Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cleavage of denatured natural collagen type II by neutrophil gelatinase B reveals enzyme specificity, post‐translational modifications in the substrate, and the formation of remnant epitopes in rheumatoid arthritis

During acute inflammation, leukocytes release proteolytic enzymes including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), but the physiopathological mechanisms and consequences of this process are not yet fully understood. Neutrophils, the predominant leukocyte type, produce neutrophil collagenase (MMP‐8) and gelatinase B (MMP‐9) but not the tissue inhibitors of MMPs. After stimulation, these cells also activate MMPs chemically. In arthritic diseases, neutrophils undergo great chemoattraction to the synovium, are activated by interleukin‐8, and are stimulated to release gelatinase B in vivo. Production levels and net activities of gelatinase B were found to be absent in degenerative osteoarthritis but significantly increased in rheumatoid arthritis. The cleavage sites in cartilage type II collagen by gelatinase B were determined by a combination of reverse phase high‐performance liquid chromatography, Edman degradation, and mass spectrometry analysis. The analysis revealed the site specificity of proline and lysine hydroxylations and O‐linked glycosylation, the cleavage specificities by gelatinase B, and the preferential absence and presence of post‐translational modifications at P2′ and P5′, respectively. Furthermore, gelatinase B leaves the immunodominant peptides intact, which are known from studies with (autoreactive) T cells. Lysine hydroxylation was detected at a critical position for T‐cell activation. These data lend support to the thesis that extracellular proteolysis and other post‐translational modifications of antigenic peptides may be critical in the establishment and perpetuation of autoimmune processes. —Van den Steen, P.E. , Proost, P., Grillet, B. , Brand, D.D. , Kang, A.H. , Van Damme, J., Opdenakker, G. Cleavage of denatured natural collagen type II by neutrophil gelatinase B reveals enzyme specificity, post‐translational modifications in the substrate, and the formation of remnant epitopes in rheumatoid arthritis. FASEB J. 16, 379–389 (2002)
An Adaptive Window Scheme for Backoff in 802.11 MAC Protocol

We propose an extremely simple window adaptation scheme for backoff in 802.11 MAC protocol. The scheme uses constant stepsize stochastic approximation to adjust collision probabilities to set values, using an approximate analytic relationship between this probability and the back-off window. A further variation of this scheme also adapts the set points. Simulations show that our schemes, particularly the latter, ensure very good throughput and fairness.
Delivering Culturally Sensitive Health Messages: The Process of Adapting Brochures for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Hawai‘i

The efficacy of programs to reduce health disparities depends on their ability to deliver messages in a culturally sensitive manner. This article describes the process of designing a series of brochures for grandparents raising grandchildren. National source material on topics important to grandparents (self-care, service use, addiction, and grandchildren’s difficult behaviors) was put into draft brochures and pilot tested in two focus groups drawn from Native Hawaiian Asian and Pacific Islander populations. Elements of surface and deep levels directed the form and content of the final brochures. On a surface level, these brochures reflect local culture through pictures and language. On a deep level, which integrates cultural beliefs and practices, they reflect the importance of indirect communication and harmonious relationships. The final brochures have been received favorably in the community. The process of adapting educational material with attention to surface and deep levels can serve as a guide for other health promotion materials.
The Workarounds Process as a Source of Knowledge Creation and Management

The dynamics of the actual global context create a growing need for creation of better knowledge management in organizations. More than ever global markets exercise a bottom-up pressure (market dynamics and daily practices) and a top-down pressure (standardization) on employees who must constantly create, acquire and disseminate new knowledge. Due to this, employees engage sometimes in workarounds that defy the standardization of expected performance. However, given that workarounds are deliberate actions in contrast with the prescribed practices, they are marginalized by organizations that perceive them as detrimental. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework that is based on the idea that the integration of workarounds in the workplace represents a process of knowledge management. It also suggests that the use of a socio-technological tool that allows the building and sharing of workarounds by employees will help foster the creation and updating of knowledge in the organizational memory.
Lightweight and Flexible Graphene Foam Composites for High‐Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

