Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Progress in Advanced Glycation End Products and Diabetic Complications

It has been generally believed that proteins with halflives of greater than a few weeks are most susceptible to advanced glycosylation and that the highest levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) occur on proteins that comprise the long-lived structural components of connective tissue matrix and basement membrane.Of particular interest, however, has been the recent observation that AGEs can also occur on short-lived proteins, on lipid constituents, and on nucleic acids. This is most apparent under conditions of high AGE accumulation, such as diabetes and renal failure, and results from the fact that AGE formation proceeds through a succession of reactive intermediates that can bind indiscriminantly to amino groups present on diverse "bystander" proteins. Reactive intermediates can also be released from naturally degraded tissue AGE only to bind again on other substances, if not cleared via the kidney, forming "second-generation" AGEs (Fig. 1). Cell-surface receptors that are specific for the recognition and degradation of AGE-modified proteins have been identified on circulating monocytes and lymphocytes, endothelial and renal mesangial cells, and other cellular systems that partake in both normal tissue remodeling and tissue damage. In this synoptic review, selected studies are highlighted that indicated that AGEs alter the structural and functional properties of proteins and contribute to many of the pathophysiological changes that accompany long-standing diabetes. The structural elucidation of specific AGEs remains a problem at large, stemming from their heterogeneity and tendency to be unstable during isolation. A few such adducts have been structurally identified thus far by a variety of direct or indirect criteria, including 2(2-furoyl)-4(5)-(2-furanyi)-lHimidazole (FFI), alkl-formyl-diglysoxylpyrrole (AFGP), pyrraline, carboxy-methylysine (CML), and pentosidine (1-6). Of note, two epimers of a new lysine-lysine cross-linking structure incorporating two moles of carbohydrate, named cross lines A and B, were isolated from in vitro incubations but not as yet from in vivo sources (7). Sensitive and specific immunochemical methods have in the meantime supported the in vivo existence of structurally related compounds, although the precise structural features of dominant "native" AGEs remain elusive. An important fea-
Conuclear images of substructural logics

Our work proposes to study the conuclear image of a substructural logic and in particular to investigate the relationship between a substructural logic and its conuclear image. We analyze some axioms familiar to substructural logics and we check if they: (a) are preserved under conuclear images, (b) never hold in a conuclear image, or (c) are compatible with conuclear images but are not necessarily preserved under conuclear images. Moreover, we prove that the conuclear image of any substructural logic has the disjunction property. We finally give a sufficient condition in order that an inequality is preserved under conuclear images and observe that if we slightly relax this condition, we meet counterexamples of inequalities that are not preserved under conuclear images.
The use of DNA microarrays to investigate the pharmacogenomics of drug response in living systems.

With the advent of DNA microarray analysis, it is now possible to examine the response of virtually the entire human genome to cellular drug exposure and to uncover a wide variety of genes correlating with the establishment of drug resistance. This relatively new field of "pharmacogenomics" is likely to vastly increase our understanding of the mechanisms of drug action and how cells respond and adapt to drug exposure. However, DNA microarray studies typically result in the identification of hundreds of genes that may or may not be of relevance in vivo-particularly when large, genetically diverse study populations are used. The challenge to the researcher is to design experimental systems and approaches which minimize variability in the data, increase the reproducibility amongst experiments, allow array data from multiple experiments to be assessed by a variety of statistical, supervised learning, and data clustering approaches, and provide a clear link between drug response and the expression of specific genes. This review provides a description and critical analysis of recent studies on the pharmacogenomics of drug response and discusses current guidelines and approaches for the performance and analysis of DNA microarray experiments in this area.
Continuous-scale physical functional performance test: validity, reliability, and sensitivity of data for the short version.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Continuous-Scale Physical Functional Performance Test (CS-PFP) can be used to obtain valid, reliable, and sensitive measurements of physical functional capacity. This test requires a fixed laboratory space and approximately 1 hour to administer. This study was carried out in 4 steps, or substudies, to develop and validate a short, community-based version (PFP-10) that requires less space and equipment than the CS-PFP. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Retrospective data (n=228) and prospective data (n=91) on men and women performing the CS-PFP or the PFP-10 are reported. A 12-week exercise program was used to examine sensitivity to change. Data analyses were done using paired t-test, Pearson correlation, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and delta index (DI) procedures. RESULTS The PFP-10 total score and 4 of the 5 domain scores were statistically similar (within 3%) to those of the CS-PFP. The PFP-10 upper-body strength domain score was 17% lower, but was highly correlated (ICC=.97). Community and established laboratory PFP-10 scores were similar (ICC=.85-.97). The PFP-10 also is sensitive to change (DI=.21-.54). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The PFP-10 yields valid, reliable, and sensitive measurements and can be confidently substituted for the CS-PFP.
Consumer impressions of Tender Select beef.

