Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of factor VIII-related antigen in human aqueous drainage channels.

PURPOSE Previous studies have indicated that there are preformed channels at the inner aspect of the anterior sclera, capable of draining fluid from the suprachoroidal space into scleral veins. The aim of this study was to characterize the cellular lining of these channels, and to compare it with the endothelium of Schlemm's canal, the collector channels and the scleral blood vessels. METHODS Histological sections from the angular region of human eyes were prepared by an immunoperoxidase method to evaluate the expression of factor VIII-related antigen in different aqueous drainage channels. RESULTS The cellular lining of the scleral channels showed a weak immunostaining to factor VIII-related antigen. Factor VIII-related antigen was also detected in the endothelium of the collector channels and Schlemm's canal. CONCLUSION The positive immunoreaction to factor VIII-related antigen indicates that the previously described scleral channels, the collector channels and Schlemm's canal are all lined by an endothelium derived from a vascular origin.
0 61 10 38 v 1 9 N ov 2 00 6 Oscillation patterns in negative feedback loops

Organisms are equipped with regulatory systems that display a variety of dynamical behaviours ranging from simple stable steady states, to switching and multistability, to oscillations. Earlier work has shown that oscillations in protein concentrations or gene expression levels are related to the presence of at least one negative feedback loop in the regulatory network. Here we study the dynamics of a very general class of negative feedback loops. Our main result is that in these systems the sequence of maxima and minima of the concentrations is uniquely determined by the topology of the loop and the activating/repressing nature of the interaction between pairs of variables. This allows us to devise an algorithm to reconstruct the topology of oscillating negative feedback loops from their time series; this method applies even when some variables are missing from the data set, or if the time series shows transients, like damped oscillations. We illustrate the relevance and the limits of validity of our method with three examples: p53-Mdm2 oscillations, circadian gene expression in cyanobacteria, and cyclic binding of cofactors at the estrogensensitive pS2 promoter.
The psychobiology of reinforcers.

INTRODUCT ION . 443 ENHANCING FUNCTION . 444 Memory Consolidation . 446 Post/raining Electrical Stimulation of the Brain . 448 Posttraining Administration of Drugs and Endogenous Substances. 450 Summary. 454 CONDITIONED MOTIVATION. 454 Self-Stimulation Experiments. 455 Conventional Rewards . 457 Amygdala . 458 Striatum . 460 Summary. 462 CONCLUSION . 462
A Bayesian Goodness of Fit Test and Semiparametric Generalization of Logistic Regression with Measurement Data

Logistic regression is a popular tool for risk analysis in medical and population health science. With continuous response data, it is common to create a dichotomous outcome for logistic regression analysis by specifying a threshold for positivity. Fitting a linear regression to the nondichotomized response variable assuming a logistic sampling model for the data has been empirically shown to yield more efficient estimates of odds ratios than ordinary logistic regression of the dichotomized endpoint. We illustrate that risk inference is not robust to departures from the parametric logistic distribution. Moreover, the model assumption of proportional odds is generally not satisfied when the condition of a logistic distribution for the data is violated, leading to biased inference from a parametric logistic analysis. We develop novel Bayesian semiparametric methodology for testing goodness of fit of parametric logistic regression with continuous measurement data. The testing procedures hold for any cutoff threshold and our approach simultaneously provides the ability to perform semiparametric risk estimation. Bayes factors are calculated using the Savage–Dickey ratio for testing the null hypothesis of logistic regression versus a semiparametric generalization. We propose a fully Bayesian and a computationally efficient empirical Bayesian approach to testing, and we present methods for semiparametric estimation of risks, relative risks, and odds ratios when parametric logistic regression fails. Theoretical results establish the consistency of the empirical Bayes test. Results from simulated data show that the proposed approach provides accurate inference irrespective of whether parametric assumptions hold or not. Evaluation of risk factors for obesity shows that different inferences are derived from an analysis of a real data set when deviations from a logistic distribution are permissible in a flexible semiparametric framework.
Tax Competition for FDI in Central-European Countries

Most governments of the Central and East European countries adopted in 1990s tax measures for a support of foreign direct investments. Such measures usually include 10-year tax holidays and exemption from import duties. They are mostly accompanied by grants for building an infrastructure and creation of new jobs. As our data indicate and the statistical test has proved, the incentives are effective in attracting new FDI to the countries. However there are some indicators that a tax competition between the CEE countries exists.
Antibiotic Dosing in Critically Ill Patients Receiving CRRT: Underdosing is Overprevalent

