Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gentamicin-mediated ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity: A clinical trial study

Background: Aminoglycosides and mainly gentamicin are the most important antimicrobial agents. Two different methods of administration exist: Single and multiple doses. There has always been a controversy about the less harmful administration method, to minimize adverse effects of gentamicin - deafness and renal insufficiency. In this study, it was aimed to compare two different methods of administration to figure out the least harmful treatment method. Materials and Methods: In a clinical study, eighty patients aged 12-55 years who were admitted with sepsis syndrome were included in the study; they were divided into two groups: The first group received single-dose treatment (5 mg/kg) whereas the second group was treated with multiple doses (1.7 mg/kg three times a day) of gentamicin. Results: The results show that blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CR) levels were decreased in the first group. Both blood urea nitrogen and creatinine and also mean glomerular filtration rate was increased in the same group. In the second group, mean BUN and CR levels were increased while the GFR was decreased in the same group. There was also a gradual increase in GFR in the first group. GFR <80 was decreased from 20% to 5.1% in the first group while increased from 5% to 27.5% in the second group. Results of audiometric studies show 6.1% hearing problem in the first group and 12.8% in the second one. Conclusions: Results of the present study showed that nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity are minimized in single-dose administration compared to multiples doses.
FLUORESCENT STUDY OF THE SPONTANEOUS INSERTION OF CYTOCHROME B6F INTO LIPID BILAYERS

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of cytochrome b6f complex to be inserted spontaneously into artificial lipid membranes with different physical properties using fluorescent methods. Artificial membranes were constructed as fluorescent liposomes with controlled composition, electrical charge and size. Fluorescent membrane probes were 7-nitro-2-1, 3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl (NBD)-labeled phosphatidyl choline whose fluorophores were situated in different depths of the lipid bilayer. Electrical charges of the liposomes were modified by adding 5 mol% negatively or positively charged lipids during the liposome formation. The size of liposomes was fixed to 100 nm by extrusion through polycarbonate Track-Etch membranes. The process of insertion of cytochrome b6f complex into the lipid bilayers was measured and analyzed by fluorescence quenching caused by the collision of the protein groups with the fluorophores (NBD) into the membrane. Slight differences in the quenching Stern-Volmer constants were registered for the different depths in the bilayer. Spontaneous insertion of cytochrome b6f complex reached up to 9 % of their surrounding concentration in neutral and negatively charged liposomes. Positive electrical charges of the membranes inhibited significantly the incorporation. The spontaneous insertion of cytochrome b6f complex into the lipid bilayers was enhanced 5-fold by treatment of liposomes with low concentrations of the weak detergent n-dodecyl β-Dmaltoside (DOM) that was removed by Bio-Beads before application of the protein. These cytochrome b6f-enriched liposomes possessed observable reductase activity.
Effectiveness of an Upper Extremity Exercise Device Integrated With Computer Gaming for Aerobic Training in Adolescents With Spinal Cord Dysfunction

Abstract Background/Objective: To determine whether a new upper extremity exercise device integrated with a video game (GameCycle) requires sufficient metabolic demand and effort to induce an aerobic training effect and to explore the feasibility of using this system as an exercise modality in an exercise intervention. Design: Pre-post intervention. Setting: University-based research facility. Subject Population: A referred sample of 8 adolescent subjects with spina bifida (4 girls, 15.5 ± 0.6 years; 4 boys, 1 7.5 ± 0.9 years) was recruited to participate in the project. All subjects had some level of mobility impairment that did not allow them to participate in mainstream sports available to their nondisabled peers. Five subjects used a wheelchair full time, one used a wheelchair occasionally, but walked with forearm crutches, and 2 were fully ambulatory, but had impaired gait. Main Outcome Measures: Peak oxygen uptake, maximum work output, aerobic endurance, peak heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and user satisfaction. Results: Six of the 8 subjects were able to reach a Vo2 of at least 50% of their Vo2 reserve while using the GameCycle. Seven of the 8 subjects reached a heart rate of at least 50% of their heart rate reserve. One subject did not reach either 50% of Vo2 reserve or 50% of heart rate reserve. Seven of the 8 subjects increased their maximum work capability after training with the GameCycle at least 3 times per week for 16 weeks. Conclusions: The data suggest that the GameCycle seems to be adequate as an exercise device to improve oxygen uptake and maximum work capability in adolescents with lower extremity disability caused by spinal cord dysfunction. The subjects in this study reported that the video game component was enjoyable and provided a motivation to exercise.
Transient Protein Interactions between Cytochrome f and the Phytocyanin Umecyanin

