Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adiponectin Suppression of High-Glucose–Induced Reactive Oxygen Species in Vascular Endothelial Cells

Adiponectin is an abundant adipocyte-derived plasma protein with antiatherosclerotic effects. Vascular signal transduction by adiponectin is poorly understood and may involve 5′-AMP–activated protein kinase (AMPK), cAMP signaling, and other pathways. Hyperglycemia sharply increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which play a key role in endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. Because the recombinant globular domain of human adiponectin (gAd) reduces the generation of endothelial ROS induced by oxidized LDL, we sought to determine whether adiponectin could also suppress ROS production induced by high glucose in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Incubation in 25 mmol/l glucose for 16 h increased ROS production 3.8-fold (P < 0.05), using a luminol assay. Treatment with gAd for 16 h suppressed glucose-induced ROS in a dose-dependent manner up to 81% at 300 nmol/l (P < 0.05). The AMPK activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR; 1 mmol/l, 16 h) only partially decreased glucose-induced ROS by 22% (P < 0.05). Cell pretreatment with AMPK inhibitors, however, failed to block the effect of gAd to suppress glucose-induced ROS, suggesting that the action of gAd was independent of AMPK. Interestingly, activation of cAMP signaling by treatment with forskolin (2 μmol/l) or dibutyryl-cAMP (0.5 mmol/l) reduced glucose-induced ROS generation by 43 and 67%, respectively (both P < 0.05). Incubation with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) inhibitor H-89 (1 μmol/l) fully abrogated the effect of gAd, but not that of AICAR, on ROS induced by glucose. gAd also increased cellular cAMP content by 70% in an AMPK-independent manner. Full-length adiponectin purified from a eukaryotic expression system also suppressed ROS induced by high glucose or by treatment of endothelial cells with oxidized LDL. Thus, adiponectin suppresses excess ROS production under high-glucose conditions via a cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway, an effect that has implications for vascular protection in diabetes.
Cultural Currency and Spare Capacity in Cultural Dynamics: toward Resolving the Have-Is Debate

SPIRIT is an interdisciplinary doctoral school for the systematic study of themes and theoretical issues related to the intertwining of political, transnational and intercultural processes in the contemporary world. It is dedicated to examining - from the combined vantagepoint of both the human and the social sciences - cultural, political and communica tive issues on a spectrum ranging from the local dimension over the national and the regional to the processes of globalisation that increasingly impinge on the organisation of life and the structure and dynamics of the world. The thematic issues range from questions of European identity and integration; over transnational processes of migration, subcultures and international marketing; to transatlantic problems or nationalism and religion in Eastern Europe or the USA. What ties them together within the framework of SPIRIT is the school's distinctive features: Analysing themes in the context of the meanings and implications of internationality, and taking cultural/communicative as well as politi cal/sociological aspects into account. Considerable emphasis is placed on Europe - its history, politics, social anthropology, place in the world, relations to global issues, and trajectories for the future. On this background research is conducted within four thematic areas: Abstract This article elaborates upon Hans Gullestrup's (1992) developed by Kuada and Gullestrup (1997), in order to enable a more detailed theontic=l explanation of empirical research findings. In so doing, jundamental distinctions are made between different levels of cultural aggregation, and it is shown how the elements oj czdtur=1 currency, focus, desire and spare capacity play central roles in cultural learning and can serIPe as keys to unlocking the 'have--is ' debate found especially within organizational culture literature.
Pharmacotherapy of Alzheimer's disease: is there a need to redefine treatment success?