With the recent development of technology to classify beef for tenderness, it is now possible for packers and retailers to market brands of beef known to be consistently tender. The present experiment was conducted to determine consumer impressions of Tender Select, a model beef brand comprised of cuts from tender U.S. Select carcasses. A telephone survey was conducted in metropolitan Denver, CO, to recruit consumers (n = 1,036) for this study. Consumers who met minimal limits for household income, age, and beef consumption were invited to participate in a beef shopping and usage study in a local supermarket. Point-of-purchase material was developed that described Tender Select as "the only steak guaranteed tender and lean. " When shown a copy of the Tender Select concept card, 89% of participating consumers (n = 759) indicated that they would definitely or probably buy that product. Of those consumers that said they would buy the product, 35% indicated that their purchases of Tender Select would be in addition to their current fresh meat purchases. Most consumers (54.1%) indicated that if Tender Select was available at their grocery store, 1 or 2 of their next 10 purchases of beef cuts would be Tender Select. Sixty-five percent of consumers indicated that if a grocery store carried a line of beef cuts guaranteed to be tender, they would buy all of their beef at that store. Both strip loins from 104 U.S. Select beef carcasses, representing a broad range (8.7 to 43.4 kg; CV = 42%) in slice shear force (SSF) at 14 d postmortem, were used to determine the effect of SSF classification on consumer satisfaction and the correlation among trained sensory panel descriptive attribute ratings and in-home consumer ratings of beef longissimus steaks. Both trained sensory panelists and consumers rated low-SSF steaks higher than the high-SSF steaks for all traits (P < 0.001). All consumer traits (like, tenderness, juiciness, flavor like, flavor amount, and overall satisfaction) were more highly correlated with SSF and trained sensory panel tenderness ratings than with sensory panel flavor or juiciness ratings. These data show that tenderness is the primary determinant of satisfaction among consumers of U.S. Select top loin steaks and that a segment of consumers would pay a premium to purchase guaranteed-tender U.S. Select steaks.
Comparative Analysis, Security Aspects & Optimization of Workload in Gfs Based Map Reduce Framework in Cloud System

This paper discusses a propose cloud infrastructure that combines On-Demand allocation of resources with improved utilization, opportunistic provisioning of cycles from idle cloud nodes to other processes It provides fault tolerance while running on inexpensive commodity hardware, and it delivers high aggregate performance to a large number of clients.Because for cloud computing to avail all the demanded services to the cloud consumers is very difficult. It is a major issue to meet cloud consumer's requirements. Hence On-Demand cloud infrastructure using map reduce configuration with improved CPU utilization and storage utilization is proposed using Google File System by using Map-Reduce. Hence all cloud nodes which remains idle are all in use and also improvement in security challenges and achieves load balancing and fast processing of large data in less amount of time. Here we compare the FTP and GFS for file uploading and file downloading; and enhance the CPU utilization and storage utilization and fault tolerance,. Cloud computing moves the application software and databases to the large data centres, where the management of the data and services may not be fully trustworthy. Therefore this security problem is solve by encrypting the data using encryption/decryption algorithm and Map-Reducing algorithm which solve the problem of utilization of all idle cloud nodes for larger data.
Integrins in Slow‐Cycling Corneal Epithelial Cells at the Limbus in the Mouse