The rapid development of modern electronics packed with highly integrated circuits generates severe electromagnetic radiation, which leads to harmful effects on highly sensitive precision electronic equipment as well as the living environment for human beings. Great effort has been made for the development of high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. In addition to high EMI shielding performance, being lightweight and fl exible are two other important technical requirements for effective and practical EMI shielding applications especially in areas of aircraft, aerospace, automobiles, and fast-growing next-generation fl exible electronics such as portable electronics and wearable devices. [ 1 ] Recently, electrically conductive polymer composites have received much attention for EMI shielding applications, [ 1–12 ] because of their light weight, resistance to corrosion, fl exibility, good processability, and low cost compared to the conventional metal-based materials. The EMI shielding effectiveness of the polymer composites depends critically on the intrinsic electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, magnetic permeability, aspect ratio, and content of conductive fi llers. [ 1–12 ] It is believed that high electrical conductivity and connectivity of the conductive fi llers can improve EMI shielding performance. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
A Population-based Study of Diabetes Mortality

In a population-based investigation among the residents of Rochester, Minnesota, the diabetes mortality rate was 8.5 per 100,000 person-years with diabetes as the underlying cause of death, 31.5 per 100,000 person-years with diabetes as an underlying or contributory cause, and 82.7 per 100,000 person-years if all deaths among diabetic individuals were counted. Diabetes was not mentioned on the certificate in 62% of the 428 diabetic deaths during 1965–1974. When the clinical characteristics of the subgroup of mortality cases in 1969 were compared with those of the prevalence cases on 1 January 1970, it was found that mortality cases tended to be older, were more often on insulin therapy, and were more likely to have macro- and microvascular complications. Because mortality data are sometimes used to infer trends and characteristics for the diabetic population at large, it is important to recognize these biases.
The distribution of Abbott high-sensitivity troponin I levels in Korean patients with chest pain.

BACKGROUND Troponin is considered a primary biomarker for coronary heart disease. We investigated the clinical utility of the Abbott high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI) assay in patients with various cardiac problems. METHODS Precision was investigated by ten levels of pooled sera and three levels of control materials. We determined Abbott hs-TnI levels in a total of 3314 Korean patients with chest pain, including acute myocardial infarction (n=381), unstable angina (n=327), stable angina (n=1361), variant angina (n=189), non-coronary artery diseases (n=236), and nonspecific chest pain (n=820). The 99(th) percentile cutoff was established by the plasma from the cardio-healthy subgroup and validated by 118 healthy individuals. RESULTS The total coefficient of variation in patient pooled sera and controls ranged from 3.93-6.35% and 4.81-9.73%, respectively. There was a significant difference in hs-TnI among various cardiac problems: subjects with non-cardiac chest pain (median 1.7 pg/mL, 25%/75% quartile 1.1/2.8 pg/mL), variant angina (2.4 pg/mL,1.4/5.6 pg/mL), stable angina (3.7 pg/mL, 2.1/8.9 pg/mL), unstable angina (10.7 pg/mL, 3.7/61.7 pg/mL), and non-coronary artery diseases (9.3 pg/mL, 4.3/37.4 pg/mL). However, the median levels of hs-TnI were not statistically different (p=0.921) between unstable angina and non-coronary artery diseases. The overall 99(th) percentile cutoff was 19.3 pg/mL (range 0.2-30.6 pg/mL). CONCLUSIONS This new hs-TnI assay may be helpful in determining a differential diagnosis in patients with chest pain.
Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards

Marked changes in human dispersal and development during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition have been attributed to massive volcanic eruption and/or severe climatic deterioration. We test this concept using records of volcanic ash layers of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption dated to ca. 40,000 y ago (40 ka B.P.). The distribution of the Campanian Ignimbrite has been enhanced by the discovery of cryptotephra deposits (volcanic ash layers that are not visible to the naked eye) in archaeological cave sequences. They enable us to synchronize archaeological and paleoclimatic records through the period of transition from Neanderthal to the earliest anatomically modern human populations in Europe. Our results confirm that the combined effects of a major volcanic eruption and severe climatic cooling failed to have lasting impacts on Neanderthals or early modern humans in Europe. We infer that modern humans proved a greater competitive threat to indigenous populations than natural disasters.
Aerosol Particle Size Does Not Predict Pharmacokinetic Determined Lung Dose in Children

