Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prolactin and Growth Hormone Synthesis: Effects of Perphenazine, α-Methyltyrosine and Estrogen in Different Thyroid States 1

Summary The effects of thyroid hormones on prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) synthesis by the rat anterior pituitary gland were assessed in vitro. A marked reduction (84–87%) in the rate of H3-leucine incorporation into GH was evident 2–4 weeks after thyroidectomy, while incorporation into PRL was 52–71% less than that measured in glands from intact rats. A single injection of T4 (200 μg/kg) administered to thyroidectomized (THX) rats 48 hr before sacrifice significantly increased incorporation into both pituitary hormones, although the stimulation of GH synthesis was much more dramatic. Perphenazine, α-methyltyrosine and estrogen enhanced the rate of PRL synthesis in intact rats. Thyroid ablation did not affect the response to perphenazine, but significantly increased the response to α-methyltyrosine and estrogen. On the other hand, administration of T4 to THX rats receiving perphenazine, α-methyltyrosine or estrogen diminished the stimulatory influence of these treatments on PRL synthesis. Perphenazine, α-methyltyrosine and estrogen had no effect on the rate of GH synthesis in THX rats, nor did they alter the ability of T4 to restore GH synthesis in these animals. These results indicate that GH synthesis in the rat is dependent upon thyroid hormones and support the concept that these hormones exert their stimulatory effect directly on pituitary somatotrophs. Pituitary lactotrophs, however, appear to retain much of their capacity to synthesize PRL under conditions of thyroid deficiency. The changes in pituitary PRL levels and synthesis rate induced by thyroid ablation might reflect differences in the number rather than the activity of these cells. We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Mr. Ronald C. Pace.
Dynamic Triggering Mechanisms for Event-Triggered Control

In this technical note, we present a new class of event triggering mechanisms for event-triggered control systems. This class is characterized by the introduction of an internal dynamic variable, which motivates the proposed name of dynamic event triggering mechanism. The stability of the resulting closed-loop system is proved and the influence of design parameters on the decay rate of the Lyapunov function is discussed. For linear systems, we establish a lower bound on the inter-execution time as a function of the parameters. The influence of these parameters on a quadratic integral performance index is also studied. Some simulation results are provided for illustration of the theoretical claims.
Retinoic acid and limb regeneration

Summary A key problem in the study of vertebrate development is to determine the molecular basis of positional value along a developmental axis. In amphibian regeneration, retinoic acid is able to respecify positional value in a graded fashion that is dependent on its concentration. In view of the fact that retinoic acid is a naturally occurring metabolite of vitamin A, this raises the possibility that it is deployed in vivo as an endogenous morphogen. Furthermore, the recent evidence that its effects are mediated by nuclear receptors of the steroid/thyroid hormone superfamily suggests the possibility of understanding the mechanism of its graded effects on morphogenesis. Such insights would be of crucial importance for our understanding of vertebrate patterning along an axis.
Is the Alliance Really Therapeutic? Revisiting This Question in Light of Recent Methodological Advances

The therapeutic value of alliance is a contested supposition. Although many theorists and researchers believe that alliance is therapeutic in itself, others see it as a byproduct of effective treatment or as a common nonspecific factor enabling the truly effective ingredients of treatment to work. For many years, the debate was confined mainly to the domain of theory, and no studies were available to confirm which of these approaches is correct. The only empirical evidence that existed was studies showing a correlation between alliance and outcome, and advocates of the above conflicting opinions used the same correlation to prove the validity of their position. Over the last few years, however, a revolution has taken place in alliance research, which brings this theoretical debate into the realm of the empirical. Several recent alliance studies have applied advanced methodologies to achieve this aim. Based on an integration of these studies, the present article proposes a new model for understanding the potential therapeutic role of alliance as sufficient to induce change by itself. The model stresses the importance of differentiating between patients’ general tendencies to form satisfying relationships with others, which affect also the relationship with the therapist (“trait-like” component of alliance), and the process of the development of changes in such tendencies through interaction with the therapist (“state-like” component of alliance). The former enables treatment to be effective; the latter makes alliance therapeutic. Based on the literature, this article attempts to determine which of these components is the predictor of treatment outcome.
Human Hypertension Caused by Mutations in WNK Kinases