Adult corneal epithelial stem cells (CESCs) have been shown to reside at the periphery of the cornea at a site called the corneoscleral junction or limbus. Although studies have shown that these cells are slow cycling, their molecular characteristics are not well understood. Using a whole‐mount procedure, we show that whereas α9‐integrin is present in a subset of the basal cells at the corneal limbus and absent in the central cornea, β1‐, β4‐, α3‐, and α6‐integrins are more highly expressed overall in central corneal basal cells. To characterize CESCs based on their slow‐cycling nature, we simultaneously evaluated 5‐bromo‐2‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) label‐retaining cells (LRCs) and integrin expression (α9, β1, and β4) in a total of 1,889 cells at the limbus of adult mice that had been injected as neonates with BrdU. Whereas the LRCs were usually observed adjacent to α9‐integrin‐positive cells, most LRCs were α9‐integrin–negative and expressed high levels of β1‐ and β4‐integrin. In addition, we observed more BrdU‐positive LRCs at the superior and inferior quadrants of adult mouse corneas than at the nasal and temporal quadrants, and determined that 0.94 to 3.6% of the limbal basal cells were slow cycling. We conclude from these data that the slow‐cycling LRCs in the adult mouse cornea are enriched in cells that express high levels of β1‐ and β4‐integrin and little α9‐integrin.
Simulation Model of Knowledge Complexity in New Knowledge Transfer Performance

Given the importance of knowledge transfer in individual performances, we assess the effect of knowledge flows complexity on knowledge transfer performance in a simulation model. In this regard this paper seeks to contribute to knowledge literature by proposing a new knowledge complexity framework, in which we explore the structural (diversity of knowledge type and depth of knowledge) and dynamic (loss of knowledge, knowledge creation pace) dimensions of knowledge flow complexity. Using an exploratory simulation study we propose the four aspects of knowledge flow complexity and test its effects on learners’ occupation and learning system queues. As a research-in-process, our preliminary results support that knowledge creation pace with both dependent variables (busy time proportion of the learner and queue length of knowledge processing) is the strongest among all the relationships in sensitivity analysis comparison. The least change exists in the relationship from the percentage of knowledge loss to the dependent variables.
Huntingtin Spheroids and Protofibrils as Precursors in Polyglutamine Fibrilization*

The pathology of Huntington's disease is characterized by neuronal degeneration and inclusions containing N-terminal fragments of mutant huntingtin (htt). To study htt aggregation, we examined purified htt fragments in vitro, finding globular and protofibrillar intermediates participating in the genesis of mature fibrils. These intermediates were high in β-structure. Furthermore, Congo Red, a dye that stains amyloid fibrils, prevented the assembly of mutant htt into mature fibrils, but not the formation of protofibrils. Other proteins capable of forming ordered aggregates, such as amyloid β and α-synuclein, form similar intermediates, suggesting that the mechanisms of mutant htt aggregation and possibly htt toxicity may overlap with other neurodegenerative disorders.
Characterization of transgenic mice—a comparison of protocols for welfare evaluation and phenotype characterization of mice with a suggestion on a future certificate of instruction