The traditional aim of Alzheimer's disease treatment in clinical trials has been to improve cognitive abilities. It has become increasingly clear, however, that other aspects are important in assessing treatment responses. A group of 10 physicians recently gathered to review the current criteria for assessing treatment success in Alzheimer's disease. While cognition has been previously viewed as the primary measure of efficacy, areas such as functional abilities, behaviour, caregiver burden, quality of life and resource utilization all need to be comprehensively assessed to fully evaluate treatment effects in patients with Alzheimer's disease, as well as their impacts on caregivers and society. Postponing or slowing decline in any of these areas may represent an important benefit and should be considered as an outcome measure in clinical trials, clinical practice and decision‐making about healthcare budgets. Accepted instruments are available for assessing outcomes in each aspect of Alzheimer's disease, but they need to be selected carefully to provide valid, meaningful data. Some of the most frequently used outcome measures in Alzheimer's disease are reviewed. Using expanded criteria for treatment success and clinically relevant outcome measures, data from currently available studies show that cholinesterase inhibitors produce clinically meaningful long‐term benefits in multiple domains in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Orbital Atherectomy as an Adjunct to Debulk Difficult Calcified Lesions Prior to Mesenteric Artery Stenting

Purpose To describe a technique in which percutaneous orbital atherectomy is used to debulk heavily calcified superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occlusions as an adjunct in patients undergoing angioplasty and stenting. Technique The technique is demonstrated in a 62-year-old woman with a replaced right hepatic artery originating from an SMA occluded by densely calcified lesions. Via a left transbrachial approach, a 7-F MPA guide catheter was used to engage the ostium of the SMA, which was crossed using a catheter and guidewire. The calcified lesion was debulked using the 2-mm Diamondback 360° orbital atherectomy system. The wire was exchanged for a 0.014-inch filter wire and 0.018-inch guidewire. Using a 2-guidewire technique, the SMA was stented with a self-expanding stent for the distal lesion that crossed side branches and a balloon-expandable stent at the ostium. A 0.014-inch guidewire was placed into the replaced hepatic artery through a cell of the self-expanding stent, followed by deployment of a small balloon-expandable stent to address the residual lesion. Conclusion The use of orbital atherectomy to debulk occluded and heavily calcified SMA lesions may optimize the technical results with angioplasty and stenting.
Nursing Leadership And Management Theories Processes And Practice

Thank you very much for downloading nursing leadership and management theories processes and practice. As you may know, people have look hundreds times for their favorite novels like this nursing leadership and management theories processes and practice, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some infectious virus inside their desktop computer.
An examination of suicidal intent in patients with multiple sclerosis

Objective To examine neurologic and psychiatric correlates of suicidal intent in a community sample of 140 patients with MS. Methods Patients with (28.6%) and without lifetime suicidal intent were compared across MS disease–related and psychiatric variables. All subjects were interviewed with 1) the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis 1 disorders (SCID-IV) to determine lifetime prevalence of major depression and anxiety disorders; and 2) the Social Stress and Support Interview to assess psychological stressors. Suicidal intent was documented with questions from the SCID-IV and Beck Suicide Scale. Patients also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and cognitive testing. ResultsSuicidal patients were significantly more likely to live alone, have a family history of mental illness, report more social stress, and have lifetime diagnoses of major depression, anxiety disorder, comorbid depression–anxiety disorder, and alcohol abuse disorder. By logistic regression analysis, the severity of major depression, alcohol abuse, and living alone had an 85% predictive accuracy for suicidal intent. A third of suicidal patients had not received psychological help. Two-thirds of subjects with current major depression, all suicidal, had not received antidepressant medication. Conclusions Suicidal intent, a potential harbinger for suicide, is common in MS and is strongly associated with major depression, alcohol abuse, and social isolation. Suicidal intent is a potentially treatable cause of morbidity and mortality in MS.
Association of a vitamin D receptor polymorphism with sporadic breast cancer development