Hypertension is a major public health problem of largely unknown cause. Here, we identify two genes causing pseudohypoaldosteronism type II, a Mendelian trait featuring hypertension, increased renal salt reabsorption, and impaired K+ and H+ excretion. Both genes encode members of the WNK family of serine-threonine kinases. Disease-causing mutations in WNK1 are large intronic deletions that increase WNK1 expression. The mutations in WNK4 are missense, which cluster in a short, highly conserved segment of the encoded protein. Both proteins localize to the distal nephron, a kidney segment involved in salt, K+, and pH homeostasis. WNK1 is cytoplasmic, whereas WNK4 localizes to tight junctions. The WNK kinases and their associated signaling pathway(s) may offer new targets for the development of antihypertensive drugs.
EFFECTS OF RAPAMYCIN IN EXPERIMENTAL ORGAN ALLOGRAFTING

The immunosuppressive effect of rapamycin (RAPA), a macrolide antibiotic produced by Streptomyces hygroscopicus, was tested using allografts in the rat and dog. It was immunosuppressive at a dose of 3.0 mg/kg/day for 8 days in skin allografts and 0.1 mg/kg/day for 11 days using cardiac allografts in the rat. It prevented rejection of renal allografts in beagle dogs at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg; however, emaciation and gastrointestinal toxicity resulted in some deaths in dogs. Mucosal necrosis and vasculitis in the submucosal layer were the predominant findings at autopsy in dogs receiving RAPA. Serum amylase values rose soon after commencement of RAPA treatment. Combined drug treatment with CsA at a nonimmunosuppressive dose of 3.2 mg/kg in the rat or 2.5 mg/kg in the dog was synergistic, with a low dose of 0.1 mg/kg/week RAPA. Combined therapy of CsA and RAPA also inhibited the frequency of vasculitis and emaciation in dogs. The present data suggest that RAPA is immunosuppressive in organ allografting and that the combination of CsA and RAPA would be effective clinically.
Knee Injuries in Women Collegiate Rugby Players

We evaluated the prevalence and patterns of knee injuries in 810 women collegiate rugby players. Injuries that resulted in players missing at least one game were recorded and a questionnaire was used to delineate players' rugby and knee injury history. There were 76 total knee injuries in 58,296 exposures. This resulted in a 1.3 knee injury rate per 1000 exposures. Twenty-one anterior cruciate ligament tears were reported for a 0.36 incidence per 1000 exposures. Other injuries in cluded meniscal tears (25), medial collateral ligament sprains (23), patellar dislocations (5), and posterior cruciate ligament tears (2). Sixty-one percent of the medial collateral ligament sprains occurred in rugby forwards and 67% of anterior cruciate ligament tears occurred in rugby backs. All other injuries occurred with equal frequency in backs and forwards. This study demonstrates that knee injury rates in women's colle giate rugby are similar to those reported for other wom en's collegiate sports. The overall rate of anterior cru ciate ligament injury in women's rugby, however, is slightly higher than that reported for women soccer and basketball players.
Correlates of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections in a prison inmate population: Results from a multicentre study in Italy