Published CRRT drug dosing algorithms and other dosing guidelines appear to result in underdosed antibiotics, leading to failure to attain pharmacodynamic targets. High mortality rates persist with inadequate antibiotic therapy as the most important risk factor for death. Reasons for unintended antibiotic underdosing in patients receiving CRRT are many. Underdosing may result from lack of the recognition that better hepatic function in AKI patients yields higher nonrenal antibiotic clearance compared to ESRD patients. Other factors include the variability in body size and fluid composition of patients, the serious consequence of delayed achievement of antibiotic pharmacodynamic targets in septic patients, potential subtherapeutic antibiotic concentrations at the infection site, and the influence of RRT intensity on antibiotic concentrations. Too often, clinicians weigh the benefits of overcautious antibiotic dosing to avoid antibiotic toxicity too heavily against the benefits of rapid attainment of therapeutic antibiotic concentrations in critically ill patients receiving CRRT. We urge clinicians to prescribe antibiotics aggressively for these vulnerable patients.
Aetiological factors of Chronic Kidney Disease in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka: A review of evidence to-date

Introduction Chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology is a major health care problem in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. During the last decade several researches were undertaken to identify the prevalence and aetiology of the disease. Fifteen manuscripts published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and two peer reviewed abstracts of were included in the review. Results The disease mainly affects males from poor socio-economic backgrounds who are involved in paddy farming . Mild proteinuria was present but urinary sediments were normal. Renal biopsies were reported as interstitial nephritis. Significant predictors of kidney disease in these patients included age, history of smoking, being under treatment for hypertension and drinking well water in the fields. Studies on heavy metal and ochratoxin exposure have revealed conflicting results. Fluoride content of well water in all these areas exceeded the WHO recommended level of 0.6 mg/L. Water in all areas was alkaline which could facilitate mobilization of fluoride from minerals indicating a fluoride mediated mechanism for renal damage. Conclusion The aetiology of CKDu in NCP of Sri Lanka is probably multi-factorial involving one or more environmental factors and a possible genetic predisposition in vulnerable populations. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.4038/jccpsl.v17i1. 4931 Journal of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka Vol.17(2) June 2012 15-20
Structural Basis for Membrane Anchorage of Viral ϕ29 DNA during Replication*

Prokaryotic DNA replication is compartmentalized at the cellular membrane. Functional and biochemical studies showed that the Bacillus subtilis phage ϕ29-encoded membrane protein p16.7 is directly involved in the organization of membrane-associated viral DNA replication. The structure of the functional domain of p16.7 in complex with DNA, presented here, reveals the multimerization mode of the protein and provides insights in the organization of the phage genome at the membrane of the infected cell.
High-Power High-Reliability High-Q Switched RF MEMS Capacitors

This paper presents an RF MEMS switched-capacitor suitable for tunable filters and reconfigurable matching networks. The switched-capacitor results in a capacitance ratio of 1.5-2 depending on the design, and a very high-Q (> 225) at X to Ku-band frequencies. The switched-capacitor has been tested at 1 W of RF power at 8 GHz for > 11 billion cycles under hot-switched conditions and a uni-polar actuation voltage of 0-50 V, with virtually no change in the C-V curve. The measured switching and release time is 8 mus. The main reason for this reliability performance is the absence of all dielectric layers in the RF MEMS capacitor
Basic and Reactive Dyes Sorption Enhancement of Rice Hull through Chemical Modification

Problem statement: Many studies have been conducted on the removal of either anionic or cationic dyes. However, as a mixture of dyes does commonly exist together in wastewater, therefore it is of great interest to have a material that can remove both types of dyes. Approach: To prepare an inexpensive and efficient sorbent by chemically modifying rice hull for the removal of both basic and reactive dyes. Different chemical modifications were performed on rice hull and a comparison study on the uptake of dyes was carried out. Optimization study was carried out on most promising modified rice hull. Surface morphology of modified rice hull was examined and the functional groups present were determined using FTIR. Results: From the results, it appeared that by using EDA modified rice hull, an appreciable amount of both dyes could be sorbed. Varying the EDA/NRH ratios and heating temperatures affected the uptake of BB3 and RO16. The investigated sorbents were non-porous materials, due to the absence of pores and cavities. Sorption-desorption study showed that a complete recovery of BB3 can be obtained using high concentrations of H2SO4 and HCl but the desorption experiments of RO16 using NH3 and NaOH were not successful. Conclusion: The modification of rice hull with EDA under the optimum conditions (in a ratio of 1.00 g of NRH to 0.02 mole of EDA in a well stirred water bath at 80°C for 2 h) resulted in the formation of a sorbent (MRH) that could be used successfully to remove Both Basic (BB3) and Reactive dyes (RO16).
Ethics and living donation in renal transplantation

Nevertheless, the transplant community is dealing with organ scarcity in cadaveric transplantation, and potential receptors in Portugal spend an average of 5 years on the waiting list before receiving a kidney6. The following numbers illustrate this: in Portugal, in 2016, more than 7000 patients were on the waiting list for renal transplantation; only 513 patients were transplanted, 65 of whom received a kidney from a living donor7.
Text Messaging as Adjunct to Community-Based Weight Management Program