Recent NMR studies of protein–protein interactions have demonstrated the existence of the “encounter complex”—a dynamic ensemble of nonspecific complexes formed during the early stages of intermolecular association. Under the guidance of short-range interactions, the encounter complex rearranges to produce a specific complex. A good paradigm for this model is provided by low-specificity interactions (transient complexes) involved in electron transfer (ET). The cupredoxins are a family of intermolecular ET proteins that have evolved features that ensure transient interactions. 5–8] The most important of these are a flat hydrophobic patch (the “redox-active face”) surrounding the exposed His ligand of the type 1 (T1) copper site and a collar or cluster of charged side chains (see Figure 1B and C). The importance of these surface patches is demonstrated by the complex (Figure 2A) formed by the plant photosynthetic partners plastocyanin (PC) and cytochrome f (cyt f ; Figure 1A). In the phytocyanins, a plant subclass of the cupredoxins, 6] both His ligands are solvent exposed; this suggests increased ET capabilities. Interestingly, the phytocyanin umecyanin (UMC, the stellacyanin from horseradish roots), has a “redox-active face” that is not hydrophobic. In fact, a comparison of the hydrophobic potential at the redox-active face to that of other cupredoxins reveals that UMC is the least hydrophobic, and the His ligands are neighboured by several charged amino acids (Figure 1C). UMC has a large acidic patch located in a position opposite to that of the acidic patch in plant PCs (Figure 1B and C). Although the physiological partners for UMC are not known, its unusual surface features make it an appealing candidate for intermolecular ET studies, and the presence of a large acidic patch points to a plant cyt f as a suitable partner (see Figures 1 and 2). Therefore, the kinetics of the reaction between UMC and turnip cyt f were investigated.
Can student health professionals accurately estimate alcohol content in commonly occurring drinks?

Objectives: Correct identification of alcohol as a contributor to, or comorbidity of, many psychiatric diseases requires health professionals to be competent and confident to take an accurate alcohol history. Being able to estimate (or calculate) the alcohol content in commonly consumed drinks is a prerequisite for quantifying levels of alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to assess this ability in medical and nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 891 medical and nursing students across different years of training was conducted. Students were asked the alcohol content of 10 different alcoholic drinks by seeing a slide of the drink (with picture, volume and percentage of alcohol by volume) for 30 s. Results: Overall, the mean number of correctly estimated drinks (out of the 10 tested) was 2.4, increasing to just over 3 if a 10% margin of error was used. Wine and premium strength beers were underestimated by over 50% of students. Those who drank alcohol themselves, or who were further on in their clinical training, did better on the task, but overall the levels remained low. Conclusions: Knowledge of, or the ability to work out, the alcohol content of commonly consumed drinks is poor, and further research is needed to understand the reasons for this and the impact this may have on the likelihood to undertake screening or initiate treatment.
Natural Language Interface to Database (NLIDB) for Decision Support Queries

Data access that is accurate, fast, and precise is a modern need for analysis or business decision making. NLIDB (Natural Language Interface to Database) is a system that allows users to access information from a database by entering requests that are stated in natural language. The NLIDB for Indonesian language that has been built has not been able to handle decision support data queries. The method of translating imperative sentences into SQL queries is done in two stages. The first stage is identifying the imperative sentence and parsing the sentence into a parsed tree that is assisted by the PC-PATR syntactic parser. The second stage is processing the parse tree into an SQL query. The parse tree is analyzed to look for parts of SQL, then do object searching for SQL parts to ontology. The objects found will be arranged into SQL queries. NLIDB application development is carried out to test the results of the translation of imperative sentences into SQL queries and see the application performance in translating imperative sentences into SQL queries. Application development is done with the Python programming language and MySQL database. The application that was built successfully translates imperative sentences into SQL queries for cross tab data, summary data, trend data, and top-N/bottom-N data. The application performance in carrying out the translation process is quite good, but it is necessary to improve performance for the ontology object searching process on the query generator component. Development that can be done for further research is the handling of sentence forms that have affixes and subquery handling.
A novel approach for monitoring genetically engineered microorganisms by using artificial, stable RNAs

Further improvements in technology for efficient monitoring of genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) in the environment are needed. Technology for monitoring rRNA is well established but has not generally been applicable to GEMs because of the lack of unique rRNA target sequences. In the work described herein, it is demonstrated that a deletion mutant of a plasmid-borne Vibrio proteolyticus 5S rRNA gene continues to accumulate to high levels in Escherichia coli although it is no longer incorporated into 70S ribosomes. This deletion construct was subsequently modified by mutagenesis to create a unique recognition site for the restriction endonuclease BstEII, into which new sequences could be readily inserted. Finally, a novel 17-nucleotide identifier sequence from Pennisetum purpureum was embedded into the construct to create an RNA identification cassette. The artificial identifier RNA, expressed from this cassette in vivo, accumulated in E. coli to levels comparable to those of wild-type 5S rRNA without being seriously detrimental to cell survival in laboratory experiments and without entering the ribosomes. These results demonstrate that artificial, stable RNAs containing sequence segments remarkably different from those present in any known rRNA can be designed and that neither the deleted sequence segment nor ribosome incorporation is essential for accumulation of an RNA product.
Some characteristics of oral and nasal air flow during plosive consonant production.