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Australian women and its incidence is annually increasing. Genetic factors are involved in the complex etiology of breast cancer. The seco‐steroid hormone, 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3 can influence breast cancer cell growth in vitro. A number of studies have reported correlations between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and several diseases including prostate cancer and osteoporosis. In breast cancer, low vitamin D levels in serum are correlated with disease progression and bone metastases, a situation also noted in prostate cancer and suggesting the involvement of the VDR. In our study, 2 restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) in the 3′ region (detected by Apa1 and Taq1) and an initiation codon variant in the 5′ end of the VDR gene (detected by Fok1) were tested for association with breast cancer risk in 135 females with sporadic breast cancer and 110 cancer‐free female controls. Allele frequencies of the 3′ ApaI polymorphism showed a significant association (p = 0.016; OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.09–2.24) while the TaqI RFLP showed a similar trend (p = 0.053; OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.00–2.00). Allele frequencies of the FokI polymorphism were not significantly different (p = 0.97; OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.69–1.43) in the study population. Our results suggest that specific alleles of the VDR gene located near the 3′ region may identify an increased risk for breast cancer and justify further investigation of the role of VDR in breast cancer. Int. J. Cancer 83:723–726, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Why is the Developed World Obese?

Obesity has risen dramatically in the past few decades. However, the relative contribution of energy intake and energy expenditure to rising obesity is not known. Moreover, the extent to which social and economic factors tip the energy balance is not well understood. This exploratory study estimates the relative contribution of increased caloric intake and reduced physical activity to obesity in developed countries using two methods of energy accounting. Results show that rising obesity is primarily the result of consuming more calories. We estimate multivariate regression models and use simulation analysis to explore technological and sociodemographic determinants of this dietary excess. Results indicate that the increase in caloric intake is associated with technological innovations as well as changing sociodemographic factors. This review offers useful insights to future research concerned with the etiology of obesity and suggests that obesity-related policies should focus on encouraging lower caloric intake.
Marital Status, Marital Quality, and Atherosclerotic Burden in Postmenopausal Women

Summary Marriage confers health benefits for men, but the evidence for women is less consistent. Inconsistent findings may be attributed, in part, to the confounding of marital status and marital quality. Objectives The authors examined whether women in satisfying marriages evidence lesser atherosclerosis relative to women in low-satisfying marriages and relative to unmarried women. Materials and Methods Three hundred ninety-three women from the Healthy Women Study participated in this study. Marital status and quality were assessed at baseline when women were premenopausal. Cardiovascular risk factors were also assessed at baseline to determine potential mediators. Markers of atherosclerotic burden—B-Mode ultrasound measures of intima-media thickness and plaque in the carotid arteries and electron beam computed tomography assessments of calcification in the aorta and coronary arteries—were performed, on average, 11 years and 14 years later, respectively. A subset of women underwent a second ultrasound scan approximately 3 years after their first scan. Results Women in satisfying marriages had the least atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries and aorta, especially relative to those in low-satisfying marriages. Women in satisfying marriages also tended to show less rapid progression of carotid atherosclerosis relative to women in low-satisfying marriages. Women who did not have a partner had intermediate levels of atherosclerosis. Risk factors measured at baseline contributed to the differences between the satisfied and low-satisfied groups, but not those between the satisfied and unmarried groups. Conclusions High-quality marriages may protect against cardiovascular disease for women. Studies concerning marriage and cardiovascular health in women should, therefore, concurrently examine marital quality and marital status.
Nuclear Expression of Phosphorylated EGFR Is Associated with Poor Prognosis of Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objectives: Although it has been reported that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is able to translocate from the plasma membrane to the nucleus, the pathophysiological role of this translocation in tumorigenicity is still unclear. In the present study, to elucidate the pathophysiological significance of EGFR translocation, we investigated the expression not only of conventional EGFR but also its phosphorylated form (pEGFR), focusing on its cellular localization in esophageal cancer tissues. Methods: Fifty-two specimens of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) obtained by surgery were examined immunohistochemically for their EGFR and pEGFR immunostaining patterns. The relationships between clinicopathological parameters and EGFR or pEGFR immunostaining patterns were then analyzed. Results: In 37 (71.2%) of the 52 esophageal SCCs, EGFR immunoreactivity was clearly localized at the plasma membrane of the cancer cells, whereas pEGFR immunoreactivity was clearly localized in the nucleus in 19 (36.5%) cases. Nuclear expression of pEGFR significantly correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis, and moreover was associated with a poor outcome of esophageal SCC. Conclusions: Nuclear translocalization of pEGFR is associated with an increase in the malignant potential of esophageal SCC and may affect prognosis in patients with esophageal SCC.
Classifying depression: should paradigms lost be regained?