Increasing obesity rates are still a public health priority. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tailored text messages on body weight change in overweight and obese adults in a community-based weight management program. A secondary aim was to detect behavioral changes in the same population. The study design was quasi-experimental with pretest and posttest analysis, conducted over 12 weeks. A total of 28 participants were included in the analysis. Body weight, eating behaviors, exercise and nutrition self-efficacy, attitude toward mobile technology, social support, and physical activity were assessed at baseline and at 12 weeks. Text messages were sent biweekly to the intervention but not to the control group. At 12 weeks, the intervention group had lost significant weight as compared with the control group. There was a trend toward an improvement in eating behaviors, exercise, and nutrition self-efficacy in the intervention group, with no significant difference between groups. A total of 79% of participants stated that text messages helped in adopting healthy behaviors. Tailored text messages appear to enhance weight loss in a weight management program at a community setting. Large-scale and long-term intervention studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Les langues créoles

es générations d'étudiants en linguistique ont ri en apprenant I'histoire de Psammétik (voir La diversification linguistique, par Colin Renfrew, page 43). Partant du principe qu'une telle expérience, qui consisterait à isoler de trèsjeunes enfants, ne peut et ne doit jamais être réalisée, de nombreux linguistes considèrent qu'on ne peut produire ainsi des résultats utiles: ces enfants ne parlerontjamais. En fait, I'idée qu'on puisse recueillir ainsi un vocabulaire est par trop optimiste, et le résultat habituel de I'isolation linguistique, ainsi qu'on a pu le constater dans quelques cas d'enfants soumis à des sévices importants, est I'absence de langage. Pourtant, c'est bien une version modifiée de cette même expérience qu'ont vécue, à maintes reprises au cours des 500 dernières années, les enfants des esclaves et des travailleurs transplantés de force par les pouvoirs coloniaux européens. Transportés par bateaux de nombreuses régions du monde jusqu'en Afrique, en Orient, dans la zone de I'océan Indien, aux Caraibes et à Hawaii, ces travailleurs ne pouvaient communiquer au sein de leur communauté polyglotte qu'au moyen de langues rudimentaires appelées pidgins, à la syntaxe et au vocabulaire appauvris. Leurs enfants, nés dans la communauté coloniale, ne disposaient que de ces langues pour communiquer. et c'est donc à partir de celles-ci que se sont développées, au cours des générations suivantes, des langues nouvelles, appelées créoles. La grande vaiété des langues créoles laisse supposer, à première vue, qu'il serait vain de chercher une langue originelle unique. Pourtant, au cours de nombreuses années de recherches, les spécialistes ont remarqué une similarité de structure parmi ces langues. En s'appuyant sur I'origine du créole d'Hawaii, on montre que cette similarité n'est pas explicable par des contacts avec d'autres langues indigènes ou importées. Cette découverte indique que ce qui est commun aux langues créoles pourrait constituer la base de I'acquisition du langage par tous les enfants: un enfant né dans une communauté d'adultes ayant une certaine compétence linguistique parle, entre deux et quatre ans, un langage dont la structure est très proche de celle des langues créoles. Ainsi, par un bizane retour des choses, ce sont peut-être les traces linguistiques du colonialisme qui nous fournissent les clés indispensables à l'étude de notre propre héritage linguistique.
A mechanistic insight into 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“ecstasy”)-mediated hepatotoxicity

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) is a popular drug of abuse among young people with stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. The drug is generally thought to be safe among consumers due to its low-mortality rates. However, MDMA-adverse effects can occur and the risks are not clearly associated to a specific pattern since the consumption quantity seems not to be correlated with the initiation and severity of the injury. MDMA-mediated adverse health effects have been widely studied and can be evoked by multiple factors such as hyperthermia, polydrug abuse (drug–drug interactions), the altered release of neurotransmitters, impairment of mitochondrial function and apoptosis, metabolism and immune responses. Another adverse effect often associated with MDMA is liver toxicity, yet the mechanism of MDMA-induced liver toxicity is not completely understood. A critical starting point appears to be the hepatic metabolism of MDMA by phase I and II enzymes, leading to reactive metabolites. Elucidating the mechanism of hepatic injury mediated by MDMA is of high toxicological and clinical relevance. In this review, an overview of the literature and the latest findings with respect to the mechanism of MDMA-mediated liver toxicity is described.
Structure and bacterial receptor activity of a human salivary proline-rich glycoprotein.