A cross‐sectional study was undertaken on the correlates of infection for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis viruses B and C (HBV and HCV) in a sample of inmates from eight Italian prisons. A total of 973 inmates were enrolled [87.0% males, median age of 36 years, 30.4% intravenous drug users (IDUs), 0.6% men who have sex with men (MSWM)]. In this sample, high seroprevalence rates were found (HIV: 7.5%; HCV: 38.0%; anti‐HBc: 52.7%; HBsAg: 6.7%). HIV and HCV seropositivity were associated strongly with intravenous drug use (OR: 5.9 for HIV; 10.5 for HCV); after excluding IDUs and male homosexuals, the HIV prevalence remained nonetheless relatively high (2.6%). HIV prevalence was higher for persons from Northern Italy and Sardinia. The age effect was U‐shaped for HIV and HCV infections; HBV prevalence increased with age. Tattoos were associated with HCV positivity (OR: 2.9). The number of imprisonments was associated with HIV infection, whereas the duration of imprisonment was only associated with anti‐HBc. The probability of being HIV‐seropositive was higher for HCV‐seropositive individuals, especially if IDUs. In conclusion, a high prevalence of HIV, HCV, and HBV infections among inmates was observed: these high rates are in part attributable to the high proportion of IDUs. Frequency of imprisonment and tattoos were associated, respectively, with HIV and HCV positivity. Although it is possible that the study population is not representative of Italy's prison inmate population, the results stress the need to improve infection control measures users was prisons. J. Med. Virol. 76:311–317, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Temperature rises in the round window caused by various light sources during insertion of rigid endoscopes: an experimental animal study

The instruments used in endoscopic surgery include rigid endoscopes of different diameters and angles, sources of light and monitors. In this study, we explored temperature rises in the round window caused by insertion of rigid endoscopes of different diameters into the middle ear; the endoscopes were fitted with different light sources.
Modeling of User Response to Time-of-Use Price Based on Multi-Agent Technology

It is favorable to improve reliability and economy of power system to reasonable draft the policy of time-of-use(TOU). Based on multi-agent technology,a block diagram of multi-agent system(MAS) is proposed,and the learning process of multi-agents for power supply branch,consumers and government department as well as the interaction among them are expounded.Combining with elastic matrices of electricity price and quantity of electricity,the features of power consumption and response of different consumers as well as the interaction within the multi-agent of consumers are taken into account.Simulation process can dynamically reveal the regulation within the multi-agent of power supply,the response behavior within the multi-agent of consumers and the out-of-limit load and the behavioral Intervention from the multi-agent of government department.Simulation results show that adopting the proposed TOU pricing strategy a better peak load shifting effect can be achieved;economic benefit of both sides and the power consumption habit of users can be simultaneously considered;the information sharing among power supply branch,consumers and government department can be implemented.
Interaction of hydrophobic and amphipathic antimicrobial peptides with lipid bicelles

Bicelles are model membrane systems that can be macroscopically oriented in a magnetic field at physiological temperature. The macroscopic orientation of bicelles allows to detect, by means of magnetic resonance spectroscopies, small changes in the order of the bilayer caused by solutes interacting with the membrane. These changes would be hardly detectable in isotropic systems such as vesicles or micelles. The aim of this work is to show that bicelles represent a convenient tool to investigate the behavior of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) interacting with membranes, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. We performed the EPR experiments on spin‐labeled bicelles using various AMPs of different length, charge, and amphipathicity: alamethicin, trichogin GA IV, magainin 2, HP(2–20), and HPA3. We evaluated the changes in the order parameter of the spin‐labeled lipids as a function of the peptide‐to‐lipid ratio. We show that bicelles labeled at position 5 of the lipid chains are very sensitive to the perturbation induced by the AMPs even at low peptide concentrations. Our study indicates that peptides that are known to disrupt the membrane by different mechanisms (i.e., alamethicin vs magainin 2) show very distinct trends of the order parameter as a function of peptide concentration. Therefore, spin‐labeled bicelles proved to be a good system to evaluate the membrane disruption mechanism of new AMPs. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Targeted gene disruption of dynein heavy chain 7 of Tetrahymena thermophila results in altered ciliary waveform and reduced swim speed