A thorough welfare evaluation performed as part of a general phenotype characterization for both transgenic and traditional mouse strains could not only contribute to the improvement of the welfare of laboratory animals, but could also be of benefit to scientists, laboratory veterinarians and the inspecting authorities. A literature review has been performed to identify and critically evaluate already existing protocols for phenotype and welfare characterization. There are several relevant schemes available, among others the SHIRPA method, the modified score sheet of Morton and Griffiths, the FRIMORFO phenotype characterization scheme and the behavioural phenotype schemes as described by Crawley. These protocols have been evaluated according to four goals: Their ability (1) to reveal any special needs or problems with a transgenic strain, (2) to cover the informational needs of the purchaser/user of the strain, (3) to refine the welfare of the transgenic animal model by identifying relevant humane endpoints, (4) to prevent the duplication of animal models that have already been developed. The protocols described are useful for characterizing the phenotype and judging welfare disturbances, however the total amount of information and the degree of detail varies considerably from one scheme to another. We present a proposal regarding the practical application of the various schemes that will secure proper treatment and the identification of humane endpoints. It is advocated that with every purchase of a particular strain, an instruction document should accompany the strain. This document needs to give detailed descriptions of the typical characteristics of the strain, as well as necessary actions concerning relevant treatment and humane endpoints. At the moment no such documents are required. The introduction of these types of documents will contribute to improvements in animal welfare as well as experimental results in laboratory animal experimentation.
Differences in the capacity of reovirus strains to induce apoptosis are determined by the viral attachment protein sigma 1

Reoviruses are important models for studies of viral pathogenesis; however, the mechanisms by which these viruses produce cytopathic effects in infected cells have not been defined. In this report, we show that murine L929 (L) cells infected with prototype reovirus strains type 1 Lang (TIL) and type 3 Dearing (T3D) undergo apoptosis and that T3D induces apoptosis to a substantially greater extent than T1L. Using T1L x T3D reassortant viruses, we found that differences in the capacity of T1L and T3D to induce apoptosis are determined by the viral S1 gene segment, which encodes the viral attachment protein sigma 1 and the non-virion-associated protein sigma 1s. Apoptosis was induced by UV-inactivated, replication-incompetent reovirus virions, which do not contain sigma 1s and do not mediate its synthesis in infected cells. Additionally, T3D-induced apoptosis was inhibited by anti-reovirus monoclonal antibodies that inhibit T3D cell attachment and disassembly. These results indicate that sigma 1, rather than sigma 1s, is required for induction of apoptosis by the reovirus and suggest that interaction of virions with cell surface receptors is an essential step in this mechanism of cell killing.
Effect of Crew Size on Objective Measures of Resuscitation for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Abstract Background. There is no consensus among emergency medical services (EMS) systems as to the optimal numbers and training of EMS providers who respond to the scene of prehospital cardiac arrests. Increased numbers of providers may improve the performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but this has not been studied as part of a comprehensive resuscitation scenario. Objective. To compare different all-paramedic crew size configurations on objective measures of patient resuscitation using a high-fidelity human simulator. Methods. We compared two-, three-, and four-person all-paramedic crew configurations in the effectiveness and timeliness of performing basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS) skills during the first 8 minutes of a simulated cardiac arrest scenario. Crews were compared to determine differences in no-flow fraction (NFF) as a measure of effectiveness of CPR and time to defibrillation, endotracheal intubation, establishment of intravenous access, and medication administration. Results. There was no significant difference in mean NFF among the two-, three-, and four-provider crew configurations (0.32, 0.26, and 0.27, respectively; p == 0.105). More three- and four-person groups completed ALS procedures during the scenario, but there was no significant difference in time to performance of BLS or ALS procedures among the crew size configurations for completed procedures. There was a trend toward lower time to intubation with increasing group size, though this was not significant using a Bonferroni-corrected p-value of 0.01 (379, 316, and 263 seconds, respectively; p == 0.018). Conclusion. This study found no significant difference in effectiveness of CPR or in time to performance of BLS or ALS procedures among crew size configurations, though there was a trend toward decreased time to intubation with increased crew size. Effectiveness of CPR may be hindered by distractions related to the performance of ALS procedures with increasing group size, particularly with an all-paramedic provider model. We suggest a renewed emphasis on the provision of effective CPR by designated providers independent of any ALS interventions being performed.
Schizophrenia susceptibility gene locus at Xp22.3