Using an overlay technique, we previously showed that the Gram-negative periodontal pathogen Fusobacterium nucleatum binds to a glycoprotein of Mr 89,000 (Prakobphol, A., Murray, P., and Fischer, S.J. (1987) Anal. Biochem. 164, 5-11) in the parotid saliva of some individuals. We now show that deglycosylation of the purified glycoprotein results in loss of receptor activity. Amino acid analysis of the protein core showed predominantly proline, glycine, and glutamic acid/glutamine, a characteristic of proline-rich glycoproteins (PRG). The amino terminus contained repeating sequences of Ser-Gln-Gly-Pro-Pro-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Glu-Gly-Pro-Pro-Pro- Gln-Gly that had significant compositional and sequence homology to that encoded by exon 3 of the PRB3 gene. We analyzed the PRG oligosaccharides by a combination of mass spectrometry techniques and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Twenty-seven highly fucosylated structures were identified. The most abundant was as follows (where Fuc is fucose). (formula; see text) To understand the structural basis of F. nucleatum binding, we screened glycolipids and neoglycolipids carrying carbohydrate structures related to those of the PRG for receptor activity; components with unsubstituted terminal lactosamine residues best supported adherence. Neoglycolipids constructed from PRG oligosaccharides were also receptors. Treatment with beta-galactosidase, but not alpha-fucosidase, abolished binding, suggesting that unsubstituted lactosamine units, including the 6-antenna of the major oligosaccharide, mediate F. nucleatum adherence.
Protein Kinase C-mediated Phosphorylation of the BGT1 Epithelial γ-Aminobutyric Acid Transporter Regulates Its Association with LIN7 PDZ Proteins

The Na/Cl-dependent BGT1 transporter has osmoprotective functions by importing the small osmolyte betaine into the cytosol of renal medullary epithelial cells. We have demonstrated previously that the surface localization of the transporter in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells depends on its association with the LIN7 PDZ protein through a PDZ target sequence in the last 5 residues of the transporter (-KETHL). Here we describe a protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated mechanism regulating the association between BGT1 and LIN7. Reduced transport activity paralleled by the intracellular relocalization of the transporter was observed in response to the PKC activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) treatment. This activation caused clathrin-dependent internalization of the transporter and its targeting to a recycling compartment that contains the truncated transporter lacking the LIN7 binding motif (BGTΔ5) but not the LIN7 partner of BGT1. The decreased association between BGT1 and LIN7 was demonstrated further by coimmunoprecipitation studies and in vitro binding to recombinant LIN7 fusion protein. The TPA treatment induced phosphorylation of surface BGT1 on serine and threonine residues. However, a greater increase in phosphothreonines than phosphoserines was measured in the wild type transporter, whereas the opposite was true in the BGTSer mutant in which a serine replaced the threonine 612 in the LIN7 association motif (-KESHL). No similar increase in relative phosphoserines or phosphothreonines was found in the BGTΔ5 transporter. Moreover, phosphorylation of threonine 612 in a BGT COOH-terminal peptide impaired its association with recombinant LIN7. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the post-translational regulation of BGT1 surface density is a result of transporter phosphorylation and that threonine 612 is an essential residue in this PKC-mediated regulation.
STEM CELLS FROM HUMAN EXFOLIATED DECIDUOUS TEETH ( SHEDS ) : A NEW HORIZON

Background and Objectives: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) have been demonstrated as a novel population of adult stem cells capable of multi-differentiation potential. Hence, isolating and evaluating the pluripotency of SHEDs opens a new era in the field of dentistry for the treatment of damaged teeth. The present study was conducted to isolate and differentiate Stem cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth. Method: Study samples comprise of 30 extracted exfoliated primary teeth collected from children aged 6 to 14 years. Isolation of SHEDs was done followed by which flowcytometric analysis and tri-lineage differentiation was performed. Growth kinetics of SHEDs were assessed. Results: SHEDs were successfully isolated. Flowcytometric analysis of SHEDs showed expression of positive markers CD73, CD90, CD105 while no expression of negative markers CD34, CD45 and HLA-DR. SHEDs differentiated markedly into osteocytes, chondrocytes while less significant differentiation of adipocytes were observed. The Population Doubling was found to decrease with increase in passage number while Cumulative Population Doubling was found to increase with increase in passage number. Time Doubling was found to be 14 hours which means that SHEDs have high proliferation potential. Conclusion: Stem cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth are mesenchymal stem cells which are multipotent and can serve as a promising incentive for therapeutic and future research purposes.
Bandwidth extension of metamaterials with low reflectivity

Following introduction of a figure of merit to quantify the thickness-normalized bandwidth of metamaterials for reflectivity reduction from metallic surfaces, possible methods are explored to design broadband metamaterials with low reflectivity. It is presented that the static permeability of substrate, the frequency-dispersion of permeability and permittivity of substrate, and the metallic resonant patterns all determine the figure of merit, and in turn the bandwidth of broadband metamaterials. Both numerical and experimental examples are included to validate the designs.