There are little available data concerning the oral and nasal air flow rates that occur in plosive consonants. Isshiki and Ringel (11) reported mean measures of combined oral and nasal air volume expended in the production of normal plosives while Van Hattum and Worth (18) described the total oral air volume used by normal speakers in selected plosive consonants. Subtelny and associates (17) reported peak oral flow rates for a single plosive, /p/'. Yanagihara and Hyde (24) describe the maximum nasal flow rate during production of bilabial plosives. These studies did not, however, report for a substantial number of normal-speaking subjects the peak oral and simultaneous nasal flow rates during plosives. Such data appear to be useful in understanding the aerodynamics of plosive production. The present investigation was concerned with the measurement of oral and nasal air flows that are associated with the utterance of plosive consonants by normal speakers. This study was undertaken not only because such information is basic to an understanding of normal speech, but also because it is relevant to an understanding of articulation disturbances that result from deficiencies in oral breath stream regulation. It was anticipated that data derived from normal speakers would pro— vide baseline information against which the performance of subjects with velar pathology might be compared. Method SUBJECTs. Young normal adults, twenty—five male and twenty-five female, were selected as subjects from among volunteers locally available. Persons selected as subjects had no abnormality of speech or voice quality, presented no history or current evidence of respiratory problems , and had essentially normal hearing in at least one car. All subjects were between twenty and thirty-six years of age.
Remarks on EOG and EMG gesture recognition in hands-free manipulation system

This paper investigates a nonverbal interface system using bio-potential signals, such as EOG and EMG, measured by a simple brain-computer interface and discusses its possibility of controlling application in a hands-free manipulation system. A simple gesture recognition algorithm from EOG and EMG signals is presented to estimate the user's intentions and/or thoughts. To evaluate the effectiveness of the interface system, experiments of controlling a walkthrough application in 3D virtual space are carried out and the usefulness of the interface system is confirmed. As a practical application example, controlling an active camera with the interface system is also demonstrated.
The effects of intermittent exposure to low-pH and low-oxygen conditions on survival and growth of juvenile red abalone

Exposure of nearshore animals to hypoxic, low-pH waters upwelled from below the continental shelf and advected near the coast may be stressful to marine organisms and lead to impaired physiological performance. We mimicked upwelling conditions in the laboratory and tested the effect of fluctuating exposure to water with low-pH and/or low-oxygen levels on the mortality and growth of juvenile red abalone ( Haliotis rufescens , shell length 5–10 mm). Mortality rates of juvenile abalone exposed to low-pH (7.5, total scale) and low-O 2 (40% saturation, mg L −1 ) conditions for periods of 3 to 6 h every 3–5 days over 2 weeks did not differ from those exposed to control conditions (O 2 : 100% saturation, 12 mg L −1 ; pH 8.0). However, when exposure was extended to 24 h, twice over a 15-day period, juveniles experienced 5–20% higher mortality in the low-oxygen treatments compared to control conditions. Growth rates were reduced significantly when juveniles were exposed to low-oxygen and low-pH treatments. Furthermore, individual variation of growth rate increased when juveniles were exposed simultaneously to low-pH and low-O 2 conditions. These results indicate that prolonged exposure to low-oxygen levels is detrimental for the survival of red abalone, whereas pH is a crucial factor for their growth. However, the high individual variation in growth rate under low levels of both pH and oxygen suggests that cryptic phenotypic plasticity may promote resistance to prolonged upwelling conditions by a portion of the population.
Invasion genetics of the Eurasian round goby in North America: tracing sources and spread patterns