In vitro measures of aerosol particles size, such as the fine particle mass, play a pivotal role for approval of inhaled anti‐asthmatic drugs. However, the validity as a measure of dose to the lungs in children lacks evidence. In this study we investigated for the first time the association between an in vivo estimate of lung dose of inhaled drug in children and the corresponding particle size segments assessed ex vivo. Lung dose of fluticasone propionate after inhalation from a dry powder inhaler (Diskus®) was studied in 23 children aged 4–7 and 12–15 years with mild asthma. Six‐hour pharmacokinetics was assessed after single inhalation. The corresponding emitted mass of drug in segments of aerosol particle size was assessed ex vivo by replicating the inhalation flows recorded by transducers built into the Diskus® inhaler and re‐playing them in a breathing simulator. There was no correlation between any inhaled particle size segment and lung dose assessed by pharmacokinetics and adjusted for age and body size. Measures of particles size segments were not related to lung dose in children. Until further evidence is provided it may be warranted to emphasize pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic assessments of drug delivery to the lung.
Metallothionein and Catalase Sensitize to Diabetes in Nonobese Diabetic Mice

It is widely proposed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to β-cell death in type 1 diabetes. We tested this in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice using β-cell–specific overexpression of three antioxidant proteins: metallothionein (MT), catalase (Cat), or manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). Unexpectedly, the cytoplasmic antioxidants, MT and catalase, greatly accelerated diabetes after cyclophosphamide and accelerated spontaneous diabetes in male NOD mice. This occurred despite the fact that they reduced cytokine-induced ROS production and MT reduced streptozotocin diabetes in NOD mice. Accelerated diabetes onset coincided with increased β-cell death but not with increased immune attack. Islets from MTNOD mice were more sensitive to cytokine injury. In vivo and in vitro studies indicated reduced activation of the Akt/pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 survival pathway in MTNOD and CatNOD islets. Our study indicates that cytoplasmic ROS may have an important role for protecting the β-cell from autoimmune destruction.
μTOP: Spatio-Temporal Detection and Summarization of Locally Trending Topics in Microblog Posts

User-generated content in social media can oﬀer valuable insights into local trends, events, and topics of interest. However, navigating through the vast amounts of posts either to retrieve certain pieces of information or to obtain an overview of the existing content, is often a challenging and overwhelming task. In this work, we present µ TOP , a system for detecting and summarizing locally trending topics in microblog posts based on spatial, temporal and textual criteria. Using a sliding window model over an incoming stream of posts, µ TOP detects locally trending topics, and associates each one with a spatio-temporal footprint. Then, for each spatial region and time period in which a certain topic is trending, the system generates a summary of the relevant posts, by selecting top-k posts based on the criteria of coverage and diversity. µ TOP includes a Web-based user interface, providing a comprehensive way to visualize and explore the detected topics and their spatio-temporal summaries via a map and a timeline. The functionality of the system will be demonstrated using a continuously updated dataset containing more than 30 million geotagged tweets.
Genetic linkage studies of X‐linked hypophosphataemic rickets in a Saudi Arabian family

OBJECTIVE, PATIENTS AND DESIGN X‐linked hypophos‐phataemic rickets (HYP) is the most common inherited form of rickets and the gene causing this disorder has been localized to Xp22.3‐p21.3 by linkage studies of affected families of Northern European origin. In addition, the locus order Xpter‐(DXS207‐DXS43, DXS197)‐HYP‐DXS41‐Xcen has been established and the flanking markers are useful for the presymptomatic diagnosis of HYP. However, a recent study indicates locus heterogeneity and this may hinder the use of the flanking markers for presymptomatic diagnosis in additional families and in particular those from different populations. We have therefore investigated one Saudi‐Arabian family (13 affected and six unaffected members) with hypophosphataemic rickets for linkage to these and other X‐linked markers. A total of 17 cloned human X chromosome sequences identifying restriction fragment length polymorphisms were used to localize the mutant gene causing this disorder in the Saudi Arabian family.
Role and regulation of human XRCC4‐like factor/cernunnos