Tetrahymena thermophila swims by the coordinated beating of hundreds of cilia that cover its body. It has been proposed that the outer arm dyneins of the ciliary axoneme control beat frequency, whereas the inner arm dyneins control waveform. To test the role of one of these inner arms, dynein heavy chain 7 protein (Dyh7p), a knockout mutant was generated by targeted biolistic transformation of the vegetative macronucleus. Disruption of DYH7, the gene which encodes Dyh7p, was confirmed by PCR examination of both genomic and cDNA templates. Both intact and detergent extracted, reactivated cell model preparations of these mutants, which we call DYH7neo3, displayed swim speeds that were almost half that of wild-type cells. Although the DYH7neo3 mutants were slower than wild type, they were able to modulate their swim speed and show ciliary reversal in response to depolarizing stimuli. High-speed video microscopy of intact, free-swimming DYH7neo3 mutants revealed an irregular pattern of ciliary beat and waveform. The mutant cilia appeared to be engaging in less coordinated, swiveling movements in which the typical shape, periodicity and coordination seen in wild-type cilia were absent or disturbed. We propose that the axonemal inner arm dynein heavy chain 7 proteins contribute to the formation of normal ciliary waveform, which in turn governs the forward swimming velocity of these cells.
Clinical Significance of Angiogenic Factor Expression at the Deepest Invasive Site of Advanced Colorectal Carcinoma

Tumor angiogenesis is a complicated process for which the mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical significance of several angiogenic factor expression as a predictor of the invasive/metastatic potential and of the prognosis of advanced colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in relation to their intratumoral histologic heterogeneity. One hundred fifty two patients who had undergone surgical resection for advanced CRC entered this study. PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C were examined immunohistochemically with antibodies 1C6-203, A-20, and C-20, respectively. Tumor microvessel density (MVD) was determined immunohistochemically with anti-CD34 antibody. Expression of PD-ECGF, of VEGF, and of VEGF-C at the deepest invasive site were detected in 77 (50.7%), 62 (30.8%), and 71 (46.7%) of the 152 lesions, respectively. PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C expression at the deepest invasive site in lesions with liver metastasis (77, 67, and 70%) was significantly higher than that in those without liver metastasis (44, 34, and 41%). In cases with curative surgery, patients with PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C expression at the deepest invasive site had a significantly poorer prognosis than those without PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C expression at the deepest invasive site. PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C expression at the deepest invasive site correlated significantly with MVD. Multivariate analysis with logistic regression for 5-year survival in patients with curative surgery showed that lymph node metastasis and VEGF expression were significant risk factors. Expression of PD-ECGF, VEGF, and VEGF-C was correlated significantly with metastatic potential and prognosis in relation to MVD. Of the several angiogenic factors, VEGF expression at the deepest invasive site of tumor was the most statistically significant indicator of prognosis in advanced CRC.
Why Is It Difficult for the Coastal Industries to Transfer to the Central and Western Regions:An Analysis Based on Regional Salary Differences as Revealed in Recruitment Ads

It is generally believed that coastal industries,especially labor-intensive industries may transfer to the central and western areas on a large scale,because labor costs in these regions are relatively lower than coastal regions.However,this situation does not appear.This paper analyzes the regional wage distribution and its impact on the coastal industrial transfer using network recruitment wages data for the first time.The results are as follows:firstly,the wages of male,skilled,highly educated and coastal areas are significantly higher than the benchmark group;secondly,although wages of the central and western regions are relatively lower,the regional wages gap is small,and wages in the central and western areas grow faster than in the coastal areas,so the wages gap between regions tend to decrease.The empirical results also show that the differences of labor cost can not be an important advantage of the central and western regions in attracting coastal industries transferring,and large-scale industries transfer driven by regional labor cost gaps is difficult to achieve now.
Emergency department crowding: a point in time.