OBJECTIVE Classification of the depressive disorders has long been controversial. The dominant current model is unitarian, with disorders largely distinguished on the basis of severity. Both the unitarian and the contrasting binarian views (of two principal types) have proved to be unsatisfactory. The binarian model's procrustean requirements are too inflexible to address the evident heterogeneity contributed to by clinical manifestations and underlying personality features. METHOD This article briefly reviews the historically favored unitarian and binarian viewpoints on classification of depression. RESULTS The author argues that the "final common pathway" model, articulated in the early 1970s, helped to cement psychiatric classification in subsequent DSM and ICD revisions into a unitarian framework, leading to a relatively sterile period of depression research. Clinically described depressive typologies were obscured rather than refined by appropriate modeling paradigms. A contrasting, empirically based hierarchical model, driven by disorder-specific clinical manifestations such as psychotic features and observable psychomotor disturbance, is proposed as a paradigm for distinguishing psychotic, melancholic, and nonmelancholic classes of depression, while a spectrum model is favored for distinguishing the principal nonmelancholic subclasses. CONCLUSIONS Resolution of the better paradigm requires that the two models undergo comparative testing in applied studies, particularly ones pursuing neurobiological determinants and differential responses to antidepressant treatments.
Coronary Artery Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Patient-Tailored Approach

Coronary artery magnetic resonance imaging strategies have tended to focus on the use of a single method performed during either breath-holding or free-breathing for all patients. However, significant variations exist among patients in terms of breath-holding ability and respiratory regularity that make the use of a single technique alone not universally successful. Therefore, it is prudent to make available a number of magnetic resonance imaging methods such that an appropriate respiratory motion reduction strategy can be tailored to suit the patient's respiratory pattern and characteristics. A tailored approach that can draw on different image acquisition techniques for coronary artery imaging is presented. A decision tree is proposed to triage patients into imaging regimes with the greatest probability of success, according to the patient's ability to breath-hold or exhibit steady respiration. Methods include volume free-breathing acquisitions using navigator echoes for respiratory monitoring in the 8-to 10-min scan time range, two-dimensional spiral navigators (2-to 3-min scan time), breath-held multislice and vessel-tracking spirals (16-to 20-second scan time), and real-time imaging approaches incorporating adaptive signal averaging. The development of multiple acquisition strategies substantially improves the opportunities to generate high-quality, diagnostic images of the coronary arteries.
Stage Specific Expression of ATP-Binding Cassette and Solute Carrier Superfamily of Transporter Genes in Mammary Gland of Riverine Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