In mammalian cells, non‐homologous end joining (NHEJ) is the major double strand break (DSB) repair mechanism during the G1 phase of the cell cycle. It also contributes to DSB repair during the S and G2 phases. Ku heterodimer, DNA PKcs, XRCC4 and DNA Ligase IV constitute the core NHEJ machinery, which joins directly ligatable ends. XRCC4‐like factor/Cernunnos (XLF/Cer) is a recently discovered interaction partner of XRCC4. Current evidence suggests the following model for the role of XLF/Cer in NHEJ: after DSB induction, the XRCC4‐DNA Ligase IV complex promotes efficient accumulation of XLF/Cer at DNA damage sites via constitutive interaction of the XRCC4 and XLF/Cer head domains and dependent on components of the DNA PK complex. Ku alone can stabilise the association of XLF/Cer with DNA ends. XLF/Cer stimulates ligation of complementary and non‐complementary DNA ends by XRCC4‐DNA Ligase IV. This activity involves the carboxy‐terminal DNA binding region of XLF/Cer and could occur via different, non‐exclusive modes: (i) enhancement of the stability of the XRCC4‐DNA Ligase IV complex on DNA ends by XLF/Cer, (ii) modulation of the efficiency and/or specificity of DNA Ligase IV by binding of XLF/Cer to the XRCC4‐DNA Ligase IV complex, (iii) promotion of the alignment of blunt or other non‐complementary DNA ends by XLF/Cer for ligation. XLF/Cer promotes the preservation of 3′ overhangs, restricts nucleotide loss and thereby promotes accuracy of DSB joining by XRCC4‐DNA Ligase IV during NHEJ and V(D)J recombination. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 1534–1540, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Occupational exposure to carcinogens and risk of lung cancer: results from The Netherlands cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate risk of lung cancers associated with common established carcinogenic occupational exposures (asbestos, paint dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and welding fumes) in a prospective cohort study among the general population, and to estimate the proportion of lung cancer cases attributable to these occupational exposures. METHODS: A prospective cohort study on diet, other lifestyle factors, job history, and cancer risk that started in 1986 in The Netherlands on 58,279 men, aged 55-69 years. Based on information about job history obtained from a self-administered questionnaire, case by case expert assessment was carried out to assign to each study subject a cumulative probability of occupational exposure for each carcinogenic exposure. For analysis, a case-cohort approach was used, in which the person-years at risk were estimated from a randomly selected subcohort (n = 1688). After 4.3 years of follow up, 524 lung cancer cases with complete job history were available. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, each of the other occupational exposures, and for smoking habits and intake of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and retinol, significant associations were found between risk of lung cancer and cumulative probability of occupational exposure to asbestos (relative risk (RR) highest/no exposure = 3.49, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.69 to 7.18, trend P < 0.01 or paint dust (RR highest/no exposure = 2.48, 95% CI 0.88 to 6.97, trend P < 0.01). The population attributable risks (PARs) for the four exposures based on the multivariately adjusted RRs for ever exposed versus never exposed workers were calculated. The PAR of lifetime occupational exposure to asbestos was calculated to be 11.6%. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective cohort study among the general population showed that occupational exposure to asbestos or paint dust is associated with higher RRs for lung cancer. This study shows that after adjustment for smoking and diet about 11.6% of the cases of lung cancer in men is attributable to lifetime occupational exposure to asbestos.
Synergistic effect of mutations in invA and lpfC on the ability of Salmonella typhimurium to cause murine typhoid