The Eurasian round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Apollonia melanostoma) invaded the North American Great Lakes in 1990 through ballast water, spread rapidly, and now is widely distributed and moving through adjacent tributaries. We analyse its genetic diversity and divergence patterns among 25 North American (N = 744) and 22 Eurasian (N = 414) locations using mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene sequences and seven nuclear microsatellite loci in order to: (i) identify the invasion's founding source(s), (ii) test for founder effects, (iii) evaluate whether the invasive range is genetically heterogeneous, and (iv) determine whether fringe and central areas differ in genetic diversity. Tests include FST analogues, neighbour‐joining trees, haplotype networks, Bayesian assignment, Monmonier barrier analysis, and three‐dimensional factorial correspondence analysis. We recovered 13 cytochrome b haplotypes and 232 microsatellite alleles in North America and compared these to variation we previously described across Eurasia. Results show: (i) the southern Dnieper River population was the primary Eurasian donor source for the round goby's invasion of North America, likely supplemented by some alleles from the Dniester and Southern Bug rivers, (ii) the overall invasion has high genetic diversity and experienced no founder effect, (iii) there is significant genetic structuring across North America, and (iv) some expansion areas show reduced numbers of alleles, whereas others appear to reflect secondary colonization. Sampling sites in Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay and Lake Ontario significantly differ from all others, having unique alleles that apparently originated from separate introductions. Substantial genetic variation, multiple founding sources, large number of propagules, and population structure thus likely aided the goby's ecological success.
Ultraviolet light emitting diode intelligent control system

Ultraviolet light emitting diode (UVLED) is a new curing method that can be applied to the printing industry. It can save more than 80% energy compared with the traditional curing method. The traditional Proportion Integration Differentiation. (PID) control method is generally adopted for the control method of UVLED. However, compared with the actual production demand, the intelligent control method is becoming more and more popular. This paper designs the UVLED control system, which is mixed in series and parallel, and uses the single-pole active power factor correction (APFC) converter to design the online adjustment in the discontinuous mode. Flyback constant current drive power supply. Through comparison and analysis of different heat dissipation methods, the Light Emitting Diode (LED) chip adopts a flip-chip structure, and the outer surface is encapsulated by a hemispherical epoxy resin, and the maximum exiting light angle is 45 degrees, and a baffled parallel flow path is adopted. Finally, the control method is upgraded by particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the simulation results can reach the ideal control condition.
Role of mitochondria in ultraviolet‐induced oxidative stress

The biological effects of ultraviolet radiation (UV), such as DNA damage, mutagenesis, cellular aging, and carcinogenesis, are in part mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The major intracellular ROS intermediate is hydrogen peroxide, which is synthesized from superoxide anion (•O2−) and further metabolized into the highly reactive hydroxyl radical. In this study, we examined the involvement of mitochondria in the UV‐induced H2O2 accumulation in a keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Respiratory chain blockers (cyanide‐p‐trifluoromethoxy‐phenylhydrazone and oligomycin) and the complex II inhibitor (theonyltrifluoroacetone) prevented H2O2 accumulation after UV. Antimycin A that inhibits electron flow from mitochondrial complex III to complex IV increased the UV‐induced H2O2 synthesis. The same effect was seen after incubation with rotenone, which blocks electron flow from NADH‐reductase (complex I) to ubiquinone. UV irradiation did not affect mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm). These data indicate that UV‐induced ROS are produced at complex III via complex II (succinate‐Q‐reductase). J. Cell. Biochem. 80:216–222, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Developmental stage‐ and germ cell‐regulated expression of a calcium‐binding protein mRNA in mouse Sertoli cells

There is considerable evidence that germ cells, mainly spermatocytes and spermatids, contribute to the regulation of Sertoli cell activity. We developed an in vitro system to investigate the genes involved in Sertoli cell—germ cell interaction in the mouse by using the differential mRNA display technique. One of the isolated differentially expressed genes, named calgizzarin, belongs to the family of S100 calcium‐binding proteins and shows a decreased expression in Sertoli cell—germ cell cocultures compared to cultured Sertoli cells alone. Calgizzarin is expressed in all adult tissues examined, including testis and ovary; however, a high mRNA level for calgizzarin in mouse testis is maintained until day 15 of postnatal development and then declines dramatically, whereas the expression pattern in the ovary remains constantly high. Furthermore, Northern blot studies on testicular RNA from different mouse mutants with defects in spermatogenesis revealed that high levels of calgizzarin transcripts can only be detected in testes of mouse mutants with either no germ cells or primary spermatocytes, but only weak signals for calgizzarin are observed in testes of mutants containing spermatids. In addition, using both RT‐PCR analysis and whole‐mount in situ hybridization on dissected gonads it was demonstrated that mouse calgizzarin expres‐sion starts at 13.5 dpc in the prenatal male gonad and at 16.5 dpc in the embryonic ovary, respectively. The mouse calgizzarin gene was localized on mouse chromosome 5, region E–F. Taken together, our results indicate that calgizzarin expression could be repressed by factors originated from pachytene spermatocytes and/or spermatids. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 54:232–243, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.