Multiple genetic loci have been implicated in the search for schizophrenia susceptibility genes, none having been proven as causal. Genetic heterogeneity is probable in the polygenic etiology of schizophrenia. We report on two unrelated Caucasian women with paranoid schizophrenia (meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) criteria) who have an Xp22.3 overlapping deletion characterized by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Patient 1 was previously reported by us (Wyandt HE, Bugeau‐Michaud L, Skare JC, Milunsky A. Partial duplication of Xp: a case report and review of previously reported cases. Amer J Med Genet 1991: 40: 280–283) to have a de novo partial duplication of Xp. At that time, she was a 24‐year‐old woman with short stature, irregular menses, other abnormalities suggestive of Turner syndrome, and paranoid schizophrenia. Recently, FISH analysis demonstrated that she has an inverted duplication (X)(p22.1p11.2) and a microscopic deletion (X)(p22.2p22.3) between DXS1233 and DXS7108 spanning approximately 16–18 cM. Patient 2 is a 14‐year‐old girl with short stature, learning disabilities, and paranoid schizophrenia. High‐resolution chromosome analysis revealed a de novo deletion involving Xp22. FISH analysis showed that the deletion (X)(p22.2p22.3) spanned 10–12 cM between AFMB290XG5 and DXS1060. Given that deletions of Xp22 are not common events, the occurrence of two unrelated schizophrenia patients with an overlapping deletion of this region would be extraordinarily rare. Hence, the deletion within Xp22.3 almost certainly contains a gene involved in the pathogenesis of paranoid schizophrenia.
Three-Year Observational Follow-up of a Multicenter, Randomized Trial on Tacrolimus-Based Therapy with Withdrawal of Steroids or Mycophenolate Mofetil after Renal Transplant

Background. The challenge in renal transplantation is to improve long-term patient and graft survival without increasing early acute rejection by minimizing immunosuppression. Methods. This multicenter, observational study investigated the effects of withdrawal of steroids or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) from a tacrolimus-based triple regimen (tac/MMF/steroids) 3 months posttransplant at 3 years; no additional interventions or assessments were undertaken. Adult patients, included in the intent-to-treat population of the THOMAS study, participated. Patient and graft survival, adverse events, rejection episodes, and immunosuppressive and concomitant medications were assessed. Results. Data at Year 3 was available for 718 patients (triple therapy, n=237; steroid stop, n=235; MMF stop, n=246). The original randomized regimen was maintained in 45.6% of patients in the triple, 62.6% in the steroid stop, and 53.9% in the MMF stop groups. Graft survival rates were 88.1% (triple), 86.4% (steroid stop), and 85.8% (MMF stop); patient survival was 96.1%, 95.9%, and 95.7%, respectively. The incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection was similar in all groups between Month 7 and Year 3: 1.2% (triple), 2.0% (steroid stop) and 2.0% (MMF stop). Patients in the steroid stop group had less hypertension and significantly lower mean total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol at Year 3 compared with Month 3 (P=0.02). Median serum creatinine levels remained stable throughout the follow-up and were comparable between groups. Conclusion. Immunosuppression minimization initiated at Month 3 was maintained at Year 3 in over half of the patients. Steroid withdrawal was advantageous in reducing the cardiovascular risk factors hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Renal function was stable in all groups.
The Research on Comprehensive Evaluation Model of Recycling Economy Development Based on Resource Value Accounting

As a new developing economy in the 21st century, there have always been concerns about the scientific evaluation of a recycling economy. Based on the principle of material flow analysis and resource value accounting models in enterprise(s), through defining and tracking the value information of resource inputs, consumption, output and disposal in the production process, this paper builds a new evaluation index system of a recycling economy from the total process of resource flow (input, consumption and recycling, output). Compared with traditional evaluation index systems (e.g. the evaluation index system of cleaner production in China), this indicator system better displays the basic characteristics of value information in an enterprise. , not only the physical information of resource flow, but also the 3R principle of recycling economy directly. Thus, it can provide a more effective method for the comprehensive evaluation of a recycling economy in different enterprises.