Penetration of the intestinal mucosa at areas of Peyer's patches is an important first step for Salmonella typhimurium to produce lethal systemic disease in mice. However, mutations in genes that are important for intestinal invasion result in only moderately decreased virulence of S. typhimurium for mice. Here we report that combining mutations in invA and lpfC, two genes necessary for entry into Peyer's patches, results in a much stronger attenuation of S. typhimurium than inactivation of either of these genes alone. An S. typhimurium invA lpfC mutant was 150-fold attenuated by the oral route of infection but was fully virulent when the intestine was bypassed by intraperitoneal challenge of mice. During mixed-infection experiments, the S. typhimurium invA lpfC mutant showed a strong defect in colonizing Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes. These data suggest that mutations in invA and lpfC deactivate distinct pathways for intestinal penetration and colonization of Peyer's patches. While the inv-mediated pathway is widely distributed, the lpf operon is absent from many phylogenetic groups within the genus Salmonella. To investigate how acquisition of the lpf-mediated pathway for mucosal penetration contributed to evolution of virulence, we studied the relationship between the presence of the lpf operon and the pathogenicity for mice of 18 isolates representing 14 Salmonella serotypes. Only strains possessing the lpf operon were able to cause lethal infection in mice. These data show that both the invA- and lpfC-mediated pathways of intestinal perforation are conserved in mouse virulent Salmonella serotypes.
Tidal volume variability and respiration rate estimation using a wearable accelerometer sensor

The measurement of respiration rate and tidal volume variability are critical to the diagnosis and monitoring of a wide range of breath disorders as well as being useful broader parameters of a patient's condition. This paper presents a portable real-time platform designed to support a computationally efficient human respiratory tracking system for medical applications. The proposed system is designed particularly for patients with breathing problems (e.g. respiratory complications after surgery) or sleep disorders. We introduce the use of accelerometer sensor to detect changes in the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest; whereas these changes provide an accurate measurement of respiration rate as well as tidal volume variability. The complete system was comprised of wearable calibrated accelerometer sensor, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and cloud database. The experiments are conducted with 8 subjects and the overall error in respiration rate calculation is obtained 0.2% considering SPR-BTA spirometer as the reference. We also present a method for Tidal Volume variability (TVvar) estimation while validated using Pearson correlation. The mean value of the correlation coefficient between TVvar derived from the accelerometer and spirometer for all subjects and three breath patterns is 0.87 which shows a high correspondence of two signals. Furthermore, the results indicate that the accelerometer driven TVvar achieves the average MSE 1.6E-03±3.69E-03 compared to the reference.
Laparoscopic surgery is associated with less tumour growth stimulation than conventional surgery: An experimental study

Sir We read the paper by Dr Bouvy (Br J Surg 1997; 84: 358-61) with interest and have comments on the statistical analysis and experimental design of the study. They indicated that the normal distribution is verified by a histogram but in Table 1 one can observe that the standard deviation of each group is large, resulting in coefficients of variation greater than 50 per cent. This value should not exceed 30 per cent in normally distributed data. A normal distribution concerning the whole group of animals is not sufficient to perform parametric tests such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), Student's t test, etc. Each group should be normally distributed within itself and with group sizes of less than 15 this is a questionable claim. The correct statistical approach would have been to have used the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test instead of ANOVA'. Bacteria, endotoxin and particulate material can be absorbed by the diaphragmatic lacunae and reach the systemic circulation via the thoracic ductz. The importance of parathymic lymph nodes that drain the peritoneal cavity on local eradication of tumour cells was stressed in an earlier well conducted study'. For these reasons it might be more relevant to take into account tumour growth in the parathymic lymph nodes and free tumour cells in the peripheral blood. In the second part of the study the authors inoculated tumour cells into the renal subcapsular space via laparotomy. Laparotomy is one of the major variables of the study and one group of animals underwent two laparotomies, while the laparoscopy group had only one. The effect of opening the peritoneum has been shown to be detrimental on immunity by others4,'. The effect of an additional laparotomy on immunity is not well documented but may cause a linear or exponential effect. If exponential, immunity may be more depressed than expected in the laparotomy group. It might have been more appropriate to use a dorsal flank incision for inserting the tumour into the renal subcapsular area in both groups to eliminate the effect of additional laparotomy.