In the present study, expression level of various ATP-binding cassette (ABC) viz., ABCA1, ABCA7, ABCG1, ABCG2, and ABCG5; associated transcription factors viz., SREBF1, LXRα (NR1H3), PPARA, and Solute Carriers (SLC); or Glucose transporters (GLUT) viz., SLC2A1(GLUT1), SLC2A4 (GLUT4), SLC2A8 (GLUT8), and SLC2A12 (GLUT12) superfamily of transporters were compared across physiological stages of buffalo mammary gland. The relative expression of ABCA1, and ABCG1 was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in mammary gland of heifer followed by involution and lactation stages. Similarly, ABCA7 gene expression was highest in heifer mammary gland followed by lactation and involution stages. ABCG2 gene expression was significantly (p < 0.05) high in lactating mammary gland in comparison to involution and heifer stages. On the other hand, ABCG5 gene expression was highest in involuting mammary gland followed by lactation and involution stages. Additionally, the expression of LXRα SREBF1, and PPARA which are known to regulate some of the ABC tranporters were also analyzed. The expression of LXRα gene was high in involuting as compared to lactating mammary gland. In contrast, SREBF1 and PPARA expression was significantly (p < 0.05) high in lactating mammary gland. Among the several SLC transporters studied, SLC2A1, SLC2A4, and SLC2A8 showed significant (p < 0.05) higher expression during lactation stage, whereas SLC2A12 expression was greater during heifer stage suggesting SLC2A1, SLC2A4, and SLC2A8 to be the major transporters associated with glucose uptake in buffalo mammary gland. The expression profile of (lactoferrin) LTF, known to be expressed at high level in mammary gland during involution was also studied. As expected, its expression was significantly (p < 0.05) higher during involution in comparison to lactating mammary gland.in buffaloes as well. The inclusion of LTF as a control gene further provided the confidence in the buffalo mammary gland expression data generated in the present study. This study thus helped to provide information about the distinct expression pattern of various transporters and their regulators in buffalo mammary gland during different physiological states.
Effect of the Major Repeat Sequence on Chromosome Loss in Candida albicans

ABSTRACT The major repeat sequence (MRS) is found at least once on all but one chromosome in Candida albicans, but as yet it has no known relation to the phenotype. The MRS affects karyotypic variation by serving as a hot spot for chromosome translocation and by expanding and contracting internal repeats, thereby changing chromosome length. Thus, MRSs on different chromosomes and those on chromosome homologues can differ in size. We proposed that the MRS's unique repeat structure and, more specifically, the size of the MRS could also affect karyotypic variation by altering the frequency of mitotic nondisjunction. Subsequent analysis shows that both natural and artificially induced differences in the size of the chromosome 5 MRS can affect chromosome segregation. Strains with chromosome 5 homologues that differ in the size of the naturally occurring MRSs show a preferential loss of the homologue with the larger MRS on sorbose, indicating that a larger MRS leads to a higher risk of mitotic nondisjunction for that homologue. While deletion of an MRS has no deleterious effect on the deletion chromosome under normal growth conditions and leads to no obvious phenotype, strains that have the MRS deleted from one chromosome 5 homologue preferentially lose the homologue with the MRS remaining. This effect on chromosome segregation is the first demonstration of a phenotype associated with the MRS.
Physiology and Pathophysiology of Sleep Apnea Sleep loss : a novel risk factor for insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes

Spiegel, Karine, Kristen Knutson, Rachel Leproult, Esra Tasali, and Eve Van Cauter. Sleep loss: a novel risk factor for insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. J Appl Physiol 99: 2008–2019, 2005; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00660. 2005. —Chronic sleep loss as a consequence of voluntary bedtime restriction is an endemic condition in modern society. Although sleep exerts marked modulatory effects on glucose metabolism, and molecular mechanisms for the interaction between sleeping and feeding have been documented, the potential impact of recurrent sleep curtailment on the risk for diabetes and obesity has only recently been investigated. In laboratory studies of healthy young adults submitted to recurrent partial sleep restriction, marked alterations in glucose metabolism including decreased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity have been demonstrated. The neuroendocrine regulation of appetite was also affected as the levels of the anorexigenic hormone leptin were decreased, whereas the levels of the orexigenic factor ghrelin were increased. Importantly, these neuroendocrine abnormalities were correlated with increased hunger and appetite, which may lead to overeating and weight gain. Consistent with these laboratory findings, a growing body of epidemiological evidence supports an association between short sleep duration and the risk for obesity and diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may also be the consequence of pathological conditions such as sleep-disordered breathing. In this increasingly prevalent syndrome, a feedforward cascade of negative events generated by sleep loss, sleep fragmentation, and hypoxia are likely to exacerbate the severity of metabolic disturbances. In conclusion, chronic sleep loss, behavioral or sleep disorder related, may represent a novel risk factor for weight gain, insulin resistance, and Type 2 diabetes.