STUDY OBJECTIVE This is a pilot study designed to assess the feasibility of a point prevalence study to assess the degree of crowding in hospital emergency departments (EDs). In addition, we sought to measure the degree of physical crowding and personnel shortage in our sample. METHODS A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 250 EDs chosen from a database compiled by the American College of Emergency Physicians of 5,064 EDs in the United States. In addition to demographic information, respondents were asked to count the patients and staff in their EDs at 7 PM local time on Monday, March 12, 2001 (index time). RESULTS The response rate was 36%. At the index time, there was an average of 1.1 patients per treatment space, and 52% of EDs reported more than 1 patient per treatment space. There was also evidence of personnel shortage, with a mean of 4.2 patients per registered nurse and 49% of EDs having each registered nurse caring for more than 4 patients. There was a mean of 9.7 patients per physician. Sixty-eight percent of EDs had each physician caring for more than 6 patients. There was crowding present in all geographic areas and all hospital types (teaching-nonteaching status of the hospital). Consistent with the crowded conditions, 11% of institutions were on ambulance diversion and not accepting new acute patients. Delays in transfer of admitted patients out of the ED contributed to the physical crowding. Twenty-two percent of patients in the ED were already admitted and were awaiting transfer to an inpatient bed; 73% of EDs were boarding 2 or more inpatients. The amount of crowding quantified by this point prevalence study was confirmed by the amount of crowding reported for the previous week: 48% of EDs were boarding inpatients during the previous week for a mean of 8.9 hours, 4.2 days per week; 31% had been on diversion; 59% had been routinely using their halls for patients; 38% had been doubling their rooms; and 47% had been using nonclinical space for patient care. CONCLUSION Our low response rate limits this pilot study. Nonetheless, this study, as well as others, demonstrates that EDs throughout the United States are severely crowded. Such crowding raises concerns about the ability of EDs to respond to mass casualty or volume surges.
The relationship between social networking sites and adolescents social involvement: participation in offline activities and the role of social support

English Former studies have found that excessive internet use can lead to social isolation, however more recent studies have found that social networking sites can in fact be beneficial as they can enhance social development. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between social networking sites and adolescents ́ participation in offline activities, and how perceived peer support can effect that relationship. It was hypothesized that adolescents that spend more time using social networking sites participate more in offline activities, and that perceived peer support has an additive effect on that relationship. The present study used data from the 2013 Youth in Iceland survey, conducted by the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis (ISCRA) and the sample included 2070 adolescents in the age range from 16 to 20 years. Results were examined using multiple regression. Findings indicated that with more time spent using social networking sites, participation in offline activities increased and peer support had an additive effect on offline activity.
Characterization of the tre Locus and Analysis of Trehalose Cryoprotection in Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM

ABSTRACT Freezing and lyophilization are common methods used for preservation and storage of microorganisms during the production of concentrated starter cultures destined for industrial fermentations or product formulations. The compatible solute trehalose has been widely reported to protect bacterial, yeast and animal cells against a variety of environmental stresses, particularly freezing and dehydration. Analysis of the Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM genome revealed a putative trehalose utilization locus consisting of a transcriptional regulator, treR; a trehalose phosphoenolpyruvate transferase system (PTS) transporter, treB; and a trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase, treC. The objective of this study was to characterize the tre locus in L. acidophilus and determine whether or not intracellular uptake of trehalose contributes to cryoprotection. Cells subjected to repeated freezing and thawing cycles were monitored for survival in the presence of various concentrations of trehalose. At 20% trehalose a 2-log increase in survival was observed. The trehalose PTS transporter and trehalose hydrolase were disrupted by targeted plasmid insertions. The resulting mutants were unable to grow on trehalose, indicating that both trehalose transport into the cell via a PTS and hydrolysis via a trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase were necessary for trehalose fermentation. Trehalose uptake was found to be significantly reduced in the transporter mutant but unaffected in the hydrolase mutant. Additionally, the cryoprotective effect of trehalose was reduced in these mutants, suggesting that intracellular transport and hydrolysis contribute significantly to cryoprotection.