid resistance induced by carbon starvation. Cell density was found to modulate acid adaptation in S. mutans log-phase cells, since pre-adapted cells at a higher cell density or from a dense biofilm displayed significantly higher resistance to the killing pH than the cells at a lower cell density. The log-phase ATR could also be induced by a neutralized culture filtrate collected from a low-pH culture, suggesting that the culture filtrate contained an extracellular induction component(s) involved in acid adaptation in S. mutans. Heat or proteinase treatment abolished the induction by the culture filtrate. The results also showed that mutants defective in thecomC, -D, or -E genes, which encode a quorum sensing system essential for cell density-dependent induction of genetic competence, had a diminished log-phase ATR. Addition of synthetic competence stimulating peptide (CSP) to the comC mutant restored the ATR. This study demonstrated that cell density and biofilm growth mode modulated acid adaptation in S. mutans, suggesting that optimal development of acid adaptation in this organism involves both low pH induction and cell-cell communication.